St Andrews Societies Menu

St. Andrew's societies are fraternal, charitable organizations dedicated to promoting and maintaining Scottish culture and tradition and assisting their neighbours in need. There is no general executive or central body for the various St. Andrew's societies, nor do these groups have any affiliation with each other; each local society exists independently of all others and has its own rules and customs. They do, however, exchange annual greetings with other nearby societies on the Saint's day, and sometimes develop close ties with each other.

Scotsmen living on both sides of the Detroit River, for example, began sharing their common heritage in the middle of the nineteenth century. When the Detroit St. Andrew's Society celebrated its twenty-seventh anniversary in 1866, for example, a Windsor delegation composed of George Murray, James Pollock, Patrick Cottar, Robert Morrison, A. Nicol, John Taylor, and James Fraser, a piper, joined them at their supper. Because the Scots of southwest Ontario did not have a St. Andrew's Society of their own until 1881, many of them crossed the border to attend Burns Suppers and Highland games.

While the Windsor St. Andrew's Society has since dissolved, the task of promoting Scottish culture falling to the Scottish Club of Windsor, the Detroit St. Andrew's Society will be celebrating its 150th anniversary in December 2009.

• of Windsor


• of Detroit