Parish Peak: The February Feature- St. Joseph

St Joseph, Barbados. Photograph. Wikipedia. (n.d)

Blue Vex! This is the only way to describe one disgruntled Barbadian whose letter to the editor was published on February 8, 1952. The individual, who signed their name as ‘A Voice Crying’, made an unapologetic declaration regarding the new burgeoning industry in Barbados: tourism. 

Seventy years ago, Barbados was still heavily dependent on agriculture with the cultivation of sugarcane, and the manufacture and export of sugar, rum and molasses. However, the Barbadian government had already made noticeable moves towards pushing the island as a tourist destination, taking full advantage of our white sand beaches and year-round tropical weather. This individual was not a fan of this changing direction and made it abundantly clear.

In fact, he went as far as to describe tourism as one of “the most disagreeable and disruptive industries in the world” (Barbados Advocate 8 Feb. 1952, 4). He admitted that he himself was no stranger to tourism, having travelled the globe, touching the soil of some well-known tourist cities. Acknowledging Monte Carlo (Monaco), Pasadena (California) and Honolulu (Hawaii), he felt that they were simply beautiful places to visit…the key word being “visit”. His perspective likely rested on the fact that tourism would transform the peaceful and quiet island he had known his entire life into a “playground” for visitors. More importantly, this industry was built on the premise of accommodating the desires and needs of tourists. Unfortunately, this often meant neglecting the needs of locals, be it a reasonable cost of living or access to local attractions.

Evidently, his tearful words fell on deaf ears because Barbados has since fully embraced tourism with it serving as the island’s main industry. The question, however, remains: “What does tourism have to do with this month’s feature of St. Joseph?” Today, most Barbadians associate tourism with the island’s ‘Platinum Coast’ on the West which is lined with upscale hotels and villas. The lively South Coast with its abundance of bars, restaurants and hotels also comes to mind. However, it may come as a surprise that the less-frequented parish in the east with its rugged coastline to the Atlantic Ocean too welcomed its fair share of tourists.

This actuality was confirmed in another February 1952 Advocate publication which highlighted that there was an impressive abundance of prime seafood in this part of the island. In particular, many of the hotels in Bathsheba, St. Joseph had declared that they were experiencing “no shortage of lobsters” (Barbados Advocate 06 Feb. 1952, 5). However, not everyone was singing the same tune. As a matter of fact, a local resident reported that the average housewife could not even get 2lbs of the delectable shellfish to serve her family (Barbados Advocate 06 Feb. 1952, 5). The reason for such was that lobsters were specifically caught for the hotels as it was the seafood of preference amongst the tourists. This reality certainly validates the sentiments of our aforementioned begrudged Bajan as the needs of the locals were put on the backburner to serve those of our visitors.

Stanley, David. Bathsheba. Photograph. Flickr. January 7, 2019. https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidstanleytravel/47775682471/in/photostream

The story does not end there. Lobster was seemingly not the only meat in abundance in the waters of the East Coast. That very February, quite the bizarre story rolled across the pages of the Advocate. I invite you to imagine yourself chilling at Bathsheba on a Sunday afternoon, the breeze of the Atlantic kissing your cheeks, when suddenly your eyes catch sight of meat on the shore. Well, such was the case for beach-goers on February 3, 1952 when they spotted tinned meat in the sand! A resident of St. Elizabeth’s confirmed the tale, who told the Advocate that, along with the meat, some onions washed up from the sea (Barbados Advocate 06 Feb. 1952, 5). There was no idea or indication of where these items could have appeared from. However, it is likely that they fell from a boat and the tide brought them to shore. Although the onlookers were undoubtedly shocked at the sight, some of them were adamant that the blessed food should not go to waste. According to the Advocate, the meat which was primarily herrings in tomato sauce and sausages” were quickly eaten by some youngsters (Barbados Advocate 06 Feb. 1952, 5).

Glenryck Pilchards Herrings in Tomato Sauce. Photograph. Barbados Desert Cart. (n.d.). https://barbados.desertcart.com/products/70188221-glenryck-pilchards-in-tomato-sauce-400-g

Despite the monopolization of the coveted lobster by the hotels, these young boys were clearly determined to enjoy some “sea food”. Perhaps hunger got the better of them. Perhaps they just liked canned meat. Either way, it goes to show that Bajans truly live by the adage: “If you don’t got horse, ride cow!”

Bibliography

A Voice Crying. “Tourism”. Barbados Advocate. February 8, 1952, 4.

“Tinned Meat Washed Ashore”. Barbados Advocate. February 6, 1952, 5.