Another Year Comes to a Close for Jamaicans on Mackinac
Island
to
Island
by Ralston Blair

Memories on Mackinac

Well, this is it. It’s that time again. The time when I get all reflective (and maybe even “mushy”) concerning yet another final period spent working on Mackinac Island. This year, many Jamaicans were requested back to Mackinac Island a lot later than they were last year. In my case, as in some others, however, it has meant that I also ended up staying a little longer than I did last year. So, I guess it all balances out.

While here this trip, a number of memorable events took place. Some were part of the regular yearly activities, such as the Lilac Festival, the 42nd Jamaican Independence Celebration party, or the annual marathon races. Other events were a lot more unexpected and mainly involved news of Jamaicans or Jamaica itself.

In hindsight, there was the death of a former Prime Minister, Hon. Hugh Lawson Shearer, and the additional tragic death of a former National Soccer player, Winston “Twinny Bug” Anglin. We went on to feel a sense of pride for the achievements of Veronica Campbell and the rest of the Jamaican Olympic team as they competed at the 2004 International Olympics.

It was, however, two separate occasions which predominantly stuck out in the minds of most Jamaicans this year while on Mackinac Island. This was the anxious moment felt when Jamaica was placed on two serious hurricane watches. First was Hurricane Charley, between August 11 and 12. Luckily, this proved to be a false alarm for Jamaica, but not so for Florida, as it went on to smash and pound the sunshine state.

The second Jamaican hurricane watch proved, by contrast, to be the “real deal,” the “real McCoy.” Jamaica was hit by the power of Hurricane Ivan between September 10 and 11, leaving extensive damage to crops, housing structures, and a loss of life of 16 to 18 persons.

Regardless of the tragedy of that hit, however, being thankful for small mercies became necessary. For one reason, the death toll could have been much higher and the damage more widely sustained if the storm had maintained its original eastern path. Instead, it veered below the southern coast and closer to the western tip of the Island. The full force of the hurricane’s eye, as a result, remained somewhere off the western coast. Today, nevertheless, infrastructural and telecommunications restructuring is almost fully back on track, while the resiliency of the Jamaican people to survive and continue with daily life, even after a disaster, is every bit as strong and admirable as those Floridians who similarly refused to just roll over and submit in the face of disaster. In that shared process, both Jamaicans and Floridians accepted the reality that, even in paradise, there can be unexpected troubles.

An additional mention of special appreciation is also in order for the concerned involvement of the Little Stone Church on Mackinac Island in the area of hurricane relief. It was instrumental, through the mission of its National Congregation Association, to charitably raise and donate the total sum of $2,000 U.S. for hurricane relief to both Jamaica and Haiti ($1,000 U.S. to each island).

Hollywood and the Islands

On Mackinac Island during October, there is another yearly event that has a lot of nostalgia attached to it. This is a week earmarked for those persons paying tribute to the popular movie filmed on Mackinac Island named “Somewhere in Time,” starring Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve. On the Island each year, appreciative fans of the movie actually dress up in turn-of-the-century attire as depicted in the movie and, therefore, provide an extra visual step back in time, which matches the Island’s already pre-dated scenery. Sadly, with the recent passing of Christopher Reeve, the occasion was even more poignant this year.

Hollywood has had a similar longtime love affair with Jamaica. This has lured many film studios to its shores. In fact, it was as far back as 1954 that Director Richard Fleischer shot the climatic sequence of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” in Negril, which is situated on the western end of the island. Over the following 30 years, dozens of other filmmakers have also made extensive use of Jamaica’s diverse landscape, ranging from mist-covered mountains to cactus-studded desert to tropical environments with rivers and waterfalls. The presence of Spanish and British colonial buildings or villages with thatched huts, as well as modern cities, has also offered exceptional flexibility for location shooting.

Ian Fleming, who also lived in Jamaica, wrote his James Bond 007 novels from the island and had more than one novel storyline set in Jamaica. The first Bond film made, “Dr. No,” starring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress, was filmed in Jamaica. Other Bond films like “You Only Live Twice” and “Live and Let Die” (with Roger Moore as 007) were also partly filmed in Jamaica.

A list of other various movies shot on the island is also quite impressive. This includes “Father Goose” (during the 1960’s), “Pappillon” (1970’s) starring Steve McQueen, “Club Paradise” (1985) with Robin Williams and Peter O’Toole, and which also contributed U.S. $5.3 million to the local economy. Then there was the remake of “Lord of the Flies” (1988) and “The Mighty Quinn” (also in 1988), which starred Denzel Washington and Robert Townsend. A horror movie “Popcorn” (1989) was yet another, as well as the popular 1987 Touchstone/Walt Disney hit production “Cocktail,” starring Tom Cruise. Of course, the ever-popular “Cool Runnings,” with John Candy, is another favorite.

Jamaica itself has produced some of its own movies, namely the popular cult film starring reggae artist, Jimmy Cliff, called “The Harder They Come,” “Smile Orange,” “The Lunatic,” “Children of Babylon,” “Country Man,” and more recently, “Dance Hall Queen” and “Third World Cop.”

The Rich and the Famous

Over the years, Jamaica has been popular, both at the movies and in song. From way back, when popular Jamaican-born actor/singer Harry Belafonte, sang the Caribbean folk song, “Day O,” Jamaica has gained appeal to the ordinary person, as well as to the rich and the famous. Such famous past luminaries include William Randolph Hearst, Clara Bow, Rudyard Kipling, Paul Whiteman, J.P. Morgan Jr. (once the world’s richest man), Noel Coward, Ian Flemming, and that old “swashbuckler” himself, Errol Flynn, who built his 64-acre retreat home on Navy Island, off the east coast of the island. Another such individual was Dr. Robert Dallas, the founder of Dallas, Texas, and grandfather to George Miflin Dallas, the U.S. Vice-President who gave his name to the Lone Star State. Interestingly, there is also a small town in the parish of St. Andrew, in Jamaica, which has the same name, Dallas, and is the location of the Dallas family ancestral plantation home, which was purchased there in 1758.

Halloween

Owing to my late stay on Mackinac Island, I got to witness the “trick-or-treat” occasion of Halloween firsthand. It was interesting to see the Island’s main street take on the atmosphere very akin to that of “Mardi Gras” in New Orleans. The streets and bars were all filled with people dressed up in caricatures of all-time favorite characters. If I remember well enough, I saw Austin Powers, Catwoman, Jesus, a female Playboy Bunny, along with a male dressed as a female Bunny, an angel and a devil together as a couple, and even a pinstriped chain-gang convict, all intermingling quite freely.

This occasion is not one held in Jamaica, but if it were, I could easily imagine including one of our main folklore characters named Anancy, who is known as a crafty spider with human qualities and characteristics. He certainly would be one potential Jamaican Halloween character. One other possible character would be the popular and stenotyped Caribbean Marker Lady, along her typical “bankra” basket firmly balanced on her head. Ghosts or “duppies” (as they’re called in Jamaica) would naturally also be ghoulishly displayed in this make-believe scenario. Jonkonnu (pronounced John Canoe), a band of popular Christmas male masqueraders, is a popular part of the cultural Jamaican background. These colorful performers are dressed up as kings, queens, cows, horses, demons, and “mock” policemen, all accompanied by musicians playing flutes, drums, and rattles. They already do a more than adequate job of frightening little children, even without the aid of an actual Halloween period. Traditionally, Jonkonnu dated back to the plantation era, when slaves were allowed to celebrate only at Christmas. The festival is thought to have its roots in African rituals.

And Now the End is Near

Well, maybe it’s a good omen that the recent U.S. one-hour time change to Daylight Saving Time coincided with that of the final departure of Jamaicans from the Island. More so, for one reason, Jamaica, for some years now, has remained permanently on Daylight Saving Time, so luckily the final batch of returning Jamaicans would have conveniently gone pre-prepared to their familiar time zone.

On the subject of time, this is probably a good time, as any, to introduce and induce the spirit of Jamaica’s National Pledge in the hope that all those who returned home will find the principles of it truly being practiced. It goes as follows:

Jamaican National Pledge

Before God and all mankind

I pledge the love and loyalty of my heart

The wisdom and courage of my mind

The strength and vigor of my body

In the service of my fellow citizens

I promise to stand up for Justice

Brotherhood and Peace

To work diligently and creatively

To think generously and honestly

So that Jamaica may, under God

Increase in beauty, fellowship, and prosperity

And play her part in advancing

The welfare of the whole human race.

Thanks to my Mackinac Island roommate and friend, Emmanuel Gilmore, for reminding me of it, and for encouraging me to share it with my readers.

We’re all looking forward to the fun, festivity, and meaning of Christmas, which is every bit as anticipated in Jamaica as anywhere else in the world.

Personally, I want to take the time to thank you, my valued readers, for regularly reading my mind (or at least a little bit of it). And to think you didn’t even need a crystal ball to do that, just a regular copy of the Mackinac Island Town Crier. And yes, that’s a free plug, too.

Until next time (direct from Jamaica), stay Irie!

Ralston Blair is a Jamaican writer and journalist who worked last summer on Mackinac Island.