Tales from way back when…
Rosaline will get her Mama and Granny
MR. SUGRIM Singh has arranged, through the Colonial Secretary’s Office, to bring Bephia and Maharaji, mother and grandmother respectively of Rosaline the destitute Indian girl, who was brought back from India by himself and Dr. Bissessar with public subscriptions.

Since Rosaline came back, Mr. Singh said, she has been very lonely without her mother and grandmother.

She approached several generous persons from various parts of BG who have assisted her to raise the passage money — $800 — for her mother and grandmother.

It is expected that Bephia and Maharaji will leave Calcutta shortly for Trinidad and then BG.

They were among the immigrants who in September 1955, left B.G for India on board the immigrant ship, MV Resurgent.

(Guiana Graphic: September 6, 1958)

Cat imprisoned for 48 hours
A CAT (sex unknown) got imprisoned under some lumber in the New Victoria Hotel on Sunday last.

It was there for more than 48 hours when it was released on Tuesday morning by some Town Council scavengers who removed the lumber.

It was pathetic to see how the cat ran to the nearest drain for water, then to the refuse bin in search of food.

(Guiana Graphic: September 26, 1958)

Rosaline and family now reunited
ROSALINE, the destitute Indian girl who was brought back from India a year ago through public subscription, is now happily reunited with her mother and grandmother.

Her mother, Bephia, and her grandmother, Maharaji, returned from India on November 30.

Rosaline and her family left here in September 1955 for India by the immigrant ship, ‘MV Resurgent’.

Rosaline and her mother were born in BG.

Her grandmother had hoped to find her relatives in the district of Gonda, but when she arrived there, failed to locate them.

Bephia (38), Maharaji (68) and Rosaline (22) found it extremely difficult to settle down in India with their limited financial resources.

They tried their utmost to find employment to keep them going, but to no avail.

The result was that they had to get help from charitable organizations in India.

With the help of Barrister-at-Law, Mr Sugrim Singh, who had also travelled to India on the ‘Resurgent’, they were able to get accommodation through the UK High Commission in India and the Protector of Immigrants in Calcutta.

Later, Rosaline, through the help of the public, returned to BG in November last year, but Maharaji and Bephia were left in India.

Rosaline solicited help again from a number of Guianese, and approached Mr Sugrim Singh, who gave his personal guarantee to the local government to the sum of $800 with respect to the passage money for the return of Maharaji and Bephia.

Rosaline married since her return, and is now extremely happy to be reunited with her mother and grandmother.

They are all now residing at Ruimveldt Housing Scheme.

Rosaline, Bephia and Maharaji said they were all extremely grateful to the Chief Secretary’s Office for the help given in their reunion.

(Guiana Graphic: December 8, 1958)

Cornerstone laying today
THE LAYING of the cornerstone of Musterd Memorial Presbyterian Church at Belmonte, Mahaica, takes place this afternoon at 3:30pm.

Mr NE Esselemont, Chairman of the Presbyterian Committee, will lay the stone.

The Reverend EG Spellen, Moderator of the Presbytery, will dedicate the stone, and the Rev. Gordon G Dickson will address the congregation.

The building will replace the age-old wooden structure in which the late Mrs Sophia Musterd of Letter T Estate worshipped.

It is the intention of the minister and members to erect a tablet in her memory as early as possible.

(Guiana Graphic: July 7, 1958)

The Sign of the Penguin
A FRIEND just back from spending a few days in Berbice is jumping with praise for Mrs Bennett’s efforts with her Hotel Penguin in New Amsterdam.

“She has made it into a really comfortable place,” he said, and had a special word for the cleanliness and the service which is at a standard other hotels in Guiana should try to emulate.

The food is first class, and knowing my friend and what his food means to him, I know he wouldn’t have one word of good about anything in the hotel if the meals were not what he would want.

At the present time, work is nearly finished on the installation of showers in the rooms.

Socially, Saturday nights are being developed into something special: Dancing and Chicken-in-the-Rough suppers, with a cold buffet on the third Saturday of each month.

Congratulations, Hotel Penguin and Mrs Bennett.

(Guiana Graphic: July 6, 1958)

‘Iron Boys’ show their worth
THE DE LUXE Boys of Bagotville, West Bank Demerara, held their first weightlifting competition last Sunday.

They gave a good account of themselves.

Results were: J Simpson (165 lbs. bodyweight). Total: 491; J Singh (118 body weight) – 491; F. Mingo (116 body weight) – 410; Y Singh (121 body weight) – 390; V Wong (111 bodyweight) -337; C Pollard (125 bodyweight) – 307.

J Singh, who weighs 118lbs, made a dead-weight lift of 350 lbs.

The trainer of the boys is Mr Frank Leow.

(Guiana Graphic: August 2, 1958)

Two Ursuline nuns die same day
TWO NUNS of the Ursuline Convent died on Saturday. They are Mother De Sales, 67, and Mother Cecilia, 88.

Mother De Sales died around 11am, and Mother Cecilia around midnight.

Mother Cecilia came to BG in 1894 from Barbados, and joined the Convent.

Before coming here, she worked in Barbados, and was the Superior of a Convent there.

Mother de Sales entered the Convent 38 years ago.

Born in Ireland, she was, for a number of years, Mistress of St Agnes School.

The funeral of both nuns took place yesterday afternoon.

Fr F Smith conducted the services at the Brickdam Cathedral.

(Guiana Graphic: August 4, 1958)

Wife loses all to the ‘other woman’
TWO WOMEN who fought for a man at his bedside at the Georgetown Hospital four years ago, were in another fight in the Supreme Court yesterday for the $2,300 insurance he left at his death.

And incidentally, the widow, Leila Gourick, who admitted that she was thrashed by the other woman at the bedside fight, was again the loser yesterday.

She was told that she was not entitled to anything.

The money went to the reputed wife, Vaulda Bayley, of 128 Carmichael Street, for herself and the six children she bore Fitzherbert Gourick, a former employee of Esso Standard Oil Company.

The Gourricks were married in 1945.

“We lived four happy years, then I found out that he had a lady,” Mrs Gourick said.

“Now I am a lonely woman. I have no children,” she added.

Bayley said that she and Gourick lived for nine years before his death.

Six days before Gourick died, he sent for a lawyer and made a will.

When Bayley applied for probate of the will, Mrs Gourick entered a caveat alleging that the will was not properly executed and if it was, undue influence was used.

Mr Justice Stoby said: “It is perhaps wrong that a husband should be entitled to disinherit his wife. In England, that can no longer happen. The wife who is disinherited can always go to Court and claim that she ought to be allotted a portion of her husband’s estate. That is not the Law in this country,” His Lordship added, when making an order proving Gourick’s will in solemn form.

Mrs. Gourick, defended by Mr JR Hope, was ordered to pay her own costs.

Bayley was told that her costs would be paid from the Estate.

(Guiana Graphic: September 2, 1958)
Clifford Stanley can be reached to discuss any of the above articles at cliffantony@gmail.com or telephone 657-2043.