The Lucknow Sentinel, 1983-06-29, Page 31Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, June 29, 1983—Page 7
The Caledonian Society made Lucknow famous
THE PARADE AT THE REVIVAL OF TOE CALEDONIAN GAMES IN 1910
Congratulations
Lucknow
NOW
125
YEARS
YOUNG
Lucknow has'come a long way from
those early days. Yet, it is nice to
see that you, our good friends
to the north, have kept the
original concepts towards
service and friendship
towards others.
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Rarely does a village organization
gain such strength and such celebrity as
was attained by a Scotch society that
flourished in Lucknow during the last
quarter of the nineteenth century. In the
winter of 1874-5 a half dozen enthusias-
tic Scotch and Scotch Canadian resid-
ents of the village formed a branch of
the American United Caledonian S ci-
ety, an organization that had. a con-
siderable membership in parts of
Ontario and throughout the Northern
and New England States. Who it was
that first suggested the organization of
a branch at Lucknow does not now
appear to be known. But be that as it
may, the seed fell upon good ground..
The Targe Scotch element in the village
and in the townships immediately
surrounding, constituted a congenial
atmosphere for the young society, and it
waxed strong in numbers and wealth.
In this as in all organization of men
who do things that are worth while,
there was an active inner circle that
unselfishly, and without reward other
than that of the joy of accomplishment,
did the work and directed the affairs.
For a number of years after the birth of
the society this inner circle consisted of
Dr. D. A. MacCrimmon, Messrs. Alex
MacPherson, Alex Maclntyre, Wm.
Macintosh, Allan MacDonald, A. D.
and A. K. Cameron, Alex Currie,
Dougald MacKinnon, Malcolm Camp-
bell, James Findlater and Captain J.
MacPherson. At a later date Messrs. J.
Murchison, D. C. Cameron, G. E. Kerr
and D. D. Yule took an active party.
With the exception of one year, Dr.
MacCrimmon was chief of the society
from its formation until his removal
from Lucknow to Underwood in 1890.
His successor was Mr. Alex MacPher-
son who still holds the position of chief
executive.
The Scotch are said to be "clannish",
and though the remark, in the disparag-
ing sense, is no more true of them than
it would be of any other nationality, the
clan spirit appears to have been the
chief bond of union and source of en-
thusiasm among the members of the
Caledonian Society. in a small way the
organization was a benefit society, but
its chief aim was the fostering of Scotch
sentiment and patriotism by concentrat-
ing attention upon things of a national
character, the holding of Scotch con-
certs, banquets, balls and field sports.
It was in the carrying out of this last
feature - the field sports - that the
society won its greatest triumphs. For
twenty years Caledonian Games Day
was the big annual event of Lucknow. It
drew bigger crowds than any other
celebration in the two counties; and it
drew athletes from all over the English
speaking world. The second Wednesday
of September was the day fixed on
which to hold the annual games. The
choice of day proved propitious: For
nine consecutive years following the
organization of the society, weather
conditions (an all important factor) on
the second Wednesday of September
were ideal for out -door sports. This was
_great good fortune. It brought the
crowds, and it enabled the committee in
charge each year to carry out their
program to completion. This alone, of
course, would not insure continued
success. Those who prepared the
program showed great enterprise and
zeal in securing new attractions. They
were always going "one better" and as
they always lived up to their promises
Turn to page 8•
Congratulations
to the
Village of Lucknow
on your
125th Anniversary
-.S..411r-
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