Comrie Community Website

Carlton Place Twinning - 15th Anniversary

Our Guests

This year was the fifteenth anniversary of the twinning of Comrie and Carleton Place, and during August Comrie had a visit from five of our Canadian friends from Carleton Place o celebrate.

Our guest were Ron and Barbara Geobel, Ron is the Chairman of the Carleton Place twinning committee and Barbara is a committee member. Accompanying them was Jeff and Kathy McGuire, Jeff is Vice Chairman of the committee and was the editor of the Carleton Place Canadian, Carleton Place's equivalent of the Strathearn Herald, both he and his good lady are on the committee. The fifth person was Joy Arthurs, Ron's sister, she was across for the holiday as it was her birthday.

During the visit there was a two way live video broadcast between the two communities to celebrate the 15th Anniversay of the twinning, with Comrie's end taking place in the White Church in Comrie. This was a great success gifts were exchanged and Comrie presented the people of Carleton Place with a crystal urn, suitably inscribed. This was conveyed back to Carleton Place where it was presented to the Mayor Paul Dulmage.

Ron and Barbara were invited to judge the Comrie Fortnight Float Parade, which they did with much enthusiasm and thoroughly enjoyed the moment and were very honoured to be asked to do so.

Rejuvenating the links 

Much talking took place regarding stepping up and rejuvenating the twinning process between the two communities. Among the topics dicussed to stimulate interest, was to introduce student exchange vists. These would involve four students from each community visiting the others town, residing with each others families, sharing their way of life, attending their respective schools for a couple of days and also seeing some of the sights of Scotland/Canada at the same time. Moves are afoot to try and progress this idea and so far it has recieved favourable comment.

Another idea that was mooted was a visit by a group of residents from Comrie to Carleton Place. In the past Carleton Place has visited the Comrie area four times, each time there being a party of about 50. The closure of The Strathearn Hotel in Crieff unfortunatley resulted in their planned visit for this last year being cancelled. Over the years there have been numerous visits from Comrie to Carleton Place by individuals from Comrie in an effort to keep the twinning alive. It is envisaged that if enough interest was to be shown by the residents of Comrie towards a visit to Carleton Place, then this could be progressed, the numbers would not need to be large, any small group would be acceptable. They would be made most welcome over in Carleton Place with a full itinerary of visits and events arranged.

There have also been two visits to Carleton Place by Comrie Pipe Band, both visits were a great success, again moves are afoot for a return visit to Carleton Place this is being looked at to see if it would be viable.

At the moment the twinning committee in Comrie is small and without a great deal of funds to help arrange such a visit. There are some grants available to assist, but small they are. Whilst, money does not really come into the eqation it would be handy to purchase items of Scottish interest to take with any party visiting, i.e Comrie's own lapel pin!!

Getting involved 

In conclusion, I would ask that any person interested in helping to foster the twinning between the two communities, assisting with a student exchange should it materialise (or to assist it materialise) or to assist in any way at all please contact myself, George Lees, (Chairman at present) on 01764 670994 or e- mail on  .

 The following article has been sent for publication on this site by our Canadian cousins.

Comrie anniversary gifts formally presented to Carleton Place council

By EMC STAFF

The final chapter in the pomp and circumstance surrounding the 15th anniversary of the twinning between Carleton Place and the village of Comrie, Scotland was written during a meeting of town council on Tuesday, Sept. 11.

Five members of the Carleton Place Sister City Committee, including four who represented the town at the official anniversary observances in Comrie in late July, formally presented gifts received in Scotland to mayor Paul Dulmage. The mayor accepted the presentations on behalf of the council and the residents of the community.

Ron Goebel, who co-chairs the local committee along with councillor Dennis Burn, gave those in attendance an overview of the anniversary ceremonies held on Saturday, July 28 as well as an update on a meeting he held with Scottish officials, aimed at furthering the already well established linkage between communities on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

“This (anniversary) was a dream come true for me,” he said. “We wanted to do it for the 10th anniversary, but we did it for the 15th,” he emphasized.

Goebel, along with his wife Barb and Jeff and Kathleen Maguire, were the committee members who represented Carleton Place at the ceremonies in Comrie. Mr. Maguire is a columnist and feature writer for the Record News EMC.

Also representing the committee at the council meeting was Debbie McVie who, along with Robin Mulloy of Tomahawk Technologies, oversaw the successful audio-video hook-up held as part of the anniversary observances. A live computer link was established between the twin communities which allowed those attending the official ceremonies, which ran simultaneously, to see and hear what was taking place in real time.

Mr. Goebel praised McVie and Mulloy for their efforts in making the unique live presentation work so well. He also thanked the Carleton Place participants for their part in making the special event an unqualified success.

Last week’s presentations began when Mr. Maguire read a letter from Gordon Banks, the member of British Parliament for the riding of Ochil and South Perthshire which includes Comrie. The letter was originally read during the official ceremony in Comrie.

Banks praises all of those involved in the long twinning arrangement and notes the importance of the arrangement to both communities.

Mrs. Maguire then presented mayor Dulmage with two drawings of Westminster, the British Parliament in London, which were sent to Carleton Place courtesy of MP Banks. They will be framed and added to the numerous items from Comrie and the United Kingdom which already grace the walls on the main level of the Carleton Place Town Hall.

McVie then read a letter from Roseanna Cunningham, Member of the Scottish Parliament for the riding of Perth.

Gift for residents

In her letter Cunningham, who represents Comrie’s interests at Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, notes the value of the twinning relationship between Comrie and Carleton Place. She expresses her hope the long relationship will continue to flourish.

Mrs. Goebel then made the evening’s main presentation to the mayor. A crystal urn, which the Goebels “carefully” brought back from Scotland, is an anniversary gift from the people of Comrie to the people of Carleton Place. The beautiful, decorative piece of crystal is engraved with the date of the 15th anniversary. Dulmage says it too will find a place of honour in the town hall.

During the July ceremonies in Comrie the five Canadian representatives (Ron Goebel’s sister Joy Arthurs from Kitchener was also on hand) each received special anniversary shirts from George Lees, chairman of the Comrie Twinning Committee, on behalf of the community.

The visitors reciprocated with a beautifully engraved 15th anniversary plaque, a proclamation signed by mayor Dulmage and two flags. The flags presented are Canada’s familiar red maple leaf banner and Carleton Place’s own blue, town flag. The mayor’s proclamation (which he read during the live hook-up July 28) underlines the ongoing commitment between his growing community and the picturesque village nestled in the shadow of the Scottish Highlands.

The official Carleton Place observances were held in the upstairs auditorium of the historic town hall (circa 1897) while the Comrie ceremonies were staged in the landmark White Church, now the village community centre.

To complete last Tuesday’s final anniversary presentations, Mr. Goebel gave a short report on the meeting he and his wife had with Comrie officials, including members of the local council. The session in the Scottish village was held eight days after the formal anniversary ceremonies.

He told Carleton Place councillors there is “renewed interest” in the twinning arrangement in Comrie. He adds everyone involved, in both communities, feels that getting more people involved, especially young people, is the key to the future success of the linkage.

Goebel notes plans are now underway to extend the student exchange program, operated by his committee, to include young people from Scotland.

To date the two-year-old venture has involved only students from Carleton Place and the town’s newest sister city, Franklin, Tennessee near Nashville. The communities were formally linked in January 2005.

However, Goebel told the meeting discussions have centred on a number of other ventures designed to bring the communities closer together.

“We talked to the head of their curling organization. They are interested in sending a team – maybe more than one team – to take part in the Community Bonspiel.”

The annual curling extravaganza takes place early in the New Year. This year’s event, held in late January and early February, was the 22nd annual and it involved a total of 56 teams comprised of men and women of all ages.

The sport of curling is thought to have been invented in late medieval Scotland. In fact the first written reference to a sport using stones on ice is in the records of Paisley Abbey in Renfrew, Scotland and it is dated 1541.

Visits planned

Goebel notes the Comrie and District Pipe Band, which spearheaded two previous group visits to Carleton Place in 1994 and again in 1997, is also seriously considering another excursion as soon as enough funds can be raised to send the band overseas. The pipe band played during the recent anniversary observances in Comrie.

The local co-chair says that at the very least several couples from Comrie and Scotland, including one of the original founders of the twinning Jimmy Stewart and his wife Barbara along with John and Sheila Culliven (he is the former Lord Provost of Perth and Kinross), are considering a visit to Carleton Place next year.

“We will show them the same kind of hospitality I’m sure they showed you (local representatives),” Dulmage promises.

The mayor also had praise for the Goebels and Maguires for the part they played in the Comrie anniversary observances. “We couldn’t possibly have had better representatives of the town,” Dulmage stated.

At the conclusion of the brief ceremony the mayor had a question for Mr. Goebel.

“When are you holding another trip to Comrie,” he asked.

The Goebels have organized four previous group visits from Carleton Place to Comrie and Scotland. The first was in 1996 and the most recent in 2002.

“We hope to do something the year after next,” Mr. Goebel said. “We used to do it in even years – but next year is the even year and they (Comrie people) are coming here.

“So we’ll look at 2009,” he promised.

“Good,” the mayor replied. “Because I’m going to go with you.”

The twinning that reached an important milestone on August 1 (the official observances were held on the weekend closest to the actual date) has its roots in 19th Century emigration from Scotland to Canada.

Scores of residents from the Perthshire region of Scotland, which includes Comrie, sailed to Canada to start life in the New World. Many of them lie buried in cemeteries such as St. Fillans in Beckwith Township, just outside Carleton Place. St. Fillans is named for a neighbouring village to Comrie.

The twinning resulted when Comrie native Peter McNaughton visited the Carleton Place-Beckwith area. McNaughton, an author who now lives in the Montreal suburb of Pointe Clare, was struck by how deep the common roots ran. He suggested the idea to the councils in the respective communities. The rest is modern history!

McNaughton was among those present for the Carleton Place ceremony in July. He joined members of the original twinning committee here, past politicians including former mayor Brian Costello and interested citizens in paying tribute to the now deeply rooted relationship involving the communities.

 

 

 

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