and Gayle Goodge Bunning
Gayle Goodge (now Bunning) was a well-known young woman in Anguilla. She first lived in The Valley then at Island Harbour and attended school here. Daughter of the late Baptist Missionaries, Pastor and Mrs. Freeman Goodge, her name and the names of her family were household names in Anguilla.
Originally from Ireland, they had brought a new religion, a church and a school to Anguilla. The patriarch, a keen supporter of the 1967 Anguilla Revolution, had become known as “the preacher who carried a Bible in one hand by day and a gun in the other hand by night, guarding the beaches”, alongside a number of Anguillian foot soldiers.
Now 69, Gayle was back in Anguilla recently for her birthday and was seen at the National Service for Pastor and Mrs. Davis Lloyd, past friends and associates of the Goodge family, and elsewhere on the island. Earlier in life, Gayle left Anguilla and studied English and the Bible at Tennessee Temple Christian College in Chattanooga. “In my freshman year I met my husband and we would have been married for 50 years in June, but he passed away in February. He was from Illinois,” she disclosed.
Last week she visited The Anguillian newspaper accompanied by some American friends from Arizona, and Pastor Cecil Richardson who, along with other Anguillian young people at the time, were mentored by Pastor Goodge. She recalled the Anguilla she knew in her formative years, hinting at the changing times.
“I remember people who spoke to you on the road even if they or you were driving. I remember fields of pigeon peas, corn and sugarcane. I remember no trash on the roads; and I remember water on Tuesdays and Thursdays at one end on the island – and on Thursdays and Fridays, the other end of the island; and I remember a beautiful, beautiful place where everyone was safe. If I were naughty before the day was over, my mother and father knew it because somebody was going to tell them. I remember high school which I loved. I loved by teachers, especially Mr. Claude Richardson who was my Literature Teacher. He taught me to appreciate Shakespeare; and teachers with tamarind in hand.”
She further stated: “I would like to see the buildings that have been damaged by the hurricane repaired. I would love to see the Woodbine (formerly a school, her place of worship and her family’s first residence in Anguilla) repaired. We would walk from the Woodbine and even from The Anguillian (another nearby historical building where they once occupied as well) to swim at Crocus Bay. We then moved to Island Harbour (where her parents established the Island Harbour Baptist Church and School). I remember going all over Anguilla several times a week, at night, for open air services.”
Gayle also remembered a young man, Cecil Richardson, and others who spent time at the family’s home. “His family came into my family and we became siblings right away. We loved each other like brothers and sisters. We still think about ourselves as still brothers and sisters. He was always loyal, kind, helpful and sometimes ‘mischievous’…”
Cecil eventually went on to Bible School in Tennessee and became a Pastor at the Island Harbour Baptist Church. He later established the Central Baptist Church and Central Christian School at Rey Hill and is now retired with a wife and two professional children.
About the Goodges, he said: “They were like my first family. I grew up with them from the time I was 12, so my other siblings are like second family. It is strange, but true, and I am just getting to know some of my real relatives. I lived with the Goodges all these years like family.
Asked what he remembered most about Pastor Goodge, he replied, “several things. Firstly, he started the ministry here; secondly, he was a very community-minded man and helped those who were in need and would cook for the elderly. He helped in the medical field, believe it or not – he would even help with the x-ray machine; he helped to get children to Shriners Hospital in the United States and Puerto Rico for treatment. He was also involved in the Anguilla Revolution” (and officially awarded (with the Anguilla Badge of Honour and Queen’s Certificate).
The Goodge family came to Anguilla in 1962 and remained on the island for 18 years.
