A Kittitian who recently celebrated her 107th Birthday in New York, was congratulated on Friday by St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas.
Rosalind Nicholas-Hill was born in the village of Estridge on St. Kitts on March 30th 1899.
"I want to thank you and congratulate you for long life and it seems as though it is quality long life," said Prime Minister Douglas on behalf of the Government and People of St. Kitts and Nevis via the telephone.
Responding in a very strong voice, Mrs. Hill said: "Thank you very, very much."
Dr. Douglas said the Federation will pray that "God will continue to bless you" and commended those "who have been assisting you, keeping you in good health and looking after your welfare."
Prime Minister Douglas promised to visit Mrs. Hill the next time he is in New York.
"Kindness to everyone," said Mrs. Hill when asked for the ingredient of her longevity by Press Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mr. Erasmus Williams.
"I loved St. Kitts though and I think it is a very beautiful place," said Mrs. Hill, who last visited her homeland in 1990, when she was 91 years.
Mrs. Hill is a resident at the Elmhurst Care Center, in Queens, New York. On her 107th birthday on March 30th 2006, her son, Bradford Jr. and other family members and many of the 240 residents, danced to the rhythms of calypso and salsa in celebration of her milestone.
Among them was St. Kitts and Nevis' Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, His Excellency, Dr. Joseph Christmas.
Dr. Christmas presented a plaque on behalf of the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis and warmly praised Mrs. Hill for her youthfulness and relatively good health, despite her age.
He told her, "The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis joins in celebrating your 107th birthday and hopes that you would live
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Mrs. Rosalind Nicholas-Hill and members of her family along with Ambassador Christmas and officials on the St. Kitts and Nevis Mission to the United Nations and members of the her family. |
to see many more."
Dr. Christmas also told her that her secret of success in living to a full, ripe age of 107 should be shared with the world.
Rosalind Nicholas-Hill was the youngest daughter of Alfred and Anna Nicholas and was born on March 30, 1899, in St. Kitts, in the Village of Estridge.
Alfred A. Nicholas, her father was a schoolmaster in Estridge, St. Kitts and in Nevis. He served as Church Organist and Choirmaster at the Moravian Church in Estridge. Her mother, Anna Moor Tucker and her father were both born in Antigua, where they met and married.
They then decided to make St. Kitts their permanent home and gave birth to six girls: Mildred, Hillie, Edith, Gweneth, Vida and Rosalind, who were all born in St. Kitts.
As a child, Rosalind was always ready to help and serve others. At 12, she would always read the Bible to the elderly and sick in their homes. Upon her later years, at age 18, in 1917, she started teaching school as an assistant teacher at Middle Island for two years, then, left to continue teaching for
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St. Kitts and Nevis Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, His Excellency, Dr. Joseph Christmas (l) and Mrs. Rosalind Nicholas-Hill on her 107th birthday. |
18 months in Cedar Hall, Antigua, where she met a family friend, Bradford Hill, who worked at the dispensary in St. John's, Antigua.
She returned to St. Kitts, after learning her five sisters had left for America and stayed to help her father since her mother had passed away when they were young. Upon her father acquiring a housekeeper to maintain his home, in 1923, she went to America and joined her sisters.
Upon settling in New York City, she once again came into contact with her family friend, whom she met while teaching in Antigua. Soon after, they were engaged, and in 1924, they got married and gave birth to two children, a daughter named Hazel, born in 1926, and a son, Bradford, born in 1928.
Hazel died one month ago.
She came back to St. Kitts in 1929 with her 2 children, to show her father his 2 grandchildren, and stayed here for 2 years, before returning to the United States.
Through the years, Rosalind and her husband saved enough money to buy a grocery store, located on 147th and St.
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Rosalind Nicholas-Hill at age 23 when she went to New York |
Nicholas Avenue, and years later, in 1943, bought a brownstone (home) at 144th Street and continued to invest in Real Estate and made it possible for her immediate family, and grandchildren to do the same. In 1990, she returned to St. Kitts to visit once again with her daughter, her granddaughter, and two great grandchildren for a two-week vacation.
Now at 107, she continues to help others and make contributions. Today, she has six grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and six great, great, grandchildren.
