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~ These were joyful years ~

Eighty-two-year-old Veronica Arndell is overcome by a strong feeling of joy whenever she reminisces about her beloved St. Martin/St. Maarten back in the day.

The mother of eight (one deceased), grandmother of 17 and great grandmother of four believes the island experienced its best moments of true togetherness decades ago when people genuinely looked out for each other and when the land was used for most of the things consumed. Residents also made more use of their hands and creativity to get by. "These were joyful days," Arndell told WEEKender in summing up St. Martin/St. Maarten of yesteryear.

Arndell, who chronicled some of her memories in the book The Beauty and Culture of St. Maarten," which she published in 2011, shared some of her memories with WEEKender in a candid one-on-one. The Beauty and Culture of St. Maarten is available on Amazon.com.

"I can remember as far back as my teenage years. In those days, we did not have a St. Maarten celebration day. I believe this day started in 1948 when the stones were placed at the border monument – that is when we started celebrating St. Maarten Day."

She said back then people were true "caretakers" of each other and everyone was their brother's keeper. "People looked out for each other on both the French and Dutch side."

One of the big festivities she remembers vividly growing up was the harvesting of the arrowroot plant. She said this celebration was typically held in French St. Martin and was an event that attracted scores of persons from the Dutch side. She said most of the arrowroot was grown in French St. Martin and even if Dutch side residents had their own arrowroot crop, they would still go to the French side to participate with their friends and relatives across the border.

The harvesting was done in the form of a large party and sharing. Arrowroot was a special and much used commodity by residents. Arndell recalled that residents used their arrowroot to make starch, which was used to make a range of delicacies such as porridge. "Some people would cook the arrowroot itself by boiling it and eating it, but the main thing that people did with it was to make starch to make porridge to give persons when they were sick, etc."

She is happy to see French St. Martin still upholding this tradition of arrowroot harvesting today: "In fact, practically all the old traditions are still being done on the French side. We on the Dutch side have lost all of ours. We have gotten too caught up in other people's culture," she said on a sad note.

Another grand event that brought people together was cassava reaping. Cassava that was reaped was also shared amongst persons on the island who would use it to make a range of edibles such as cassava starch, wheat and cassava bread. "We would grate the cassava and squeeze out the juice to get the starch. We would let the juice from the cassava stand for about two days and then we would drain the juice again to get the starch. Everyone made their own starch in those days. Some people would use the grated cassava to make cassava dumpling."

With residents having to depend on themselves for most of what they consumed, residents were creative and skilled in making many things. Many households also made their own butter. According to Arndell, families would milk their cows and let the milk stand for two days. They would then remove the cream on top of the milk, place it in a tub (some would place it in bottles), and churn it until it became butter. Some would add salt for taste.

What we purchase in the supermarkets today as yogurt, residents made themselves back then, using cow's milk. This tasty treat was called "Bonne Clover."

"Yes, we made our own yogurt and we would put sugar in it for it to taste sweet."

One of the traditions she was particularly fond of was the fishing. "Back in the day, fishermen would go by Prins Bernhard Bridge and fish with nets. They would catch shrimp and people would go and buy a small saucer of shrimp for NAf. 0.50 cents. If you wanted more, you could have bought more. The fishermen also caught many mullets from right there in the pond (Great Salt Pond). When I see what has become of the pond, it breaks my heart because we pay so much for fish brought in from abroad today and it tastes nothing like the fish caught right here in St. Maarten."

As it relates to the current carnival celebrations, Arndell said this celebration did not exist up to when she was in her late teens growing up in St. Maarten. "I hear a lot of talk about carnival, but this never existed in Dutch St. Maarten or French St. Martin up to when I was 17 years old. There was no carnival here. What we had as the big celebrations back then was Queen's Birthday. Whenever it was Queen Wilhelmina's birthday on August 31, we had activities such as plaiting of the pole, grease pole, grease pig, egg in the spoon race, jumping in the bag race, boat race, donkey race and horse race. Some people would also come from St. Kitts and dance on sticks which we called moko jumbies."

"When Queen Wilhelmina came off the throne, we stopped celebrating on August 31 and we started celebrating her daughter Queen Juliana's birthday on April 30."

The talk about traditional music brought back some fond memories for Arndell. "We did not have any big bands playing back then. What we had were string bands. People played the guitar, tambourine and the tray guitar similar to what Tanny and the Boys used. That was the kind of music we were accustomed to on the French and Dutch sides. I remember some people who had come from Aruba with a band, but whatever St. Maarten had as entertainment back then had value. Everyone who came to the island wanted to know what St. Maarten had in the musical field. It was special."

"Today, however, things have changed. We now have some good bands; but the people who are playing music here are not valued the way they should be. We are bringing in all sorts of bands from abroad and pay them a lot of money, but I think we should be catering to own."

She was proud of local musicians such as Isidore "The Mighty Dow" York, whom she said is promoted on and off island and who is very much involved in passing on his pan playing skills to youngsters and adults in St. Maarten. "I think that people and government should help to promote our musicians more. I also believe that St. Maarten Day should be celebrated focussing on the culture of the island and people of St. Maarten. The things we still do should be part of those celebrations."

In an effort to keep traditions alive and educate youngsters about the history of parts of the island, Arndell had delivered a presentation at Belvedere Community Centre about the history of Belvedere. She also chronicles her memories in her book, which she urges everyone to get a copy of.

During her earlier years Arndell worked as a cleaner at Princess Juliana International Airport, the Fire Department and for a brief while at the Ambulance Department. At one point in her life, she moved to Aruba, where she lived for 22, years, but her deep love for St. Maarten brought her back home to live. She currently resides in Zorg en Rust in Dutch Quarter, where she is enjoying her retirement years as she looks forward to seeing the spotlight placed more firmly on the island's culture, particularly during celebrations for St. Martin/St. Maarten Day.