Mrs. Ursilla Vanita Levons-Connor, of Upper South Hill, celebrates her 107th birthday on Saturday, August 29th. As Anguilla’s oldest citizen, her noble years have transcended many eras of Anguillian life – the best of times and the worst of times, as Charles Dickens would have once observed. The Anguillian had the honour of visiting with the celebrant – and a description of her history was relayed to us by her daughter, Jessica, and her grandson, “Ponto”.
Mrs. Levons-Connor was born in 1913 to her mother, Ms. Lillian Lake – a tall, burly woman who lived in Wattices, and a short, slim- framed Indian father by the name of Lashlou Levaux. He had migrated from Calcutta to Guadeloupe and then to Anguilla, after being shipwrecked on Dog Island in the early nineteen hundreds.
Mr. Levaux married Lillian, and together they parented thirteen children. But the Registrar of births, marriages and deaths recorded the family as “Levons” and not “Levaux”. Ursilla and her sister, Evelyn Thomas, of South Valley, are the only two survivors of that particular family.
Ursilla lived in South Valley until she was a little over a year old. Her aunt, Florencia, then transferred her to live with her in South Hill where she has since resided. While living in South Valley, Ursilla had been an Anglican, when she was baptised but, in moving to South Hill she became a practicing Methodist like her aunt.
According to Jessica, her daughter, “My mother worked very hard for us, and we had the best. She toiled the earth, raised animals and burnt coals.” She pointed to the expanse of land around the house and said, “We had a good sized farm here. We raised lots of animals, including sheep, goats, pigs and several cows. All of our animals had their own names. The cows provided us with lots of milk which enabled us to make our own butter – which we marketed to a grocery shop in Marigot, St. Martin.”
Jessica grew up with three siblings, two brothers and a sister. She said they were not rich, but still were not poor. Pointing to an area, closer to the roadside, she reflected: “We had a little shop, over there. We would sell foodstuff like flour, sugar, rice, and other staple goods to the villagers. Besides, my mother used to go out to cultivate and harvest crops with the neighbours who worked land a distance away from our home.”
“In such cases,” she recalled, “we would eagerly wait at home ‘til sunset when mother would come in to bring us our supper which consisted of her share of daily food, rationed to her by the landowners for whom she worked. She never ate it, no – but she would bring it home for her children. And only when we would have eaten, then she would eat her share that remained.”
Jessica added: “It is only when I left here, and went abroad, that I realized that we were not poor. When I witnessed certain cases of hardship out there, I only had to say ‘thank God for the provisions that our mother made for all four of us.’ She was the mainstay of our upbringing. And I appreciate her for her care.”
Jessica, the youngest of her mother’s children, spoke briefly of her three siblings saying: “My sister, Linnet, took care of the domestic work. I was hardly inclined to do housework. I would prefer to play and support Linnet by bringing water with which to cook and wash, from the Road Well. Linnet, unfortunately, died in 1975, and one of my brothers, Gerard, died in 1980. Therefore, only my brother, Aubrey, and I are my mother’s two surviving children.”
When asked what she thought was her mother’s secret for having lived so long, Jessica responded: “Mother was always kind. If anyone comes to the house, just when they were about to leave she would say, ‘just a minute.’ Then she would come out and put something of value in their hand. She used to always help people, and she was always ever so contented. She was never known to worry or stress herself about the things she didn’t have, but would always say, ‘God will provide’.”
In terms of her diet, Jessica said that her mother had always loved ground provisions and bush tea. Regularly, she would drink Ovaltine in the mornings; but whatever she drank she must always have a few drops of Ibis Brandy in it. She said that no doubt her bush tea or Ovaltine laced with a little brandy has been the secret to her natural longevity.
Jessica ended by saying, “Today at 107, my mother is still strong – and she has everything going for her. She has lived a wonderful life, she has loved people, and she has a personal relationship with her God. Whatever good she has gotten, or will get, she deserves it.”
“Ponto”, her grandson, also reflected on the vast amount of cultivation that Ursilla did on the land in the area surrounding her house. He told of the many “koal keels” she burnt — some distance to the south of her house — and at one time the hot coals ignited her clothes while she journeyed home with a bagful on her head.
“Grandma worked extremely hard,” he said, “but she was a happy soul. In more modern times, she enjoyed her favorite TV shows like ‘The Bold and Beautiful’ as well as ‘The Young and the Restless’. Though she may be a little impaired in her hearing capacity now, her eyes are very sharp and she can read the newspaper even without glasses. In addition, at 107, she still goes to the bank to do her own business, and I am just the chauffeur.”
The Anguillian shares gratitude with the family for the many notable years of Ursilla’s life, and congratulates her for having passed 107 “milestones” of happy, contented living.
– Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
