Polish Captain Wladek Wagner’s partnership with Herbert Lee in March 1956 — recounted in part 18 of this series on July 4 — “catapulted into reality” the dreams of Mr. Wagner and his wife to build a clubhouse on Bellamy Cay. It also benefitted the Virgin Islands economy.
Jose O’Neal, a merchant in Road Town (later to be honoured for his work with Laurance Rockefeller in founding the VI’s National Parks Trust) supplied them with cement in a Tortola sloop that had been built using an upraised thumb to gauge its measurements, according to an elderly charcoal-maker.
Mr. Wagner’s initial plans for the proposed airstrip on Beef Island awaited approval from London following a visit in June 1956 by Sir Kenneth Blackburne, governor of the Leeward Islands from 1950 to 1956. Carlos Soto Garcia, of Santurce, Puerto Rico, was paid $750 on June 9 to survey the land for it, and various approvals and licences were being processed. They included applications for additional purchases and leases of land on Beef Island by Messrs. Wagner and Lee, who had hoped to start its construction in September.
Sister-in-law
Myrtle Penn from East End (my future sister-in-law) had stayed with the Wagner family aboard their yacht Rubicon when Ms. Wagner was in hospital in San Juan, to look after the children. She was Ms. Wagner’s only female friend at Trellis Bay and later accompanied the Wagner family on their trip to San Juan to buy various essentials needed for the clubhouse project.
Ms. Wagner eventually found the fabric she wanted for her female staff’s outfits, but she blanched at the thought of trying to make them all on her little toy Singer sewing machine. So they bought her a full-size portable Singer machine and passed the toy one on to their daughter Suzanna.
Ms. Wagner made every effort to prioritise the school schedule, but sometimes had to stop to type letters on the aging Hermes typewriter, then fill in its missing letter “D” manually, leaving Suzanna and son Michael busy beside her.
Ms. Penn relieved her of many household chores and sometimes brought her little sister to play with the children. Eventually, Mr. Wagner saved Ms. Penn travelling from East End by building her a small one-room house, with its own outdoor toilet, near Tamarind House. Her daughter was to be teased by her teacher asking for her piece of cake when she returned to school in St. Croix after being a bridesmaid at our wedding.
‘Tropical’ uniforms
Ms. Penn and her mother Clothilda (affectionately known as “Chloe”) helped recruit about six young women from Tortola to serve at the club. Ms. Wagner made pretty “tropical” uniforms for them from the aqua-coloured border-print fabric she had chosen in Puerto Rico, with full island-style skirts and solid-coloured peasant blouses. These tasks were made much easier by the new sewing machine.
Meanwhile, Mr. Lee had beaten down the price of a Frigidaire Ice Cube Maker to $825 and shipped it from New York on July 20. It arrived at the West India Dock on July 27, so Mr. Wagner sailed to St. Thomas on the Rubicon to collect it. They also needed a deep freeze and another stove. Their list of incidentals seemed endless. It wasn’t just the time-consuming work of having to get the equipment, but the heavy tasks of loading and unloading it on the Rubicon, then Mr. Wagner having to install it at the cay. They had originally scheduled the event for Sept. 17, Mr. Wagner’s birthday, but had to postpone it until Sept. 30, Suzanna’s birthday.
Suzanna had recently completed her school exams from the Parents’ Union School, and she was well into British Form 1B. Michael was enrolled in the Parents’ Union School too after he turned 5. Although he did his schoolwork, he preferred to fish from the dock or work near his father.
Delays and frustrations
The clubhouse at last had an ice machine and a 20-cubic-foot Westinghouse deep freezer that they had ordered. But both were useless until the air-cooled Universal engine arrived in St. Thomas. Mr. Wagner transported it to Bellamy Cay and mounted it on a bed of four-by-four timbers to soften its noise. But then he encountered an unexpected problem in connecting the output panel to the club’s electrical system.
Suzanna’s birthday became just a family celebration, as they realised that the hurricane season might impact guests travelling from Puerto Rico and St. Thomas.
After endless frustrating delays, they eventually decided the grand opening of the clubhouse on Bellamy Cay would take place on Nov. 17, 1956. They then issued invitations to government officials in Road Town; long-time friends and business acquaintances in St. Thomas and Puerto Rico; members of the Club Nautico in San Juan; and East End friends, including their workers.
Ms. Wagner said she had felt excited but apprehensive about the upcoming event. They had limited space for overnight stays, but most guests would be sleeping on their own boats. And although she had never catered for so large a group, her guests would all be friends of Trellis Bay.
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