The quaint and historic Wallblake House, located on the grounds of the Roman Catholic Church in The Valley, has been the subject of mild sprucing up and polishing over the past couple of weeks. Work on the structure, both inside and outside, was carried out by a very benevolent family of 27, led by Mr. & Mrs. Ruth Mass of New York. This has been the family’s tenth visit to the island, and they have been coming since 2003.
The work on the project was coordinated by Ms. Jasmin Garroway, informally referred to as Anguilla’s Ambassador in recognition for the work she had been engaged in on the island, particularly with emphasis on the tourism sector. Ms. Garroway holds the Wallblake House very dear to her heart, and it has been her passion to keep it preserved as one of Anguilla’s most admirable tourist attractions.
She spoke to The Anguillian: “We have been working very hard on this project over the last year… Work had been halted because of the hurricane, and we started a push over the last few months when volunteers were available to help us bring Wallblake House to a tourist attraction again.
“We are blessed to have Mrs. Mass here with her family, who are, in fact, doing a great work in advancing the project. Mrs. Mass has been coming to the island quite regularly and she has been contributing her services to causes in Anguilla. Indeed, we are lucky and fortunate, and indeed grateful, to have them donating their services here at this time.
“The Mass Family has come to our aid at a perfect time, because we are thinking of bringing this project to a launch in the weeks to come. So they have come just at the right time to help us repaint the building, clean up, and make an inventory of the valuable contents of the building. The work that they are doing here is very impactful, and will be seen and appreciated by both tourists and touring Anguillians alike.”
Ms. Garroway promised that there will be an open house for the public, shortly, after all the repairs and restorative work has been completed.
Mrs. Mass, the matriarch of the family, is a travel agent by profession and works closely, in New York, with Anguilla’s tourism rep, Ms. Marie Walker. Speaking with The Anguillian she said: “We really love Anguilla. It is one of our most favorite places for a vacation. We are involved in community service here, for that is how we usually spend most of our vacations.”
Reflecting on how they spent their vacation last year, she remarked: “After the hurricane that hit here last year, when we realized we could not come to Anguilla, we went to Vermont and did some community service there, working with Habit for Humanities. This year we are happy to be in Anguilla once again, serving here at the Wallblake House, and doing our best to help restore this historic landmark.”
Of her family, she said, “My husband is here, and all my children and grandchildren are here, all 27 of us, doing what we do best —serving the community. We are here for only four days, but we are doing our best to make good use of our time. I must say again that we love Anguilla very much.”
Mrs. Mass’ work as a travel agent has enabled her, from her office in New York, to recommend Anguilla to many tourists who have come to Anguilla, in the past, to enjoy their vacations. She said: “I do boost travel to Anguilla all the time. I have worked diligently with Marie Walker, and she has been very active in New York on Anguilla’s behalf. I have been in the travel agent business for as many as fifty years, and for many of those years I have been promoting Anguilla as a fine tourist destination.”
The Anguillian wishes to thank Mrs. Mass and her family for their benevolent community service to the island. Thanks also to Ms. Garroway for the role she has being playing in service to our tourism product.
