Walking Back ... in theDays of Cayman Past
The genesis of trade and tourism
Many were the young menwho volunteered to serve in World War II, not so much for thelove of fighting in a terrible war, as the need of the incomesthey would receive for being out there. The Trinidad Navy VolunteerReserve held many enlisted men from the Cayman Islands, who servedthe war through. The Royal Merchant Marine attracted many otherswho sailed in dangerous zones right in the heat of the sea battles.A number of very young men who didn't go overseas, served in theHome Guard right at home.
Those days, though terrible for the world in general, were thebeginning of good things in the Cayman Islands. Most every familythroughout the Islands benefited in some way from the war, notwithstandingthe fact that they were to endure at times when loved ones weredestroyed. By war's end, the dismal-looking face of Cayman changedinto a clear reflection of prosperity.
In all the years of settlement, such a flow of cash had not beenseen. Turtle fishing had always been seen as the industry, orat least the life-line of the Islands by way of income. This however,could hardly be termed as an industry, since the turtles had tobe sought for in foreign waters, and traded in the USA. But eventhat came to an abrupt end, when America banned the sale of turtlesor any part thereof in the mid century.
The future looked bleak indeed for many aging families whose solesupport had always been from turtling. Except for the assurancethat when God is for us, no one can damage our well-being. Americacut off the turtle trade, even as did Jamaica the straw rope business,but the islanders hadn't seen any blessings so thickly strewnbefore, as those which soon began to fall on them.
By the mid-50s, every able-bodied man who wanted to have a jobhad it handed to him without begging for it. There was soon moremoney than had ever been seen before, thanks to a Gracious Godand to National Bulk Carriers of New York. No longer were turtlesand ropes needed to support the Caymanian families on a majorscale.
Forget about the saying that Tourism was the beginning of successand development in Cayman. By the 70s, when tourism was beginningto take shape in our island, seamen had already pumped millionsof dollars into the island's economy.
To the seamen goes the credit of moving the homeland out of aprimitive, ancient state of life into modern living. Seamen sailedthe world over on large tankers and ore carriers, and seeing whatwas being done in the developed countries and wanting to imitatewhat they saw out there, set their minds to improving life athome.
They bought many luxurious items in such places as Japan, China,Canada and the United States, while at the same time adding thousandsof dollars per month to the country's finances by way of familyallowances. The men of National Bulk Carriers are chiefly spokenof because that was the major employer, but there were other smallershipping companies as well for whom Caymanian seamen worked.
Many were the Caymanians who also worked on American ships, however,their contributions to the home economy were insignificant, eventhough their earnings far exceeded that of the foreign-flag seamen.Almost all of the men who sailed under the US flag, being residents,took their families to reside in the US or else married Americanwives, thus calling America home.
Between the 50s and the 80s, many were the changes that took placeon the dwelling scenes around the islands of Grand Cayman andCayman Brac. For one reason or another, Little Cayman, duringthose years had been left semi-desolate. Along with new homes,modern living was accepted as a way of life. Gas stoves for cookingreplaced the old caboose wood fires. Refrigerators, both gas andkerosene also became popular household appliances. Washing machineslightened the task of cleaning the household laundry, which wasa far cry from the old tub and wash board days. Radios were commonto every house household.
It was not long before motorcars started replacing the old faithfulhorse and donkey. Where animals once grazed were lovely littlecottages and shiny new cars. Cars, of course, were not plentifulback then such as is seen today.
Scarcely was there any road on which to drive a car; even as lateas the 60s, the roads to North Side and East End were nothingbut single-lane dirt roads. Every so often, one had to reverseinto a little nook on the roadside to allow another vehicle togo by. Luckily, the drivers in those days had not yet developed`mad driver's disease."
Today, we see roads that are traversed daily by thousands of vehiclesof all models, shapes, and sizes, and causing accidents on a dailybasis. Surely, the old Cayman has drifted far behind today's experience.
Crimes, having moved away from the occasional Saturday night drunk,have risen to a daily, multiple occurrence. That of course, isone of the fruits of rapid development. For one who has livedthrough the past 70 or 80 years, life today can sometimes seemvery scary. The old-timer can hardly see any real joy or relaxationin living.
An old lady recently asked the question: "What am I livingfor?" Nothing, she said, is the same as I knew it to be inCayman. She was so right; nothing is really the same as it usedto be. Where are all the friends who were always there to lenda helping hand, or to speak a comforting word to the distressedones? Even one's own relatives are unable to find time to helpthe aged and helpless. Someone once said, the love of the Almightydollar has completely replaced the love of Almighty God. Thisis true in too many lives today.
In the olden days, there was no such thing as a wife or motherleaving her children to their own devices every morning, whileshe goes to work all day, and very often long into the night.Yes! Women of old did work hard to make a living, but all of theirtoilings were in the best interest of their families. There wereno riches back then to pass around; neither were there any luxuriesto enjoy. But what they did possess and enjoy by far exceededthe dollar or the pound sterling. Love was what cemented theirrelationships and kept them bonded.
They reared respectable sons and daughters of whom they can bejustly proud. That was the secret of a God-faring, progressiveCayman; a relationship out of which sprang Godly men who wouldshape the affairs of the Caymans right into a new Millennium.Even today there are men and women running the affairs of thecountry of whom our fore fathers would have been justly proud.Ask any upstanding and successful Caymanian today: "Whatis the secret of your success?" and most surely he will answer:"A good home life and moral upbringing."
This I say from a personal experience, thanks to a real old-timerin the form of a morally-sound and cultured grandfather who didn'tcompromise on principles. It was because of him that I am whatI am today. But surely things have changed along the way fromthe past into the present.
We see nothing remaining of our past today. The old morals haveevaporated, and reshaped into an image of immorality. Great cultureshave been without the benefit of a funeral. Now they are beingresurrected in the form of Americanism.
Where, I ask, has our good old Cayman homeland gone to? Drownedin the sea of prosperity and development and wrapped in a failinglife ring of dollar bills that have no power to preserve, is thesad answer.
The Author:
Mr. Percival Jackson, knownthroughout the Cayman Islands as "Will" Jackson, isa born East Ender. He is a man of many experiences: A Home Guardduring World War Two; A former policeman, a seaman for 22 yearswho sailed around the world; and a retired businessman.
Mr. Will has been a Justice of the Peace for the past 20 yearsand a Marriage Officer, whose one greatest interest is preachingthe gospel.
He is the author of three books, one which will be published ina few weeks. Obviously, his pasttime is in writing of life inthe old days of Cayman, and has written many local articles forthe local media.
The pride of his life is his wife, Miss Sybil Harris of GeorgeTown, whom he married 35 years ago. They are now retired, enjoyinglife together, living in East End, by the Sea.