Celtic Way in Asheville, NC

**Jock Scot** · 19th February 10, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by piperdbh

No, but I hope you find yourself there very soon.

Her shop is just around the corner from Jack o' the Wood, a pub that Tartan Hiker really likes and where the Hooligans are playing tonight.

Well you caught my drift anyway!

I would love to pop over and give the besom a bit of her own medicine. I would love to meet you ALL and put the world to rights. Sadly that is not to be, I am afraid------well not this year any way!

**Tartan Hiker** · 19th February 10, 01:30 PM

Well Jock, if you do ever find yourself on this side of the pond it would be my honor to show you around our corner of the world.

**Zardoz** · 19th February 10, 01:50 PM

That's a interesting retail strategy alright!

If I'm ever in that area I'll be sure to stop by and make that woman miserable!

**NCMC** · 19th February 10, 02:14 PM

Jock,
It sounds like she is the type of person that would find something that offended her. Perhaps because of white hose (or lack of - haha) with a kilt.
It is too bad, the rest of the area is great.

**Jock Scot** · 19th February 10, 03:53 PM

Originally Posted by NCMC

Jock,
It sounds like she is the type of person that would find something that offended her. Perhaps because of white hose (or lack of - haha) with a kilt.
It is too bad, the rest of the area is great.

Thankfully these people who need to suck a lemon every hour and think they are required to drink a pint of vinegar every morning are few and far between ,but every area seems to have at least one of them. Even in Scotland.

**Bob C** · 19th February 10, 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by Tartan Hiker

Her usual motus operandi is to grill you with questions as you enter the store. If you don't respond correctly (or if you are obviously from an ethnic extraction other than western European) you will be treated badly until you get fed up and leave.

That's exactly what happened to my daughter and her friend. They're college students and the woman asked them what they were studying. When my daughter said she planned to be a school teacher and the friend said she planned to be a social worker, the witch went off on them about how there should be no public schools and that all social workers do is sign people up for welfare.

My daughter took the crap for a while, she said, because the merchandise was very nice and she wanted to surprise me with a gift. The witch wore her out, though, and she left.

BTW - No apology necessary, Hiker. It's hardly the fault of you or your city that this person has chosen to place herself in your midst.

**MJBoston** · 11th August 10, 11:36 AM

Hi, all! I only just now joined your forum, so that I could post a reply to this thread. My parents were recently down in Asheville, and they wandered into this store -- largely because they were impressed by some of the Irish material in the window (maps of Ireland that featured various surnames and whatnot). My father's family is from Ireland. Immediately after they walked in (my father wasn't even totally in the store yet), the woman asked them where they were from, and when my parents told her... and mentioned the counties where my grandparents were born and raised...her response was a curt and sarcastic "wherever that is." My parents were surprised that she hadn't heard of these counties -- given that she was running a store called "The Celtic Way" -- and my mother was more than a little put off by the woman's tone. But they decided not to pursue the issue and attempted just to look at the items in the store. The WOMAN did want to pursue the issue, however. She proceeded to lecture my parents about how ignorant they were for thinking that the store had anything to offer them... even using that word, "ignorant," to describe them. I don't know all the details, but I get the impression the overall tone of her assault was that they had no business being in the store because they were Irish, rather than Scottish (even though there was a freakin' map of Ireland in the storefront!). She told them to leave -- that they were trespassing on private property. As my mother was telling me this story on the phone, I simply typed "Celtic Way" + "Asheville" into Google, and your forum was the first link to come up. I must say, it was rather gratifying (and even amusing) to see that my parents aren't the only ones to have experienced this woman's bizarre behavior. And although I have no trouble believing she is a racist (re: an earlier post about the way she treated an African-American couple), it would seem that she exhibits a very confused degree of ethnocentrism, as well (not to mention bad business practices and horrible manners!). I post this message as a warning to anyone who happens to visit the gorgeous mountains of western North Carolina -- don't spoil your trip by hiking "The Celtic Way!"

**dutchy kilted** · 11th August 10, 07:53 PM

What a shame.Kind of makes you wonder how she stays in business. It has been years since I was in Asheville, but I remember a very pleasant stay and some incredibly nice people, especially at Jack o'the Wood. Oh well, part of having a forum like this is so we can all post recomendations for the superior merchants and warnings about the inferior.

**BassClefB** · 11th August 10, 08:31 PM

I made the mistake of venturing into that store a few years ago while attempting to study my heritage and maybe see some interesting items. It was before I started wearing kilts and became acquainted with Highland wear. I received the same reaction and was really put off. She's old and unhappy and probably can't figure out why her store makes no money.