Women of the nineties

THEY were born in the year 1913 before the world would experience the chilling events of two great world wars. Two were born in Trinidad and the other in St Vincent before the days of television, when only a few cars were on the road, and indeed long before man even dreamt of venturing into space.

WINNIE BOWEN, IVY WALKE AND LOUISE HORNE have been blessed with long lives covering nine decades and their paths have crossed in many ways as they pursued activities of broad dimension, including the fact that the three are still active members of the Soroptimists Club and one, Louise Horne has even written a book at the grand old age of 90. Who are these women and where do we start to chronicle their contribution to life in Trinidad and Tobago?

Louise Horne

Louise Horne can be credited with the fact that she was the first person to start what has become the national school feeding programme.  A woman with a social conscience, she was first involved with the Coterie of Social Workers under Audrey Jeffers which provided free meals to needy children in Port-of-Spain at its Breakfast Shed. Later, as an Independent Senator, she would raise issues of social concern, such as the matter of maintenance where mothers faced the embarrassment of going back and forth to the court to get support for their children.

Now retired from the Government Service where she served as a nutritionist, she continues her activities in many fields and relaxes in her flourishing garden in Arima, where she has an assortment of flora, from orchids and anthurium lilies to pumpkins. “Now that I am home I can do my gardening again,” she said proudly. “When I was an Independent Senator in Parliament, I hardly had the time, but now I am doing my best to revive it. But it also suffered at the hands of thieves; they took some of my prize anthuriums. This is why I have to have all this razor wire on my walls and the bars on my windows. Life before was never like this, all this crime and violence. Everything has changed from when I was a young woman.”

Ms Horne lives in the house on Lopez Street where she was born 90 years ago. She is surrounded by many keepsakes (including her mother’s schoolbooks), but most are from her career, which began when she was a teacher in the 1930’s. She taught the infant class at the Tucker Valley Government School before being transferred to the Arima Boys’ Government School, where she had a very special pupil. “There was this little boy who would not do the poetry homework that I would assign,” she explained. “He would write his own instead, especially about a certain young lady in the area who was very endowed. Anyway, I got tired of it and sent him to the headmaster to be disciplined. Later on, the headmaster spoke to me and said that he talked to the boy and said that the child understood poetry to the fullest, because he (the child) was talking to him in rhyme. The principal advised me to leave him and that he would do my homework from now on, but he added ‘that child will write his own kind of poetry someday’,” he told me. How right he was. That little boy was Aldwyn Roberts, the late Lord Kitchener!

Ms Horne went on to Training College then taught Domestic Science (Home economics) at different institutions, including a stint at the Ministry of Health, until she got a scholarship in 1947 and used the opportunity to qualify for a Bachelor of Science Degree in London. She was also awarded a Diploma in Dietetics (1950) from the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. She also studied Applied Nutrition in the Gambia and visited University Hospitals in Holland. In 1951 she was Nutrition Officer to the Windward Islands, providing dietary advice to government institutions, voluntary and religious organisations. She returned to Trinidad in 1955 (during Federation time) to do nutrition education in the Nursing Schools. Her duties included qualifying and costing, organising the catering staff for all hospitals, dietary requirements and arranging the training of cooks. She was the country’s Chief Nutritionist (1955-1973), in an exceptionally busy time (particularly in 1970) as she looked after the dietary needs of the police and prisons. Horne also participated in the Nutrition Survey of TT by the Interdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Defence. “During my active career I served on several committees,” Horne added. “There was the Community Development programme, Mausica Teacher’s College, the John S Donaldson Technical Institute... plus I was a member of the National Insurance Board and the Prices Commission. But I am most remembered for my involvement in the Coterie of Social Workers, my membership in Soroptimists International POS (served as their president from 1972-1973), Union of Women Citizens and the T&T Federation of Women Institutes.”

During her 15 years spent in Parliament as an Independent Senator, from 1976 to 1991, she spearheaded the introduction of the School Nutrition Programme, fought against the VAT on bread and butter and funeral expenses, was instrumental in getting laws implemented for the rights of women and children, cleared up important omissions in the Domestic Violence Act (noting verbal abuse was as harmful as the physical form of abuse). “On the issue of bread I had to fight hard for that one,” she said, laughing. “They were arguing that flour was already zero rated, but I said that people don’t eat flour just so, it had to be made into bread to be consumed, obviously. But after the bill was passed, many bakers and bakery owners wrote me such heartfelt thank you notes, asking the Lord to bless me. I was very touched.” The year 1980 was the beginning of ‘The Decade of Women’; Horne’s likeness was used (along with five other honourees) on a postage stamp.  She continued to be honoured, beginning with receiving the Medal of Merit (Gold) in 1972, and received many appreciation awards and honours from companies such as NIB (for serving as their deputy chairman for 14 years 1973-1987), the Arima United Sporting Organisation in 1994, a citation for her work in Arima for promoting the mental well-being of their people in 1991 and a certificate of appreciation from Soroptimists for outstanding community service from 1959 to 1999.

A staunch church woman (Roman Catholic) Ms Horne was an advocate for a Children’s Authority and a Family Court as well as protecting women’s rights. “Since my retirement, I have kept busy writing my memoirs, which takes up my time along with my garden! But at this age, my memory is still clear and I am grateful for that. Very grateful. I’ve had a good life so far.” What Louise Horne has done for this country may be in the past, but results are still very much in our present. Her book entitled History from 1797 to 1990 is complete (she is currently looking for a publisher).

Ivy Walke

Soroptimist member Ivy Walke turned 90 on February 27. To celebrate, her friends and family held a party at Columbus Circle, complete with cake, drinks and surrounded by beautiful floral arrangements, many of which she took back to her home in Ridgewood Towers. The second of eight children (one of who is the late Olive Walke the well-known musician and composer of folk songs), she and her surviving sister Grace live together, taking care of each other’s needs. She also has a brother, Hugh. “I thank God for his many blessings,” said Walke, smiling contentedly. “My life has been filled with ups and downs, but you have to overcome the downs. I look at these like challenges. I never married, but I did have friends... admirers I should say. (Chuckling) But being with family is very important to me.”

Her career has taken her to all parts of the world, but her heart (you can say) is in Mexico; she was the honorary consul of that country for over 25 years until 1981. Walke grew up in Dundonald Street (in the family home of 60 years), attending Bishop’s High School as a teen, then travelling to New York to pursue a secretarial course. While there she would also become interested in the movements of the YWCA. Years later she would become a founder of Trinidad and Tobago’s first local branch of the YWCA (and its president). Walke then went on to represent our country at the YWCA World Council in 1959, and was also Dean of the Consular Corp in 1975. “Oh, it was a very busy, busy time for me,” she mused. “Life back then was much simpler and easier as well. Not many women in powerful positions, but we were making our presence felt. Plus it was war-time, so it was hard in some ways, especially for food. The ships bringing supplies would be torpedoed, so that was when the rationing began. But we survived. Things were not modern like now. The early model refrigerators ran on kerosene. Only the affluent had an icebox, so you had to shop every day. No washing machines either, you had to wash in a tub with a scrubbing board and bleach your clothes on the bleaching stones, using things like Oxford Blue to get your clothes white. We had two types of soap, the blue soap and the brown soap, no Breeze. If you had a husband and had to wash his suits, it would take you two days to do. Soaking the clothes first, then washing them and putting them on the bleaching stones. Then the second soaking and washing, then they were put to dry. Then they would be starched and ironed with a coal pot iron.”

Walke also remembered the days of the tram cars and trolley buses, and how people still walked from Belmont to Port-of- Spain, and were healthier too.  “If we became ill, the doctor came to you, not the other way around,” she said. For entertainment, there were social events like concerts and formal dances. Still, it was difficult during that colonial period; it was also a time of segregation. “Until we became Independent in 1962, Trinidad was racially divided,” Walke added. “You would only see the white people in the banks. No blacks at all. We were under the colonial influence, you see, very British. When we became independent, everything changed.”

Nowadays Walke spends her time doing her accounting and relaxing with a crossword puzzle or two, or waiting for Wheel of Fortune to come on. To keep busy, she is also involved in the International Book Club (they meet each month) and is a patron of La Petite Musicale, which was started by her sister Olive. Despite having cataracts, her health is good (she knocks wood) and moves around very quickly, but has been warned by her doctor to “take it easy”. “I was always on the move,” she smiled. “Had a few falls, you know. My brain works quicker than my body...  it has to catch up now, so I take my time. To relax, I garden. I’ve done floral arranging... I just love flowers.” She looked lovingly at her birthday bouquet and smiled.

Winifred Bowen

Winifred Bowen is a woman who possesses a quick wit and a sharp tongue and is never afraid to speak her mind. She is also a member of the Soroptimist’s Club and cites that their activities and her overall mind-set were a perfect fit, simply because of their attitudes towards charitable works.  “As a child growing up in Bequia, which is a beautiful island off St Vincent, we were brought up to help the elderly,” she says. “Our family had two estates, (my grandparents came from Scotland) and as such we didn’t go to school; we were taught by teachers who came to teach the children of the estates. Then it was off to high school. My upbringing was both Adventist and Anglican and we were brought up to assist the priests too. It’s something I still do to this day as a member of the Anglican church on Saddle Road, Maraval.”

A Soroptimist member for over 43 years, she served as president twice. She has also been on the board of the Caribbean Regional Council and the Soroptimists National Council. Bowen was also voted (and awarded) Outstanding Soroptimist for the Caribbean area. Her work also involved adult educational courses taught at the library. She first came to this country during wartime, just after her marriage to George Washington Bowen and settled in Alexandra Street, St Clair. Her husband served as Permanent Secretary to Dr Eric Williams, while she got involved in many projects, including helping run their company, World Wide Travel. She also did a lot of travelling herself, especially on Soroptimist business.

Still working at the agency, she attributes her long life and health to two things: diet and genes. “I come from a family of ‘long-livers’ you know,” she said, laughing. “I have four sisters, still alive. They live all over the place, one in Canada, one in the US, one in St Vincent and one is here. My only brother is deceased. I’m the eldest daughter in the bunch. But we always ‘lived clean’ in terms of our diets. There was a time that I got stabbed while in England and I had to have surgery. It went well, but when I woke up there were four doctors that were waiting to talk to me. They had observed the surgery and said that my organs were so healthy looking and beautiful, they wanted to know what I had been eating!”

She proudly admits to eating mostly fish her entire life. No fried foods at all, only boiled, grilled and baked. No pork or beef either, instead it was mainly mutton or goat. She doesn’t drink alcohol, tea or coffee. Her family made their own homemade butter and coconut cream and had peas and corn “in all shapes and forms”. “We had good cassava bread too, which I loved,” she added. Nowadays she works each day at the agency until closing time, followed by Bible class on certain days. Once there is nothing else to do, she goes to bed. Sometimes her family calls her to chat. Of her four children, two are alive.

Her son works with her at the agency and her daughter is in Canada (with her three grandchildren). Sometimes she reads, to keep current on events. “I like to think that the secret to long life is that one should eat well and get enough rest. I think most of the health problems we have are due to eating too many over-processed and fried foods, along with alcohol and too much red meat. You need the right diet. Also, do community work. Wherever possible, help someone. It’s still in me to help those in need.”