Port Elizabeth Church History
(An Address made on 19th June, 1982 by Cecil D. McIntosh)
This history starts with the death of one of my grandparents and it shows how God can use death to advance His cause. In 1910, my grandmother, Louisa Wallace, known as Mamma Weezee, died of a heart attack. She lived at Tony Gibbons now known as Princess Margaret Beach. The year 1910 was a very important year for Bequia, for the British Empire and for the world. It was important for the British Empire because in that year King George V was crowned King of England. It was important for the world because in that year King Edward VII of England, known as the PEACEMAKER, died, and his death set Germany on the road to World War I. It was Important for the world because it was in that year that the famous Halley's cornet came back, to our Solar System on its 76 year schedule orbit. On each of its visits, some very important events occur, and it is very interesting to know that among the significant events that occurred on its 1910 visit was the advent of the Seventh-day Adventist message to Bequia. The year 1910 was of special importance to Bequia because that year marked the commencement of the Advent Truth in our little island. And it was Mamma Weezee's sudden death that was responsible for this, because it caused my aunt Ellen Packard, Mamma Weezee's daughter (whose husband was dead), to leave Trinidad and come to Bequia to take care of her old father, Charles Warner Wallace, known as Papa Charlie and Moshay (Monsieur). Aunt Ellen, as most people in Bequia called her, had accepted the Seventh- day Adventist message in Trinidad, and so when she came to Bequia in 1910 to care for her Dad she brought the SDA message with her. 1910 was also important for the Message in the West Indies through the message coming to Bequia that year because it was in that year that my brother Sydney V. McIntosh was born, and God was going to use him in Trinidad to bring into the Message one of our great West Indian SDA church leaders, Pastor William Thompson, who has been a great blessing to God's work in the West Indies.
Back to Aunt Ellen: she had a cousin whom everybody called Tan Mug who lived on the hillside at Tony Gibbons near the public road. All our old time Scottish people, the ladies, were called "TAN", meaning aunt. Aunt Ellen converted Tan Mug to the Message along with her daughter Janet Davis known as ten Gin Gin and her grand-daughter Euna Sharp. They began holding Sabbath School meetings at Tan Mug's home, and this continued for about eight or nine years until 1919 the year after World War I. Although I was only three years old in 1919, I can still remember going up the hill on Sabbaths to Tan Mug to attend Sabbath School, During those eight or nine years, aunt Ellen and Janet Davis succeeded in getting other people interested in the Message, and the news of this development along with my Dad's request brought Pastor Henriquez from Trinidad to Bequia in 1921 to preach the message in Bequia, to baptize those who were interested, and to put the message in Bequia on a recognized footing. Among those who accepted the truth and were baptized were Richie and Genesta King; Ethel McIntosh, my aunt, known as Nennie, whose training in my childhood caused me to remain a Seventh-day Adventist; Virginnia Nichols; Ninna McIntosh; a cousin of mine; Leitha and Naomi Gooding; Abbie Ollivierre, a cousin of mine; Alvie Wallace; Olive Wallace, a cousin; William (my uncle) and Flora Wallace; Dorothy Simmons of Lower Bay; Constance White of Hamilton; and Con Wallace, my uncle.
In the year 1919, my Dad, Hon. Donald C. McIntosh, gave up his good job in Trinidad to keep the Sabbath. He was a Director, the overseas purchasing Manager of the Firm in Port-of-Spain known as Wilson's Ltd. which later became Salvatori, Scott & Co. He was a well-to-do businessman, and owned two large properties, two large homes in Port-of-Spain, and a home and land at St. Augustine where the Imperial College of Agriculture stood in after years. But he was like Moses; he preferred to accept a lowering in his social status and a drastic reduction in his income to join the people of God with their obedience to the Fourth Commandment rather than, continue in his big job and high social ranking with the people of the world who disobeyed God's Fourth Commandment. And so, in 1919 he decided to return to Bequia where he was born forty-two years before in 1877, with the plan settled in his heart that he would do a great work for God in building up the Message and its advance in Bequia. It was he who caused Evangelist Henriquez to come in 1921. They had known each other in Trinidad, and I understand it was Henriquez who had converted my Dad and had him baptized before he left Trinidad in 1919. And so, as soon as my Dad arrived here, he transferred the meetings of the small group of Seventh-day Adventists from Tan Mug'-s home to his two-storey estate store house in Port Elizabeth known then as The Harbour. This Spring Estate store house used to be where Isaac Tannis' home now stands opposite Veira's Store. Old Mr. Perry conducted a Primary School in half of the downstairs during the week, and on Sabbaths the Seventh-day Adventists held their Sabbath School and church services there. The Spring Estate used the other half of the downstairs. The meetings: in the downstairs continued for a number of years, but when the membership increased and the downstairs room became too small, the meetings were transferred to the whole of the upstairs floor which was twice as large as the downstairs room. It had two small rooms facing the sea which were used by the members as their lunch rooms where they ate their mid-day meal on Sabbaths. Sunday night meetings which used to be held downstairs were now better and well attended by members, friends and others. My Dad served as the Leader of the Church from 1919 to 1938 when he died. His funeral service was held in the said upstairs hall, and was attended by the Administrator and the members of the St. Vincent Government because he died as the Honourable Representative of the St. Vincent Grenadines.
During the years 1936 to 1942, while Sabbath and Sunday night meetings continued in the upstairs of the Spring Estate Store House, my uncle Con Wallace and I were very active in spreading the Message throughout Bequia. We went from house to house giving Bible studies, and we held open air meetings everywhere, Hamilton, Lower Bay, Mt. Pleasant, and Paget Farm. I played the saxophone to lead and accompany the singing, and as it was x the first and only saxophone In Bequia, my music usually attracted quite a number of people to the meetings. I also wrote religious tracts and had them printed in Kingstown, and gave them out by the hundreds all over the island.
By 1947, the membership had grown so much that we felt it was time for us to build a church and leave the Spring store house. The South Caribbean Conference of Seventh-day Adventists' President wanted us to build a two story building and use one floor for the church and the other for a Primary School which we were planning to open, but we objected to his suggestion and decided on two separate buildings, a church building and a school building. The S.C.C. of SDA warned us against going into debt to build our church, but as we did not have enough money, not even half enough, and as a church building was a pressing necessity, I did like Moses and faced the "Red Sea" with courage, hope and faith. I decided to act contrary to the Conference's warning. I went over to Kingstown and succeeded in getting Messrs. John H. Hasell, Sons & Co., Ltd. to give me credit, to supply all our building material on credit, and with this achievement our construction work began. And so, in 1947 our first church was built. It was not large, but it had been erected for the honour and glory of God. My brother, Howard E. McIntosh, played a big part in its construction, and as the Elder of the Church he played an important part in the expansion of its membership. Pastor Gabriel, our beloved first Pastor, arrived from Trinidad and had it dedicated. The Conference President and others who attended the Dedication Service scolded me for disobeying them and warned me never to repeat such disobedience. But my disobedience had resulted in the establishment of the as corner stone of our Seventh-day Adventist work in Bequia, because from the time that church was dedicated the membership grew by leaps and bounds thanks to the great efforts of our well- loved Pastor Gabriel. He held open air meetings and hail meetings at Port Elizabeth, Hamilton, Mt. Pleasant, Lower Bay and Paget Farm, which resulted in many and large baptisms.
Shortly after building the Church, the need for our own SDA Primary School became apparent, and so we started our primary school classes in the church. But this was only an interim arrangement, because early in 1951 we decided to erect a small primary school building just across the street obliquely opposite the church. For the building materials, I donated the red bricks, the scantling and rafters and most of the galvanized sheets roofing. I took very ill at the time, but I so wanted to see the job carried on and completed that at week-ends I used to pay the workmen through my bedroom window. I always like to think of my home and our Primary School as THE TWO SISTERS, as I was the father of both and they were born just one year behind the other.
Soon after classes began in this new primary school, brother Lloyd Gittens, our first primary school Headmaster, and I decided we needed and should have without delay Secondary School education in Bequia, that Bequia's parents should not have to send their children over to St. Vincent for secondary school education. And so, we got our South Caribbean Conference to send us Secondary School teachers in 1953. This made us conduct our secondary school classes in the new primary school building and resume our primary school in the church building.
During the 1950s, from 1952 to 1959, when our Secondary School enrolment justified it, our South Caribbean Conference held three youth Camps in Bequia, 1955, 1956, and 1957, for the young people from the Grenadines and St. Vincent. All the Trinidad Conference leaders, President Archbold, Ward, Parchment, Manoram, Willie Thompson, etc., came on each occasion to direct and conduct the camp. I handed over my farm, Spring Estate, to them on each occasion for each camp. My estate home was used, as the girls' dormitory, and the large estate store house as the boys' dormitory. The estate office and the 2 story yard house were used by the Conference leaders. These youth Camps were very important to our SDA work on the island, and to our young people in the Grenadines and St. Vincent, They made our Message very attractive and very popular in Bequia. To take care of the Church services, young people's meetings and Socials which were held at the Camps, I built a very large grass roof shed against the Spring home garden wall and made a concrete floor.
During these years, the early 1950s to the mid-1960s, I taught music to several music classes in which boys and girls from all religions were enrolled. I succeeded in getting six saxophones, two trumpets, one cornet, and one clarinet as gifts from Sigurd Rascher, America's noted saxophonist, and Dr. Vernon Rickard, California, my cousin, and so started and conducted music bands. Each of these successive music bands played for our Sabbath School and song services, M.V. meetings, church and school socials, church and school concerts, for Red Cross concerts, for open air evangelical meetings, for the Youth Camps at Spring, and for the annual open air Christmas Eve public singing. Our musical concerts and socials were very popular and were always overcrowded, and got many people interested in our SDA Message. These musical activities also provided the cement for keeping our young people interested in remaining with us.
By 1966 our Secondary School work, and enrolment had developed so much that Pastor Riley and I and our church members decided that we should build a new Secondary School. And so, I gave Pastor Riley a large cash donation, and with donations from our church members and others, he and I began the excavating of the hillside and the digging of the foundation where the new school was to be built. When the concrete work began, family circumstances in the United Kingdom made it necessary for me to depart for England, and so I did not have the privilege and pleasure of seeing our present Secondary School Building completed. I was overjoyed however that I had left a most important work started and underway.
Brother Lloyd Gittens of Trinidad and I, therefore, will have our names go down in the history of Bequia as the Founders of Secondary School Education in Bequia. It was not until January 1973 that the Anglican Secondary School was completed and began classes, and that was twenty long years after we had started our SDA Secondary School education in Bequia. For twenty years we had catered for the secondary school educational needs of Bequia's young people before the Anglicans decided to join us.
Is it possible for you to be sad and glad at one and the same time when, in Australia, I heard that our small church building had been demolished and a large new church building had taken its place, the news made me feel both sad and glad. The little church was very dear to my heart. I had put ray whole heart and soul into its erection, and it had played a most important part in the rapid and extensive development of our SDA religious, social and educational work in Bequia. And so, it was natural for me to cry when I heard it had been destroyed. But I was cheered with the glad news that a large and splendid new church building had taken its place and had already become a magnet for a rapidly increased membership.
In conclusion, I must salute Elder Wendel Ollivierre for the most important part he played in both the planning for and the actual construction of the present church. He gave of his time, skill and workmanship without measure.
And finally tribute must also be paid to my wife, Betha Rose McIntosh, whose encouragement and assistance in all my undertakings were greatly responsible for my achievements for our Lord.
I do sincerely hope that the present membership of this lovely new Church will continue to cherish and foster a deepening love for our lord, and that you will have the privilege and pleasure of seeing Him come in glory within your lifetime.
May God bless you all and keep you faithful.
Cecil D. McIntosh.
(1982)
