In her meticulous ingathering of the stories of people in a small segment of The Bahamas, Ms. Rosemary Hanna has recorded the history of the fashioning of a people whose ancestors were transplanted in a foreign land under the most dehumanising conditions and have in a relatively short period changed the history of a former plantation society. The story is built around the people who played active roles primarily in their churches, family units, lodges and community building. Education was seen as a means of true liberation and advancement in the colonial setting hence the academic success of our people is worthy of note. Blood, sweat, tears and discipline brought this about. The craftsmanship and skills necessary for integration as a whole people are highly valued. Because there was the knowledge that man cannot live by bread alone religion, music and family interrelationships played invaluable ligaments in making us a people. I congratulate Ms. Hanna for this tremendous contribution in the telling of the story of a small portion of “Over-The-Hill”.
Bishop Gilbert A. Thompson (Ret.)
Rosemary’s book reinforces my view that the families that peopled the Over-The-Hill district of New Providence just over a half century ago – basically from 1940-1970 – had more class, showed more character and were demonstratively more inspirational than any generation before or after. It was not a perfect world – far from it. But as the book quickly indicates, the streets, the neighbourhoods and the institutions were dominated by families with shared similar values and ambitions. Charles Carter, CEO, Carter Marketing
APPENDIX II
Butler House, Market Street – Page 126 – 9th January 2011
“I have always admired the simple elegance of this house. This is typical of the architecture of Grant’s Town and Bain Town that should inspire the research of the ‘University of The Bahamas’ (if we serious).”
Walker House, Hospital Lane – Page 205 – 12th January 2011
“Rosemary: You are starting a most important collection of images for the Architectural History of Bain and Grant’s Towns. We have become the ancestors. There is so much information that will disappear with us unless we document as you are doing.”
Burnside Homestead “The White House”, Fort Fincastle – Page 190 – 13th January 2011
“A Black man has been living in the White House for over 60 years”
Concerning Decay of Over-The-Hill Neighbourhoods – 13th January 2011
“This repeats itself throughout our Island particularly where the banks do not support re-investment. Most owners of Fort Fincastle, for example, were able to finance moving to the newer subdivisions, but the assessed value in a ‘declining’ area denied them the same investment there. This phenomenon has happened in many places in the U.S. and the Caribbean where new investors come in and ‘gentrify’ the areas after the prices of the land become little or nothing. Then the original owners cannot find the money to pay for the expensive property in the redeveloped area. Harbour Island, Key West, Coconut Grove are all examples of this and it is happening in ‘the city of Nassau’. Beware.”
Lightbourne House, Hay Street – Page 145 – 14th January 2011
“This house is typical Grant’s Town. If we taught a course in Bahamian Civilization and Architecture, many of the most important lessons would come from this period in our history. Sadly we have allowed imported influences to deny our heritage.”
16th January 2011
“The massive rubble stone walls, that make the railings on either side of the stair, anchor the sense of welcome to the home like two strong arms, pulling loved ones into a bosom. (There is so much to learn from our over-looked heritage.) One of the most elegant examples of Grant’s Town architecture: though modest in size, a mansion in simple detailing.”
Johnson House, Hay Street – Page 148 – 17th January 2011
“There are so many powerful lessons to learn from these houses: the relationship to the streets, the disposition of the gardens, the proportion of the footprint of the dwelling to the lot etc. Students come to Nassau from all… over the world …to study our heritage, our urban condition and our buildings and we take it all for granted. How if our, so-called uneducated, ancestors could produce such beauty have we come to the point where we believe we are incapable of being productive, with all that we are supposed to know?”
Rudy Williams Band – Page 116 – 23rd January, 2011
“This is the kind of history that will give dignity back to our communities and inspire our children”
Transfiguration Baptist Church, Market Street – Page 235 – 8th March 2011
“Charles Thompson experienced the same discrimination as Joseph Robert Love who left The Bahamas to become an Episcopal Minister in the US… He also became a medical doctor and would later become the mentor of the young Marcus Garvey.”
Concerning the Milk Stands – 8th March 2011
“These ‘Milk Stands’ and other small shops in the neighbourhoods allowed us to find all we needed to support ourselves within walking distance. The positive social impact of meeting in the streets as we walked everywhere made our communities all feel like ‘one family’. When we got cars, we became impersonal, did not have to care ‘no more’ as we drove to the ‘super market’ and stored our goods in our new Fridge.”
Jackson L. Burnside III (1949-2011)