The word "colporteurage" was defined in the 10 October 1861 Fife Herald as "the spread of Bibles, and religious tracts and books, by means of hawking them". This system of distributing such materials began to be formally organised in Scotland around 1855, facilitated by bodies such as the Edinburgh Religious Tract Society and the Religious Tract and Book Society of Scotland. By 1861, there were 130 colporteurs throughout Scotland and eight of them were based in Fife.

​The colporteur was remunerated partly through the proceeds of his sales and partly through a subscription paid by the District in which he worked. The word colporteur itself is thought to originate from 18th-century French, combining "col" (neck) and "porter" (to carry) in relation to an itinerant peddler who carried books, etc. in a holder over their neck or shoulders. 

In 1864 the Largo District appointed its own colporteur and this was Robert Strang, the father of one-time Largo Station Master William Strang. The piece below from 7 May 1864 Dunfermline Saturday Press reports on his removal from Wellwood near Dunfermline, where he had been a miner, to Largo. Initially, he lived in Lundin Mill with his wife Mary and young son William. 
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When Robert's only son William found employment with the railway around 1872, the family moved to Temple Railway Cottage. Robert became a member of Largo School Board and Treasurer of the U.P. Church, during the time of Reverend David Malloch. After sixteen years as Largo's colporteur, Robert Strang retired, due to ill health. The 28 February 1880 Dunfermline Saturday Press informs us of a presentation held to mark his retirement, noting that prior to coming to Largo, Robert had worked for 26 years for colliery owner Thomas Spowart in Wellwood. 
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The 21 February 1880 Fife News below also covered this presentation. Note that, in addition to the work of distributing books and periodicals, Robert Strang would also read and pray with the sick and aged people as part of his mission as colporteur.
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The role of colporteur for Largo District continued for many years after the retiral of Robert Strang. The 1881 census tells us that Alexander Duffus fulfilled the role for a spell. A decade later in 1891, it was James Suttie who was the colporteur. The 14 June 1892 Fife News below had an advert for the dwelling house in which Suttie had lived until he left the area in 1892. 
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Above is an article from the 12 July 1900 Leven Advertiser and the local colportage society. It is interesting to see the widespread support for the Society by local landowners and by multiple Church denominations. At that time it was James Harris who held the position of Largo colporteur. He served on the Parish Council and remained in post until 1903. Briefly, a Mr Prentice filled the position, coming from Galashiels (see below from 29 May 1903 East of Fife Record), but within a few months he had in turn been superseded by Forfarshire-born  James Martin (see 17 Sept 1903 Leven Advertiser further below).
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James Martin was still colporteur for Largo at the time of the 1911 census. Then aged 53, he lived in Broomfield Buildings in Upper Largo with wife Annie and 4 of their eleven children. By 1924, there was a colporteur by the name of Rankine covering a much wider area - "from Largo to Auchtertool", according to the 11 November 1924 Leven Advertiser below. This suggests that the demand for such an occupation had waned - a trend that likely continued over time, as social, economic, and technological shifts rendered the traditional colporteurage model obsolete.
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The previous post described the life of William Strang, former station master at Largo Station. William had a remarkable career on the railway, which began as a junior clerk at Largo from a very early age (12 or 13). He was appointed Largo's station master in 1877 when the Leven and East Fife Railway was amalgamated into the North British Railway. He would only have been 17 years old. Previous station master Thomas Davie had been badly injured in an accident - described below from the 1 April 1876 Fife News. The postcard message above about dates to the year of Strang's promotion and was written on 22 December 1877 at 52 High Street Leven by Christopher Adamson.

Adamson went to to manufacture aerated waters but at the time he sent the message he was a spirit dealer and coal agent. Hence the message, which read:

Dear Sir, 
A waggon of coals from Cowdenbeath will arrive shortly, if not already arrived, at your station to my address. Please deliver the same to Mr John Ritchie, Miller, and oblige.
Yours etc C Adamson

No doubt such messages from Adamson in neighbouring Leven would be fairly frequent in his role as a coal agent. Perhaps in later years, once he moved into the business of fizzy drinks, deliveries of those into the stations at Largo and Lundin Links would become regular occurrences. Christopher Adamson, pictured below, went to be Provost of Leven and was prominent in public life in Leven for decades. 

John Ritchie, who was the recipient of the coals referenced in the message, was a flour miller at Lundin Mill for many years through the 1870s and 1880s. He was born in Balmerino and had a spell over in the USA before settling in Largo. By the 1890s he was described as a barley miller rather than a flour miller.
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William Strang is pictured below, in an image from 3 February 1917 The Railway News which is unfortunately over-saturated. If anyone has a better image of William Strang please get in touch.
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Below is another postcard instruction received by William Strang. This one dates to 15 February 1878 and was sent from Hallteasses Farm in Ceres Parish. The message reads:

Please have a truck for me to take 60 bags of oats for Johnston Saturday 16th ins. 

Walter Amos

Walter Amos was a farmer of 447 acres at Hallteasses. The term "ins" or "inst" was an abbreviation of "instant" meaning the present 16th and not the one after. This terminology relating to dates was common in correspondence, newspapers, etc in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries when stating past, present or futures dates, for example:

• 16th inst. = Instant (16th of this month)
• 16th ult. = Ultimo (16th of last month)
• 16th prox. = Proximo (16th of next month) 

Hallteasses or Hall Teasses is located just north of Woodside, close to the boundary of Largo Parish and can be seen in the top left corner of the map further below.

When the line was amalgamated into the North British Railway on 1 August 1877, William was appointed station master (also known as station agent). He was still in his teens. The previous station master at Largo, Thomas Davie, had severely crushed his arm in an accident shunting waggons the previous year. Perhaps William had been required to step up his responsibilities at an unusually early age. He remained station master at Largo for about four years. 

The 1881 recorded William at Temple Railway Cottage, living with parents Robert (by then retired) and Mary. However, a change was imminent. By the time that William married Christina Welsh on 1 March 1882, he was station master at Guardbridge Station. Christina was the daughter of draper Alexander Welsh, who would later become sub-postmaster in Lower Largo. In fact the Welsh family went on to run Lower Largo Post Office for three generations.

William's career in the railway continued to flourish. From Guardbridge, he had a spell in Edinburgh from around 1885 until 1890, based at Newington Station. In the middle of 1890 he became station master at Dunfermline Lower Station. The piece below from 5 July 1890 Fife News tells of his move back to Fife. He remained there until November 1891, when he went to Linlithgow to be station master there.
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From the role of Traffic Superintendent for Fife District, William went on to be Assistant Superintendent of the North British Railway from 1911 and then Commercial Superintendent from 1917. It was in the latter role that William's life came to an end on 27 September 1918 at the age of 58 following a bout of influenza. The ​28 September 1918 Scotsman below reported on his death.

The notice below from the 5 October 1918 Fife News describes how his remains were brought to Largo station, ahead of his burial at Largo Cemetery, where both of his parents were interred. Further below is a photograph of his headstone.
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Returning to the postcard from back in 1877 to William Strang from his time at Largo Station - below is the reverse side with the message sent to him from David Russell & Co, Oil Mills, Burntisland.  The message reads:

Please inform us what is your rate for coals from Lochgelly?​

James Young is pictured above (from the 7 November 1928 Courier), when he was preparing to leave Largo for Tillicoultry after nine years as Largo station master. ​The Young family lived in the Station House adjacent to Largo Station. Also recognisable in the Largo staff group photograph is signalman James Melville, who is seated to the right of James Young with a broad smile. He resided at Downfield and would have been in his 40s at the time that the photo was taken.

The house marked above with an arrow is St Margaret's on Victoria Road in Lundin Links. The first owner of St Margaret's, and the adjacent Mount Vernon (with the turret) from their completion in 1897 was Liverpool-born David Simpson. At the time of the 1901 census, David and his wife Mary were living in St Margaret's with their two infant daughters, while Mary's 73-year-old mother Jane was next door at Mount Vernon. Jane ran Mount Vernon as a boarding house with two of her other daughters, Isabella and Lucy and two grand-daughters.

Soon afterwards, the Simpsons moved out of St Margaret's but continued to own the house and for a time it was rented to Annie Wemyss Bell, widow of Dr James Murray Bell. In 1906, the Simpsons sold St Margaret's to John Cairns. John had been born in Innerleven in 1865 to coal master David Cairns and his wife Agnes Dryburgh. His father David had an interesting background which influenced John's career path.

​In 1864, David, together with his brother James Cairns and brother-in-law Lawrence Bowman, leased Muiredge Colliery from the Wemyss Estate and began speculative mining operations at the abandoned shaft there. Hitting a coal seam at Muiredge, the trio went on to sink the Denbeath, Isabella and Rosie pits, building up a very profitable enterprise. David took charge of the shipping and sales of coal and started a shipping company, so it was not surprising that his son John, after an education at Clifton Bank in St Andrews, became a shipping agent at Methil Docks.

For a time, John Cairns lived at Bellevue Cottage in Buckhaven. In 1892, he married Christina Jamieson Rodger, the eldest daughter of Captain David Rodger and his wife Mary Gillies. By the time of the 1901 census, John and Christina were residing at Carberry Street in Methil, along with three children and a domestic servant. The family moved to Lundin Links in 1906 - the year after the death of coal master David Cairns (who had long since retired to Crail). The excerpt below from the 2 February 1905 Leven Advertiser reflected on the legacy of the three men who had taken a chance on reopening the Muiredge Colliery some four decades earlier.

Around the same time as the death of David Cairns, the lease of the collieries from the Wemyss Estate ended. John Cairns shifted his occupation from shipping agent to trawler owner - which is how he was described as in the census of 1911. At that time, John and Christina were still at St Margaret's, along with their youngest child and one servant. Between 1907 and 1913, John owned three steam trawlers: Benton Castle (SA 1), Amroth Castle (SA 8) and Manorbier Castle (SA 25), pictured below. The SA registration relates to Swansea, where they had been purchased from. As John Cairns was in partnership with a James W Petersen from Edinburgh, the trawlers fished out of Granton.

It seems that John retired from the trawling business before the outbreak of the First World War. In his retirement he enjoyed membership of Lundin Golf Club, as well as showing dogs and breeding pigeons. His son David was awarded an MBE in the 1919 Birthday Honours in recognition of distinguished services rendered during the war (see 9 June 1919 Courier item above). The 1921 census found John and Christina living at St Margaret's with four of their children, aged between 15 and 25 years old. John Cairns died on 12 January 1928 at St Margaret's at the age of 62 after a few days suffering from pneumonia. The notice below appeared in the 13 January 1928 Scotsman and the obituary further below in the 21 January 1928 Fife Free Press. Christina died on 27 December 1930. Their son John subsequently lived at St Margaret's.
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This view featured on a postcard that was posted on 8 July 1963. The view is familiar and much-photographed but the addition of several cars and a few people in the foreground adds to the interest. There's a man pushing a young child in a pushchair, with grandparents following behind, plus an eclectic mix of vehicles, including a motorbike and sidecar. A bus is passing behind the Fish Restaurant that was run by the Forte family.

Known locally as Granny Forte's chip shop or Granny Greasers, this food outlet was a fixture of the village for several decades from the 1920s. Constructed on the site of old outbuildings, the fish shop first appeared on the valuation roll in the mid 1920s, when the building was owned by Rachel Williamson of Coventry Cottage (daughter of Alexander Williamson the plasterer) and the tenant was Daniel Forte. By 1930, the Fortes had bought the fish restaurant premises which was demolished in the 1970s.

A second postcard view below was likely photographed on the same day and is part of the same Millar & Lang M&L National Series. This one was posted on 11 July 1963, just three days after the postcard above. Both of the senders of these postcards talk of having a good time in Largo in spite of changeable weather. 

The photograph above shows an empty niche at the Crusoe Buildings on Lower Largo's Main Street. Its usual occupant - the iconic statue of Robinson Crusoe - had been lifted off its plinth in October 1987 and taken for some restoration work prior to featuring in the 'Water and Maritime' themed section of Glasgow Garden Festival. Officially approved late in 1984, work to create the 120-acre exhibition site took a few years to plan and create before its run from 28 April to 26 September 1988.

It was the third of five garden festivals to take place in the UK as part of the regeneration of several derelict sites. The other garden festivals were held at Liverpool (1984), Stoke-on-Trent (1986), Gateshead (1990) and Ebbw Vale (1992). Glasgow's festival saw the derelict Princes Dock on the Clyde transformed. The Water and Maritime sector of the exhibition aimed to showcase "Scotland's rich history of maritime trade and exploration" and the Alexander Selkirk story took its place within that,
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Crusoe was sited by the Canting Basin - a historic, large square water basin originally built between 1893 and 1896 as part of the Prince's Dock. It was designed for large ships to turn or "cant" before accessing industrial berths. Today, it serves as a scenic, revitalised area behind the Glasgow Science Centre and features floating wetlands. The annotated images below show the area within the garden festival site where the Crusoe statue was positioned, close to a white cottage known as Para Handy's Cottage. At the foot of this post is an aerial image of the site as it is today.
 

The small, low building in the centre of the image above is 18 Main Street in Upper Largo. For many decades this was an inn or public house - known as Dall's Inn then later Cumming's Inn, The Inn or Auld Hoose. For many decades in the late 19th century into the early 20th century, James Cumming, was the proprietor. His life was an eventful one in which he combined the roles of publican and blacksmith. The map below dates to 1912 and shows both the smithy that he operated at the corner of Church Place and North Feus, and his public house (marked P.H.) on the south side of Main Street.

James Cumming was born in Largo around 1852 to stone mason William Cumming and his wife Sarah Meikle. When William died in 1865 at the age of 45, he left behind a widow and several children, some of whom were still infants. The previous year, William's stepfather, innkeeper James Dall had died and so the Cumming family took over the license for Dall's Inn - with widowed Sarah becoming the license holder and eldest daughter Eliza working alongside her.

Second eldest child, James, was away from home by time of the 1871 census, working as an apprentice mechanic in Milton of Balgonie. When Sarah then also died in 1872, the public house license in Upper Largo was transferred to Eliza, aged just 22. She also had four younger siblings aged between the ages of sixteen and nine to care for. In 1873, Eliza married a shepherd, Peter Robertson, at Largo Kirk and they went on to have two daughters, Helen and Sarah - one named after each grandmother.

Tragically, in 1877, Eliza also died, prompting her brother James (who had now lost his father, mother and oldest sibling) to return to Largo. He took over the public house license which had previously been held by his step-grandfather, his mother and his sister (see below from 18 October 1877 Fifeshire Journal). Younger sister Sarah now acted as housekeeper, within the household that was headed by James and also comprised younger brothers Robert (a joiner) and Alexander (a painter), as well as two young nieces, Helen and Sarah.

James would stay at the heart of the community in Kirkton of Largo for the remainder of his life, living at the inn, latterly known as Auld Hoose, and having the dual occupation of Publican and Blacksmith. As a master blacksmith, James was a regular entrant at the East of Fife Agricultural Show. He was awarded first prize in the Best Shod Farm Horse category most years between during the 1880s and 1890s. Reports of his prize-winning are shown below, from 21 April 1887 Fifeshire Journal and 20 April 1895 Fife News, respectively. He also was a frequent winner at Largo Horticultural Show for fruit and vegetable growing. By 1891, the household had reduced to James, his sister Sarah and just one of his nieces.
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​On 20 December 1895 James married Mary Brown in Colinsburgh. Their only son William, who later became a blacksmith like his father, was born in 1899.
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In 1897, the gas works site was put up for sale and James bought it at a knocked down price (see 17 Sept 1897 East of Fife Record below). The following year he erected new stables on the site and permitted the Largo Water District Committee to store tools there for a small rent. A few years later James moved his entire blacksmith business to new premises in this vicinity.
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Meanwhile the Cumming's Inn continued to operate and hold local functions such as the Largo Burns Club supper in 1912 (see 1 February 1912 Leven Advertiser item below).​
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​James Cumming died on 4 March 1919 at Auld House aged 67 years. The notice above appeared in the 22 March Fife News. His widow Mary had the public house certificate transferred into her name (see below from 19 April 1919 Fife News) and she continued as license holder at the inn until her death in 1926. Her son William subsequently had the license transferred to himself but in 1928 it was allowed to lapse when he decided that the family would finally leave the trade.

The piece below from the 10 August 1922 Leven Advertiser tells of the memorial  placed in memory of James Cumming at Newburn Cemetery some three years after his death.  
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A recent photograph of the memorial is shown below. The inscription reads:

In ever loving and affectionate remembrance of my beloved husband James Cumming.
The day will dawn when the Lord shall be mindful of his own.

Further below are a couple of more modern day photographs of the building that was so well known to James Cumming and that was once a long-standing public house that was run by at least six different members of the same family.

The previous post covered the early career of Largo-born golf professional and club maker Hamish Ballingall. Having taken up his first post as a professional in 1935 at Balmore Golf Club at the age of 22, he subsequently had spells at Buchanan Castle and Northumberland, before arriving at Old Ranfurly Golf Club in Bridge of Weir in May 1955.

During what would be seven years at Old Ranfurly, Hamish continued to enjoy success in his playing career. For example, in July 1957 he faced "Scotland's Big Two" John Panton and Eric Brown in the Cowal Championship at Dunoon. In the semi-final a run of five birdies saw him beat Brown before taking Panton to a 19th hole in the final, narrowly missing out on victory. The following month he went one better, beating the entire field, Panton and Brown included, to win the Glasgow Professional Championship.
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By the middle of 1962, Ballingall was on the move once again - this time leaving Old Ranfurly for Kingsknowe Golf Club to the south west of Edinburgh. The 12 June 1962 Scotsman above tells of his appointment as the club's first full professional. At this time, Hamish was noted as holding course records at Rothesay (62), Brodick (62) and Luffness New (64).

The 11 June Edinburgh Evening News included the photograph of Hamish shown at the top of this post and made mention that he also played badminton, table tennis and billiards. He was to be encouraged to play in the major tournaments for his new club, who were to provide him with "suitable accommodation alongside the clubhouse for a spacious professional shop, together with a new supply of caddy cars for hire." The piece concluded by stating that "Ballingall is of course one of the best teachers in his profession." Playing success did continue as the 14 March 1963 Scotsman piece below illustrates.
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After nine years, Hamish left Kingsknowe, having been appointed professional at Bonnyton Golf Club in near Eaglesham in East Renfrewshire (see 15 March 1971 Courier above). He was replaced at Kingsknowe by 26 year old Alastair Morrison who had been senior assistant at Gleneagles Hotel golf course. A year into his spell at Bonnyton, Hamish won a pro-am tournament at Dunbar as the ​9 March 1972 Scotsman below notes.
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Three years on Hamish made a "happy return" to his native Lundin Links to win the Usher Winter League round. This success came 37 years after he had won the Scottish Professional Golf Championship on the same course and demonstrates his longevity as a top-ranking player.  The 26 November 1975 Scotsman below tells us more.
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It was from his role at Bonnyton that Hamish Ballingall retired as a club professional in 1977. However, retirement did not mean that Hamish stopped playing golf competitively. In 1993 at the age of 80, he was preparing for the Tartan Special Professional Championship Seniors tournament at Dalmahoy (see 13 May 1993 Scotsman above). This 36-hole round saw 24 elder statesmen from the world of golf take to the course. Long-time rival John Panton was among those competing at the age of 77 years but as the press put it - Ballingall was "riper" a the age of 80. Panton proved victorious on this occasion. 

Later in 1993 - on 3 September - Hamish Ballingall died in Renfrewshire aged 80 years. Notice of his death appeared in the 10 September 1993 Scotsman below. His wife Anna died in 2011 aged 90 years in Midlothian. 

Pictured below is a Ballingall-made wood. Note that the club head has a lead weight to the rear and a full brass sole plate. The head is stamped Ballingall Lundin Links. However, other wood clubs by Hamish Ballingall are known to exist marked J H Ballingall 'Own Model'. If you own, or have knowledge of, Ballingall-made clubs, or think you can date the club pictured, please leave a comment or get in touch. 
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Once declared the "premier professional golfer of Scotland", Largo-born Hamish Ballingall, pictured above in the 14 April 1948 Aberdeen Press and Journal, was a golf club maker and golf professional who had a successful career spanning several decades. He was born James Ewen Graham Ballingall on 19 February 1913 on Lower Largo's Main Street to fisherman-turned-railway surfaceman John Ballingall and his wife Mary Maclean.

By the time of the 1921 census, the family had moved from Lower Largo to Hillhead Street in Lundin Links. The household comprised parents Mary and John (who was working as a railway platelayer), plus five children: John (13), Roderick (11), David (10), James (9) and one year old Marion. Young James developed an interest in golf and became an apprentice golf club maker with Patrick of Leven. He was a member at both Lundin Golf Club and Leven Thistle and was variously referred to as James Ballingall, J.H. Ballingall, J.E.G. Ballingall and Hamish Ballingall in the local press.

By his late teens, Ballingall was recognised as one of Fife's best golfers. In 1932 he won the Innerleven amateur championship gold medal, closely followed by becoming champion of Leven Thistle Club two years in a row. In 1934 he was club champion at Lundin Golf Club and in March 1935 he became a professional. He took up his first professional post at Balmore Golf Club near Glasgow (see 26 March 1935 Leven Advertiser piece below). 
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Once at Balmore, Hamish saw continued success with his playing career. He qualified for the last stages of the British Open Championship in 1935, 1936, 1937 and 1938 when he finished a respectable 14th, as highlighted below in the 12 July Leven Advertiser. At this high spot in his career, Hamish held the course records at Deeside (67), East Renfrewshire (71) and Bonhill (65). He had two holes in one to his name - at the 15th at Leven and the 14th at Lundin Links. His favourite links were Lundin and Muirfield and his favourite clubs the 2 and 7 iron.
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Seen above on the right, chatting with Don Sutherland in Nairn at the 1939 Northern Open (27 April Aberdeen Press and Journal), Ballingall remained at Balmore until joining the Second World War effort, serving in the Royal Air Force. He was a Corporal in the R.A.F. when in 1944, he married Paisley-born Annastatia (Anna) Galletly in Glasgow. Both of them were engaged in active war service at the time. Hamish was a Corporal in the Royal Air Force and Anna was a Lance Corporal in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. Hamish's usual address was given as 8 Station Park in Lower Largo and usual occupation was "professional golfer". The pair would go on to have four children.

In 1950 Hamish took the title at the Glasgow and District Professional Golf Championship with two record-breaking rounds of 68 and 66, finishing six strokes ahead of the field. The following year he took the West of Scotland PGA Championship. In 1953 he competed in the British Open at Carnoustie, finishing joint 34th in a tournament that featured names such as Dai Rees, Peter Alliss, Bobby Locke, Peter Thomson and Christy O-Connor Senior. It was won by American Ben Hogan in his only appearance at The Open. Considered the greatest golfer of his generation, Hogan had almost died in a car crash in 1949 but returned to golf and continued his pre-accident success.

He left Buchanan Castle in December 1952 to move across the border to Northumberland Golf Club. After two years at Northumberland, Hamish resigned from his post in December 1954. He spent a few months playing in England before taking up a position at Old Ranfurly Golf Club in Bridge of Weir in May 1955. 

The next post will look at the second half of Hamish Ballingall's professional career, his days playing as a senior and his golf club making. If you know anything about his career or the golf clubs that he made under his own name - please comment.
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