In part 25 of this series, published on Oct. 31, I noted that Mabel Wagner opined in her book Lest I Forget that her husband Wladek Wagner faced a mammoth …
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November 14, 2024
October 31, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 25
In his memoirs published in 1990, Howard Reynold Penn (1903-1994), who in 1956 was a member of the Virgin Islands government, recalled then-governor Sir Kenneth Blackburne seeking funding for “H.R. …
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October 10, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 23
In her 2012 book Lest I Forget, former Trellis Bay resident Mabel Wagner mentions Leeward Islands Governor Sir Kenneth Blackburne visiting Tortola on July 1, 1956, before sending London his …
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September 12, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 22
On Nov. 17, 1956, several of 50-year-old Carris Penn’s brothers and stepbrothers from East End attended the opening of the clubhouse on Bellamy Cay, as recounted last Thursday in part …
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September 5, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 21
In November 1956, Polish Captain Wladek Wagner and his wife Mabel Wagner opened their clubhouse on Bellamy Cay in Trellis Bay shortly before their boatyard reopened at the end of …
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August 15, 2024
COMMENTARY— The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 20
As I recounted in part 19 of this series on July 25, Polish Captain Wladek Wagner and his wife Mabel wanted to hold the grand opening of their clubhouse on …
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July 25, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 19
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. …
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July 4, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 18
This commentary continues the chronicles of Polish sailor Wladek Wagner’s family at Trellis Bay, picking up from part 17 in the June 20 edition of the Beacon. Colonel Henry Howard, …
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June 20, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 17
Police sailor Wladek Wagner quickly recovered from the brutal attack on him recounted in the last commentary in this series (published on May 30). However, when he was invited to …
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May 30, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 16
In Part 15 of this series about the family of Polish captain Wladek Wagner (published on May 23), I described how three sailors from the Royal Navy ship HMS Triumph …
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May 23, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 15
In Part 14 of this series about the family of Polish captain Wladek Wagner, published on April 18, I explained that teaching material for the Wagners’ personal schoolroom at their …
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April 18, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, Part 14
I remarked in Part 13 of this series (published on March 21) that several people Mabel Wagner mentioned in her 2007 book Lest I Forget reappear later in their lives …
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March 21, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, Part 13
In Part 12 of this series, I related that in profiling some of her heroes in a new book, environmentalist Judith Towle independently validates Mabel Wagner’s dating of her husband …
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March 6, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 12
Reading the newly released Kindle version of an academic book published last September has dispelled my reservations about the accuracy of Mabel Wagner’s recollections of her late husband’s involvement with …
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February 14, 2024
COMMENTARY — ‘The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 11’
I began this series of commentaries on the Wagner family following the reopening of Marina Cay and the inauguration of direct flights between Miami and the Terrance B. Lettsome International …
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February 2, 2024
Rally honours Polish sailor who helped build Trellis Bay
Trellis Bay in Beef Island bustled with yachts, sailors, and the spirit of shared cultural heritage as Polish visitors and Virgin Islands residents came together last Thursday for a ceremony …
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January 31, 2024
COMMENTARY — Trellis history continues with account of house build
Polish Captain Wladek Wagner and his wife Mabel — who lived in Trellis Bay in the mid-20th Century — had discussed writing “his” and “her” versions of their life together. …
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January 10, 2024
COMMENTARY — History of Trellis Bay captain continues
In my Dec. 13 commentary “Story of Trellis Bay boatyard recounted,” I probably understated the dire straits in which Polish Captain Wladek Wagner’s family found themselves following his injury amid …
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December 13, 2023
COMMENTARY — Story of Trellis Bay boatyard recounted
An alchemist dedicated to finding how to turn base metal into gold would have been amazed at Polish Captain Wladek Wagner’s ability to turn trash into useful objects (as I …
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November 29, 2023
COMMENTARY — Trellis Bay chronicles continue
In my Nov. 2 commentary, “More Trellis Bay history shared,” I described how Polish Captain Wladek Wagner and his men started building a shipyard in Trellis Bay. First, they recovered …
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November 1, 2023
COMMENTARY — More Trellis Bay history shared
In my Oct. 11 commentary “Trellis Bay chronicles continue,” I described how Polish Captain Wladek Wagner met Haldane Davis while building Witches Brew at Bar Bay, East End and bought …
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October 11, 2023
COMMENTARY — Trellis Bay chronicles continue
My Sept. 13 commentary related how Wladek and Mabel Wagner — who eventually lived for several years in Trellis Bay — had discovered she was pregnant and abandoned the voyage …
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September 13, 2023
COMMENTARY — Brit recalls his early married life in Virgin Islands
I described in my Aug. 30 commentary, “A VI wedding and Captain Wagner,” how an amusing incident after my wedding on Tortola in 1983 led me to discover my Virgin …
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August 30, 2023
COMMENTARY — A Virgin Islands wedding and Captain Wagner
In my Aug. 17 commentary “Captain with VI links remembered,” I described how Polish sailor Wladek Wagner’s epic voyage to promote the reborn Poland started in summer 1931 when he …
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August 17, 2023
COMMENTARY — Polish captain with VI links remembered
I was introduced to Poland’s tragic history in my early teens when I read about the origins of the Dulwich Picture Gallery (as I recounted in my July 20 commentary, …
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