(EDITOR’S NOTE: My good friend Monte Pratt celebrated his 72nd birthday today and I wanted to wish him a special happy birthday, so I asked him to send me some information to prepare a commentary for BAHAMAS CHRONICLE. Monte decided, instead, to provide a condensed insight into his “amazing” life and his “very supportive family.”)
GUEST COMMENTARY: BY MONTE A. PRATT
NASSAU, Bahamas, December 18, 2020 — Today, December 18th, I celebrate the milestone of my 72nd birthday. Many friends and followers have suggested that based on the rich history of my family — The Pinder-Pratt Family — I should write a book. Hopefully, I will soon undertake this task. However, for now, my friend Oswald Brown requested me to provide some background information on my Facebook profile page photo for a Guest Commentary in his online publication BAHAMAS CHRONICLE. Hence, I shall limited this short article to my four sisters and growing up in historic Nassau City and our family’s initial involvement in the drive for Majority Rule as we know it today.
My life story is nothing short of “amazing.” I was blessed to come from a very supportive family — The Pinder/Pratt Klan — and I happen to be the only male sibling, having four older sisters.
Not only do I come from a family that has a strong Christian background, but one that stressed the importance of a good education. When our neighbours bought televisions, my mother — Vernell Pinder-Pratt — invested in a set of encyclopedias and a piano. In addition to The Tribune, Guardian and Bahamian Review newspapers, our homestead had just about every major magazine, such as Time, Ebony, Jet, to name a few. My sisters and I are from that era when the leaders of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) were promoting the importance of securing a good education; hence, in my family education became a No.1 priority.
The Pinder/Pratt Klan has its ‘Roots’ from both ‘Out East’ (Pinders) and ‘Over da’ Hill’ (Pratts of Farm Road). It so happens that our family’s historical political background begins with the fact that an original founding member of the PLP Party, Clement Pinder, is a family member. Clement Pinder’s father, Howin Pinder, was my mother’s brother, making him our first cousin.
When the PLP was founded in 1952, because to Clement Pinder’s position and involvement, the Pinder Family was one of the very first PLP Families. Clement was actually responsible of introducing young attorney Lynden Pindling to the PLP Party on his return from university in London.
The historic area of Nassau City, where I grew up, was a stronghold PLP community surrounded by many white communities, hence it was known as ‘The White Grounds’. It was home to one of the first six elected PLP Members of Parliament, Sammy Isaacs. Later on, Philip Pinder and David Knowles, also from the community, became PLP member of parliaments.
The Hawkins Hill/Canaan Lane Community was a small but tightly-knitted community and included women the likes of Bertha Isaacs and Ethylene Isaacs — Minky Isaacs’ grandmother and mother, respectively — and also, Olympian Tommy Robinson’s mother, Willicy Robinson. These women were also business women, as was Clement’s mother Zelda Pinder, my grandmother, Savaletta Pinder-Reckley, and Minky’s grandmother, Bertha Isaacs, and Maude Newbold each owned a small ‘petty shop’ and were financial contributors to the PLP.
The backgrounds and roots of the professional legacy of The Pratt siblings — my four sisters and myself — are as follows:
ATTORNEY ANDREE PRATT-WILLIAMS: My second sister first worked as a paralegal in Callanders & Orr Law Firm. She later went on to become a lawyer with the same firm. Andree Pratt-Williams later on was an ‘associate attorney’ at Halsbury Chambers and on several occasions she participated in the law firm’s ‘free legal aid’ clinics. She still lectures from time to time on the Law of Probate and Administration of Estates. Andree is now semi-retired.
LAUREL DARVILLE-HERRINGTON: My fourth and younger sister, Laurel, worked in the House of Assembly for some 30 years as Assistant Chief Clerk during the Pindling Administration. She served under Mr. Percy Saunders, the then Chief Clerk of The House of Assembly. When Mr. Saunders passed away during his tenure as Chief Clerk of the House, being next in line and having the experience, my sister was not afforded the opportunity to fill Mr. Saunders position, and to serve as The Chief Clerk of the House. After leaving the Civil Service, Laurel acquired a business in downtown Nassau, and built her business to the extent that she was able hire some eight persons.
JUDITH P. THOMPSON: My first sister is now retired after having a stellar career in education, having served over 43 years in the Public School System, commencing at the Eastern Prep No.1 on East Shirley Street. In 1954 at the age of 15, she was named a pupil teacher on the recommendation of Mr. Donald W. Davis. Mrs. Thompson received her training in teaching at the Bahamas Teachers College during the years 1955 and 1956, and earned her Teachers’ Certificate December, 1956.
In May 1980, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education (Honors) from the College of Saint Benedict, further enhancing her teaching expertise. During her 43-year teaching career, Mrs. Thompson touched the lives of three generations of students and endeavored to instill in them good educational, social, cultural and spiritual values.
WIONA P. PRATT: My third sister, Dr Wiona P. Pratt, after attending Morgan State College in Baltimore had a short stint as a teacher before enrolling in the University of The West Indies School of Medicine. After serving her residencey at the Princess Margaret Hospital, she relocated to Freeport, Grand Bahama. Beginning in her early days in Grand Bahama, in addition to working at the Antoni Clinic on East Sunrise, Dr. Pratt felt obligated to provide medical service to the people of Eight Mile Rock, where she established a medical office.
In addition to her medical practice, Dr. Pratt served a Co-chair for Operations Hope, the sole Substance & Drug Abuse Center in Grand Bahama, through which was able to help many young substance abusers. At the peak of the evolving drug culture in The Bahamas, Dr. Pratt was instrumental in helping to save many young Bahamian persons who at the time were addicted to drugs and alcohol. Dr. Pratt also served under Dr. Lawrence Burton, PhD, at the IAT Cancer Center in Freeport, where thousands of cancer patients came mainly from North America seeking treatment.
Later on, Dr. Pratt, after receiving some 12 months training in infectious diseases under Dr. Perry Gomez in Nassau, returned to Freeport to become in charge of the HIV/AIDS Program in Grand Bahama. In addition, she served as ‘Staff Physician’ for the Rand Memorial Hospital staff for many years. Today, Dr. Pratt continues to serve in the Freeport and Grand Bahama community as a Medical Doctor, with a focus on cancer, assisting patients both medically and spiritually.
Clearly, despite my having Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA), much of my success is due to the support of my family, especially by my sisters and daughter Monette Goff. I shall conclude with some specific information about me and my professional career as an Architect/Development Planner/Construction Manager.
I am senior partner (semi-retired) at M.A.Pratt & (MAP) Associates Consulting Partners, having over 50-year experience as an Architect/Development Planner/Construction Manager. I commenced my personal work career in 1961 as a student of architecture.
In November 1972, having worked with several firms, I launched my professional architectural career by starting Architectural Consultants, Architects and Planners in Nassau.
In 1977 I relocated to Freeport, Grand Bahama, and in 1980, upon receiving a Grand Bahama Port Authority license established Montgomery A Pratt & Associates [Architects-Development Planners (Construction Mangers), offering professional AEC Services, including the specialty fields of Construction Management, Investment & Development Planning, both in Freeport and Nassau.
In 1993, I took a sabbatical to work as a technical consultant with RRA & Associates (Washington, DC Division) – EOP Compliance Officer and Business Contract Specialist on the prestigious Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) Capital Development Program, Alexandria, VA — a $2 billion dollar expansion and redevelopment program incorporating both Ronald Reagan National Airport (DC) and Washington-Dulles International Airport (VA).
Later I was seconded to the MWAA Equal Opportunity Program as an EOP Compliance Officer and Business Contract Specialist, serving some three years in that position. In addition to this stint in Washington, I was also Project Consultant with RRA Property Investments in St. Louis, MO and Nassau on the Robert Brothers’ project developments, including Roberts Isles @ Sandyport, Cable Beach, The Bahamas.
In late 1997, as senior partner at M.A.Pratt & (MAP) Associates – Consulting Partners, I returned to my company having branches in Nassau and Freeport. Several notable structure were design/built my MAP Associates (group) and its subsidiary companies that includes Montgomery A Pratt & Co Ltd. and Gamma Construction Co. Ltd. Such structures included, St Johns Jubilee Cathedral, First Baptist Church, Calvary Bible Church, LMR Mini-mall and AID Automotive in Freeport and Abundant Life Bible Church, Nassau, Bahamas.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Monte Pratt, now semi-retired, continues to provide technical consulting services, and as a hobby documents Bahamian history.)
