When husband Lyle became an obsessive student of the bagpipes and his Scottish heritage, Sally made it a family avocation. All three daughters were enrolled in Highland dance lessons in the summer of 1982 — and what followed was decades of competition, performance, music, and Celtic passion.
Dori
Dori not only rose to Open/Premier professional level in Highland dance, but also took the practical and oral exam for her Associates Teacher certificate for the BATD at age 16, later rising to Members level. She was the main instructor for the Dance Unlimited studio the family operated in Omaha for three years. Even after closing the studio, Dori continued her love affair with Irish dance — taking up singing and playing the bodhrán, continuing to teach step-dancing, group set dances and ceilidh dancing. Once she established her career as a hair stylist, Dori resumed her connection with the Omaha Pipes & Drums as a tenor drummer and proudly contributed to their appearance at the 2017 World Pipeband Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.
Barbara
Middle daughter competed at Open/Premier level before giving up Scottish permanently to throw herself into Irish step-dancing — even winning a huge trophy at a St. Louis feish competing against some of Riverdance's Michael Flatley's Chicago dancers. The one Celtic talent she will be able to do her entire life is her fiddling. She began Suzuki violin at age 7, eventually playing with the Omaha Junior Symphony. One memorable video the family has is Barb practicing at a rented cabin for the next day's games competition at Estes Park, CO — holding the attention of an entire herd of mesmerized elk. She proudly supports her eldest son's passion for the bagpipes and flew to Scotland to see him stand beside his grandfather at the 2017 World Pipeband Championships in Glasgow.
Deborah
When Deborah was just a raw beginner she demonstrated unusual precision and talent. At age 12 her last Novice competition was in Kansas City — Sally was one of the other two competitors on the boards with her, and Deb danced close to perfect and took the "Dancer of the Day" trophy. The following year she placed in regionals and went to nationals. She went on to earn a degree in dance performance from Oklahoma City University in 2002 and performed for over three years in Broadway shows in Branson, MO. She has also judged regular dance competitions across the U.S. and taught a few Master classes for her former teacher at Mary Lorraine's Dance Center in Omaha as schedules allowed.
The Family Dogs
The Westies
In 1990 the family bought their first White West Highland Terrier — Doogie McBowser — a mascot of the pipeband and comparatively well-behaved (he did steal a funnel-cake in passing at the 1991 games in Arlington, TX, but redeemed himself by winning the Jack Russell Terrier race). They later took in a second, the imperfect-but-always-loving Charlie McBarkley. The pair enjoyed the games, tolerated fan attention, and even posed with the formal portrait of the red-coated military Frasier Highlanders of Canada.
Charlie passed in 2005 and Doog in 2006. As an owner, Sally learned the history of the breed and was motivated to incorporate Doogie and Charlie as characters in one of her novels. The family's current Westie, Ruby, came to them later in life and is not the traveler and showman of her predecessors.