John Ross, Maise Muirhead
Back Row – Kirsteen Ross, Fiona Bell, Robert Cameron, George Kobiela, Keith Stewart, Morag Beaton, Geordie MacPherson.
Middle Row – Derek Kobiela, Alison Ross, May MacPherson, Jean McMaster, Janice Muir, Stephen Lawson, Walter Beattie.
Front Row – Duncan Brown, Leon Kobiela, Malcolm MacDonald, John MacDonald, Neil McMaster
Mr John Ross, Mrs Nan Ross
Miss Anne Maxwell
Mrs Nan Ross
Miss Anne Maxwell
Miss Maise Muirhead
Miss Mary Ross
My family lived in Cairndow at a time when the ‘travelling’ people still walked the roads, the men offering to do a bit of work if needed; eg, cutting your lawn or mending a tool. The women carried their babies in their shawls. My mother always gave them food.
There were also single men who had a self determined and regular route through the country, who would offer to do a bit of work in return for food. Many were former soldiers who for various reasons: eg, suffering from shell shock and been unable to settle back into their prewar homes.
My mother had grown up in Bellshill, on the edge of Glasgow, and she was always a bit wary of the poor damaged men coming to her door.
These wandering peoples were, in time, resettled in permanent homes, though there were always a few who were uncomfortable with sleeping indoors, and basically never adjusted to living in a fixed dwelling.