Emmanuel High School produced many chiefs

Editor: As a past and grateful student of the Emmanuel High School, I was greatly inspired and motivated by the article written by my contemporary at school Mr R Theodore LV Browne on Dr JP Eustace.

At school, Theo was a star and he continues to be a star. The article caused me to expose for public scrutiny some private thoughts which I cherished about some graduates from my school – Emmanuel High School, founded by Dr JP Eustace in 1952.{{more}}

For example:

1. Not too long ago, the chief of police, now called the commissioner of police, Mr William Harry, was a graduate of Emmanuel High School. Mr Harry was also the first post-graduate in the history of our police force.

2. The once chief agricultural officer, Mr Reuben Robinson, is a graduate of the Emmanuel High School.

3. The immediate past chief surveyor, Mr Adolphus Ollivierre, is a graduate of Emmanuel High School.

4. Former chief statistical officer and later Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Mr Wilfred Ollivierre is a graduate of Emmanuel High School.

5.(i) Former chief environmental scientist of the Eastern Caribbean States, Dr Reynold Murray is a graduate and past principal of the Emmanuel High School. Now he is the pastor of the rapidly growing Revival Centre Church at Murray Village.

6. (ii) The chief celebrant at the Kingstown Evangelical Church is Pastor Douglas Neverson, a graduate of the Emmanuel High School in Kingstown. As a communicator, he is the best in his class.

7. Victor Job, the outstanding theologian of my church, the Methodist Church, is a graduate of the Emmanuel High School. Victor is a theologian of deep and extensive scholarship which Dr JP Eustace always wished to see in the pulpit.

8. (i) The chief magistrate is the daughter of a graduate of the Emmanuel High School.

9 (ii) The chief engineer at the Hairoun Brewery of SVG and the Commonwealth of Dominica is the son of a graduate of the Emmanuel High School.

10. The chief tax consultant of this State is Mr Jonathan Pitt, a graduate of the Emmanuel High School. He is also the chair of the board of directors of Emmanuel High School.

11. The chief cultural expressionists of the calypso art form are Cyril ‘Scorcher’ Thomas, Glenroy ‘Sulle’ Caesar, Maxwell ‘Tajo’ Francis, ‘The Man Age’ and Lexi Joseph. They are all graduates of the Emmanuel High School and Alston ‘Becket’ Cyrus is a graduate of the Intermediate High School. Both Emmanuel High School and Intermediate High School were established by Dr JP Eustace in 1952 and 1926 respectively. These men have always been on the cultural front line of SVG.

12. He was the chief executive officer and the youngest manager ever of an insurance company in the Caribbean. His name is Osborne B Browne, a graduate of Emmanuel High School. Like Dr JP Eustace OB came from Georgetown to secondary school in Kingstown – to be specific, the Emmanuel High School – while JP Eustace went to the Boy’s Grammar School. But both came first from Form 1 to Form 5 at their respective schools.

13. The recently retired chief environmental officer, Mr Rupert Doyle, is a graduate of the Emmanuel High School.

14. He was the chief bodybuilder

and strongest man in the world – pound for pound. As a student of the Emmanuel High School, he weighed 129 pounds and in three world events he totalled more than six times his body weight. That is, he pressed 270 pounds, cleaned and jerked 310 pounds and snatched 230 pounds after he had broken the Commonwealth Games record. His name is Morris King of New Road – now a patient at the Garden of Eden Home at Dorsetshire Hill. Let’s go pay him a visit. Let us not neglect our wounded heroes in the evening and darkness of their years. Let us not be heartless and without compassion and appreciation. Morris is of the opinion that the only person qualified to be declared St Vincent’s next National Hero is Dr John Parmenos Eustace.

15. The past chief negotiator in several Teachers’ Trade Union disputes was Joy Matthews – a graduate of the Emmanuel High School. Cools Vanloo, who was the president of the Public Service Union, was also a graduate of Emmanuel High School; so was Cecil ‘Blazer’ Williams, the chair of the Public Service Commission and the chair of the Police Service Commission and St Vincent’s leading dramatist and playwright; so also was the late and great Duff Walker James – perhaps St Vincent’s greatest and most vocal, eloquent, articulate and colourful trade unionist – a graduate of the Emmanuel High School, as well as his friend, Julian “Bucky” Boyea.

16. Finally, Dougie “Nose” Joseph is the chief reportorial writer in local journalism. He earned internal and international recognition during the famous James and Penelia Fletcher’s case and was seen, along with Theo Browne and Dr Ralph Gonsalves, on Prime Time NBC Television by over 350 million people in the United States of America, Europe, Canada and the Caribbean. In addition he was the chief executive officer of the Youlou Pan Movement when a pan Festival was staged at the compound of the Girls’ High School in which a seven-year-old Prep School boy – Luke Browne – featured prominently and won a prize for his excellent rendition of “Climb Every Mountain.” It was a proud musical moment for me as a member of the Kingstown Chorale and when I reflect on the fact that Luke’s father is an outstanding graduate of my school – Emmanuel High School. It was he who delivered the prize to Luke. Dougie “Nose” Joseph is a graduate of the Emmanuel High School.

Diana Morgan