Stonehaven Heritage Society

Day trip to Culloden Battlefield

A group of members, including a number of juniors, enjoyed an excellent trip to Culloden Visitor Centre and battlefield on Saturday 12 September, stopping at Baxters in Fochabers for coffee on their way and returning for high tea. Thanks to the organisers. If anyone has any suggestions for future outings, please let me know.

Gordon Ritchie can be contacted on 01569 762971

As its contribution to the Year of the Homecoming 2009, Stonehaven Heritage Society has created a new web site that highlights the life and times of William Burnes.

The new website is spilt into nine categories allowing a broad glimpse into the life and times of Burns’ father in the early part of the 18th Century. Categories cover: work, food, dress, politics, song, dance and the telling of tales. A special feature is the online Forum allowing those with an interest in Burns and his forebears to post comments and chat. Content contributors will be clients of the Forrest View Centre in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire Council’s Father of the Bard working groups under their Project Manager Dave Ramsay and local primary schools. ICT visiting specialist teacher for Stonehaven area Ms Jean Forsyth commented: “It is an ideal context for local children to access local Scottish history and the life and works of Robert Burns’ forebears as well as the bard himself. It shows how much Burns was influenced in his poetry by the land and the farming culture, and by his father, grandfather and great grandfather, who were all Stonehaven farmers.

www.fatherofthebard.org

A special assembly at 13:30 this Friday 23rd March 2005 at Mill O’ Forest Primary School Stonehaven will see 60 pupils collect certificates from
the local Heritage Society.

The pupils, facilitated by their visiting ICT teacher Ms Jean Forsyth and Rod Mcleod, webmaster of New Media Ltd, have created a section of vibrant web pages containing blogs, pods, polls, video animation, ghosts, trails, quizzes and competitions
http://www.stonehaven-heritage.org/content/young.asp

The pupils have taken part in an initiative introduced by Stonehaven’s Heritage Society. This was a project where young people have been encouraged to take an active part in their heritage by contributing their ideas to a special section of the Society’s web site.

Local solicitor Gordon Ritchie, Honorary Secretary, founder of the Society and partner of Connons Solicitors, in Stonehaven noted:

“Traditionally an appreciation of heritage has been the preserve, to a large extent of adults, but it is imperative and common sense to encourage young people to participate in their own future heritage.”

The pupils at Mill O’ Forest Primary 7 have taken to the challenge with real interest and excitement. The pupils themselves think its “well cool” and Ms Forsyth, their visiting ICT teacher, has experienced the strange phenomenon of pupils lining up after break “ten deep” to get back into the class to finish off the work they have been doing.

The parent of one pupil stated that she had never seen her child so motivated and enthusiastic about schoolwork.
The Nano iPods provided by the Heritage Society have proved very popular, particularly when “dinky” memo microphones are attached for the pupils to record interviews for their Pod casts.

Ms Forsyth commented, ”I have been using the Young Heritage initiative to allow pupils to show their creativity and technological skills and to interpret heritage in a wider sense, not just buildings

The initiative also fits with the Scottish Executive’s new “Curriculum For Excellence” where pupils are encouraged to be successful, confident learners as well as contributing citizens.”

Bruce Robertson, OBE the new Director of Education & Recreation Aberdeenshire Council agreed……….

"As an ex-history teacher with an interest in local heritage and history, I am delighted to see how young people from Mill O’ Forest Primary School have become actively involved in their area's past.

The new technologies give outstanding opportunities for young people to be influential in local history and heritage societies and this is a great example. Well done to everyone involved, but especially the pupils."

Further information contact Phil Mills-Bishop
Committee Member Stonehaven Heritage Society

Web address: www.stonehaven-heritage.org click link to Young Heritage pages. For information on the Stonehaven Heritage Society Gordon Ritchie can be contacted on 01569 762971

2004

Neer-Day” Present

Stonehaven Heritage Society, founded in 1987 by local Solicitor Gordon Ritchie, one of the largest organisations in the town with 280 members, has this week given the town a “Neer-Day” present with the launch of its revamped web photo-archive @ www.stonehaven-heritage.org

“One of our original aims was to collect old photographs of Stonehaven, and we have exceeded expectations, with a large collection of photographs, dating from 1880 to the present day. Traditionally the Society holds annual exhibitions in the summer for viewing, but the new online photo-archive will enable members both at home and particularly aboard to view all year round. We find that our local members enjoy the photographs because they can compare it with Stonehaven of today. Overseas members tracing their “family-tree” are fascinated to see a photograph of the street or town that their great-grandmother was born in.”

Mr Mills-Bishop, is eBusiness Advisor to the Society, developed the strategy and organised the new on-line facility…

”…this facility represents very good value for the small fee of joining the Society. All members are sent a password to enter the photo-facility and can download images for personal use. At the moment there are over 200 images online with a further 200 becoming available in the New Year. The archive and database design is quite sophisticated in that it can handle a large quantity of high quality images. Additionally it has a search facility that will allow interrogation of the database by keywords e.g Harbour which will then throw up images to do with the Harbour”.

The web site also provides a whole range of information on the heritage of Stonehaven from the Harbour’s ancient Tollbooth to the Art deco swimming pool. Books and magazines can be ordered online e.g., the winter issue of the Society’s quarterly magazine ‘Stanhyve’ is now available and contains articles on the history of the Fireballs ceremony and place-names in and around Stonehaven.

The web site also contains details for the winter presentation series on items of local interest. The next meeting is on Wednesday 28th January where the speaker will be Mr. Ian Shepherd, Archaeologist for Aberdeenshire Council.

Additional Information & Notes to Editor:
Request picture coverage from photo-desk

Information on the Society Gordon Ritchie can be contacted on 01569 762971.
Web information contact Jean Forsyth