As I was flipping though the pages of an old album, a small faded photograph of a sailor in his uniform fell onto the floor! I picked it up and didn’t recognize the person. As the family historian, I feel as though I can identify everyone, regardless of age in a photograph. Curious, I contacted a relative […]
USVI Boats
The Yacht, FLIGHT Takes Party-Goers to Tortola ~ 1946
For many years members of our family enjoyed the annual August festival in Tortola! Here is an excerpt of an article written by W. Evelyn Pickering. It appeared in the August 17, 1946, VI Daily News. Below the article is a link to the kind of music played by band, Conjuncto Tropical. Can you imagine the party-goers dancing to this and the […]
Honoring the Men of the MARION ~ 1930s
The USCG Marion was a 125-foot patrol boat. She carried 20 enlisted men. After finding this photograph of the USCG Marion’s crew in our family’s album, I was curious about their deployment in the islands. The photograph was obviously taken at the Creque Marine Railway on Hassel Island, a business our great-grandfather owned. He must have taken it while […]
Watching the St. John-Pelican Cay Sloop Race ~ 1937
Boat racing was one of the sports our great-grandparents loved watching! In 1937, hundreds of spectators enjoyed watching a sailboat race organized for the Thanksgiving holiday! ⛵ The course extended from the eastern end of St. John, around Pelican Cay in the British Virgin Islands and back to East End. It was a lovely spectacle […]
Visiting a German School Ship! ~ 1938
I’ve looked at this photograph at least a hundred times, hoping to figure out what vessel our family members were visiting! 🔎 It was obvious to me that it was taken in the 1930s, but hundreds of vessels have visited the US Virgin Islands. In the center are our grandmother and her siblings. The Clue 🔎 […]
This Schooner’s Photograph Became a Popular Postcard ~ 1912
After I saw this postcard online of a vessel at the Creque Marine Railway, I thought I would share a recent discovery I made about it. Creque Family Photo Collection In our family’s collection, I found two faded photos of this identical schooner! They were 8×10’s, mounted on yellowing card stock. On the right-hand corner […]
Local Artists Thrilled as 30 Pianos Arrive on the SS DOMINICA ~ 1934
Within weeks of discovering this old photograph of the SS Dominica in our family’s collection, I came across an interesting article in the newspapers about this very ship! During Governor Pearson’s term (1931-1935), he promoted the love of music and the arts by inviting various groups of singers, and lecturers to the island. Invited Performers In 1932, the Hampton Quartet and Elsie Baker performed. A few […]