Pipers’ were part of the celebration at Robbie Burns Night, an annual Scoitish tradition organized racently by Terrace's White

Heather Club.

- Traditional Scottish music brought many people to thelr feat

during the Robbie Burns dinner and dance held recently at the Thornhili Community Centre under the sponsorship of the

White Heather Club.

Photo by Daniele Berquist,

Library to hold

general

How do the people of

-Terrace pass the time on ‘ those dark rainy winter

evenings? Just ask the staff of the Terrace Public Library, and they will tell

you that Terrace residents - read a lot of books. The

library has over 6,500 members, and last year

‘they checked out 148,000

books, magazines, re-

cords, tapes, and, compact -

discs.

The Terrace Public -

Library Association will

be holding it Annual:

General Meeting on

meeting

Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7:30

_ p.m, in the library meeting

room, and all members of the public are welcome to

attend. If you would like ~ to know more about your

library, why not attend? Members will be elected to the board of trustees, library scrapbooks will be

on display and srefresh-

ments will be served.

WORD POWER - ambrosia: an excellent food or drink; in ancient times known as the food of the-gods.

‘born. Agnes

White Heather honors great Scottish poet

The annual Robbie Burns Dinner and Dance, sponsored by the White Heather Club, was held at the Thornhill Community Centre on Jan. 31. The event is a Scottisn tradi- tion in honor of the poet Robert Burns. .

by Daniele Berquist

Burns was born in Alloway, near Ayr, in Scotland during the seven-

teenth century. He was the.

eldest of seven children, the son of a struggling farmer. Although poverty limited his formal educa-

tion, Burns read extensive.

amounts of English litera- ture and the Bible. During that period he also learned

to read French. Burns was

strongly encouraged by his father, William Burness,

to pursue his self-

His mother, Broun, though she was illiterate acquainted Burns with many traditional. Scottish folk. songs, legends and proverbs.

During his early teens Burns did farm work to help his family, The ar- duous labor, combined with an inadequate diet, permanently: injured his health an¢ led to. the rheumatic heart disease from which he eventually died.

In 1784 his father died leaving Burns as head of

education.

the family, Burns and his -

brother Gilbert rented a farm near Mauchline, but

the new venture proved to. -

be no. solution: for the family’s economic pro- blems.

An Edinburg poet, Robert Fergusson, in- fluenced Burns greatly in

his poetry writing. Burns _

soon realized the literary possibilities of the Scottish

regional dialects. During. - |

the years of 1785 and 1786 he produced most of his best known poems, ' in- cluding ‘‘The. Cotters Saturday Night’’, “‘Hallowe’en”’, Daisie’’, and Mouse’’. In addition to

-these, Burns wrote ‘‘Jolly

Beggars’’ considered one of his masterpieces. —

Several of Burns’ early poems, ‘Holy Willie’s Prayer’’, ridiculed local ecclesiastical squabbles and attacked . Calvinistic theology, bringing him in- to conflict with. the church. Burns further angered the church authorities by having several indiscreet love af- fairs.

Burns arranged to pub-

lish a collection of his.

poetry on July 31, 1786.

Titled ‘Poems chiefly in

the Scottish Dialect’’, the publication was an im- mediate success, In 1787 a second 3,000 copy edition of “Poems’’ was publish- ed. His next publication consisted mostly of songs, including original compo-

“To A “To A

sitions and adaptations of traditional Scottish ballads and folk songs. _

Some 200 songs were contributed by Burns to the Scots Musical Mus- eum, a project initiated by the Scottish engraver and music publisher James Johnson. Among.: Burns songs are some old favorites such as Auld Lang Syne, Comin’ Thro’ the Rye, A Red Red Rose,

and. John Anderson My ~ Jo.

After the outbreak of the French Revolution, Burns became an out- spoken champion for the republican cause. His en-

‘thusiasm for liberty and

social justice dismayed many of his friends and admirers, Some shunned or reviled him and for a time his job was threaten- ed.

After’ Burns’ death in the year 1796, a memorial edition of his poems was published ‘by Scottish physician James Currie for the benefit of his wife

and children.

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* Ferrace Review —Wednésday, February 11.1987 9

Jock Halley delivered the traditional address to the haggis at the recent Robble Burns Night dinnar and dance In Thornhill, The address concluded with carving of the uniquely Scottish dish.

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