Lately, I’ve been reading old postcards and finding it quite entertaining to see what visitors thought about the Virgin Islands long ago. Here’s an interesting one from the early 1920s. Danish Islands Not Worth Amount Paid “This is the harbor and bay. There is an X over the castles. Remember when the US paid 20 million […]
St. Thomas 🇩🇰
St. Thomas Temperance Society Extolls the Virtues of Abstaining from Alcohol ~ 1911
St. Thomas Temperance Society “Too few men have been given such opportunity for worthy service, and fewer still have made of their sojourn here so useful an interlude between youth and age.” Mr. Orville S. Kean Obituary “As a businessman in several fields, a legislator, a Mason, a government employee holding every position of trust, […]
Who Owned This Popular Corner Store in St. Thomas?
Popular Corner Store I was pleasantly surprised to locate this photograph recently. It provided the location of one of the most popular, corner stores in St. Thomas. The corner store belonged to Ludvig Thraen, a native of St. Croix. Often times, an obituary can tell us so much about a person’s life. When I came […]
The Beautiful Boston-Built Schooner, GITANA anchors in the Harbor ~ 1899
Schooner, Gitana Have a glimpse at one of the prettiest yachts to visit the Danish West Indies. 🔎 Gitana was a wooden-keeled schooner, designed and built by D. J. Lawlor of Boston in 1882. Her owner, William F. Weld was a Harvard Graduate and Commodore of the Eastern Yacht Club in Massassachussets. Cruising Through the West Indies Gitana sailed […]
See the Greatest Show on Earth! ~ 1835
Did you know that the circus came to St. Thomas? Not just once, but many times! However, this show was the first time an elephant was a part of the production! On a cool, Friday evening in December 1835, a fully grown female elephant descended down the ramp of a visiting steamer at the wharf. […]
Rare Conch Pearls Found! ~ 1906
Conch Pearls Have you ever had Conch Fritters or Stewed Conch? They are delicious specialties found in the Caribbean and thoroughly enjoyed in the Virgin Islands! Done right, they’re scrumptious! We used to make Conch Fritters from scratch at our restaurant, Billy Bones on Norman Island. Folks just loved them, especially with a light […]
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, One of the Greatest Living Composers by Alton A. Adams ~ 1910
Alton A. Adams The First Black Bandmaster in the US Navy Alton A. Adams, a gifted musician, wrote many articles about music history for the local Virgin Islands’ newspapers. 🎼 He was enamored by talented Black musicians like Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Joseph H. Douglass and Harry T. Burleigh. In honor of Black History Month, here is a […]
Pretty Painting up for Auction of the West Indies
Pretty Painting The Danish auction house of Bruun Rasmussen represents some of the most beautiful and obscure items that originated from the Danish West Indies. 🇩🇰 Prized Collectibles A few months ago, the auctioneers sold two treasured paintings of the Battle of West Kay. They portrayed a historic event that occurred outside the harbor of […]