Tradewinds Mural

A recent guest, Mary of Palm Springs, friends with Deb and a returnee, painted a great coral reef mural on the Victoria side of Tradewinds. It really turned out fabulous and everyone on the island was thrilled with the donation by Mary. Allee/Anyee became a painter himself, helping Mary with the coral details.

DC Dottis Arthur was also thrilled with the work that Mary did on her vacation to Salt Cay and her artistic donation. DC Arthur said it was going to give her something beautiful to look at on her drive home.

And speaking of drives home by the DC, Mrs. Arthur took delivery of the new DC’s van last week. It’s white again, and brand new. The nurse will inherit the old van it appears.
I couldn’t believe how fast Lew Tide can arrive, unload and leave the White House dock area. Pretty impressive.

Sarah’s Closes

I failed to include in the previous blog the fact that Sarah’s Shopping Center, Mall and Garden Center are now closed. The liquor store, thank God, remains open, but not on Tuesdays.
Cee’s was putting in large glass cold boxes and plans to carry more in the way of perishables and frozen foods apparently. R&R Cash and Carry seems to have been the death knell for Sarah’s as they continue to have more dependable stock on the shelves.

Grand Turk

The Carnival Cruise Line Village, Dock and overall mess is proceeding straightaway. It is just unfathomable what the boats and influx of such a huge amount of tourists is going to be. Rumor has it the world’s largest Margaritaville Bar will be in the village.

I try not to editorialize...really I do. But this is one thing we’d better, as lovers of Salt Cay, keep an eye on. I know we’ll get some boat people...but if they come over for 3 hours, buy a bottle of water, pet a donkey, go to the bathroom a couple of times, wash their hands and faces, and then decide the $20 T-shirt is too much..then drop their bottle on the ground and leave...it isn’t worth it. Not to mention letting the cruise ship companies try to "develop" Salt Cay to their liking.

All I am saying is that we need to keep an eye on what is happening with the ships, growth and how it affects our island and the island’s future.

We really need to ask ourselves if we want to be like Grand Turk, Cozumel, Antigua...or do we want to be Parrot Cay, Jumby Bay and such. In other words, staying aloof of the crowds and looking to the quiet, peaceful traveler. I suspect the folks who loved Grand Turk will move on to Salt Cay to find the quiet dive life they used to have.

There was some news this summer in the local press about Spirit Air flying direct flights from Ft. Lauderdale to Grand Turk and that is now confirmed. Plus Spirit is going to start flying out of Dallas/FtWorth soon to link up to Ft. Lauderdale and the Caribbean. Let’s hope American decides to keep up with the Spirit.

Check out their web site as they plan to start flying in February–ergo when the cruise ships arrive.

BUT, Spirit Air will not fly pets. Obviously they aren’t interested in Marley or Maggie’s business.

And USAirways, now owned by America West, is not allowing pets. That may be because America West had such a dismal on time, if at all, arrival rate, they can’t risk putting a pet on board. America West flew Fresno to Tucson/Phoenix, and it was not unusual for the flight to never arrive, and be rescheduled for the next day–usually when a load was light. Flexibility in flying America West meant having an extra day on BOTH sides of the trip. Let’s hope that improves with USAirways in the mix.

Speaking Of Pets

In our recent Times Of The Islands article on traveling with your pets, I mentioned K9 Quencher for pets. This an electrolyte additive for water.

K9 Quencher sent Marley some samples and I think it really does help with their heat recovery. What it does is stimulates them to drink more water when they might be a little overloaded with fatigue and heat. It also has a "gatorade" like effect in replenishing their electrolytes when heat has sapped them.

So, we’re going to try it on those beach walks and when Marley is really hot and tired. Heat illness in dogs, (stroke and exhaustion for example) is a serious issue if you are taking your pet to Salt Cay–if you’re thirsty imagine them—they are wearing a fur coat and can only dissipate heat through their paws and tongue.

Folks

Everyone seems to be okay on island. Sammy and Ma Lucy Simmons played accordion and sang for me again this trip. What a pair. You should have seen her dance the Heel-Toe Polka while Sammy played.

Miss Netty told me during her oral history interview that she intends to stay on Salt Cay as that is where her life is. She’ll save Provo and living with her children for when she cannot take care of herself or her home. Let’s hope that is a long way off. She seems fine and talks of "Sherlock" easily, but obviously misses him greatly.

In her interview she talked about meeting him and "falling in love" that first time they really met and talked at a garden party–remember, Salt Cay was much more populated. To be South took some effort if you lived in the North, which the Talbot brothers did. He went to sea and would be gone for 12 months and home for 3 months. The cycle always seemed to involve her greeting him at the door with a new baby.

Netty was a fascinating interview and I cannot wait to work on her tape. She may be profiled in Times Of The Island this winter.

I also interviewed Holton Dickenson—Poley. Another interesting man. His wife was his childhood sweetheart as well. He knew when he was in school that she as going to be his wife.
When his dad died suddenly, he was 19. He had to become a salt raker within a matter of days after his passing. His father drowned on Saturday and Monday he was in the ponds. He raked for several years before he got the opportunity to use the trade craft of carpentry he’d been taught in his younger years in school. Then he got a job offer to be on the Dutch ships and left for sea.

He commented too on the cycle...coming home to his wife and a new baby after every trip. He laughed and smiled at the thought of those years.

Do you know what a "whomper" is?

Whompers were boots, really more of a sandal, the salt rakers made out of old truck tires. They cut them up and tied them around their feet to protect against the brine and the clay bottoms of the salina. On a hot day, Poley said it was really, really hard work. They were out there when the sun came up and left when the sun went down in the summer. The pond water was extremely hot and not at all "refreshing" while standing in the hot sun. All for 2 shillings, 6 pence a day...about 56 cents.

He talked about the elder Mr. Harriott, Howard. His wife, Winnie, was very nice and gave the workers food when she could. They lived in the Brown House. Mr. Harriott couldn’t see out of his left eye so everyone who had any sense stayed on his left side so he couldn’t see what they were doing...so did Mrs. Harriott.

Anyway, the stories are marvelous and I’ll try to pass them on as time goes by.