The front page for the 6 Feb. 1974 Cayman Compass featured a photo of a Trinidadian dancer who had just died at age 38. Basdeo Boodoo, shown in his dancing costume, was part of the Ujamaa Dance Company, which was under a six-month contract at the Holiday Inn. Gene Toney, the leader of the 10-member company, said Basdeo’s death “was a great loss” to the troupe.
The editorial, headlined ‘A Wise Decision’, about the linking of the Cayman Islands dollar to the US dollar, which was highlighted in last week’s ‘50 years ago’, said the decision had been “applauded on all sides”. It noted that the move had checked the rising cost of living, but called out those in the community for whom the reduced prices had “not been as apparent as they had anticipated”, adding that government has stopped the “rapid and unpredictable jumps… to uncontrollable heights”. Pointing out that the government has to protect both the interests of the “mercantile section of the community” and consumers, it concluded that “only the Government can institute fair and equitable control”.
\The Mosquito Research and Control Unit was again in the news, with officials from the Mexican government spending five days visiting the facility, who were “particularly interested” in the unit’s progress in eradicating the black salt marsh mosquito. The article noted: “Mexico’s problem was mosquitoes was not one of disease… they were more concerned with the inconvenience these pests were causing the people.”
And, lastly, page 10 featured an impressive photo of a fish hooked by Austin Scott and Harris Scott (who were unrelated). The 135-pound marlin, which is shown dwarfing the two men, was actually the smallest of two caught in three days, with Harris previously hooking an 162-pounder. However, his “luck ran out” the day, when he said he ‘lost a big one’.
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