JAUNTY nonagenarian Jackie Clark, a kenspeckle figure in Glengarnock, passed away on June 15 after a short illness, in his 95th year.

He was quite simply a local legend in the Garnock Valley. He often spoke fondly of the heyday of the thriving industrial village of yesteryear; its massive steelworks opened in 1843 and closed in 1985 and his involvement for many years in the village YMCA, working as village Postmaster and happy days entertaining older folk on accordion.

Strangely enough even at age 94 he was still entertaining ‘the old folk’ at Haylie House, Largs until a few weeks before his passing. Little did his audience of auld yins, know that Jackie was the oldest of the lot! Jackie Clark, affectionately known as Mr Glengarnock, never actually worked in the steelworks, but was still acutely aware of its history and importance to the local economy.

The passion was obvious as he expressed his great sorrow at its demise in 1985, because so many Garnock Valley men – proud steelworkers - never worked again; and their sons were denied the opportunity of local employment.

Jackie was born in 1923 above Glengarnock Post Office, which at that time was a draper’s shop owned by his father, John. Educated at Glengarnock Primary School, under the headmastership of Mr “Bunny” Law, he remembered that discipline was strict. “If you were two minutes late for school, God look down on you.”

The headmaster would say: “Just go upstairs and waitfor me, and it was six of the best with the strap. I can still feel stinging hands today,” said Jackie Glengarnock was a thriving village right up until the 1960s.

He said: “You could get just about anything there without having to go further afield. The range and variety of shops was quite staggering. It’s sad that the village was allowed to slowly decay.

“Only a few of the very oldest locals will remember the village lace works operated by Morton and Saundour with over 150 employees. Make no mistake, Glengarnock was a thriving little village in its day, but you wouldn’t know that now as it really is a shadow of its glorious past.

“How many folk know that Glengarnock even had its very own 9-hole golf course? I doubt if there is anyone else alive today who played that course.”

Jackie has always been a dedicated community-activist, getting his sleeves rolled up and working hard to achieve success. He was one of the key players in delivering a new YMCA Hall to the village in 1957.

“I went up to Glasgow and met Sir John Craig, head of Colville’s who owned the steelworks. He smiled at me and said ‘I hear you’ve got a dream, Mr Clark, of a new YMCA Hall for your village,’ and I replied that that indeed I had. He asked how much it would cost and told him it would be precisely £9,800 and Sir John said, ‘Just go ahead Mr Clark. I’ll pick up the bill,’ which he did.”

Jackie smiled proudly: “How often does someone make a dream come true in such a special way?”

In later years Jackie was also responsible for saving the bell tower of Glengarnock Church when it was demolished. It is now located in gardens in Main Street as a memorial to the lost village Kirk.

Most older folk will remember Jackie as the village Post Master with his late wife, Mattie, a Beith lass whom he married in 1948 in the High Church. He was the founding member of Garnock Valley Sporting Gun Club in 1971.

For years he actively supported North Ayrshire Disabled Club, running ceilidhs and concerts and entertaining on accordian at meetings. He was a member of Beith Accordion Club from its inception in the early 1970s and was given honorary membership of the club a few years ago, still acting as club press secretary in his 90s.

He also set up the first Blair Gymkhana in 1973, even building 13 of the jumps, all still in use 35 years later. This event raised a great deal of money for Riding for the Disabled.

Over the years Jackie has played in many bands including The Rhythm Ace with fondly remembered Alastair Dunn (accordion), Johny Parker (clarinet/ sax), Jack Rennie (pianist), Geoff Graham (sax), Joe Hogan (trumpet), George Wilson on bass and Jackie on drums. He was also for many years a member of Millar’s Band, at one time resident musicians at Seamill Hydro.

A most unusual event occurred in 1968 when Jackie was given two fox cubs by a gamekeeper friend. The vixen Patsy, and dog fox cub, Rikki, were hand reared by Jackie in an enclosure behind the Post Office, shared amicably with the family’s Jack Russell, Billy, normally deadly enemies.

The vixen Patsy became so tame that Jackie took her along to St Brigid’s School , Kilbirnie, where over 77 five-and six-year-olds were each allowed to stroke her.

Jackie’s daughter, Elaine, at that time aged 11 was probably Scotland’s most unusual paper delivery girl, with Scotland’s only pony express delivery service.

Each day she would do her rounds on her pony, Robin, and Patsy went along for the ride, carried in a bag on the pony with head sticking out, enjoying the daily jaunt.

Jackie was a man of many talents and hobbies. In 2006 and 2007 he held a Garden Open Day at his home in aid of Beith Cancer Support Group. Locals flocked in raising around £1,300 on each occasion.

The myriad of stunning colour and varieties in summer are still to be seen in his garden and is proud testament to his green fingers as well as the assistance of dear friends such as Jim Thompson and Willie Edmunds. Few folk know that Jackie was disabled in later life and was almost blind.

A motorised scooter was his lifeline and he can be seen in summer driving along the cycle path to Lochwinnoch or whizzing along the pavement to Longbar to visit a fellow gardener friend.

He is survived by daughters Jacqueline and Elaine and grandchildren Susan, Jennifer, Craig and great grandson, Clark. Jackie Clark really did live life to the full.

Perhaps his proudest moment was in 1986 when accordion legend Jim Johnstone paid a musical tribute to him, composing ‘Jackie Clark’s Jig,’ a tune regularly featured by Robbie Shepherd on BBC Radio. Few could be more deserving of immortalised in music than Mr Glengarnock.