Newsletter

Saint Patrick’s Day Dinner and Ceilidh This was a SMASHING SUCCESS!

Mark your

calendar to join us NEXT year!

In spite of the weather, attendance was great. At one point we started to set-up another table.

Darren Williams reminded us that on St Patrick’ Day the Scots wanted to Irish too.

April 20th Membership Program:

“Battle of Culloden”

Graham & Karen Stone visited Ireland and

Scotland last year and will be sharing some of

their photos and give us a bit of a history lesson. If we’re lucky, we may even be treated to some music!

Morgan Black, right, and Peter Roth, left, joined String Thaw at our St Patrick’s Day Ceilidh. Peter is an Irish tenor. Morgan played harp and performed Step Dance.

April 20	7:00 p.m.	*General Membership Meeting, TREA Building, Rapid City PROGRAM: “Battle of Culloden” by Graham & Karen Stone**
April 28	8:00 p.m.	Exchange Club Ceilidh, Quality Inn on LaCross St. Free to members of SIS (see article below)
May 4	7:00 p.m.	Board Meeting
May 5-7		Rushmore Curling Club meets at the Roosevelt Ice Rink (see article below)
May 18	7:00 p.m.	*General membership Meeting, TREA Building, Rapid City PROGRAM: “Bealtaine (May Pole) ” by Sally & Bill Knight**
June 1	7:00 p.m.	Board Meeting
June 15	7:00 p.m.	*General membership Meeting, TREA Building, Rapid City PROGRAM: “Rosslyn Chapel” by Jim Marrs**
June	T.B.A.	Midsummer’s Night Gathering
July 6	7:00 p.m.	Board Meeting
July 20	7:00 p.m.	*General membership Meeting, TREA Building, Rapid City PROGRAM: “TBA ”**

*TREA = The Retired Enlisted Association building, 1981 East Centre Street, Rapid City

FESTIVAL DEBT – OUCH!

Well, we did it. We are out of debt. Checks may already be in the mail to pay off loans from members. And we can all thank each other and a few friends outside of the SIS. It took an effort involving donations, member loans, volunteer help at fund raisers and strategy.

The result? We remain a strong group dedicated to learning about and educating others about our proud heritage. Outside vendors know that we are people of our word and we remain a good credit risk. Anyone dealing with us knows that we will do our best to do the right thing.

We are Celts. History shows that we are tenacious and we are honorable people. SIS has added one more proud chapter to that history book.

Looking back over the past six months it is gratifying to be a part of a group of such fine people. I do not know about you but I have had fun doing it! I am proud of SIS and our members.

After last year’s festival we were $5,000 in debt. After paying off member loans this month we will have $2000 in the bank. We are paying those member loans back nearly 3 months sooner than promised! The checks are IN the mail!

I regret that I do not have a list of those who helped with donations and loans. I will have that for you next month. They deserve your personal thanks. You may be surprised to see who is on that list.

Before my arm grows tired with this collective “pat on the back,” I will close with lessons learned: (1) We will endeavor to avoid such debt risk in the future. Ergo, plan and budget! (2) Our “fun” events such as Burns and St. Patrick’s dinners can be planned and budgeted to make money and fun if we try. (3) Our members are truly loyal and dedicated to our continued success.

Gary Hamilton

Your Input Needed

This newsletter would be far more interesting with your input: news, events, culture, history, photos, new Celtic businesses, anything. Submit your articles in MS Word doc and photos in jpg format. E-mail to info@BlackHillsCelticEvents.org .

Source: Kirsty Scott, 8/25/05, The Guardian

Police are tying to reunite numerous garden gnomes with their owners after discovering an “Aladdin’s Cave” of ornaments during a raid on a house in Alloa.

Officers investigating complaints that gnomes, plant pots and animal figures were disappearing from gardens across central Scotland raided the house in Clackmannanshire and found more than 40 ornaments, including rabbits, hedgehogs, birds, frogs and a terrier.

A total of 62 plant pots and 25 solar lights were also recovered, together with a decorative wheelbarrow. Central Scotland police said there had been a spate of reported thefts in Stirling, Clackmannanshire and Falkirk.

A spokeswoman for the force said the raid had been part of an 11-day anti-crime operation involving CID officers, the tactical crime and drugs units and operational staff in Stirling area command. She added: “We can confirm that two females have been charged in relation to the discovery and a report has been sent to the procurator fiscal.” It is understood that police raided the house after a tip-off from a member of the public.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Roy Lake said yesterday: “This was a significant achievement by Central Scotland officers.

“We have been investigating a number of reported thefts of garden ornaments across the force area over the past few weeks. Our task now is to identify who the items belong to and ensure they are given back to their rightful owners.”

Thanks to John Burke for this submission!

A newly elected board member, James D. Marrs, Sr. is a retired Episcopal priest who served over a hundred congregations in a five-state area of the upper Mid-West. He has degrees in theology, speech and history and is married to the former Jean Claymore of the Cheyenne River Tribe. They have three children – a physician, an accountant and a telemarketer, along with six grandchildren.

His clan is in reality a tribe of the Picts – i.e. the Clan of the Tribe of Mar. Its chief holds the premier peer of Scotland – the Earl of Mar who often was the protector of infant Scottish sovereigns and is credited with leading out the clans in the 18^th century. Besides being a descendant of the Mar, he also claims Irish and Scot Ancestry. Marrs is a member of the Royal Order of Scotland.

We’ve added some new members to our ranks since our last newsletter. Let’s hope we can welcome them at our next general meeting. New members: Sabrina & Robert Murraine-Schull, Bill Griffin, and Kris Anderson.

We’ll try to get some profiles of our new members in upcoming newsletters.

Our thanks to Sabrina Murraine-Schull who has volunteered to help our Society with its publicity needs.

We welcome any Scottish or Irish trivia from any member. Please submit your thoughts to Info@BlackHillsCelticEvents.org

or contact Pat Hamilton, newsletter editor.

Welcome! (literally “a hundred thousand welcomes”)

Cead mile failte!

(Cade meela fall-cheh)

May your troubles be less,

And your blessings be more,

And nothing but happiness

Come through your door

SDSMT Cultural Expo – March 24-25

This is an event that we should participate in to the fullest extent! Bill Knight was so taken by the quality of the Expo that he volunteered to chair next year’s preparations. Carole Conrad said that it was the best event of its kind that she has seen in Rapid City.

We must thank Carole, Bill, Jim Marrs and Laurie Cragun for their help as volunteers for the booth.

Hundreds of people attended the Expo, including elementary school children on Friday. It provides an excellent opportunity to inform the public about SIS and have fun doing it. Pay attention next year and join in to man the booth. You will be glad that you did.

Festival Planning Meeting

At our next membership meeting, April 20, you will be asked for your support of a proposal for this year’s Highland Festival.

A group of interested parties has met twice since March to discuss a means by which we might have a 2006 festival without risking the debt and losses experienced over the past three years. Developments over the past month have been very good concerning the prospects for a festival under a new plan. We have support from outside of SIS that I personally never expected.

The SIS board of directors has heard the results of the meetings and has made a recommendation to proceed with the festival under a different concept. Please attend the membership meeting, listen to the proposal and vote your conscience. …. Gary Hamilton

Exchange Club Convention Ceilidh – April 28, 8:00 pm

The Exchange Club of Rapid City is a service club focusing on children’s charities. They are having a Ceilidh in support of a regional convention to be held here in Rapid City. They have hired String Thaw, Morgan Black and piper, Suzanne Karl, for their Ceilidh. We are invited to the Ceilidh, dressed in period clothing, to add to the atmosphere. Please plan to attend. It will be a good time and it is FREE! Gary Hamilton is the contact for this event. We can talk about this at the next membership meeting.

Budget

Last month’s President’s message was about budget planning. Carole Conrad has volunteered to chair a Budget planning committee for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006. You can help!

Budget preparation demands planning a calendar. All of us need to make suggestions, perhaps demands, about what should be on our calendar for the next 12 to 18 months. From the calendar come expenses, from expenses come plans for creating income.

Consider helping Carole with this project. That way we can adopt a Calendar and Budget that we can support as a group.

Geneaology

The genealogy association meets every 3^rd Friday of each month at the Canyon Lake Senior Citizen’s Club. Contact Nila Boone if you have any questions.

Celitic &
Norwegian
Dancing

The Sons of Norway host dancing lessons at the Canyon Lake Senior Citizens’ Center each Monday evening at 6:30. We’re learning some Norwegian dances and are preparing to learn some Celtic dances.

Several of our members have taken advantage of this fun opportunity. Contact John Burke if you have any questions

Don’t Miss the Granite Faces Bonspiel

CURLING-- A SPORT WITH SCOTTISH HERITAGE

Article contributed by the Rushmore Curling Club

What do you know about the sport of curling? Rushmore Curling Club thanks your ancestors for the sport they so now enjoy. Here is a little history of the sport taken from goodcurling.net.

In 1565, Holland’s Peter Breugel painted "Hunters in the Snow" and another work depicting scenes resembling modern curling. Breugel’s paintings support the premise held by some that curling originated in continental Europe. The Scots, however, are the undisputed developers and formalizers of the modern game. By 1638 curling was considered, with golf and archery (in M. H. Adamson’s poem The Muses Threnodie), to be a usual recreational pastime. After a huge growth spurt in the 19th century, curling was played by thousands in nearly every Scottish parish.

Between the 16th and 20th centuries, Scotland’s climate warmed, and today the lochs rarely freeze. The climate change hindered curlers, who played outdoors on natural ice until the 20th century. Nonetheless the Scots had, by the mid-1800s, formalized curling’s rules of play and equipment and had established the "mother club" of curlers worldwide, the Royal Caledonian Curling Club. The RCCC is today the national governing body of curling in Scotland, with 20,000 active members now playing indoors on refrigerated ice.

The game of curling spread throughout the world through the efforts of thousands of Scottish soldiers and émigrés. In North America, curling’s origins likely date to the late 1700s. The first documented record is the founding of the Montreal Curling Club in 1807.

Rushmore Curling Club invites you to experience this awesome sport right here in Rapid City on May 5-7 at Roosevelt Park Ice Arena, as we will be hosting the 2nd Annual Granite Faces Bonspiel. Teams from 7 states and one Canadian Province will be participating. Along with the Open Divison, this year there is a beginners division entitled, "I Saw It On the Olympics and Want To Try It" Spiel. For $20 per person you can enter a team of 4 people. You are guaranteed 3 games, (instruction and assistance is available), a Bonspiel t-shirt for each player and dinner on Saturday night. Additional guest dinner tickets are available for $5.00 each. Anyone interested in participating can get more information by e-mailing rcnank2@aol.com If you're not able to play but would like to watch the "rocks thrown into the house" and drink beer in the "Beer Cooler" (upper level of the Ice Arena), please join us on May 5-7 at the Roosevelt Park Ice Arena. We hope to see you there - GOOD CURLING!!

SIS MEMBERS, THREE CHANCES TO PARTICIPATE:

1) If we can pull a group of 4 together we can enter a beginner Curling Team! $20 each. The curling club will provide training and advice.

2) The Bonspeil event is BIG and the Rushmore Curling Club can use some volunteer help. It is a chance to help out and watch the event.

3) Spectators are invited FREE. Dress warm and go watch for a couple of hours.

SIS Member, Keith Ham, Helping Cornerstone Rescue Mission

Worship leaders Brent Parker and Adam Lawson will return to First United Methodist Church and join Keith Ham and First Church's praise team in a worship concert Sunday, April 23rd (Sunday after Easter) at 6:30 p.m. at the church.

The event begins a week of celebration of First Church's 125th Anniversary and will benefit Cornerstone Women's and Children's Shelter. The church is located at 629 Kansas City St. in Rapid City.

Keith occasionally plays with String Thaw and has directed many Celtic Church Services over the years. This is a chance to support a friend and contribute to a worthy charity.

Program: A presentation on Saint Patrick’s life and history was given by Pat Hamilton. We learned a lot and many members shared additional information.

Treasurer’s Report: $2,138.90 in SIS account

Old Business: SIS will continue to have its general meetings at the TREA building, but are open to new ideas.

Membership loans will be paid back by June. Sally will continue as membership person, but will withdraw if another member is interested. Publicist position has been filled by Sabrina Murraine. A meeting will be held on March 25 at the Dahl at 10:00 am concerning the Celtic festival versus clan gathering. Exchange Club reminder that SIS will participate in the ceilidh and style show. New dates for the Son’s of Norway dancing at the Canyon Lake Citizen Center were given. The S.I.S will have a booth at the Cultural Expo at the School of Mines. St. Pat’s parade will be postponed to March 25 due to weather. SIS members decided that they

will not attend.

New Business: Pay for play: guidelines will be submitted by Kerry Smith at the next general meeting. Nila Boone mentioned that the genealogy association will be assisting with research resources at the Canyon Lake Senior Citizen Center on 3/17. The association also meets every 3^rd Friday.

Sally Knight, secretary. (Members can request complete minutes from the secretary or read at general member meetings.)

Treasurer’s Report: Current balance is approximately $3,000. Awaiting the final bills and deposits from St. Patrick’s dinner.

Old Business:

Banner: Gary Hamilton will follow-up on our banner for parades. Carole will look for the SIS logo files.

Publicist chair: filled by Sabrina Murraine.

Celtic festival: Gary handed out a summary for review based on the meeting that was held on March 25. Further discussion will be at the member’s general meeting.

St Pat’s dinner: profit or loss unknown at this time.

Cultural days: Bill Knight will chair the event next year.

Son’s of Norway: encouragement of SIS participation with dance group.

Exchange club convention: Decorations needed. Quality Inn on April 28 from 8-10 pm.

Members who attend will dress in Scottish attire.

Member Loans: Praise to members will be mentioned for helping SIS in newsletter.

New Business:

Bonspiel curling: meet in May 5-7. They plan to ask SIS members to volunteer during event.

Annual Budget: Carole Conrad has volunteered to start a budget for entertainment and events. Bill Knight has agreed to assist. Budget plans need to be submitted by July.

Tartan Day: Dakota Celts are having a fashion show at Dublin Square. SIS will provide a few festival T-shirts to be used as prizes.

Cultural Initiative: Gary spoke about family activities, heritage and arts.

Website: Gary will add a Piper page to the website.

Sally Knight, secretary. (Members can request complete minutes from the secretary or read at general member meetings.)

Membership Chairperson

President Gary Hamilton, info@BlackHillsCelticEvents.org

Vice President Bill Knight

Secretary Sally Knight

Treasurer Carole Conrad

Board Members Aliyah Sanders, Kerry Smith, Jim Byrne, James Marrs, John Burke

Membership Open

Web Site Robert Millican with apprentices: Gary & Pat Hamilton, and Aliyah Sanders

Newsletter Pat Hamilton, info@BlackHillsCelticEvents.org

If you would like to contribute an article or story, list an event, submit a photo, etc. to the newsletter, please email the item to me by the 5th of each month.