One week ago, as I sat at the funeral service of the Hon. Dr. Simeon Daniel and I listened intently to the eulogy by the Hon. Victor Jay Martin, I was moved to ponder profusely about the many profound statements which were made. I was particularly amused and pleased when Mr. Martin, in an attempt to pay homage to the pioneers who fought alongside Dr. Daniel, remarked that, “We must remember that a general is a general because there are soldiers.” To this end, he proceeded to list the names of several of Dr. Daniel’s former cabinet and party colleagues.
I was pleased because Dr. Daniel, in keeping with his hallmark humility, often indicated that in seeking to advance the interests of Nevisians, there were others around him who were equally passionate and dedicated to the cause.
I was pleased because though the younger generation is very much in tune with the likes of the Hon. Vance Amory and the Hon. Joseph Parry or the Hon. Robelto Hector and the Hon. Mark Brantley, very little is known of the earlier Nevisian patriots who prepared and planted the ground for us and served in the first cabinet of the Nevis Island Administration.
I was pleased because it sent a signal that much more has to be done to chronicle the lives of those pioneers who contributed so much and carry with them stories untold.
The consequence of all this was that my inquisitiveness increased and my intellectual curiosity was aroused. It therefore led me in search of one prominent pioneer – Mr. Arthur Evelyn.
Born in Butlers Village, Mr. Evelyn lived during a time when the socio-economic conditions were drastically different to what they are today and opportunities for upward mobility were not as readily available. In his early years, he attended the Public Elementary School at Whitehall where he completed his Standard 7 examination. Owing to the very limited jobs available at the time, he decided to return to Standard 7, thus undergoing that stage of his educational development twice. After completing his primary education at Whitehall, he attended the Excelsior School which was owned by Mrs. Helen Bridgewater.
Subsequently, he found employment in a drug store with a pharmacist from St. Kitts and with time, he grew to develop an affinity towards pharmacy.
Unfortunately, there were no schools available locally to provide training in this vocation and he did not have the means to go further afield to pursue advanced education in this his chosen area of endeavour. However, there was a pharmacist from Antigua who worked at the hospital and he willingly offered to provide Mr. Evelyn with training. The good gentleman provided the books and the equipment; all Mr. Evelyn had to do was show up on evenings.
Once he completed his training, Mr. Evelyn returned to work in the drug store with the pharmacist from St. Kitts. However, the pay was so meagre that he felt that it was time for him to branch out and try to establish his own business.
He knew of a fairly wealthy Englishman who was the owner of an estate on Nevis and decided to ask him for some money to open his own drug store. However, Mr. Evelyn was told that he was too young and aside from that, West Indians do not pay their debts. What the Englishman was willing to do, however, was to open the drug store himself and make Mr. Evelyn the manager. It was an arrangement to which both sides eventually agreed.
Regrettably, things went awry when the owner brought on board another worker who became Mr. Evelyn’s partner and eventual supervisor. It was not the fact that Mr. Evelyn was now relegated to second place or technically third place that bothered him but the fact that he was then being asked to do things which were against his principles, moral beliefs and business ethics.
In the interest of maintaining his personal integrity, Mr. Evelyn decided to abandon ship. He was not quite sure what to do next, as he was still getting himself off the ground. However, he had a good friend who decided to lend him some money and therefore, reignited his initial effort to establish his own drug store.
When his former boss got wind of this, he made numerous overtures to re-engage the services of Mr. Evelyn, even offering him more money. However, Mr. Evelyn rebuffed his advances and was quick to remind him that he already said that, “West Indians do not pay their debts”, so he would therefore get the loan from someone else.
Mr. Evelyn opened his drug store in 1946 and though business was a bit slow at first, he gradually moved to employ more people and even branched out to open his own travel agency.
Yet, there came a greater calling, a political calling, a national calling. Although by that time, Mr. Evelyn was an established business man with a fairly sound financial footing, he was not content with everything around him.
In particular, he became very perturbed by the attitude of the central government which took trained civil servants from Nevis and moved them to St. Kitts. This act he felt deprived Nevis of its much needed human resources.
As he looked around and further observed the inadequacy of other services, the need for improvement resonated with him. At that point, he said to himself that it was not enough to say that he was a pharmacist and so he is alright; not when those around him could not say the same. Thus, he decided to get involved in political life.
Initially, he associated himself with Eugene Walwyn and his United National Movement (UNM), which identified itself with secession. He reflected on those moments when he marched from Grove Park to the court house and then the next day, from the pier in St. Kitts right up to Government House in order to agitate for a better way of life for Nevisians.
Once Eugene Walwyn became Attorney General and withdrew from the secession movement, others had to rise up and take greater initiative. Fortunately, then came Dr. Simeon Daniel and Mr. Evelyn was willing to work with him to advance the cause of Nevis.
With the assistance of other similarly motivated social engineers such as the Hon. Uhral Swanston and the Hon. Ivor Stevens, a structure was developed and a platform put in place to push their agenda. In 1967, when the Nevis Local Council was established, Mr. Evelyn became the first Chairman and sought to bring about improvements in the basic infrastructure of the island (water, sanitation and roads).
The result was that while he and other colleagues such as Uhral Swanston were holding down the fort in Nevis, Dr. Daniel was eventually able to function at the wider federal level as Minister of Nevis Affairs and present his case on a national platform.
Even so, the movement to improve the lot of Nevisians was not easy at the time, as hardly any money was available. Back then, there was no Four Seasons Resort, no financial services industry and no broad tax base from which they could source funds to financially fuel their effort. However, this did not stymie their passion or commitment but forced them to find whatever means necessary to achieve their goals.
Pursuant to this, Mr. Evelyn reflected on one afternoon when he and Dr. Daniel travelled through the villages of Nevis in a pickup truck to solicit financial support to go to England to present a petition for secession. Mr. Evelyn was driving while Dr. Daniel was on the back of the truck speaking and next to him was a tub for villagers to throw in money. Such was the grassroots politics of the day and such was the determination to find a way to send Dr. Daniel off to speak to the British representatives and garner support from Nevisians overseas.
Although individual independence was not achieved for Nevis, much had been done to boost the psyche and pride of the Nevisian people and secure for Nevis significant control over its affairs. Eventually, Independence talks were set in motion for the entire Federation and Dr. Daniel was trying to establish who exactly would serve in his cabinet. He wanted Arthur Evelyn to be one of the chosen few.
Although Mr. Evelyn had been a part of the political movement up to that time, he gave Dr. Daniel a number of reasons why he could not accept the offer to be a member of his government. According to Mr. Evelyn, he had his family to take care of and was reluctant to place his wife and children in the limelight of representational politics. He also told Dr. Daniel that he still had his business to tend to and was already responsible for the livelihood of other people; a responsibility which he could not abdicate.
However, all that Mr. Evelyn said did not placate Dr. Daniel. Instead, it seemingly passed through one ear and went through the next, as Dr. Daniel was still adamant that Mr. Evelyn should serve in his cabinet. In fact, when Mr. Evelyn proffered all those excuses as to why he couldn’t be a member, Dr. Daniel turned to him and said, “Then you go over to the people of Butlers and Brick Kiln and tell them yourself that you do not want to represent them.”
At that point, Mr. Evelyn simmered down and indicated to Dr. Daniel that he would serve alongside him but only for one term. Aside from not wanting to approach the people of his parish in the manner which Dr. Daniel cunningly articulated, what moved Mr. Evelyn to join the administration was the realization that he could not criticize if he did not participate – a lesson that we should all perhaps ponder on seriously.
When the NIA was officially inaugurated in 1983, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Housing, Labour and Tourism. With the assistance of Elmo Liburd as his Permanent Secretary, Gerard Browne as Assistant Secretary and Augustine Merchant as the Director of Agriculture, he moved to put a structure in place for agricultural development on Nevis. Irrigation systems and dams were constructed to cater for farmers around the island.
Additionally, the first land reform program was implemented on Nevis. Previously, many Nevisians worked the land to plant cotton and food crops, while others constructed homes on the land but had no title and could therefore be evicted at any time. At this point, Mr. Evelyn said that instead of them operating as just tenants, a move should be made to allow them to become owners of the land and make the cost as low as possible so that they could afford it; especially where families were involved.
Pursuant to this, the Nevis Land and Housing Development Corporation was established to oversee the distribution of lots and the empowerment of Nevisians. Lands were distributed widely, especially in Prospect Estate and Hardtimes, Gingerland.
Here again, we see the brilliance and significance of the procurement of the Nevis Island Administration because the government in Nevis was now endowed with the authority to do what it wanted with the land and distribute it to so many Nevisian families.
Sometimes we fail to connect these dots but when we do, we see why it is important to remember men like Arthur Evelyn and those who served in the first NIA cabinet alongside Dr. Daniel.
During my time spent with Mr. Evelyn, I learnt, not just about Arthur the politician or Arthur the businessman but also about Arthur the family man – a man who was evidently proud of his son Leslie and his lovely daughter Charlene, and who was always so concerned about the welfare of his late wife Vivian, especially when he was in politics.
He spoke to the principles of honesty and hard work. At one point, he remarked, that there are some who may look at where he is now and what he has achieved to date without understanding or appreciating that it wasn’t always this way. It took over 50 years of hard work and dedicated service to get here and young people must similarly work for what they want. They shouldn’t just sit there and expect things to be given to them.
But even more than that, he was most passionate about me conveying to my peers his wish that they rise to make a contribution and get involved in their community. It is not sufficient to only be preoccupied with self but young people must identify themselves with some civic cause and become socially grounded. At that point, he made mention of the various organisations which he has associated himself with over the years - The Mental Health Association, The Blind Light and Visually Impaired Society, The Lions Club, The Nevis Turf and Jockey Club, The Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce) and his church vestry, where he presently serves as the Priest’s Warden.
To be sure, Mr. Evelyn has been very much a part of social life on Nevis and more Nevisians should grow to mirror his image of industry and service. In fact, he indicated to me that it was through being a member of the Jaycees movement that he learnt to speak and got the courage to stand on the political platform to campaign and address people. These lessons of experience must not be lost on our youth.
I can certainly say that my time with Mr. Evelyn impacted me greatly and while I could use so many words to describe him, it was his humility and graciousness that instantly stood out like a radiant beam of sunlight. If I was wrong in my initial perception of him, my observations were fortified in the discussions that I had with both his present and former work colleagues.
Just the mere mention of the name ‘Arthur Evelyn’ was enough to bring forth evident delight on the faces of his current staff at the drug store, his political contemporaries and his former Permanent Secretary, Mr. Elmo Liburd. To be sure, they were visibly eager to tell of their experience and admiration for the humble and principled man whom they all grew to adore.
On Friday, 15th June, 2012, Mr. Evelyn celebrates yet another birthday and it is my fervent hope that God’s grace will continue to engulf him in the years to come. I am just as hopeful that more will subsequently be done to firmly register his years of service, not only in the record books but in the minds of Nevisians and that others will rise to tender a patriotic salute for his contribution to this our blessed land!
