George Swan Rodger was born on 20 May 1837 in Coaltown of Balgonie to James Rodger, coal agent, and Christian Swan. As an infant he moved with his family to Tyrie Bleachfield, Kirkcaldy and there he received his education from local teacher, author and poet, Peter Purves. He later served an apprenticeship to the drapery trade under Mr Gilchrist of Kirkcaldy. After gaining further experience in the trade at Falkirk, Edinburgh and Glasgow, George became a buyer at an important Glasgow clothing business. It was in Glasgow on 21 December 1866 that George married Jeanie Wylie Leys. He had been a boarder with Jeanie's family, who hailed from the same area of Fife that George himself was from. By the time of the 1871 census, the couple had three children: James, William and Christina. Still living in Glasgow, along with Jeanie's mother, George was now a master draper.

It was in 1872, the George Rodger came to Largo, taking over the premises of the late James White. The following year the family grew with the birth of second daughter, Jeanie. Sadly, in 1878, eldest daughter Christina died aged six. The above advert dates to 22 February 1879 and featured in the Fife News. Below are adverts from the same year. One announces 'summer goods', while the other from later in the year advertised 'winter goods'. In both cases George had just returned from 'the markets'. Glasgow trimmed bonnets and hats are mentioned in both adverts. Hats had become elaborately trimmed in the 1870s. Sometimes with ribbons at the back, which hung over the chignon hair style. In the late 1870s bonnets featured an increasing use of flowers and birds in their trimming, before transitioning to feathers in the 1880s. Fabrics used in summer varied from those used in winter. Plush, for example, was used for winter hats, as well as  for dresses, muffs and bags.
​

As well as regular advertisements for summer and winter goods, it became a tradition for Rodger's to hold an annual clearing sale and these were always advertised in the local press. In 1881, the family had another child, George, and Jeanie's widowed mother was still living with them in Upper Largo. Around 1885, a young Alexander Kirk Melville entered the employment of Rodger, staying for four years and laying the foundations for his own long journey into the clothing business.

The original shop continued until 1887, when George Rodger decided that new premises were required. In fact, his shop was described as "too small and also damp". So he decided to have it taken down and a new shop (with attached dwelling) built upon the site.  During the works, the business moved into temporary premises next to Mr Thomson's chemist business. The various Fife News notices below tell the story of the upheaval and necessary stock sales that took place during that year. A sale was held prior to the move and another later the same year, due to the lack of room in the temporary premises. 
​

The Rodgers seem to have been installed at the rebuilt shop and dwelling in time for the annual sale in February 1888. Their new building is now 12 Main Street (pictured above).  In more recent times, this building has housed George Mackie's chemist and The Salon hairdresser. Like so many former shops in the village, it has long since been converted into a residential dwelling.

At the time of the 1901 census, the two eldest Rodger children had moved away. George and Jeanie's daughter and youngest son (Jeanie and George) had joined the family business as a milliner and draper's assistant respectively. The family business flourished in its purpose-built premises and by 1906, the shop held its thirty-third annual clearing sale (see 1 February Leven Advertiser advert below).
​

Over the decades, fashions of course changed dramatically and G.S. Rodger moved with the times and catered for local needs. The 1910 advert below highlights the 'golf hose' on offer (10 August 1910 Leven Advertiser).
​

Knitting machines were installed in the back shop at some point - the above notice requests a girl to join the team to operate one of them. Below, an advertisement from 15 Feb 1911 Leven Advertiser mentions a range of items reduced in the clearance sale: from floorcloth to overcoats and wincey shirting. 
​

An elder of the United Free church for many years, under Rev, R. Lundin Brown and William Bruce, George Rodger eventually retired and his son (also named George Swan Rodger) continued the business. George senior died on 12 April 1925 aged 87 at his home on Upper Largo's Main Street. He was survived by his widow, three sons and daughter. His eldest son was by then headmaster at Burntisland Higher Grade School and his second son employed by a woollen manufacturer in Canada. George was buried in Upper Largo cemetery. His widow Jeanie died in 1930 aged 91. Young Jeanie died in 1943 aged 70. George junior lived until 1956, latterly living at Ravenswood in Lundin Links.
​

Concluding this mini-series reviewing the 1988 tourist guide entitled "All About Lundin Links, Lower Largo, Upper Largo and Surrounding Villages", this is a review of the Lower Largo-related content. As expected, much mention was made of the village's claim to fame as the birthplace of Alexander Selkirk - the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's 'Robinson Crusoe'.  The guide explained that the statue had been "temporarily moved to the Glasgow Garden Festival as a centre-piece for the East Neuk heritage trail display". Taken away in October 1987, the half-ton, bronze statue was given clean up and repair job before being painted green for the festival which ran from 26 April to 26 September 1988. ​

Many adverts for businesses based in the village appeared in the guide, including one for Martin Anderson's studio, which continues to this day from the same address. It is pictured in recent times below (photographed during Largo Arts Week when it was one of the open studios).

The Post office was still at its 91 Main Street location in 1988, with the long-serving Mrs Elizabeth Grassick as proprietor. It also sold sweets, souvenirs and other goods. Mrs Grassick would retire the following year. The Post Office later had a brief spell at 68 Main Street (latterly the Baptist Church Hall but now demolished). 
​

Another familiar former local business was Very Crafty.  In 1988 it was at 58 Main Street, as this was prior to its move to the Post Office building at number 91 (shown in the photo further below). Among the goods on offer at Very Crafty in the late 1980s was Dust Jewellery. This was jewellery by artist and silversmith Norman Grant, made in a workshop on Mill Wynd in Lundin Links. Eventually Norman Grant left Scotland to work in London but many local people still own examples of his work.
​

A. Stephen and Son fish merchant of Durham Terrace advertised their trade and retail produce in the tourist guide too.  Further adverts were the pair below. Christine Elphick offered beauty therapies from 54 Main Street. The Railway Inn, owned by Helen Wallace, highlighted its "friendly olde worlde atmosphere". Established in 1749, the Railway Inn has been a fixture of the harbour area for almost two centuries.
​

And if you were wondering what was going on over the summer months in 1988 - here are details of a few of the events arranged that season......

The above scene from the late 1980s was chosen to represent Upper Largo within the guide entitled "All About Lundin Links, Lower Largo, Upper Largo and Surrounding Villages". Included in the description of the village was some information about the Kirk, some facts about Sir Andrew Wood and the fact that the village "nestles at the foot of Largo Law, an extinct volcano up which there is an annual race held in August. The race is quite popular and attracts competitors from all over Scotland." In 1988 (the year that the guide was published) the Largo Law Hill Race took place on 6th August at 3pm.

The adverts below are for Upper Largo businesses of the time: Waverley Antiques, The Salon and Wilson the grocer and newsagent. The antique shop, which was at 13 Main Street, had originally been a grocer's shop and for a spell was home to the Post Office. No doubt paintings, furniture and other antiques from the shop still grace local homes. Shown in the photograph further below (when it was known as J&A White), the building that housed Waverley Antiques was first planned in 1898 by Robert Nicoll, grocer and postmaster. The short piece from the Leven Advertiser of 7 July 1898 below, announces his decision to build new premises on the north side of the street. Robert Gilchrist (who had built the Simpson Institute several years before) was the builder. More about Robert Nicoll to follow at a future date...

R. Wilson at 25 Main Street, pictured below in the 1970s was in a building that had been used for a range of purposes in the preceding years. In the late nineteenth century, Robert Melville's business as a tinsmith and plumber was here. It was later a chemist, with Charles Thomson, and then Peter Cowie, running it. When Peter Cowie died in 1917, James Bowie took over the chemist and later relocated it to the opposite side of Main Street (which George Mackie took over in 1935). Robert Melville's daughter Catherine owned the buildings until the early 1930s when it was purchased by Robert Wilson. 

The Salon is pictured below in the mid-1970s. This building at 12 Main Street has been George Swan Rodger's draper shop and George Mackie's chemist earlier in its history. Like so many former shops in the village, it has long since been converted into a residential dwelling.
​

Other adverts that appeared for Upper Largo businesses were those below for Central Garage and J. Purves Service Station. Central Garage was started around 1921 by James Harris (see photo below). It was situated on the south side of Main Street opposite Wilson's and was run by Jim Harley at the time of advertising in the tourist guide. The other car-related advert was for J. Purves, a garage on the north side and west end of Main Street, on the site of the former United Free Church. Jimmy Purves took over the garage around 1960. David Ramage had converted the former church into a bus garage back in 1933-34. 

Finally, there was an advert for the 'Largo Hotel', now known as the Upper Largo Hotel. A hotel with a long history that has been known as the Commercial Hotel, Duff's Inn and Lee's Inn during its long history. The next post will conclude the review of the 1988 tourist guide - with the spotlight falling on Lower Largo.
​

Recent blog posts looked at guide books on Largo dating to the 1930s and the 1940s. This post looks at the more modern 1980s take on the tourist information booklet and contrasts this with its forerunners. Above is the front cover of the 1988 guide entitled "All About Lundin Links, Lower Largo, Upper Largo and Surrounding Villages". Like earlier guides it features the Robinson Crusoe statue prominently on the cover, although this time the statue shares the cover with other images.

This guide, which was also a black and white publication as side from the cover, is richly illustrated with photos and adverts. A short series of three blogs will cover its contents - beginning with the content on Lundin Links. The photograph below of Leven Road shows the Royal Bank of Scotland on the right at the beginning of the stretch of shops - most of which had adverts within the guide.
​

Below are the featured advertisements for the Post Office, Lundie Salon and the Paperbox. At the time, the Post Office was also a General Store selling bakery goods, fruit and veg and other groceries. The Post Office closed several years ago and the premises is now occupied by gift shop Penny and Black. A mobile Post Office now serves the villages. The Lundie Salon remains to this day at 5 Leven Road. The Paperbox newsagent at 17 Leven Road is now branded Premier Convenience Store. Back in the eighties, the shop offered video hire along with the usual morning rolls and paper deliveries.
​

Other local businesses featured were Bob's Butchers at 7 Leven Road, run by Bob Kirkcaldy, and Hogan's Bar on Emsdorf Street. The building that was Hogan's had previously been a shop and snack bar. Now the building is a private dwelling. The butcher's shop is now a branch of Stuart's Bakers and Butchers.
​

Also among the Lundin Links based adverts was one for Elisabeth's ladies' and babies' clothing shop and one for the golf professional, David Webster. At the time, Elisabeth's was located in the small premises on Crescent Road, that had previously been the bank manager's garage and a temporary bank and went on to be The Finishing Touch curtains and blinds supplier. Eventually, Elisabeth's did move to larger premises round the corner on Leven Road.

Mercury Motors also featured in the brochure, highlighting its specialism for MGBs at the time. The business is still running today. Of course the two hotels in the village - the Old Manor Hotel and the Lundin Links Hotel -  had placed adverts, and in addition there was one for A. Kirk, Joiner.

The photo below also appeared in the guide, showing the play park next to the Common. The play equipment here has been upgraded and altered a couple of times since then and an inclusive playpark with accessible play equipment now exists on the opposite side of the road down to the Sports Club. This was opened in June 2019.

So, the 1980s tourist guide book was much more visual that those from half a century before which were more formal and text heavy.  There were some paragraphs included in the modern brochure about the history of the area but these were brief and the focus was firmly on promoting events taking place over the summer months and on local businesses offering services to visitors. In the next post - Upper Largo information from the booklet.

The above image featured on a postcard posted in Leven in 1910. It is thought to show a horticultural show held in the vicinity. One of the regular entrants in the shows run by the Leven Horticultural Society was James (Jimmie) Brown of Hatton Law, market gardener and owner of the fruit and flower shop on Emsdorf Street, Lundin Links. Over many years, his name featured in the list of prize winners in the local press. For example, in the late 1890s and early 1900s he won prizes in the following categories: pot plants, cut flowers, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, beets, peas, onions, potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, turnips, marrow, shallots, grapes, apples, gooseberries and redcurrants.

The list gives an insight to the types of produce that he would have sold from his mobile hut and later from his shop. There must have been a wonderful range of fresh, local, seasonal produce available to local people. James Brown came from a green-fingered family. His father was John Brown (1820-1909) who was born at Blindwells (just to the north of Largo House), son of Braidwood Clark and Andrew Brown (a ploughman). In 1841, John was working as a linen handloom weaver and living with his parents at Largo Home Farm, where his father was an agricultural labourer. 
​ 

By 1851, John had moved to Lundin Mill, married Alison Kellock (of the Kellock family who had the saw mill at Hatton Law) and had four children. He was now a garden labourer. A decade later, the family, now with six children, were living in the Gardener's Cottage at Lathallan House (picture below) where John was the head gardener. The family returned to Largo the following year and James (Jimmie) was born in 1862. The family lived in 'the dip' at Largo Road, close to the Keilside bakery. John rented the nursery at Hatton Law from his mother-in-law Christian Kellock (and later from brother-in-law Robert Wood Kellock after her death).
​

By 1881, John had been joined by his son James, working as the tenant of the nursery / market garden at Hatton Law (an area once known as Hunger-em-out). However, when Robert Kellock died in 1887, John Brown became owner of both the nursery at Hatton Law and one of the cottages there, known as 'Rosebank Cottage'. The family moved out there from Lundin Mill and by the time of the 1891 census, 70-year-old widower John Brown was living at Rosebank Cottage with daughters Isabella and Violet, granddaughter Violet Alice and son James. The same household was recorded in 1901. John Brown died in 1909 aged 89, after a long life working outside in the fresh air. The map below shows the close proximity of the various places where John Brown lived in his life - Blindwells (upper right), Largo Home Farm (centre right), Lundin Mill (at foot of map) and Hatton Law (upper left). He only left Largo Parish for a brief spell to work at Lathallan, near Largoward.

John Brown's son James continued the market garden and continued to exhibit his produce at horticultural shows. He was also on the committee of the East Fife Chrysanthemum Society, which also held shows over many years. His sister Violet, and his niece Alice , worked alongside him as fruiterers and shopkeepers. Below are a couple of examples of adverts placed in the Leven Advertiser for seasonal help with their business. Note that before the family occupied the Emsdorf Street shop, Violet Brown had a fruit outlet at Leven Links. Violet Brown, Alice's mother, died in 1931 aged 71.

As Jimmie got older, much of the produce for the Emsdorf Street shop was supplied by Peter Keay, gardener at Largo House (until his death in 1942). When Jimmie died in 1943, aged, 81, Alice was left to run the shop alone, 40 years after its 1903 opening. Locals recall that in the final years of the shop, which continued into the 1950s, there was only a small range of produce on offer. Below is the notice that Alice placed in the 9 June 1943 Leven Mail to acknowledge support that she received from the community at that time of her bereavement. Also below is the executry notice that appeared in the 23 June Leven Mail. Violet Alice Brown herself died in 1976, aged 88.
​

The Ainslie map of 1775 shown above shows a place by the name of Hunger Himout to the north of Lundin Mill, where Little Pilmuir is now. This lost place name means 'starve him or them out' and has variations including Hunger-em-out. It's the latter that is used in the 24 November 1836 Fife Herald piece below about a pair of men who lived there at the time who were charged with assault. This article states that Hunger-em-out is Hattonlaw but the name does seem to have applied to whole area encompassing Hattonlaw and Little Pilmuir.

The unusual name does appear elsewhere in Fife and further afield within Scotland, including Orkney and Lanarkshire. Another example close by is Hunger emout in the Parish of Kettle shown on the 1775 map too (see further below). The book 'The Place-Names of Fife' by Simon Taylor (2008) explains that this was a "humorously self-deprecating name" which "refers either to poverty of the land or to the fact that it was not big enough to support its inhabitants". The name belongs to a well-defined genre of early modern Scots place names containing a verbal construction. Not dissimilar is the English market town name of Hungerford, which is derived from a Saxon name meaning "ford leading to poor land".
​

Another reference to the term can be found in the 11 August 1858 North British Agriculturist below. This refers to "the hunger-him-out system of farming" which, in the case described, had reduced the land to worthless remains (caput mortuum in Latin). The suggestion seems to be that the land was depleted due to overuse and that soil fertility was not properly maintained. So perhaps at some point in history areas with this name had been exhausted by over use. Whatever the origins of the name in the Largo case, the Brown family certainly proved that the land could be made productive and that a good living could be made from it.

It is ironic that Largo's 'Hunger-em-out' was where the Brown family had their market garden for many decades. Jimmie Brown was a life-long market gardener, like his father before him and brought produce from Hatton Law to Lundin Links for decades. Before occupying the newly-built shop at the west end of Emsdorf Street from 1903, he sold his produce in the open air at Emsdorf Road. Esther Menzies recalls this as follows: "In the summer time, in a small clearing in the front of the trees, Jimmie Brown set up his hut and sold fruit and vegetables...[which were] green and crisp and were sold in fresh cabbage leaves instead of bags." After Jimmie died in 1943, while walking the road to Hunger-em-out, his niece Alice Brown continued to run the fruit and florist shop (see image at the foot of this post). 

Had you heard the name Hunger-em-out? How old do you think this name might be? When did it go out of use? Any thoughts on this interesting name welcome!
​

Before Andrew Hogg began the Lundin Links Pharmacy in 1903 (pictured above shortly after opening), he had already been trading as a chemist at 56 High Street, Leven for some time. Back in 1887, he had moved from his native Border country and acquired the chemist business of Adam Gibson. His Leven shop is shown in the photograph below. The shop was part of the building that still is 52-56 High Street. Back in the nineteenth century, this whole block was owned by the Adamson family. The Adamsons were fleshers going back generations with a shop on the High Street but, by the 1880s, the building had passed on to the youngest son of the late Armit Adamson - Christopher Adamson - who did not continue in the butcher trade.

In 1885, the 52-56 High Street block (shown below with the 3 dormer attic windows and mortar and pestle shop sign) housed a public house (run by Christopher Adamson who was a vintner at the time), a draper and a chemist. This is not so different from the make-up of the block in more recent times, with the Crown Inn at number 52, Masterton the jeweller at number 54 and David T. Hay the chemist at number 56. In Andrew Hogg's day, the upstairs of the chemist housed a photographic dark room. This space went on to accommodate the optician part of Hay's. 
​

The lives of Andrew Hogg and Christopher Adamson, were linked in a number of ways. Firstly, there was the landlord and tenant arrangement on Leven High Street. In addition, both men were directors of Leven Gas Company. Furthermore, Adamson's son, Armit Haxton Adamson, was apprenticed to Andrew Hogg and qualified as a pharmaceutical chemist in 1906. Also, Christopher Adamson would go on to become a supplier of goods to Hogg's shops in both Leven and Lundin Links - as in 1890, he acquired the business of the late Robert Wilson, manufacturer of aerated waters. The 1 August 1890 advert from the East of Fife Record below shows Adamson announcing his new business. This went on to become a very successful venture lasting many decades, with bottled drinks sold through numerous local outlets.

The images above show a couple of examples of the bottles used in Adamson's drinks production. One is a stoneware ginger beer and the other a pictorial glass Codd bottle with a glass marble in the neck which would have sealed in the carbonation. Both are marked C Adamson, Glebefield, Leven. Both bear a representation of Leven Mercat Cross, the symbol adopted by the business. The old market cross took the form of an obelisk type sundial with hollow faceted dials on its five-cubed shaft atop a stepped three tier base. Thought to date to the seventeenth century, the cross was lost for over a century before being found and restored in 1889. It must have seemed to be an ideal symbol for Adamson's new business that launched the following year, particularly as it had originally stood close to the premises of Adamson's butcher ancestors. The map further below shows the location of the aerated waters factory at Glebefield, close to Leven station.
​

Christopher Adamson, pictured below, was born in 1837, the youngest son of Leven butcher Armit Adamson (himself the son of a butcher). He served for 28 years on Leven's parochial government and was Provost of the town 1903-07. Shooting, bowling, singing, horticulture and draughts were among his favourite pastimes. He died in 1912 at his home, 4 Trinity Place, Leven. Son George Wilkie Adamson took over the business, continuing it for many more years. Latterly, the business moved to Methilhaven Road (see circa 1950 map below) and traded as Glenfarg Aerated Water Company. The business was sold to Robert Barr Limited in 1954.

Interestingly, at the time of the death of Christopher Adamson, a list of businesses that owed the aerated waters firm for goods provided, were Andrew Hogg's chemist shops in Leven and Lundin Links and Somerville the grocer of Lundin Links. These and many other local shops would have stocked Adamson soft drinks and many locals and visitors to the villages would have enjoyed these beverages. The little fragment of Adamson Ginger Beer bottle pictured below, bearing the mercat cross pictorial, was found this summer on the Fife coastal path just east of the Temple. This tiny piece of local history, discarded long ago, could well have been purchased at Andrew Hogg's chemist or Somerville's grocer.
​

Many old postcard images of Lundin Links Post Office date back to the days of Miss Margaret Bremner - the first proprietor of the facility from 1896 until around 1917  However, the image above dates from the time of the third name above the front entrance - James Laing Duncan. Duncan took over from Miss Bremner's successor Robert Ferguson in 1931 or 1932. Below is a notice from the 7 August 1931 Courier advertising the business for sale. Note that the property came with the adjacent space on Leven Road, which at the time was let to the National Bank of Scotland.

The postcard photograph, which likely dates to the 1930s, features many interesting details - from busy window displays, to vintage cars, imposing telegraph poles, plus a public telephone box and outdoor weighing scales. The bare trees and warmly clad woman suggest that it's a winter scene. The sign post in the right hand foreground states: St Andrews via Largoward 12, via the coast 25.

Lundin Links was connected to the telephone network in 1903 and the telephone exchange was housed within the linked building to the left of the Post Office on Links Road. The tall telegraph pole shows the many lines in place by the time this image was captured. The Post Office itself was Lundin Links phone number 1. The Post Offices in Lower Largo and Upper Largo were also number 1 on their exchanges. The other single digit numbers in Lundin Links, the early adopters of the telephone, were mainly businesses such as shops and boarding houses.
​

Looking in more detail below at the Post Office frontage, the telephone box stands out. This particular box is not the one that stood until very recently on this spot. This was an earlier style of phone kiosk, that appears to be a 'K3' design. This design was introduced in 1929 as an affordable model for use in rural areas. Made largely from concrete rather than cast iron, around 12,000 K3s were installed across the country in the early 1930s. Only the window frames were painted red - the rest was a stony grey colour (explaining why the box appears so light in colour in the black and white photograph). Over time, it became obvious that concrete was not the ideal material for phone boxes as it was too brittle. Also, there was also a drive to standardise boxes nationally. So eventually the Lundin Links one was replaced with a newer model - the familiar red K6.

Also known as the 'Jubilee Kiosk', the K6 was introduced from 1936 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the coronation of King George V.  The main differences from the K3 (as well as the construction material) was that there were eight rather than six rows of windows and that that the vertical bars in the windows and door were spaced further apart to improve visibility. The K6 continued to be rolled out until 1968. The K6 box at Lundin Links was not installed until well after the end of the Second World War.

Both the kiosk types used at Lundin Links were designed by designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. The image below shows the K6 box still in place a few years ago. Further below is an image of the Post Office in the 1920s, when Robert Ferguson was Postmaster, shortly before the first telephone box arrived. Despite a scheme where communities could purchase their telephone box from BT for £1, the Lundin Links box was removed a year or two ago (after nine decades with a box present on the site). 

A shorter-lived feature outside the Post Office was a set of outdoor public weighing scales. In the top 1930s view, these can be seen immediately to the right of the phone box. Fairly common at the time, particularly in places that attracted tourists, scales would tell you your weight for a penny. The set in Lundin Links look like the 'Peerless' scales shown below. How long they remained in place is unknown but there is still a patch of concrete visible where they once stood.

Further to the right of the scales is a neat shop window display of groceries. The windows prominently feature adverts for both Cadbury's and Fry's chocolate, as did many a shop back in this era and beyond. Cadbury's started in 1824, while Fry's dates back to around 1760. Both companies were keen to promote the 'pure' nature of their cocoa as some alternatives added unnecessary ingredients.

Returning to the name above the Post Office door - J.L. Duncan. James Laing Duncan was born in Ladybank in 1892, son of a railway labourer. During the First World War he was a bombardier in the Royal Garrison Artillery. During that time, while home on leave in 1917, he married Elizabeth Gray, daughter of a vintner, in Lathones. Elizabeth's mother was Jemima Gulland, sister of James Gulland the tailor who had a shop on Leven Road, Lundin Links.

After the war, James set up as a grocer and wine merchant in Kettlebridge. Sadly, his wife Elizabeth died in 1929 aged just 36 years. James gave up the grocery in Kettlebridge later the same year. In 1930 he took over the Railway Hotel in Ladybank, however, with family connections in Lundin Links, James took the opportunity of taking on the grocery and Post Office when it was advertised for sale the next year. Shortly after arriving in Lundin Links, James Duncan married Janet Ness Tod, who was a confectioner. They remained at the Post Office for many years. Janet Duncan died in 1972 aged 79 and James Duncan died in 1977 aged 84.

Finally, in the main image at the top of this post, through the trees, the west end of Emsdorf Street can be glimpsed. The pharmacy at the corner and to the left the shop of Jimmy Brown. Part of the name 'Brown' can just be made out above the shop. More to follow soon on these shops and where the shop keepers moved from when these premises were first built.

For many a decade adverts for A.K. Melville could be found in the local papers, such as the ones shown above. The advertisements usually included an illustration of one of the latest fashions. They evolve over time, reflecting the changing seasons and changing fashions. But who was A. K. Melville?

Born in Largo on 8 June 1874, in the Crusoe Buildings, Lower Largo, Alexander Kirk Melville was a son of fisherman David Melville and his wife Elizabeth Ballingall. Alexander was aged eleven when he left school to enter the employment of George Swan Rodger, the Upper Largo draper. After four years learning the trade there, Alexander made the move to Kirkcaldy. He gained experience with three firms there, as well as shorter spells in Glasgow, Dundee, Inverness and Edinburgh. When completing his apprenticeship in Kirkcaldy all his wages went on board and lodgings. So, when he wanted to go back to Largo to visit his large family, he had to walk there. His parents provided the fare for a return journey. 

In 1896, the Melville family experienced tragedy, when Alexander's father David was drowned in a fishing accident, along with two others - David's brother Thomas Melville and his brother-in-law, Thomas Ballingall. The newspaper piece from 29 February St Andrews Citizen described the circumstances of the accident and the aftermath. The crew of another boat righted the upset boat and returned to Largo with the one body that could be found - alerting Reverend David Malloch and Reverend William Pulford to the situation. These clergymen broke the news to the affected families. David Melville's widow Elizabeth died later the same year aged 51.

In the summer of 1900, Alexander took over Mr Whytehead's Hatter and Hosiery Shop at 118 High Street, Kirkcaldy. He began with a 14-day 'transfer sale' where he offered "every article at immense reductions" (see advert above from 4 August 1900 Fife Free Press). The following year, he married Elizabeth Clark, a native of Limekilns. The couple would go on to have two sons and a daughter. The business established itself as one of great quality and service and this was reflected in the firm's advertisements (see selection below).

On 2 September 1951, Alexander and Elizabeth Melville celebrated the occasion of their Golden Wedding in Anthony's Hotel, with their children and grandchildren. Three of Alexander's brothers were also present at the event. However, his Best Man had been his elder brother Peter, who was killed in the First World War. Among the reflections made on the Golden Wedding day, Mr Melville noted how he recalled the unveiling of the Robinson Crusoe statue in Lower Largo as a youth. 

​Just two months later, Alexander passed away at the age of 77. The Fifeshire Advertiser paid tribute to him as someone who "set his foot firmly on the bottom rung of the ladder whose topmost heights he reached through diligence and hard work". Local press also noted that he was also a keen follower of Raith Rovers Football Club and the Fife Flyers and someone who enjoyed gardening and golf (he laid out a 9-hole green on the lawn at his home). Alexander's widow Elizabeth moved to Lundin Links, living at Homestead on Woodlands Road. She died in 1968, aged 89. Son Hugo also lived in Lundin Links, at 'Gartly' on Station Road.
​

The shop in the centre of the above image is Robert Hannan Melville's business  as a plumber, tinsmith and gasfitter. Born in East Lothian around 1835, Robert followed in the footsteps of his father Samuel Melville who was also a tinsmith and plumber. Samuel had been based for many years at the Shorehead in Leven but was working in Largo by around 1860. Following his father's death in 1863, Robert took over the business. Below is an early example of either father or son's work - a miner's head lamp, stamped 'Melville Largo'. 

Robert's wife Agnes Oatman, who he had married in 1860, died in 1864, two days after the birth of their daughter Agnes. Robert remained at their home on Kirkton of Largo's Main Street, which was known as Melville Cottage.  In 1871 Robert was living with his three daughters, Catherine, Isabella and Agnes and a domestic servant. He was described as a 'master plumber employing one man and one boy'. He remarried in 1874 to Margaret McDonald. In 1881, the household was recorded as Robert (plumber employing 1 man and 3 boys), Margaret and 17-year-old Isabella, who was a pupil teacher. Eldest daughter Catherine was working as a nurse in Glasgow at the time, while youngest daughter Agnes was working in Edinburgh as a domestic servant.

​In 1885, 21-year-old Agnes Melville married Peter Blackhall, a journeyman plumber, in Upper Largo. The following year, their daughter Agnes Oatman Blackhall was born. Tragically, history repeated itself, with the baby's mother Agnes dying days later. Young Agnes was raised by her grandparents Robert and Margaret Melville. At the time of the 1891 census, 4-year-old Agnes Blackhall was living at Melville Cottage with Robert and Margaret.

Among the buildings that Robert Melville provided plumbing services for were: restoration work at Largo Parish Church, a new farm steading at Pratis Farm, Emsdorf Street's Bellville, work on G.S. Rodger's Upper Largo shop and many of the new villas built in the locality. Often he competed for work with another Kirkton plumber, Alexander Wilson.  

By 1901, the household at Melville Cottage comprised just 66-year-old Robert and 14-year-old Agnes, know going by the name Agnes Melville. Margaret Melville had passed away in 1898. Young Agnes was described as 'Assistant Shop Keeper (China)'. Alexander Allan ran a neighbouring china shop. Agnes (or Aggie) became a keen collector of postcards around this time. A selection of those she received during her late teens are shown below.

In 1911, Robert's eldest daughter Catherine (a maternity nurse) was living with him and he was listed as a 'plumber and gas fitter'. Granddaughter Agnes was by now in Glasgow, working as a hospital nurse and back to using the surname Blackhall. Robert Melville died on 15 November 1916, aged 82. Eldest daughter Catherine became owner of Melville Cottage and the other buildings that belonged to her father. Second daughter, Isabella, was married to Leven postmaster Alexander Hunter. Agnes Blackhall (the 'Miss Melville' of the postcards below) died in 1958, unmarried, having devoted her life to her nursing career.