Bahamas Then & Now – Page 3 – Rosemary C. Hanna

CLEAN UP BAHAMAS!

The Bahamas is a naturally beautiful country and it is being destroyed by pollution and indiscriminate dumping on land, beaches and in the sea!

The situation on the Island of New Providence is out of control and many citizens have lost their sense of pride when it comes to keeping their surroundings ‘clean, green and pristine’. It disturbs me to see the proliferation of road side car repair garages and the tens of thousands of derelict vehicles that are strewn all over the Island, and that’s not an exaggeration! And the cries of those of us who care are falling upon deaf ears of the inept authorities who are charged with enforcing our environmental laws and prosecuting the lawbreakers. One only has to look at the rot and decay in most of our Government buildings as evidence of this failure.

On my street, for example, a filthy scrap metal business grew and grew over the years until it started to spill onto the street. My neighbor used a drone to take aerial pictures of the site and we also had ground level photographs which were sent to the Department of Environmental Health, whose Minister visited the site; we complained to our parliamentary representative, and finally we found the owner of the property who issued a cease and desist order to the person who is operating the dump and guess what, after years of complaining, the operation is still going on!!! What is one to do in these circumstances?

On Lumumba Lane, not too far from where I live, a roadside garage was finally shut down only after someone who was ‘connected’ complained. Regretfully however, the operators slowly returned to ‘business as usual’ and despite being given notice by the Department of Environmental Health more than two months ago to remove the derelict vehicles from the street within 14 days, as of this writing, the cars are still there. A total disregard for the law and no follow up by the authorities to ensure compliance.

Credit must be given to some individuals and civic organizations who have taken the initiative to clean up certain areas of the Island, including some of our beaches. But it’s very disheartening when the litter bugs return to pollute the environment with their garbage. Often times when an area is cleared or an old building is demolished the site is very soon used as a garbage dump.

Come on people! Where is your NATIONAL PRIDE?

Let’s CLEAN UP BAHAMAS!

Kishan Munroe, Social Artist, Photographer and Historian

Kishan Munroe (born 1980, Nassau, Bahamas) is a multidisciplinary social artist, whose work agitates for social change, transcending physical and cultural boundaries while speaking to the universality of mankind.

In 2003 Kishan obtained BFA degrees in Painting and 3D Visual Effects at Savannah College of Art and Design. He went on to pursue graduate work at his alma mater on a graduate fellowship and concluded his studies in Painting in 2005.

Kishan’s work has been exhibited in the Caribbean, North and Latin America. His work is included in many public and private collections and has also received numerous awards and accolades.

On the 21st of August 2008, Munroe, embarked upon a multi-media expedition entitled ‘The Universal Human Experience’ – the first ever project of this magnitude attempted by a solo artist.

Munroe charted an ambitious trek around the world, a fact-finding mission, investigating various conflicts and resolutions that have shaped cultures of opposition. This solo journey was also designed to challenge Munroe’s physical and emotional endurance as well as his ability to adapt and to empathize. Through his documentation of these socio-political issues he captures the reality of a world affected by the plight of human history while placing emphasis on the process of reconciliation as key to the redemption and sustainability of a more peaceful coexistence.

Armed with what he calls “weapons of mass progression” (his artistic tools) Munroe has shown his commitment to be an ambassador of art, as well as an activist for social change. After nearly two continuous years of documenting life in the Americas, Munroe returned home (The Bahamas), completing Phase I of his expedition.

Phase II of his project commenced in 2010, which drew into focus The Bahamas and its relationship with Cuba. Munroe crafted a multi-disciplinary, analytical project that was not only designed to function as appealing visual, audio and literature art, but which also simultaneously wrote a major part of The Bahamas’ history that had for far too long gone uninvestigated contextually. This phase of the project used the tragedy of the sinking of HMBS Flamingo in 1980 as a point of dissection, to address further historical and cultural nuances that have shaped Bahamian culture.

In 2013 Munroe was granted a solo exhibition at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, which made him the youngest artist to be awarded a national show at the institution. The revolutionary exhibit “Swan Song of the Flamingo” went on to receive international acclaim.

In 2014, The Senate of The Bahamas, under the leadership of Senator The Hon. Sharon Wilson (President) identified Munroe’s work as being exemplary of a new standard of cultural intervention and historical documentation. On these merits Munroe was afforded another prestigious honor in being the first Bahamian artist granted the opportunity to exhibit artwork within the Upper House of Parliament. Until then the only paintings to ever grace the walls of the Senate building or the House of Assembly were limited to that of European portraits of British monarchs.

Based on his outstanding research and artistic works on the sinking of HMBS Flamingo, Munroe went on to receive the prestigious Bridget Jones Award for Caribbean Studies in 2015, which was awarded by the Society of Caribbean Studies (UK).

Kishan Munroe is based in Nassau, Bahamas but continues to work within other societies around the world using his creative resources as a catalyzing tool for social intervention.
© Kishan Munroe – October 2015

Link to ‘Swan Song of The Flamingo‘ photo gallery: http://www.rosemarychanna.com/photo-gallery/

Link to interview on The Bahamas – Then and NOW TV show: http://www.rosemarychanna.com/the-bahamas-then-and-now-kishan-munroe/

Link to Kishan on The Bahamian Project: http://www.bahamianproject.com/2013/03/kishan-munroe/

Link to The Bahamas Weekly: http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/arts-and-culture/Artist_Kishan_Munroe_unveils_new_painting_for_Flamingo_Anniversary35012.shtml

How Bahamian Homes Were Built Over 100 Years Ago

By Ann Marie Albury

The home where my cousin lived in Roses, Long Island, that was destroyed by Hurricane Joaquin was over 100 years old. The photos are paintings by Jeanie McLean, a visitor to the island and that was published in the calendar on two occasions. My Great-grand mother, Lelia, my Grand mother Theresa Major, and Grand Uncle Julius Major and His wife Effie, and now Inez lived in this home.

This home is a Traditional Out Island cottage built in the tabby construction method with wood-shingle hip roof, but given its height probably originally intended to include a garret (or attic) chamber later with addition of dormer windows positioned to set up a cross-current and become the coolest room in the house. The dormers never went in. In order to build, rocks and conch shells were gathered, trees cut and all toted on site. A kiln was made to burn it all converting the stones and shells to lime. Sand and chopped sisal were added to the mixture and the walls of the cottage were constructed using that mixture of slime (mortar) and rocks until the structure was erected. They used wooden forms to hold the mixture and added to the height as the mixture hardened. Notice the height of the foundation. Master Bedrooms usually were built with wooden floors, I am told, to prevent injury to babies should they fall from the bed. Notice the walls in the photograph after the hurricane and the rocks are visible. Nowadays the same technique is costlier. Steel will be used every so many feet in columns strengthening the walls. A beautiful house. The hard work and effort involved in building it should not be forgotten.

The technique has not been lost and the addition of steel columns in the corner and centre of the walls should be the answer to another Joaquin with the addition of hurricane straps to tie down the roof more firmly. Gauging the modern hurricane wind velocity, Bahamians should experiment with their own hurricane straps of a higher grade metal than sold in hardware stores. I have been asking whether vehicle grade tin is an answer and if it is thicker than current hurricane straps it should be a means of creating a local industry out of derelict vehicles. One hundred years ago, the construction of a house was a goal of young men whose parents had sent them “to trade” and they left school at 13 or 14 years of age. The families provided the building materials and food. Labour was contributed by family and friends. The grand occasion was “wetting the roof” and family and neighbours provided the food for the festive event. And of course the libation too. A bottle of liquor was broken when the roof went up. After that it was “finishing” work shingling, putting in windows and doors and painting or “white-washing” and you could get that in other colours too yellow and pink were standard in The Bahamas you got it by the pound in the hardware stores in Nassau and mixed it with water and applied it with a large brush like the stone-masons used to wet surfaces before plastering (I forgot the name of that brush somehow).

The next celebration was the wedding of the young man because the purpose of the exercise was to assist the eligible bachelor who had finished school and learned his trade to, using another colloquialism, “cage the bird,” i.e. get married. The building pictured demonstrates the skills of the old-fashioned stone-mason and carpenter and in a social setting illustrates now-lost customs which once bonded and strengthened ties in a community and kept our Out Island Settlements open. The value and respect of the young for their elders was repaid by things like this and when that house was built it was professionally rendered because those helping supervise were skilled artisans. Elderly relatives and friends who could not tote rock or mix lime (actually slime) supervised the younger friends of the young man and viewing this you can see that they got it right. I notice in the rear (on the right of the house) a small portion of a dry rock wall which might be either the boundary of the land or the demarcation of the beginning of the cow, sheep and goat pasture. Usually, an out building at the rear housed a fire hearth and it was there that food was prepared and cooked, produce was preserved and stored and the thought of store-bought jellies, jams, yellow grits was unheard of. One or two Mandarin orange rinds were kept on nails in the rafters to make tea — the true Bahamian Orange Pekoe — when special guests visited. The folks lived closer to the soil and the lady of the house kept these preserves on hand in jars, some lasting the entire year. The Oven was also built out of rocks and mortar and positioned in vicinity of the outside kitchen.

Remarkable is that 100 years ago a young Bahamian man left school at 13/14 years of age, learned a trade by age 21, which then the legal age of majority when he could marry without written parental consent, he acquired land, had no BGCSE or other qualifications beyond a School Leaving Certificate, but the New Bahamian is kept in school until 16 or 17 and shoved to the wolves after an expensive prom and cannot tune up the engine of the car he used to take his escort there. Hurricane Joaquin is telling us many things.

Thanks to Sidney Dorsett for sharing this valuable information.

October 2015

Surviving Hurricane Joaquin and Longing for the Place Where She Belongs: Inez Major’s Story

By Ann Marie Albury

Seven weeks before her eightieth birthday, Inez Major a resident of Roses, Long Island, found herself seeking refuge in the last tiny portion of her home that was left standing. Her life was in grave peril as the brutal unforgiving winds of 130 miles per hour and gust winds even higher, whipped everything in its path and torrents of rain fell as avalanches of water from the category 4 hurricane, Joaquin, devastating the southerly islands of the Bahamas. The many residents of these islands found themselves helpless as they yielded to the fierceness and magnitude of the storm that was upon them.

Inez said they knew a storm was traveling, however, not one that was so big and strong. According to her, they got NO GOOD WARNING! No time to evacuate. She said on her radio, ZNS transmissions would come in for about 2 minutes and go right back off.

As the skies darkened with storm clouds and the winds began to rustle the trees around her home, she made the decision to hunker down right there in her house that was more than 100 years old. Those walls had protected our great grandmother, Lelia, grandmother, Theresa, grandaunt, Effie, granduncle and her in times past, weathering many, many other storms, the most recent being Noel in 2007.

The downfall of the rain intensified and the winds bellowed forcefully, prompting Inez to take refuge in the newer portion of her home, with her grandnephew, Edwin. A few years earlier, an addition was built onto the old homestead to house a kitchen and bathroom. She figured that this newer part would withstand the ravages of the storm. After a few hours of drenching rains and howling winds, crouched in a corner, Inez suddenly sprang to her feet scampering for safety as the newer section and the older homestead were ripped apart as if it were mere tissue paper, opening up to the iron-fisted forces of the storm. Shortly after they moved, the roof blew off and the new concrete walls crumbled down. Inez now huddled for refuge in a room of the older part of the house which was made of lime kiln.

Once again, but for a short while, they seemed to be safe, but Joaquin showed no mercy on this old home and its occupants. The constant downpour of rains saturated the lime kiln walls and they began to crack and crumble. A Strong bitter gust raised a portion of the roof causing the onslaught of the wind to rip the beams one by one just above where Inez and Edwin now rested, revealing the massive storm clouds hovering over them and the brightness of jagged bolts of lightening separating the sky transforming the darkness, but for a moment. Yet again Inez and Edwin had to run to another section of the house to find haven from the storm. This cat and mouse chase between the residents of this once historical quaint home and the unrelenting elements of Joaquin continued throughout the early morning hours as they were forced to relocate from one place to yet another, to find shelter as the forces of Joaquin tore apart the remaining portions of this old homestead bit by bit.

Eventually, the place that Inez had known as home for her entire life had crumbled under the tempestuous forces of nature, wild and untamed. Nevertheless, the storm was not over. Stripped naked of all protecting cover, this seventy-nine year old woman looked around to see where they could find some type of shelter. It was still too fierce to run to any neighboring homes, just too dangerous. Noticing the walls of a small closet still standing with an overhanging portion of the old roof, Inez and Edwin quickly maneuvered their way through fallen debris to find refuge there. They covered themselves with whatever remnants available to avoid the pounding pellets of the rain and debris flying as ammunition in the gale, holding on to whatever they could to anchor themselves against the forceful winds. In the morning hours Joaquin abated, leaving behind smatterings of rain and wind. Inez Major and Edwin took this reprieve provided by nature to emerge from their shelter to find a safer place to rest. They made their way through a ravaged environment that looked like a war zone, to their closest neighbors home, that of Diana Darville.

Inez said during moments of the storm she thought all hope was lost. She felt she and her grandnephew would have perished in this storm. So many thoughts raced through her mind. She thought of many family members, whom she loved and felt she would never see again. She paused here as she told her story, as remembering her experience brought tears to her eyes. She continued sharing. But when it got so bad as the house crumbled around her leaving nothing but the closet where she huddled, in her greatest moment of desperation, she said she cried, “God, please don’t let me die like this.” In those moments of utter despair she began to pray to live. Inez Major and Edwin survived the storm. She lost everything she owned, but her heart is filled with gratitude for life and is thankful for all lives spared throughout the southerly islands during this terrible storm.

On Wednesday, 5 days after the storm was over, Inez Major and Edwin were evacuated….her feet lifting off the soil of Long Island for the first in her entire lifetime as they took flight (first plane ride) in a chartered airplane, thanks to her nephew Daniel and the graciousness of Father Turnquest. She is now resting in Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama surrounded by her loving family.

After this horrific experience and fight for survival, she is now enjoying a well deserved relaxing VACATION. That is what she calls it. Her heart yearns to return to the place she has known all her life, Hogan Road, Roses, Long Island. She longs for her home to be rebuilt and to return “to the place where she belongs!”

Images of Long Island devastation: https://www.google.bs/search?q=hurricane+joaquin+damage+long+island+bahamas&espv=2&biw=1745&bih=828&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CBoQsARqFQoTCOP_4dKS5MgCFQZcHgodzNkOSg

Damage to Mangrove Bush Primary School: http://www.tribune242.com/photos/galleries/2015/oct/14/damage-caused-hurricane-joaquin-mangrove-bush-prim/

October 2015

Thompson Family – Market & Hay Streets

This Heritage Site, situated at the corner of Market and Hay Streets, is the home of the late William Edward Thompson and his wife, the former Corene Hutcheson and their children: the late Archdeacon William Edward Thompson (Willie), pictured at right, Bishop Gilbert Arthur Thompson (Arthur), pictured at left below, and Dr. Philip Thompson. The Thompsons were Baptists. Their grandfather was Reverend Gilbert Thompson who was a pastor in New York. He also pastored at St. John’s Baptist Church, Meeting Street and Metropolitan Baptist Church, Hay Street. Reverend A. E. Hutcheson was Corene Thompson’s father, and she also had a brother the Reverend Ernest Asquith Hutcheson. The Reverend Dr. H. W. Brown, long serving Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, Meeting Street, was her mother’s brother. His father had been the Methodist Society Steward at Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera.

When they were infants, the Thompson brothers were prayed for in the Baptist Church. However, they were taken to St. Agnes Church by their cousin, Mae Adora Strachan, when she came from Rum Cay and lived with her aunt, Mrs. Maud Harriet Deveaux Thompson. Mrs. Thompson, who had been baptized at St. Christopher’s Anglican Church, Rum Cay, by Father Marshall Cooper, the second black Anglican priest in the Diocese, abut 1890, married the Reverend Gilbert Thompson, a Baptist minister. On his death she returned to the Anglican faith. Mrs. Thompson was matriarch of the family, a proud descendent of the Deveaux family of Port Howe, Cat Island. Bishop Thompson recalls that he and Willie were about five and six years old respectively, when they were baptized by Father George Loran Pyfrom at St. Agnes. When they were children the brothers attended Sunday School at St. Agnes as well as Bible study classes at Transfiguration Baptist Church.

In their formative first twelve years everyone in the immediate Hay Street and Market Street neighbourhood got along well and there was no snobbery. They all had pride in their community and strong bonds of friendship. The Brown yard on Market and Hay Streets where mostly people from Cat Island lived, was the usual site for the jump in dance at night on festive occasions. Children were mostly spectators. The children were involved in sporting events such as cricket and softball; they attended the movies and played cowboys and crooks. Bishop Thompson also recalls that in the forties Mrs. Agnes Mackey always took a band with her when she travelled to Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera for the August Monday excursion. He also noted that Mrs. Diana Newbold of Hay Street East, who was a member of St. Agnes Choir, had an organ and a piano in her house. She was the grandmother of the Pinders. Her son, William, before moving to Florida, was the organist at St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Nassau.

[Archdeacon Thompson was married to the former Rosemarie Bailey. In December 1999 he retired as Rector of St. Agnes having served in that capacity for 32 years. Tragically, in May 2000 he was shot during an attempted armed robbery at the rectory and succumbed to his injuries a month later in June 2000.]

Activities and events at St. Agnes included early exposure to classical musical preludes that were played on the Hammond organ before church services, concerts, plays and tableaus directed by Sister Thecla Mary. The tableau was a format in which a story was read while individuals acted the parts as the story was being told. The concerts, tableaus and plays were regular events at St. Agnes. Bishop Thompson recalls that on some occasions Cleveland Reeves came and played jazz on the piano which was not very familiar to many at the time. During the late forties there were the Boys and Girls Brigades led by Fr. Pyfrom. The boys’ uniform was composed of red jackets and blue trousers with yellow stripes. Before the Anglican Young People’s Association (AYPA) was formed the club of St. Agnes’ youth was called the Gardenia Club. It was open to all the young people in the area.

Bishop Thompson is married to the former Olga Louise Major. The Thompson family is pictured at left on the occasion of the Bishop’s 50th Anniversary to the Priesthood. The service was held at Christ Church Cathedral, George Street., Nassau, Bahamas. His daughter, Angela, who is separated from Patrick Williams, has a daughter, Falon. Heather, who is married to Clement Maynard, Jr., has two daughters Amelia and Mary. Gilbert who is married to Dr. Jahzeel Thompson, the granddaughter of Commissioner James Campbell, has a son Gilbert III. Angela is a music teacher and Gilbert and Heather are lawyers.

Bishop Thompson remembers the lessons that he and his brother learnt while sitting on the porch and listening to conversations of the adults who usually gathered there to socialize and discuss world and local affairs. Sometimes the group moved to the porch of their cousin, Wilfred S. Coakley, Sr. on Lewis Street, but the Thompson house was the main site because more people travelled on Market Street and stopped to join in the conversations. The discussions were led by Reverend Jerome Hutcheson, the Pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church, Hay Street, and they were often joined by persons such as Lawyer A. F. Adderley and Sir Alvin Braynen. There, the two older Thompson brothers listened as their elders talked about history, World War II and the Nazis, and as a result, the art of conversation became a part of the learning experience. Bishop Thompson commented that in those days Messrs. Adderley and Toote were the only two black lawyers around and, as a mark of respect, they were referred to as Lawyer Adderley and Lawyer Toote.

Dr. Philip Thompson is a surgeon who practices at the Lucayan Medical Centre in Freeport, Grand Bahama. He was born almost tirteen years after his second brother and became the “pet” of the family. Prince and Willie “Mays” Francis, who lived across the street, also spent a lot of time at the Thompson house.

Photo credits:

Thompson house by Rosemary C. Hanna

Archdeacon Thompson, Bishop Thompson et al by David Knowles

Funeral by Peter Ramsay

At. AGnes Website:

Links:

St. Agnes website: http://stagnesgt.com/

The Jamaica Gleaner – “Farewell to a Great Bahamian” by Errol Miller, Professor and head of the Institute of Education, UWI, Mona: http://web.archive.org/web/20100518100817/http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20000713/Cleisure/Cleisure3.html

Cleophas R.E. Adderley, OBE – Attorney at Law, Musician Extraordinaire, Cultural Ambassador and Bahamian National Treasure

Cleophas R.E. Adderley was born into a musical family in 1955. He is the son of the late Cleophas E. Adderley (former Member of Parliament for the City of Nassau) and the late Helen L. Adderley, formerly Bailey, (daughter of the late R.M. Bailey after whom a public school is named). Cleophas is an Attorney-at-Law and recently celebrated his 25th anniversary as Director of The Bahamas National Youth Choir (BNYC) and 27th year as Director of the Senior Choir at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity (where he formerly served as a member of the Vestry), former Director of Culture for The Bahamas Government, and currently the Executive Director of National Music Heritage and Research. He is also a board member of The Harry C. Moore Memorial Scholarships in the Arts, a trustee of the Cultural Arts Foundation, founding board member of The Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Commission, and founding board member of The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.

Cleophas’ mother noticed that he was talented at the age of three years, when he was able to sing from memory, and in tune, songs he had heard only once. At seven he started piano lessons with his aunt the late Rosalie Bailey. At age eleven he studied tailoring with his uncle the late Nathaniel Bailey working in his shop for many summers and, until age nineteen, sewing Police uniforms for the Government. At age twelve he started organ lessons with his aunt the late Gladys Bailey. He also studied the organ with Douglas Potts and the late John Gittens.

He studied piano, theory and composition with the late Marion St. George at the Government High School (GHS). He also studied piano with Godfrey Davis and the late E. Clement Bethel. Sylvester George, a former Director of the Royal Bahamas Police Force Band, recalls that when Cleophas was a student at GHS Mrs. St. George brought him and other students to the band practice sessions, where he always took a keen interest in what was going on. Cleophas studied voice with Dawn-Marie Nash and Pauline Glasby and participated in a master class with internationally acclaimed Opera Diva the late Gloria Davey at the University of Indiana at Bloomington. He studied orchestration as a private student of Nancy Petterson-Strelau, then at the University of Miami.

Cleophas is a former President of the Bahamian Students Association of the Mona Campus, University of the West Indies. He is also a former President of the Nassau Music Society.

He received a Bachelor of Laws Degree with Honours from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados, and a Legal Education Certificate from the Norman Manley Law School, Mona, Jamaica.

He is the composer of a number of works including, the first Bahamian concert mass Misssa Caribe, The Cari-Classics (a group of Choral Compositions based on Bahamian ring plays); music and rhythms for Winston Saunders’ You Can Lead a Horse to Water, which played to rave critical acclaim in San Francisco and Our Boys, the first Bahamian Opera (and perhaps the first grand opera to have been written and performed in the English Speaking Caribbean) which made its world premiere in 1987 with musicians from the Juilliard School of Music Orchestra, conducted by Nancy Petterson-Strelau, and with leading roles played by local and guest soloists from Opera Ebony, New York. In July 1998 the Opera was presented as an official part of the Bahamian Silver Jubilee Celebrations. Cleophas’ music has been performed at Caribbean Festivals of Arts (CARIFESTA) in Jamaica, Cuba, Trinidad and Barbados and throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Russia. He has released numerous recordings of his works and arrangements with The Bahamas National Youth Choir and other artists. Some of his choral arrangements are published by Hal Leonard Corporation, Wisconsin.

Cleophas was recognized by the University of the West Indies for his contribution to Caribbean Music, and received The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce’s Distinguished Citizen Award for his contribution to the arts. He toured the United States under the auspices of he United States Information Services and met with numerous internationally acclaimed composers, singers and conductors. In November 1992, he was the recipient of the Charles H. Fisher Award from The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union, which is the highest award offered by the Union. He is also the recipient of the Seal of the City of Newark from Sharpe James, former Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. In addition, he is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Bahamas Association of Artistic Performers, which was subsequently renamed the Cleophas R.E. Adderley Award in his honour.

He also contributed an Aria (inter alia) to The legend of Sammie Swain, a folk opera by the late E.Clement Bethel, and thus was presented to Queen Elizabeth II when she attended a performance of this work in 1985. He also met and made a presentation to Dr. Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa.

Cleophas has conducted the University of Miami Symphony Orchestra and The Bahamas National Youth Choir in a performance of Haydn’s ‘Lord Nelson’ Mass which was later released on compact disc and cassette tape format. In 1995 he received a Certificate of Recognition for outstanding work from the Gabriel Mistral International Awards of the Organization of American States and later the Meta AWard (which is the highest honorary award offered by the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts) for his exemplary contribution to the local arts scene.

Cleophas was the tenor soloist at the State Funerals of former Governors General Sir Henry Taylor and Sir Gerald Cash and one of the organists and Choir Director at the State Funeral of former Prime Minister the late Right Honourable Sir Lynden O. Pindling.

In 1998 he received a Silver Medal from The Bahamas Government on the occasion of the country’s Silver Jubilee of Independence in recognition of his outstanding musical accomplishments. He has received many accolades, among them:

The Swedish Ambassador to Canada, His Excellency, Harken Berggren stated that Mr. Adderley’ is “headed for a future of great recognition!” June 1992.

Gloria Anderson, Director of Research and Reference at the Canada Labour Relations Board was compelled to write that she was “overwhelmed by the degree of professionalism” of the Choir (BNYC), and that “the Choir and Mr. Adderley, are indeed national treasures worth preserving.” June 1992.

The late Dr. Keva Bethel, President of The College of The Bahamas commented: “Cleophas himself is such a wonderful musician and instrumentalist.” April 1995.

While the late Kayla Edwards, former Director of Culture explained: “Cleophas is a person who demands high standards. he doesn’t settle for anything less than the best.” April 1995.

Cleophas has travelled extensively throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico Venezuela, Russia Hong Kong, mainland China and the Caribbean. He is married to Francoise Brooks-Adderley and is the loving father of a son and a daughter.

CELEBRATE!!

Update: Cleophas Adderley was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of The British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in January 2016, for contributions to music.

BNYC photographs by Donald Knowles
Other photographs courtesy of Cleophas R.E.Adderley

Link to BNYC Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheBNYC?fref=ts

Thanks to Virginia Ballance for link to interview with The International Journal of Bahamian Studies

Andret John – Master Artist

By Rosemary C. Hanna

Andret John always knew that he wanted to be an artist. He was born in New Providence and went to Eleuthera at three months old. His parents are Gardina Cooper Hepburn and Roland John, both from Eleuthera. He has one brother.

Andret always knew how to draw and he describes how, as a child, he would become very excited when given a clean sheet of white paper and had thoughts racing through his head about what he would draw on the paper. And he still feels that same excitement today. He came to New Providence at age eleven to attend Queen’s College (QC) and lived with his mother’s sister who was a police officer. At QC he had two great art teachers in the persons of Ms. Fest who was from Hungary. and Mr. Pickersgill from the United Kingdom. Andret’s love of art and determination to become a professional artist was cemented when Mr. Pickersgill invited Brent Malone to speak to his class. Andret was particularly enthralled by Malone’s Junkanoo paintings and that sealed the deal for him.

When he graduated from QC and announced his plan to become an artist Andret says that a “family conference” was called to inform him that there would be no art and becoming an artist was out of the question, as he needed to find a real job. His aunt wanted him to join the Police Cadet Corps. This was most disheartening to Andret. So he spent a few semesters at The College of The Bahamas. An art programme had just started at COB, but he was studying criminology with a view to becoming a police officer.

He eventually went into the technical field and endured eight years of frustration working at Bahamas Telecommunications. He was very unsatisfied because he was not doing what he wanted to do. At that time he was involved in a tumultuous relationship and one day, when he was feeling down, he saw a photograph of a little girl and went out to his balcony and drew a black and white picture of the girl. He took it to be framed and on the day that he was collecting the picture Cheryl Grant-Bethel and Cathy Lieberman (whose husband was an executive at Atlantis) were in the store. They were impressed with the drawing and asked him how much it was worth. He said maybe $100. So they asked if he would be willing to donate the picture as a prize to be auctioned at an upcoming Zonta Club ball and he agreed. He got his complimentary tickets for the event, bought his tuxedo and says that when he entered the crowded ballroom and saw his work prominently displayed on an easel, up to that point, that event was the most glorious in his life! At auction time the bidding began at $100…silence… at which point Andret said that he became very nervous, but bidding resumed: $200, $300, $400 all the way up to $1,500!! Then he said to himself “You mean I’m giving away all of that money?” However, immediately following the event Mrs. Lieberman came over and asked him if he had anymore work for sale. He did not, but within a week’s time he produced there pieces which he sold to her for $1,000 each. Wow! $3,000 in less than a week! And, as the saying goes, “the rest was history”.

After this, Andret wanted to learn more about art. He attended exhibitions, read books and educated himself. He was also influenced by Antonius Roberts and then transitioned from two dimensional to three dimensional works. His first sculpture “Auset” was a feminine bust and head of a woman. Andret worked from his home for a long time and also with the Korean artist, Kye Shon, who worked in the window on Frederick Street (opposite Trinity Methodist Church). Most of his sculptures have been done in the yard at his home and now at Little Orchard – he never really left the yard and loves working under the trees and around nature. However, he is now looking for a larger space. Andret is mostly self-taught and he says that he is still learning. He has worked in wood for a long time and is now working with clay. His works are in many private collections in The Bahamas and all over the world including: New York and other cities in the United States, Dubai and Italy.

Andret and his former wife, architect Vanessa Clarke John, have five children – four girls and one boy ranging in ages form 15 to 7 years old and, for the past two years, they have been home schooled.

The artist creates lead head carvings for all of the major Junkanoo groups in New Providence. He initially started out doing work for the Fancy Dancers in Kemp Road. Before the introduction of the light weight aluminum rods, 2 x 4 wood was used in the construction of these pieces and they were very heavy. Andret recalls that when his uncle was in charge of a Junkanoo parade in Eleuthera he (Andret) was carrying one of these very heavy pieces and one of his knees gave way, but after a few seconds he recovered and then same thing happened with the other leg; but he was convinced that that the only thing that kept him going was the rhythm of the drums and, anyone who know about Junkanoo understands that it’s hypnotic. However, he agrees with my assertion that the true essence of Junkanoo was lost with introduction of brass instruments and I was a bit surprised to hear that some of the groups hire brass players. Andret recounted an occasion when the brass players who were hired by a group of which he was a member, came to the parade without properly fringed costumes (some in shorts and T shirts) and wanted to march ahead of the members of the group who had spent months preparing their costumes. Andret put his foot down and said there would be no brass and the group paraded without them. Furthermore, it is an unfortunate fact that many of the brass instruments are usually out of tune, which is not a pleasing sound to the ear. Andret has been involved in Junkanoo all of his life and he says there is nothing in this world like it!

The pieces that he’s working on now at The Orchard Hotel came about when Andret was invited by Dr. John Knowles, one of the co-owners of the property, to do something with a massive woman’s tongue tree trunk on the property; and the pieces shown here in various states stages of development have come from that trunk, a part of which is still in the ground. As the work progressed Little Orchard became Andret’s temporary home.

He created two Lucuyan head under water sculptures each approximately eight by six feet and weighing about one a ton. The pieces were created at the Airport Industrial Park and took about a month to complete. They are made of marine grade concrete and were deployed into the water at Clifton Cay in October 2014. Regrettably, the sculptures have been contaminated by the oil spill in the area.

Andret has had many solo exhibitions, the last one being at The Central Bank of The Bahamas Art Gallery in 2006; and also group exhibitions at The Bahamas National Trust, Government House and Albany. He plans to exhibit a new line of work by the year end or early next year.

Dr. Judson & Marcheta Eneas – The Gentlemen’s Club

Judson Eneas was educated at Jamaica College, Fisk University and at the Medical School: University of California Medical Center in San Francisco. He is the recipient of many academic, professional and civic honours, and is now in private practice in Internal Medicine and Nephrology at Doctors Hospital. He is also Medical Director and Founder of RenalMed Associates, Ltd., Nassau, Bahamas. Judson met his wife, the former Marcheta Q. McManus, of Maryland, at Fisk University. Their children are: Kemba Tiombe Eneas Walton, an attorney in Washington, D.C., Judson Picot Eneas, MA, a portrait artist, and Kashta Kandia Eneas, LL.B, an attorney in Los Angeles, California. Both Judson and is older brother, Dr. Cleveland W. Eneas, Jr. (Fritzi) are members of Eta Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity at Fisk University. When Fritzi returned home he became a charter member of Pi Xi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in Nassau, of which Judson is also a member.

Like her mother-in-law Muriel Eneas before her, when Marcheta came to The Bahamas she immediately became involved and started the Links Chapter in The Bahamas with new found friends. Marcheta also introduced the Beautillion to The Bahamas in 1991 and the first Ball was held in 1992, when twelve (12) young men were presented to society, as members of The Gentlemen’s Club. Since that time the Committee has been doing a wonderful job in preparing young men for life. To date they have mentored 824 young men and awarded over $5 million in scholarships in cash, awards and school scholarships to Morehouse College, Fisk University and St. John’s University. In addition to Judson and Marcheta, the charter members of the organisation were Dr. Eugene Newry, Mr. Alain Newry, Mrs. Rose Braynen, Mr. Patrick Rahming, Mrs. Marilyn Rahming, Dr. Barry Russell., Mrs. Missy Russell, Mr. Rodney Williams and Mrs. Frances Williams.

The History of the Beautillion states in part:

“In October 1991, Mrs. Marcheta Eneas organized a group of professional men and women in her home and organized the first Bahamas Beautillion Committee. In today’s society, many events, Cotillions, and scholarships are presented to young ladies. The news of the increasing crime statistics and the negative press on men in The Bahamas, demonstrates the need for positive programmes to further develop the young men of our society. As a result, the Committee met and planned the production of the First Bahamas Beautillion ball. A number of workshops and cultural events were planned. The young men were chosen by the counselors at the various public and private secondary schools and submitted to the committee. Thus the Gentlemen’s Club was formed.”

In 1994 the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity adopted the Gentlemen’s Club as its community responsibility. Similarly, in 2009, the Nassau Chapter of the Links, Inc. joined the Beautillion Committee as co-sponsors of the Gentlemen’s Art and Talent competition. Collaboration with both organisations continues.

I find it wonderfully refreshing to see the members of the Gentlemen’s Club attending, concerts plays and other events, thereby fostering an appreciation for the arts and helping them to become well rounded individuals. Were it not for the Gentlemen’s Club many young men would not have had the opportunity to further their education. Thank you to Judson, Marcheta and the Beautillion Committee, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity and the Nassau Chapter of Links, Inc. for their generosity in helping to allow Bahamian young men to realize their full potential.

Gentlemen’s Club 2011 – Photograph by J & J Imaging

Creative Nassau Market @ Pompey Square – The Place to Buy Authentically Bahamian Arts and Craft

The Creative Nassau market at Pompey Square, down town Nassau, Bay Street (adjacent to the Pompey Slave Museum), and less than a five minute walk from the cruise ships in Nassau Harbour, is the place for residents and visitors to The Bahamas to buy beautiful authentically Bahamian art and craft items made here in The Bahamas. Shoppers can enjoy harassment-free shopping as they browse through the market and view the many and varied items for sale. They can also enjoy entertainment provided by local musicians.

Presently the market is held every Wednesday and Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Vendors and artisans include: Craft Cottage, Third Eye Artworks, Everything Comes up Art, Naturally Bahamian, Lignum Vitae Centre, Outten Designs, Culture in Action, Shells ‘n Things, Isle of Design, Creations by Redalyak, My Bahama Sponge, Junkanoo Souvenirs, Bows and Bands, Val’s Handicrafts, Island Creations, Judy’s Creations, High Tide, Puzzles Bahamas, Nancy’s Fancies, Ejay Jewellery, Sasha’s Foxy Paws, Island Vibrations, Fine Ocean Jewellery, Sterlin Ann Creations, Trevor Tucker Artworks, Blissful Creations, Fabric, Islandz, Coco Reef, Shellcraft, Love Yourself, Craft Items, Hands Up, Ridge Farms and Down Too Earth Adventure Farm.

Link to Creative Nassau on Facebook.

Tribute to Cleophas R.E. Adderley

Sunday, 27th September 2015 at Church of The Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Way, New Providence, The Bahamas

Congratulations to Leona Hepburn, Eugenie P. KNowles (Peggy) and the Senior Choir of the Parish Church of the Most Holy Trinity for the glorious tribute and outpouring of love showered upon their Director of 27 years Cleophas R.E. Adderley.

Evensong at the church included renditions by: Angelic Voices of Praise, Echoes of Dawn, Voices of Trinity Choir, The Senior Choir and The Choraliers (all Holy Trinity Church Choirs); Festival of Choirs included: St. Ambrose Choir, St. Agnes Senior Choir, The National Youth Choir, The Highgrove Singers, The Bel-Canto Singers, and the Holy Trinity Senior Choir..so many different genres of music and all beautifully done!

This was followed by a reception in the beautifully decorated Activities Centre where we were further entertained by church musicians, Candace Bostwick, Joann Callender, Nikita Thompson and Antoine Wallace, and a beautifully produced video presentation created by Utah Taylor, which chronicled Cleophas’ 27 years as the Director of the Senior Choir, given through interviews with former and present parish priests, members of the choir and church, and other friends.

To view more pictures go to Facebook link: Tribute to Cleophas Adderley