From the Northern Times 25, 50 and 100 years ago
25 YEARS AGO
From the newspaper of April 21, 2000
Brora slid into economic gloom this week as receivers laid off more than a third of the workforce at Hunters of Brora. Thirty workers at the crisis-hit mill were told by John Reid of Edinburgh accountants Deloitte Touche that they no longer had jobs. More redundancies are expected to be announced next week. GMB union rep at the mill, George Mackay, said: “We are all absolutely shocked. None of us realised that that many workers would go. We did have it in the back of our minds that a few would go, but not that many.
The only Sutherland ‘Millennium Milepost’ in the 500-mile cycle route from Aberdeen to John O’Groats was unveiled this week at the lonely Crask Inn, in the heart of the county. Kai and Michael Geldard of the Crask Inn provided refreshments and champagne for the occasion.
Dornoch Town Jail reopened as Jail Dornoch this week as a Scottish crafts and countrywear shop under new ownership and in a completely refurbished interior. The old county jail which is a listed building, has seen many changes in its day. For the past 25 years it was owned by Lochcarron Weavers, who ran it as a craft and tweed shop, tearoom and exhibition of County Jail memorabilia in addition to their weaving showroom and working looms.
50 YEARS AGO
From the newspaper of April 25, 1975
The terrible ordeal of a 14-year-old Golspe High School pupil, who had been missing from home last Monday, was revealed about 1p.m. on Wednesday. Then Donald Carmichael, of the Old Manse, Loth, was found lying with a broken leg in mountainous country, a mile or so off the remote Glen Loth road, short cut to Kildonan, and about eight miles from his home.
According to a report in a national paper last week a London-based company, Head Limousine Services Ltd., who are interested in reopening Brora coal mine, need housing in the area for up to 50 miners who would be recruited in Yorkshire. The plan, it was stated, was to reopen the mine which had been flooded for some time.
Thirty-one skippers fishing out of Kinlochbervie have petitioned the owners, Sutherland County Council, to provide them with a beaching berth so that they can effect repairs to their boats. Mr J. N. Millar, depute surveyor, told the Roads Committee at Dornoch last week that the £30,000 project was in the future capital works programme and it would be discussed at regional level fairly soon.
100 YEARS AGO
From the newspaper of April 23, 1925
Thanks to Mr Horne the proprietor of Lairg Estate, Lairg is meantime a busy place and is likely to be for some time. Good progress is made with the new block of houses being erected by him, and a start is soon expected to be made with the erection of the electric plant, which, when installed, will be beneficial to the district in several ways.
Chief Constable H. Chisholm’s annual report was submitted to Sutherland Licensing Court and considered satisfactory. It was in the following terms: The number of licensed premises in the county is 31 - being 26 hotels, two public houses, two licensed grocers, and one porter and ale; with an increase of one compared with the previous year. This shows an average of one licence to every 574 of the population.
It is pleasing to state that Mr W. G Munro, blacksmith, Brora, has now got the new acetylene welding plant installed into his premises. This should be of great benefit to the farmers, crofters and others who have cast iron and other implements requiring to be treated with the acetylene welding process.
