Good evening all!

Imagine my surprise to see my husband's picture, wearing his USCG tartan kilt from Alexis Malcolm's website!

I'm new to this forum; this is pretty exciting. I signed up a couple of months ago but haven't had a chance to really look around. I'm so glad I got a bit of time to do so!

My name is Joanne Pendleton. If you've been to the website for the USCG Pipe Band, you may have tripped over my name. I designed and wrote the history for the USCG tartan. This tartan is one of my passions in life and to promote it and the USCG Pipe Band is one I cannot do enough.

I would like to confirm a few things that seem to have popped up. First, yes, the Tartan is an "offspring" from the Hamilton family tartan in honor of Alexander Hamilton. Yes, the white stripe is thicker; that is the main part that deviated, allowing us to be "related" yet distinctly different from the Hamilton tartan. The white is not by accident. I chose 10 white threads to represent the first 10 Revenue Cutters commissioned by Hamilton in 1790. This info can be found on the USCG Pipe Band's website under the tartan history.

As for Alexis Malcolm, in conjunction with another member of the Pipe Band, I worked with Alexis to get this tartan made into kilts. My original plan was to give kilt #1 to my husband as that was my intention when he retired from the USCG in '98 but we asked that #1 go to the Drum Major on the Pipe Band so he could wear it to the CG Festival in 2002. "The good of the one outweighs the good of the few". My husband has #2 and I have #3 (a kilted skirt). We are very pleased with our kilts and Alexis did a great job on them. I wear mine whenever I have an opportunity to 'recruit' potential band members at Highland Games!

Semper Paratus!

Joanne Pendleton