The Register book by Moira Dennis and Paul Heartfield reveals stories of Logie Primary School pupils listed over 98 years
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A BOOK has been published chronicling the lives of 23 pupils at a local village school over a century.
The Register, featuring research into a school register and text by Logie Primary administrator Moira Dennis, as well as photography and design by professional Paul Heartfield, tells the stories of 23 contributors or those of family members, and offers an overview of changes in the surrounding community.
Last June, the Gazette included Moira’s appeal for contributions about any Logie Primary pupils who attended over the featured 98-year period.
She said: “This book was an impulse which struck me the moment I found the register on a shelf in the office, a few weeks after I started work there.
“With it listing the name of every child who had ever come into the school from 1881-1979, I thought how amazing it would be to trace a child from each decade and look at how their lives had turned out.
“The Gazette appeal brought in people who had been at the school and who had memories to share. The newspaper also crops up in some of the later stories: I used the archive in Forres and Elgin libraries to look at old editions.”
Moira was struck by how local the school was for most of the period covered by the register –the pupils came from a relatively small patch, from a number of farms and crofts which are still standing. She wanted to find out more about who had lived in the places she now passes on the way to work.
She said: “I did a bit of research of my own into some of the earliest stories, finding out, for example, what had happened to a little girl who had her cause of leaving in 1916 marked simply as “Dead” in the register. It brought the past right into the present when I realised that a close relative of hers is Tina Fraser of Forres who was able to tell me what became of that girl’s family.”
Moira enjoyed two things most about completing her research for The Register. The first was the way people trusted her with their stories.
She said: “I would visit them in their homes, or anywhere they felt at home, talk for a couple of hours typically, then go off and write up the story as I saw it. I’d then send it back for approval and to make sure that they were happy with my version of their story.”
The second was the way in which individual stories provided a picture of the evolution of the rural community.
Moira said: “From the attitudes to children born outside marriage, changes in farming practices, women’s expectations of life, transport and travel, public healthcare and, of course, education and discipline in school.
“Personal stories pieced together to show much more wide-ranging changes in society.”
She added: “The school in fact took second place in most people’s memories! This book turned into an account of the changes in Dunphail – and would have been reflected in places like it.
“The fantastic sense of community is what really stands out, along with how separate from Forres a place like Dunphail was, with the town for many seeming to be a world away.”
Moira very much appreciated the contribution of Logie Primary parent and professional photographer Paul Heartfield.
She added: “Paul knew what it takes to make a collection of stories into a beautiful book. We published it ourselves, going to a printer via a friend who works in publishing.
“The Register took a lot longer than I expected, but I am very proud of the result.”
Margaret McKenzie from Forbeshill started at Logie Primary in 1937, graduating to Forres Academy in 1944.
She said: “I read in the Gazette about an appeal for former pupils and my daughter persuaded me to contact the school. I spoke to Moira on the phone, who set up an interview at my home in Forbeshill with my Barbara Souter who was also a pupil at Logie.
“I was nervous about getting involved, but I feel honoured now! Anyone connected to Logie Primary should take a look at the book – it’s an excellent read with beautiful photographs.”
The Register is on sale for £20. It is available via the Logie Steading website, bookshop and gallery, The Washington and R&R Urquhart in Forres and directly from the school via admin.logiep@moray-edunet.gov.uk. Profits go to Logie Primary School.
More stories from pupils are still welcome – the entire register is printed in the book so any attendees up to 1979 will find their name.
