Interviews of Mr McGowan

In this 1st (of 2 tracks), Mr McGowan (who was born in 1886 and was 94 years old at the time of the interview, tells David Hannay about his life. He was born in New Luce, where his father was a shepherd and with a family of 5 brothers and 3 sisters. The family moved to Cairnholly when Mr McGowan was 11 and then to Kirkmabreck in 1919. Mr McGowan shares memories of Cairnholly, Kirkdale estate, Barholm, Kirkmabreck and Kirkmuir. He recalls different tenants and details, such as the curling pond near Cairnholly and the times when the Barr quarry employed a lot of workers and the school roll at Kirkdale could be as high as 93 (as it was in 1897 when he was enrolled there).

Mr McGowan recalls the fleet of sailing boats which collected stone from the low quarry and took it to Liverpool to build the docks there. At Cairnholly, the family farmed around 300 acres and had 9 score ewes and 30 head of cattle. In all his time at Cairnholly, the work was done by 2 working horses and a pony and crops were rotated on a 6-year cycle. Kirkmabreck was a larger farm, at around 700 acres. Mr McGowan also recalls walking (droving) the livestock down to Newton Stewart to the market there. Laterly, the livestock went from Creetown station, around 6 miles away. Again, the livestock were walked there. As Mr McGowan remarks, there was no other way then. Towards the end of this track, the men reflect on a time when Creetown had a resident doctor, nurse, chemist and policemen. When asked about the biggest change he has witnessed over his lifetime, McGowan reflects on the impact of there being no sizeable sources of local employment, such as the quarries or fishing provided in the past.

In this second track (of 2), Mr McGowan and David Hannay talk about how prices have risen steeply in recent years, noting that property, feed and farm machinery have all increased in cost. They also talk about local services and businesses. Mr McGowan recalls Charlie Murchie, who was the roadman for the stretch of road from Spittal to Lagan, and he recalls the knappy men, who made the small knapp stones that used to mend the road.

They also discuss the local watermills and smiddy's which were once thriving businesses. The pair discuss the practice of neighbouring and Mr McGowan recalls this was mostly concerned with the threshing, when the travelling mill would be in the area and the farms would work together to get all the threshing done. There is also a discussion about the changing technology on farms and Mr McGowan reflects that a farmer's life might be easier now, but he's not sure it's happier. People no longer make their own entertainment and therefore no longer learn to play instruments or get together so much. Towards the end of the interview, Mr McGowan recalls the town crier coming round with the news, travelling vans, Carsluith school and local horse racing events.