Long serving Anguilla Electricity Company (ANGLEC) employee Franklyn Gumbs has retired after forty-four years of service to the utility entity.
If one refers to the “Ice Plant” today, there would be many local residents who would not be able to identify with the name, much less to know the place. But former employee of ANGLEC, Mr. Franklyn “Frankie” Gumbs, is familiar with the legendary site, as he began his tenure of work with the utility company in 1979 when it was located at the old “Ice Plant” – the exact spot that is now occupied by the People’s Market in The Valley.
The “Ice Plant” was built and developed by the Royal Engineers, who, with several squadrons of soldiers, invaded Anguilla in 1969 following the Anguilla Revolution, two years prior. The Royal Engineers established the “Ice Plant” as an outlet where the populace could come and purchase all the ice they needed, as not too many homes had refrigerators in those days. And the few home owners and shop owners which possessed a “fridge”, either operated it by their backyard diesel generator or by means of kerosene fuel.
The “Ice Plant” was a welcomed development in those days, as içe was a prized amenity which served to “beat the heat” in the summer days. School children from the Valley Primary School and the Valley Boys School were frequent customers. Twenty-five cents would buy you a good size block to quench the parching thirst.
From 1979, Frankie worked in the electricity generating division of the Ice Plant as a Shift Operator. In 1982, he was promoted to the post of Senior Shift Operator and moved with the electric company in 1985 to its current site in Corito. There, the veteran “ANGLECian” was promoted to the post of Supervisor of Operations in 1991. He worked in that capacity until his retirement on Friday, June 30th, 2023.
Frankie, who possesses a rather humble, easy-going personality, is blessed with the fond memories of work with Anguilla’s power generating company for forty-four long years. He is highly esteemed by his colleagues in the company, who got together to pitch a farewell “bash” in his honour and to bid him a “cool” retirement.
