Circular No 523

 

Newsletter for alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.

Caracas, 12 November 2011 No.523

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 Dear Friends,

Here is an article that might interest those that have connections with the San Fernando group.

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St Benedict’s pays tribute to a legend

Remembering Dom Basil Matthews

Published: Wed, 2011-09-21 01:07
Sascha Wilson

Finance Minister Winston Dookeran says as the country celebrates its 50th year of Independence, the memory and ideas of the legendary Dr Dom Basil Matthews should be rekindled.

As he paid tribute to the late Matthews during the celebration of his 100th birthday and the 55th anniversary of the St Benedict’s College at the San Fernando City Auditorium recently, Dookeran praised Matthews for his invaluable mark in the education system.

Dr Matthews was remembered as a monk, author, priest, educator, football pioneer and debater.

The function was hosted by the college’s past student’s association.

Dookeran, who had a close relationship with Matthews, said: “I know Dom felt somewhat disappointed that in the journey of Independence since his early days to when I last met with him when I was governor of the Central Bank, we had a wonderful lunch together, he felt a sense of disappointment that his society, our society did not live up to the expectations of nationhood and independence. If there is tribute, therefore, that we as students of Dom Basil Matthews can make to his legacy and to his contribution and to ensure that his ideas continue to permeate to thinking of young people is for us to renew, renew in our own minds, that we can as we enter in the 50th year of Independence, remember Dom Basil Matthews as a teacher, as a priest, as someone who inspired us all and someone whose ideas is perhaps as relevant now as they were then.”

Dookeran said his first encounter with Matthews was when he (Matthews) gave him his first teaching job at the college when he returned to Trinidad after completing his studies in Canada.

The minister said “Matthews did not allow himself to be en-trapped by the local thinking of politics. “Early on I realised that here is a man never to be imprisoned by the exercise of the day to day politics and I felt relieved, especially in my idealistic age, to have met someone, especially in society that was so consumed in a politics of nothingness, that he was able to point out that there was something worthwhile in the purse of politics,” he said, adding that “today I am the politician who cannot be described as a politician.”

Recalling Matthews’ success in school football, he said: “In his view he was developing his country and he said by his actions rather than his words that real development is human development and that is why he has produced so many of us here today, because he knew at the final analysis it is human development that will bring about real development.”

He also recalled the famous intellectual debates Matthews had with Dr Eric Williams on political philosophy, on political freedom and development.

The highlight of the programme was the launch of a CD entitled Nihil Omnino Christo (Christ Above All) produced by former St Benedict’s student Gilman Figaro, chairman of The Sunshine Awards and its musical director Joe Brown.

About Dr Dom Basil Matthews

After attending St Mary’s College he entered the monastery at Mount St Benedict´s where he pursued studies for the priesthood.

In 1935 he was one of the first Trinidadian to be ordained priest in the Order of St Benedict.

Matthews, an assigned counsellor at “the Mount” published Crisis of the West Indies Family.

In 1955 he engaged in a famous intellectual debate with Dr Eric Williams.

In 1956 he established St Benedict’s College in La Romaine.

St Benedict’s was the first composite school in the country, offering, in addition to the usual academic subjects, commerce, accounts, typewriting and domestic science.
Matthews introduced music into the curriculum.

He established a successful school football team producing national stars such as Waren Archibald, De Leon, Steadman David, Cupid, Ruben and others.

He also served as a vice-president of the T&T Football Association.

In the 70’s he went to the United States to work in educational systems in New York archdiocese.

Matthews developed an “intellectual academic base for the integration of black experience into the curriculum” at Howard University.

He was assigned to the Graduate School of Social Work.

After eight years he returned to Trinidad, and in 1980 he announced the founding of an Institute of Human Relation.

He taught at the Abbey School at St Benedict, and was a lecturer for the Extra Mural Departments of UWI St Augustine.

The monk died at a nursing home in the United States on April 7,1999.

He was 87. (Excerpts from Trinidad Guardian April 16, 1999 written by Seigmund Assee)

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Circular No. 510, The Abbey School MSB
FROM: Nigel Boos
Sunday, August 14, 2011 7:07 AM

Laz,

It's really a hell of a thing when there's so little interest among the Old Boys that none can simply pick up the telephone book and check for the phone numbers of the Lawrence boys to see whether, by chance, their names are listed in the white pages.

So here am I, in Canada, having to do just that:

Arnold Lawrence Morne Coco Rd. Diego Martin 868-632-0459

Derek Lawrence No phone number given

Martin Lawrence 39 AnnMarie Dr. 868-638-5382

Richard Lawrence Paria Mn Rd. 868-670-4091

Roger Lawrence 16 Sapphire Dr. 868-222-1688 / 868-646-3452

There are many other names - about 500 in fact, for which a telephone number would help, and for anyone interested, here's the link to the TnT White Pages:

http://s2.tntyp.com/Trinidad/Residential/L/15/book

Perhaps someone could take the time to telephone one or other of the Lawrence "boys" and ask them to contact you or even me, by email, and we can take it from there to ask for further details about themselves or their brothers.

Best of luck, ol' man.

Nigel

(Remember what I told you about hiring a staff member half time?? ladislao)
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Peter & Richard Knox
FROM: wmtstone@shaw.ca
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 1:55 AM
HELLO LASZLO,

BOTH THE ABOVE LIVE IN TRINIDAD,

SYDNEY KNOX IS THEIR FATHER,

I DO NOT HAVE THERE EMAIL ADDRESS....................

WILLIAM

--------------------------------------------------------------.Coscarart, Salvador –

I just found out about the ABBEY SCHOOL web site.

It is fantastic, as I browse thru it and with tears in my eyes I leap back in time at the mount.

I attended the Abbey School in 1967 to 1975. as well as my brother Pedro Coscarart.

I now reside in Bristol, Louisiana U.S.A. MY phone # (337) 668-4595.

My e-mail addresses: salborbolla@hotmail.com and Salco56 @cs.com.

I have been wanting to know about what happened to the Abbey School, its faculty and students.

I am originally from Cumana, Venezuela.

I am now a citizen of the United States.

Married to Gina Beaugh of Eunice Louisiana, we have three children Jonathan 20, Lander 18, Ansley Nicole 17.

Best wishes

Salvador Coscarart.

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Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:25:46 -0400
From: idmitch@anguillanet.com

I can only speak Trinidadian with a Chaguanas accent. Does that count?

In the 1950s there was a song in either Urdu or HIndi that used to be played over the loudspeakers at weddings and other ceremonies in the village.

It must have been very popular, because it was a regular in Chaguanas week after week for years.

I am only able to mimic one line of it, and it goes something like this, "Ah pucha naa yee anni manni coo yaa."

I have long ago incorporated the line in my story of the discovery of the Caribbean by Columbus in 1492.

Don

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On 7/21/2010 2:56 PM, azizul mohammed wrote:

U know Don I have been trying so hard to speak with an Indian accent,

My brother - in-law does it so great u would not believe,

The only time I could do it is when I am drunk and it still not as good as when he does it,

Sometimes we go to the gas station and my sister would ask for $20.oo gas with the Indian accent it’s so funny,

Can u speak with an Indian or Chinese Accent?

Azizul Kenny Mohammed

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azizul mohammed
14/12/2008

Hello Ladislao,

You keep pulling out all those photos from your bag, with so many memories

I do not know what we all would do without you

God Bless You

Azizul

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From: nigelboos@yahoo.ca
Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2008 19:57:56 -0500

Hello, Azizul

Thanks for your email.

You must have met my cousin, Hans Boos, who was the curator of the Emperor Valley Zoo.

He was a bit of an expert on snakes and lizards, among many other odd animals.

Hope he got you interested.

Have a great year.

Nigel

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On 3-Jan-08, at 3:08 PM, azizul mohammed wrote:

Hey Nigel

How u doing I also went to the mount from 1967-1972 with glen and all the other guys

I got ur mail from glen,

are u the same Nigel Boos from the Zoo in Trinidad if u are, then we did meet about 40 years ago at the mount when u came to give us a lecture

azizul

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Dear Ladislao,

I just received your mail with the Photo "Prep B 1963 Noo".

There are a few boys I recognise very well because they were in my class Form I from October 1963 which class would finish the Abbey School in summer 1968.

I recognise the following boys:

4 possibly David Skeete, I am not sure
6 Larry Thomas
7 Douglas Watson
8 Paul Quesnel
12 Alan Herrera
13 youngest of the three Gurley brothers
14 Derek Phillips
16 Richard Knox
23 Charles Devaux (with one "e", Patrick Deveaux is with two "e's")
24 Cecil Camacho

The other boys on the picture have familiar faces to me but they were not in my class so I don't recollect their names.

I recognise these boys on the picture as being one year younger when I came to the Abbey School in October 1963.

So they are indeed Prep B from October 1962-july 1963.

I attach a picture of Class 1968 made in June 1965 as Form II where you see the boys above mentioned re-appear.

11 is not Josh Shoemaker, I was best friends with Josh, I am sure this boy is not him.

Best wishes for the New Year

Jan Koenraadt

(hope that you made the corrections as in the last photo, ladislao)

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Ladislao Kertesz at kertesz11@yahoo.com,

Photos:
Mount Inside No. 6407 page 10
09LK1767VISITTTASS, members of the association
60CF0002CDFFAM, Cornel de Freitas and family
82AKBULL04BROGABRIEL, Bro Gabriel thanks to Arthur Knaggs