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‘Jimmy’ Hamilton, the man behind ‘Mash, dies
James ‘Jimmy’ Hamilton was not a born Lindener, but he certainly etched his way into the hearts and history of this mining town in the most spectacular way.
He reportedly died over the last 24 hours. He was 88.
Died: James ‘Jimmy’ Hamilton
Hamilton came to Linden as a young man where he worked in the bauxite industry for several years as a photographer in the Communications and Administration Department.
He played a critical role in capturing and archiving the history of bauxite mining.
The Linden Museum holds testimony of his painstaking work.
But perhaps his biggest achievement was his contributions to Mashramani.
As a founder member of the Jaycees of Mackenzie, Hamilton played a prominent and integral role, in conceptualizing the whole idea of Mashramani, right down to the naming of the festival.
The first Mashramani in Linden was such a monumental success that the event was later adopted at the national level.
Hamilton afterwards was offended when the event was “desecrated” by persons who referred to it as “Mash”.
He thought it was belittling for such an event.
Small in stature, but of lofty ideas and ideals, he will also be remembered as a well-dressed man in whose hands, a cigarette seemed a permanent fixture.
Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, Valerie Adams-Yearwood, herself from Linden, reminisced on her days working at the bank, and how she would hurry to serve him, because he was so nice and friendly.
“Jimmy would definitely be missed. He was a very nice person and a busy body- very energetic…so in those days whenever he came in to draw his salary, I used to hurry to deal with him quickly because he always had something to do and somewhere to go.”
The Minister said that what she admired most about Hamilton was his friendly manner and the way he always interacted with people.
“Whenever he saw me, he would ask me if I heard anything about whatever was going on, and if I said no, he would say…girl you got to keep up with current affairs.”
Former colleague, Jenny George-Parkinson, in reflecting on the times they worked together, quipped: “Jimmy was a nice person to have around-very witty- and very committed to whatever task he undertook. His death is a great loss to all of us.”
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