Malcolm MacLean, known as Calum Salum, opened a shop here in 1938. Using a hut from RAF Tiree, this grew into the largest shop in the east end. He sold everything: bakery bread from Glasgow, tins of food, paraffin and methylated spirits for Tilley lamps, crockery, radios and their batteries, and even tractors.
He was the first man to sell bottled gas on the island, and was amongst the first on Tiree to set up a windmill on his house to generate electricity.
Dealing with paperwork took second place to all his other activities. Inside the house at Salum, the dining table would often be covered with letters and accounts waiting to be dealt with. His favourite saying was: “It’s here, but where?
