GLASGOW — Margaret Eliott of Redheugh, Scotland, arrived in town late Wednesday night after an 18-hour flight from Glasgow, Scotland.
Eliott is the chief of this year’s Glasgow Highland Games, making her the first woman to preside over the annual event. She is also the 29th chief of Clan Elliot.
Female chiefs are not all that common, but there are a few.
“I know of three or four of us,” she said. “I think Scotland has been much more liberal over the years than other countries.”
Eliott succeeded her father, Sir Arthur Eliott, as chief of the clan in 1989.
Her schedule Thursday was jam-packed.
She began her day with a trip to Golden Touch Beauty Salon where she chatted about plants and gardening with manicurist Wynona Edwards after Merica Gowin styled her hair.
When Eliott isn’t presiding over Games or tending to the matters of her clan, she’s growing vegetables on her farm in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland. She is also the mother of two children — Ben, 28 and Kate, 25.
After a visit to the beauty shop, Eliott was whisked away by Tommy and Mary Elliott of Glasgow for a tour of Mammoth Cave National Park.
This is not Eliott’s first trip to the United States. She has attended Games in other parts of the country and even has family living in Georgia. But this is her first visit to Kentucky.
When she was invited to serve as chief of the Games, representatives of Clan Elliot sent her packets of information about things to see and do while she is here.
One of the brochures she received was about Mammoth Cave so she was excited to have the opportunity for a quick tour.
“I’ve seen pictures,” she said. “I thought Mammoth Cave looked fascinating.”
Eliott was given a private tour of the cave and visited the Historic entrance, as well as the Star Chamber and Gothic Avenue.
During lunch, she and the Elliotts discussed the various spellings of the surname.
“When the Scottish Elliotts left and went through Ireland that’s when the spelling (changed),” Elliott said.
The many different spellings of the name, he said, make it difficult to trace when doing genealogy.
After her tour of Mammoth Cave she joined 56 members of her clan for dinner.
This afternoon she was the guest of honor at a luncheon at Barren River State Park and one of the guest speakers at the annual Celtic Fest.
She will spend time tomorrow and on Sunday presiding over the Games.
Eliott had heard about the Games before her arrival this week.
“Everybody told me it was a very friendly Games and they said it was well-organized,” she said.
She was told there would be lots going on during the weekend and that the whole community joins in putting the Games together.
“That’s unusual in itself,” she said. “Atlanta doesn’t put on its Games.”
After this weekend she intends to spend time with her cousins from Georgia touring Kentucky.
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Hail to the Chief
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