Libraries and Culture

Libraries are centers of cultural research and that has motivated me to become a librarian. I can not wait to concentrate on Virgin Islands and Caribbean holdings here at the Enid M. Baa Public Library. The Von Scholten collection at the Baa library is a research collection that contains cultural materials in various mediums and it serves to consolidate the rich heritage of these islands and the greater Caribbean. Students don’t use it enough but professors and researchers do. Notice that I did not mention teachers, there is a reason for that. Teachers are under a lot of pressure as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act to teach the prescribed curriculum that best prepares the students for the standardized tests that determine if they are receiving proper instruction. This decreases the opportunities to teach cultural education in the Virgin Islands. Lucky for us the parents, teachers and community leaders felt the need to create a division of cultural education within the Virgin Islands Department of Education. A well known cultural bearer and educator has been asked to lead this division. I have had several conversations with him to develop proposals for the reprinting of cultural education manuals and other books that would increase the availability of cultural resources in the community. I think this is important because teachers will need to have accessible resources with which to develop curriculum for students. Student will also need these resources to produce research papers and so on. I hope to have the opportunity to serve my community with innovative programs based on our Caribbean holdings as well as to assist in the development of the special collections, like the Von Scholten, that benefits my community. Culturemom.

Sir Rothchild Francis Square and Miss Sandy's Bungalow

Market Square, formally known as Rothchild Francis Square, was the center for agro-business in Charlotte Amalie. Market women, the most famous of which was Miss Sandy, came to town from ‘for day’ morning to present and sell their wares until they ran out or the sun went down – whichever came first. On April 15, 2003 a tractor trailer turned a sharp corner, hitting “the bungalow” causing the structure to collapse. The historical structure, designed / erected by Carl Berg circa 1905, had a very distinct roof that would be preserved to be reused on the renovated structure. The bungalow gave market women and fishermen a functional space to exchange goods. There were display trays for plants, food and animals and a cistern for water. Miss Sandy symbolizes the West African tradition of market women who were usually matriarchs of their families and society. The fishermen, on the other hand were usually men of French descent from St. Barths that settled in St. Thomas. They were primarily fishermen and farmers on the island and bartered with local free people of color. Last Saturday all the reconstruction of the bungalow was completed and the structure was rededicated to the people of the Virgin Islands.
Culturemom signing out.

Profiles '92 -- Caspar Holstein -- Page 1

Profiles '92 -- Caspar Holstein -- Page 1

Casper Holstein

Casper Holstein was born on St. Croix in 1876 and moved to New York when he was 12. (Beet sugar in Europe totally devastated the sugar cane economies in the West Indies and as a result, there was an exodus out of the Caribbean. Others like Edward Blyden, Stokley Carmicheal, Claude McKay and Marcus Garvey migrated during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s making substantial contributions to Pan-Africanism and the Harlem Renaissance.) He was schooled and joined the military upon graduation. He returned to the Virgin Islands on the USS Saratoga under naval rule just after the U.S. purchase. He was honorably discharged and worked for the Christy’s, learning stock trading from Mr. Christy, a wall street broker. He later used those same techniques to refine a popular betting scheme called bolito. Before long he was a millionaire, owning several night clubs and properties around New York, Canada and the Virgin Islands. Now, this is just setting the stage for what he was really born to do philanthropy and advocacy.
Casper Holstein supported many benevolent societies, sent food clothing and supplies to the V.I., paid rent, bought food and gifts for the Harlem poor, paid college tuitions and saved organizations. Now, his benevolence turned to action as he started to advocate for Virgin Islanders to become U.S. citizens. You see citizenship was not automatically bestowed upon us, we had to fight for it. Casper Holstien, some of his societies, students and allies in the Virgin Islands came together and formed the Virgin Islands Congressional Council and over the course of 10 years they aggressively engaged in an awareness campaign. The congressional council addressed Congress many times to have their concerns heard. Holstein’s financial backing and the student writers kept weekly articles about the Virgin Islands in the news. Finally, in 1936 Congress bestowed citizenship upon its’ territory the United States Virgin Islands. By Then Casper had become such a well know figure in the criminal underworld and in the press that his empire came to the attention of the notorious “Dutch” Schultz who had him kidnapped for several days and then released without harm. In exchange for his life Casper Holstein had to relinquish his bolito kingdom to Dutch Schultz who then ran it into the ground in several years. Casper still tried to be a humanitarian but never accumulated as much wealth as before. He died practically penniless being cared for by friends whom he had cared for in his golden days.
Culturemom.

St.Thomas Tourist Information, St.Thomas Vacation, St.Thomas Business, St.Thomas Tourist Guide, Beaches, Water sports, travel

St.Thomas Tourist Information, St.Thomas Vacation, St.Thomas Business, St.Thomas Tourist Guide, Beaches, Water sports, travel

Beaches

These days, I wish I could lighten my load…I am just as overwhelmed as everybody in the class and I need to release some of the stress and pressure of it all. Usually, when I feel this way I go to the beach. I swim day or night it make no difference, as long as someone else is there swimming too. The sea is cathartic, it cleanses me, it heals my wounds, it rejuvenates me. I haven’t been able to swim lately, I go to the beach but I sit and read and everybody, especially Kayla gets to swim, but not me. And we have great beaches in St. Thomas and better ones on St. John.

There is Magens, the most famous of them all, Coki the more rugged swimmer’s beach, Lindquist the controversial beach, and another seven or so that I can think of on St. Thomas. On St. John there is Maho, Trunk, Cinnamon, Lameshur, Hawknest and so many more beaches. In fact, when ever I go beach hopping I don’t do it on St. Thomas I do it on St. John because beautiful beaches are more in abundance over there. I can’t wait to swim again, I must make the time on my birthday which is next Saturday, the 7^th of July. If I do, I’ll ‘blog’ about it. Culture mom, signing out.

Back Then…

I was in St. Croix a few years ago when I was invited to sit-in on the monthly Ancestry Discovery meeting. That day Winthrop Hector and Cyril Barnes, born in 1915 and 1910 respectively were the guest speakers. Unbeknownst to me Richard Schrader, Sr., a very prolific oral tradition writer, was present and included the presentations by these men in his most recent book, Otto Tranberg of Mt. Washington and Nicolas and Other Stories.

We are fortunate to have Mr. Schrader and others like him to document the oral history of the Virgin Islands: Ms. Ruth Moolenaar, Mr Dimitri Copeman and Mr. Olasee Davis continue to interview and record the culture bearers and practitioners before it’s too late. They write social histories, c&h articles, and oral histories of some of the most fascinating Virgin Islanders you will ever meet. They weave a tapestry rich in detailed folklore and adventure that reveals the life of all, many years ago.

Mrs. Ruth Moolenaar - a retired education administrator - directed the publishing of Project Introspection, which was cultural education materials for public schools in the territory. In her golden years she wrote We From UpStreet, a social history of the UpStreet area, which is of great significance to the Virgin Islands. Dimitri Copeman is an artist and musical culture bearer considered to be the authority on Cariso and the history of Quelbe (our official music) in the Virgin Islands. Olasee Davis is an Ecologist and writes (almost) weekly articles on some aspect of our environment that links to our V.I. culture.

I am proud to know the Virgin Islanders mentioned here and I only hope that after all is said and done with this UPitt MLIS program, I can contribute half of what they have to the community of the Virgin Islands. Culturemom…

Pictures: Baobabs

Pictures: Baobabs

Neatorama » Blog Archive » 10 Most Magnificent Trees in the World.

Neatorama » Blog Archive » 10 Most Magnificent Trees in the World.

Baobab: My Favorite Tree

At one point in our history, the larger local hardwood and waterproof timbers were logged almost to extinction because they were used for boat-making. Others were smuggled in or introduced to these islands. Bamboo and several varieties of cane were imported from Asia for their resilience in hot climates and the baobab from Africa for its many nutritional uses. I think every kind of tree has its niche in the world; the trees of the Virgin Islands are no different.

The Baobab tree, named Adansonia Digitata for the French explorer Michel Adanson, is my favorite tree. It is rumored to have been smuggled to the West Indies by the enslaved Africans who used its succulent fruit and seeds to survive. The fruit pods hang down two feet from its branches, can weight as much as 12 pounds and contain as much as 400 seeds.

The baobab trees are considered one of the spirit or “Jumbie” trees; you may find alters built at the base of these trees and I even read that on another island the village elder places a pot and a spoon at the trunk of the tree so that when it got bored, it would have something to do. An interesting feature of baobab tree is how large and old they tend to be.

The largest and quite possible the oldest baobab tree in the Virgin Islands is in Grove Place, on the western end of St. Croix. It is three hundred years old, measures 55 feet - tree trunk diameter, and it happens to be hollow, which is not a bad thing for a tree that can grow to one hundred feet in diameter. The hollow centers of these trees have been used as wells, hurricane shelters , bars and prison cells. The Grove Place Baobab is a historical site and has witness the gathering of Queen Mary and the other women of the St. Croix Fireburn, as well as the gathering of David Hamilton Jackson and the first labor union meetings and strike.

There are other notable baobabs predominantly on St. Croix and in particular at Butler Bay. There are six gargantuan baobabs but originally there were more lining the entrance way to the estate. The sheer mass of these slow-but-sure growing trees will bear witness to many more years of life in the Virgin Islands. Culturemom, signing out.

The Fifth Virgin Islands Constitutional Convention

On June 12^th there will be a special election of delegates to the Virgin Islands’ fifth constitutional convention. What does this really mean for Virgin Island residents? It means that we will have an opportunity to elect members of our community to create a document of governance for and by the people. You see, we are currently being governed under the Revised Organic Act of 1954, which at this stage, has been amended too many times for the average person to keep count. The Revised Organic Act of 1954 was a modification to the Organic Act of 1936 and it was an adoption of the Colonial Laws of 1906. The latter was a document drafted by the Danish government to rule the Danish West Indian Colonies or the Virgin Islands as we are now called.

All this is really saying that we need a governance document that reflects the needs of the territory because it was written by the citizens of the territory. Now, as a United States Unincorporated Territory, Virgin Island residents still have American rights and privileges, but not all of them. This fifth constitutional convention will address some of those issues as well as one of the more controversial ones – who is a Virgin Islander. In previous conventions, this issue created the most disagreement among delegates and residence. Hopefully, this time they will come to some definition that befits the many and varied people of the Virgin Islands. Needless to say, I’ll be voting on the 12^th. Culturemom, signing out.

Kallaloo and fungi

I have been thinking about what would make blogging more interesting? I think tid-bits on V.I. history and culture. So here is my first installment – kallaloo and fungi.

I have had the pleasure of meeting two Filipino librarians, recruited to work in the Virgin Islands school library system. Michelle and Ms. Christie have only been on St. Thomas for approximately 5 months and we have rediscovered my island’s traditions and treats. Michelle, Ms. Christie and I have become fast friends and my interest in their culture led to lunch at a Filipino restaurant in town. I am a fish lover and very special and yummy dishes were prepared for me. Trust me I will be going back as often as I can! In exchange I am going to introduce them to kallaloo and fungi – a traditional V.I. dish. Kallaloo is basically a spinach soup with seafood and pork, if you like it that way. It has herbs, tons of okra, spinach, onions and yes, pepper. The scott’s bonnet peppers can be spicy or subtle depending on your preference. Fungi is the carb that balances out the meal, it is okra and cornmeal cooked on a slow but steady fire until a soft yet firm texture is achieved. After both are cooked separately, they are combined to complete the dish. There are several traditional cook books that contain variations on the same basic recipe. I’ll try to find one on line and add it to this blog. In the mean time, some time Saturday, Michelle Ms. Christie and I will be eating and talking about this blog. Culturemon signing out.