The winner of the tartan contest has been announced, so here is Frank Macdonald's article from the October 15th 2003 Oran, reprinted with his permission...

Verna MacMillan with her winning entryVerna MacMillan of East Lake Ainslie has designed what will soon be registered as the official tartan of Inverness County. The announcement was made on Saturday evening during an event held at the Inverness County Centre for the Arts.

MacMillan's was one of six tartan designs submitted for the competition held by the Lake Ainslie Weavers and Craft Guild, with sponsorship from the Municipality of Inverness and the provincial Department of Tourism and Culture.

"I was very surprised," Verna MacMillan said afterwards. "There was such quality competition that I really didn't expect to win. The entries were beautiful."

In 1983, Verna began weaving, and with her introduction to weaving, "I was determined to have a tartan for Lake Ainslie." She designed a tartan accepted by the community and registered officially at the Scottish Tartan Authority. She has, since then, helped and advised on the development of other tartans, including the Ship Hector, one for Scotsburn, NS, and one for Glencoe, Cape Breton.

In her opening remarks to the arts centre gathering, emcee Bea Tilsley told the audience that since the six entered tartan designs had been hanging in the arts centre, she had received many fine remarks about them, including one woman who told her that reading the poems and descriptions of the colour choices gave her a feeling of "being wrapped in Cape Breton warmth."

Guest speaker Jim St. Clair told those present that the evening harkens back to Hesiker, an island off Scotland where, before the coming of the Norse, a school of weaving and design flourished. Out of that ancient experience something new is still emerging; the undertaking of weaving and design that still goes on, still creates something new.

St. Clair likened the "simple matter of woof and warp as threads are interwoven with pattern, with colour, it shows the diversity of human ingenuity."

Tartan, he reminded the people present, goes back to Biblical times, to the time of Joseph and his many-coloured coat. "Tartan is not just a Gaelic matter. It is a Celtic matter, for the Irish, the French, the Hebrew. Indeed, the word for all the tradition it carries comes from an early French word. So here we have a great diversity, a wonderful and creative use of colour and the pattern Inverness County. Just when we think what's new, there is a new creative energy growing out of the past, through the energy of the present. Hurrah for the designers and the weavers on this joyful occasion of celebrating diversity and colour and pattern."

Deputy Warden Ned MacDonald told the weavers that the councillors were proud of the tremendous job they had done, that it reflects the great creativity of the artists of Inverness County. In Rodney MacDonald's remarks, the minister of tourism and culture echoed MacDonald's point that the rich resource of artistic expression on Cape Breton Island is "a great opportunity for Inverness County as a whole." MacDonald then presented Verna MacMillan with a check for $1000, the prize offered for the competition.

Following the announcement of the winning tartan, Dr. John Gibson of Judique gave the Toast to the Tartan, reading a verse by Murdoch Maclean of Scotland:

GENTLEMEN - THE TARTAN!
Here’s to it!
The fighting sheen of it,
The yellow, the green of it,
The white, the blue of it,
The swing, the hue of it,
The dark, the red of it,
Every thread of it!

The fair have sighed for it,
The brave have died for it,
Foeman sought for it,
Heroes fought for it.
Honour the name of it,
Drink to the fame of it -
The TARTAN!

Verna MacMillan composed a poem of her own to explain the colour choices that make up her tartan:

Inverness County Tartan

Inverness County beauty is renowned,
Many natural resources abound.
Landscapes and seascapes take one's breath away.
Arts, music, and traditions lead the way.

Blue for honour, ocean, rivers, and lakes,
Yellow for friendship and golden oatcakes.
Black for the coal, Cabot Trail, and slow trains.
White for "forerunners," peace, and snowy lanes.
Green for the splendour of farm fields and hills.
Red for courage, crimson skies and strong wills.

These chosen colours tell a history,
Based on facts, folklore and mystery.
Symbols of cultures living side by side,
Maintaining customs, heritage and pride.

The Tartan Sett: 36 blue, 4 yellow, 4 blue, 2 yellow, 6 red, 6 green, 4 red, 4 green, 2 red, 4 black, 6 blue, 14 white, 4 blue, 4 white, 2 blue, 8 white.

Verna MacMillan's official Inverness County tartan will hang in the Inverness County Centre for the Arts for the rest of the week during Celtic Colours, as will the other entries designed by Beth Ryan-Virginia McCoy, Ann Rostrup, Judy Lincoln-Robert Walker, Dolores Casey, and Eileen MacNeil.

Contest Entries

Original Contest Announcement

The Inverness County tartan is registered with the keeper of the tartans.

The Lake Ainslie Weavers and Craft Guild recognizes the support of the Province of Nova Scotia through the Department of Tourism and Culture. We are pleased to work in partnership with the Culture Division to develop our cultural Resources for all Nova Scotians.