We are all celebrating a special birthday this year within our Church. Drumclog Kirk Guild was formed 75 years ago. The first meeting took place in 1934, and on 3rd November Members and friends gathered at the Strath-aven Hotel for a celebratory dinner. A special birthday cake was cut by Mrs Janie Struthers who is the Honorary President of the Guild. She can proudly look back on over 60 years of service in membership. Mrs Pat Lennox, the current President, had the pleasant task of awarding a special long service certificate to Miss Helen Anderson.
Over the past 75 years the "Guild" as it is now known, has been a corner-stone of our Kirk in the Country. Away back in those far off days the annual membership fee was one shilling (five pence). To this day prodi-gious fund-raisers, (the sales of work alone brought in almost £1,500 over the last 2 years) it is worth noting that in 1938 the Drumclog Guild man-aged to provide the whole funding for the provision of a water supply and plumbing at the Kirk at a cost of £34.10/- Doesn‘t seem like a lot of money now but when 20 shillings equalled one pound that was equivalent to 790 membership fees!
It is fascinating to look over old records of the Guild. For much of the war, in common with other Guilds, they operated as a work party and in those first years of the war over 1,000 knitted and sewn garments were provided for servicemen, some of whom were naval personnel involved in the Norwegian campaigns. The good food that we all associate with events at Drumclog is not a new phenomenon – food parcels were made up and despatched for our fighting forces, and indeed for our Home Guard! They also adopted and equipped a ward at what was then a forces hospital at Dungavel.
Although the decades have brought many changes, not least the fact that Guilds throughout the land can now count some of our menfolk amongst members and supporters, the work and worth of the Guild continues steadily. A regular programme of speakers, entertainers and special events, such as the annual chrysanthemum tea, runs from September to May.
Membership numbers remain strong, always in excess of 30 and Drumclog Kirk Guild is always mindful of the support of friends from Avendale Fel-lowship as well as other churches and organisations in the district. Meetings are held in the hall at Drumclog and a warm welcome is ever ready for anyone who would like to come along. More information can be obtained from Pat Lennox or Margaret Elliot who currently hold the offices of President and Secretary.
Nancy Anderson