Extracts from Newsletter 12
No. 12; May 1999.

Looking to the Future

George & Jane's grandchildren (Rory, Emily & Hugo)
.

Your new-look Clan Centre Newsletter is a result of our launch into cyber-space.
It is partly compiled in hyper-text - which is less flexible when it comes to columns and other paper-media tricks - with a view to including it on the website. So as not to discourage our Friends from continuing to subscribe - and your subscriptions are paying for the website too - we will only publish highlights of each edition on the website, so you'll still get ALL the latest direct from Finlaystone each May and November.
The highlight of the tasters for the current edition which will appear on the website will be colour versions of the photos (which costs dictate must always be B&W in the printed editions).

MAKING PLANS FOR MISSISSIPPI
We're dusting off our hats for the International Gathering of The Clan MacMillan Society of North America in Mississippi in August, and we hope you are too. Remember this is your chance to meet your chief and his wife in person. Clan Genealogist Graeme Mackenzie will be there to launch his new book "The Origins and Early History of the M'millans and Related Kindreds". By way of a taster for that see his article inside this newsletter called Leny Link Throws New Light on 18th Century Lochaber Macmillans, the subject matter of which touches on the great emigration of 1802; and therefore looks ahead to the next big clan event in Scotland: 2002 The Great Return, some details of which are also enclosed. See y'all there.

Page 2:

INTERNATIONAL CLAN NEWS

McMILLAN ON TOP OF THE WORLD
read the headline in The Scotsman as Hammy McMillan Jnr. and his Scottish team won the World Curling Championship.
Having played in many losing teams in these championships in the past, Hammy said his 6-5 victory over Canada at St. John, New Brunswick in April marked the achievement of his life's ambition; and he did it under the proud gaze of his father Hamilton Snr., himself an ex-international curler. The curling McMillans come from Galloway, where the family run a chain of luxury hotels which specialise in providing facilities for sports such as tennis, swimming and golf - in addition of course to curling. The late Andrew McMillan of Portpatrick, who presented George with a case of McMillan whisky and vodka at the Roots '97 gathering in Dumfries, was a member of the same family as the Hammys; and Friend of the Clan Centre Andrew McMillan of Ocala, Florida, is a cousin of theirs - to whom thanks for providing us with their family tree on a visit to Finlaystone.

NORTHEAST USA BRANCH GALA GATHERING reports special correspondent, Father Mac.
Fifty members and friends of The Clan MacMillan Society Northeast gathered at the Riverside Church in New York City on April 17th for a gala program that included a beautiful and spectacular ballet based on Gilchrist's Dream, the dance specially commissioned for the 1996 International Gathering of the MacMillans at Finlaystone. President Andrew's wife Kitty Lunn MacMillan expanded the original scope of the ballet with additions of stories from the history of Scots' heroes including William Wallace, King Robert the Bruce, and "Bonnie Prince Charlie". The new version has been renamed Scotland's Heroes and features a larger company of dancers, and the singing of Scots ballads by America's best-known Celtic singer, Charlie Zahm. The performance was woven together by President Andrew's readings from carefully selected portions of Scotland's heroic national heritage. The performance of Scotland's Heroes in Riverside's beautiful theater followed a delightful dinner and social hour duing which Dr. Lamar McMillin, President of the North American Society spoke about plans for the gathering of the Clan in Mississippi in August. Andrew & Kitty MacMillan are pictured right.

MICHAEL MacMILLAN TO RECEIVE THE 1999 SCOT OF THE YEAR AWARD
was the headline in the Winter 1998-99 edition of The Scots Canadian (the Newsletter of the Scottish Studies Society of the University of Guelph, Ontario) - and thanks to Clan Centre Trustee John B. McMillan for sending us a copy of this.
Michael MacMillan, 42, was born in Scarborough, Ontario, and since launching Atlantis Films in 1978 has been involved in the production and distribution of over 750 films and television programmes. In 1984 he won an Oscar for "high quality, family oriented film entertainment"; and last July Atlantis merged with Alliance Communications to create Canada's largest such company.

DONALD W. MACMILLAN son of Willie Donald Macmillan, past-Chairman of the Glenurquhart Macmillan Society,
was named last autumn as President of Alcan Global Automotive Products based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA.
Having joined the British Aluminium Company (subsequently acquired by Alcan) as a research scientist in applied technology in 1971, Donald rose to manage a major Alcan laboratory in Canada before being transferred to Detroit in 1994 as Vice-President and General Manager of Alcan Automotive Products. His new post also involves responsibility for the company's automotive business both in North America and in Europe; so hopefully we might see him again in Scotland from time to time.

JAMES MacMILLAN, "the most important Scottish composer of all time" (The HERALD,
31st March 1999) has recently completed his most ambitious work to date; a triptych called "Triduum".
This consists of a piece for cor anglais and orchestra, a cello concerto, and a symphony; and together comprise a large-scale reflection on the events leading up to Easter and the crucifixion of Christ. They have been recorded for release on the prestigious BIS record label, and will be performed together live in the Usher Hall at this year's Edinburgh Festival.

HEC McMILLAN of Reid in the Australian Capital Territory (i.e. near Canberra)
celebrates his 57th wedding anniversary with his wife Phyll on his 80th birthday (he is said to have chosen to marry on his birthday so he'd always remember his wedding anniversary!). Actor and ex-Civil Servant Hec had a special party organised by his daughter at which he received a spoof copy of the New York Times sporting the news that Prime Minister Howard had changed the name of "Canberra Day" to "Hec McMillan Day", and a real message from Chief George MacMillan congratulating him on his birthday, anniversary, and the devotion of such good friends (one of whom had flown out from London, where Hec had once worked in the Immigration Service, and who later took the trouble to deliver personally to Finlaystone the photo of Hec and Phyll at their party that we print to the right).

IN MEMORIAM: We regret to report the recent deaths of two distinguished members of the clan in the USA:
EBEN MCMILLAN, aged 90, of Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo Co., California; a cattle rancher, conservationist, and noted natural historian who became a leading authority on the Condor. He and his brother Ian were elected Fellows of the California Academy of Science for their work in publicising the growing dangers to the survival of the Condor, which Ian chronicled in his 1968 book "Man and the California Condor". Eben is survived by his wife Gladys, two sons, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, to all of whom we extend our sympathy (and our thanks to Elizabeth Brown for relaying the sad news to us).
SARAH JANE MARK MACMILLAN, wife of Rev. A. Malcolm MacMillan ("Father Mac"), mother of Dave, Alex and Liz; who passed away peacefully after having suffered for some time from Altzheimer's Disease. She will be remembered and missed especially by the Companions of the Tonsured Servant - the order founded by her husband - and by the many clanspeople who were fortunate enough to enjoy the wonderful hospitality bestowed on all who stayed at "Cuile Colum".

On other pages of this issue:

Pages 3 & 4 contain the article by Clan Genealogist Graeme M. Mackenzie entitled "Leny Link Throws Light on 18th Century Lochaber Macmillans". As well as pointing out the importance to the story of the MacMillans of the branch of Maolan's descendants who took the name "de Lany" or "Leny" - which forms a major part of Graeme's forthcoming book on the clan's origins and early history - this article reveals a most unexpected and significant discovery about Leny that provides the missing clue to unravelling the genealogy of the chieftains of the Lochaber Macmillans who organised the great 1802 emigration to Canada.

Page 5 consists of Clan Centre and Finlaystone News and includes a summary of the Centre's finances for 1998 and details of how Project MAOL is now "On-line" on this website. It also has a black and white version of this photo of "the Chief's Sofa"; the stone seat in the new MacMillan Garden - by the memorial Wall - which was entirely built by George himself and has a small plaque on it dedicated to the memory of his late parents, Sir Gordon and Lady Marian MacMillan. The picture of George's grandchildren that appears on Page 1 of this edition of the newsletter was taken with them sitting on the "sofa".

The Back Page contains in Stop Press four new spellings of the clan surname (taking the total so far discovered to 199), along with an announcement of the appointment of new Trustees to the International Board that administers the Clan Centre, and news of the birth of George and Jane's fourth grandchild.

To obtain a copy of this issue of the Clan Centre Newsletter please see details about the Friends of the Clan MacMillan Centre.

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