Bruce Braynen, M.B.E. – Parliamentarian / Businessman

Mr. Bruce Braynen, MBE, a former Parliamentarian, was born in Fresh Creek Andros on 27^th December 1912.  He was the son of Lupereon and Ida Braynen.  Lupereon was a European and Ida was a black woman.  The Braynens had four other children, two sons and two daughters.  The Braynen family moved to New Providence when the children were young. Later Mr. & Mrs. Braynen and Bruce’s four siblings moved to Florida where it was easier for Lupereon to find employment and Ida worked as a dressmaker at Burdines Department Store.  However, Bruce chose to remain in The Bahamas with his grandmother, Catherine Bain, to whom he was very close.   They lived on Hospital lane south of Meeting Street.  Bruce attended the St. Agnes Day School.  The late Dr. Cleveland W. Eneas, Sr. described Bruce Braynen as a Grant’s Town Boy who liked to play with the boys from Bain Town.

Mr. Braynen lost his sight some years ago but, at age ninety-nine (99), he still had a sharp wit and fondly remembered his youthful days growing up in Grant’s Town.  He recalled when the Southern Recreation Grounds (then called the Government Yard) was bush.  Prisoners were brought down to cut down the bush and maintain the property.  Mr. Braynen remembered that he and a few other boys built the cricket pitch and planted grass on the field, which was often eaten by the horses and had to be replanted; however, the grounds developed into a beautiful place.  He also noted that Mr. Edgar Munnings (the father of Harold Munnings and Gwendolyn Munnings-McDeigan) built the steps leading to the bandstand.  The original one was a wooden structure that was “in town” (downtown) before it was moved to its present location.

Bruce chuckled when he recounted that he was a good looking boy who was well liked and allowed to get away with doing some things the other boys were not allowed to do.   I got the impression that he was a little bit peeved about the West Indian boys from the neighbourhood who he said “acted like they knew everything”.  Nevertheless, he acknowledged that many of them had a higher level of education than their Bahamian counterparts, and everyone got along well.

Mr. Braynen married the former Gwendolyn Todd whose family came from Barbados.  He said that he saw Gwendolyn for the first time when she was about ten years old as she disembarked from the horse and carriage when her family arrived from Barbados; he thought to himself at the time that he would marry her one day.   They were married at St. Mary’s Church on 22^nd May 1939 and had three sons, Anthony, Michael and Alaasis.  Mr. Braynen’s other children are Rodney, Barbara King and Mavis Miller. Mrs. Braynen was a nurse by profession.  She died in 1999.

Bruce learnt carpentry as a boy and he became a master carpenter.  As a teenager he built coffins and worked with local undertakers and, at his death, he still owned the saw that he used as a boy.  He was a truck driver for Kelly’s Bakery for twenty-one (21) years and continued to hone his skills in the building industry.  In 1943 he became established as a licensed builder and he eventually became a very successful building contractor.   He built the Aurora Lodge Hall at Charlotte Street North (near the steps) as well as the home Mr. Edgar Bain, on Blue Hill Road, opposite the Government House lower gardens, shown at right.

Mr. Braynen was first elected to Parliament in 1972 as the PLP representative for the St. Agnes Constituency.   He was subsequently re-elected and served in Parliament for fifteen (15) years, where he held the posts of as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House.   He chose not to run for election again and was subsequently appointed a Senator, serving in that capacity for ten (10) years.   He was a philanthropist and quietly helped many persons in Grant’s Town.  He served as Secretary General of The Bahamas Federation of Labour (BFL) and as Chairman of The Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC).  He was also a member of the National General Council of the PLP.  For forty one (41) years he operated his laundry business on Vesey Street at the site which is now the rear parking lot of the Grant’s Town Post Office.

Mr. Braynen died on 3^rd October 2012.