A ‘marine publisher’ visited Cayman to take underwater photos and collect information for a book he was working on, ‘Oasis In The Sea’. In an article on page 7 of the 29 May 1974 issue of the Cayman Compass, Jerry Greenberg spoke about the “beautiful reefs and exquisite waters… which should make Grand Cayman the diving centre for the Western Hemisphere”. He added that Cayman had the “most beautiful waters” he had ever seen and hoped they would stay that way. Greenberg, who contributed regularly to National Geographic magazine, said that Cayman needed a diving map, which would be “worthwhile and also welcome”.
The sports section featured a photo of members of the Cayman Netball Association who had gathered to honour Leila Robinson, who would become an icon of the sport in Jamaica. Among the people pictured is Lucille Seymour, who blazed her own trail for netball in Cayman. See who else you can recognise in the photo.
A related story included an interview with Robinson, who had advice for advancing sports in Cayman, including building a sports complex and forming sports associations affiliated with international federations, which would pave the way for Caymanians to represent their country in the Olympics. She also called for training people to be lifeguards, which could enable them to qualify for Royal Life Saving Society Certificates.
And, lastly, covering a topic that never seems to go away, the article ‘Cayman Roads Are To Be Paved With Hot Asphalt’, noted a private plane had recently arrived containing “essential material and equipment” for Cayman Paver Ltd. The company had received a letter of intent from Sterling Bank & Trust Company Ltd to pave the roads at Mitchell’s Creek Gardens and Governor’s Harbour with the aforementioned hot asphalt. The work was slated to cost of “a quarter of a million dollars”. Wonder what that bill would look like these days?
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