Attorney Keeps Traditions of
His Immigrant Family Alive

1/30/08

Andrew Fraser, Attorney with Laddey Clark & Ryan, traded in his suit for his kilt as he helped commemorate the 249th birthday of Robert Burns, the Scottish national poet.

Fraser and his family emigrated from Scotland to Connecticut in 1964. His parents, George and Margaret Fraser, wanted to keep their deep rooted traditions alive and connect with other Scottish families. They started Connecticut's first Scottish Society, in part to join the world wide celebrations of Scottish National Poet, Robert Burn's birthday. Burns is most famous for the song we sing on December 31, "Auld Lang Syne."

"My parents started this Connecticut tradition in our home 25 years ago, and now the celebration has grown so much that it attracts hundreds of people from around the country. Now that my parents are both gone, its amazing to leave my home in Sussex County and travel back to Connecticut to once again see their legacy celebrated." said Fraser.

This year the Robert Burns Night in Mystic Connecticut attracted over 400 people from all over the United States. They listened to the Mystic Highland Pipe Band and watched the Highland and Scottish Country Dancers perform. One of the rituals of the Burns Night is built around the centerpiece of the meal - The Haggis. Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish consisting of oatmeal, spices, fat, stock and the heart, liver, and lungs from a sheep. The "Address to a Haggis" is a Burns poem recited at the dinner. This year Fraser was asked to continue in his father's footsteps and recite the poem.

"I was concerned because the poem must be memorized and it is not in English. Then one of the members of Scottish Country Dancers gave me a tape of my father reciting it from years ago, and I realized it was just like an old friend. I had heard it so much as a child that it just came to me," added Fraser.

The Scottish group started by Fraser's parents has many facets, including the Mystic Highland Pipe Band and the Mystic Scottish Country Dancers. This year marked the 25th anniversary of the group, and the group made a special point of honoring Fraser's parents. "It was amazing to be in the ballroom with hundreds of people who came to celebrate their heritage in part because of my parents. It was difficult to leave at the end of the night because I really felt my parents' presence in that room," said Fraser.

Fraser is a partner in the law firm of Laddey, Clark & Ryan, LLP, practicing personal injury litigation on behalf of seriously injured individuals.