By Doris
Caneel Bay was a beautiful picturesque resort on St. John in the Virgin Islands, a perfect place for a honeymoon. Beautiful beaches, secluded coves, lovely rooms and delicious meals served in a gorgeous outdoor setting. We arrived by boat from St. Thomas and were greeted warmly at the dock by several hospitable employees, some of whom were native to the Virgin Islands. These “locals” would prove to be part of the great charm of the resort.
Each morning we would have breakfast, choosing from a buffet of all kinds of fruits, juices, pastries, muffins, meats and omelets, prepared at an omelet station. Don became great friends with the very friendly omelet chef, a black native lady, as he made his omelet choice every day! Several dining rooms were available for evening meals, allowing us to go casual, informal or very formal. Each choice was better than the next and we sampled all of them!
We spent a lot of time at the various beaches swimming in crystal clear waters, then warming on the beach, being careful to use a lot of sunscreen. Easy to get a painful sunburn in the Caribbean. The first “disagreement” in our marriage came when we went out together in a sunfish, a small sailboat-like craft available to guests. I soon learned that one had to tack and duck while sailing along or get hit in the head with the boom, and also it was necessary to listen to the captain’s directions. If not working together it was possible to become becalmed, which we did. At one point I threatened to jump overboard, not too dangerous in the shallow water. Don sailed ashore somehow and we parked the sunfish. Shortly after a young girl came along, asked if she could use it and sailed off into the sunset! I don’t know if my nautical terms are correct, but you get the picture!
Another day we took a Jeep tour with a guide, learning the history of St. John. Caneel Bay Resort had been the site of a thriving sugar plantation run by slaves. St. John was owned by Denmark, and following a slave revolt in St. Croix, a neighboring island, on July 3, 1848 slavery was abolished. The plantations became unprofitable and were gradually abandoned. Some of the properties became homes for former slaves. In 1917 the US bought St. John from Denmark.
Laurence Rockefeller acquired property on St. John and in 1956 donated land to become part of the national park system. At the time of our trip in 1960, Caneel Bay was a “Rock” resort that employed many descendants of the slaves. They were wonderful people who gave us an insight into a culture established over many years. When we returned 50 years later we were introduced to two old men who had been employed there in 1960 during our honeymoon! Many employees had similar longevity with Caneel Bay. It was a pleasure to see many of them arrive by boat in the morning.
We reluctantly left Caneel Bay and continued our trip enroute to Bermuda, via San Juan, Puerto Rico, which turned into another adventure! When we appeared at the airport in San Juan we learned that our flight to Bermuda had been cancelled and there wouldn’t be another for several days! Communication in 1960 was limited to telephone calls or mail and since neither of us received any messages, there we were stranded with nothing to do but enjoy Puerto Rico!
Don remembers that I almost climbed over the counter because I was so upset, possibly because I had a suitcase full of dirty clothes! We became inventive in our finances which Don has written about and enjoyed an extended honeymoon in San Juan. An opportunity to use our high school Spanish. Don has colorfully described our stay there.
We eventually made it to Bermuda and our new home. Don had rented the upper level of a wonderful cottage overlooking the water. Our landlord was a young Bermudian man who had built it and he lived on the lower level. It was furnished very comfortably with Navy furniture, had a lovely fireplace and a wringer washing machine. Since there was no natural water supply on the island, our water would come via a water ketch on our roof. This eliminated the possibility of automatic washing machines that used a lot of water. The water in the wringer washer was used three times: the first time for whites, the second time for colors and lastly dark colors! Don was taken aback to come home one day to see me using the machine in my bare feet with water puddled on the floor! I had definitely gone native.
When we arrived in Bermuda and Don checked in at the squadron, he learned that our wedding gifts had arrived. He was astonished to see that one whole wall was lined with boxes! We had received many gifts and I realized that the best way to ship them would be to send them via his mailing address, c/o FPO, NY. New York was close to NJ and I had to pay postage only from NJ to NY. Every few days as gifts arrived I packaged them up and trekked to the local post office with them. I got to know the local postmistress so well she came to our wedding!
I was warmly received by everyone in the squadron and our friendships have continued for 60 years. It was great to be young in Bermuda with a group of fun loving people who knew how to appreciate the life we had there. Some of the wives were barely 21 and had met their husbands there during a spring break and married in the next year, followed sometimes by babies nine months later!
One of the wives was a Bermudian nurse who came to stay with me while our husbands were on a squadron assignment. She was pregnant and late one night her baby decided it was time to make his debut! This was outside my area of expertise so of course it became necessary to call someone. One small problem, we didn’t have a telephone! I was a newly minted driver and was now on the ride of my young driving life transporting her to the hospital! It all ended well and my first delivery was a success. It wasn’t unusual to be incommunicado in Bermuda at that time, because services could be a little primitive. If you were needed or someone needed to bring you a message, they would come by car at 20 mph to deliver it. Life in the fast lane hadn’t arrived in Bermuda!
Other friends were evicted from their house and made arrangements to move into base housing. Unfortunately they had no place to go while waiting. Since we had a spare bedroom (no bed) we invited them to stay with us while waiting. Good plan, very gracious of us. One small problem, they had four cats and we had one German Shepherd! But what the heck, we could manage this menagerie! They arrived with their bed strapped on top of their car and the cats. The Beverly Hillbillies had nothing on us. We settled in — Ceci, Kennedy, Maureen the mother cat, the three offspring, Don, Chris the dog and I. So far so good. Suddenly there was a commotion in the living room and a couple of loud crashes accompanied by some meows, and we arose to find Chris had chased the cats into the fireplace and up the chimney! We rescued Maureen and her brood, settled them all down and went back to bed. Unfortunately over the course of their stay with us, all of the cats save Maureen went missing. We had to go around the area one night calling Maureen, who was one traumatized cat. Also we had to be gentle with Ceci.
Part of military life is inspections, for which Don needed his full white uniform, including shoes. We assembled everything the night before, except shoes. Where were the shoes? Since we were newly moved into our house, things were organized haphazardly. (I guess that is a contradiction in terms.) Anyhow we couldn’t find the shoes. This was the first major crisis of our married life! Searching high and low, suddenly a lightbulb went off in my head! I knew where they were, they were in the banjo case! Of course! Where else would they be but in the spare bedroom in the banjo case? Funny part is, Don had no banjo, but the case was the perfect size for storing shoes. The banjo is a story for another time!
We had many wonderful times with our friends, enjoying dinner at each other’s houses, even though I learned to cook under the watchful eyes of some bachelors. Many great meals were had at some of the unique Bermuda restaurants. For a little historical context, I remember eating outdoors at night and watching Sputnik travel across the sky. An experience to remember.
One of the major past times while the guys were deployed was bridge. Because I had no children and a car, I became a reliable bridge player. Reliable only in that I could travel unencumbered to play; I didn’t know the game. No problem, they would teach me, and after a fashion they did. I loved being part of their games and the dinners they would make and the camaraderie of military wives coming together. We knew we were enjoying military life at a special time in a special place.
Another part of my Bermuda experience was learning to drive, on the wrong side of the road in a Volkswagen with a steering wheel on the left side. And Don was teaching me. He is a natural born teacher, but unfortunately didn’t teach me how to back up! As part of the driving exam it was required that you back up through a course of orange stanchions, without knocking any of them over. Well, of course I failed the test. My reward was now I had to drive with a BIG red letter L for Learner on the front and back of the car. I was a Scarlet Woman! Back to the water ketch for another lesson! As a side note, every time we changed duty stations I had to get a new license and pass more tests, but none were more colorful than Bermuda!
Don’s tour was coming to an end after 15 fantastic months and orders would be coming. It was a wonderful place to start a new life. It was truly life changing for me and now a new life was going to begin in Mississippi, as I was now pregnant!