Sam McLelland By Bob Auld

[Hughie]

Sam McLelland

A cobbler's son was yer humble start
Fu' 0' pride from the Boglemart
And tho ye never aspired tae fame
Don't ever. hang yer head in shame
I ken ye'll never shout it aloud
But really Sam ye should be proud
And if every man jist got his due
You, auld frien are of the chosen few

Ye never was wan for fancy frills
Ye're stamping grun the sawny hills
Yet Auchenharvie was ne'er too faur
Wa a weather eye on auld Matha Kerr
Or a challenge game upon the riggs
Tae rattle up yon High Road prigs
Ye earned those many boyhood cheers
For Sam auld frien ye had few peers

A wauchlin shrug a wee wry smile
A straightforward man wae little guile
Wae an honest ee easy tae trust
Right tae the point Sam never fussed
Quick tae help ye never would mock
Never haufhearted, staunch as a rock
Nae maiter where yer tent was pitched
Where Sam had been was greatly enriched

But noo auld haun ye've earned a rest
Proodly accept it, stick oot yer chest.
o worldly woes, ye had yer share
For nae man's picked for special care
But that's aw weel ahint ye noo
And for the future we have no clue
But please, dear God, spread oot a wing
And shelter Sam as ye wid a king

About Bob Auld

[Catherine Belle]

Love it, Hughie. Thank you.

Anyone know who Sam McLelland was??

[Hughie]

Catherine,

There's a few poems dedicated to others from Stevenston, maybe even Saltcoats and Ardrossan too. Perhaps tomorrow (it's late here) I'll post an image of the index to see if anyone has an interest in a specific name.

[Catherine Belle]

Great idea, Hughie!
Ah'm away tae wurk noo. Catch yeez later.

[Hughie]

In Bob Auld's second book there are poems about:

Wullie Kemp
Bob Alexander
Sam McClelland
Epistle to Wullie Paterson
Sid Morrison
Hughie Brown
Alec Rowley
Wullie Scott
George Lockhart
Tribute Tae Jock Pollock
Sam Mail
Ian Craig
Kate Bell
Margaret Mac
"Ice Cream" Toni
Epistle Tae Bill Innes

[John Donnelly]

Catherine,

John Donnelly here. I was brought up in the Boglemart. My father had the newsagent's across from the Grange. We moved there in 1953. There was a Sam McLellan through the wall from us. He lived above Louis Boyd's grocer's shop. I remember he was an awful nice man. I estimate he would have been born around the time of the first war, maybe a bit earlier. As far as I remember, he worked in Ardeer. He used to come into our shop and my father knew him well. I have no idea whether this is THE Sam McLellan. Hughie, have you any idea whether this profile might fit the man in the poem?

BTW, I have an old, (typed), copy of Middlepark. I found it among some old family papers and photographs. I have no idea where it came from.

John D.

[Hughie]

Hughie, have you any idea whether this profile might fit the man in the poem?

Sorry John I've no idea on that, though I do know the Bob (Scott) Auld worked in the factory.

[Catherine Belle]

Thanks for that info John.
I wonder if Bob Auld ever frequented your dad's shop?

Gawd, I wished I'd known that man!!

Catherine