Sep 6, 2002 By Frances Borsodi Zajac 8 min read

When he played “Amazing Grace” on his bagpipes on Nov. 11 at Ground Zero, David Olson was moved as he watched tears stream down the faces of big, burly policemen, who were still grief-stricken from the 9-11 terrorist attacks. At that moment, Olson realized the magic and emotional power that his musical instrument held in the grieving and healing process.

“It could be the way I touch people with them,’ said the 58-year-old Belle Vernon resident, as he continued to tell the poignant story about why he loves to play the bagpipes.

After 9-11, Olson said he played his bagpipes at many memorials, and he began to realize that he needed to see Ground Zero.

Olson drove to Manhattan on Nov. 11 because he wanted to arrive early on a Sunday morning. He was hoping that no one would be around because he was searching for a private moment to reflect as he played his bagpipes.

But in New York, Olson said it’s difficult to find a place that is isolated and private.

“But I tuned up the pipes and marched around the area, and the hardest thing was seeing a number of big, burly policemen crying as I played ‘Amazing Grace.’ I walked up and down the fence where all those pictures were. People thanked me afterwards for playing.’

Olson said people like the bagpipes, especially in New York, because it helped them to cry at a time when they needed to let go of their intense emotions.

“It has a cleansing or soothing effect,” he said. “But it can stir up the rabble-rousers, too. They can evoke so many different moods from happy and joyful to fighting moods to contemplative and spiritual.’

Those, who would like to experience this enchantment, can find plenty of bagpipes at the 44th annual Ligonier Highland Games, which will be held today through Sunday. Olson will be among those playing as a member of the Macdonald Pipe Band.

Asked what he likes about the games, Olson said, “Everything: the meat pies, the colors of the different tartans, the people I meet. Our band plays along with all the other bands. Sometimes 20 or 30 different bands come from all over the country and Canada. I like playing music, and you get to meet so many different people, and I could tell you lots and lots, and it could get to be a long story.’

Ligonier turns into its own version of Scotland during the games, which feature bagpipes, drums, harps, dancing, storytelling, dogs and heavy athletic games, such as the hammer throw and caber toss.

“We have grown,’ said David Peet, who has been managing the festival for about 35 years. “We used to get 1,000 people back in the older days. Now, we get about 10,000.’

The event begins today with dinner and classical bagpipe competition at the Mountain View Inn in Greensburg. There is also a Scottish worship service at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Ligonier at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday followed by concerts in the town diamond.

But most of the people will come on Saturday to Idlewild Park where the Ligonier Highland Games originated as the brainchild of park owner Clinton K. “Jack’ Macdonald.

Macdonald, who was Scottish, had heard of games in other parts of the country and thought they would be ideal for Ligonier, which also has its own Scottish history that can be traced back to the construction of Fort Ligonier in 1758 during the French and Indian War. The fort was built for the Scottish Highland troops of General John Forbes, who took Fort Duquesne from the French and renamed it Fort Pitt.

Olson also said it was Macdonald who formed the Macdonald Pipe Band in which he now plays.

“In 1967, Jack Macdonald wanted to start a band and so he gave us $2,000 to buy kilts. We were all former members of the Carnegie Tech Band. So we started a band and took his name and we wore the Clan Donald tartan,’ Olson said. “We’ve been in existence every since. I believe I’m the oldest member of the original players.’

Olson, whose heritage is Swedish, is a professional musician and artist as well as a former college professor. Besides the bagpipes, Olson plays other instruments that include the trombone. He also plays with the Mon Valley Community Band and was recently invited to play with the Pittsburgh Symphony.

Olson started playing the bagpipes while a student at Rostraver Township High School. He played trombone in the high school band and a friend in the band, who played saxophone and also played bagpipes, dared Olson to try the bagpipes.

“The rest is history,’ Olson said.

The two friends became members of the Clan Grant Pipe Band in Donora, another community with Scottish roots. Olson played with this band several years before switching to the Carnegie Tech Pipe Band in Pittsburgh. (The college is now Carnegie Mellon University.) Olson became director of the Carnegie pipe band in 1971 before taking a job teaching art at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington the next year. A sculptor, he has a bachelor’s degree in art and a master’s degree in art education from Penn State University.

After five years of teaching, Olson opened his own business, creating sculptures and selling art supplies before taking a job teaching art at California University from 1987 to 1997. He still teaches, recently offering a course in making musical instruments at Touchstone Center for Crafts in Chalk Hill.

Olson loves playing in the Macdonald Pipe Band.

“Because of my association with the band, I’ve been able to travel all over the United States and Canada,” he said. “We went to the United Kingdom several years ago and toured Scotland and England.’

Through the band, Olson was able to meet celebrities, such as Prince Charles of England when the royal visited Pittsburgh, and actress Isabella Rosalini in Scotland. But the Ligonier Highland Games is also a big treat for Olson, who has missed them only once in the past 35 years.

“There’s so many things to see and so many things to do and so many things to buy, from Scottish food to Scottish goods, like kilts and wearing apparel, musical instruments, even bagpipes, and jewelry,” he said.

Peet said the interest in the Ligonier Highland Games has grown as people become aware of their own Scottish heritage.

“At one time in western Pennsylvania, it was estimated that one out of every three people were of Scottish descent,” he said.

But it’s also a matter of doing a job well. The Ligonier Highland Games allows its visitors a full Scottish experience.

“What we do is maintain the heritage through dancing, harping, Scottish fiddling. That’s where bluegrass comes from. And Scottish country dancing, which was ballroom dancing in Scotland but practiced by everybody, is the parent of American square dancing,’ Peet said.

The games includes an exhibit of 16 breeds of Scottish dogs, including collies, terriers and the Dandy Dinmont. Bara the Bard does storytelling for children, and there are children’s games that mimic the heavy athletics competition undertaken by the adults. While 200 to 300 children will participate in their own games, the adult games are limited to eight professionals and 15 amateurs. Last year’s professional winner was Harrison Bailey from Bethlehem, Pa., while the amateur winner was Wade King from Bethel Park.

Friday’s classical bagpipe competition is also limited in number with last year’s winner, Michael Rogers, coming from Maryland in the Washington, D.C., area. Another contender, who is a past winner, is Alastair Gillies, who teaches bagpipes at Carnegie Mellon University, after moving here eight years ago from Scotland.

All events are open to the public, but reservations are required for dinners on Friday and Saturday night. For the latest information on the Scottish dinner with whiskey tasting and entertainment at Mountain View Inn on Friday, Sept. 6, call 724-834-5300. An informal Scottish country dance follows there at 8 p.m. For ticket information for the dance, call 412-343-3265. For the latest information on the Saturday dinner and ceilidh at the Mountain View Inn, call 412-943-0559.

No reservations are necessary for the activities at Idlewild Park on Saturday. Admission is $12 adults, $5 for youths to age 12 and free to children under 6. Parking is also free.

On Sunday, there is a Scottish worship service at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Ligonier at 10:45 a.m. The chamber of commerce will host a bagpipe service following the service and a performance by the rock group Celtic Friends from 1 to 3 p.m.

For more information, check the Ligonier Highlands Games Web site at www.ligoniergames.org.