Some reminiscences of Mrs Agnes Callow PDF Print E-mail
Written by Hilda McAdam   
Saturday, 09 January 2010 18:10
Some reminiscences of Mrs Agnes Callow (nee McMillan) who was born in Dalry and later moved to Ayr:

To anyone born and reared in Dalry, their memories are first of their schooldays.  I remember going up Main Street, past Craigrotchell, into Throughgate.  The first stop was at Turner’s wee field where the pony was always there, looking for titbits.  Then on to the Joiner’s shop.  After this we went over to have a look at the stable just across the road, where the members of the Church stabled their horses on Sunday while they attended the service.  At that time there were only two houses in Throughgate, Glenvohr and Andrew Hyslop’s.

Most of the houses in the village were named by their occupants and had lovely names.  I wonder if they have been changed.  There was Pear Tree Cottage, Spring Gardens, Glenburn, Hillcrest and Cruggleton, etc.

Our teacher was Miss Brown, who lived in a little house next to the school.

Dalry had the only lodging house between Dalmellington and Castle Douglas.  This was in Kirkland Street.  Travellers or tramps could obtain a night’s lodging if they went to the Parish Office, where they had to give their name, age and place of birth before they were given a ticket.

Further up Kirkland Street there were two laundries and a sweetie shop, which did a good trade with all the schoolchildren.  The couple who owned the shop, Mr and Mrs Walter McCulloch, celebrated their Diamond Wedding in 1926, which was quite an event then, but nowadays it is quite common.

Our summer days were spent down the Water Bank with jam jars tied with string, catching minnows.  In those days rabbits were plentiful and a wagon ran very regularly to carry them to New Galloway Station, where they were dispatched down south.

We got our milk delivered to us in the mornings by Newfield Milk Cairt.  If you needed more milk in the evenings you could go to Newfield and collect it yourself.

I also remember when we were young many an hour was spent watching the visiting gentry who were staying at the Lochinvar Hotel.  After they has had their evening meal they would take a stroll up the village street.  We were all fascinated by their fancy long frocks and their walking canes.

When we got our school holidays in the summer-time we had a prize-giving day.  On that day, every pupil in the school wore a flower in their buttonhole.

Many a trick was played on Hogmanay in my young days.  One of the favourites was to go up the street and round the whole village removing all the garden gates and hiding them in someone else’s garden.

When the weather was good all the families in the village would go out walking on a Sunday afternoon.  The two most favourite walks were up to the Earlston Linn to watch the salmon jumping and also up Waterside Hill to the Witches Circle which was supposed to stem from Tam O’Shanter’s time.

Pictures used to come to Dalry once a week from Glasgow, and after that Slater’s Pictures came from Castle Douglas.