No Alcohol ???
Tours to the North of England were a regular feature in the early 1960s.
As the constitution was strongly against alcohol the clubhouse was dry and the club had several hostelries that they favoured at various times. The Railway Tavern - now Findlays, in Cambuslang Main Street, the Wooden Cask at Silverbanks, the Fairway in Rutherglen, and the Cambus Court all received patronage.
Although the clubhouse was now reasonable the pitches were not. Mining subsidence caused a drop in one area of 16 ft between 1946 and 1962 and standing on the centre spot of the 2nd XV pitch it was impossible to see the crossbar of one of the goals.
The cost of levelling the ground was far beyond the limited finances of the club. At this time Cathkin High School was being built and Lanark County Council approached us and offered to level, drain and reseed our area if we allowed them to dump soil from the school site.
We were also given the temporary use of the two Hill 90 pitches. It was an offer we could not refuse yet it nearly finished the club.
Hard Times At Cambuslang
The plan was to coup one winter and spring, prepare the ground during the summer, and reseed in the autumn. This would have allowed us back on to nice new level pitches the following autumn.
Unfortunately it did not go according to plan. The contractor chosen by the council had never worked on a sports ground previously and was completely incompetent. His work was so bad that the then President, Bobby Robertson, a Civil Engineer by profession, categorically refused to accept it. The contractor was not paid for what he had done and as a result went bankrupt. This caused a lengthy delay before a new contractor was appointed who finished the job about two years late.
Vandals broke into the clubhouse and not only removed or destroyed everything of value but also took historic, irreplaceable club photographs. The poor playing conditions had its effect on the membership and for a time the club was struggling to field one team. Money was extremely short and it was only the loyalty of a few dedicated members that allowed the club to continue. After a show game to open the new pitches the club slowly began to improve.
Read more about this topic: Cambuslang RFC
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—Lawrence Balter (20th century)