By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 1, 2019 — There is no shortage of evidence verifying the improper and abusive use of the Internet, and particularly Facebook, but there are also numerous examples of these very important advancements in communication technology being used in a positive manner for educational purposes.
This is especially true regarding certain topics that in the not-too-distant past would have taken considerable time doing proper research — in some cases, laboriously leafing through an encyclopedia – to find supportive information on a particular topic.
There are some regular contributors to Facebook who have become very skillful in using the internet to garner information in support of topics on which they choose to comment, so much so that I consider them to be “Resident Facebook Historians.”
One such individual is my Facebook friend Rosemary Clarice Hanna, who routinely demonstrates that she is a supremely gifted photographer with her weekly collage of photos taken at Sunday morning Mass at historic St. Agnes Anglican Church on Baillou Hill Road.
Rosemary is also one of the most knowledgeable persons in New Providence on the “history of Over-the-Hill”, although as a young girl who grew up on Goal Alley — off Lewis Street, not far from the main Nassau city area — she more likely than not was prohibited from “hanging out” in some areas in “heart of Over-the-Hill” where her brothers did not need parental permission to go. Back then, “hanging-out” restrictions were different for boys and girls.
I have suggested to Rosemary on more than one occasion that she should publish a collection of her photo as “historical keepsakes,” but I recently found out that she has already published a book entitled, “Pictorial History and Memories of Nassau’s Over-The-Hill,” for which a book-signing reception was held on February 28, 2013 at Doongalik Art Gallery on Village Road.
Rosemary once again validated her historical knowledge of Over-The-Hill with her responses to a post on Facebook about the location of the Silver Slipper Night Club, which was very popular in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
It arrested my attention because the responses were interspersed by two classic photos of the Rudy Williams Band that played at the Silver Slipper Club in the 1930s, and among the band members was Freddie Munnings Sr., who subsequently opened his own night club, the world-famous Cat & Fiddle. The photos were provided by Mr. Williams’s daughter, Mrs. Carolyn Bartlett.
Here are some examples of the exchanges in that Facebook thread:
ROSEMARY BRAYNEN ASKED: “Good morning to you Ms. Hanna. Where on East Street is this building located? It looks familiar but I can’t place its location.”
ROSEMARY CLARICE HANNA RESPONDED: “Rosemary Braynen, it’s no longer there. Used to be located at the site where the large Chinese warehouse at East Street just south of the old milk stand at Mason’s Addition.”
AMANDA DIEDRICK: “Rosemary, this is awesome, and very timely. I’ve been doing some research for a book I’m writing and the Silver Slipper came up – I was hoping to get a photo of it and learn more about it. Thank you!”
ROSEMARY CLARICE HANNA: “The front of the Silver Slipper was a two-storey building. On the other three sides it was surrounded by very high walls across which were stretched chicken wire to prevent people from throwing items in. There was a canopy over the bandstand. There was a large open-air tiled dance floor around which tables and chairs were placed. The Cat and Fiddle, Zanzibar and Jungle Club had similar setups.”
DOTTY RAE: “My parents looked forward to the Saturday night out. Even my grandmother would shake a leg there while my young uncle baby sat my brother and me in the truck into the wee hours of the morning.”
KAY-KAY TONG: “So very special!! We are planning a special tribute to The Silver Slipper Night Club on its still existing wall.”
Ca NEWRY: “Damn it wasn’t black owned?”
ROSEMARY CLARICE HANNA: When I was a child the Silver Slipper was owned by Mr. Edgar Bain (brother of Clarence Bain).
Obviously, there is a need for historic information of this nature to be preserved and easily accessible so that there will not be a need for someone to ask in the future where the Silver Slipper was located.
I highly recommend that Rosemary Clarice be provided with an adequate grant for such a project.
