The front page of the 13 March 1974 Cayman Compass contained several interesting stories. One, headlined ‘‘Cayman Pilot’ Missing’, was not as dire as it sounded. It seemed an oceangoing vessel owned by Gleason Ebanks and Delworth McLaughlin had been reported missing and “a search is being carried out all over the area”. The vessel, which was being used as a turtle boat, was believed to have been stolen from her moorings overnight the previous Saturday. Police were “working on clues in connection with the disappearance of the boat”, which was valued at $30,000.
Another article touted ‘Big Changes In Taxi Service’, noting that despite the fuel crisis and high cost of living, the decision by the Taxicab Association of Cayman came as a “pleasant surprise”. According to Ira Walton, president of the association, the fares between hotels and town have been lowered to 75 cents a passenger with a minimum of four riders per cab. Plus, a central taxi office was being established, which will be welcomed since “it has sometimes been difficult to locate a cab”.
Telecommunications took a hit as a Cable and Wireless strike entered its third day, with ‘no solution yet found’. Apparently, messages had been passed between management and the strikers over the previous two days but no comments had been made about the contents. But the seriousness of the situation was noted, with a “skeleton staff” handling emergency telecommunications on matters of “life and death”.
On a lighter note, a story on the entertainment page described a ‘deep south’ singer performing nightly at the Pub at Royal Palms. The writer pointed out that when Johnny Lambert spoke, his accent was “hardly understood by many”. But, judging by the smiles of the people gathered around his piano in the accompanying photo, the singer, who was brought up in the “back woods” near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, transcended that ‘language gap’.
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As a 1969 arrival in Grand Cayman I love these articles about the “good old days”. please keep them going.