Easter on St. Helena was a very special time. It was something that was quite sacred and everyone took it rather seriously. It was as joyous as Christmas, but also as solemn as it was a time to remember the stories in the bible and what Easter was all about.
As a young child on St. Helena we celebrated Easter at our house by going to church on Good Friday. After church we would have a nice fish meal. My uncles would be fishing all week to prepare for the holiday. They would go fishing on Monday and Thursday weather permitting. It was very important to make sure there was plenty of fish and they always wished for a great catch for Easter.
I remember my momma would read me the Easter story. I aways found the easter story very scary. I would put my hands over my eyes when momma told the bit about those nasty men sticking a spear into Jesus. I would think to myself “There is nothing good about Good Friday. When it got to the point in the story that those wicked men killed Jesus, mum would try her best to eplain to me that Jesus died to save us. I wasn’t convinced and still thought that It was damn right evil to kill Jesus.
On Easter Saturday we would go to Jamestown to sell our vegetables and flowers. We would have a nice time in the town and it was quite relaxing. We would buy some goodies then head back home to Deadwood. On Easter Sunday morning we would go to church afterwards and momma would visit her friends for a nice Easter Sunday tea and Easter cake.
My Uncle was a Fisherman
I can remember St. Helena back when men were men,
They farmed and fished, and many just wished,
that life was easier.
My uncles fished in a place called Duck yard,
Way back then life was hard.
My uncle Mitchel always had a good catch ,
that nobody else could match .
He would catch great big conger eels, jacks, soldiers and fish with great big bulls eyes,
All underneath the dark St. Helena skies.
Back home he would tip his catch on the kitchen floor,
momma would be watching from the door.
With a big smile on her face,
She would shout well done my son,
Momma would prepare the fish.
Poppa would have eight mackeral on his plate,
cooked in a lump of lard.
I remembered back then, times were hard.
Dorothy Maude