Glenbuchat Heritage

11 Alan Don and bridge of Gairn Post Office

Alan Don and the Bridge of Gairn Post Office

Click for introduction and Don Family tree

The reproduction of the following excerpt and the above photograph has been kindly permitted by the family of Margaret A Fraser, who wrote a book ‘Glen Gairn and its Folk’

Photos above
1. Bridge of Gairn PO with A Don sign above the door.
2. 1850 Map of Bridge of Gairn
3, Google map picture of Post Office house today.

Text from ‘Glen Gairn and its Folk’

‘At the bottom of the steps a phone box stands, and not a few steps from it is the Bridge of Gairn shop. A Mr and Mrs Harvey were the first tenants I remember them and when they died, their daughter Jessie took over and after a time, a nephew, George Duncan, came to assist her.

When Jessie retired and left the district, she took on the tenancy; and when he left, Colin Robbie took it. Since then, Mr Don and his wife took the tenancy and were there for many years. When Mr Don died. his wife kept on the shop and when she eventually retired to live in Ballater, her son, Mr Alan Don and his wife took over. It has always been a friendly shop. – cum post office. When Alan died, his wife kept it on. One always found a welcome every time one went into Mrs Don's shop. It's strange over the span of seventy years how many pleasant obliging people have served glen Folk and many from further afield in that pleasant little family shop. The corner shop, I'd call it. ‘