Bauxite mining: its social impact on Linden

Mar 19, 2017 News

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By Enid Joaquin

Back in the days, this mining town many call home was not known as Linden, but Mackenzie.

In those days, the name Mackenzie seemed synonymous with prosperity; the place that people came to looking for jobs, for entertainment, or just for the experience!
Speaking with Kaieteur News Editor, Adam Harris as the bauxite centennial celebrations swung into high gear last year, I was a bit surprised that he considered Linden ‘the go to’ place for entertainment.
At the time, he was considered “a youth” with a penchant for partying!
“I would frequently pass through Linden, on my trips from Bartica to Georgetown, and I can tell you, those were some memorable times- Linden was beautiful and prosperous. In those days the nightlife was unequalled in Guyana. I think one of the very first discotheques in the country was established there- it might have been the Crimson Bat or Moonglow (Cat Whiskers).
“And I mean back then flashing lights (disco lighting) and all the other paraphernalia that that entailed, was new and exciting in this country-it was a novelty, and it started in Linden.”
Harris also reminisced that during the famous MSC Fair, “the biggest place to be, was Constab (Linmine Constabulary Hall) There they used to have these big string bands, which Linden was famous for; there was the Cannon Balls, the Jet Stars, Fascinators and the Dee Jays Combo.”
His recollections of course, stirred some of my own.

I vividly recall, as a little girl, experiencing the last night of the fair, which was the Saturday night, when the MSC queen was crowned. The fair lasted for three days.
Those were the days when in order to enter any kind of pageant, one had to be beautiful-naturally so— because in those days hair extensions were unheard of and wigs of any kind were only worn by mature women!
But that was not a problem, because Mackenzie was known as the Town with the most beautiful women! Ask Pastor Richard McDonald! He came all the way from New Amsterdam to find a job in Linden, but the good Pastor found more than a job- he found a good wife– Cheryl Baird! (read more on this in Kaieteur News Special person featuring Pastor McDonald)
Pastor McDonald, like so many others, including former IMC Chairman, Orrin Gordon, who also married a Linden beauty, made Linden their home. Both boast of being “naturalized Lindeners, “who ain’t going nowhere!”
They, like many others, “absconded” from their homes in Berbice and other places to experience the successes and vibrancy of Mackenzie, according to a good friend of mine.

Apart from being the first ‘mining town’, with its bauxite contributing significantly to the national coffers, Linden also holds claim to many “firsts” in the country.
Those include the first Mashramani celebrations, first Town Day/Week, Kashief and Shanghai football tournament and of course the biggest and best Fair ever seen in Guyana, and alluded to by Adam Harris- the Mackenzie sports Club Fair (MSC Fair).
Mashramani was so hugely successfully that it soon became a national event, taking the country by storm. Kashief and Shanghai achieved similar success and like the MSC Fair saw persons from all over the country and even overseas, trekking to the mining Town for that football final.
The Fair, perpetually etched in the memory of those fortunate enough to have experienced it, provided good clean family entertainment and educational fodder, through numerous booths showcasing both huge and small economic enterprises.
Apart from the popular MSC queen contest, the fair was famous for the “EL Bingo” dancing rink, which featured many of the string bands mentioned by Harris.
It was a clash of ‘the giants’ and the most popular bands of course drew the most crowds, who partied ‘til day clean!’ One of the ‘giants’ back then was the Cannon Balls which was owned by the Haynes brothers.

One of the Haynes sisters, Dr. Esther Haynes-Tross, reminisced,” I remember as a young girl growing up, the days when the band used to rehearse for the clash of giants, and many of the youngsters would come around to listen.
It was a source of great fun for them because they used to dance and sing along with the music.
Haynes-Tross said that the diversion was good for these youths, many of whom later said that it helped them to stay out of trouble.
George Joaquin, who was one of the lead vocalists with one of the smaller bands, the Dee Jays Combo, reflected, “I used to be very much a part of that El Bingo square (rink) and l can tell you, it was crazy how people flocked the place–fighting to get in and then fighting to get out, when the place became so hot that they were dripping with perspiration.
“If you wanted to (urinate) you were in trouble, because you took forever to get outside!’
Joaquin also recalled that persons started arriving by the erstwhile RH Carr, a few days before the event. “Almost every house in Linden had a relative or friend who would come for the fair, religiously, every year.”
Dr. Joseph Haynes noted, “The MSC Fair was an event that people looked forward to with excitement every year. It wasn’t just an avenue for entertainment- it provided the opportunity for people to catch up with friends and relatives from all across the country, many of whom they might not have seen in a while.
“It also provided a boost to the Town’s economy, because local businesses like my parents Haynes Haberdashery were flocked by the women who had to get fabric to make new dresses for the event and buy footwear. The men also used to purchase fabric for their shirts and so on. They bought their Clarks (footwear) which the store was famous for.”
Haynes added that seamstresses and tailors also ‘cashed in’ during the period as they were tasked with designing and sewing the clothes.
A lot of economic benefits accrued to the community, Haynes acknowledged.
Like Mashramani the MSC Fair was an initiative of the Jacyees of Mackenzie. Unlike the former however, the fair stayed in the mining town, and though long “defunct” would always remain a unique aspect of our interesting social mosaic. Many would say, those were the “good old days.”
But looking back further it gets even better!

Cleanest Town.
With nauseating garbage heaps littering the landscape, many might find it difficult to believe that Linden was once well known and respected for its unmatched cleanliness.
But that was a given, as the bauxite company in those days saw to it that the community was kept meticulously clean.
Samuel Wright, a resident of Manni Street, once fondly boasted of the days when he set his “paper boats” to sail from one end of the street and would retrieve it at the other end.
“Back then there was never any garbage in the drains, so sailing my boats in them was a pleasant past diversion!”
Manni Street is located in Central Mackenzie.
Those were the days of communal latrines, which were found in proximity to the most populated streets in Central Mackenzie.
These consisted of cubicles that could cater to several persons at a time. A continuous flow of water washed everything away, so there was never any buildup of fecal matter or anything else.

Apartheid System in housing?
According to the Miriam Webster dictionary, Aparthied is racial segregation—specifically: a former policy of segregation and political and economic discrimination against non-European groups in the Republic of South Africa.
Taking that into consideration, what transpired many decades ago as it relates to housing, by the bauxite industry, got as close to apartheid as one could possibly get!
In providing housing for its staff, the industry employed clear lines of demarcation regarding who lived where.
Ordinary staff occupied the range houses or logies in Central Mackenzie, while the expatriate white staff was housed in the communities of Watooka, Fairs Rust, Noightdact and Richmond Hill. These neighborhoods were the most pristine and well-kept neighborhoods in the entire community and extension the country. Later local bauxite executives took up residence in these communities.

Watooka Club
The famous Watooka Club was established for visiting clients of the industry and other guests.
Other amenities included the pool and Surapana Club and Golf Course.
These areas were completely off limits to non-residents, unless one was a worker such as a maid or constable.
An interesting story that has been told and retold over the years, concerned former President and Prime Minister Cheddi Jagan and his wife Janet, also a former President, who chose to sleep in a room at the Mackenzie Hospital, after Mr. Jagan was told that he could not be accommodated at the Watooka Club.
His wife, being white, was of course welcome!
Save and except for the “apartheid” system of housing, the bauxite industry nonetheless contributed significantly to the social amenities in the town, including the establishment of two hospitals- one at Mackenzie and the other at Wismar, the Mackenzie Sports Club, Recreation Hall and the Library, among others.
Two schools, the Watooka Day, which in the earlier days catered strictly to senior staff and the Echols High School (Mackenzie High), were also established by the Company.

Changes
Over the years the town of Linden has gone through some drastic changes. It was as if the town was mirroring what was happening in the Bauxite industry.
These days the pristine looking neighborhoods are no longer located at South Mackenzie. Beautiful houses can be found scattered all across Linden, some standing incongruously side by side with makeshift dwellings.
Gone are the days of local “apartheid”, and unfortunately, gone too are the days, when this community could boast of being the cleanest.
It is with great pain that I quote one Jane MacDonald, obviously an expatriate, who revisited her old home village Watooka a few years back,
“Went to Linden in October 2012 with Pat Hunte-Cusack and was so shocked at the state of the homes, roads, and general (non) upkeep of the whole environment. A new school and the yard for the children to play in, was full of garbage. I was so sorry to have had my memories of Mackenzie “dashed”. It made me cry.”

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