In part 27 of this series, published on Nov. 28, I used Mabel Wagner’s lengthy quotes from an account of her son Michael’s 6th birthday on April 3, 1957, by …
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January 9, 2025
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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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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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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