"Give auld Stinston my love."

We have seen many neat places while here in Europe, but the personal connection we felt as we visited Stevenston was certainly a highlight of our trip. We spent Saturday and Sunday visiting the small town on the coast of Scotland where Scott's father was born and grew up. He and his family moved to Utah from Stevenston when Fred was 17 years old. He has always shared his love of Scotland with us and now we feel it too.

Our visit to this town was so special for Scott. We were able to meet a number of people who remember the Buchanans living there in George Place. They told him stories of his grandparents and father and aunts and uncles.

Fred sent us to Scotland with a list of places to visit and what meaning they have to the family. We were able to see it all. He closed this list of people and places to visit by saying "Have a wonderful time--enjoy a genuine fish supper, travel safely and give auld Stinston my love.
Yours aye, The Faither". We did have a wonderful time. Ardeer Halls - This is where Scott's Aunt Betty was married.
This is Scott, Alicia and Brielle standing in front of the exact spot where George Place was. George Place was a row of cottages. Fred was born in one of these cottages and lived there with his family.
The Alfred Nobel’s Explosive factory. This is where Fred's parents met in 1915 and Aunt Betty worked during World War II.
Scott and Brielle standing out in the ocean at Stevenston Beach. This is where Fred and his family were baptized into the LDS church. This is also where they used to "fish in their wee boat".

Our little Brielle playing in the sand on the dunes where Papa Fred used to play Cowboys and Indians. Samantha also enjoyed the sand dunes. She just enjoyed it in a little messier way.Fred gave us a few poems to read while at the beach. We read "Sea Fever" and "The Lay of the Last Minstrel" by Sir Walter Scott and a poem by Robert Burns.Scott, Brie and I standing on the sand dunes.This is a picture of the High Kirk. It sits atop a hill and can be seen from anywhere in Stevenston. Surrounding the High Kirk is an old cemetery. We went searching through the cemetery for the headstone of the Reid family. Scott found it in the last corner we searched. Here is the Reid tombstone lying flat on the ground with the names of Scott's great, great great grandparents on it. Sunday morning we attended the services of the Church of Scotland at the Ardeer Church. This church was built by John Reid, Scott's great great grandfather. He also contributed the money for the bell that has rung since July 9, 1899. It stopped working just a couple years ago.

Brie running up the aisle of the church after services were over. The group up front are people that were childhood friends of Fred and they were all waiting to talk to Scott. One man told Scott he was the best man at Scott's grandfather's wedding. Everyone was very excited to have us there and tell us their stories.This is a picture of us after church with Georgie and Wilson McLellan. Georgie and her older brother were childhood friends of Fred's.

The cemetery where John Reid, Jeannie Garven Young, Samuel Reid and Elizabeth Bell Reid and Catherine Ross Bell are interred.