Lindeners, let’s keep the winds swirling

Jun 16, 2011 Letters

---

DEAR EDITOR,
I read with intrigue on Wednesday, June 15, a letter written in the Kaieteur News by my distant cousin Dmitri Allicock titled “Linden’s disappearing history is painful”.
Quite an apt caption to describe the heritage morass that is indeed engulfing Linden, but I beg to differ with Dmitri on his daunting conclusion that “memories of this precious treasure of Linden and Guyana are gone forever with the wind”, in reference to the Sprostons Wismar/Rockstone Railways.
The very letter he (Dmitri) wrote provides a most powerful narrative on the history of the Railways and has blown a wind of knowledge my way and I’m sure of the same for many Lindeners and Guyanese who read it.
I have known of the railway’s existence, but never took the time to research and learn of its history, while I’ve done very little to make a contribution that can serve to bring this or any other aspect of our history to life, and that in itself, is what could potentially lend credence to Dmitri’s sobering conclusion for most of us Lindeners who have indeed done little or nothing at all…decidedly so!
What is keeping us from making a conscious effort to keep these winds blowing until they become palpable and tangible, beneficial manifestations?
Not necessarily in any grandiose way, for our opportunity to capitalize on building an attractive heritage tourism industry as part of Linden’s economic diversification, went by the stubborn ears of those who managed the more than one billion dollar Linden Economic Advancement Programme (LEAP).
The epicentre of our historic collection and preservation efforts pioneered by the Linden Tourism Association, in the form of a simple community-driven, community-based museum (The Linden Museum of Industrial and Socio-cultural Heritage) housed in the historic Linden Recreation Hall, could have easily served as the beacon for the birth of such an industry, with vast potential.
The very constitution written for the museum, sets it up to serve as that beacon (as an independent community-based and -operated heritage Centre/Society that catalyzes the building of a heritage industry with the museum at its core), but even while LEAP was struggling to find meaningful investment projects to effect its diversification mandate, it brushed aside the museum project as a hopeless dream and jumped on board only at the last minute with a token contribution when success became imminent (thanks to the intervention of President Jagdeo, the project costs were eventually met).
But from a holistic standpoint, LEAP’s foreign managers refused to see any merit in heritage tourism as proposed by many creative minds in Linden, in facilitating the restoration of the Christianburg waterwheel and the revalorization of its historic environs (sadly, the Patterson mansion is now gone to fire); the retention and conversion of at least one of the bauxite trains that chug chugged its way upwards and parallel to the Demerara River, into the birthplace of Guyana’s world renowned bauxite, Three Friends Mines and East Montgomery where the iconic walking dragline stood (sadly that too is gone by the hands of scrap iron traders); the revalorization of at least a portion of the Alumina Plant; the return and restoration of the RH Carr that is indeed rotting in the Cuyuni River; the programmatic development and use of the Linden Bandstand that sits idle in a town that is totally void of wholesome entertainment, recreation and family-friendly environments; and of course, the full development of a natural and cultural heritage village at Rockstone where remnants of the Sprostons Railways are still evident, and where world class birding and fishing has shown potential.
These among other tangible interventions, could have bode well for a vibrant heritage tourism industry, an intriguing heritage trail with potential to give real meaning to the annual Linden Town Week celebrations and serve as a local and foreign tourism magnet all year round.
Consider the “Outameni” experience in Jamaica, where visitors are enlightened and entertained with dramatic recreations of most of Jamaica’s historic events in one place on a daily basis, or the Calinago Heritage Village of Dominica, where one can experience a recreated indigenous village setting, complete with an attractive herbal garden, or the Bauxite Heritage Park in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, where one can learn of the entire bauxite operation through sculptures and creative artistry… but (big sigh)LEAP and its billion dollars is now part of our very history and the people with the ideas certainly don’t have the resources.
Notwithstanding, those of us who value heritage must endeavour to keep stirring the wind to make it continuously swirl, creating if but just little memories for the passing generations to reminisce while we regenerate beacons of enlightenment for the younger generations.
Dmitri and the impressive Allicock Family Tree, of which I am a leaf, might be well positioned to channel more tangible interventions in this regard.
The museum (Guyana’s first community-based) is already a fading beacon, and can do well with conscious, consistent operational help and programmatic injections from the more than forty thousand residents and the countless numbers of Linderers residing in the Diaspora. Its fate is in such dire straits that the just concluded Linden Town Week, with the theme “revisiting our heritage, charting our future” passed without any focus or inclusion of the Museum in its activities.
The community-based oversight board, which has obviously fallen asleep, must quickly reinvigorate itself or yield to new trustees as the constitution so caters.
As for me, the Allicock Family Tree Organization might be a good place to start in garnering support when the Roving Dax Heritage Foundation comes on stream to create the “Pot spoon stir to positive action”…decidedly so!
Meanwhile, Lindeners lets keep the winds swirling, they are often provocatively instructive.
Dario Mcklmon

---

---