Looking Back – news from the John O'Groat Journal of yesteryear
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Soup kitchen opened
From the Groat of January 14, 1921
The soup kitchen for the provision of meals for necessitous schoolchildren was opened in Wick's Barrogill Hall and more than 100 youngsters had been provided with a dinner of bread and soup.
From all appearances there existed a real need for this charity, and anyone who doubted this was advised to go along at a lunchtime and see for themselves.
It had been hoped to provide hot soup on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and hot cocoa on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but so far only the soup had been given.
Funds for the scheme remained a serious concern for the organising committee and further appeals were made for help, either in the form of money or donations of potatoes and turnips.
Elsewhere, Wick Town Council had still to come to a decision about the provision of allotments in the town's Bignold Park.
Councillors had already U-turned on the subject and at the latest meeting a large deputation of allotment holders urged that the entire park be given over to food production this season again, as opposed to being returned to sporting use.
The Groat reported that there followed "a long and rather tedious discussion, decorated with the usual amusing irrelevances... but no new ground was broken".
Scrabster loses post office
From the Groat of January 15, 1971
The Scrabster sub-post office was to close at the end of the month. Sub-postmistress Helen Munro had resigned, and it had not been possible to obtain the services of a successor.
Wick-based head postmaster Mr G Duncan said there had been no response to advertising and it was therefore necessary to withdraw the facilities.
He added that, in the event of hardship for the only two old-age pensioners involved, it could be arranged for their pensions to be delivered by the postman, while the four families who collected their family allowance payments there could do so in Thurso as they travelled to the town regularly.
Meanwhile, in a letter to the editor, Mr J Sutherland launched a scathing attack on plans to demolish the north side of Wick High Street.
He said that Wick must be "unique for the deference that it has shown to the motor car in as much as it has, or will be, totally sacrificed in order that the car will flourish".
He claimed that other towns marketed their narrow streets as a tourist attraction but instead Wick would end up with "the finest collection of pillboxes outside the Normandy beaches".
Setback for John O'Groats plan
From the Groat of January 19, 1996
A £500,000 facelift at John O'Groats would take "until the next century to complete" after Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise (CASE) put the shackles on funding.
Locals had been told that environmental improvements would begin in 1996 after European funding chiefs agreed to put up half the money.
But local councillor John Green was shocked when CASE told him that the money would be spread over four years instead of one. And he was stunned to learn that the first area to benefit under the new plan would be its own industrial estate.
Locals had been arguing for environmental improvements around the harbour for a decade and a partnership had been struck between CASE, Caithness District Council and Highland Regional Council, with blueprints drawn up.
However, the local authorities learned that this masterplan had been torn up by CASE and a new set of proposals sent for approval by European funding bosses.
CASE chief executive Bob Ballantine said the original plan made certain assumptions about the long-awaited redevelopment of John O'Groats House Hotel. But it was for sale again and CASE felt it was advisable to "rephase the scheme" until the intentions of the new owners became clear.
