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The
Celtic Shop formerly Black Hills Celtic Shop, in
operation since 1999 and lately relocated to downtown Lead, South Dakota,
just blocks from its famous gold mine, is literally in the heart of "the Black Hills of Dakota".
Charlie Evans Weir is its proprietor. Charlie is a member of Scottish Clans
Buchanan,
MacFarlane and
MacNachtan;
and his middle name,
Evans, echoes his mother's
maiden name and also his own cherished Welsh heritage.
Rose
McCarty, his best friend and wife, a descendant of the McCarthys of
Desmond in Ireland,
and a trained geologist, teaches science courses at the local school
and college, and helps Charlie at the Shop.
Charlie has been active in Celtic activities and groups. He also
lectures and teaches
popular courses locally
on Celtic culture and history. Charlie is an
accomplished leatherworker and makes traditional Scottish and Welsh leather goods
including sporrans/ysgrepans (kilt wallets) and belts. His haggis (lamb and oat
sausage), struan (multigrain bread), pasties (Welsh meat
pies), and other traditional Celtic recipes have been
included in two Celtic cookbooks.
Charlie and the Shop were featured in a five page article in the
November-December 2003 issue of "Souvenirs, Gifts and
Novelties Magazine", a business trade publication. The title reads: "Celtic Shop Finds Success in the Black Hills,
South Dakota." See pages 76, 78, 80, 82 and 84, and a short article titled
"Who Are The Celts" on page 72, written by Charlie but not credited.
On January 26, 2007,
Rose McCarty was named
"South Dakota Outstanding Physical Science Teacher of the Year"!
In January of 2012, she was nominated for the third time as the South Dakota entrant for
the President's
Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Science and Mathematics!
Lead is famous locally for its skiing and snowmobiling at nearby Deer
Mountain and Terry Peak, and the Homestake Mine, once the biggest and most
productive gold mine
in North America, is now entering a second life as our nation's new underground
sub-atomic particle physics laboratory, now simply called DUSEL - short for
Deep Underground Science Experimentation Laboratory).
Rose also has had a hand in various projects there since its inception. |
