On November 11, 1999, band co-founders, Sheila Stewart and Garth Wilson, attended Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Collingwood, Ontario cenotaph, where they witnessed a sad scene that sparked the conception of the Pipes and Drums band that would be the Beinn Gorm Highlanders. They watched as veterans and members of the Collingwood Canadian Legion marched to the cenotaph accompanied by recorded music played on a portable tape player. Sheila and Garth were determined that the veterans would be escorted by a live band the following year.
The pipes and drums band came together in January of 2000 for their first official meeting. Initial members were encouraged to contribute “thoughts and ideas, so that the small flame will grow”. The Legion offered the use of their auditorium weekly in exchange for providing a pipes and drums band for Remembrance Day services. Other issues were resolved at that meeting such as, band name and tartan.
The name of the band, Beinn Gorm, reflects the area surrounding Collingwood and welcomes members and interests from a large area. Beinn Gorm means “Blue Mountain” in Gaelic, Beinn meaning mountain and Gorm – blue. Locals will recognize the name as that of the largest ski resort and hill in the area (indeed, in all of Ontario), Blue Mountain Ski Resort, as well as an adjacent township, the Town of The Blue Mountains. As early as 1832 the as yet unformed local townships of Sunnidale, Nottawasaga, Osprey and Collingwood were known as “The Blue Mountain Country”.
The tartan chosen for the band carries on the “blue theme”. The MacDonald of the Isles (Modern Hunting) plaid has a very dominant blue stripe woven through it. The tartan originates in Islay, Scotland, where the MacDonald clan presides. It so happens that many of the earliest settlers in our region emigrated from Islay, which makes the choice of tartan doubly appropriate, and as a band we are pleased that we can salute these stalwart families with the wearing of their tartan.
The Beinn Gorm Highlanders Pipe and Drum band still practises at the Collingwood Legion every Tuesday night and plays at many Legion functions: Remembrance Day, Robbie Burns dinners, St. Patrick’s Day festivities, as well as numerous local events and parades throughout the year.