Audio cassette recording of Jean MacCallum, Balevullin talking to Maggie Campbell in 2000.
(Continued from AC238) Jean MacCallum of Balevullin talks to Maggie Campbell in 2000 about pilgrims preaching in Balevullin School and about going to church, the names and location of various rocks and cliffs near Balevullin, carrageen and fishing, how crofting now is not as close to nature, Easter and the different moons, potatoes and crops that used to be grown, natural fertilisers, the faster pace of life now, Cattle Shows, Clydesdale horses and knitting.
Photograph of Alick MacNeill of Balephuil at an Agricultural Show in the 1950s.
Courtesy of Mrs Doris MacLean
Alick MacNeill of Main Road Farm, Balephuil is pictured at an Agricultural Show in Crossapol in the 1950s. A prize was awarded for the best horse, cart and harness. Tractors became more common after World War II, before which crofters depended on draught horses for ploughing and transporting crops.
Note the tractor wheels on the cart. Although not a large as the old iron wheels, the rubber tyres made travelling quieter and more comfortable. It was also considerably easier for the horses pulling the cart. Young horses in particular were alarmed by the noise of the old iron wheels.
One of the major events in the local calendar since the 1880s, the Show was originally held in Scarinish, moved to Crossapol in the 1940s and then to Whitehouse at Cornaig in 1996. Since 2004 it has been located at the new Rural Centre at Crossapol.
Black and white photograph of Alex MacNeill, Balephuil, at aTiree Agricultural Show in the 1950s.
Alex MacNeill of Main Road Farm, Balephuil at an Agricultural Show in Crossapol in the 1950s. Note the tractor wheels on the cart. Although not a large as the old iron wheels (see cart in the background on the right), the rubber tyres made travelling quieter and more comfortable and made pulling the cart considerably easier for the horses. Young horses in particular were alarmed by the noise of the old iron wheels.