* Back in the GOOD OLD DAYS life was very simple in San Pedro. In those days the small population of San Pedro was 95% Catholic
* Back then ice was something very special – scarce, but special.
I love the good old days because they made me who I am today.
It can safely be said that back in the 1950’s almost all of San Pedro was Roman Catholic. There was one Catholic Church, a large wooden building measuring about 24’ X 50’ with some 20 benches that could seat about 160 persons. With a population of about 500, the adult community filled up the church to capacity for the six o’clock morning mass and it was about half full for the eight o’clock children’s mass. The Catholic elementary school had an enrollment of 90 to 100 children all of whom were required to attend mass once a month whenever the priest visited the Island.
Catholic traditions included Sunday mass, processions, novenas, the Holy Rosary and the big events included Confirmation, Baptism, First Holy Communion, Easter, Christmas midnight mass and New Year’s Eve mass.
Adventist Church on Ambergris Caye, still stands in same location in downtown San Pedro
There was a small Seventh Day Adventist Community of some five families and maybe some 30 members. There were not enough students to warrant a school so the Adventist children attended the Catholic School and absolutely no other religious denomination or Evangelical groups existed on the island.
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In the GOOD OLD DAYS ice was a real amenity; I mean everyone wanted it when it was available. With no electricity and no refrigeration, there was no ice on the island. However, occasionally Tio Pil and the cargo boat, La Elsa P would bring a huge 300-pound block of ice to the island. It was at Daddy’s saloon and grocery store that ice was sold as “fresco” or “raspado” – shaved ice with syrup. If you missed your raspado treat, you had to wait for one month until the next block of ice arrived. Didn’t that make ice so very special TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO?
Selling shaved ice (Raspado) on the streets of old San Pedro Village
Ice blocks that were brought to the island
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Contact the Author at: nunez_nest@yahoo.com
