Column 40 for May 13, 2000

Last Sunday I quoted a letter my son had written about the 2000 Census. Within the letter, he made the statement "My great-grandpa was a Scottish pastry chef, and he probably made éclairs for the English officers during the Boer War, while he was serving in the army there." This statement, understandably, hurt my father, feeling that the comment "trivialized" his fathers work. I know that was far from the intent of the message, and I feel a responsibility to play "Paul Harvey" for just a bit, and tell the "rest of the story" as I know it about my Grandfather Miller.

"Will" as my Grandmother knew him, and "Willie" to his Scottish friends, my Grandfather grew up in southwest Scotland in the late 1800’s. His father, James F. Miller, was a baker and confectioner by trade. James F. established the Miller Bakery in Castle Douglas late in the 19^th century. He was also a "bailie", a county commissioner so to speak, a singer/choir director, and an avid curler. You may have seen curling in the last winter Olympics, where men "bowl" a "stone" down an ice rink, somewhat like shuffleboard, frantically sweeping the ice to control the direction of the stone. He was the captain of the team that won the Queenshill Cup in 1903.

Within this active family background, my grandfather learned his trade, and learned it well, receiving medals for his baking and confectionery skills at expositions in London. As hostilities broke out in South Africa, he responded to the call to arms and joined the military. Most of the young men from the Castle Douglas area were part of the famed "Scottish Rifles" and the photo I have of my grandfather, with the cartridge belt over his shoulder, seems to bear this out. An army travels on its stomach, and with Will Miller at the hearth, I’m sure they ate bread that rivaled any served in Buckingham Palace. Lingering in South Africa before returning to Scotland, my grandfather came across some rather large uncut diamonds, which I remember my grandmother showing me many years later.

Meanwhile the family bakery in Scotland was sold in 1901 and by 1910 my great-grandfather had made his way to Pontiac, Michigan. He requested financial help from Will, now back in Scotland, and upon receiving it, became a partner in establishing the Miller Alexander Bakery. Later on, Will joined him as a partner in Michigan. Sadly, my grandfather passed away in 1927, leaving a young wife and three very young sons to deal with the hardships of the great depression.

Why do I bother to tell you all this? Several reasons… I believe history is important. It’s important to know where we’ve come from. A sense of "family" and "roots" gives us the background to feel part of something bigger than ourselves. A feeling of appreciation that seems to be so lacking in many of the young people I come in contact with today. As generations pass, it gives us strength to know of the character of those that came before us. It can inspire us somehow, to leave a decent legacy for our own children. We should strive to do as well as Grandpa Will did.

In 1996, I had the pleasure and the opportunity to travel to Castle Douglas, Scotland, and somehow, by luck or fate, rediscover the old bakery on Queen Street. While shivering all the while, I followed the current owner of the building to an old room now used for storage, and he allowed me to open the century old cast iron oven doors still in the wall, that my grandfather and great-grandfather had once opened to bake the best bread in all of Scotland. Touch the past, and you can sometimes see the future. Peace. tomiswho@mindspring.com