With
a declining population, the village could no longer
support
two churches and a mission hall. The Free Church closed
in 1920 and for a time became the village hall. In 1922
the village
school
closed. The children moved to Slains School and were
faced with a daily return walk of almost six miles in
all weathers.
By the mid 1920s, only about a dozen small fishing boats
remained working out of Collieston, and the Harbour Trustees
had disbanded. Village life had reached a low ebb with
many cottages abandoned and derelict. A few fishwives
continued
to ply their trade, still carrying heavy creels laden with
fish, from door to door around the neighbouring countryside.
Often they bartered for fresh eggs and vegetables and brought
fresh farm produce back with them to the village.In 1925
the full time Coastguard Company was disbanded leaving
the volunteer Auxiliary Company of some twenty men and
women
to take on its duties of coast watching and rescue.
|
