I was born and brought up in Belhaven. Late in the 1940s, the ‘tree’ scheme was being built so Dunbar was stretching to meet Belhaven bringing more children to the area. A Miss McClelland decided to start a brownie pack in what was then the church hall in Beveridge Row. The girls aged seven to ten came from the new houses in Ash Grove, Cedar Street etc. and also from West Barns. This was 1948-9.
I was asked to help and eventually it was necessary to start a second pack. I then became the Brown Owl-Guider in charge. It also became necessary to start a guide company. We all still used the hall for the meetings and on early summer evenings went for walks or played games at the beach.
L to r: Miss J. McLennan, Theena Kerr, Provost A.J. Manderson, Rev J.S. McMartin, Mrs E. Jeffrey,
Mrs H. Shepherd, Marg Richardson, Christine Willens.
Some cottages next to Seafield Crescent were demolished and the ground was left derelict. Miss McClelland obtained permission, I presume, from the council, and for many months of 1951 the Brownies and Guides worked to turn this into a garden in time for the Queen’s Coronation in 1952. Eventually the council gardeners took over the care of the garden, which is still there today.’
Mrs Anderson was a mother and housewife but helped if required in the family business until 1986. Latterly she became an enthusiast for patchwork and quilting.