Mrs Elizabeth Coltart
Mrs Elizabeth Coltart: PDF Print E-mail
Written by Hilda McAdam   
Saturday, 09 January 2010 17:59
Mrs Elizabeth Coltart:

Mrs Coltart was born in Mauchline, in 1900, and moved to Dalry in 1906.  When she first came to Dalry, she stayed with her grandparents at Pear Tree Cottage, (44 Main Street), the after about 6 months her family moved to The Forkins.

Elizabeth recalled that when she walked to Dalry to the school, there was a meeting place at the Allangibbon bridge for all the children from Garroch Glen etc.  At that time there were 17 children who met there to walk into school together.  Those who walked to school were allowed to leave school 30 minutes before the village children.

Many a happy time was spent in those days making their own fun.  Mrs Coltart remembered going past Allangibbon, down to the water to “Nick-me-nubs” tub.  This was a big stone, hollowed out in the centre, where it is alleged that a lady named Nicholas, who stated at Allangibbon, used to do all her washing.  Hilda used to take her sons there for a picnic in the summer, but unfortunately, not many youngsters today know anything about the place.

Mrs Coltart also remembered when walking to school, they used to rest on a stone seat in the dyke, just on the Dalry side of the row of beech trees.  This seat was called “Molly Riley’s Seat”, after a gypsy woman who used to sit on this seat every time that she visited Dalry.  The seat seems to have been removed to make way for the footpath.

Another family of gypsies, Mrs Coltart remembered coming to Dalry, were a couple they called “Gypsy” or “Tippenny” (two pennies) Nell and Tommy.  They used to come round the village selling needles and pins, etc. They stayed out of doors all through the year.  One year, during a very hard frost, Tommy suffered frostbite and had to have both his feet amputated, but come the spring, Nell and Tommy arrived again, Tommy walking on crutches.  He walked miles on those.  Mrs Coltart remembered him going all the way up Old Garroch on them.  When they visited Forkins, Mrs Coltart’s mother always made them a cup of tea and a ‘jammy piece’.  Nell was very hard to please and if there was not enough jam on them, Nell wouldn’t eat them.  Another vivid memory was of them coming to the door at Forkins on Coronation Day 1910.  Nell was all dressed up in a fancy black frock and a big black hat all covered with black tulle roses.  On remarking that she was all dressed up that day, the family were told, “I had to the day, it’s the Coronation and the King’s me uncle and the Queen’s me aunt”.

Another recollection of Mrs Coltart’s was when she was at school, they were all lined up and marched down the main street where they watched the unveiling of the fountain.

Another great character in the village that Mrs Coltart remembered was Peter Kee (McKie), who was the local Town Crier, Lamp Lighter, etc.  Peter lived at 22 Kirkland Street.  She remembered every morning seeing him going round the village, filling the paraffin lamps and cleaning the globes.  He also went round the village delivering black-edged letters to let folk know that – “their presence was requested at the funeral of ….on……at……”.  This was the way of announcing a death.  Peter always dressed in a ¾ length black coat and a ‘fore and aft’ hat.

The first car that Mrs Coltart remembered was one belonging to a draper from Dalmellington who used to come round selling his wares.  She must have been about 10 years old then.  The draper had been up Garroch Glen and had offered the children a lift.  She said that the three McMillans from the Mill, her sister and herself all climbed up the steps to the back, where there were two rows of seats going from front to back.  The sides of the car came up to just below their waists.  The children thought they were just the ‘cat’s whiskers’ sitting in this.

Another worthy Mrs Coltart remembered was Andy Hyslop (Auld Andy), who stayed in Throughgate, in, what is now, no.2.  Andy used to go down the street, or wherever, on a tricycle.  Hilda remembered that when she was young it was reported that Auld Andy’s was haunted.  When she and her friends were young they were all scared to go past.  They would walk along the road until they got near, then take to their heels and run until they got past it.