Dem-eyes of Searchlight

Thirty-one years and six months is a very long time to be involved in ah weekly newspaper. There are 52 weeks in ah year and Searchlight sell-dom missed ah week-end publication And dey’s physical evidence of approximately sixteen hundred and thirty-eight (1, 638) copies of de printed version of de Searchlight weekend paper (wid photographs) neatly bounded and secured among de company’s Archives.

In addition, there are bounded copies of de printed version of Searchlight Midweek from June 2010 until 2018.

Congratulations and many thanks to de very hard working, dedicated staff who did ah One-dah-full job securing de bits and pieces of de Nay-shun’s history published by de Searchlight newspaper.

De Searchlight newspaper was founded by a four member group pioneered by de late Oscar Allen and included Dr. Adrian Fraser,Sebastian “Bassy” Alexander, and Renwick Rose, deceased. De papers first formal publication was launched on April 7, 1995.

Mrs Norma Keizer a retired educator, served as the “Founding Manager/Editor. Her standards laid the groundwork for the paper’s emphasis on journalistic integrity. Mrs Keizer volunteered to help freely, ah promise she kept for approximately 4 an ah 1/2 years, and den she drew an allowance.

When she stepped down around 2007, her daughter Clare, succeeded her as CEO and Editor. Clare has since been succeeded in 2023 by veteran journalist Corletha Ollivierre. Looked like woman was boss, or maybe Searchlight Board of Directors years ago might have pre-m-ted Professor Just-in Robinson’s Column in dis year’s, Sept 4th Searchlight: “ Count chairs-not-seats-Women-Corporate-Leadership- Caribbean” .

Suddenly de Founders realized back den dat newspaper was ah costly business even though ah twenty-four page newspaper cost ah dollar. De overheads were high.

Fortunately we were blessed wid a substantial input of free professional services dat de company was in no financial standing to pay. We were “as poor as Church Mouse! e.g. Legal work was provided by Andrew Cummings deceased; Accounting by Floyd Patterson; Journalism Dexter Rose; Computer service Jerry George deceased.

Back den, all newspaper printing was done in either Bo-bathe-us or Trin-dad. Ah three member delegation led by our Managing/Editor met wid de B’dos Nation led by Harold Hoyte and his team. Was ah great meeting, de Nation made several promises to help us (training, shipping etc) and dey kept every promise.

At home, great success was made getting de papers distributed throughout de state, from Shatto and Fancy/Owia in the North to as far as Union Island in de Grenadines.

It would be remiss of me if ah doh menshun dat dey were two burning desires (projects) dat were like bags ah cement on Mrs Keizer’s back. Every month when it was time to sign the monthly cheques, she would “baby-cry” dat she was still working on ah private matter to do wid Searchlight. Den one day in June 2002, she phoned me and said: “Eureka! Do yuh know Greek?” Ah told her ah know de meaning of one word in Greek, and its Eureka.

”Yes Bas I found a home for Searchlight, de John’s building in Lower Kingstown Park ”.

De other project ah will write about nex’ week. And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

• Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.