Brighton patriarch turns 105 today
Centenarian Mr. Victor Lewis with his two daughters, Brenda and Patricia at his Brighton home on Wednesday
Centenarian Mr. Victor Lewis with his two daughters, Brenda and Patricia at his Brighton home on Wednesday

VICTOR Lewis couldn’t help but give God, “from whom all blessings flow,” the praise for sparing his life to celebrate another birthday; his 105th to be precise.

As he told the Guyana Chronicle from the comfort of his Brighton Village home on the Corentyne Coast late Wednesday afternoon, “He directs; He orders; He knows my days. It is in His hands.”

Turning to his daughters Brenda and Patricia, who were seated nearby, he asked about their plans for his birthday this year.

“Just a prayer service; the Pastor will come over,” replied Brenda. “Not too much celebrations this year,” she said. “COVID is out there, and we have to protect him.”

Better known to fellow villagers as ‘Little Johnny’, or simply ‘Old Police’, Mr. Lewis’ quick response when asked to tell us a bit about himself, was: “I was born on February 25, 1917 at Eversham Village; my parents were James Lewis, known as ‘Johnny Lewis’. That’s where I got the name ‘Little Johnny’. My mother’s name was Rachael Albert.”

He readily admitted, too, that while from time to time, he would experience bouts of memory loss, he has not forgotten his birthdate nor the names of his parents.

And while he is eternally grateful to his parents for his being here today, he noted that it was his paternal grandparents, James and Mary Lewis, who nurtured him, at the very place he calls home.

“I grew up with Elric; he was my cousin. We were the children of two siblings. My grandparents were farmers; they cultivated ground provisions, corn and bananas. We were never hungry, but if we were, we would just go to the farm, pick a few ripened bananas from the sucker, or parch and pound corn before eating it with sugar,” Mr. Lewis said, adding:

“Life was not as it is now. Back then, people farmed, and the villagers, despite their ethnicity, lived in unity. In those days, if an African family had a function, and their East Indian neighbour was not invited, then that would be a big problem. The uninvited person would enquire what was the reason for him or her not receiving an invitation, prior to presenting themselves. Life was so good without the politicians.”

BITTER-SWEET MEMORIES
Chuckling as he took the Guyana Chronicle down memory lane, all the while clasping his hands between his legs, a habit he’d developed over the years, Mr. Lewis recalled attending Eversham Primary School while Mr. James Henry was Headmaster. However, while he was privileged to have completed his schooling, he was unable to write the ‘School Leaving Examination’, which was held at the Rose Hall Scots School in Rose Hall Town. “I cannot now remember what prevented me from going to write the exams, but my now deceased friends, Albert King and Marth Douglas, they were successful at the exams, and had pursued higher learning, resulting in them becoming educators,” he said, adding: “I became a carpentry apprentice, under the stewardship of ‘Brother Grant’ of Phillipi Village. As a small boy, I had visited the village shop, and had observed ‘Brother Grant’ doing some carpentry. And he asked me whether I was interested, and I responded in the affirmative. I started to learn the trade, and have since specialised in all areas of carpentry.”

According to the widower, his trade took him to many areas locally, including the mining town of Linden and Matthews Ridge. Noting that his markings are on all the multilateral schools and other learning institutions across the country, Mr. Lewis was quick to add that as soon as he received his wages, he would hurry to the nearest post office so he could send the money home to his now deceased wife, Monica, to assist with the maintenance of their 11 children: Denzil, Eon, Victor Jnr, Eldon, Fay (now deceased), Wendy, Patricia, Brenda, Kim, Yonnette, and Denise. He has also fathered a twelfth child, a son named Leon who resides overseas.

Looking back over the years since losing the love of his life, Mr. Lewis said: “I have not remarried, although my wife died over 30 years ago. When you have a wife, you have to give, and I am not able with that now…”

Along with the maintenance of his family, Mr. Lewis, who’s also an Elder of the Brighton Presbyterian Church, noted that church attendance was not an option for his family. “We had to go. Sunday is the day to serve the Lord; we have to look to our Creator for everything.

“These days, parents asking children if they would like to go to church. But I was never taught that; it was never an option. It is a necessity.”

And, despite experiencing short bouts of mental loss during the interview, he was quick to point out that as a youth, he was a member of the Boys Scouts organisation, which is now managed by the Police in some areas. According to him, the Boys Scots organisations instilled values, which were either duplicated or replicated in homes.

“In this current time,” Mr. Lewis said, “young people are not applying themselves to learn a trade. A trade affords a person to maintain a family. I learnt a trade, and I will always advise the young men to do likewise. Nowadays, if a youth is asked to do something, the first question is: ‘How much you paying?’ In this village, there is the Brighton Turf Club, which was famous for horse races back in the days. The pavilion needs repairs; no one is volunteering to do so. That could have been a project for the Boys Scouts or any other interest group. But, instead of building up, people breaking down. We can do better.”

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