Old faces and places feature in Thurso heritage calendar
THE street scene is familiar. A few vehicles are parked in Princes Street in Thurso and others are making their way down the road. Some kids are crossing the street, an elderly woman is near the old telephone kiosk, while other people are going about their business.
The image – taken about 60 years ago – is just one of 12 which can be seen in The Way It Was, the latest annual calendar to be produced by Thurso Heritage Society.
This year's theme is faces and places, and the publication – available from six shops and businesses in the town, as well as through thursoheritage1@gmail.com – comprises a selection of photos featuring local people and scenes. They show a variety of moments captured in and around Thurso over the years.
Society chairman Alan McIvor said: "Though there are some typical street scenes there are also archive shots of the Thurso fire brigade, members of the American base taking part in a piano demolition competition at Scrabster, an early motorcycle rally in Princes Street, a scene from Thurso Gala and a packed Scrabster Fair.
"We were also very kindly allowed to use images taken by the late Graham Tyler between 1959 to 1962. Along with his wife and family, he came over from Canada and fell in love with Caithness, spending the remainder of his time in Thurso and working at Dounreay. It was really kind of his daughter, Jane Erridge, to allow us to use them."
Mr McIvor would like to hear from anyone who recognises the people in the pictures, such as family members. "It’s very important that we put names to the faces so in years to come future generations will know who is who," he said.
Mr McIvor added: "Each year it becomes more of a challenge to select a theme but with so many people telling us they collect them it's certainly worth it."
The calendar costs £5, which is the same as the first one published in 2012.