Lynda asked if I still keep up with old school friends: Until early this year there were six but Allenby Bodden (a cousin) and Edward (Ed) Swaby passed away in January. The remaining four are (1) - Lloyd Franklin (married to my niece Mary). They live in Shreveport, La. (2) - Iris Henning (nee Bodden) married to Will Henning. They live in Jacksonville, Fl. (3)- Lee Rivers (married to Marilyn (nee Farrington)). Marilyn is a second cousin and they live in Austin, TX. (4) Irvy Ebanks, a first cousin, living in Charlotte,NC. We try to stay in touch, either directly or indirectly but we are all in our 80's now so it is not quite as easy as it used to be to communicate. Our voices have been silenced in places that knew us, but if I sit silently a moment or so I can hear them still - in the classroom , at recess or at play as we proclaimed our legitimacy to life and challenged the world for our place in it. Life has been extremely good to all of us to which I'm sure the others will agree.

Lynda you also asked the question: How did we get news of the outside world? Well, like everything else and everywhere else News Services evolved slowly. First, there was only letters (from friends and relatives) and travel and books and magazines followed by newspaper subscriptions. Incidentally dad subscribed to the Daily Gleaner printed in Kingston, Jamaica which we received by motorboat once every two weeks or so (I still miss 3 of its best comics - Mutt & Jeff, Andy Gump, and Tillie The Toiler). I think the Daily Gleaner has been replaced by the Jamaica Gleaner (or is it the Kingston Gleaner) now? I'll have you know I am a great Cayman celebrity, having been written up twice in the Gleaner, one with my picture. The first writeup was the result of a cricket match and the other was when I visited George and Eileen on my way back from visiting dad after I was discharged from the Army in 1945. George had told the Gleaner reporters that his brother who was a war hero was coming for a visit. When the ship came into port I wondered what all the excitement on the dock was about, little did I know it was for me (George could hardly contain himself).

Sometime around 1926 crystal radios began to make their appearance but all I know of anyone receiving was a Cuban station. No one I knew understood Spanish and reception came via earphones, but the music was good and well understood. In a very few years Willie Farrington installed a short-wave radio and with the aid of a very tall antennae was able to get news direct from America, that is if you could understand what was said through all the static. Subsequently the Cayman government installed a wireless station in Georgetown and daily news was posted on bulletin boards outside local Postoffices. The Cayman local news service though I think was much faster than the internet is today. I never could understand how it was done but all you had to do was mention a bit of gossip to someone and instantly it was all over the island. When I left the island in 1938, this was the state of communication with the outside and inside world.

E N D 4/06/04
10:39PM
End of Installment Thirteen