'Over Here'

(The following text has been reproduced from an article printed in the John O’ Groat Journal reporting on a project carried out by Mr A Budge and his P7 class in session 1998-99.  The article is appropriate not just because it was produced by Miller Academy pupils but also the school educated many American children in the almost 30 year period American servicemen were in Thurso.)

Primary 7/2 at Miller Academy School, Thurso have gathered together memories of the US Base at Forss which operated between the years 1964 and 1992.  The base and the Americans who worked there are known to anyone who lived in Caithness during this period.  Many locals worked on base and many local girls were to marry American sailors.  Many others will recall the Americans in the community, the haunted house or the Christmas Fayre which they put so much effort in to.  The recollections gathered by the children of Miller Academy offer an interesting insight in to life in Caithness for American service personnel and their families.

Forss was to be a new experience for most of the Americans who were stationed here and was a much different place from other postings.  Ed Formanek worked at the satellite base of Murkle.

“I was stationed at Murkle for two years from March 1990 to June 1992. They were two very wonderful years. Caithness was a drastic change from Naples, Italy where I had spent the previous two years.  So I went from the Mediterranean climate and culture, a bustling metropolis, bumper to bumper traffic, lots of pollution and theft, to small, rural community with lots of fresh air, open land, cold rain, sheep, little crime and friendly laid back people.”

This change of environment was so great, that many of the people who wrote were able to recall their first impressions of the county.

Steve Switaj served at the base from 1982-1987.  He writes, “The first memory I have of Thurso was the smell of peat and coal in the air the night I arrived, and how that “coal” smell reminded me of my childhood hometown.  I also remember the next day (a Saturday) I went into Thurso to buy a new coat, only to find that I couldn’t change my dollars into pounds until Monday.  The man in Buttresses’ was very kind and he let me take the coat without paying for it that day.’  Steve later married local girl Susan Gunn.  With their three children they now live in Pennsylvania.

Mr D.Coleman, the last Commanding officer of the base, took up his post in 1990.  He writes from Fairfax, Virginia.  “It was quite late in the evening when I arrived but as it was June, it was still daylight and I very distinctly remember the drive over from the east coast of Caithness.  I am from an area of the U.S where the trees are everywhere, and it’s hard to see a mile down the road.  So the very first thing that struck me as different was the miles and miles of country that you could see on the drive over.  I never grew tired of the sight as you start to come down into Thurso with the bay and the Orkneys in the distance.

Dixie Russell wrote to us from Hallstead, Pennsylvania.  Her husband John worked as a SEEBEE electrician on the base.  She quickly saw some differences in home life but soon adjusted.

“Some things we had trouble adjusting to when we first arrived were the long days and then the short days. Having it dark for so many hours a day was hard to get used to. The other things were our small house, the small ice box, the coal fire to heat our house and the tiny bathroom.  It didn’t take us long to adjust though and our tour there was one of the best, if not the best that the navy gave us.”

Not only did the servicemen come to the base with their wives but also their families.  Eileen lgnacio’s father worked at the base and as a child she attended Miller Academy from 1988-91.  She now lives in Virginia.  She writes, “As a child moving to a new place can be quite frightening.  However, moving to a completely new country is a far more nerve racking experience.  For me the first thing I noticed as I got off the plane at Wick airport was how green everything was.  As we were driving from the airport to Thurso I remember being taken aback by the amount of sheep and cows there were in the fields.  Most of these fields were people’s back yards.  Before I came there, the only sheep I saw were at petting zoos and the only cows I saw were in pictures or what was on my dinner plate.”

Another letter commented on the livestock in Caithness.  Charlene F. Sparks (Sparky) from Virginia served firstly at Murkle and then Forss as Command Senior Chief. She writes, “It was the first time I ever saw a Highland cow.  I wasn’t quite sure what it was.  All that hair. Cows in America look slightly different with short, coarse hair.  Speaking of animals, I adored the lambs but was surprised at how quickly they changed in appearance becoming somewhat awkward looking, like the sheep.  Trees! Where are the trees in Scotland?  I was used to huge towering pine trees, oak trees, walnut trees and when I got to Thurso, I discovered Forss was the only patch of trees!”

These early first impressions, many of them concerning the immediate countryside and livestock of Caithness were soon to be joined by views on what it was like dealing with Caithness and Caithnessians.

The United States Naval Communication Base, Thurso, was opened at Forss in January 1964.  It was primarily concerned with communications to ships, aircraft and submarines of the United States forces.  For almost 30 years the base and a later satellite base at Murkle was to be maintained by American forces personnel and a number of local workers.

Mr Jim Dunbar, who was a local civilian employee worked at the base as Traffic Manager.  He recalls that, although on land, the base was treated very much like a ship.  “Those Americans who were attached to the base when it was commissioned received a piece of wood with the name of the station printed on it.  This, I think is a custom which goes back to the days of wooden ships in the US Navy when the first crew on a ship received a piece of wood from which the ship was made and were then known as “plank owners”.  The canteen on the base was called the mess room, the kitchens were the galleys, ceilings were overheads and walls were bulkheads - just like on a ship.”

Mrs Una Vivers who was the civilian personnel manager at the base for 17 years recalls some things that she found different about the Americans.  The thing I remember when I started was that all the Americans seemed to walk around with a mug of coffee in their hand.  This is probably more common here now but at that time it was different.  If you went to a meeting they all had their mugs of coffee.  We also had to learn to spell in the American language because there were quite a few differences.  Labour became labor, socks became sox and standardise always had ‘ize’ at the end.  It could sometimes be useful because if you spelt a word wrongly you could say “Oh its the British spelling”.  Really, they were very good to work for and I feel very lucky having worked for them.”

Whilst the base offered a cinema, social club, bowling alley, shop and restaurant, many of the personnel were keen to take advantage of some of the local culture and environment.

Mr Dunbar recalls, “Something they really enjoyed here were the rainbows”. A lot of American people coming from the very dry mid West states had never seen rainbows. The Americans were also really keen on anything Scottish.  They had their own U.S. Naval Communication Base tartan made up into ties and scarves.

Philip Devine was an electrician with the U.S. Navy Seabees and had two tours of duty at Forss in which he embraced Scottishness.

‘The first time was from May of 1982 to May of 1984.  I met my wife during that tour as she was also in the navy.  We got married on May 26th 1984 in the Old Church at Reay and lived at the Stone House in Reay.  I wore a kilt and spent most of the reception singing “Wild Rover” and “Flower of Scotland”.  Most folks frequented the discos but, I was too much into the fishing.  I spent the majority of the time that first tour working long hours, visiting the pubs and doing a lot of deep sea fishing aboard Denny Simpson’s boat the ‘Prolific’.”

Comment was also received on haggis by Charlene Sparks (Sparky) of Virginia.

“I guess during celebratory times all cultures have their traditional meals, but I have to say haggis has to be one of the most unique dishes I have ever tasted.  I will go on record to say I don’t miss it.  Tomatoes seemed to be served with every meal.  I often wondered if Scotland had controlling shares of a tomato farm somewhere.”

Many of our American correspondents found the pace of life different.  Garnett E. Ray who was stationed at Forss in the period 1968-70, related some differences.

“The people I met at the base and the people of your homeland make up the fondest memories I have of that time. It didn’t take me long to acquire a taste for fish and chips and that great dark beer served at room temperature.  Every time I went in to town I would observe something that was normal for you, but fascinating to me.  Examples were the prams of all sizes, some with tops and some with windows, and all with little rosy cheeked babies inside, the older gentlemen, who always had on a tie and tweed jacket, no matter what they might be doing, digging peat or just out for a walk, and the line of well behaved dogs outside the pub waiting for their masters.”

Garnett Ray married Thurso girl Maureen Findlay and they and their children now live in Georgia.  The prams of Caithness and the manner in which they could be safely left outside shops was mentioned by several writers.  Ex. Commander Coleman also recalls the babies of Caithness and the experience of being volunteered by Lord Thurso to judge a baby contest at Thurso Games.

“Now baby contests are not done in the U.S. at least not where I grew up.  I had absolutely no idea what the judging criteria was supposed to be and all I got in way of explanation was “whichever baby you think is prettiest.  How was I to tell some mother that I didn’t think her baby was as pretty as the next one?.  In any case I muddled through.

Rachael Minich, whose family was stationed here from 1985 to 1989 also noted a less hectic lifestyle.

“I liken life in Caithness to being like America 50 years ago.  More women were home with their children, the doctor made house calls as well as the butcher’s van and the fish van.  When I had my babies, the butcher would come to the door and get my order so that I wouldn’t have to go out.  I loved being able to walk to the bread shop and the grocery shops as well as to the butchers in the village. (‘I’m going to cry from homesickness writing this’).”

Dale B. Shatter worked as a Disbursing Clerk First Class at the base during 1978-79. He wrote from Florida.

“With my best friend Ralph Samson we rented half a duplex at Borgie Mains, Castletown from a Mr and Mrs Donald Gunn and their sons.  The people of Caithness were and still are my most favourable memories.  The friendship shown to all us Americans while living in your area is so great that it continues, even 20 years after moving on in our navy and civilian life.  The greatest asset Scotland has to the world is the people of Caithness.  There are no finer, more friendly, more hospitable people that those of Caithness.”

Finally, Eileen lgnacio, who was one of the many American school children who came to the county, sums up her time in Thurso.  She mentions many of the things which other letters touched upon.  “When I talk to old friends who lived in Scotland also, we talk about how much fun we had and how much we miss it.  We talk about how safe we all felt.  We also talk about how someday we all want to return.  Thurso has left a lasting impression on our hearts. None of us knows what we miss about Thurso.  It may be the land, the people, the clean air, we are not sure.  All we know is that we miss it and will always remember it.”  

Primary 7(2) of Miller Academy would like to thank all those individuals, the great majority from the other side of the Atlantic, who took the time to write down their memories of Thurso and Caithness. Thanks is also due to Mrs Vivers and Mr Dunbar, ex-employees at the American Base, who came in to school and spoke to the class of their experiences there.