It is our pleasure to announce that Carruthers were well represented at three Highland Games in Canada: the Fergus Festival in Ontario, and two of the Highland Games in New Brunswick, Moncton and Fredericton in 2023.
Wherever our standard is flown, our family’s name is brought to the fore and again reflecting that Reiver pride that we all feel.
We have to thank CCS-Canada for the hard work they do on the clan’s behalf and for reaching out to other Carruthers at these three Scottish festivals. The Chief also sends his grateful thanks and gratitude to all concerned.
Below is an excellent report from our hardworking Janet Carruthers Rossiter, Vice Commissioner in Canada.
Highland Games Report
August 17, 2023
Moncton
June 17th was the date for the Moncton Highland Games. The weather was on the cool side only reaching 9 degrees Celsius, heavy clouds, and some rain.
This year the table was set up in the main large Clan Tent. There were 8 clans along with CASSOC (Clans and Scottish Societies of Canada), as well as the Scottish and Irish Associations. They were Clans Carruthers, Farquharson, Gregor, Gunn, MacArthur, McEwan, MacFie, and MacLean.
The clans shared stories and tips about table displays. The Chairperson for CASSOC, William Petrie took a half dozen of the Clan Carruthers brochures with him to put on his future tables this summer.
https://monctonhighlandgames.com/home
Fredericton
July 29th and 30th were the dates for the New Brunswick Highland Games in Fredericton. The weather was good with a temperature of 26 degrees Celsius, partial sun and no humidity.
This year the clan alley had 5 clan tables along with two Saint Andrew’s Society groups from Fredericton and Saint John, as well as the Scottish, Irish and Welsh Associations. They were Clans Carruthers, Fraser, Hamilton, Hunter and MacLean.
Saturday, the 29th the tent was set up without the banner, due to an oversight.
“Carruthers” was still visible on the table with the binder and map. The banner was put up on Sunday, the 30th, which improved the display. Flags were added to the tent this year, and this helped draw visible focus to the tent.
One highlight was meeting David from Fredericton, whose grandmother was a Carruthers! He has been trying to follow his genealogy but has hit a dead end. David did not know there was a Clan Carruthers and was very excited.
He was directed to the website https://clancarrutherscanada.org/ and was given a clan brochure. CCSC’s genealogist Laurie Carruthers Caron is now in contact with David.
For those interested in knowing more about our clan society in Canada and the hard workingh team behind it please contact them through their website:
https://clancarrutherscanada.org/
Fergus
Our report from our Canadian Historian and Board Member, Harold John Carruthers is below:
My grandson, Zach Carruthers Power, and I had a great time at the Fergus Scottish Festival.
The whole clan thing started out rather slow. I wasn’t able to get any help at first. Then my grandson said he would help me, followed by Laurie’s sister, Leanne Caron, who offered to help for a few hours. Then came getting the material together to put on a show. Janet Rossiter from Moncton offered to send some printed material and a Carruthers banner to me, which was a great help to get things started. I then put together several of my own Carruthers collectables from over the years to be displayed at the show. I had caps and tee shirts made with the Carruthers crest. Janet had also suggested several things that I would need to prepare the display.
Zach and I left for Fergus at 5:00am and arrived there at 7:30am. We found our tent in the Heritage Village , which had been assigned to us when I registered a few weeks earlier. It took us about an hour to set up everything. Then came a downpour of rain for the next few minutes.
After that, it started to clear and the people started to come, very slow at first, but as the day progressed, it got better. There was a Parade of the Clans at noon, in which I took our Banner and participated, while my grandson watched over the display. Leanne’s son, Bryan Piper, walked with me in the parade, and Leanne then arrived and joined in.
After the parade, I was able to take a look around at several the other Clans. My grandson and I enjoyed watching all the heavy sports competitions, weight throwing, Caber Toss and Tug ‘o War. There were Pipe Band competitions, Highland dancing, sheep shearing, and Gaelic lessons.
We had a very enjoyable day. We had about 90 people say that they had a Carruthers connection. We gave out about 25 pamphlet,. It was about 5:00pm that we closed down and returned home. I took about 50 pictures in all.
https://fergusscottishfestival.com
We remain grateful for the time and effort our clansmen give in promoting our Name and I’m sure they would be grateful for any help that may be offered in their task.
If you are interested in supporting or having membership of Clan Carruthers Society -Canada, who are members of CASSOC (Clans and Scottish Societies of Canada) please contact them through https://clancarrutherscanada.org/
A Message From Carruthers of Holmains, Clan Chief
