The beautiful landscapes, vast history and varied culture of the Scottish Highlands are the source of inspiration for many poets, novelists, and musicians.

It is also the focus this September of the Culture Club at Carveth Care Centre, a retirement lodge and long-term care home in Gananoque that boasts three residents from Scotland.

Doris Lindsay has lived at Carveth Retirement Lodge for the past three years. She was born on the west coast of Ayrshire in Troon, Scotland in 1925.

“My father was a ship builder,” she explains. “I had one sibling, a sister named Cybil.”

Doris studied physiotherapy at the University of Glasgow. When she completed her studies, she moved to Canada. Over her lifetime, she returned to Scotland many times while travelling the world.

Elizabeth Murray, 88, a resident of the long-term care home for more than one-year, was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, where she met her husband of 67 years, James Murray.

Speaking for his mother, Scott Murray notes, “My mother immigrated to Canada in 1957 on the ship, the Queen Mary. Her fondest memory of Scotland is meeting and marrying her husband.”

According to Scott, Elizabeth felt the biggest difference between the two countries is size because Scotland is small compared to Canada.

“Another major difference is the expressions used,” he continues. “Mother asked her landlady here to knock-her-up in the morning (wake-up) which over here has a difference connotation altogether.”

Scott continues, “Mother had a very difficult upbringing, including surviving the Nazi bombing attacks on Glasgow and rationing, which lasted well into the 1950s. She was also responsible for raising most of her younger siblings. She is most proud of the two children she raised.”

Speaking from Carveth Care Centre in mid-August, Stewart Robertson, 59, talks about Scotland where we moved when he was a few months old. He only stayed in Scotland for three years and then moved with his family to Canada.

“My parents were born in Scotland,” Stewart explains. “They used to like going to Scottish parades to hear the drums and bagpipes.”

One of the most northerly of the four parts of the United Kingdom, Scotland occupies approximately one-third of the island of Great Britain. The name Scotland derives from the Latin Scotia, land of the Scots, a Celtic people from Ireland who settled on the west coast of Great Britain about the 5th century CE. The name Caledonia has often been applied to Scotland, especially in poetry. It is derived from Caledonii, the Roman name of a tribe in the northern part of what is now Scotland.

Carveth Care Centre is excited to study the beauty and history of Scotland this September. To learn more about living or working here, please call 613-382-4752.