Justin ‘Hero’ Cassell Interview (2012)
Montserrat’s versatile Maggie D holds Festival record that likely won’t be broken. ‘I love my culture’
Maggie D performs in the Montserrat Calypso Finals on December 29, 2023.
IT’S JUST ‘MAGGIE’
“I’M NOT SHY. I’M JUST QUIET.”
Maggie Destouche
Maggie Destouche, who had just turned 15, is crowned Miss Teen 2008.
Maggie prepares to go on stage for her cultural presentation on the history of Shamrock Cinema as part of the Miss Montserrat pageant in 2011.
Maggie Destouche, left, with Festival queen Claris Yearwood and second runner-up Tiffany Ryan on December 26, 2011.
Maggie with brother Appiland and sister Sheba, circa 2016.
Maggie's Festival résumé
| Event | Year |
|---|---|
| Teen Pageant | 2008 (Winner) |
| Junior Calypso | 2010 |
| Women's Calypso (Local) | 2010 |
| Police Week calypso | 2010 |
| Miss Montserrat | 2011 |
| Calypso Finals | 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| Soca Monarch | 2010, 2014, 2023, 2024 |
| Women's Calypso (Regional) | 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
Maggie's Discography
| Mad Man (2010) | Crazy (2010) |
| Wining On Me (2011) | End Child Abuse (2013) |
| You Can Make It (2013) | Letter To Mama (2014) |
| Immortal (2015) | Saltfish (2015) |
| Kiss Me (2016) | In My Baby's Arms (2016) |
| Sweet Old Songs (2017) | Lift Up This Land (2017) |
| Gone Too Far (2017) | Don't Wake Me Up (2019) |
| Blind Spot (2019) | Tell Us Who We Are (2021) |
| Extermination Time (2021) | Shadow of My Destiny (2023) |
| All-A-We (2023) | Worries (2023) |
Montserrat governor’s stage appearance during Calypso Finals needs an explanation. Here it is . . .
"Acting" governor Kristin Breuer, left, and real governor Sarah Tucker look on during Proklaima's performance.
The 2023 Montserrat Calypso Finals, held December 29 at Festival Village in Little Bay, featured four former monarchs with a total of 16 local crowns between them. The group was led by defending champion Keithroy “De Voice” Morson, who was vying for his seventh Montserrat title overall. But in the end, it was the youngest finalist whose performance drew the most applause . . . and controversy.
For his second-round song, Kimari Kirnon – calypso alias “Proklaima” – performed the scathing social commentary Needs An Explanation. Penned by Montserrat-born, Antigua-based calypsonian Eugene “Kaseba” Silcott, the song is a brutal takedown of the governor, Her Excellency Mrs. Sarah Tucker, who has been criticized for her heavy-handed approach and questionable decisions since taking her post April 6, 2022. The governor is addressed in the song as “Mother Tucker” – a not-so-subtle pejorative that her detractors embrace but others deem over the line.
For Proklaima’s performance of the song, he arranged to have American ex-pat Kristin Breuer play the governor. When he summoned her on stage, Breuer and the real governor both appeared. The crowd went wild. Proklaima gave an expression of surprise, then went into his rendition as the two women looked on, with Breuer seated and Tucker standing next to her.
Some considered the governor’s appearance as an attempt at intimidation, as in, “Here I am now, say it to my face.” But Her Excellency says that was not her intention.
“My participation, like everyone on that evening and throughout the event, was one of good sport and support,” Tucker said in a statement submitted to Montserrat Spotlight from her office. “If you were in the grounds you would have heard the roar of the crowd and know that this song was the top score of the [second] round.”
Kimari “Proklaima” Kirnon salutes as the British national anthem plays before his performance of “Needs An Explanation”.
Kirnon, the son of two-time Montserrat calypso monarch Anderson “King Andy” Kirnon, eventually settled for a second runner-up finish, but many of his fans were still reeling over the governor crashing the performance. Silcott, Proklaima’s writer, posted a statement on social media stating that the governor should apologize to the youngster. One prominent Montserrat social media influencer even stated that the governor should compensate Proklaima financially.
Speaking through a family member, Proklaima says he was not intimidated or distracted at all by the governor’s surprise cameo. In fact, it had the opposite effect. Proklaima, 20, says he was surprised at first but then got energized and confident. It reflected in the fact that he led all the calypsonians in the second round with 705 points.
“I was backing Mr. Kirnon to win, given he had chosen me as his subject.”
Her Excellency Governor Sarah Tucker
The governor was seen tapping her feet to the rhythm and even smiling at times during the performance. And when Proklaima declared that the governor should “Take your Georgie bundle and run!” – both women fled the stage as the crowd went into a frenzy. Mrs. Tucker insists that she took the calypso roasting in stride.
“There is a very long-standing tradition of people being singled out as part of calypso, and that it is not taken to be personal. I understand that whilst I was not even on island there was a huge amount of social media noise that I had banned the song, etc., when at this time I hadn’t even heard it! I was backing Mr. Kirnon to win, given he had chosen me as his subject.”
Mrs. Tucker added: “Calypso is renowned for taking a political stance on various matters. It is up to the writer to decide what he or she believes will get their point across and, of course, in the case of competition will attract the most votes.”
Breuer – who appropriately dubbed herself the “acting” governor – also played Her Excellency later in the show when eventual calypso monarch Garnett “Sylk” Thompson performed Self-Determination. “De Voice” finished first-runner up, falling short of becoming the first in Montserrat history to win four crowns in a row.
Frances Ryan, renowned Montserrat nurse and pioneer in mental health care, dies at 94
Nurse Frances Ryan was a staunch Adventist and served as a church elder in Montserrat and Miami.
Frances Ryan will be most remembered for her three decades as a nurse in Montserrat. But her impact went much deeper. She was a pioneer in many respects, including being the first woman to reach Chances Peak following the Pan Am plane crash in 1965. She changed the paradigm about mental health in Montserrat and was not afraid to embrace challenges or change. She was a “strapping” woman who was physically and mentally strong. She was a mother, staunch Adventist, mean Scrabble player, one-time cricket star, treasured friend, and so much more.
“Nurse Frances” passed away Wednesday, December 6, 2023, in Miami, Florida, following a prolonged illness. She was 94 years old. She died 38 days following the death of her daughter Lauretta, who succumbed to cancer at 67. For a time, the two were in hospice care together, just one room apart.
“She was tough as a mother and always told us, ‘Know better, do better,’ ” says Yvonne Ryan, Nurse Frances’ eldest daughter. “She was big on education and taught us early how to cook and wash so we can take care of ourselves and our grandmother. Also, church was a must.”
Frances Ann Ryan was born March 14, 1929, in lower Streatham in eastern Montserrat. She attended St. Mary’s Anglican School in Plymouth. She did not attend secondary school. Instead she went into farming, assisting her mother, then worked in the kitchen at the Coconut Hill Hotel in Town Hill. She was later hired by popular downtown variety store owner Annie Eid as a domestic helper. When Mrs. Eid found out that Frances could type, she took her to work in the store downstairs.
BECOMING A NURSE
The Eid family home and business was located on the corner of Parliament and Harney streets, just across from the police station. From the second-floor verandah, Frances would watch the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade, which trained there. The SJAB is an international voluntary organization dedicated to teaching First-Aid. They were often present at crowd events in case someone suffered a medical emergency. The “St. John’s” name had no affiliation with St. John’s village in Montserrat or the capital of Antigua, as some assumed. Frances became an SJAB member and learned First-Aid. The Brigade trainer, who was the island’s Matron (top nurse), thought Frances would make a great nurse, so she hired her. At the time, women who were unmarried and had children faced a difficult task getting jobs within the civil service. But the Matron fought for Frances. At age 31 and the mother of two daughters, Frances entered the nursing field in 1960 and was trained at Glendon Hospital.
Nurses in Montserrat are normally addressed and identified by their surname. But when Frances’ career began, there was already a “Nurse Ryan”. So to avoid any mix-up, the newcomer was called “Nurse Frances”. Some in the public thought “Frances” was her surname and even spelled it “Francis”.
Nurse Frances worked as a regular nurse and midwife for about a decade before migrating into the mental health field. That came about when Chief Medical Officer Dr. Desmond Wooding sent her to Antigua to check on the welfare of mental patients who were sent there from Montserrat. Appalled by the conditions at the institute, Nurse Frances insisted that the patients be brought back home. She refurbished the former tuberculosis ward at Glendon Hospital and housed the patients there. The ward was eventually closed, and the patients were allowed to reassimilate into the community after being treated.
In 1972, she officially accepted an offer to become Montserrat’s first mental health nurse, and she traveled to Barbados for training. In a 1978 article in the Montserrat Mirror, she stated: “I like looking after mental patients. Maybe it’s because most other nurses tend to shy away from it. You have to know what you’re doing and be prepared to put up with a lot.”
The article further stated that Nurse Frances was responsible for treating up to 150 mentally ill residents of Montserrat. Her duties transcended medical care. She sought employment and housing for many of the patients and would conduct follow-ups to check on their progress and well-being. During the height of her tenure in the 1970s, she was a virtual one-person operation. She sometimes had to physically restrain patients, including men, and administer injections. She also had to battle the often callous attitude toward the mentally ill. In fact there was a running joke among locals whenever someone misbehaved: “I’m going to call Nurse Frances for you!”
Nurse Frances fought against the notion that Montserrat needed a mental institution. She believed that community nursing was suffice and that the mentally ill would function better if allowed to mix with the general population while being treated. She also implored the public to refrain from teasing or harassing the mentally challenged.
“She was kind, she was friendly and she was very brave,” says retired nurse Mary Cooper, a contemporary of Nurse Frances. “She really cared about the mentally challenged. Some people were afraid of her because of the injections she used to give some of the patients, but she was a very compassionate person.”
CONQUERING CHANCES PEAK
Nurse Frances made history on September 17, 1965, when a Pan Am aircraft crashed into Chances mountain in southeastern Montserrat, killing all 30 aboard. She spoke about that day during an interview with the Montserrat Mirror.
“When I got to work, the Matron told me there was a plane crash somewhere. She sent me out with Joe [Buffonge] and James [Daley],” ambulance driver and orderly, respectively.
Battling dense fog, rain and a muddy terrain, Nurse Frances was the first woman to reach the crash scene, more than 3,000 feet above sea level. It was an incredible feat, considering that even members of the Montserrat Defense Force were unable to reach the site until the following day.
“We couldn’t get to the people but it was clear that everybody was dead,” Nurse Frances was quoted in the article. “All we could do was stand there and watch the plane burn and all the dead bodies. It is an experience I’ll never like to go through again.”
Aside from nursing, she ventured into other fields historically dominated by men. She was an airport taxi driver on her days off and also drove trucks, transporting sand for building contractors. In the 1950s she was a star cricket player in the local women’s league, representing Harris Village. She still found time to be an attentive mother.
“She did not allow us to miss her even when we were living in the country and she was working in town,” says Yvonne, who as a tribute to her mother gave her three children names that begin with “F”. “She was always on the road bringing us something and waking us up so we can see her.”
MIGRATION TO AMERICA
In 1994, shortly after retiring, Nurse Frances visited Miami to spend time with family. The following year, the volcanic eruptions began in Montserrat and eventually destroyed her home in Webbs Village. Nurse Frances settled in Miami, where she joined the Tabernacle Seventh Day Adventist Church and became an elder. She even baby-sat the children of some in the congregation.
In recent years, despite her deteriorating health, she maintained her trademark sense of humor and stayed in touch with old friends, including Nurse Cooper. A friend once phoned her requesting to “pick her brain” regarding research about Montserrat. “I’m old, leave my brain alone, please,” she quipped.
Nurse Frances is survived by her daughter Yvonne Ryan and stepson Jerod Gerald, plus three grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren. Her funeral will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, January 7, 2024, at the Tabernacle SDA Church in Miami. Per her wishes, her ashes will be repatriated to Montserrat. A service will be held at the New Carmel SDA Church in Lower Friths on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, the day before what would have been her 95th birthday.
From Canada to Montserrat to Antigua, Ann Granger has become the ultimate carnival crusader
Ann Granger poses with "School Mas" troupe as they model her design called "A Splash of Irie" at Antigua Carnival 2023.
Ann Granger’s unlikely journey to becoming a carnival stalwart began in a sleepy agricultural community in Ontario, Canada. The town of Binbrook, located 50 miles southwest of Toronto, comprised mostly European descendants when Ann was growing up in the early 1970s. Canada is dubbed the Great White North, and at one time that designation could be taken literally. Binbrook’s population of 3,000 included very few people of color. Ann knew little about the Caribbean, and the carnivals in Canada were mostly the ones featuring Ferris wheels and cotton candy.
But fate would soon intervene, transporting Ann to a tiny volcanic island in the eastern Caribbean and then next door to the Land of 365 Beaches. Ann has won awards and accolades for her designs, and she has stamped a palpable imprint on the pageantry of the festive season. She has cradled the lifestyle of the West Indies . . . and the region has emphatically returned the embrace.
“She is extremely creative and ahead of the other costume designers in conception and execution,” says Chadd Cumberbatch, a prominent designer, actor, playwright, artist and Festival promoter in Montserrat for more than three decades. “Her knowledge and use of different materials makes her work stand out even more.”
So how did a little girl from Canada conquer the essence of the Caribbean through cultural exposition? It is a tale that Ann herself marvels about a half-century later.
DESTINY MEETS OPPORTUNITY
In 1972, Ann’s parents – Gilbert and Rosalie Granger – were both 50 years old and settled into their life in Binbrook. Ann was 10, the youngest of four siblings. While attending a Valentine’s Day party, her parents were chatting with another couple who revealed they had just purchased land on a Caribbean island through a Canadian developer. The Grangers had never heard of Montserrat but were intrigued, so they visited the island the following month with the couple while on holiday.
They loved the Emerald Isle but agreed they would relocate only if Ann liked it as well. So they took Ann to Montserrat that July – and she enthusiastically approved. In November of 1972, Ann and her parents migrated and moved into a property in Spanish Pointe in eastern rural Montserrat, not far from Blackburne (later W.H. Bramble) Airport. They lived in a small cottage while a bigger house was being constructed by Ann’s father. Ann’s siblings, who were already grown, remained in Canada.
Ann did not attend school in Montserrat. Instead, she took correspondence courses with her school in Binbrook. Her parents chose this route in case they decided to return to Canada and re-enroll Ann in school. But Ann quickly assimilated to Montserrat culture.
In 1979 at age 17, Ann opened a T-shirt print shop in Plymouth. However, her venture took a hit when a larger T-shirt business opened just down the street. She then launched the first pet store in Montserrat, selling birds and aquarium fish. Neither business was particularly lucrative, but Ann always exhibited an entrepreneurial spirit.
A CHANCE MEETING
In late 1985, Ann – on a whim – decided to attend a meeting of the Montserrat Festival Committee, which was led by Cedric Osborne.
“I wanted to try something out of my comfort zone,” she says. “By the time the meeting was over, they asked me to build costumes for two of the queen contestants that year.”
Ann had no formal training in art or design, but she possessed creative pedigree.
“My family is very artistic,” she says. “My mother’s father was a sculptor and artist. My father left school when he was 9 years old and became a self-taught contractor. My mom was a seamstress. All of our clothes were home-made.”
Ann enjoyed immediate success when her costume titled “Under The Sea” helped Evonne Bramble win the Miss Montserrat crown. The following year, Ann’s “Pride of Barbados” costume was used by Festival queen Pauline Wall at the Jaycees competition in Antigua.
In 1987, Ann relocated to Antigua when she got a job with Carib Link, a ferry service. That job lasted only a few months before the company folded. Ann returned to Montserrat for Festival that December and designed costumes for at least two queen contestants.
There was no queen show in Montserrat in 1988 or 1989 but the show returned in 1990, and so did Ann. Her costumes included a dazzling, grand design depicting the Oriole and Heliconia, Montserrat’s national bird and flower, respectively.
Ann’s biggest year in Montserrat was 1991. She designed costumes for four of the five queen contestants, including “Rhythm in Blue” for eventual Festival queen Athema Daley. Ann captured the award for Best Costume.
Myrle Roach, a former chairperson of the Montserrat Festival queen show committee, remembers Ann’s work ethic and style.
“She would start with a sketch,” Roach says. “She was like a real architect. Sometimes when she would start the costume, you would look at it and not be sure where she was going. Then a couple days later you couldn’t believe it was the same costume. I have never seen her design anything that was sub-standard.”
TAKING HER TALENTS TO ANTIGUA
In 1992, Ann shifted her focus squarely to the Antigua Carnival scene. Her three decades in Wadadli have brought success and recognition. They have also been beneficial.
“I look forward to Carnival season,” she says. “People ask me if I design for the love of it. I really do. But it has also become a business.”
One of her notable exhibits was a reinvented version of “Miss Goosey” – whom she first revived in Montserrat in 1987. She brought the giant, buxom Caribbean woman to Antigua, and she was an instant hit. Ann took Miss Goosey to several Caribbean islands – including Trinidad for Carifesta in 1992 – and changed her costume each time to fit the occasion. LIAT even used Miss Goosey as a brand ambassador for a time.
Ann continued the theme of larger-than-life women with her tie-dye “Tan Tan Ladies” in 1998. They were inspired by the “Tan Tan” character created in Trinidad by Peter Minshall. “Tan Tan” – a giant animated puppet – was usually paired with a partner called “Saga Boy”. In 2017, Ann unveiled her 10-foot-tall “Paper Dolls”. The Dolls’ attire were altered for Carnival and Antigua Independence and have adorned V.C. Bird International Airport. Ann continued the evolution in 2023 with her “Full-skirted Dancing Ladies”, which she calls one of her favorite creations.
Ann and son Jadun in front of “Full-Skirted Dancing Lady” during Antigua Carnival in 2023.
MULTI-TASKING
Aside from costume design, Ann owned and operated the photo shop at Sandals Resort in Antigua for 16 years. She currently runs a T-shirt printing business and is a professional photographer who estimates she has shot about 5,000 weddings. Ann is also a mother of two sons. Her youngest, Jadun, is a fledgling entrepreneur and Ann’s right-hand man in the photo and printing businesses and in building costumes. She hopes he continues the family tradition of costume design.
During Ann’s time in Montserrat, her parents encouraged and assisted in her designing ventures.
“My father was my engineer and my tie-wire man,” she says. “My mom made dolls and other crafts for my store and also did the sewing for a lot of my costumes.”
When Ann moved to Antigua, her folks remained at the home in Spanish Pointe. But after the volcanic crisis began in Montserrat in 1995, she brought them up to Antigua. Gilbert Granger died in 2006 and Rosalie passed away in 2010.
Reflecting on 40 years of designs, Ann is forever grateful for her parents’ Valentine’s Day interaction that ended up taking her from frigid Canada to an environment that is the polar opposite.
“I would not have changed my life for a minute,” she says. “I love the Caribbean. I consider myself a real Caribbean woman. I’m so glad my parents took the leap . . . and brought me along with them. They gave me an opportunity for a fantastic life.”
For printing, photography or costume design services, e-mail Ann Granger at wadadlidigital@gmail.com
John and Ellie Wade: A Montserrat power couple with an intriguing history and endearing relationship
The union of John and Ellie Wade was not a typical story of high school sweethearts who married in their 20s and started a family. When the two exchanged vows, both were in their early 40s. John, a retired cricketer, was in the midst of a long tenure at Royal Bank of Canada and a member of the Montserrat Defense Force. Ellie had spent two decades in Canada and New York and was now back on her home island.
Traditionally, the bride is always last to arrive at a wedding ceremony. On her wedding day in 1949, Ellie Wade showed up extra early to St. Anthony’s Anglican Church in Plymouth. “I didn’t want to take any chance,” she once said laughing as she recounted how blissful she was about marrying John Wade.
For the next quarter century “Miss Ellie” and “John May” would become a power couple in business, social circles and their beloved Anglican church. They complemented – and complimented – each other. She addressed him as “Papa” and he called her “Ground Dove” because of her short stature and shapely figure. They were an endearing duo that made history as successful, dark-skinned merchants at a time when colonial-entrenched Montserrat was dominated by business families that were white or light-skinned.
“Their story is one of the most interesting in Montserrat history,” says Tony Maloney, who lived in Plymouth and knew the couple well. “He broke down barriers at Royal Bank and she was very dynamic and used her connections in American fashion to help their business.”
A young Ellie Wade.
ZION HILL TO TOWN HILL
Catherine Elizabeth “Ellie” Riley was born July 4, 1908 in Zion Hill, St. Peter’s. She attended St. Peter’s Primary School until age 8, then moved to Wall Street in Town Hill to live with her aunt, Rose Duberry.
After finishing school, she taught at Kinsale Primary for a year, then worked about four years for D. Hope Ross Ltd., a variety store in Plymouth that sold apparel, furniture and premium items such as bicycles. Ross, a native of St. Kitts, closed the Montserrat branch in 1934 after an earthquake damaged the premises. The building was later bought by O.R. Kelsick, but for many years folks still referred to it as the Hope Ross Building.
Around 1928, Ellie migrated to Canada for about six years, then spent more than a decade in New York. She worked as a domestic and picked up culinary and fashion ideas that she would bring back to Montserrat. She returned for vacation in the late 1940s and met Wade during a visit to Royal Bank of Canada. The two began a courtship, Wade proposed, and Miss Ellie moved back to Montserrat permanently.
A young John Wade.
THE STORY OF ‘JOHN MAY’
John Edward Wade was born January 21, 1908. His mother, Julia “Mary” Grace Ponde (nee’ Allers) moved to Panama when John was a boy. It was a time when many flocked to the Central American nation for employment during the building of the Panama Canal.
One of John’s early interests was cricket. He joined the Montserrat national team in 1927 and was a member of the 1934 squad that won the Leeward Islands championship. His best score was 64 against St. Kitts in 1939. His final year playing for Montserrat was 1947. After retiring from cricket, Wade became an administrator and managed the Montserrat cricket team during the 1950s and ’60s. He also served as an umpire and president of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association.
Wade’s time at Royal Bank of Canada was historic in some respects. He started as a messenger, was promoted to clerk, and eventually reached management level and the Board of Directors. In the 1940s and ’50s, most bank employees were white, and banks were highly prestigious places to work . . . and to visit. Locals would dress up for a trip to the bank, even for a simple transaction.
A relative said Wade’s nickname – “John May” – came about because of his mother. It possibly started as “John for Mary” then morphed to “John May.”
Wilsons shop, pictured in 1982, was previously the Mary G. Ponde shop that was run by Ellie Wade. In the background is O.R. Kelsick & Co., previously the Hope Ross Building where Ellie worked in the 1920s.
‘MARY G. PONDE’
When John and Ellie got married, he wanted her to be a housewife, but she quickly nixed that idea. She took charge of a floundering shop that Wade had purchased at “Grandstand” – the corner of George and Parliament streets. The shop was originally a pharmacy owned by the Rock family. When H.G. Rock died around 1942, his wife Nellie ran the business. A few years later, Wade bought the place and named it the “Mary G. Ponde” shop in honor of his mother. When Miss Ellie took over, many thought she was Mary G. Ponde, and some even addressed her by that name. Miss Ellie sold clothing, fabric and her specialty – women’s hats, especially church hats. She was a skilled salesperson who could disarm even the most discerning customer. In short time, the business was flourishing.
John Wilson, Wade’s nephew, witnessed Miss Ellie’s sales pitch and charm first-hand.
“If someone came in to buy a hat, Aunt Ellie would try on the hat,” Wilson explained. “She was so dapper and cute that any hat she put on her head, she would look good. So the customers would be watching and thinking that’s how they’re going to look as well.”
Wade Inn was also home of the Montserrat Building Society, Ellie’s Cafe and other businesses.
‘TRUE BUSINESS PERSON’
John and Ellie first lived just below the Evergreen Tree (Roundabout) in the building that later housed the Evergreen Restaurant, above Carib World Travel. During the 1950s, Miss Ellie developed it into a boarding house and prepared meals for civil servants, mostly expatriates. She also served tea to the general public. That marked the start of Ellie’s Cafe.
“She was a hard worker, a true business person,” Wilson says of Miss Ellie, who would still occasionally travel to New York for a few months, perform domestic work, then use the money to shop for the store in Montserrat.
“She knew how to turn her hand,” Wilson says.
Wade’s connections within the banking industry were surely pivotal to the couple’s business ventures, but Miss Ellie was the one who usually took the initiative. They purchased a plot of land just south of Roundabout on Parliament Street. That spot would become the new home of Ellie’s Cafe. Around 1965, the couple expanded and built a sprawling complex that included a 10-room guest house with a restaurant. After pondering several names for the mini-hotel, Miss Ellie settled on “Wade Inn” because she said it sounded like “wading” as in wading in water.
The property also became home to the Montserrat Building Society, plus a travel agency, the office of attorney Kenneth Allen, Q.C., and other businesses. Wade also sold homeowner’s insurance. The revenue from their businesses, plus the rent they collected from their tenants, proved lucrative. The couple built a home in Richmond Hill, which at the time featured the most affluent in Montserrat society and was nicknamed “Rich Man Hill.”
John and Ellie were lifelong members of the Anglican Church and John was once head of the Vestry, which granted him powers such as approving any incoming clergy. He was also a member of the Anglican Lodge.
FAREWELL, PAPA
In October of 1975, Wade was admitted to Glendon Hospital with respiratory issues that he had been battling for some time. Wilson, his nephew, says Wade had a respiratory attack in his room one evening. The lone oxygen tank in the hospital was located on the other side of the building. By the time nurses retrieved it and brought it to the room, it was too late. John Wade passed away October 20, 1975. He was 67 years old. Wilson says the family pondered filing a lawsuit but later decided against it.
After Wade’s passing, Miss Ellie continued the business with the help of a nephew. Wilson purchased the Mary G. Ponde shop in 1976, changed the name to Wilsons, and ran it up until the volcanic eruption in 1995. Under Wilson’s ownership, the shop was mostly a restaurant that became known for its signature ice cream and fried chicken.
The volcanic crisis affected Miss Ellie profoundly, shuttering Wade Inn and also displacing her from the home in Richmond Hill. She moved to the Dominican Republic with a relative for a while, then returned and lived in her family home in St. Peter’s.
Miss Ellie later went back to the Dominican Republic for medical treatment and died there on February 5, 2009. She was 100 years old. Her remains were repatriated to Montserrat for interment at the St. Peter’s Anglican Church cemetery.
Ellie Wade in 2001. “She was a hard worker, a true business person,” John Wilson says.
KIND AND WITTY
More than a decade later, friends and family still share memories of the couple, who didn’t have any biological children but had a large extended family. Wade had several siblings who were born in Panama, and some ended up visiting Montserrat. Ellie sustained many family members and was particularly close to her aunts Lou and Beth.
“She treated her family so kindly,” Wilson says of Miss Ellie, who will also be remembered for her animated personality and sense of humor. Legendary Montserrat dressmaker and costume designer Jeweline Roberts Riley, whose late husband was Miss Ellie’s nephew, recalls her witty ways.
“Her birthday was July 4th, which is Independence Day in America,” Jeweline says. “Every year she would say, ‘Look how they’re celebrating my birthday with so many fireworks!’ She was such a fun lady to be around.”
‘This one is special’: De Bear delivers Montserrat’s first Leeward Islands calypso crown
Keithroy "De Voice" Morson of Montserrat edged out local favorite Queen Roxxy to win his fourth Leewards title.
When Keithroy “De Bear” Morson finally got a chance to check his phone following the frenzy of his latest calypso victory, about 50 text messages awaited him. They came from Montserrat, Antigua, the United States, the UK and elsewhere. Never mind it was after 2 a.m. Family, friends and fans fought off sleep and time-zone challenges to celebrate another big win for the little master.
Morson added to his legacy as a calypso virtuoso when he captured the Leeward Islands Calypso Monarch title in the early morning hours of Sunday, August 13, 2023 in Anguilla.
Performing as “The Voice” – instead of his customary moniker “De Bear” – Morson outclassed seven regional rivals at Landsome Bowl in The Valley. It was his fourth Leewards crown but his first representing Montserrat, his home country. His three other wins came for Antigua, where he relocated in wake of the volcanic crisis in the late 1990s.
“This one . . . for Montserratians . . . is bigger than the three for Antigua,” he said. “This one is special. This is for home.”
It was Montserrat’s first regional calypso title since Justin “Hero” Cassell won the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) crown in 1986 in Dominica.
STRONG COMPETITION
The Leeward Islands Calypso Competition, which began in 1997, was contested for the first time since 2019. The event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID and was scrapped last year because of low registration.
The show returned in high standard as eight competitors duked it out. Morson sang Don’t Wake The Bear and Hard Like A Diamond, songs he won with in Montserrat in 2021 and 2022, respectively. But he altered the lyrics of both to make them palatable for a regional audience. Participants in the Leeward Islands competition have often faced the conundrum of tweaking songs that address issues in their particular island. Morson adjusted his lyrics and delivered them seamlessly.
In Montserrat, Don’t Wake The Bear targeted his longtime rival, King Kenzie. But in Anguilla, it was aimed squarely at local calypso monarch Roxanne “Queen Roxxy” Webster.
“In 2019 Roxxy and I were tied in the Leewards competition and they gave her the crown,” Morson says. “She went on the radio boasting that she knows how to beat the Bear. So I was planning for her since last year but that show was canceled.”
Singing in the No. 3 position, De Bear sprinkled Don’t Wake The Bear with picong toward Roxxy in the second round. When she performed Women Doing That Too in the No. 6 position, she addressed the Bear in her final verse, but her banter was lukewarm compared to De Bear’s protracted lyrical scolding.
At least two other competitors – Richie Buntin (St. Thomas) and Young Destroyer (Antigua) – mentioned De Bear in their second-round songs, a likely sign that they sensed he was the front-runner.
Roxxy eventually finished first runner-up, with Young Destroyer second runner-up. The other competitors were Miss Independent (St. Kitts), King Hollywood (Nevis), Mighty Dow (St. Maarten) and Queen Blackness (St. Croix).
De Bear says despite the minor verbal jousting, all the contestants were cordial and personally congratulated him afterward. Roxxy even joined De Bear on stage following the results and sang along to Don’t Wake The Bear.
Keithroy “De Voice” Morson celebrates his victory with backup singer Ronel White and Montserrat Arts Council director Kenneth “Rabo” Silcott.
LOOKING AHEAD
Asked where this victory ranks in his career, De Bear says it’s No. 2 overall.
“No. 1 will always be my victory in 2007 in Antigua. It was my first win there. It was no easy task. To get that crown after six years of finishing first runner-up, second runner-up . . . I don’t think anything will top that one for me.”
As an aside, Morson’s victory should quell any lingering hard feelings from 2015. That summer, he held dual crowns in Antigua and Montserrat, but when he competed at the Leewards show he represented Antigua. That drew the ire of many Montserratians, some of whom likened it to treason.
But those sentiments were not evident late Saturday. Hundreds of Montserratians tuned in on radio or watched via pay-per-view until the wee hours. They posted countless congratulatory messages and shared videos of his performance. A watch party was even held at Scoreboard Sports Bar in Little Bay.
As for where his calypso career goes from here, De Bear suggested he might be at a crossroads.
“As far as calypso, I’ve been there and done that. I want to be put in a position to scout talent and pass on my knowledge to the youths. Arrow didn’t get to do it and now he’s gone. Ruler didn’t get to do it and he’s gone. But first I need our government to see the importance of doing it.”
De Bear says he would also like the Government of Montserrat to show an appreciation for his accomplishments. Something tangible rather than symbolic would be nice.
“I don’t want no MBE or OBE,” he says. “I want Montserrat to give me the respect I deserve as a son of the soil.”
Calypso crowns by De Bear (De Voice)
| Year | Event | Songs |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Montserrat Jr. Calypso | Slavery (one song) |
| 1992 | Montserrat Festival | Back to Basics & Face The Truth |
| 1993 | Montserrat Pilgrimage | Come Home (one song) |
| 1993 | Montserrat Festival | The Time Has Come & Show Respect |
| 2002 | Antigua Independence | Man Is Dust & Help |
| 2007 | Antigua Carnival | I Say No & Support Party |
| 2007 | Leeward Islands Competition | I Say No & Man Is Dust |
| 2010 | Antigua Carnival | Leopard Come Home & Don't Sing Bout de Judgment |
| 2011 | Antigua Carnival | Melee For Sale & We Get The Change Ivena |
| 2012 | Antigua Carnival | Time To Take Our Place & Freedom for Mandela |
| 2012 | Leeward Islands Competition | Time To Take Our Place & Freedom for Mandela |
| 2014 | Montserrat Festival | Don't Forget Your Juliet & Got To Go |
| 2015 | Antigua Carnival | Can't Stop The Bear & Sing A Different Song |
| 2015 | Leeward Islands Competition | Can't Stop The Bear & Sing A Different Song |
| 2019 | Antigua Carnival | Let The Master Show You & On A Ray Of Hope |
| 2020 | Montserrat Carnival | By Faith & Call Daddy |
| 2021 | Montserrat Carnival | Let Us Rebuild & Don't Wake The Bear |
| 2022 | Montserrat Carnival | Hard Like A Diamond & Ah Shoulda |
| 2023 | Leeward Islands Competition | Hard Like A Diamond & Don't Wake The Bear |
| 2025 | Montserrat Carnival | Come Serve Your Country & Gi Dem Licks |
| 2026 | Leeward Islands Competition | When Will We Learn & Gi Dem Licks |
Montserrat Notable Regional Titles
| Year | Event | Winner |
| 1951 | Leeward Islands Cricket | Montserrat |
| 1953 | Leeward Islands Cricket | Montserrat |
| 1986 | OECS Calypso Monarch | Justin "Hero" Cassell |
| 1987 | Caribbean Talented Teen | Stacy Richards |
| 1987 | OECS Queen Show | Pauline Wall |
| 1988 | OECS Queen Show | Jemma Neptune |
| 2015 | Caribbean Jaycees Queen | Sharissa Ryan |
| 2023 | Leeward Islands Calypso | Keithroy "De Voice" Morson |
| 2026 | Leeward Islands Calypso | Keithroy "De Bear" Morson |
Former Montserrat cricketer Steve ‘Naza’ Dublin aiming for different kind of hits these days as a songwriter
"When I listen to all the music out there, I know I have better material than most of them."
Steve Dublin retired from cricket almost a decade ago. But his love for music and songwriting never took a hiatus. Every cricketer’s career has a shelf life, and those who aren’t fortunate enough to earn riches playing the game must find a second calling. Some have turned to music – including former West Indies players Curtly Ambrose and Omari Banks. Dwayne Bravo enjoyed major success in 2016 with his song Champion while he was still playing.
Dublin grew up in Delvins, Montserrat, but has lived in Manchester, England, since the late 1980s. What started as a hobby has morphed into a treasure trove. Dublin says he has written more than 1,000 songs – “I have about 700 on my phone alone” – of all genres, including reggae (traditional and Dancehall), soca and R&B. He even has a new song called Morals and Respect that will be on an Afrobeats rhythm.
Dublin, who doesn’t sing or play a musical instrument, explained his songwriting formula. “I feel a vibe, tell a story, and the beat comes later.”
One of his latest compositions is Summertime, inspired by the 1991 song of the same title by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince (Will Smith). Dublin’s version, with a totally different beat and lyrical content than its predecessor, is focused on summertime in England. It was arranged by fellow Montserratian Trevan “Teddiebeats” Lee, who also lives in Manchester.
“In England, because most of the year is cold and rainy, when summer comes around people [savor] it,” Dublin explained. “They’re barbecuing, having parties, and you see people you don’t normally see because they hibernate during winter. So the song is a celebration of summer in England.”
LISTEN TO A SAMPLE OF “SUMMERTIME”
DANCEHALL DAYS
Dublin attended Cork Hill Primary School and Salem Junior Secondary. His first love was cricket, and he made an impact early while playing for Cork Hill, which in the early 1980s boasted some of the top cricketers in Montserrat, led by all-rounder Austin White.
In 1983, Dublin made his debut for the Montserrat team as a leg-spinner and hard-hitting, low-order batsman. He was an unabashed slogger, and patrons at Sturge Park often relocated their vehicles when Dublin came to bat, fearing that one of his towering sixes would inflict damage.
As for music, Dublin first dabbled in Dancehall in the early 1980s. “We were crazy about Yellowman back then,” he says. While in secondary school he gave himself the nickname “Naza” after Nazareth in the Bible. In December of 1985, the newly christened “General Naza” entered a Dub competition at Sturge Park and finished first runner-up (see Montserrat Mirror preview below).
Steve Dublin finished first runner-up in a Dub contest in 1985 at Sturge Park. Brigadier won.
“It was a good experience even though I didn’t win,” he says. “[Krokuss] from Burning Flames played bass for me that night. We were basically messing around in those days, singing other artists’ songs. Over the years I started reading more, and my writing got better.”
RECORD-SETTER
Earlier in 1985, Dublin’s cricket career earned a boost when he attended the Alf Gover Cricket School in south London. He then got a gig with Haringey Cricket College in Tottenham. In his first match, he scored 70 of the 90 runs Haringey chased for victory. That marked the start of a long career in England. In all, Dublin played for 10 English clubs and helped pave the way for future Montserrat cricketers to join UK teams.
Dublin’s signature moment came Sunday, July 23, 1995, while playing for Kearsley of the Bolton League. In a home match against Heaton, Dublin scored an astonishing 48 runs in one over, a feat that attracted the Guinness Book of World Records. He smashed eight sixes off medium-pace bowler Rob Slater during the over, which was extended by three no-balls.
WRITE OF PASSAGE
Dublin played professional cricket until 2016, then put his bat away and picked up a pen. He gets inspiration for his songs from a variety of places.
“If I’m watching a movie, I might hear a line and I write from that. I could be having a conversation and the person says a line I like, and I write from that.”
One Dublin song enjoying current success is Bounce It Baby, an upbeat soca number that was released in December of 2022. Dublin says the song is getting frequent radio play in Barbados, home of the song’s vocalist, Pepperz.
“With Crop Over coming up we hope the song gets even bigger,” says Dublin, who said Bounce It Baby has also gotten airplay on Radio Montserrat to positive feedback.
LOOKING AHEAD
Dublin’s immediate goal is to take his music to the mainstream. The days when record companies and mega-studios controlled the music industry are now past. Streaming platforms such as Spotify and Pandora have replaced vinyl and compact discs, and software programs such as Pro Tools have enabled any home to double as a recording studio. But with easier access comes competition.
Dublin and Lee have reached out to soca artists such as Patrice Roberts and Lavaman and say they have songs in their archives that are perfect for Kes and Kevin Lyttle. As of early June 2023, Bounce It Baby had almost 6,000 views on YouTube, and Summertime was getting steady clicks on Spotify.
“When I started, all I wanted was to hear my songs on the radio,” Dublin says. “But when I listen to all the music out there, I know I have better material than most of them. Montserrat hasn’t had a big hit song since Hot Hot Hot. My ultimate goal is to get a hit song and put Montserrat on the map. Any monetary reward I get from it would just be a bonus.”
What’s App at 011 44 07921 826093.
LISTEN TO SAMPLE OF “SEXY BLACK WOMAN”
LISTEN TO “COME 2 GRENADA”
Note: All tracks written by Steve “Naza” Dublin and Teddiebeats.
To Mrs. Daisy Nanton: Thank you for your grace, wit, knowledge and the power of your example
I received the dreaded text message at 11:20 p.m. Sunday, April 30, 2023. It was simple and straight-forward. “Mom passed away at 10:30 p.m. tonight.” I was told a day earlier that Mrs. Daisy Nanton was in dire health but I held out hope for a miracle recovery. And though I knew her for just a little more than a year, the news hit me like a punch to the gut.
I first met Miss Daisy on January 28, 2022. It was during a Zoom call to celebrate her 100th birthday. I knew her daughter Pam but had never met Miss Daisy, who has lived in Baltimore since 1979. Pam sent me an invitation to the Zoom call, during which I was mainly an observer. However, when I witnessed the charm, humor and charisma of Miss Daisy as she interacted with about 45 friends and family, I decided I had to write a feature story on her life. Making matters more intriguing, Miss Daisy was recovering from COVID at the time, which necessitated the Zoom call in lieu of a party. But no one would have ever guessed, based on her graceful demeanor.
I interviewed her a few days later, and after my story was published, Miss Daisy and I stayed in touch. I would often call her to ask questions about Montserrat, such as some of the former businesses in Plymouth, the early years of Festival, other historic events, and even the characters in town. Born in 1922, she was witness to Montserrat’s evolution over almost a century. She always managed to provide information of interest.
It became somewhat of a symbiotic relationship because she loved telling stories and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them. Sometimes she would phone me and simply say: “You like stories, right? I have a story for you.” That would always be punctuated by her customary giggle.
Miss Daisy was a walking archive. At times I would mention the name of someone from Montserrat’s past and she would say: “Give me a second.” She would pause for a few moments, like a computer retrieving data. “OK, I remember who that is now.” I once asked her about a controversial incident I heard about in Montserrat. “I know exactly what happened,” she said, “but you didn’t hear it from me, eh. [Giggle]”
ALWAYS POSITIVE
More than her amazing memory and knowledge of Montserrat’s history and people, I was inspired by her zest for life, her ability to take adversity in stride. I phoned her one afternoon and asked how she was doing. She giggled and said: “Oh, I fell this morning but I managed to break the fall so it wasn’t too bad. [Giggle]”
She was lucid to the end and rarely ever repeated a story. I have had many phone conversations with elderly relatives over the years. The exchanges are sometimes tedious and can feel as if speaking to a child. “How are you feeling?” “What did you do today?” “What did you eat today?” With Miss Daisy, it was always a cogent, substantive conversation as if speaking with someone decades younger.
She once told me she has roots in Nevis and that she’s related to a family called Selkridge that lived in Gingerland Village. I told her I know a man from Gingerland who lives in the Virgin Islands. She told me the next time I speak to that man I should ask him about the Selkridge family and if any are still around. About two weeks later, my phone rang: “Edwin, I gave you an assignment and I haven’t heard back from you. Don’t tell me you forgot!”
In truth, I did forget. But she didn’t. Remember, this was a 101-year-old. Simply amazing.
Miss Daisy was also quite hip. She had a Facebook account. She phoned family and friends using What’s App, and she understood how WiFi works. She used terms not often heard from the elderly, such as a story “going viral.” I also learned she is close to actress Nicole Ari Parker, a Baltimore native who has visited Montserrat.
Miss Daisy was also humble. She spoke about her faults and joked about her life-long struggle with her weight. “I’ve been on every diet you’ve ever heard of,” she said laughing. The only time she displayed mild annoyance was during a conversation when a Telemarketer phoned on the other line. She quickly dispatched the interrupter. “They call all the time,” she said.
Every conversation was intriguing. I asked her which of her six siblings was her favorite. Although she loved them all dearly, she says she was especially close to her sister Josie. “She was full of life, she had a great personality, and she could sing, too,” Miss Daisy said.
Asked what were the happiest and saddest moments of her life, she said the happiest was the birth of her first child Patty in 1941. She said the saddest was when Patty passed away in 2016.
A UNIQUE LEGACY
During a three-decade journalism career, I have interviewed and crossed paths with many luminaries, from Muhammad Ali, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Michael Jordan and Sir Garry Sobers. Of the countless people I have been privileged to write about, Miss Daisy is my favorite. That is not a statement made in the heat of a sad moment. It is a fact.
Last year, while speaking to a friend about Miss Daisy, I stated: “That lady should not be allowed to die.”
The Almighty had other plans. But I firmly believe that every death is also a reunion. Miss Daisy is now with her beloved husband Jim, daughter Patty, sister Josie and all the other loved ones who predeceased her.
I am grateful for the knowledge she graciously shared. But I’m most appreciative of the life lessons she imparted through sheer example. She paid me the ultimate compliment just a couple months before her passing. “Every time I speak to you, you lift my spirits.”
There is an old African proverb: When an old person dies, a library burns to the ground.
We haven’t just lost a library.
We’ve lost a national treasure.
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT MRS. DAISY NANTON’S AMAZING LIFE
WATCH CLIPS FROM DAISY NANTON INTERVIEW
Montserrat’s Samuel ‘Styler’ Ryan, Antigua’s first calypso king, dies at 84
Samuel “Styler” Ryan, a native of Montserrat who became the first calypso monarch of Antigua, died Friday, March 31, 2023 at his home in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. He was 84.
In 1957, Ryan won the inaugural Antigua Carnival calypso competition, defeating local favorite King Obstinate with a touching song called Water Wet Me Bed. He lost his crown to Obstinate the following year, and both men ended up migrating to St. Thomas in 1959.
During an interview in 2021, Ryan spoke at length about how he left Montserrat and began his calypso career.
Samuel Ryan was born May 19, 1938. Ryan said he lost his mother at a young age and never knew his father. He was raised initially by his grandfather, then sent to live with a family in the Jubilee Town section of Town Hill. The family owned a bakery, and Ryan says his adoptive mother worked him incessantly.
“I used to run away and go back to my grandfather’s house,” Ryan said. “And he would take me right back to the lady.”
In 1955, Ryan decided that he’d had enough. At that time, Montserrat had not yet built a proper commercial airport, and travel was still solely by sea. Boats such as Caribbee and Moneka sailed regularly between the islands. Ryan said he used to hang out at the docks in Plymouth. He befriended the captain of one of the boats and told him about his turbulent home life.
The captain agreed to transport Ryan to Antigua, and the 17-year-old left without his adoptive family’s knowledge. It is unclear how his documentation was sorted out, but when he arrived in Antigua, he stayed with a cousin in Green Bay Village. It was there that he met a young calypsonian named Paul Richards, better known as Obstinate.
‘WATER WET ME BED’
By 1957, Antigua was ready to host its first official Carnival. Obstinate and others convinced Ryan to enter the calypso competition. “I had never sung calypso in my life,” said Ryan, who said a promoter gave him an initial calypso nickname, but it never stuck.
“I used to dance a lot,” Ryan explained. “A guy in Montserrat named Sonny Ben [real name Victor Davis] used to dance and roll his belly. I learned how to do it. They saw me doing it in Antigua and a guy said to me, ‘Boy, you can really dance with style.’ That’s how I got the name Styler.”
The first calypso show was held at the Deluxe Theater in St. John’s. The calypsonians were required to sing one original song and then cover a calypso of their choice, often a song from Trinidad. Styler performed Water Wet Me Bed, a song he wrote about his harsh upbringing. The chorus stated in part:
Come here little Harry,
Come help me bake me bread,
If I say Mommy ah still sleepy,
She throw water in me bed.
The lyrics were simple, but the authenticity of the tune likely swayed the judges.
“The night of the competition he was good,” Obstinate said of Styler during a 2021 interview. “The boy put some blows in us.”
Styler was asked if he embellished any of the facts of the song. He seemed taken aback. “I don’t write anything if it’s not true,” he said with a serious tone.
In 1958, Styler entered again, but Obstinate prevailed this time. Said Styler, laughing: “I think the Antiguans decided they weren’t going to let any [outsider] win the crown again.”
That is ironic because many years later another Montserratian – Keithroy “De Bear” Morson – captured six crowns in Antigua. Ryan and Morson are the only non-Antiguans to win the crown.
SECOND CAREER
After relocating to St. Thomas, Styler recorded several solo albums and also sang with Milo and the Kings, a popular V.I.-based band. Styler’s daughter Gwendolyn says her father relocated to New York with Milo and the Kings and later got married there and earned his U.S. citizenship. He returned to St. Thomas and eventually became a Born Again Christian and sang gospel. He worshipped at the Shiloh Seventh Day Adventist Church in Tutu.
Other than his musical career, Styler held a variety of other jobs. He worked in a shoe factory while in New York and performed other odd jobs. In St. Thomas he worked at the famous Frenchman’s Reef Hotel. In later years he worked for the V.I. Government as a messenger and chauffeur, his daughter says.
A member of Ryan’s church says she saw him about a week before his passing and exchanged pleasantries. She says Ryan told her that his doctor said his heart is “not working right”. Ryan then said he had compiled a list of the hymns he would like to be sung at his funeral. It was a comment she found odd at the time, but is now deeply ironic.
Ryan is survived by five children: daughters Maria, Gwendolyn, Lorraine and Darissa, and son Daryl. He had 14 grandchildren.
Ryan’s homegoing will be held 10 a.m. Thursday, April 20, 2023 at Shiloh Adventist Church. There will be two viewings: 9 to 10 a.m. at Shiloh before the service, and 4 to 6 p.m. the previous day (Wednesday, April 19) at Turnbull’s Funeral Home in Charlotte Amalie.
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