Uilliam Drummond of Perth
I first met Uilliam when I was in high school, he was then the assistant Performing Arts Center Director at Auburn High School, as well as one of the Custodians. I did not know he was in the SCA, nor did I even know what the SCA was at the time. Still he was a favorite among the Drama Students, he had a lot of stories to tell of his early years.
Long after high school, and after my service in the Marines I was sharing a house with some other SCA people, who had invited a friend up to work on projects and lo to my surprise it was Uilliam! We said almost simultaniously, "You're in this crazy group?"
One of my fondest memories of him was at Kent Canturbury Fair where he would bring a large log and a bunch of chisels, kids from all over the fair would hang out and hack on the log at "Uillium's sharp tool day care."
Gordon Redthorn, OL
Actually, I was responsible for poor Ulliam being in the SCA. Just over a month after we were married I drug him off to an event. Peasant's revel, I think. He looked at it and categorized it as a form of theatre. While we were there, a lovely young woman came running across the field, threw herself into his arms crying "Mother!!! in delight at the top of her lungs. It seems she was a former student of WSU where he ran Mother's Cupboard. Who could resist such a welcome, I ask you?
I started attending fight practices with Grendel Red Troll under the University bridge and Ulliam and I ended up in the Kitchens for An Tir's first Kingdom Twelfth Night. A man who know his way around a kitchen can be mighty useful in a commercial kitchen with equipment on the fritz. Ulliam knew from the start he would never be a fighter, but he found ways to keep himself busy.
When the Chinese Exhibit arrived in Seattle, I can remember he and Draggi discussing wagon wheel construction at great length, only to turn around to find a whole crowd of people had been listening intently. The two of them blushed and quietly moved on. Ulliam liked to make things and in order to make them you have to understand how they work, and often where they came from and why innovations have been made to them - and if the innovations have truly improved them or limited them.
He was so very proud to have been awarded his goutte in part for his woodworking demonstrations, Ithra classes and playing around in public with wood and sharp things.
Just a small quibble, he was only the assistant TD for a two month period in 1981, after that he was the only TD at the school and it wasn't until they opened another school that another TD was hired. But that same schol district limited our participation in several ways.
The morals clause that all teachers and school employees have to sign specificly said he could not have contact with students outside of school until they were two years past graduation. So, while he knew a number of students were interested in the SCA he couldn't talk about it. When the SCA changed the waivers to insist on non-binding arbitration in cases of injury, that violated the school district's self-insurance policy. We were quite literally forced to choose between health care and the SCA. The SCA lost.
I know he would have enjoyed returning to the SCA if either one had changed, he mourned the loss of it in his life. And after death, I was pleased to donate all of his garb but the kilt to the Wyewood Gold Key. It gave me a bit of a shock last night to see one of them on someone at the event, but it Ulliam would have wanted it that way.
Fiona Drummond of Perth
awards:
Award of Arms - Apr 30 AS 17 / 1983
Goutte de Sang - May 18 AS 26 / 1991
Uilliam's name appears on the Scroll of Honor - An Tir Remembers.