James Mackay, Bettyhill
James Mackay, sixth of the seven children of Jim and Lizzie Mackay of Newlands, Bettyhill, was never actually known as James but, like many in the remnants of Gaeldom, rejoiced in the title of Hamish – often shortened to "Hem".
Nor was he usually described as Mackay but by his family byname Crow, and was therefore universally known as "Hamish Crow".
Hamish undertook all his schooling in Bettyhill, first in the primary department of what was then Farr Public School and later in Farr Junior Secondary, which was really just the same old school with a couple of huts attached, and which now masquerades as the Wylie Fenton Field Centre.
School was not Hamish’s favourite place and he did his best to avoid it, which was quite a tricky business in such a small place as Bettyhill, with so many eyes scanning the hillsides!
His favourite hiding place was in the vicinity of the now defunct water reservoir in Newlands, where his head would occasionally be spotted popping up over the parapet.
However long they may seem at the time, schooldays soon pass by and, when he escaped the undesired embrace of the education system at 15, he quickly found a job well away from the village as porter in the Garvault Hotel, one of Sutherland’s remotest, on the long road to Kinbrace.
In the days of Sutherland County Council, and before Highland Regional Council ground the direct labour down to the lowest common denominator, Hamish found long-term employment with the Bettyhill road squad.
When that source of employment dried up he took part in some of the job creation schemes of the 1980s.
He did his bit for the village, too, being one of the small squad of volunteer firemen who operated out of a tiny wooden hut in the grounds of Bettyhill Hotel, with a suit of oilskins each, 1000ft of fire-hose and a "featherweight" portable pump.
Whoever gave it that name had never carried it very far, but Hamish was one of the five firemen, all christened James, who joined his elder brother Geordie to transport it to the sites of various conflagrations, usually of the whin and heather sort.
Hamish didn’t have a lot of hobbies, though fishing, occasionally of the clandestine variety, was definitely on his agenda. But he enjoyed the peat hill where, every summer, he spent a great deal of time often in the company of the late Jim (Brown) Mackay bringing home the peats for half the village. He was also for hire at the peat cutting before this was taken over by machines, but wasn’t quite as fond of that as he was of the tractor work and, as the end of a long day approached, he’d look longingly toward the end of the bank where he would gain relief from the endless lifting. But then who didn’t?
Hamish liked music, enjoyed a dram and loved dancing, so whenever a dance-band came by he was in his element.
In recent years he didn’t keep so well, having been injured in an accident with a tractor, but kept busy one way or another helping his brother Sandy with the work on the croft and cycling daily up the brae from his house in Achina to his sister Joan’s house in the village for his dinner.
Sadly, both siblings passed away before him and he was left at something of a loose end, but was out of his house every day tinkering with his collection of ageing lawnmowers and pushbikes or, more often, leaning on the doorpost and watching the world go by.
A month ago his general health declined and on Tuesday, 17th March, he passed away in Raigmore Hospital.
His well-attended funeral service, conducted by RNMDSF Superintendant Colin Mackay, took place in Bettyhill Free Church on 24th March and pall bearers at Clachan cemetery were: Anson Mackay, his last surviving brother; and Ian, Robert, Donald, Angus, David, Terry and Andrew Mackay, all nephews – Jim A Johnston
