Peoples Profile is a special column that highlights the upbringing and lifestyles of select personalities in our community. It is an exposé which features the life-histories of individuals who have made a mark on society through the work they have done, the work they are still doing, and the achievements that they have made.
Mrs. Bernice Fahie-Richardson is a woman of dauntless courage and zeal. Like many Anguillian women, she too has experienced the challenges of life in an era when growing up was marked by dreary times, and when the struggle to survive against the odds was paramount for Anguillians everywhere.
Even though she might not have been as deprived as other local children of her day, she was by no means born with a silver spoon in her mouth. With the help of her devout parents, she too had to toil hard to etch out a means for her upbringing.
Bernice was born was in 1947 and, through memories which she still hold dear, she first reflects on the trends of home-life and her formative years in school:
“When I was growing up,” she said, “we did not look at life as being really difficult. Like every other child, before we went to school we were required to do chores in the house and around the yard. We had to pick wood and daily bake johhny cakes in the fireplace. We always kept a little ‘grung’— a cultivation of crops in our backyard — and we were required to carefully tend our cultivated plots. It was all part of our survival.
“My Mom was a woman who loved agriculture. She planted carrots, cabbage, corn, potatoes and the like. I can vividly remember one big disappointment related to a wonderful crop of carrots. We had risen early one morning, and when we looked in the backyard, through the window, to our delight there was this beautifully blooming bed of carrots; but by evening they were gone — eaten by our neighbour’s goats. That caused my mother great grief. We had to contend against those destructive animals. But Mom was not deterred; she kept on planting, and my siblings and I supported her heartily, thus supporting ourselves. We thrived off sherees, cherries, tamarinds and peanuts which we took pride in cultivating. We were always delighted to reap peanuts when the season was in.
“My Dad, in those days, worked at the Sombrero lighthouse, and he would come up only every three months for a break. So, it was mainly our mother who kept the household together. Periodically, Dad would send up from Sombrero a brown wooded box which we called a ‘grub-box’. This contained items of foodstuff which he would garner from the supplies sent from the government in St. Kitts to his outpost as the lighthouse keeper on Sombrero cay.
“We also had family in the States. We would keep up regular contact with them via the old air mail system; and it was always a joy to receive a ‘pack’ from them at Christmas time. This ‘pack’ usually contained toys, goodies to eat and wear, and a customary canned fruit cake. We especially looked forward to our fruit cake treat every year.
“Mom was a hardworking woman and a firm, but caring, disciplinarian at best. She had never allowed us to go hungry. She made sure that we always had something in our stomachs. In fact, one morning my young sister left home for school without drinking her tea. As soon as Mom realized it, she quickly got a lift and tracked her down. When she caught up with her, she fed her the tea right by the side of the road and forbade her never to let it happen again.”
Bernice attended The Valley Girls School where she remembers having fun while she learned. Her favorite teacher was the renowned Tr. Wilma Lake who looked out for her best interest as well as the wellbeing of all the children whom she taught there. Bernice recounts one of Tr. Wilma’s more playful traits: “She would throw a sack of beads in the air, scattering them on the school ground. Then she would challenge all the girls in her class to pick them up. We would do our best to retrieve as many as we could, and from them we would make lovely beaded designs of pretty patterns.
In reflecting on her days at The Valley Girls School, Bernice said: “Remarkably, the school was one big elongated room with no partitions. All the classes, from Juniors to Standard Six (Sixth Grade) were crammed together in there. I now wonder how we all learned with all chatter and interference. But both the teachers and the pupils were disciplined to focus on what they taught and learned.
“What I enjoyed most was having back-to-back mental arithmetic tests under the school-yard Flamboyant tree with Tr. Wilma in the afternoons. We had to sit with our backs turned to each other to avoid copying the answers from our neighbours’ slates. Those pupils who were not good in math were to go to the principal, Mrs. Beatrice Thomas, who would have them kneel with the ‘ball-frame’ in hand, painstakingly practicing the counting of colored balls until they got the concept.”
Bernice excelled in her primary school classes, until in 1959 when she entered The Valley Secondary School (currently the ALHCS). She left high school in 1965 and commenced a teaching career at her alma mater, The Valley Girls School, in 1967. Quickly thereafter, she was transferred to the East End Primary School (currently the Morris Vanterpool Primary) where she served until 1969. Later that year, she began her first stint of tertiary studies in St. Lucia where, until1971, she pursued a course in Home Economics at the Teachers Training College.
Upon returning home, in 1971, Bernice took up the teaching of Home Economics at The Valley Secondary School until 1972 when she left to further her studies at Seaford College in Sussex, England. Then, in 1976, she undertook a course of studies at the University of Tennessee where, in 1980, she obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nutritional Science.
Upon completion of her studies at the University of Tennessee, Bernice returned home to teach in the Home Economics Department, later called the Home & Food Tech Department at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School (ALHCS). That stint of service extended from 1980 to 2002 when she retired from active teaching.
However, she was always willing and ready to serve in the Dept. of Education whenever she was called on. Since her retirement she was appointed a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) at the ALHCS which shares collective responsibility for all aspects of school leadership and management. She was also appointed Coordinator of the Pupils Referral Unit (PRU) until she finally retired in January 2017.
In addition to her vocation as a teacher, Bernice was quite interested in cultural folkloric songs. She collected songs for the cultural “cake walk” that were sung and performed by an organization which she founded called the Anguilla National Creative Arts Association (ANCAA). Through this organization, she taught young people pertinent aspects of Anguilla’s culture in the performing arts, and arranged displays during celebrative occasions with the popular colorful Maypole dances.
She has won several performance awards for her work in the field of creative arts. Her most recent award was presented by the University of the West Indies Open Campus this past May, when she received the Malliouhana Culture Bearers Award for her literary works in Anguilla’s folklore.
Bernice was married to the late Mr. Lesley Richardson, and together they parented one child, a daughter, Zonelle. Together with the rest of her siblings, Bernice takes pleasure in caring for her dad, Fr. Richard Fahie, who is in his twilight years. Now in her later years, Bernice owns and operates a variety boutique where she merchandises in various kinds of clothing. Along with her sister, Carmen, she prides herself in this endeavor as one of Anguilla’s achieving business women.
But, after all, her greatest satisfaction comes from her service to her country. Mrs. Richardson treasures her many years of service to her local community. She is proud and grateful that she was able to make a profound impact on the development of Anguilla’s young minds. Like so many other bright and talented nationals who have left our shores, she could have found gainful employment in a more lucrative career overseas. But, in her own words, she claims: “While on studies overseas, I would never be at peace until I return home.”
The Anguillian takes this opportunity to honor Mrs. Bernice Fahie-Richardson for her achievements and her dedicated service to her country throughout the years.
