The First School Bus Excerpted from Tales
of St. John and the Caribbean
The easterly trade winds blowing in from Africa first meet St.
John over the long and narrow peninsula appropriately called
East End. When these winds meet the higher elevations further
west, the cool air currents rising from mountain slopes cause
rain. Over East End, however, the trades often dry out the earth
and erode the rocky outcroppings and exposed hillsides. Consequently
East End has become arid, rocky and rugged and cultivation of
the land can be difficult and unrewarding
When St. John was first colonized by the Danes, East End was
sparsely settled by poor white farmers who owned small tracts
of land. When the slaves on St. John revolted in 1733, these
planters abandoned their farms and escaped by boat to St. Thomas
and Tortola. The land reverted to bush.
Because East End property was neither suitable for sugar production,
nor desirable for farming, the land was inexpensive. Thus, freed
slaves and people of mixed race (known as free colored) could,
after years of hard work and saving their meager earnings, afford
to buy small tracts of land. So it came to pass that a free community
was established at East End some fifty years before the official
emancipation of the slaves. The inhabitants survived by fishing,
farming, raising animals, burning charcoal and boatbuilding.
East End had abundant marine resources, and a strong tradition
of seafaring developed among the people. There were numerous
protected bays from which boats could be launched or moored and
where nets could be set to catch turtles and fish. Whelk could
be picked along the rocky shoreline and conch harvested from
shallow undersea grasslands.
The seafaring tradition was further strengthened by the quality
and popularity of the boats built by East End craftsmen and by
the area’s unique geographical location which made travel
by sea the most convenient method of transportation.
Coral Bay, which was a small commercial center at the time,
was only accessible by land over a steep and rugged path. It
was much easier for East Enders to row or sail to Coral Bay,
and visits there were generally made by boat.
Roadtown, Tortola was another common destination for East Enders
who would often sail there to trade, shop or see doctors and
dentists. Roadtown was less than ten miles to the north by sea
and, as the trade winds came from the east, it was a relatively
easy sail in both directions. East Enders would visit Roadtown
so regularly that Saturdays became known as “St.
John Day” on Tortola.
In 1863 the citizens of East End built and maintained a school
which was run by Moravians and supported by the Danish government.
Since then schooling and education have always been given a high
priority in the East End community.
In the 1920’s Guy Benjamin, an East End native, was one
of twenty four students in attendance at the East End School.
He became the first St. Johnian to graduate from the Charlotte
Amalie High School in St. Thomas and later received a B.A. from
Howard University and a Master’s Degree from New York University.
Guy Benjamin returned to St. John where he taught first at Bethany
and then at the Benjamin Franklin School in Coral Bay. He taught
sixth, seventh and eighth grades at Benjamin Franklin and was
unofficially in charge of that school as well as the East End
School. (The school was later renamed the Guy H. Benjamin School
in his honor.)
The population of East End was then declining and fewer children
went to the school. When one of the teachers at East End, Mrs.
Fernandez, left the school, there were only eight children left
and, rather than find a new teacher, it was decided that the
school would be closed and the East End children would attend
classes in Coral Bay.
True to East End tradition the children were taken to school
by boat. The East End native, Ivan George, was hired for this
purpose. Every morning Ivan rowed the schoolchildren, five of
whom were his or his wife’s, from Salt Well Bay in East
End to Coral Bay, and when school was dismissed, Ivan met the
children and rowed them back to East End.
The small, open row boat was a less than ideal method of transportation.
Adverse weather conditions often made it impossible for the children
to get to school and, more importantly, the school could not
get insurance for a rowing boat.
There was, however, a man named Kendell Anthony who would routinely
negotiate the road to East End in his truck. Guy Benjamin, sensing
a solution to the transportation problem, lobbied successfully
to get Mr. Anthony the contract as school bus driver.
Mr. Anthony then installed sides and seats on his truck, and
when the necessary insurance was granted, the children of East
End became some of the first children on St. John to ride to
school in a real school bus.
The easterly trade winds blowing in from Africa first meet St.
John over the long and narrow peninsula appropriately called
East End. When these winds meet the higher elevations further
west, the cool air currents rising from mountain slopes cause
rain. Over East End, however, the trades often dry out the earth
and erode the exposed hillsides. Consequently, East End is arid,
rocky and rugged and cultivation of the land is difficult and
unrewarding.
The first settlers on East End were poor white farmers who owned
small tracts of land and had few, if any, slaves.
In 1733, the slaves on St. John revolted and took over the island.
Most East End farmers abandoned their holdings and escaped by
boat to St. Thomas and Tortola. Their farms reverted to bush.
After the slave revolt was put down by French troops, St. John
plantations were reestablished, but this was not the case at
the barren East End where the land remained vacant and was put
up for sale.
Thus, slaves who had been freed by their masters and people
of mixed race (known as free coloreds) could, after years of
hard work and saving, afford to buy small tracts of land there.
So it came to pass that a free community was established at
East End some fifty years before slavery was finally abolished
on St. John.
East End had abundant marine resources, and a strong tradition
of seafaring developed among the people. There were numerous
protected bays from which boats could be launched or moored and
where nets could be set to catch turtles and fish. Whelk could
be picked along the rocky shoreline and conch harvested from
shallow undersea grasslands.
The seafaring tradition was further strengthened by the quality
and popularity of the boats built by East End craftsmen and by
the area’s unique geographical location, which made travel
by sea the most convenient method of transportation.
Coral Bay, a small commercial center at the time, was accessible
by land but only over a steep and rugged path. It was much easier
for East Enders to row or sail to Coral Bay, and most visits
there were made by boat.
Roadtown, Tortola was another common destination for East Enders
who would often sail there to trade, shop or see doctors and
dentists. Roadtown was less than ten miles to the north by sea,
and, as the tradewinds came from the east, it was a relatively
easy sail in both directions. East Enders would visit Roadtown
so regularly that Saturdays became known as “St.
John Day” on Tortola.
In 1863, the citizens of East End built and maintained a school
that was run by the Moravian Church and supported by the Danish
government. Since then, schooling and education have always been
given a high priority in the East End community.
In the 1920s, Guy Benjamin, an East End native, was one of twenty-four
students in attendance at the East End School. He became the
first St. Johnian to graduate from the Charlotte Amalie High
School in St. Thomas and later received a Bachelor of Arts degree
from Howard University and a Master’s degree from New York
University.
Guy Benjamin returned to St. John, where he taught first at
Bethany and then at the Benjamin Franklin School in Coral Bay.
He taught sixth, seventh and eighth grades at Benjamin Franklin
and was unofficially in charge of that school as well as the
East End School. (The school was later renamed the Guy H. Benjamin
School in his honor.)
The population of East End was then declining and fewer children
went to the school. When one of the teachers at East End, Mrs.
Fernandez, left the school, there were only eight children left.
Rather than find a new teacher, it was decided that the school
would be closed and the East End children would attend classes
in Coral Bay.
True to East End tradition, the children were taken to school
by boat. Another East Ender, Ivan George, was hired for this
purpose. Every morning, Ivan rowed the schoolchildren, five of
whom were his and his wife’s, from Salt Well Bay in East
End to Coral Bay. Then, when school was dismissed, Ivan met the
children and rowed them back to East End.
The small, open rowboat was a less-than-ideal method of transportation.
Adverse weather conditions often made it impossible for the children
to get to school, and, most importantly, the school could not
get insurance for a rowing boat.
There was, however, a man named Kendell Anthony, who would routinely
negotiate the road to East End in his four-wheel-drive water
truck. Guy Benjamin, sensing a solution to the transportation
problem, lobbied successfully to get Mr. Anthony the contract
as school bus driver.
Mr. Anthony dismantled the water tank, installed sides and seats.
When the necessary insurance was granted, the eight children
of isolated East End became some of the first children on St.
John to ride to school in a real school bus.
Note: Guy Benjamin is the author of the book Me
and My Beloved Virgin, which contain his memoirs of the
days before tourism came to St. John. It's a delightful book,
well written and most enjoyable - worth every penny.
