The beginnings of the school on Crescent Road have been covered here before but not the teachers that taught there in its early days. The first teacher at the newly built Lundin Mill School appears to have been James Millar. Born in Midlothian, he was in his early twenties when he took up his post at the school in 1858 and by the following year he married a local lass and started a family. By 1863, James and Isabella Millar had three children and shortly after the birth of the third, they moved to Edrom in the Berwickshire when James had a brief spell teaching there. In September 1864 he moved to take up the mastership of Selkirk Burgh School. He remained there for 26 years before retiring in 1890 and emigrating to California, where he died in 1907.

James Millar's replacement at Lundin Mill around 1863 had been Isaac Nevin. Isaac spent around 2-3 years at Lundin Mill before moving on to St Monans where he was school master for 42 years. A well-known and active member of the St Monans community, he died in 1911.

Around 1865 or 1866, Thomas Sime replaced Isaac Nevin at Lundin Mill School. Thomas Sime was born in Kingsbarns in 1844 to James Sime and Margaret Jamieson. James was an agricultural labourer turned coal miner - the family moved to Durie Broom, Scoonie due to this change of work. In 1851, Thomas and his three siblings were school children there. Another move followed as James became manager of an ironstone mine outside St Andrews. The 1861 census finds the family in Strathkinness with father and eldest son ironstone mining while second son Thomas was a 'pupil teacher' aged 17. 

​While teaching at Lundin Mill, on 20 September 1866, Thomas married Isabella Middleton at Park Place, Stirling. She was a farmer's daughter from Edzell. Sadly, the couple lost babies at birth in both 1867 and 1868 and this perhaps was a factor in their relocation to Kilconquhar in ​1868. Thomas Sime replaced Peter Proudfoot as school master there. Proudfoot himself had moved to Leuchars, where he would teach for over thirty years. A pioneer of golf at Elie, Proudfoot apparently helped old Tom Morris to lay out the course there. Proudfoot died at Burnbrae, Largo in 1907, where he had been residing with a daughter.

Thomas Sime remained at Kilconquhar from 1868 until his death. He and his wife had a further seven children. Thomas was a keen golfer and a regular at Elie and St Andrews. He died suddenly at the age of 54 on 5 February 1898.  The cause of death was recorded as "(Supposed) disease of the heart".  Meanwhile, at Lundin Mill School, in 1868, Thomas Sime's successor had been David Stewart, who held the post for thirty seven years. So after a decade of school masters that stayed for a relatively short time, the school finally got its first long-term teacher.

This is the 'Glenfinnan' approaching Largo having passed Viewforth (see buildings to the right on the shore). The image, which appeared in the July 1964 'Railway World' magazine, was captured by WJV Anderson in August of 1957 - which was exactly 100 years after the opening of the line. To the left of the line is the poultry farm at Buckthorns Farm. 

The magazine article noted that "like many other lines in Britain, the East Fife is under threat of closure. If the Beeching economic axe does chop it off, the memories will never be erased". Of course the axe did fall and the line closed in September 1965 to passenger traffic (with some goods services continuing for a brief spell thereafter).

The Glenfinnan locomotive had met its demise in 1960 after almost fifty years of service. An image of it being cut up can be seen here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/93456400@N04/14742346492

If you have memories of the railway through Largo and Lundin Links, please comment!

The reporting of local news has evolved greatly over the decades. As the sample of articles from Largo and Lundin Mill below illustrates, there was once a much greater emphasis on the natural environment and our use of it. I find it quite charming that clouds of flies, swarms of bees, nest building and potato shaws were all considered newsworthy....and all very eloquently reported too.

To continue on the theme of bakers....I am grateful to a reader of this blog for sharing an interesting find. The image above is of a 1920s paper bag from Watson the Baker of Lundin Links, found under the floor boards of a house. The bag commemorates the prizes won in 1926 by David Watson. He was winner of the 'Hutchison Centenary Challenge' held in Kirkcaldy on 30 June that year (the trophy features on the bag). He also enjoyed success that year at 'The Confectioners, Bakers and Allied Trades Exhibition' in London.

An example of a bronze medal from the London event is shown inset. The 'Hutchison Centenary' related to the 100th anniversary of the beginnings of Hutchison's Flour Mill in Kirkcaldy. In the late 1820s Robert Hutchison had began trading in wheat, barley, oats, flax, butter and flour.

David Watson was born in Crail in 1868 to a young single mother. The 1871 census finds him living with grandparents, Thomas (a brewer's assistant) and Georgina, and their many children at Back Green in Crail. By 1881, David's mother had married baker John Hutchon and David was, at the age of 13, apprentice baker with him, living in Dove Street, Kilrenny along with his new siblings.

In 1887 David married Isabella Skinner in St Andrews. The 1891 census finds Isabella and two daughters (Maggie and Jessie) in South Street St Andrews with her parents, while David Watson was recorded in Edinburgh as a baker. At some point in the next 10 years the family made their move to Largo Parish.  In 1901 they were listed at Church Place, Upper Largo with David described as 'Journeyman Baker' while in 1905 the family were living at Crichton Place in Upper Largo. By 1911 census the family are to be found at Cupar Road Lundin Links, David having set up business at the Keilside Bakery.  From then until his death in 1935, aged 67, David Watson was tenant occupier of the Largo Road bakehouse.