I have found an old Thurso bottle.

**canuck** · 21-Jun-07, 15:50

Originally Posted by cairnie

Thanks for alerting me to this message. ...
Alan Cairnie
Brockville,Ontario

cairnie, welcome to the "org" as we affectionately refer to the forum section of Caithness.org. There are a goodly number of North Americans in the group and several members from Ontario. Most are Caithness transplants but some of us are simply vocal groupies.

**Sporran** · 21-Jun-07, 18:52

Originally Posted by cairnie

Thanks for alerting me to this message. David Dandie Cairnie was my grandfather (1853-1916). He was trained at Duncan and Flockhart's in Edinburgh and was registered at Thurso in 1877.

No-one from the family lives at Thurso now but I visited in April this year and enjoyed my visit very much.

Thank you.

Alan Cairnie
Brockville,Ontario

A friendly welcome Alan Cairnie,
I lived in Thurso when a bairnie,
And as a young adult too.

Glad you visited the toon,
Where your grandpa was a chemist,
His green bottle's sparked our int'rest!

**Jeemag_USA** · 21-Jun-07, 19:00

great piece of History Cairnie, thanks. Welcome to the site, this is indeed an interesting thread!

**trinkie** · 22-Jun-07, 07:53

Many thanks for sharing your Bottle Story with us - and for the Cairnie input - I have not yet read all of the diaries, but boy ! it's going to be interesting.

Trinkie

**thirsaloon** · 22-Jun-07, 13:13

Hello Orgers!

I have arranged to do a photograph of the window and will post it in the next couple of days or so.

By the way, how do you get photo's on this? Have a piccy of Cairnie I could add here if anyone wants to see the man himself.

**Rheghead** · 22-Jun-07, 17:49

I would love to see a photo of Mr Cairnie, thanks

BTW See the photography section for instructions to post pictures

**Sporran** · 23-Jun-07, 01:13

Originally Posted by thirsaloon

Hello Orgers!

I have arranged to do a photograph of the window and will post it in the next couple of days or so.

By the way, how do you get photo's on this? Have a piccy of Cairnie I could add here if anyone wants to see the man himself.

Yay, three cheers fur thirsaloon!
Ah'm really o'er 'e moon,
Lookan' forward til photae o' windae,
An' photae o' David D Cairnie!

**thirsaloon** · 23-Jun-07, 16:22

I have the photo of Cairnie and just home from doing the one of the window. The window Im going to try again and use a black material behind it as the outside frame work of the exterior doors gets in the way! So its not as good as I wanted.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to get them on here!

**veekay** · 23-Jun-07, 16:50

This is such a brill. thread. I am off to dig in my garden to se what I can find!

**thirsaloon** · 23-Jun-07, 21:01

Ok guys and gals, I think I got this photo thingy sorted if I did it's many thank you's to Bobinovich, if I didnt then its me to blame!

Im going to do the window photograph again, it was kind of difficult to get with the ceiling lights hanging down, the wooden frame work from the external doors outside which are the orginals and a wobbly ladder or was that just me!

Anyhoo here is piccys of Cairnie the chemist which I had at home and the window.

Cheers!

**thirsaloon** · 23-Jun-07, 21:05

Ach for a bonus to you Orgers here's another two piccys I came across in the house, Cairnie standing behind the counter and one of his staff behind the second counter which used to be in the shop - not that I remember it!!!

**thirsaloon** · 23-Jun-07, 21:25

Just to make it a bit more complete here is the front of Cairnie's shop with his son Robert standing at the door and Cairnie himself standing beside the woman who is thought to be Peggy Sue in her early years, a Thurso character for those to young to remember! She also had a sister Dinah who resided at Back Shore Street for a wee while and kept loads of cats. They also a brother who if I remember correctly was called David but he drowned on the Titanic in 1912. His body was identified by the unusal tattoo's he had.

**thirsaloon** · 23-Jun-07, 22:31

Hello again, I mentioned in a previous post that the Free Church stood on the site of where Cairnie the chemist shop was built. This church was opened in June 1844. If you look to the extreme right of the photograph you will see the top of the Meadow Well and the gable end of the Royal Hotel.

The minister was Walter Ross Taylor who preached in four churches in Thurso. He was at Old St. Peters Church, the Established Church (St. Peters and St. Andrews - Princess Street) and the First Free Church (St. Andrews - Olrig Street).

The Post Office then moved into the Free Church in Traill Street in 1883 before moving further up to the Royal Hotel and then Sinclair Street. This is the church below in the piccy which stood on the site before Cairnie's.

The Caithness and Sutherland Industrial and Art Exibition was held in here in 1876 after the building was no longer used as a church. It was opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales. It had various exhibits including two salmon caught in Thurso River, one weighed 42 pounds and the other 50 pounds. Below is one of the medals which was awarded for the prizes.

**Bobinovich** · 24-Jun-07, 00:01

Sterling stuff Thirsaloon - I forsee you being very busy on the Org if you continue to enlighten us with such detail

!

**Sporran** · 24-Jun-07, 08:01

This is fantastic, thirsaloon! Even more photos than I was expecting!

Mr Cairnie was rather a distinguished looking gentleman, wasn't he? The window is beautiful - I am so glad it still remains after all these years! The outside of the chemist shop looks much the same as it did when it was Munro's in the 60s and 70s (with the exception of the writing on the shop windows). The pillars were still in the shop then, and I seem to remember the shelves being the same too. Any idea who the busts were of, and the year the photos were taken?

I was also fascinated by the photo of the Free Church, which stood there beforehand. Interesting history lesson along with it, and nice to see a pic of the exhibition medal also! Well done, thirsaloon, and many thanks!

**thirsaloon** · 24-Jun-07, 15:49

Thanks for the compliments and those who sent me pvt messages, the way things are going I will need my own website for this stuff, no offence Mr Fernie!

(joking honest!)

Below is the Viewfirth from 1940, I also posted it on Bobinovichs bit to do with it being demolished. I'll add some more piccys to my own bitty in the old Thirsa Piccys.

**Rheghead** · 25-Jun-07, 01:04

Thank you Thirsaloon for posting those photos, it was really interesting, I didn't quite expect this much info would be available.

**poppett** · 25-Jun-07, 12:37

Thirsaloon.

Brilliant postings and a really enjoyable trip down memory lane for all ages. Keep up the good work.

**Tubthumper** · 25-Jun-07, 12:44

Excellent stuff Thirsaloon. Maybe this warrants a place of its own on the org right enough!

**thirsaloon** · 25-Jun-07, 13:04

Thanks for the compliments folks, glad your enjoying the info and photographs. Would appreciate if anyone can add anymore photograph’s. I’m sure a lot of you may have photo’s that’s stuck in an old box or drawer.

Often the ones taken with a box brownie are every bit as interesting cause they show stuff that the professional photographers of the day wouldn’t look at. I’ll add a few more in my old Thurso piccy section in the next day or so.

Oh and thanks for adding to my reputation bit on here to, very good of you! I’m sure I should get my own website the way this is going!!!

Alas, way beyond my pc skills!