The Mass of the Past
Dominus vu Biscum. Et cum spiritu tu. Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificaetur nomen tuum, adveniat regnum tuum, fiat voluntas tua sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum supersubstantialem da nobis hodie; et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris, et ne inducas nos in tentationem, sed libera nos a […]
The Power of the Moon
What a lovely sight to behold is the moon. It is best appreciated on dark nights and more so if there are no electric lights. The moon is symbolical of romance and love. It has been the inspiration of many songs and romantic scenes, works of arts and romance poems. The moon is almost magical […]
Hardships of the Past
The column “Twenty Five Years Ago” still has many items in the series of “first’s” in San Pedro. However just to change pace for this week, I want to talk a little about a few hardships people had to put up with until there was a first one to change this trend. For example, there […]
If you like ‘em. More First’s on San Pedro Part 2
FIRST MISS SAN PEDRO: Lovely girls in San Pedro there have always been and Sanpedranos have no difficulty in locating one for a beautiful wife. But lovely and willing to participate in the Miss San Pedro pageant, there have not always been more than enough volunteers. The first volunteer to become Miss San Pedro back […]
If you like ‘em. More First’s on San Pedro Part 1
For the newcomers to San Pedro, here is a summary of a few “firsts”. You can learn a whole lot of informal history about San Pedro by simply perusing along. At the same time this is an acknowledgement to those people who set the pace for development of our beloved San Pedro and Ambergris Caye. […]
More First’s for San Pedro
For the newcomers to San Pedro, here is a summary of a few “firsts”. You can learn a whole lot of informal history about San Pedro by simply perusing along. At the same time this is an acknowledgement to those people who set the pace for development of our beloved San Pedro and Ambergris Caye. […]
A Few More First’s in San Pedro Part 2
For the newcomers to San Pedro, here is a summary of a few “firsts”. You can learn a whole lot of informal history about San Pedro by simply perusing along. At the same time this is an acknowledgement to those people who set the pace for development of our beloved San Pedro and Ambergris Caye. […]
A Few More First’s in San Pedro Part 1
Last week I hit in summary form a little bit of history of San Pedro by acknowledging the very first ones. It is good to know where we come from and who helped in the molding and development of our beloved San Pedro. Today, we thank the Chamber of Commerce for doing so much for […]
Great Names in Carnival
Carnival has always been fun and is still a lot of fun today as far as “comparsas” or street dancing goes. In San Pedro it is called Carnabal. Carnival is a cultural tradition and not the awful mess you see with painting today. That is not what carnival used to be 25 years ago. But […]
The Best Workout 25 Years Ago
People have always needed to keep fit and healthy, and that is true of 25 years ago and today as well. Keeping fit is a matter of a good diet and a good exercise plan. So how did people keep fit and healthy 25 years ago? First of all people used to fry their fish […]
The Cleanest Days of San Pedro
San Pedro has always been a pretty clean place. Back in the 1950’s the middle street, now Barrier Reef Drive was sandy white and clean of plastic cups and plates and bottles. The back street, now Pescador Drive was partly sandy with patches of grass. This street was also very clean since each villager was […]
The Cold Fronts
It has been cold like never before in Mexico this year and even in several parts of the United States. The folks in San Pedro were hoping for a cold Christmas, but nothing of the like. It was normal warm weather like we have throughout the year. Oh yes, there were one or two cool […]
Handy Tools…Skilled Carpenters
Those of us who like carpentry spend a lot of our spare time doing carpentry chores around the home, especially around Christmas time. There are bar stools to repair, closets to upgrade, and many little things to retouch with paint or varnish. It is fun doing these little things without having to pay or not […]
Let’s Talk Only About Hams
Yes, I know Lino will like this and the guys at the Sausage Factory too, and so will Chico and all the other guys who deal with hams, for it is Christmas and it is the time for those delicious succulent hams and those well smoked hams, and all the fine gatherings at home where […]
Thank God Chicken is Still Cheap!
There used to be a time when chicken was a real delicacy and we ate it once in a blue moon. We used to eat fish every day. Today it is the opposite. Fish is very expensive and we eat that once in a blue moon while we eat chicken almost daily. I was reminded […]
Dirt Floors & Wallpaper
Long before there was this fancy wallpaper with all the lovely designs and the self adhesive back that was sold all over the United States and the world, there was wallpaper used in every humble house in San Pedro. Yes, these were dirt floor houses, the most humble houses you can imagine, but they had […]
The Record Players
When I see today’s music systems with the powerful amplifiers, CD players or DVD players and the equalizers, the stereo surround systems, etc., I am amazed at how far technology has come in line of music. Twenty five years ago in the 1950’s we used to throw a dance at a girl’s birthday party using […]
“The Mother of Invention…”
They say that necessity is the mother of inventions and for our old San Pedro, this saying goes a long way. Our folks, I mean our parents in the 1950’s, used to be genuine inventors of things that worked for them in the absence of anything better or easier. Take for example shampoo. There were […]
A Few Big “NO’s”… In Brief
Can you imagine living in San Pedro today without some basic services? I know, you would die or live complaining every day until you die. Well, it was not so bad, but folks in San Pedro in the past had to live without several things that today we take for granted. I know it is […]
Remembering Policeman Smith
P.C Smith was stationed in San Pedro in the 1970’s. He was one hell of a good officer- friendly when he had to be, polite when it was due, and strict when the need arose. He was one hell of a good officer- so soft yet so tough. He had his wife and children in […]
One Police Officer for San Pedro
When I hear of the many cases of crime in San Pedro I think of my little San Pedro twenty five years ago when those crimes were alien to our peaceful and safe community. When I hear of our police force with about twenty strong officers, I think of our lovely little San Pedro 25 […]
Life with a Small Population
How was life in the village of San Pedro with a small population, say of about five hundred persons? This is how it was in the 1950’s. There were some 75 students in the primary school, no high school, no discotheque, no traffic, not even bicycles. Was life pretty much the same as it is […]
San Pedro Coffee in the 50’s
You know, good rich percolated coffee like we enjoy it today was not available on the island in the 1950,’s or like we say, twenty five years ago. I believe the chocolate drink Ovaltine was available to some degree, but it could only be afforded by the richer persons, if there were any. I think […]
Hurricane Shelters of the Past
There are many questions to ask in this topic and here they are. Are thatch roofs stronger than zinc roofs? Are wooden houses stronger than concrete houses? If all houses are made of thatch and palmetto sticks, then which were the hurricane shelters if all were alike? The truth is that there are no experts […]
Unpredictable Hurricanes
There is a song written by a Belizean Calypso composer and musician and it goes pretty much like this in lyrics: “From Puerto Rico it went past Jamaica. Then they said it was heading for Cuba, but like a boomerang, it turned on its course to Belize my land.” This song if you analyze it […]