The Clan Hay Society of America was at The Gathering to advertise its presence, though it’s more often found utilising modern methods to increase its membership.
Rod Village, president of the society, explained when asked about the new generation of Hays: “I’m hoping that we can do something with the younger group of people.
“We as a clan society haven’t wrapped ourselves around that yet, but we’re working on that. We’re using the 21st century of websites, and our membership is going up every year.
“We have about 300 Scottish games throughout the United States every year,” he added.
“In Colorado, where I’m from, in the Rocky Mountains we have one game that draws between 60,000 and 100,000 people up in Estes Park, about 20 miles from my house. It’s called Longs Peak, a Scottish-Irish festival, it’s a four-day festival because it’s so big.”
Rod doesn’t have to look far back into his roots to find Scottish blood, so his trip over the Atlantic must have almost felt like returning home. “I’m first-generation American, my mother was born in Arbroath,” he explained. “All the way back to the 1390s I can track my heritage.”
In total 400 chiefs and representatives (125 clan chiefs) and 50,000 punters attended The Gathering in Holyrood Park at the weekend, which was part of the this year’s Homecoming celebrations.
They descended on the Scottish capital with their clans for this historic regrouping of exiles from all over the world.
