Bagpipers to share Scottish heritage

MacCallum Highlanders Pipe & Drum band will perform Saturday at Woodworth Park in Beaver Township.

By VIRGINIA ROSS

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

NORTH LIMA — As a small child, Heather MacNaughton thought everyone was Scottish and played the bagpipes.

That’s what the she was familiar with. Her folks were Scottish.

Her dad played the bagpipes and so did her grandfather.

“That’s just how it was,” the Leetonia woman said. “It wasn’t until I went to school and realized not everyone was Scottish and not everyone played bagpipes. Many of the kids didn’t even know what they were.”

For many decades, MacNaughton, a native of the North Lima area, has worked to educate folks about the bagpipes and her Scottish heritage. On Saturday, she and other members of the MacCallum Highlanders Pipe & Drum band will perform at Woodworth Park in Beaver Township.

The event is being sponsored by the Beaver Township Park Board. Admission is free. Hours are noon to 2:30 p.m. Various foods including British pastry, shepherd’s pie and shortbread cookies will be available for purchase. Visitors are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs.

The band plans to perform two 30-minute concerts. MacNaughton said band members will be available to answer questions about the bagpipes. Spectators will also get a closer look at the instruments and traditional attire, including the MacCallum Tartan kilts that band members will be wearing.

“We’re a street band,” she said. “Our purpose is to entertain, not compete.”

Her experience

MacNaughton’s father formed the Heather Highlanders when she was 6, and she started playing with the band when she turned 9. Later, after moving to Akron, MacNaughton joined the MacCallum Highlanders. She has served as the band’s director since 1969.

She said she doesn’t know for sure whether her father named his band after her, or whether the concept of the band came first.

“I guess he just really liked the name Heather,” she said. “And he loved the music, and that’s something that’s been carried on to my own family.”

The band has about 20 members from across Northeastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. At least a dozen of them are expected to perform Saturday. Along with the musicians on the bagpipes, there will be a bass drummer and tenor and snare drummers.

Also, musician Randy Homer will play a set on his small pipes. MacNaughton explained the small pipes are not as large or as loud as the bagpipes usually played.

“They’re the kind you can play in the house,” she said. “It’s a little different.”

MacNaughton said she believes the bagpipes are the most difficult instrument to learn. The musician can play nine notes on the bagpipes, no sharps and no flats.

“You have to have a lot of hot air and coordination,” she said. “I think a lot of people are surprised after they’ve experienced it up close for the first time. It’s a real treat.

“They make a beautiful sound. I think it’s enjoyable to listen to, but also to watch. And I think as more and more people become familiar with the instrument and the tradition, the better it is because it is so enjoyable.”