When and where did you see your first kilt?

[thescot]

In person: I was driving on Thomas Drive in Panama City Beach about 30 years ago, and I thought I heard bagpipes! Of all things. As I came up the road, sure enough, there was a fellow on a stand in full uniform piping away. Seems there was a retired piper from the Black Watch in Pananma City Beach, and they'd built him that stand so he could go up there and play at noon once a week or so.

The first time on TV was on My Three Sons when I was a little kid, and the dad, Fred MacMurray, wore one on the show. I don't remember the reason, but I do remember thinking it was cool and my dad explaining about kilts.

[Atlanta Kiltie]

When I was 4 or 5 year old, I remember the pipe band of the the Key Club at the high school near my house practicing. They wore the number one uniform in yellow MacLeod in Savannah, GA., where it can start getting hot and humid in March. Unfortunately the Key Club disbanded the pipe band at the school two years before my freshman year. I finally joined a pipe band in 2007.

[unixken]

These are all fascinating stories. Thanks to everyone, for sharing with us!

[Singlemalt]

I have no idea, must have been in my Mother's arms. I grew up in rural Ontario in an area with a lot of Scottish settlement and influence. Both my Father and Grandfather had kilts which they wore on very special occasions and the small town of less than 10,000 people had a community pipe band that played at every event and parade and often on Saturday evenings in the central park.

My earliest real memory is of a piper at Church at a Christmas service when I was very small.

[RayMc]

I was 15 in 1978, and travelled up to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia from Massachusetts for the wedding of my brother's sister-in-law. It was in a little town called Mabou. There were a few kilts at the wedding, and we also attended a gathering of the clans being held that week. It was quite a cultural display such as I had never seen. I distinctly remember the gents in kilts looking very confident, and attracting much female attention !!!

[James Hood]

Father served in WW II and we attended parades on Independence Day where there was occasionally a pipe band or two. This young soul was thrilled, but nothing came of it.

Later, obsessed with history (especially military) 'fell in with a bunch of others of like interest, miniature figure scale modelers and artists and became fascinated with (especially Napoleonic 42nd, 79th and 93rd and 2nd Royal North British Dragoons) Highlanders in the Penninsula and at Waterloo.

'Happened to be serendipitously vacationing with young wife in Toronto during the Scottish World Festival in '73 (she had half or more Scottish blood) and was awed to whelming by the vast bands and kilt kit, everywhere. There was an evening event with reportedly 500 pipes and 1000 drums in the stadium.

Over time, she was going to make a kilt...we purchased fabric, 'had a few albums and CDs of pipes music, but she tragically passed before it was even laid out. At a Ren Faire in '03 took the plunge and ordered Number One from Angus Harvey....

[Jack Daw]

From my earliest memories, my father was telling me about our Scottish past and once read, "Kidnapped," to me at bedtime before I could read myself. He never mentioned kilts and bagpipes until I saw, "Wee Willie Winkie", on television when I was certainly younger than 10 years of age. Although I saw Shirley Temple wearing a kilt, spats, and pith helmet, I understood it as a male uniform because of all the soldiers (especially Victor McLaglen) and pipers. Admittedly, I was more impressed with the bagpipe music than I was the kilt at the time. For years after, I pestered my parents to provide me with pipe lessons, but that's another story.

[Standard]

Wish I could remember, but it would have been when I was a kid. I do seem to remember having seen pipers wearing kilts at events a few times. Other than that, it would have been in pictures and movies etc.

Same story for me too.

[creagdhubh]

In Kingussie, Inverness-shire, Scotland in 1986-7, when I was 5 or 6 years of age. My grandfather and his brothers, my great-uncles, were in kilts and I recall being so enthralled!

Cheers,