Taken from the 1972 Bonnet Guild Festival Guide

A Stewarton veteran with a good memory remembers.
When peas were a ha' penny a plate . .
 

'Why did you no' ask me about Stewarton? I could have told you a wheen o' stories about Stewarton.'

This was the greeting I got from one of the town's oldest sons, 76 year old Mr. David Aitchison, retired shoemaker of Old Glasgow Road, when I bumped into him recently. Well, I had to admit that Mr. Aitchison had a point for not only was he born in the town ('in Daurlintoun') as were his father and grandfather before him, but he is a former Stewarton bailie who served on the Town Council for nine years.

Later I called at Mr, Aitchison's attractive bungalow where he lives with his wife and he told me: 'Your great-uncle, Jock Highet, built this hoose in 1932 for six hunner poun

From that moment on I let Davie do most of the talking.

"When I was a boy at the beginning of the century he recalled nostalgically, 'they were a lot stricter at the school than they are nowadays, when it seems that a teacher can hardly reprimand a pupil for fear of an assault charge being made against him. Mr. Watt was the headmaster at Stewarton Public School then, in the same old building still in service in Dunlop Street and you could get a clout on the jaw for very little; in fact I've been partially deaf in one ear as a result of a beating I got from one teacher.'

As if to prove his point Davie produced a hearing aid which he inserted in his right ear.

What were local housing conditions like in those days?

Davie Aitchison in 1972

*Not in the same class as they are to-day.' replied Davie. For example, there was no proper sewage then and there were dry lavatories in every back yard, and they used to lift out the excrement for farmers to use as manure. I also recall train loads of what we used to refer to as "Glesca dung' coming out to Stewarton for the farmers to spread on their fields. Strangely enough the corn was a lot better in those days and the tatties tasted better too.'
 

'BIG BERTHA'
 

In the First World War, Davie became Private Aitchison and a Signaller in 1205 Battery and he was involved with testing Britain's famous long-range gun, "Big Bertha'. "We had to pull it around Salisbury Plain and it was some job. When they fired the first bomb, the thing didn't go off which caused quite a panic. I'll tell you this: my back hasnae been right since I pulled that gun all those years ago.'

According to Davie, the first car in the town was owned by a Mr. Howatson who had a draper's shop in High Street (where Craig's shop is to-day) and it was a Ford with wooden spoked wheels - "a rattlin' guid caur,' he quipped. "In 1919,1 had a Ford van myself that cost £200 from which I sold boots and shoes in the district. The following year I bought my first private car: a 9 horse power, aircooled Rover with side valves and I bought it brand new at Glasgow Motor Show for £195.'
 

CADGERS
 

Many older Stewartonians have happy memories of the Cadgers' Fair which used to take place at the beginning of May each year.
Said Davie: 'At the Cadgers' Fair there was a sports meeting at Lainshaw Holm with betting on the races. In 1913, I took part in the 1000 yards race along with Charlie Gallacher, Tinty' Smith and George McKellar who died recently. Auld Andra Orr was the starter and George McKellar was the favourite. I was 20 to I in the betting but after a hard race I finished first But d'ye ken this - I was disqualified for alleged elbowing and I only received second prize. That double jelly set you see there in the display cabinet was what I got. I also won a prize when I was a pupil at Kilmarnock Academy for running four times round Rugby Park and I still have the gold scarf pin I received. Later I ran as a professional at Powderhall in 1917.'

After World War I, Mr Aitchison was in business as a shoemaker in Neilston although still living in Stewarton and all that time he was in the Special Constabulary in Renfrewshire. Later he opened a shoe shop in Lainshaw Street, Stewarton.
 

LIGHT
 

Signaller Aitchison in WW1

During his spell in the Town Council he acted as Lighting Convener and he once 'brought the house down' at a local ratepayers' meeting when he stood up with a silly smile on his face and in an affected voice stated: "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm the man who gives you light!' "At the time, some folk thought I was being serious,' said Davie, "but I only did it for a tare - for fun, ye know. But the biggest laugh came later when Tarn Barclay the Provost, was reading out the election results and when suddenly the lights failed some wag shouted -'Sen' fur Davock Aitchison'.' Mr. Aitchison was the town's senior bailie for a time and once acted Provost for six months. Regarding public life in Stewarton, he said: 'I think a lot of Jack Hamilton the Town Clerk who has been a genuine servant of the town for nearly forty years. I also hold Mr. Colin Bodie, the former Burgh Surveyor, in high esteem; he was a good man who had to stand a lot of abuse he never deserved.'
 

BELLA BIDE'S'
 

Davie Aitchison is a firm believer that Stewarton will be a better place with a population of 10,000. "Yes, let them all come,' he said. I'm very pleased that all these people have come into the town to live - they're a lot of decent folk ye ken. All this talk about losing the character of the place is nonsense. I'm not one who thinks that the so-called good old days were great for the people didn't know any better then. In my young days, when ye went doon the road from Daurlintoun to 'Bella BideY in Lainshaw Street for a plate of peas at a ha'penny or a penny, it was a jaunt. Of course, customs have changed. Before the town went dry in the 'twenties, men did all the drinking and few, if any, women were ever inside any of the public houses. The only one I can remember was 'Orange Mary' who will be remembered by some local old-timers no doubt. Nowadays, the ladies like to go out with their men for a refreshment - and why not?

'Mind you, I don't like the permissive society, with couples who are not married living together. But, let's face it, the old church influence is slipping which is a great pity. I don't go to the kirk myself - just got out of the habit. But I regard myself as a Christian and a believer. I have a wonderful faith.'

Mr. And Mrs. Aitchison have a son, David, who is a senior detective sergeant in Ayr and is also studying at Glasgow University to be a lawyer. Their favourite holiday spot is Whiting Bay in Arran where they have been going regularly since 1919. Said Davie: 'My wife says she is not going back so maybe it's time for a change - I think we'll try Brodick or Lamlash this year,' he laughed.

As I was leaving, he told me: 'Nowadays I mainly pass my time shootin' or fishin' or goin' the messages. I also like to drop in at the Mill House for a bottle of beer and a crack. 'Anyway,' he concluded with a twinkle in his eye, I'm only killing time till I die.'

Well, to my mind, judging by his pawky sense of humour, his healthy, ruddy complexion and his briskness of pace, Davie Aitchison will be toddlin' doon the Daurlintoun brae for a while yet.