HOPE TOWN SCHOOL REUNION

November 2001 Table of Contents

HOPE TOWN SCHOOL REUNION
Jack Hardy

Is school supposed to be fun? Apparently it was for some three dozen ex- students of Hope Town All-Age School back in the 1954 -1958 era. They met at Hope Town Harbour Lodge on 13th October to bring the memories back and relive the experiences of giddy youth.

The main purpose of the reunion was to celebrate Patrick and Margaret Bethel who were their teachers in Hope Town at the time. A ferry load of alumni boarded in torrential rain at Marsh Harbour and arrived in Hope Town to, of course, clear skies. Altogether there were more than 60 people present as the alumni brought their spouses and adult children. Several ex-students came from Freeport and Nassau.

The celebrations started at the school where the old boys and girls rambled through the building and pointed out where they used to sit and comment on how so many wonderful changes had been made under the present principal, Mrs Candice Key. How they wished they could have had what Candice and her students have! Back in the 50's there were very few books around. Enough, apparently for head teacher Patrick Bethel to make Yvonne Malone (now Key) stand with a few on each hand until she ejected them through a window. It must be true: the story was told time and time again throughout the evening.

Then it was roll call time outside the school. Vernon Malone called out the names, maiden in the case of married ladies, and the old students stepped forward with a crisp "Present!" Except for the awkward ones who gave us an insight into how they might have been so long ago. No school class reaches maturity without loss of life and those who have departed were recognised and solemnly appreciated.

The party then moved to the Harbour Lodge and the fun began. After a great buffet meal (ham, crawfish and prime beef; no chicken and meatballs here) the Mistress of Ceremonies, Yvonne Key, encouraged everybody to relate their memories. I have to get her around next time I'm squeezing limes for old sour - she squeezes good.

Between memories there were the songs that the classes used to sing. Some of them were anachronistic: "Keep the Old Flag Flying", redolent of the colonial years, English folk songs such as "Barbara Allen" and "Sang a Pretty Brooklet". And the Irish "Molly Malone".

The highlights of the evening, however, were those reminiscences about the school years some 40-odd years ago. Sheila Griffin was the young sister of the nurse back then and, being black, had taught the white children the best ring play song of the lot: "There's a Brown Girl in the Ring". Her demonstration of how she had taught the Hope Town kids how to "wind" was one of the highlights of the evening. Another brief but touching moment came from Dorothy Wilson Lunn, also a black girl in a white community, who had been treated just fine and loved Hope Town memories enough to be part of the evening from Freeport.

Capt Leonard Thompson was from a previous era. By the time these children went to school he had flown 25 bombing missions over Europe and had been shot down and incarcerated. His stories about his brother's dancing lessons and the legendary Yahoes on Lubbers brought hoots of laughter. Election time was another historical memory, with Capt Leonard being one of the candidates. Back in those days, elections meant money for the voters.

Yvonne Key quite outrageously went through the boyfriend and girlfriend relationships, making it quite clear that back in those days an "affair" meant an innocent kiss or two. As an outsider I never quite understood the relationship between the boiling hole and the conception of babies, or what the significance of the corn sack was. Neither did Patrick Bethel, but Margaret knew.

One thing everybody (except Mr Bethel) agreed upon: when Patrick wore his lime green pants to school he was extra touchy. He would send boys out to cut their own tamarind switches to be punished with. When Patrick wore his lime green pants, everybody was careful.

For all this, Patrick apologised. He could not remember any book holding and was appalled by the amount of punishment he was reported as having administered. At the time he was in his early twenties, hardly much older than his students, and administered the acceptable punishment of the times. Many of the tales were probably apocryphal. Everybody present, however, made it quite clear that Patrick and Margaret Bethel were decided influences on their lives and one ex-schoolboy made it quite clear that Mr Bethel had not caned him enough.

It was one of those evenings that you cannot have too often because they are too precious. This was the third reunion in nine years and it ended with Patrick Bethel raising over $500 in a few minutes for the Wyannie Malone Museum in lieu of a gift of appreciation. And a promise not to sing.

How lovely that, over 40 years later, students and their teachers can get together and celebrate their youth, their exuberance. Then acknowledge that who they are, successful business people and members of Bahamian society, was moulded in many ways by the Bethels: Patrick and Margaret. Teaching is one of the most unrewarding professions... until it comes to times like this.

November 2001 Table of Contents