Several elements require to be present if oral history is going to be interesting and successful. Among these it is necessary to have a good rapport with the interviewee, a common interest and knowledge in the subject under discussion and the ability to 'draw' or extract information simply without seeming to pry.

Quite often information may be forthcoming from the most unusual of sources and with seemingly little effort. Several years ago I received a bundle of photographs taken at the turn of the century, most of which were captioned. One of these was of a pony and gig with a well dressed gent seated in the gig. Underneath was the caption 'Andrew Mathieson.

I knew that the Mathiesons had farmed at Mosshead of Kemnay for many years and had left for Milltown of Arbuthnott in 1929. One night, father and I were looking at the photographs and came on the one referred to above. Father looked at the picture; 'Aye, that's fairly Andra.' Peering a little more at the picture he exclaimed; 'That's oor gig.' Then; 'That's Nacket's the shalt! … Well! I never thocht I wad see her again. … Look at the bearing reins. [bearing reins were supported by rings on the collar] … My mother used to drive that pony, she was very quiet and easy to handle. … She was in the coronation parade in 1911.'

By this time I was completely lost in all senses of the word.

'My father bought that rig out when he came to the village in 1898.' The stories poured forth for days. 'Someone got a loan of the pony one summer and fed her on hay and the poor beastie died. … Dr Malcolm [the local GP] was across in the western isles and brought home another pony ... she was in foal and foaled one Saturday night at the Manse.' Father named the people who were present at that event some eighty years previously when he was a boy of some nine years old.
Few people I have met have that vivid power of recollection to recall happenings from so long ago, and often one has to verify oral reminiscences with other source material.

Since that time I happened to be working at Marykirk and had passed the sign for Arbuthnott several times. One day I asked my client if there were still Mathiesons at Milltown of Arbuthnott. He replied that they had all retired and said where they all lived. I told him the tale of the photograph and he was very interested in the story. It transpired that Andrew's widow was then still alive - she had been some thirty years Andrew's junior. I took the photograph to show him, and he asked me if the family would have a copy of it. I assured him that that would be very doubtful. He passed the picture on to the family and they also expressed interest in it and a family acquaintance was again renewed after a break of a generation.

List of sources
Family photographs
Family reminiscences