By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C. — I woke up this morning in a very good mood and, as usual, the first order of business was to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for his many blessing. I’m now in an indescribable state of joy and happiness, thanks to a photograph that has just been posted by my cousin Patricia Horsford of her and her sister Norma Elliott with my Aunt Maria Elliott Forbes, who now live in Brooklyn, New York, celebrating her 90th birthday yesterday.
I spoke to all of them on the phone when I called to wish Aunt Maria a Happy Birthday. Although she has Alzheimer’s and sometimes has difficulty remembering who she is speaking with, her voice was vibrant and she fully remembered me, calling me by my name and asking me how I was doing.
I have told the story many times before about how important my Aunt Maria has been in my life and the leading role she has played in the family, especially after she graduated from Bennett College in North Carolina in 1956 and returned to The Bahamas to continue her life-long career as a teacher, which began as a “monitor” at Stanyard Creek, Andros, All-Age School before she went to college.
Aunt Maria is the youngest child of my late grandparents Ben and Mabel Elliott, with whom seven grand children were “brought up” at Stanyard Creek while our parents were either on the Contract or elsewhere in The Bahamas where they could find work.
The seven grandchildren included my late cousin Sylvia Elliott Ross, who was more like a “sister” to Aunt Maria because they were around the same age. In fact, I grew up calling her Aunt Sylvia. In addition to myself, the other grandchildren who were raised by Papa and Mama were my sister Elthreada; my cousins Agnes, Beryl and John, children of uncle Israel “Lee” Elliott; and Alphonso “Boogaloo” Elliott, son of uncle Audley Elliott.
Patricia and Norma’s father, uncle Clarence Elliott, was the eldest of Papa and Mama’s seven children, and my mother, Violet Elliott Brown, was the eldest of three daughters. My late Aunt Amanda Fox, the other daughter, married Lawrence Fox, from Long Island, when she was still a teenager, and they subsequently moved to Miami, where they worked for many years as domestics — she as a maid and he as a butler – for rich families on Miami Beach.
They did very well for themselves and built a house in Liberty City when it was still a new suburban development in northwest Miami. Their home at 1510 N.W. 69th Terrace subsequently became the home-away-from-home for Elliott family members whenever we visited Miami.
Aunt Amanda and Uncle Lawrence financed Aunt Maria’s college education as well as the college education of my late sister Elthreada Brown McPhee, who actually moved to Miami to live with them and graduated from Miami Northwestern Senior High School before entering Prairie View University in Texas.
It was my Uncle Clarence, however, who made it possible for the Elliott Family to relocate to New Providence when Papa and Mama were getting on in age. Earlier, he had moved from Stanyard Creek to New Providence and worked at a government job long enough to save sufficient money to build a home through Paul Meeres Corner, now called Fleming Street, before relocating to New York, where he virtually spent the rest of his life.
That house through Fleming Street, opposite the now closed Keith’s Chicken-In-The-Bag restaurant, became the homestead of the Elliott Family when we relocated to New Providence in the early 1950s. It did not have indoor plumbing when Aunt Maria returned from college, and having been exposed to this standard in-house amenity while living in the United States, at the top of Aunt Maria’s “things-to-do list” was the installation of a bathroom with a flush toilet so that we didn’t have to walk to the outhouse at the back perimeter of the property. She also bought our first television and a car—a blue Volkswagen Beetle.
The fact that Aunt Maria is now living in Brooklyn with her niece Norma also speaks volumes about her family-oriented commitment over the years. Norma was around three years old and her brother Alfred was only slightly older when they were sent from New York to Nassau to live with Aunt Maria, who by then had built a very nice home in Sands Subdivision near Village Road. Uncle Clarence’s other children – Sandra (deceased), Clarence Jr. (deceased), Patricia and Mabel — were sent to Miami to live with Aunt Amanda, where they all graduated from high school before subsequently returning to New York.
After spending her entire working career as a teacher in The Bahamas, Aunt Maria retired a number of years ago, and she and Aunt Sylvia, who was also a life-long educator, decided to fully enjoy their retirement years by travelling each summer. After they had taken cruises to just about every destination in the Caribbean, they shifted their focus to European destinations.
When Aunt Maria’s health started to deteriorate, she actually moved in with Aunt Sylvia, who lived in a subdivision in Palmdale, but about eight years ago Aunt Sylvia died. This was when Norma, who still calls Aunt Maria “Mummy,” decided that it was time for Aunt Maria to move to New York and live with her.
Happy Birthday Aunt Maria, and to my dearest cousin Norma, may God continue to richly bless you for the excellent care you are providing for our dear Aunt Maria.
