Circular No 1065

 

Newsletter for alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.

Caracas, 15 August 2022. No. 1065

--------------------------------------------------------

Dear Friends,

Here is additional new information on the bridge.

---------------------------------------

Joseph Berment-McDowald <bermentmcdowald@yahoo.com>

Tue, May 3

Hello George, et. al.

I can't speak for what happened after 1975 and none of the younger boys are here to describe their experiences. 

My parents trusted the Abbey School and the monks absolutely.

No permission was ever requested nor was any required. 

I believe that we all took it as rite of passage essential for maturation to manhood.

I'm happy that it was done that way.

Of course, I was scared "shitless" as they say but the entire responsibility for the success of the mission and the safety of the team depended on me, and I couldn't show any extreme fear and uncertainty although I had to consult with them and obtain their approval to go forward.

All the best,

Joe

-----------------------------------------------------------------.

By Kaelanne Jordan

The 106-year-old iron bridge at Mount St Benedict is in a state of disrepair and has become increasingly dangerous to traverse.

It was erected as part of the grand water scheme to have access to the pipes embedded into the mountain at the side and to have free access to the water supply source in the hills.

It is incumbent on the monks to restore the bridge so that the water scheme will remain in place.

This water scheme has served the pilgrims, the adjoining communities, the swimming pool and other recreational facilities, the monks and all who visit the Mount faithfully for 110 years.

“The monks are in dire need of your financial and moral support as we seek to restore this historic bridge,” Abbot John Pereira OSB told Catholic News.

--------------------------------------------------------------.

On Sun, Apr 24, 2022

GEORGE MICKIEWICZ <amickiew@att.net> wrote:

RE: HOW MANY TIMES DID WE CROSS THIS BRIDGE AT THE MOUNT? DO WE REMEMBER ITS LOCATION?

Hi Guys

I wasn’t a scout, but do not recall similar adventures experienced by my scout friends in my time. 

Looks like you were given more freedom in your days.

I invite those of you who were scouts at the mount in earlier years (1950-1965?) to share your recollections. 

Did you have to get the “bush adventure” badge?

As I read your stories, a couple of questions came to mind in my “wise old age”:

Where your parents aware of this?

Did they have to provide the Mount with permission for y’all to do this?

How did they feel when/if you shared with them that you got lost for days(s) in the bush and the related dangers/hazards?

None shared it, but at what point did you start to get scared that you might not be able to get back?...”HONESTLY”

Did this practice continue in the later years at the school; 1975-1986?

Please be extra careful and stay healthy, safe and sound,

George Mickiewicz (AS-MSB 1956-1962)

 ------------------------------------------------------------.

From: Joseph Berment-McDowald

Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2022

Thanks Andres,

You fill in many details that I didn't remember as sharply as you quite accurately although we never knew of the location of the Quesnel family estate.

We had a hike from the Heights of Aripo to Matelot around 1973 which ended in an almost identical manner. 

We tumbled down hillsides covered with impenetrable bush unable to see the sky, knee deep in sodden earth and rotted leaves or sliding on our buttocks lost without our compass working. 

As you did, we figured out that a Northern Range river must lead eventually to a coast and hopefully road.

Eventually, we arrived at the point that the network of rivers that we choose lead to one that crosses the Tocó Main Road in Rampanalgas,

The Rampanalgas River, grateful that we had made it because at times we were very uncertain.

My biggest worry was that one of us would have gotten injured and made our progress even more difficult or uncertain, especially if we had to carry someone.

We had probably travelled twice the distance that we would have if we had stayed the course to our intended destination and a good two hours’ drive from it. 

The nights in the jungle were miserable as we got soaked all through from the rain and had to cover ourselves in Citronella Oil to repel the mosquitoes, which was as effective in making us uncomfortable and penetrating everything (including food) as warding off mosquitoes.

We didn't think to have gloves so a few of us got hurt from grabbing branches with thorns or "Chinneys" a kind of stinging caterpillar with very painful venom.

Never were we happier to see "Cutty" in a Mount Bus with sandwiches and juice a few hours later.

It must have been one of the several messages that we sent with anyone who would stopped to listen that got through to the monastery by phone.

If I remember we missed our rendezvous by a day or two which must have caused a few anxious moments at The Mount.

I wish that we had learned Semaphore and Morse Code: regrettably we didn't.

There wasn't much interest in it during my time.

I may have forgotten or misremembered some events.

Possibly of any who were there during my time who are here they can correct the facts and add the missing details?

-------------------------------------------------------------.

On Sat, Apr 23, 2022, Andres Larsen

<andres_larsen@yahoo.com> wrote:

Draga Attila (at least that is how I remember the heading in the letters you received in Hungarian,

This bridge went in a north-westerly direction to a ridge overlooking the central plains.

There was beyond the tropical forest in the valleys no forest canopy going up that ridge from where the views were spectacular including to Piarco, San Fernando, out over the mangroves on the western coastline (where the petrochemical plant was (W.R. Grace perhaps?) and of course over to Port of Spain and on clear days in the afternoons if one was lucky all the across the Dragon's Mouth way off in the distance Macuro (not far from Guiria).

Below of course Tunapuna and the University of the West Indies campus.

A bit to the left of Piarco but in "our" northern mountain range the access to Arima.

Looking south from this ridge to the right of it the valley that went north to Mount El Tucuche (Trinidad's second highest mountain).

I'll come back to that later.

In this valley the Quesnels had their plantation where we Boy Scouts once camped out on a very soggy tropically rainy sojourn setting up our tents on a bamboo platform and where I only once in my life attempted to ride a horse and it threw me off into a bamboo patch so that was that and I was done with riding horses.

Coming back to this valley and El Tucuche.

We Boy Scouts (1 patrol) did hike on a night-time excursion up El Tucuche at least part of the way and lost our bearings as our compass didn't work.

We couldn't figure out where north was at night.

I vaguely saw something that appeared to be coiled up on a trail and thinking it was a snake cautiously approached it.

Its whiff told me otherwise and sure enough and was a big heap of a turd maybe left by some domesticated or wild animal.

We walked the whole night along mountain trails and were simply exhausted the next morning (on a Sunday maybe?) and then we didn't know what to do and maybe I suggested we look for and find a river or riverbed which would guide us down and off this mountain.

We did find one but with a dry riverbed and so we descended a good part of our way more or less slithering down on our rear ends.

I remember distinctly that I had the New Zealand cheese in the pillow case of my sleeping bag and in one of those toboggan-type slides down I landed on the cheese and crushed it inside the pillow case.

After quite some time slithering down the mountain we ended up in a cocoa plantation with trails and the first thing we did was to have breakfast on the cocoa pods eating and sucking off the white pulp which covers the cocoa seeds (from which chocolate is made).

That was phantastic but I've never had that again the rest of my life as well as sucking and chewing off chopped off sugarcane stalks.

Coming back to this cocoa plantation we must have walked around its perimeter 3 complete times until all of a sudden we heard a pickup approaching us on a trail.

Its driver stopped and wanted to know what we were doing there on the plantation.

We told him our story and the gist of it ended up being that he drove us over to Maracas Bay nearby and left us there.

I don't remember how we contacted the Mount by phone but in the afternoon they came to get us and drive back with us to the Abbey School. 

Any memorabilia contributions to these by now rather vague recollections more than welcome. 

-------------------------------------------------------------.

On Friday, April 22, 2022

George Mickiewicz <amickiew@att.net> wrote:

Thanks everyone for sharing your memories.  

You shared some of those special “good and positive” moments which am sure prepared you in certain ways to address other challenges and opportunities that you faced later on……..in that other journey …….that we call life. 

--------------------------------------------------------------.

On Apr 21, 2022,

Attila GYURIS <gyuris@yahoo.com> wrote:

Thanks for the kind words, Andres....  

Yes, I enjoyed doing bushcraft immensely.

I went every afternoon after classes, and on weekends, while everyone went down to the sports field, I headed into the bush.  

I loved to build hidden/camouflaged stick "dens" and loved to hike to the White stones and use Semaphore signalling with flags as well as using a ship Morse code lamp to communicate with another buddy who stayed down at the Refectory. 

Then I got me a pellet gun and went "hunting” for small animals. 

Ok, I realize it's not cool today, but back then it was loads of fun. :-)

Andres, remember when three of us went hiking (with Farrah) one weekend for our "Venture Scout" Badge?

We started from the White Stones, then across the entire northern mountain range straight through into Maracas Bay? 

And we got lost along the way and ended up taking a route up and down more mountains, that was several times longer than necessary, but we finally made it.  ha ha.

Attila Gyuris

+++++++++++

On Thursday, April 21, 2022,

Andres Larsen <andres_larsen@yahoo.com> wrote:

Attila Gyuris was also a consummate "bushman" building tree houses high up in the trees all over the place.

The higher, the better.

Heights apparently don't make him dizzy.

---------------------------------------------------------.

On Monday, April 18, 2022

GEORGE MICKIEWICZ <amickiew@att.net> wrote:

The premier “bushman” of my time was Don (Boxhead) Mitchell. 

He lived in the bush whenever he had any free time. 

He was a natural in this habitat in the many related activities that he practiced as a “survivalist”. 

Other bush travellers from my time were Dominique Piton and Joel Blandin who undertook secret trips through the bush to visit their girlfriends, the Farfan sisters, who lived at the base of the mountain; far below the mango grove.

--------------------------------------------------------------------.

From: Joseph Berment-McDowald

Sent: Monday, April 18, 2022

I believe that the teamwork, group cohesion and socialisation that went along with our bushman activities and the innovation, creativity and resilience form the nature school is undervalued and not understood at the present time.

--------------------------------------------------------------.

On Mon, Apr 18, 2022

Joseph Berment-McDowald <bermentmcdowald@yahoo.com> wrote:

It is the bridge to the monastery's water intake/water reservoir which served even some households in St. John's Village in my time, apart from the seminary and the convent. 

It was a great mark of prestige amongst the village folk to be connected to the monastery water works and only the most valued workers were - - John Hernandez, Magnus, Catelino Noriega, Hugh et.al.

Some years ago households that were disconnected complained bitterly about it.

Frs. Cuthbert and Odo had a major role in water management 50 years ago especially in filling the tanks at various locations and distributing the supply to assure that the requirements were satisfied.

In the Dry Season it was a particularly difficult job and sometimes supplies ran very low.

When that happened that time for bathing was cut short.

Once we had a terrible time with our water.

It was rumoured that Salvador Coscarat and others had thrown a dead Corbeaux into one of the large metal tanks (immediately above St. Bennet Hall) that served the school and the water smelt it.

We even saw feathers in the water.

One showered ate and drank with a certain queasiness and dread for quite a while. 

The sources of the water are the arid hills immediately West and North of St. Bennet Hall with the intake a KM or so at the end of the bridge.

This territory between the bridge and the water intake and possibly 1/2 KM further West was the sweet spot for the tree houses that we built for the recreation of our several "tribes".

These tree houses were centres of activity, principally cooking and liming. 

The excitement was very high when what was being cooked was an animal that was successfully hunted. 

In the mid 70's the Ministry of Agriculture planted several pine trees on what were otherwise featureless hillsides covered in the main by razor grass and other kinds of hardy, impenetrable, thorny, flesh cutting grasses and shrubs.

The broad-leafed plants got fewer and fewer the further one got from the floor of the valley and the tiny stream that flowed to the St. Michael River although the GruGru and the Cocorite palms did well under those seemingly impossible conditions. 

One had to be careful: painful contact with the thorns of the GruGru was almost unavoidable and if one was particularly afflicted it could end in a large puss filled swelling some days later requiring self-surgery -- being lanced with a needle sterilised in a flame which we used to extract the thorns.

The ecology on the hillsides began to change over time with birds and other wildlife appearing with the planting of the pine forest.

It must have done well for the water table and supply of water.

Beyond the reservoir is an Eastern approach to White Stones and Mount Tabor where the abandoned monastery lies.

It's tough going but gives one (or used to before the pine forest matured) scenic views of the plains and the foothills West of Mount St. Benedict. 

If one were to veer East or North East that approach is a gentler climb that keeps one in the cool shade for longer and some of the vista that one can see from the Western approach is not visible.

At the summit one has a clear view into the Maracas St. Joseph Valley and the Caura Hills.

JBM

----------------------------------------------------------------.

EDITED by Ladislao Kertesz,  kertesz11@yahoo.com,  if you would like to subscribe for a whole year and be in the circular’s mailing list or if you would like to mention any old boy that you would like to include, write to me.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Photo:

22LK0199FBRDAWFE, Roland D´abadie

08UN0123REUNION2008, Esmeralda visit to TT

15LK0012FBBRIDGE, painting by O Gomes

55HH0021ENGLISH p12