FoJMB Newsletter 2008 07

8/7/2019 FoJMB Newsletter 2008 07

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Dunbars John Muir Association

Friends of John Muirs

Birthplace

Newsletter No. 6, July 2008Dear friends,

It has been a busy time since the last newsletter. We were

delighted to be involved once again in welcoming a group

from Yosemite Junior School and arranging theirprogramme. Treasurer Will Collin and his wife, Val, hosted

the parents of one of the children and our secretary Susan

Panton with husband Jim did likewise with two of the

children. Will and Val also accompanied the group on theirmini tour of John Muirs Scotland. So with complimentaryfish and chips from the Central Caf and a high speed trip on

the RNLI Lifeboat, I believe they were well satisfied withtheir visit. Earlier the Birthplace was delighted to accept

from Mrs Simpson a maquette of the statue of the Boy Muirwhich stands in the High Street here in Dunbar and it is now

housed on the top floor of the Birthplace. Mrs Simpsons

grandson was the model for the statue. The Tree and Winenight was most interesting and the tasting of the various

goodies was enjoyed by all who attended. Our sandcastle

competition has had to be postponed until 23rd August as theoriginal date clashed with Lifeboat Day, celebrating the

200th anniversary of the Dunbar Station.

For those of you about to go on holiday, have a happy

time and to all Friends, we would be delighted for you to

come in and see us at the Birthplace.

Yours aye,Jim Thompson


2/11

John Muir House Superintendent Visits Birthplace

On 3 May, US National Parks Service superintendent Martha Lee visited

Dunbar with her cousin Stirling University psychology professor Phyllis Lee.

Martha succeeded Glenn Fuller, an earlier Birthplace visitor, as the person

responsible for the John Muir home in Martinez in 2005. With a BA degree

from Californias Stanford University and 25 years NPS experience, she is

well qualified for the demanding role of running the John Muir House National

Historic Site and three other NPS sites in Californias Contra Costa county.

Among earlier NPS posts have been periods as editor-in-chief for Yosemite

National Park, curator of Yosemite Museum and Hetch Hetchy programme

manager, coordinating NPS responsibilities with the city and county of San

Francisco for the Tuolumne River watershed and the O'Shaughnessy Dam.

After a guided walk round John Muirs Dunbar in decidedly chilly conditions

and lunch with Val and Will Collin, Martha and Phyllis spent some time

looking round a busy Birthplace where families were enjoying a science

demonstration workshop. Birthplace manager Jo Moulin and Martha then

discussed the way forward to strengthen the existing links between Dunbar and

Martinez. Staff exchanges between Muirs first and final homes, pioneered in

2007 by Pauline Smeed who spent four weeks in Martinez, featured high on

the agenda. It is hoped that another staff secondment will take place in 2009.

Other Visitors to the Birthplace

In the six weeks or so between John Muirs birthday on 21 April and the

beginning of June, those signing the Birthplace visitors book have continued to

come frae a the airts. Scottish visitors ranged from St Boswells in the

Borders to Shetland in the north. English counties in the order they appear inthe book included Northumberland, Durham, South Yorkshire, Lancashire,

Bucks, Beds, Hants, Devon, Derbyshire, Warwickshire, North Yorkshire,

Worcs, Surrey, Leicestershire and Cumbria. In addition to a number of visitors

from California, other US states included Oregon, Washington State, North

Carolina and Kentucky while other countries included Canada, Norway,

Germany, Japan, Brazil, Chile and New Zealand.

Again, comments were hugely positive, complimentary and encouraging.

They included It is an honour and a treat to visit this house. Seriously

memorable. Great to see the beginnings. A wonderful learning


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experience. Lovely, inspiring and fascinating man he was. The visitor

from North Carolina wrote, Very well done. Thanks for sharing him.

From New Zealand came Wonderful. May the world finally hear his words.

The Japanese visitor wrote, At last, after a lifetime of admiration for John

Muir, I visit here.As a Friend of the Birthplace, please spread the word. As well as the

Birthplace, there are John Muirs Dunbar, the John Muir Clifftop Trail and, for

those feeling a bit more energetic, the John Muir Way southwards to

Berwickshire or northwards to North Berwick.

Dunbar School Pupils Visit Yosemite

Senior pupils and staff from Dunbar Grammar School left on Monday 23 June

for their third trip to California, taking in San Francisco, Martinez and

Yosemite Valley, where they will stay in the Valley school. We will try to

include an account of their visit in our next newsletter.

Yosemite School Pupils Visit Dunbar

Dunbar has played host in June to a group of eight students, three staff, five

parents and one former student from Yosemite Valley Elementary School in

California. The school is sited close to the foot of Yosemite Falls and near the

site of the cabin John Muir built in 1872.

Led by school principal Catherine Soria, the party arrived in Dunbar from

London on Friday 13 June and spent their first two nights with host families.

A busy Saturday programme saw them visit the Birthplace and walk round

John Muirs Dunbar with Jim Thompson in the morning. They then followed

the Civic Week parade to take part in the fun of the Primary School fete before

a visit to Dunbar leisure pool and a pizza tea sponsored by Dunbar Community

Council.

Early on Sunday morning, the group, accompanied by Jo Moulin and Val and

Will Collin, left Dunbar for a whirlwind tour of some of the places visited by

John Muir during his 1893 return to Scotland. Among them were Inverness

and the Great Glen where Urquhart Castle was a popular stopping point;Glencoe; Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument. Badger watching on


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Tuesday evening at New Lanark was followed on Wednesday by a look back

to Robert Owens pioneering 18th century social revolution. Then it was back

to Dunbar and on to Innerwick outdoor centre which was home for the next

three nights.

If it had been a busy time till then, Friday proved to be even busier. A trip onthe school bus took the group to Dunbar Primary School for a whole school

assembly with a decidedly Scottish flavour. Highland dancers, Scottish tunes

expertly played by young violin and recorder soloists and a spirited recitation

of part of Tam OShanter, one of John Muirs favourites, were just some of the

highlights. Another was a gymnastic display that had the audience holding its

collective breath as the somersaults and tumbling got progressively more

daring. Mrs Soria then presented a cheque for the RNLI to lifeboat coxswain

Garry Fairbairn and engineer Kenny Peters, both former DPS pupils.

The Yosemite students spent the rest of the morning with senior classes in the

Primary School before moving to the Grammar School. There headteacher

Paul Rafaelli, staff and senior pupils hosted a civic reception and lunch

attended by, among others, East Lothians chief executive Alan Blackie,

Dunbar Community Council chairman Stephen Bunyan, EL councillor Jacquie

Bell and Friends convener Jim Thompson. The excellent buffet, songs and

Highland dancing display were enjoyed by all.

An afternoon trip to the Bass Rock, courtesy of Friends member and local

fisherman Gordon Easingwood, had to be cancelled at midday because of the

weather conditions. However, Garry, Kenny and the crew of Dunbar lifeboat

came to the rescue and the group enjoyed a spectacular, high speed sail to the

Bass and back before returning to Innerwick. That night, they played hosts at

an American night at the outdoor centre as a thank you and farewell.

On Saturday 21 June, they travelled to Edinburgh to spend two days in the

capital prior to the 6,000 mile journey back to California. This was the fourth

visit by groups from Yosemite Valley School, the first being in 1999, 150

years after the Muir family left Dunbar for the New World.

[Photographs courtesy of Jim Thompson]


5/11

All Aboard Dunbar Lifeboat for the Yosemite School Pupils Bass Rock Trip

Yosemite School Pupils Receive Their John Muir Awards


6/11

Friends Bass Rock Boat Trip

[Friends would like to thank local fisherman and Friend Gordon Easingwood

of the Fisher Lassie and his brother George of the Var Lisa for a wonderful

evening sail round the Bass Rock. The following account is by Fiona

Campbell.]

On the evening of the 16th May, 18 Friends of John Muirs Birthplace set off

for a boat trip round the scenic coastline from Dunbar Harbour to Tantallon

Castle. The evening sun glinting upon the North Sea and Dunbar Castle on our

departure from the harbour was a terrific sight to see. A number of seals lying

sunning themselves on a rock high above the tide was only the beginning of a

number of excellent photo opportunities on the trip.

As we made our way along the coastline, it was a wonderful surprise when

Gordon steered the boat towards the Bass Rock. I had been admiring it from a

distance not anticipating that we would actually venture that far. He managed

to position the boat right at the foot of the Bass Rock, so that we were able to

witness the fantastic spectacle of the hundreds of gannets nesting and flying

around high above our heads.

Our experience was heightened when Gordon began throwing fish over theside of the boat to attract the gannets to the water. They would literally dart

into the water like torpedoes at such great speed you had to be quick to

see them. Their acute accuracy was incredible when catching their targeted

fish in their beaks. It was interesting to see how these colonies arranged

themselves and how they built their nests. The birds were using all sorts of

things to build their nests; one in particular had found some fishing net so that

it's bright, orange-netted nest stood out from the others on the rock.

As the sun began to set the silhouette-like appearance of all these hundreds ofbirds looked incredible against the warm colours in the sky. We began our

journey back to Dunbar, after a very enjoyable couple of hours together out at

sea.

[Photographs courtesy of Susan Panton and Fiona Campbell]


7/11

Friends Bass Rock

Boat Trip

Above: Leaving Dunbar

Left: Seals off Dunbar

Below: Fisher Lassie

and North Berwick Law


8/11

Fisher Lassie arrives at Bass Rock

Bass Rock Gannets


9/11

Friends Talk by Professor Fred Last

On the evening of Wednesday, 26th

March, Professor Fred Last, the first

President of DJMA, gave a fascinating talk about Phenology. Phenology is the

study of the times of recurring natural phenomena such as the dates of the first

occurrence of natural events in their annual cycle. Freds phenological studies

have specifically concentrated on recording the first flowering dates in East

Lothian between 1978 and 2006. Freds dedication to his research, his

findings, and the enthusiasm with which he presented these, made his

presentation highly enjoyable and though-provoking, and gave a fascinating

insight into how flowering dates contribute to the evidence of global warming.

As the theme of the talk suggested, Fred has been monitoring the many

specifies of plants in his garden near Longniddry for thirty years or more andhas meticulously recorded their first flowering dates over that time. There can

be few scientific studies conducted by one person that can match this level of

dedication and longevity and it was a privilege to hear first hand the results of

Freds life work. It is hoped that in a future newsletter more details can be

given of Freds research methodology and his interpretation of the data.

New Edition of John Muirs Dunbar

Birthplace staff member and local historian David Anderson has been working

away over the winter on a rewrite ofJohn Muirs Dunbar. The present edition

is now 10 years old and still sells steadily. However, it has almost sold out and

the opportunity has been taken to revamp the popular guide to the old part of

the town that John Muir knew. The book has now been considerably extended

and new photographs and a new map have been added. The cover layout will

be similar to Friends other publications, giving the four a recognisable housestyle.

David has given generously of his own time and he passed on his text to

Friends a number of weeks ago. Since then, it has been edited and is now with

Source Design, Edinburgh, who were responsible for the other publications. It

is hoped that it will be on the shelves at the Birthplace by the middle of July.

It can be ordered for postal delivery from Will Collin, 2 Rosebery Place,

Dunbar, EH42 1AQ. It will be priced 3.50 and initially copies will be sent

p&p free. (Unfortunately, this offer is only available to UK members.)

Cheques should be made payable to DJMA.


10/11

John Muir the Botanist

Susan Panton writes: When I think about John Muir the botanist, Samuel Hall

Youngs very humorous account of Muir addressing and examining flower

after flower as he leapt about the high mountain pasture in Alaska always

springs to mind.

"Ah! my blue-eyed darlin', little did I think to see you here. How did

you stray away from Shasta? Ah ! I thought I'd find you, my homely

little sweetheart," and so on unceasingly. One plant after another,

with its sand-covered roots, went into his pockets, his handkerchief

and the "full" of his shirt, until he was bulging and sprouting all over,

and could carry no more. He was taking them to the boat to analyze

and compare at leisure. Then he began to requisition my receptacles. Istood it while he stuffed my pockets, but rebelled when he tried to poke

the prickly, scratchy things inside my shirt. I had not yet attained that

sublime indifference to physical comfort, that Nirvana of passivity,

that Muir had found.

Alaska Days with John Muir, S. Hall Young, 1915

Those interested in Muirs botanising may be interested in a new publication:

Natures Beloved Son: Rediscovering John Muirs Botanical Legacy

This is a beautiful new hardback publication written by Bonnie J Gisel, curator

of the LeConte Memorial Lodge in Yosemite. It is illustrated with striking

images of Muirs own botanical specimens by photographer Stephen J. Joseph.

Natures Beloved Son examines Muirs evolving relationship with the natural

world, touching on his childhood in Scotland and Wisconsin, his soujorn in

Canada, his thousand-mile walk from Louisville, Kentucky, to the Gulf of

Mexico, his ecstatic travels in Californias Sierra Nevada, and his thrillingexploration of Alaska.

John Muirs Birthplace has been offered a 40% discount on this book if we

pre-order more than 5 copies. Price to Friends would be in the region of 13

plus shipping cost. We would like to gauge interest in this book1, so if you are

interested in buying a copy please leave your name with Susan Panton at John

Muirs Birthplace: 01368 865899.

1Cloth 256 pages, 9x12 inches, 150 historical and botanical images. Published by Heyday.


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Walks and Talks programme Autumn 2008

From this autumn, our regular Walks and Talks programme will take place on

the first Wednesday of each month. There will also be the occasional daytime

activities such as conservation volunteering. We plan to let you know about

these events in good time, but please feel free to wander into the Birthplace

and look at Friends section on the new notice board. You will also find out

what other local environmental groups are doing.

Sat 23rd Aug Sand Sculpture Competition, 12noon4pm, weather permitting.Bring spades and a picnic lunch!

Wed 3rd Sep Walk the NEW John Muirs Dunbar, 7:30pm, meet at JMB.Guided walk.

Wed 1st Oct AGM and guest speaker, 7.30pm. JMB

Wed 5th Nov Yosemite painters and photographers ,7.30pm. JMB. Talk byWill Collin

Walk around John Muirs DunbarFree guided walks leave from JMB on Wednesdays at 11am and Thursdays at3pm. Find out more about Victorian Dunbar and visit Muirs childhood haunts.Please phone JMB on 865899 to book.

FRIENDS CONTACTS

Official address: Friends of John Muirs Birthplace, John Muirs Birthplace, 126 High Street,Dunbar EH42 1JJ: tel: 01368 865899

Friends Website: www.muirbirthplacefriends.org.uk

Birthplace Email: [email protected] Website: www.jmbt.org.uk

Convener: Jim Thompson, Secretary: Susan Panton, Membership Sec: Duncan Smeed,

Treasurer: Will Collin. All can be contacted through the Birthplace.***********************

John Muirs Birthplace is now open every day 10 am to 5 pm fromMonday to Saturday, and 1 pm to 5 pm on Sunday

FoJMB Newsletter 2008 07

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