People
“Horses” by Mima Robertson
Mima Robertson was a prolific Dunfermline author who wrote fiction for “The People’s Friend” for many years, five novels and some non-fiction. The best known is “Old Dunfermline” a history of the town from it’s beginning to the turn of the 20th Century. Jean Barclay is assisting with the archiving of her papers and presents here a short piece written by Mima on the working horses she came across in her childhood, followed by a brief biographical note.
Amelia Paton – Sculptor
Amelia Paton was a talented artist and an accomplished sculptor, whose best known works are the statues of David Livingstone near the Scott Monument in Edinburgh and of Robert Burns in Dumfries. She was also the sister of the well known artist Sir Joseph Noel Paton and was married to David Octavius Hill, the artist and early pioneer of photography in Scotland. In “Amelia Robertson Paton” George Robertson relates her biography and her involvement in artistic life of Victorian Scotland.
Bacca B, Tobacconist and “Medical Rubber”
In “Bacca B: John Beveridge and his Two Careers” Jean Barclay gives us a short biography of a well-known Dunfermline tobacconist and Town Councillor, who, in 1850, moved to Edinburgh and began a new career in an unusual profession.
Mitchell’s Soft Drinks
In the next in our series on Dunfermline’s Industrial Past, William Mitchell and Sons Ltd, George Beattie relates the history of another of the soft drinks manufactures. They latterly operated from Garvock Hill, having built the factory which later became the Vine Centre. The firm operated from about 1938 until 1993, when they were taken over by Woodrow.
The Schweppes of Scotland?
In the first of three articles about Dunfermline soft drinks manufactures, George Beattie tells the story of Gilbert Rae, whose company demonstrated the innovation and experimentation of late Victorian Scotland. Gilbert Rae produced ginger beer, lemonade, kola and many other products and he pioneered the use of electricity, motor transport, scientific testing and much more as he built up a large business.