INTRODUCTION by JIM FORSTER
President of Prestonpans Local History Society
The Society started meeting in the Library' in 1986 on the last
Tuesday evening of the winter months and. although numbers were
small, the members were regular and all had one aim in common, to
keep alive the social history of the town and to promote interest
in any aspect of the history of Prestonpans. East Lothian and all
Scotland.
Gradually, the number of members grew and we moved to Woodbine Cottage
for a short lime until we settled in our present comfortable meeting
place. Harlaw Hill Day Centre in East Loan. The speakers cover a
vast range of topics and the outings held in June are usually confined
to East Lothian - we have not visited all the places of interest
yet!
About three years ago I suggested to the members that they write
short stories about prominent people of Prestonpans or childhood
or working days or any influence the town had on their lives in
any way. Then we could publish them in book form for the year 2000.
Response was not good! However, after a very successful Members'
Forum, a few put pen to paper and, with a little help and encouragement.
some friends joined in and the result is in the following pages.
I hope you will enjoy the experience of travelling back in time
in Prestonpans. Perhaps you'll recognise someone, or some incident
will trigger off another memory to tell your grandchildren. That's
the way to keep local history alive and, in turn, it forms a basis
for the wider, national history of Scotland.
Jim Forster
September 2000 |
