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Our People

Joseph Alexander Nathan

 

Joseph Alexander Nathan Joseph Alexander Nathan was born on the 28th February 1881 to Joseph Nathan a butcher in Irish Town and his wife Alice nee Brisco. He was to become the most militant of the union organisers. In October 1896 he had applied to the government for a certificate of nationality, migrating to the US soon after. He returned to St. Kitts sometime before 1912 and entered the retail trade, establishing a small business which he...

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Sir Paul Southwell

 

Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell was born in Dominica on the 18th July 1913 to Joseph and Amelia Southwell. He attended elementary school and became a teacher at the age of thirteen years then he went on to obtain the Leeward Islands Teachers Certificate. In 1938 he joined the Leeward Islands Police Force, a job that took him to Antigua, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis. He stayed with the Force for six years. In...

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Sir Clement Malone

 

Clement Malone  Clement Malone was born in 1883 in Antigua into a coloured family whose members had risen to prominence as merchants, clergymen, lawyers and schoolmasters. He was educated at the Antigua Grammar School and after leaving school was employed as a teacher for one term. It was a position that young Clement did not regret leaving. He entered the civil service of the Leeward Islands and, for a number of years, was assigned to St...

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Our Places

The Sugar Factory

 

Sugar Factory, St. Kitts   From the time of settlement St. Kitts was developed as a plantation island. At first the plantations were small and produced such commodities as tobacco, cotton, and indigo. Over the 17th century sugar cane started gaining ground. It took a while for it to become the main and only crop because it required a great deal more investment than other crops. Sugar estates developed as self-contained industrial complexes, each with its own...

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Warner Park

 

Warner Park is bordered by Losack Road on its south side, Victoria Road in the west, the Basseterre High School on the northern side and Park Range to the east. Originally it was part of an estate owned by the Losack family, a French family that continued to live in St. Kitts after the British gained control of the whole island. In 1817, the Original List of Slaves records a return of seventy-one slaves made...

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The Zion Moravian Church

 

The Zion Moravian Church is a solid structure at the point where College Street and Victoria Road meet. Perhaps its most impressive feature, is its very tall windows. Its interior is modest and uncluttered. In 1774, while on a visit to England, the American born lawyer, John Gardiner, met with Moravian representatives Benjamin La Trobe and John Wollin. Having gone through a politically strenuous time in St. Kitts, Gardiner was growing disenchanted with both the secular...

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Our Events

Labour Day - first Monday in May

 

Labour Day March, 1955 The afternoon events at the park were well attended. The Union’s Entertainment Committee organised a Steel Band Competition. Esso, Wilberforce, Amstel, Boston Braves, Battalion and Invaders competed with the last emerging as the winners. Lord Croft sang a special Labour Day Calypso. The bands then played on the streets of Basseterre. Looking to the future, the Messenger’s editorial declared, “The idea is not yet as firmly rooted as it might have been, but...

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Carnival - New Years Day

 

In June 1957 Basil Henderson, Major L.N Alphonso, Tony Lawrence, Leroy Coury, Alexis Knight, E Vanterpool and Al Barker formed a temporary committee entrusted with the planning of St. Kitts’ first Carnival. It was felt that a Carnival along the lines of the Trinidad one would help the economy and give visitors something to look forward to. By the end of that year St. Kitts had its first queen show, Calypso Show and street parade...

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Disasters in Basseterre

 

Hurricanes Wars were not the only dramatic events to effect the development of Basseterre. Natural disasters played a very significant roll.The 1642 and 1667 hurricanes destroyed all the houses on the island. In 1667 French Governor Laurent reported I hold myself obliged to inform you that this island is in the most deplorable state that can be imagined and that the inhabitants could not have suffered a greater loss, or been more unfortunate except they had...

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"In this  bright future, you can't forget your past"

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