The Board of Mill Prong Preservation, Inc. is pleased to announce that Dr. Michael Newton, renowned Gaelic scholar and author, will be the honored speaker for the Mill Prong Preservation, Inc. Annual Meeting and Open House from 2:00 – 5:00pm on Sunday, April 8, 2018.
Dr. Newton was awarded a Ph.D. in Celtic Studies from the University of Edinburgh in 1998 and was an Assistant Professor in the Celtic Studies department of St Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia 2008-2013. He has written several books and numerous articles about Gaelic culture and history and is the leading authority on Scottish Gaelic heritage in North America. We’re Indians Sure Enough: The Legacy of Scottish Highlanders in the United States focuses on Scottish Gaelic poetry composed in the United States and is the first critical examination of relations between the Highlanders and other ethnic groups. He was the editor of Dùthchas nan Gaidheal: Selected Essays of John MacInnes, which won the Saltire Society’s Research Book award of 2006 and the author of Warriors of the Word: The World of the Scottish Highlanders, which was nominated for the 2009 Katharine Briggs Award for folklore research. In 2014 he was given the inaugural Saltire Award by the St. Andrews University Scottish Heritage Center (of Laurinburg, North Carolina) for his “outstanding contributions to the preservation and interpretation of Scottish history and culture.” His 2015 publication Seanchaidh na Coille / Memory-Keeper of the Forest: Anthology of Scottish Gaelic Literature of Canada is the first extensive collection and analysis of Gaelic-Canadian literature. A selection of Dr. Newton’s books and CDs will be available for sale at the conclusion of his presentation.
Mill Prong House, 3062 Edinburgh Road, Red Springs, NC, is the only remaining beautifully restored typical Scottish immigrant dwelling in North Carolina. The afternoon celebration is open to the public to view the many research displays prepared by UNC-Wilmington’s graduate History Division. These tell of the plantation and stage coach days; creation of Floral College; and many records and artifacts from archeological site digs. Tartans, donated from local representatives of various clans are featured in the Tartan Room. Guests will be encouraged to sign the ledgers of their own ancestral clans!
Refreshments will be served. Many of the tasty treats will use recipes from Keepers of the Hearth, a collection of food preparation and stories found in notes and ledgers from Mill Prong House.
House tours of this “jewel of Hoke County” will be available. Docents will share information of the significant architectural features, preservation and restoration, and the research displays “telling the story” of the early Scottish leaders of the Raft Swamp area.
Mill Prong House is open for visitation the first Sunday of each month from 2-5 P.M. Mill Prong Preservation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization. Donations provide continued preservation and program development honoring Scottish heritage. Checks may be made to: Mill Prong Preservation, Inc., and mailed to: PO Box 32, Southern Pines, NC 28388. Questions? Call 910-315-5385 or 910-466-9008.
