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A story by Terry Harron about meeting a relative in Toronto

About 20 years ago not long after we had bought a caravan in a park about an hours drive north of Toronto, I signed up one Saturday afternoon for a men's doubles horseshoes competition.

About five minutes after I wrote down my name someone asked in a loud Scottish voice "who's Terry Harron?"

I stood up and noticed it was a guy who I had met on the golf course a couple of times. I knew his name was John McDonald and that he was Scottish but that was all I knew about him. Our conversation went something like this-

John - we must be related

Terry - I don't think so as I am not aware of any Scottish connections

John - where are you from?

Terry - Ireland

John - well I already figured that out - what part?

Terry - Originally from the Strabane area

John - my grandfather was born just outside Strabane in a place called Burndennet

Terry- that's funny my Father was born in Burndennet

John - my Grandfather's name was Jim Harron and he was a steamroller driver who one day accidentally killed a child. He was so distraught after the accident that he left Ireland and moved to Glasgow. He had a daughter who's name was Rose Harron and she was my mother. My mother used to tell me about visiting the Strabane area in summertime when she was a young lass....

He insisted that we must be related so I told him I would check it out

When I got home the next day I phoned my Da and asked him if he had an uncle Jim. Oh yes he replied...he was a steamroller driver who emigrated to Glasgow after he killed a child in an accident. My Da went on to tell me that Jim had a daughter called Rose who used to visit Strabane in the summertime and that he (my Da) 'fancied her" but she was out of bounds as they were full cousins! He was amazed when I related the conversion I had with John McDonald in a horsehoe pit in Wasaga Beach Ontario.

So there we were total strangers in Canada yet our grandfathers were brothers and our parents were cousins! John and I became good friends.

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