Crofter 82 - Scottish Crofting Federation

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24 sac 88x85 2/8/07 12:09 Page 1 THE CROFTER, MARCH 2009 Independent advice and consultancy services throughout the Crofting Counties Balivanich 01870 602336 Campbeltown 01586 552502 Inverness 01463 233266 Kirkwall 01856 872698 Lerwick 01595 693520 Oban 01631 563093 Portree 01478 612993 Stornoway 01851 703103 Thurso 01847 892719 WHEN RESPONDING TO AN ADVERT, please say you saw it in The Crofter Crofter advertising: Claire Nicolson 01471 833239 crofter 88x130 090227 27/02/2009 16:00 Page 1 ANOTHER AWARD-WINNING YEAR HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS MEDIA AWARDS Keith MacKenzie Sports Writer of the Year Murray MacLeod Feature Writer of the Year and highly commended in the Bord na Gaidhlig Award Willie Urquhart highly commended in the Photographer of the Year award Aonghas Pàdraig Caimbeul Bord na Gaidhlig Award The newspaper of the land, the language, the people Lewis Crofters Ltd SHEEP FEED DRENCHES FERTILISERS SEEDS FENCING FOOTWEAR CATTLE FOOD VACCINES HARDWARE CLOTHING TRACTOR PARTS CAR TRAILERS Lewis Crofters Ltd Island Road, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis Telephone 01851 702350 Fax: 01851 703077 www.lewiscrofters.co.uk Macleod & MacCallum Solicitors and Estate Agents 28 Queensgate Inverness IV1 1YN Supporting Crofting Communities throughout the Highlands and Islands 01463 239393 www.macandmac.co.uk rooted in our community
THE CROFTER, MARCH 2009 25 Crofting Heroes A new topic, in which we feature a well-known crofting figure. We start the series with a profile of Alastair MacIver, Rogart, written by his old friend and colleague, John MacDonald. Alistair MacIver – crofter, diplomat A lastair was born in Brora on the coast of East Sutherland, into a district with modest crofts, many still occupied by the descendants of those cleared from the valley of the River Brora in 1819. Early in his life tragedy struck when both his parents were taken through illness. Alastair and his brother were looked after and brought up by their grandparents. Alastair was sent up to the maternal grandmother and uncle in Rossal, Rogart. His education was in the local school at Blarich followed by two years secondary education in Lairg. The latter did not inspire him for further education at that stage in life so he left school and started work on Blarich farm, getting good hands-on experience of agriculture. Then, into his midfifties with the forestry commission very active, Alastair left the farm to work with a local contractor help erect forestry fences. Soon another job opportunity occurred when there was a vacancy in the local roads squad of which his uncle Alex was foreman. This was around the same time that the local authority acquired ex-army four-wheeldrive lorries to update their fleet of snow-clearing machines. Alasdair became one of the snowplough drivers, a duty he performed for many years and in the process of which he gained a reputation for skilled driving in often very adverse conditions. He became the roads foreman when Alex retired. During the sixties and seventies there was a new idea on the go for assessing efficiency in the work place: “work study” was the in thing. Alistair put himself forward in answer to a recruiting initiative by the council and along with a few others was sent to Inverness to get trained. This opened the door for further opportunities. One involved the changeover from local to regional council in 1975 which brought with it many problems. One of these was a bonus scheme for Inverness council workers. Alastair was to spend the next three years in Inverness supervising the transition of this scheme. This also led to an interest in union activities, which saw him become a representative for the council workers union – a position he holds to this day. His next involvement was with a management services section, based in Brora but covering the whole Highland Region. This saw him drive vast distances in the line of duty. Following this he was put in charge of a manpower services unit, setting up and supervising youth training schemes. Most of us oldies will remember “YOP.” By the time that this scheme was being wound down, Alistair was 64 and accepted the opportunity of retirement and more time to work the croft. Although working on the home croft all his life, it was only in 1981 when Uncle Alex died, that Alastair took up the tenancy. He greatly increased the sheep flock, upped the cow numbers, built a new house for the croft and following that a splendid large shed. Fitting in croft work in with such a busy schedule meant a lot of planning and organising, the occasional help from his neighbours being called upon and rewarded in kind when appropriate. He supported the local hill grazings committee, seeking it to take advantage of the grants on offer, one of these being for a forestry scheme. As if this was not enough, there was the commitment to the local community council, which he served in various capacities including a long spell as chairman. Parallel to all this was his part in the SCU and SCF. He was there at the inaugural meeting of the SCU in November 1985 and was the second chairman to serve the local branch. Attending every branch and area meeting was the norm. Soon he was rising up the hierarchy of the organisation, attending council and serving for two and a half years as president Alastair was constantly being called on to fulfil diplomatic and representative positions for the organisation, attending annually the hill farming review in Edinburgh, trips to Brussels to put forward a case in support of crofting, special meetings with the then Secretary of State. All the while honing his skills as an arbitrator. Perhaps his best hour was at the time of the change from SCU to the SCF. It was a time Snow plough c 1956 of much unrest and resignation of active members. The boat got pretty rocky for a while. Alastair was there at the right time to give guidance and encourage change which led to calmer waters. Alistair still serves the SCF as company secretary. Peat turning c1975 showing Alistair with his family John and Linda and uncle Alex Vass on plough Alistair presenting the township of the year award
Page 1 and 2: THE CROFTER rooted in our community
Page 3 and 4: THE CROFTER, MARCH 2009 3 Carrying
Page 5 and 6: THE CROFTER, MARCH 2009 5 Richard a
Page 7 and 8: THE CROFTER, MARCH 2009 7 LOCAL FOO
Page 9 and 10: THE CROFTER, MARCH 2009 9 A n incre
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Page 13 and 14: THE CROFTER, MARCH 2009 13 Towards
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Page 23: THE CROFTER, MARCH 2009 23 Keep up
Page 27 and 28: THE CROFTER, MARCH 2009 27 The Crof

Crofter 82 - Scottish Crofting Federation

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