It has been a privilege for me to be a member of The National Trust for the Cayman Islands since its inception.
Dace McCoy contacted me before the establishment of The National Trust for the Cayman Islands to inform me of the phenomenal project handed to her to draft the laws to create the Trust.
It was a very exciting concept and having lived in Southern California I had witnessed the success of preservation of vast areas of beautiful deserts and coastlines through national park legislation.
The founding members were invited to establish the Trust and were later thanked at a reception at Government House.
I served on the George Town District Committee and worked with Sharon Pierson and the team on the acquisition of Fort George.
The late John Furze kindly allowed us to hold meetings in the boardroom of the Guinness Mahon offices. To name a few of the earlier George Town District Committee members – Errol Bush, Sony Boy Bodden, Gordon McLaughlin, Kirkland Nixon, Herman Wilson, Reggie Nixon, Robert Henning and Merrill Cholette.
We experienced the anxiety related to the long and tedious archeologist survey of Fort George and the speculation of the underground tunnel to the old navy barracks behind the public library.
The survey was lead by a Bahamian archeologist and backed by volunteers.
It was quite a story back then!
My cousin, Ena Watler, widow of the late Royal Watler and my Aunt Eulene Watler (staunch gardeners and flower enthusiasts) had several chuckles over what we were doing with that old fort.
Ena and Eulene and other members of the public and particularly Reginald Parsons would come by and tell us about the huge cotton silk tree and the homes and other buildings that were once in the surrounding area and how the Home Guard men stood by all night with kerosene lamps trying to catch a glimpse of a passing ship.
The men were so dedicated and how they managed to stay in the look out houses with no electronic equipment makes us all wonder. Fort George was declared inalienable as a National Trust property.
The Fort George story is one that is close to my heart and always will be an on-going project as it is challenged by foot and vehicle traffic, developments close by and the last of the beautiful iron shore setting. Fort George is a little piece of property nestled in the midst of one of the worlds most sought after destinations and the Trust has to be persistent to preserve it for future generations to fully understand the history of the Cayman Islands.
There are not many historic structures still standing for the history books and to have saved the ruin of the fort and declared it inalienable is significant for the National Trust.
The National Trust fairs brought much fun and amusement but were later abandoned simply because of the expense, time and money to put the events together.
I recall one year Consuelo Ebanks and I literally re-created a Caymanian cottage front porch complete with sand yard inside the Lion’s Centre.
We brought our orchid plants from home and made it lovely. The George Town District Committee members sold coffee, patties, pizza and homemade candy from our stand at the fairs and raised funds for signage for various historic places and buildings.
Assisting with the Memory Bank survey was a real eye opener.
The goal was to interview all Caymanians 85 and older and there was a desperate attempt to record as much information as possible.
How shocking it was to realize that most personal and family stories were missed and will never be in the history books as there were simply not enough time and resources to cover all of the older population.
Sitting face to face with an older Caymanian such as the late Dalkeith Bodden and trying to write down all of the facts he gave about buildings, people, events and his personal life story was very difficult as there was so much information to hand write on the Memory Bank forms.
One year our committee hosted an Autumn Tea at Hugh and Pam Hart’s lovely home near to Smith Barcadere.
How elegant it was with real tea sets, tablecloths, one of those huge punch bowls with a dipper and a children’s fashion show to delight all the guests.
I recall how much it was enjoyed by some of the older ladies Una Bush, Ena Watler, Gwendolyn Wood and Veta Bodden.
Acquiring the Watler Cemetery was another extraordinary experience.
A very dear and meticulous Beatty Hurlstone used to attend to the clean up of the yard.
Effie and Ena Watler identified all of the headstones and spoke about their ancestors.
We learned how families took great pride in giving up portions of their house lots to create the cemeteries.
Through the years very generous people and volunteers such as Karen Hunter, Felicity Jones, Janet Walker, Maureen Collins, Pam Hart, Mary Boxall, Vernecia Watler, Pat Schaar and Gaye Randolph put in long hours for the Trust and assisted with fund raising.
I have enjoyed volunteering for The National Trust and gained a better understanding of and appreciation for our heritage and natural environments.
I think the mission statement of the Trust is so simply stated but so important.
The National Trust was never intended to become an aggressive and unfriendly organisation.
All Caymanians, residents and school children should get up to speed on the work of the Trust and try to understand the important role it has played the past 20 years. The National Trust staff, committee and board members are accommodating, easily to talk to and very friendly.
If we truly understand what the bats contribute to our biodiversity in just one night and why the mangroves are important we will make every effort to preserve as wide a section of the mangroves as possible and our future generations will prosper because we took the time to understand something so simple.
A foundation has been set for the Cayman Islands and can only continue if we all understand the mission statement and work together to play our part for present and future generations.
The three crown jewels of the Cayman Islands are worth preserving.
To preserve natural environments and places of historic significance in the Cayman Islands for present and future generations.
Suzan Merren
National Trust life member
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