By 1871 John Miller was established as a cork cutter in Upper Largo, now with 7 children, 4 of whom were born in Largo. A decade later and he was still described as a 'cork top manufacturer' and had one further child. At some point, the Millers became involved with the Independent Order of Good Templars' Robinson Crusoe Lodge. John held various offices and appeared often in the newspaper archives as attending various meetings and events in connection with the movement. It's interesting that a bottle top maker, with connections to the brewing industry, went on to live by "total abstinence enforced by a life-long pledge, and the absolute prohibition of the manufacture, importation and sale of intoxicating drinks as beverages". The above programme for the local lodge from the "Good Templar Guide: North-East Fife District 1898-1904" notes John E. Miller as the Secretary at the time and shows that he and his wife were responsible for a number of the functions listed.

By 1891, John's occupation had evolved slightly to 'wood top manufacturer'. This was likely partly due to a general trend away from the use of cork to other materials for bottle closures but may also indicate that he wanted to cater for temperance drinks rather than alcohol. Below are images of a cork top (left) and a wood top (right). By this time, fellow cork cutter Edward Johnston had become bankrupt and had left Largo. John survived the changing fortunes of his trade but supplemented his income by having three boarders living in his household. Ten years later, aged 70, John Miller continued to host three boarders and was described as a 'wood top maker'. 
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John Edmonson Miller died on 19th June 1905 at Law Cottage, Upper Largo - his death registered by son James, who lived very close by at Broomfield's Buildings. As far as I can tell, this ended many decades of bottle top making in the Parish. Modern innovation had by then changed practices completely. Ebonite or Vulcanite screw stoppers (patented in 1880) were advertised as superior to corks due to the ease of opening by hand (no need for a corkscrew), robustness (won't break like a cork could), airtightness (contents won't go flat) and reusability (if used many times were a fraction of the cost of cork). India rubber was heated in a process called 'vulcanisation' to create a mouldable, durable material that was used for bottle stoppers for decades. The adverts below show these stoppers, which fitted into an internal screw thread in the bottle neck, in detail.

The opening of the Good Templar Hall in Lundin Mill was the result of years of planning and fund raising by members and friends of the Robinson Crusoe Lodge of the Independent Order of Good Templars. The above report from 28 May 1886 East of Fife Record tells us that it publicly opened on Saturday 22 May 1886. The builder of the hall was the Worthy Chief Templar Robert Gilchrist. Able to seat 200 people in the main space, there were also two ante-rooms and a stage. Heating was provided by a large stove in the basement, where coals were also stored. Gas lighting was installed both around the building and from a central gasalier (gas powered chandelier). The photograph below shows the interior of the hall a few years ago, prior to its conversion into a house.

The bazaar held in August 1886 cleared most of the outstanding costs of the hall. The Fife Herald (18 August 1886) above give some details of the stalls at the bazaar, which was opened by Dr Stuart Palm. The star items for sale were Robinson Crusoe related, recognising the name of the Lodge. After years of meeting in places such as the school room or a church, having a dedicated hall under the temperance banner was a great achievement for the Robinson Crusoe Lodge. Their "very substantial brick building" (see photograph below) was not only used by the Lodge but was made available for any other "good, moral and religious purpose". Some examples of the types of events that took place in the new hall are seen in the newspaper archives further below.

​In 1887, a concert was held in the hall in aid of Largo Reading Room (30 July Fife News). Also known as Lower Largo Library, the reading room came into existence around 1884, pre-dating the reading room at the Simpson Institute. Being the height of the summer season, concert performers were mainly visitors from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cupar. There was a trend over many decades for summer visitors to put on performances - making their own entertainment before the days of cinema.
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In 1898 (25 June Fife Free Press below) young members of Kirkcaldy's Pioneer Lodge of the Good Templars used the hall as part of their outing to Lundin Links. The following year, the annual picnic of the Kirkcaldy Town Mission Workers, made use of the hall for tea (19 August 1899 Fife Free Press).
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The Independent Order of Good Templars (I.O.G.T.) originated in Utica, New York State in 1851 and was introduced to Scotland by Thomas Roberts of Philadelphia in 1869. Deriving their name from the Knights Templars (because they were also 'fighting a great crusade' and legend is that the Knights drank 'sour milk'), the Good Templars adopted a similar organisational structure and regalia to the Freemasons. The principles behind the movement were "total abstinence enforced by a life-long pledge, and the absolute prohibition of the manufacture, importation and sale of intoxicating drinks as beverages".

The I.O.G.T. motto (adopted in 1852) was Faith, Hope and Charity. Organised into 'lodges' at local, district and national levels, each lodge was given the flexibility to "act according locality, time and circumstances". Unusually for the time, both sexes were admitted and were "on a perfect equality as to eligibility for office".  Juvenile lodges could be formed for young persons aged from 5 to 18 years of age. The juvenile motto was Truth, Love and Purity. A fringed sash was worn by members (see illustrative photograph above of an unknown I.O.G.T. group) decorated to varying degrees with badges and initials to indicate office held. These sashes seem to have come in different colours including a purplish-blue and a red (see coloured examples below).

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In addition to the Saturday evening meetings, the lodge held picnics, open air meetings and cycle trips (the I.O.G.T. had its own 'Cycling Corps'). In 1906, the Order changed its name to the International Order of Good Templars. And in later years the elaborate ceremonies and distinctive regalia were phased out. The movement lost ground as society faced each of the World Wars. After the Second World War, the I.O.G.T. repositioned itself around peace-related work. Although internationally it did recover, in Largo it would not be able to rebuild.

You can read more about the history of the I.O.G.T. worldwide here.

As a follow-up to the recent post about the history of Largo Curling Club, I am grateful to a reader who has shared the above artefact. It is the programme for the Centenary Dinner of the club. Note that, although the actual centenary would have occurred in 1940, the Second World War disrupted life so greatly that it was not until a full seven years later that this event was finally able to take place. 

It certainly appears that, although delayed, the occasion was marked in style and with all the appropriate traditions. Below are the 'Bill of Fare' and the 'Programme and Toast List' - both rich in detail and with many interesting turns of phrase. Let's have a look at these in more detail....
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The layout and content of these pages closely mirrors the style used at key dinners from Curling history such as the Jubilee Dinner held for the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, in Edinburgh's Waterloo Hotel, on 28 Nov 1888. It was similarly "garnished with sundry curling phrases to help the digestion". Verses from the curling poets, such as Henry Shanks of Bathgate and Rev. J. Muir of Leith are also typically included. Even the food chosen for the menu is traditional. 'Beef and greens' in particular has been the traditional fare of the curling dinner for centuries.

Here are definitions for some of the curling phrases that pepper the menu:

"Soop, lads, soop" refers to sweeping (the ice) in the path of a curling-stone in order to assist its progress;
"Kiggle-Kaggle" means to cause the stone to make a succession of zig-zag movements or inwicks up a port or space between curling stones, to reach a certain object;
"Clap on a gaird" relates to playing a stone to lie in front of or “guard” the tee or another stone lying near it;
"On the pat lid" suggests a curling stone lying right on the tee.

Note also the reference to the temperance movement - "ginger brew for Templars sae true" - within the poem at the top. This was a significant movement nationally and locally in the late 19th century and early 20th century (more on this to come in future posts).

Below, the toast list includes all the customary toasts, including one to the Royal Caledonian Club (the sport's governing body), one to neighbouring clubs and others to new curlers, to skips and to presidents. Several songs are also included in the programme, which no doubt would have been sung with gusto!

More about the traditions surrounding curling can be found here - ​electricscotland.com/history/curling/.

Following on from the previous post about Largo Curling Club, it is worth pointing out that for a time there were three curling ponds in the villages. The 1912 O.S. map above shows these three ponds (ringed and numbered in green): 

1. Lundin Links Curling Club's pond by the 9th tee of the Lundin Ladies Golf Club
2. Largo House Pond (original home of Largo Curling Club)
3. Upper Largo's artificial pond (created in 1905 for Largo Curling Club

When Largo Curling Club moved to their new artificial pond in Upper Largo in 1905, many of the curlers that lived in Lundin Links decided the time was right to create a new pond in their village too. Lundin Links Curling Club was formed around this time (not to be confused with the pre-existing Lundin and Montrave Curling Club that had been around since 1885 and had a pond on the Montrave estate). 

The above story from the 10 August 1905 Leven Advertiser tells us that discussions around the creation of a "curling pond for Lundin Links, Drummochy and Lower Largo" had begun. Robert Gilchrist, the Lundin Mill builder responsible for the Temperance Hall, led the meeting, where it was "unanimously agreed to form a curling club". Interestingly, the initial idea was to convert the tennis courts into a pond in winter by spraying them. The tennis courts had only been officially opened the previous month. This plan must have been quickly discounted, as the following year a different scheme had been set in motion.

The 27 December 1906 Leven Advertiser (below) refers to both Montrave and Upper Largo ponds before noting that the folks of Lundin Links had "set about realising the ambition of having a pond" and that it was to be "at the side of Fir Park". Note that this was 1906, and therefore was three years prior to the move of the Lundin Ladies Golf Club to its present course. So the nearest landmark at the time really was Fir Park (the substantial cluster of trees close to the Lundin Links Hotel). The "ample water supply" mentioned is the Hatton Burn.

The more detailed 1912 map above shows that there was a small building to the west of the pond, presumably for storage of the curling stones and other equipment (which were of course too heavy to be brought along for every match). Most ponds had a 'curling house' for this purpose, of varying degrees of grandeur. The curling house at the Gosford Estate in East Lothian is shown below.
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From its 1905 origins, the Lundin Links club continued for several decades. Various fund raising efforts took place over the years. For example, the above 'Great Jumble Sale' (December 1921) was in aid of new artificial rinks. This suggests that the original 1906 pond was something basic and more natural - the flooding of a low lying dip perhaps rather than a man-made surface. Below is an advert for a 'Grand Concert' in the Montrave Hall in April (Leven Advertiser). This concert was to raise money to repair the curling pond. Artistes came from Kirkcaldy to perform - arranged by Mrs Nisbet of Beffens. She performed herself in an "amusing sketch". There were two one-act plays, violin selections, songs, piano playing and recitations (21 April Dundee Telegraph). 
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As well as regular fund raising events, there were 'curlers' dinners'. The 4 March 1933 Fife Free Press describes one of these below. On this occasion, the Lundin Links Curling Club invited guests from neighbouring clubs Largo, Leven and Montrave to the Lundin Links Hotel. But the heyday of the Lundin Links Club would soon be over. In 1937, the club approached Largo Curling Club to discuss amalgamation. It is unclear what the outcome of this was but references to the Lundin Links Club in the newspapers peter out around this time. Notably, 1938 saw the opening of Kirkcaldy Ice Rink, a facility which would have starkly contrasted with the Lundin Links curling pond. The Second World War would have likely signalled the end of the club had it survived into 1939. If you know more about the demise of the Lundin Links Curling Club, please leave a comment. 
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On 10th February 1841 a petition was presented to Thomas Calderwood Durham, nephew of General James Durham, who was briefly proprietor of Largo House, before Admiral Sir Philip Charles Henderson Calderwood Durham. This asked for the continued use of Largo Pond for the purposes of curling. It notes that curling had "been so long a favourite pastime with the inhabitants of this place" and that now there was a movement "to constitute ourselves into a Society, called the 'Largo Curling Club'".

The petition was favourably received and permission was granted for the newly formed club to have Largo Pond as there home. Largo House Pond was the club's base until 1905 when an artificial pond was laid down in Upper Largo, behind Crichton Place, next to the Simpson Institute. It is thought that curling had already been played at Largo Pond for about a century before the 1841 petition. There were certainly other curling clubs active nearby. Cupar Curling Club had been instituted in 1775 for example and there were active clubs in Colinsburgh (Hercules), Leven  and Kilconquhar. 

The newspaper piece above by Largo bank agent John More Dall (from the St Andrews Citizen of 8 March 1924) goes on to note that Largo Curling Club quickly affiliated with the Royal Caledonian Curling Club (the governing body of the sport, which had been established in 1838). A key figure in formalisation of the Largo Club was James Bardner, who was the club's first president. He was a farmer - a long-time tenant of Chesterstone Farm - who was a five-time president of the club before his death in 1872, aged 55. The Fifeshire Journal (6 Jan 1842) reported on the first anniversary meeting of the Largo Curling Club (see below). James Bardner (misspelled in the piece) presided over the evening. Held at Bell's Inn in Lundin Mill, the meeting confirmed the "encouraging prospects of their yet infant society".

Another important member of the club was John Whyte, farmer at Lundin Mill Farm. He was president, skip for many years and the outright winner of the biscuit box presented by Mrs Briggs of Strathairly (having won it three times). He eventually retired to Cupar in 1896. The photograph above from the book 'Seatoun of Largo' by Ivy Jardine shows a group of Largo curlers at Largo House pond before the move to the new pond (looking north west, the row of trees that then lined the entrance track to Largo Home Farm can be seen on the right). Another noteworthy member and skilled player was Donald Thomson, who had retired to Largo following many years of service to the Duke of Atholl. A "kind-hearted Highlander", Donal had outstanding talent as a curler, was a skip and a president of the club and secretary for eight years. Presidents of the Club were appointed annually and so were too numerous to mention in the 1924 history of the club. However, below is a list of the club secretaries from 1840 until 1924.
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Above is a list of the trophies competed for (as at 1924) and below is a list of the club Chaplains over the early decades.

Also from the 1924 piece in the St Andrews Citizen is the summary below of a memorable game played in 1881. Notable for a number of reasons, this game saw Largo triumph over neighbouring Leven club in a match that had only men named John playing and which ended with a great snowstorm. The Largo team had to walk home over the beach - the roads having been made impassable.

A milestone in the club's history was the move to the new purpose-built rink in Upper Largo in 1905. This event also triggered the exodus from the club of many curlers that lived in Lundin Mill. They left to form a pond of their own - the journey to Upper Largo deemed too far in comparison to Largo House perhaps. More on that to follow in a future post. 

The pond at Largo House froze over slowly and with winters less severe than they had been in past decades, a move to an artificial pond made sense. Incidents like the one below (7 February 1901 Leven Advertiser) must have hastened the planning of such a move. The new pond could be sprayed with a thin layer of water that would freeze quickly with no risk of anyone falling through the surface. Moreover the new venue could be lit with electric light (16 lamps in all) - thanks to the ingenuity of Thomas Wishart. Upper Largo joiner Agnew Broomfield erected a fine clubhouse at the pond. Part of this can be seen in the photo below of the new pond in its early years (this picture appears in the book 'Largo: An Illustrated History' by Eunson and Band).

Just as technological advances enabled the artifical rink with its electric lighting, so further advances would result in this pond itself falling out of use. Indoor rinks began to appear and in the 1920s, Largo teams visited Edinburgh to play indoors. In 1938 Kirkcaldy Ice Rink opened (see 8 October 1938 Fife Free Press below). Times were changing but play continued at Upper Largo for many years after the locals had had their first taste of indoor curling. Improvements were made to the pond over the decades.
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The club's centenary coincided with the Second World War and by the 1950s big changes would take place in the story of Largo Curling Club. At the 1952 Annual General Meeting reference was made to the club moving back to original location (i.e. Largo House Pond), suggesting that the artificial pond had become disused. Finally in 1955, the advert below appeared in the ​29 June Dundee Courier. The sounds very much like the club selling off some of its fixtures and equipment. The club survived these changing times and still continues to this day - playing indoors at Kirkcaldy. You can find out more about the present day club here. Further information about the club - memories, photos and facts - would be very welcome - please comment or click the 'contact' link.

The newspaper piece above from the 11 February 1864 Fifeshire Journal summarises a curling match between Largo Curling Club and their counterparts from Kennoway. Winters were colder at this time, allowing annual schedules of curling matches to take place. This particular one "came off on Largo Pond". This was the rink adjacent to Largo House shown in blue on the 1893 O.S. map below. The occupant of Largo House at this time was Mrs Dundas Calderwood Durham, who clearly took an interest in 'the roaring game', as she watched at least some of this three-hour event. Largo emerged victorious.

Above in an image of another 1860s match from Fife - one held at Raith Lake in Kirkcaldy - from the book 'Curling: An Illustrated History' by David B Smith. It gives an impression of the fashion and the equipment in use at the time. Such a match required an umpire and filling the role on Largo Pond in 1864 was well-known character Nicol Malcolm, a farmer from Dubbieside (Innerleven) and a curler with Leven's club. He had a hand in the establishment of Lundin Golf Club in 1868. Below is a memorial to Nicol from the 1900 Fife New Almanac, some years after his death, complete with a photograph of him taken by John Patrick. 

More on the history of Largo Curling Club to follow...

The photograph above, taken in the Durham Hall, dates to 1959. It shows the members and leaders of the Largo St David's Church 'Saturday Klub'. Meeting on Saturdays at 7pm, the club was run by and for teenagers. Leaders included the John Mack and Mr Watt (not to be confused with Rev. George Watt, pictured below, the minister at St David's between 1956 and 1963). 

The club offered a range of indoor games including badminton and table tennis. There was a club record-player for listening to or for dancing to. The church magazine of the time said that "the Club ensures a happy and care-free evening for all who come along" and that "there is always a cup of tea to be had during the course of the evening".

One event run by the club, as a fund raiser and open to the wider Church congregation, was a "Beatle Drive". This being a time when the group "The Beatles" were hugely popular, the evening was a variation on the usual Beetle Drive. The hall was decorated for the event with "approximately 250 pictures of The Beatles"! The background music for the evening was of course a "certain four men". So successful was the event that it was repeated a few weeks later. If you see someone you know in the photo, please comment.

Looking at the empty and unused buildings of Largo Home Farm today, it's hard to imagine this as a bustling place of work and thriving community of residents. Yet for a couple of hundred years, this would have been a hive of activity and a home for estate employees and their families. It was the scene of births, deaths, marriages and all sorts of other occasions. Many of the residents were long term ones - living out decades of their lives there. Lots of children grew up on the farm and walked the short distance to Kirkton of Largo School for their education. Archives such as census records show the successive coachmen, foresters, game keepers, agricultural labourers, gardeners, dairy maids and others that lived on site. Examples of just a handful of these people are given below.

Eleven births were recorded in the register of births kept by midwife Margaret Bethune as taking place at either 'Largo Place' (the cottages at the south of the steading) or 'Eagle Gate Lodge' (the south lodge house) between 1853 and 1887. Three of those were the 11th, 12th and 13th children of John Sibbald and his wife.  The written record of child number 13 (a female born on 5 January 1872) is shown above. John Sibbald was a forester on the Largo estate. He was born in Largo in 1829. Several of his daughters worked at the Cardy Net Factory. In fact, his eldest daughter Maggie Campbell Sibbald was married to fisherman James Simpson by the Reverend David Malloch at Largo Place in 1872 - the same year as the birth of her youngest sister Janet shown above. A 14th child, William Bruce Sibbald, followed in 1875. 

William Bruce was also the name of the gamekeeper on the estate, who also resided at Largo Place at the time. It would appear that John Sibbald either named his youngest son after him or after the minister of the United Free Church in Upper Largo, who also shared the name. The birth of the first child of William Bruce the gamekeeper and his wife was also recorded in the register of Margaret Bethune - in 1875, the same year as the last of John Sibbald's children. Further Bruce children were also born at Largo Place, including twins (a boy and a girl) in 1884.

​Another family which saw several of their children born at the home farm was headed by Alexander Anderson. Alexander was initially a forester on the estate but became the 'Estate Overseer' by 1891 (see census entry below). The census extract below shows the four cottages of Largo Place listed beneath Largo House itself and the Coachman's House (unoccupied on the day of the census). The only residents of Largo House that day were the sewing maid and the laundry maid. Of the four cottages of Largo Place, one was unoccupied, one filled by the 'farm manager' and his large family, another was occupied by Anderson the overseer and the other by Robert Smith the gardener and his wife Annie.
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Robert Smith was a long serving gardener on Largo Estate who lived at Largo Place for decades. In 1886 he married Annie Greig Welsh, daughter of Lower Largo Postmaster Alexander Welsh. The pair were both extremely active in the Good Templars. Mr Smith was the 'Deputy Grand Chief Templar' of the Robinson Crusoe Lodge and Mrs Smith (pictured further below) was the 'Superintendent of the Juvenile Templars' at the time that the North East Fife Good Templar Guide of 1898 was published (see extract below). 
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Of the many events that took place at Largo Place, a couple of examples are given below. A Grand Floral Fete in 1899 was opened by architect of the Lundin Links Hotel, P.L. Henderson (advertised on the front page of the 17 August Leven Advertiser). In August of 1905 the Juvenile Templars were entertained at Largo House, assembling at Largo Place before marching to an estate field for games, tea and treats. See 17 August Leven Advertiser piece below. Various estate folks were present for the occasion, which surely took place thanks to the Smiths.  Robert Smith died at Largo Place in 1919. More on the Smiths and the Good Templars organisation to follow in the near future. 
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On 22 June 1904, Isabella Carse Paxton was born at Drum Lodge. She was the third daughter of Robert Carswell Paxton and Margaret Donald Baird. At the time of her birth, her parents were 51 and 41 respectively and already had two daughters - Jessie aged 8 and Margaret aged 2. Jessie had been born in the USA in 1896 and Margaret at Drum Lodge in 1902.  The family had recently settled in Lundin Links, following time in Texas where Robert owned a very successful sheep ranch - Longfellow Ranch.

He was one of the early settlers of Terrell County in Texas, emigrating from Scotland in 1878. Once his family had settled in Fife, he continued to make frequent visits to the USA until the outbreak of the First World War. Robert was the fourth of eight children and was born in Kilmarnock in 1852 to George Paxton.  His father was a brewer, and owner of Richardland Brewery on the River Irvine at Riccarton, Kilmarnock.  He died when Robert was still a child and his elder brother took on the brewery business. Like many younger sons, Robert took the opportunity to seek his fortune elsewhere.

When Isabel was three years old, on 15 October 1907, her younger sister Emily Wallace Paxton was born at Elphinstone on Crescent Road. The arrival of their fourth daughter completed the Paxton family. The following year, they bought 'Homelands' as their permanent family home and this is where Isabel would live out the remainder of her life over ten decades. At the time of the 1911 census, Isabel was at Homelands with her mother and sisters Margaret and Emily. It seems likely that Robert and Jessie were on a visit to the USA at the time. Also recorded in the Homelands household were a governess, a cook and a housemaid.

Family life was disrupted when four-year-old Emily developed tubercular meningitis and died at Homelands on 3 April 1912. Isabel would have been 7 at the time and no doubt remembered this sad event for the rest of her life. Life changed again during the Great War years. The family swung into action to support the war effort. For four and a half years, the Lundin Links Red Cross work party was based at Homelands, with Mrs Paxton as convener. Among other things, the group made shirts, socks, pyjamas, etc. This undoubtedly had a huge influence upon young Isabel, who would go on to be heavily involved in the work of the Red Cross and other charities throughout her adult life. 

After his retirement from ranching, Robert joined the rest of the family at Homelands permanently and became very involved in village life. He had already been Captain of Lundin Golf Club 1908-09 and continued to be involved at the Club. Also he served on the Parish Council (chairing it for a time) and was an elder at Largo Parish Church.  He gifted a well-equipped recreation hut to the village and laid out the pitch and putt facility at the Golf Club. Robert, pictured below, died on 8 Oct 1926 from tuberculous.

Only 22-years-old when her father died, Isabel and her two elder sisters stayed with their mother at Homelands. All continued to be active within community organisations, such as the church, the S.W.R.I. and the Lundin Amateur Dramatic Society. The photograph at the top of this piece is of Isabel aged 26, taken from the 9 February 1931 Dundee Courier when she performed in a production of 'Prelude to a Play'. The Fife Free Press review of the play praised Isabel's portrayal of Angela Hamilton as being "very good indeed" and that she "looked splendid in the part".

Isabel was also heavily involved in Girl Guiding. She was Brown Owl at 1st Largo Brownies from 1924 to 1939 but also had spells involved with Guides and Rangers. She even helped to set up new Brownie groups outside of Largo (using Largo as a model that could be replicated elsewhere). This activity was disrupted by the Second World War and Isabel joining the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Services. As part of her role, she drove ambulances. During war time, Isabel's mother, Margaret, died on 7 October 1941 at Homelands. 

Isabel and her diversional therapy work are mentioned in the newspaper archives over many years. Above top is an advert from the Fife Herald of 14 November 1951 for a talk by Miss Paxton at the AGM of the Fife Branch of the Red Cross. Also above is a piece from the 20 May 1959 Leven Mail detailing another talk by Isabel. In the 5 November 1952 Leven Mail it was reported that during that year Isabel and her two colleagues at the Red Cross had "paid 896 visits to 139 patients confined to their homes and gave out 321 articles of work, as well as large quantities of wool for knitting and weaving."  A piece in the 28 October 1959 Leven Mail noted that Isabel said "she loved her work".

During the 1960s, Isabel lost her two elder sisters. First Jessie passed away in 1962 and then Margaret in 1966. Isabel lived for another 27 years, remaining at Homelands - the last surviving member of a remarkable family. During this period Isabel became increasingly involved with the Fife branch of the MS Society and would drive all over the county supporting their work. Homelands had been converted into effectively two houses post-war and a succession of patients stayed in the 'back wing', particularly over the summer months. A mid-1970s view of Homelands with a car parked at the west-facing entrance is shown below.

Ian Marshall (whose mother was a cousin of Isabel's) recalls that:

"The house was always full of flowers, at all times of year.  There was a gardener and his family who lived above the garages which had been stables, next to the public Bowling Green.  There were two big greenhouses and a large and productive vegetable garden between the house and the wall along the Leven Road.  There were well-stocked flowerbeds on the south side of the house, and on the east, and a great variety of trees and flowering shrubs.  Potted plants were prepared in the greenhouses and brought into the living room, which was always scented."

Isabel certainly loved her garden and its flowers and produce. This gave her much pleasure in the years where her own mobility became restricted and so she developed the vision of Homelands being enjoyed into the future by those who live with disability. Isabel died on 16 January 1993 at the age of 88 and left her home to charity for the benefit of people affected by “MS and other disabling and incurable conditions”. As a result of this generous legacy, the Homelands Trust created four purpose-built, accessible, self-catering holiday lodges, which are designed and equipped to meet the needs of disabled people with a variety of conditions. The East Fife Mail newspaper clipping at the foot of this post shows Isabel centre front as the guest of honour at the 1st Largo Brownies Diamond Anniversary celebration in the mid-1980s. Many still fondly remember this remarkable lady whose legacy will live on for a long time to come.
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