Students at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School (ALHCS) have just been handed a treasure trove of Anguillian stories – and not the sort you’ll find in a dry textbook. Local author and cultural guardian, Ivor Hodge, returned to his old stomping grounds on Wednesday, 1st October 2025 to officially donate copies of three of his published works to the school’s Workshop Initiatives for Support in Education (W.I.S.E) programme.
The books – “From Secrets to Storms: Stories of Caribbean Resilience” (co-authored with his wife Jo-anne Hodge), “Boy Henno Hill: A Collection of Short Stories,” and “De Copper Hole” – are more than just reading material. They are stories rooted in our soil, told in voices familiar to us, capturing the resilience, humour, and hardship of Caribbean life.
Before the official handover, Hodge shared that his hope is simple but powerful: that the stories will stick with the students long after the pages close.
“Once you get that compelling story, they stay with you,” he said with a smile. “I’m hoping that a lot of what we create for our people will still remain with them, even to pass on to their children.”
For Cynthia Gumbs, coordinator of W.I.S.E, the books are nothing short of gold. She emphasised that while social studies textbooks do their job, they often fall short of reflecting the lived Anguillian experience.
“We are very thankful that we’re able to find resources that speak to the culture of Anguilla,” she said. “These stories tell of a life lived during those years. We’ll integrate them into our curriculum – especially in modules dealing with community and Anguilla’s history – and in our reading recovery programme. Because when students know they’re reading true stories, they can begin to connect with their parents and grandparents in ways they might not have before.”
She added that in a society where the tourism industry dominates, young people need to know their history so that when they’re asked, “Where are you from?” abroad or on-island, they can answer with knowledge and pride.
Social studies teacher Ms. Noemi Proulx echoed the sentiment, reminding everyone that history is not just about dusty facts, but about knowing yourself.
“The kids are going to learn where they come from and who they are,” she said. “You can’t have a future if you don’t know your own history. It’s so important for making good decisions, building love for your country, and growing that sense of community.”
For Hodge, the handover was personal. He wanted to contribute to a place that shaped him and his family. “What made me react positively to Mrs. Gumbs’ request,” he explained, “is that I’ve always felt there’s a lack of reading material about Anguilla – stories people can relate to. Our great-grandparents and great-aunts are fading into the sunset with lives and lessons that we’re not collecting. If you don’t have history, you don’t have culture, and you’re going nowhere. So I’m happy to capture those stories and give them back.”
The author even dangled a tempting offer for students – a visit from him and fellow local writers to the classroom, to read and share firsthand.
While these three titles are already finding their way into the hands of students, Hodge hinted that more is on the horizon. His fourth book is expected to be published in the first quarter of 2026.
The morning closed not with a reminder that our history lives not just in monuments, but in words passed from one generation to the next.
By Janissa Fleming
