2019 Scholarship – Ann Engstrum

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the MacDougall McCallum Heritage Foundation for awarding me the 2019 scholarship. What an incredible experience it was to travel Scotland from an “outsider's perspective.” While I have no MacDougall blood I do however have an “almost family” connection to Margaret MacDougall Carasik we met 18 years ago through a unique volunteer opportunity and have been “family” ever since. This year just happened to be the International Clan gathering for the MacDougall Clan and I couldn't wait to go and learn more about the clan and their place in history. We arrived in Oban and much to my delight it was stunning! I have only seen little seaside towns like this in pictures and couldn't believe I was now walking in one of those pictures. Our first full day was spent touring the island of Lismore. What a beautiful island with lovely people. We were able to go to the actual property of Margaret’s late great grandfather, John MacDougall who was the last weaver on Lismore in an area called Ballimackillichan. After talking to Archie McColl the land owner and crofter there, we took a small field road on his property to hike to Castle Coeffin, which was built in the late 1200’s by the MacDougalls. As we were hiking in to view the ruins of this castle we were warmly greeted by a beautiful rooster. We invited him to come along with us the rest of the way and he indulged us for a bit. I love roosters and I had one as a pet on our farm when I was a little girl. We also visited the Museum on Lismore and ate lunch at their delicious cafe with Margarets friends, David and Catrina White. They were a wealth of knowledge about the island and even took us on a little trip out to the Lighthouse. A very interesting drive indeed on a one lane dirt road! The lighthouse was beautiful. We also saw the beautiful church on the island there where Margaret’s family has a headstone of her ancestors, amazing! This is MacDougall country! The next day we made a trip to Kilbride and visited the cemetery. We learned so much about the history of this cemetery and how after many many years of neglect the people of Kilbride are restoring it with great care. There are many MacDougalls burried there as well as Clan chiefs. Well worth the trip and capped off with a serenade by Liam and tea with his lovely wife Myra, the owners. One of the many highlights for me during the Clan gathering was the guided tour of Dunollie Castle, one of the MacDougall castles that still remain today. It is here where I learned of the deep and embroiled history of the MacDougall clan and their enormous influence on this land in history. I felt like I was amongst Royalty. The MacDougall name is highly respected and revered in this area and all over Scotland. We were given a great tour of what remains of the Castle with its breathtaking view overlooking the loch (which means lake) and sea. A view I will never forget as long as I live. We also were able to enjoy the museum and grounds there as well. So many things to learn about the family there it was just wonderful! After our great tour we then boarded a boat for a castle tour from the water. We saw some beautiful castles including Duart Castle on the island of Mull, which was undergoing a huge restoration that has been under construction for 5 years and not due to be completed for another 2 years! I love that the people of Scotland go to such lengths to preserve these pieces of history for future generations to come. It is a very laborious and expensive undertaking, one that we in America rarely do. I must say the highlight of this tour was seeing the absolutely stunning site of Gylen Castle. The entire picture of that castle perched high upon the cliff on the island of Kererra overlooking the sea completely took my breath away. It was gorgeous. A feast for my eyes that I couldn't get enough of. I was so glad to finally be at the final resting place of John Carasik, for whom this scholarship was named. I could've spent more time there just taking it in and honoring his memory. The boat didn't stop there long enough and I highly recommend seeing this incredible site, especially if you want to pay homage to John, the reason for this scholarship. One of my favorite events of the week was attending the Clan dinner and dance. It was quite an event! Highlights here included a bagpipe welcome with all the men in their kilts (tartans), meeting Morag the clan chief and her family, a lovely scottish themed dinner all topped off with traditional Scottish dancing! It was an amazing night and I loved meeting so many warm and lovely people. I met some people (Margaret’s cousins) that are now my new facebook friends! The next day we were honored to be invited to Alison & Gordon McNab’s home for dinner! It was the home of Hope MacDougall up until her passing in 1997. It really helps to bring a MacDougall (Margaret) with you who is well known to the locals and fully embraced whenever she visits her friends there. So I got to tag along and wow what a property with its gorgeous gardens and vast view of the sea from every room! What wonderful people, Alison and Gordon were excellent hosts and Gordon is a great chef! We had a great evening learning, touring and eating. A night to remember. There was a closing ceremony which involved a march along the esplanade in Oban to Dunoille castle with a bagpipe and drum escort. It gave me goosebumps. It was then I could feel the closeness of this family, full of pride and so much respect for their place in history and genuinely sad to part from each other after such a life enriching week together. Our next week we spent touring on our own and we headed to the Outer Hebrides. Our destination was the island of Lewis and getting there was quite an experience! After trains, buses and a wonderful ferry ride from Ullapool, we finally arrived at our destination of Lewis. We had a wonderful guided tour by Gordon MacDonald from his car the next day. We made it all the way up to the “Butt of Lewis!” It was the furthest most point to the North you could go on this island and boy was it spectacular More stunning views as we stood on top of the cliffs overlooking the sea and watching the huge waves crash into the rocks We also toured some historic sites such as the Standing Stones and fortresses that were built in 900-1000 to protect the people and their animals from invasion. Amazing, all of it, it was just hard to fathom how old these sites were and to think that they are still there is just simply incredible. We ended our day touring the lovely island of Harris. This island had a very different feel from Lewis. It had beautiful white sand beaches that were not spoiled by man as it was too cold to hang at the beach. Just simply put, untouched and stunning. It was an incredible tour of Scotland in 2 short weeks, and lucky for me I had a personal tour guide and part time local in Margaret to travel with. This experience was so incredible and picturesque that I took over 800 pictures of the stunning scenery! Every new curve in the road presented another stunning view. I knew that I had to come back someday and spend more time here. I loved the people and their accents, the scenery was something you can't describe and even my pictures do not do it justice. Although I missed my family I was not ready to leave. I had so much more I wanted to do. After arriving home and sharing my experience with my family I already longed to go back. Well, much to my delight the opportunity presented itself to go back and I jumped at the chance. I went back 5 weeks later for a month! I stayed in a flat in Oban and really submerged myself in the culture. This time I had some unique opportunities to explore. Margaret’s friend, Bob Hay was kind enough to bring me on an archeological dig that I got to observe on the island of Mull. This dig was successful in finding things from the Viking era including a human skull! Careful attention and the utmost respect were given to all of these amazing findings. Bob also took me to the gorgeous seaside village of Tobermory. Wow what a colorful town by the sea! There we had coffee and enjoyed the local scene for a bit before heading back on the ferry to Oban. It was such a great day and unique experience and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Bob for inviting me to come along. Another experience he invited me to was to archive items for the Museum on the island of Lismore! After a “rough waters” ferry ride to Lismore Bob drove us to the Museum where I was able to tour it and take my time reading all the history that was offered. I had the privilege of archiving under the direction of Bob, the Museum Curator. I quickly learned there is a lot to archiving, not just recording it in one place but many places both on paper and on the computer. It was very educational and I enjoyed it very much. One of my highlights this time was finding the Hope Food Pantry/Soup kitchen that I was able to volunteer at several times. It was unfortunate that I didn’t get a chance to volunteer for Dunollie Castle after a few failed attempts to connect but I was able to find an opportunity at the soup kitchen and it was very rewarding! The people were just precious there, fully embracing me as a volunteer all with so much goodness in their hearts to serve. I loved serving and visiting with the locals and learning their stories. I got to work in the food pantry sorting donations as well as cooking in the kitchen. Anyone who needed a hot bowl of great soup or any food pantry items were welcomed with open arms. I looked forward to each time I could serve this wonderful community. Thankfully for Facebook I am in touch with my new friends from there and can keep up on the goings on of the place until I return again someday. This was a very special place and I can’t wait to go back. One thing I definitely wanted to do this trip was walk Scotland. There are so many beautiful hikes through the highlands of Scotland I knew I had to do as many as I could while there. I was able to experience Ben Lora and Ben Cruchan (Ben means hill). Let me tell you some of these Bens were big! Of course the scenery again was exceptional with waterfalls coming out of the high hills all over. I spoke with many sheep on my hikes and even got a little closer to my spirit animal, the Scottish Highland cow. A highlight on the Ben Cruchan hike was the Kirk. It is an ancient Presbyterian Church that sits at the bottom of Ben Cruchan and it still holds services today in all of its glory. What an incredible place that also overlooks a Loch (which means Lake). Once inside the Kirk I found choir chairs with family names and their crests in the tartan of their clan on a pillow. Much to my delight I found MacDougall! Of course I took a picture to bring home and show my friend Margaret! To round out my month-long stay I experienced some great hospitality with some “new friends” at the local pubs, eateries, grocery stores and everywhere I went. I love this country, I just love all of it; the wind, rain and sun. My deepest gratitude to Margaret Carasik for opening my eyes to this beautiful country and it’s lovely people and to the MacDougall McCallum Heritage Foundation for their scholarship. I am forever in love with Scotland and I hope one day I find out I have a little Scottish in me!