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Preparing for Hurricanes

Oh yes, we are in the middle of the hurricane season, and some people have already taken the necessary preparations to battle the night of the storm as well as to survive the hardships of the days that follow the devastation. This includes everything from having a stock of nails and boards and flashlights to […]

Tenth of September Celebrations in the 60’s

Was it different? You bet! Oh yes we had a grand celebration, but we did it in our own wonderful way. Twenty five years ago we did not have a lot of flags to fly around the town and at our homes. So what we did was to decorate the place by going into the […]

If You Find it on the Beach, It’s Free!

Not many things drift onto our beaches today like they used to in the past. The only things we hear are bales of cocaine or marijuana, but it does not become the talk of the town to attract all the folks to the beach to do our famous beachcombing. One or two persons are said […]

Festivals of the Past

The Costa Maya Festival is perhaps the biggest festival San Pedro sees and for some people it does seem like a long festival and only participate in a day or perhaps two. If you tell that to an old timer, he will laugh at you for in the 1930, for example there used to be […]

No Television, Only Radio

Television is pretty new to San Pedro. It came many years after it was available to the world. It did not reach San Pedro until the 1980’s. Before cable television, people relied on the radio for most of its communications from abroad and nationally. Sports, entertainment, music, culture, and drama all came by way of […]

Largest Gatherings of San Pedro

Without a doubt, the largest gatherings today at a given time and place in San Pedro is the huge crowd that fills Saca Chispas Field during the Costa Maya Festival. It is estimated that there could be anywhere between two to three thousand people gathered at the field to applaud the Costa Maya Queens during […]

Studying the Clouds

I believe that San Pedro was the only place in the world where people used to have this strange habit of actually studying the clouds. No, we were no astrologers, nor were we trying to come up with some theory or great discovery. It was simply a form of entertainment and relaxation and a time […]

Whitening That Special Laundry

When Mrs. Alamilla wants to give special treatment to her special laundry today she has many products and ways to do so. First of all there is that special liquid detergent for particular products. Then there is the fabric softener for the stiff clothing and for the baby clothing. Now if the weather is good, […]

Zero Water Rates 25 Years Ago

Water rates are high today and keep going up at ridiculous rates. The water company wants more money and government needs to keep it low. But we have no control. We must pay even if we squeal or bawl or turn upside down. How fortunate we were 25 years ago when our WATER RATES WERE […]

Dancing in the City

I was talking to a good friend, Mike Tewes, who dates back 25 years ago, and we were reminiscing about our days when we used to go dancing in Belize City while we were going to high school and then dancing in San Pedro while we were on vacations. It was fun looking back at […]

Were Things Made of Better Material?

I don’t know about you, but I have certainly concluded that 25 years ago, indeed things were made of better material. Even the people seemed to have been made of better stuff, and I can prove that. Let us start with the fisherman’s outboard motor. The popular brands were Johnson and later on Evinrude. My […]

The Center of Activity

If you were asked today what place in San Pedro is the center of activity, you would have many answers. Some would say the old plaza or soccer field while others would say the office of the San Pedro Town Council. Some would say it is Tropic Air area whereas others would probably say it […]

Is It A Turkey Or A Girl?

I was reminded of this topic just recently by Norman Eiley and Allan Villanueva, so apparently this topic also existed in Placencia and probably all over Belize. We were talking about this dress called the “Crinolene”, which was worn by young ladies in the 1950’s. The Crinolene is quite the opposite of a tight fit […]

Big or Small

It is funny how big and small change from the past and today. The things that were big in the past are many times small today and those things that were small are now pretty large. I do not know the reasons, but check out a few examples. Lobsters in the past were pretty large. […]

Were There Any Graduations?

No there were no graduations in San Pedro until 1976 when San Pedro High celebrated its first. So prior to that there were no graduations. First of all in the 1960’s and before, there was only one school in San Pedro, and that was the San Pedro R.C. School. At the end of the eight […]

Innocent Coral Reef Damage

I know the environmentalists and conservationists must have gone, “Ahhh” with last week’s story on manatee killing. I realize I did speak of how nice the meat is, and it is true, and I hope it is no incentive for any more killing of manatees. It happened because there was a true need twenty five […]

Hunting for Manatees

Hunting for manatees in the 1960’s was an adventure. It was a special expedition to get meat for the family and for the village. You were almost a hero when you announced that you had caught a manatee and had processed over 500 pounds of meat for the village. Preparations began two days in advance […]

Different Birthday Parties

If there is one thing that was very different, completely different, it is the way birthday parties were celebrated back then and today. There is very little resemblance between a child’s birthday party in 1960 and those of today. To you this edition of Twenty Five Years Ago might even seem like a criticism, but […]

Let’s Have Fun With A Tarralla

Last week San Pedro High celebrated Cultural Day and there was a group of early Mestizos with their fishing gear including fishing lines and “tarralla” cast nets. So I decided to try casting out the net to see if I remembered doing something I used to be good at about forty years ago. You might […]

When Teachers Used to Lash

I can understand why some children were very reluctant to go to school at age five on their first days of school life. They knew there was lashing at school. I can also understand why some kids grew up with responsibility and respect for authority. There was lashing at school. I can also understand why […]

What! Boys & Girls Naked on Streets?

Would you consider allowing your boys and girls walking naked on the streets of San Pedro playing some game in front of the house? You know, some people actually enjoy their boys in the home walking only in underwear, perhaps with a sleeveless vest on. But that is as far as we would go, not […]

When Easter Was Over…

Twenty five years ago, when Easter was all over, it was a different feeling as when Easter is over today. Back then we knew that Easter was over when we saw no strange face on the streets of San Pedro. San Pedro was invaded by friends from Belize City who came for the long weekend […]

The Good Friday Procession

The Good Friday procession re-enacting the death of Jesus Christ is very meaningful today, but it was more impressive twenty five years ago. This was the longest procession ever in the history of the village of San Pedro. Every child in the elementary school attended this procession because the teachers were there with their notebooks […]