KEEPING THE AULD ALLIANCE ALIVE

For four decades KILSYTH TOWN-TWINNING ASSOCIATION has been maintaining a strong link with the town of MEULAN, near Paris.

Margot Macmillan, a former chairman of the association looks back – and forward - giving her views on town-twinning.

Town-twinning is seen as a way of developing understanding between peoples of the world, whatever their race, language or political system. How does this relationship work? What has been achieved? And what of the future?

Undoubtedly the highlight and heartbeat of the alliance is the annual weekend visit. Every two years participants travel from Kilsyth to Meulan to spend a long weekend in this French town which is a little smaller than Kilsyth and is situated on the Seine Every other year the visit is reciprocated, the French coming to Kilsyth-upon-Garrell!

Families act as hosts in their own homes, often forming long-lasting friendships with their guests. Town-twinners do not have to be linguists and no one has yet been at a loss to communicate. The ready-to-be-friendly smile and the ridiculous miming sometimes required, seem to say it all! It is a rather unusual experience, but thoroughly enriching.

Over the years, while staying in Meulan, we have taken part with our hosts in many and varied activities – sailing along the Seine, roaming around Rouen, Paris ,Giverny. Visits can range from the splendours of Versailles one day to the dizzying sights of Eurodisney the next!

A church service has been conducted by Kilsythians in Meulan, we have fielded unforgettable football teams there and Kilsyth Lennox Golf Club continue to make annual exchange visits with the golfing fraternity of Meulan. On occasion the Scottish and French town-twinners have proudly marched together through the streets of Meulan led by Kilsyth Thistle Pipe Band.

The Kilsyth Chairman is a talented singer and she entertains with folk songs in both French and English (‘Je ne regrette rien’ has become an annual ‘must sing’ and a sort of signature tune you might say). We participated in a Meulan poetry competition (and had a Scottish finalist) and our Scottish Country Dance Team gave a demonstration of The Lancers, in return for which some of our Gallic friends danced The Can-Can while others gave a superb display of classical ballet.

When the Meulanais come to Kilsyth, hospitality is returned in the Scottish manner, which as well as the de rigeur whisky-tasting has included Burns suppers and Hallowe’en dooking ;

But no matter whether in France or Scotland we and they have always merged and mingled easily into one group – camaraderie is much in evidence.

To minimize costs and allow maximum participation, the association organises fund raising events throughout the year such as ceilidhs, whist drives, barge cruises – all most enjoyable, perhaps because of the wide age range of members which is always a good recipe for harmony in any group of people.

North Lanarkshire Council are always most helpful to the association, both in direct financial terms and in the hosting of a Civic Reception for each visit and this is much appreciated.

And what is done specifically in the interests of young people?

In the early days, in the late sixties, two language students sponsored jointly by Kilsyth Town Council and the association each spent a month in Meulan. More recently, organised parties of school pupils were involved in annual exchange visits but at present the involvement of children is mostly within their family groups.

For several years the association succeeded in establishing and maintaining after-school French language classes for children of primary school age. Taught by a native speaker the language was imparted to the children through singing and games which hopefully were then passed on to their wee brothers and sisters.

Of course, town-twinning gives all the members a golden opportunity to take up French or brush up on it and at least one young man very successfully based his career on the language - inspired by a town-twinning visit while still at school - and he now organises French classes for members and others.

Some years ago we arranged for a French-speaking theatrical company ( following their appearance at the Edinburgh Festival) to give a public performance of Little Red Riding Hood and Bluebeard in a local hall in Kilsyth. This was presented in simple French and use was made of mime and melodrama. The children in the audience were enthusiastic in their response to the pieces which were really quite gruesome and only the adults were alarmed by the blood curdling screams!

In Kilsyth can be found many symbolic reminders of the links between the towns. For example in 1989, to celebrate United Nations year of Peace, Burngreen was designated a Peace Garden and the reception rooms in Colzium House were named The Meulan Suite.

In 1989, to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the Kilsyth/MeulanPact, a special tree was planted in the wooded area above the Curling Pond.

In Meulan one of the town squares has been named Place Kilsyth.

In planning for the future, there are great expectations for the introduction of many more citizens to their counterparts in Meulan who may share similar interests. Wider involvement of the community of each town with the other could perhaps even lead to workplace exchanges, commercial links, tourism….

High-flown ideas these may be, but they are ideals not impossible to attain, given that a very solid foundation of friendship has already been laid and is constantly being strengthened.

Further information on membership of Kilsyth Town Twinning Association can be obtained from the secretary,by email here.

Meetings are held in the committee room of Stirling Road Bowling Club on the 3rd Thursday of each month (except in July and August)

 

FOUR OTHER KILSYTHS

There are at least four other places called Kilsyth – two in the USA, one in Australia and one in Canada. We thank Rob Kay for permitting us to use the following information he compiled and we would also take this opportunity to send greetings from Kilsyth Scotland to our counterparts in the following places.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Kilsyth, part ofMount Hope,West Virginia,United Statesis inFayetteCounty; location is 37°53'25"N 81°10'57"W. The town ofMt Hopewas hit by disastrous flooding in autumn 2001, and is still struggling to get back on its feet. KCC is trying to get in touch and would welcome any news.

Mount Hope, West Virginia, USA

A driving or walking tour throughMountHopeprovides visitors with a rare opportunity to view many of the sights that were once commonplace throughout the coal fields ofSouthern West Virginia. Although the dozens of coal mining operations have disappeared from the hills surrounding the town, along the streets ofMountHopevisitors can still view many examples of the grand structures built by the coal barons and coal companies. The town's downtown section remains virtually the same as it did during the 1920’s, the decade when the town was one of the most important communities in the vast coal fields of the region. The offices of the region’s largest coal company, the New River Company, still exist as well as the company’s repair shops and foundry building. Just outside town, in Kilsyth, two large smokestacks loom over the former repair shop used by the McKell Coal & Coke Company, also used by the company's railroad, the Kanawha, Glen Jean & Eastern Railway. And these sites are just a few of the many historic sites located in and near the town.

The town ofKilsyth(originally spelled as "Kilsythe") was a company town created, built and controlled by the McKell Coal & Coke Company. In 1903, Kilsyth was incorporated as a town, not long after the McKell Kilsyth mine was opened. Virtually all of the major businesses located in the town were owned by the McKell interests, which included the large Company Store and a small movie theater. The homes of the town were lighted by power provided by a generating plant located on the McKell coal mining site.

As the mining operations and the railroad owned by McKell continued to grow during the early decades of the 1900's, Kilsyth became home to a sprawling mining and railroad repair shop complex located adjacent to the Kilsyth mine. Much of the old McKell repair shop complex remains standing today, including the former KGJ&E engine-house, one of a very few, and perhaps the only remaining engine including the former KGJ&E engine-house, one of a very few, and perhaps the only remaining engine-houses remaining in Southern West Virginia. Although Thurmond receives its notoriety for being the region's "historic railroad town," the community of Kilsyth actually contains a far greater number of historic railroad structures than does the present-day town ofThurmond. The huge twin-smokestacks, still standing in the centre of the McKell complex at Kilsyth, grace the skyline serving as highly visible landmarks that can be easy spotted from miles away. The old smokestack are regarded by many as an eyesore, while others see them as one of the last remaining examples of the massive industrial edifices that was once typical throughout the hillsides and valleys throughout Southern West Virginia.

The final chapter of saga of the McKell Coal & Coke Company was written in 1939, with the death of William McKell. Having never married, and having no children of his own, William McKell had not been able to groom a replacement for himself. Although the McKell coal empire had a vast amount of coal lands that had not yet been mined (most of it located in the Garden Ground area) the McKell coal empire ceased to function for lack of a new "king." The following year, the McKell heirs, having no interest in entering the coal business, sold the McKell Coal & Coke Company to the New River Company. Thus ended the reign of one of the area's pioneering coal companies that had a profound effect upon the towns ofMt.Hopeand Kilsyth and virtually the entire region for more than four decades.

see also: http://www.wvexplorer.com/WVa-USA/history/mthope/

 

Kilsyth,Tennessee,United States is a small settlement inCampbellCounty; location is 36°25'43"N 84°4'59"W about four miles from La Follette.

Perhaps some coal miners came to this area fromScotlandearlier on as this region was dotted with numerous small coal mining towns. Most are only a memory now to some folks and before long that will eventually pass on.

Mr. Mc Donald has devoted much of his time to putting the history ofCampbellCountyin print.

Kilsyth was located approximately 5 miles north of La Follette on Hwy. 25w. There was not much to  it; a beer joint, a dance hall, gas station, coal tipple and a few houses. At one time when passenger trains ran there may have been a train stop.

Some family names associated with the area are Hutson, Spradlin, Guy, Burger, Wallace, Smith

With many thanks to Charles Hutson and Don Branam for the information.

 

Kilsyth Australia

Kilsyth and Kilsyth South are residential suburbs between Mooroolbark and Boronia, 32 km. east ofMelbourne. The name presumably was inspired byKilsyth, Scotland, but no record has revealed the reason for any such connection.

Kilsyth is in the foothills of theDandenongRangesand the cleared land was suitable for orchards. The original village centre was onMt. Dandenong Road, which was the linking route between the Croydon railway station and theDandenongRanges. Kilsyth primary school was opened in 1910, by when there was a public hall, store and post office. A Kilsyth and District Horticultural Society was formed in 1913.

Residential settlement along theMount Dandenong Roadgrew as weekenders and hillside retreats were built. By 1954 Kilsyth had an estimated population of 1,500 persons. In 1971 a second primary school, Kilsyth East, was opened. Pembroke secondary school was opened in 1970 and a third primary school next to it several years later.

Kilsyth is generously provided with recreation reserves, the largest having a sports centre inLiverpool Road. The Elizabeth Bridge Reserve includes a lake and a community house.

Kilsyth South consists of undulating land reducing to flat land in the west, betweenCanterbury Roadand the Dandenong Creek. Drainage works have enabled residential settlement in parts, mixed with industrial uses, the Eastwood Golf Club and a water-retarding basin. The Ghilgai (Steiner) school is in Kilsyth South.

Kilsyth has a small shopping centre inMt. Dandenong Roadnear the first primary schoolMt. Dandenong Roadis also the address of a Catholic primary school, elderly persons' accommodation, the Linley reception centre and a larger shopping centre,ChuringaVillage, near the Kilsyth Hall.

Kilsyth's estimated populations have been 1,500 (1955), 4,000 (1970) and 10,250 (1994).

The community is well served with sporting facilities and recreation reserves including the Elizabeth Bridge Reserve which embraces a lake and community house. A pleasant drive east on theMt Dandenong Tourist Roadtakes you to Kalorama and the Yarra Ranges Shire Council'sKarwarraAustralianPlantGarden. Slightly more than half of the 2ha reserve is made up of landscaped gardens, while the rest conserves native grasses, herbs and trees including stringybark, narrow leaf peppermint, mountain grey gum and blackwood wattle.

Kilsyth Canada

Kilsyth was the early village of importance inDerby, situated near the center of the township on theOwen Soundand Saugeen Stage Road. The first school in the township was built on the Fleming farm, near Kilsyth, Jessie Fleming being the first teacher. The first church in the township was the English church, in what is known as the "Irish Settlement" in the third concession; and the first post office was established here, Andrew Fleming being the first postmaster.

 It contained a post office, tavern, smithy, stores, and several other places of business. Most noted perhaps was the potter works started by Messrs. Walmsley and McCluskie which at one time was quite a large concern, the works producing articles of common use as well as ornaments. Among the early business men were, Thomas Sloan-merchant and postmaster; William Fleming-merchant; George Smith-keeper of the "Sloan Hotel"

Thevillage ofKilsythwas founded in 1845 by Alexander Fleming, a stonemason, and his wife Jean, along with their seven children. They were natives of Ballinluig,Perthshire,Scotland. As emigrants, they traveled from their home to Kilsyth with all their possessions in three one-horse carts. At Kilsyth they embarked onto a horse drawn barge on theForthandClydecanal, built just eleven years earlier. This was the last place they set foot on Scottish soil, never to return.

Once at Port Glasgow, they moved their belongings directly onto a four masted sailing ship, the Jeanie Deans, 298 tons, which sailed onMay 1st, 1843, the journey taking eleven weeks. Once arrived atToronto, they stayed with relatives, and finally chose a plot of land they named Springfield Farm, where they built a log cabin by a pond which still exists to this day.

The village of some seventy inhabitants is a quiet rural place set in pleasant rolling farmland. It has a fine church - theKilsythUnitedChurch, and a village hall, and cherishes its Scottish roots. There is also a school with an enrollment of three to four hundred pupils drawn from the surrounding district. Descendants of the Fleming family still live in the village.

(With many thanks to Mr. A Bulloch for the information on KilsythCanadaand the story of the Fleming family)