Mar 20, 2019 5 min read

DONORA – Donora has long been a melting pot of many diverse ethnic groups. Croatians, Poles, Italians, Rusyns, Spaniards, Scots and more came to the town on the Monongahela to work in its mills and add to the cultural mix.

Recently, the Donora Historical Society opened its very first exhibit that focuses on one of its resident ethnic groups – the Scots.

“This is something new to us,” said Mark Pawlewec, historical society volunteer. “Never before did we have this many items for any particular ethnic group.”

What enabled the historical society to mount the exhibit is a recent donation of Scottish items by Donora resident Sandy Williams, whose father was both a mill worker and high journal secretary for the Clan Grant, a fraternal organization first chartered by the Order of Scottish Clans on July 27, 1912. Among the gifts to the society was the large silver chain worn by her father, William Swanney, at Clan Grant meetings as well as all of his plaid tartan garments.

Other items include kilt pins, the mouthpiece of a bagpipe, the 50-year pin Swanney got as a result of being a member for half a century, a Clan Grant No. 25 pin and two trophies awarded the Clan Grant soccer team, whose uniform symbol was a thistle – the Scottish national emblem. Williams’ grandfather, Thomas Swanney and his three brothers – Archie, Pete and Jack – were members of the team. The trophies are pictured in a large panoramic photo in the exhibit that shows the team in 1925.

Williams also donated Scottish cookbooks compiled by Broomie Knowe No. 46 of the Daughters of Scotia, the women’s auxiliary group .

After the exhibit opened, Donora Borough found an old Clan Grant Pipe Band outfit that consists of a blue waist coat, a kilt made with the proper Clan Grant tartan and a sporran, or pouch, that performs the same function as pockets on the pocketless kilt.

“We’re well on our way to having a complete pipe band outfit but are still short a pair of socks, a cap, spats and a bagpipe,” said Brian Charleton, curator for the society and the Donora Smog Museum, where the exhibit is housed.

Williams said she kept all the items for years after she found them in her mother’s cedar chest. Wanting to downsize, she offered them to the historical society.

“I wondered what I was going to do with them and hadn’t seen them for years,” she said. “At first it was difficult to part with them, but after I went to see the exhibit I was glad I donated them so that others can now see them as well.”

Another recent donation that increased the society’s Scottish collection came from Margaret Robb Sterling of Pittsburgh, whose parents lived in Donora. Robb Sterling presented the society with numerous photographs, especially ones that show the Clan Grant Pipe Band, which got its start in 1952.

Many people familiar with Clan Grant will probably enjoy viewing clippings from the Robert Burns banquets, held annually near the birthday of Scotland’s most famous poet, born on Jan. 25, 1759. Over the years the banquets were held at various locations like the Presbyterian Church and the municipal building auditorium, and the earliest memento in the collection is from the banquet held on Jan. 27, 1916.

“Although Clan Grant was chartered in 1912, we’re not sure if there were Robbie Burns banquets before that,” Charlton said.

The last banquet took place in 2007, and a ticket from the event is included in the collection. An agenda published in the program for the 1951 banquet lists all of the events of the day starting with a welcome by the toastmaster, followed by the Selkirk Grace, a prayer said before eating that’s attributed to Robert Burns.

The president’s toast, the singing of Scottish songs, a bagpipe performance, a reading of Burns’ poetry and toasts to “the lassies,” America and Scotland followed. The banquet closed with the presenting of the haggis, described as a Scottish dish consisting of a sheep or calf offal mixed with suet, oatmeal, and seasoning and boiled in a bag, traditionally one made from the animal’s stomach.

Dr. Charles Stacey attended several of the banquets and remembers being the toastmaster for the last three. Once, he was asked to deliver the “Immortal Memory of Robbie Burns” speech at the banquet that includes some of the poet’s works.

“I imagine I went to the banquet at least 10 times, and it always drew a crown of between 250 and 270 people,” Stacey said. “The banquets might have continued if we could find enough volunteers to do the work organizing and running the event.”

“Some of the older people who were enthusiastic about the banquets have passed away, and the younger crowd doesn’t seem to be all that interested in their heritage,” Stacey said. “Many of them have moved away to find work; others have intermarried into other ethnic groups. I wish the banquets were still going to promote our Scottish heritage. It was a wonderful event in Donora.”

The Scottish Exhibit at the Smog Museum, 595 McKean Ave. in Donora will run indefinitely. Museum hours are Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, phone 724-823-0364 or email DonoraHistoricalSociety@gmail.com.