Originally published August 2017

by Monique Clendinen Watson

I am back in Virginia after spending the summer on St. Croix working with junior preservationists on behalf of the St. Croix Landmarks Society. Trying to keep the flavor of my island home in memory, I am eating the ginger sugar cakes that I got from the lady who sells them along with tamarind balls, stewed gooseberries, fraco and other sweet delicacies under the tree on Company Street next to the Hendricks Vegetable Market in Christiansted. Charlene Bethelmie has been plying her wares there for 30 years. “Since my youngest kid was three, now they are all grown and finished college,” she proudly informs me. Her strategic spot on Company Street is a magnet for island residents and tourists alike seeking to find satisfaction for a sweet tooth or a childhood memory. Charlene’s customers include passersby as well as Crucians living abroad who phone in their orders for pick-up and delivery by visiting relatives. Charlene tells me that her business enterprise has landed her several film appearances to include “Shades of Fear”, “Bachelor on St. Croix” and “Songbird.”

Across from Charlene in the Hendricks Market circle just off Company Street, Takiyah Santos sells a variety of traditional and nouvelle Caribbean meals from the back of her SUV. Takiyah has been in operation at this spot for about four months and has a steady stream of lunchtime customers. She also has a Facebook page Cruzan Flava Pot@atasteofthecaribbean201 which currently features such delicacies as Jamaican Chicken Patties and Avocado Summer Blast Salad.

Caribbean women have long turned their culinary expertise into economic ventures. On St. Croix, from the Sunday Market up to present times, street vendors have been a part of the socioeconomic landscape of the community. In my last Company Street post, Gerard Emanuel remembered the street vendors of his childhood. “Local vendors were on their favorite corners selling what people liked to eat,” he told me remembering “Ms. Marie’s pastries and cakes, Ms. Jardine’s tarts and Ms. Simmonds’ sugar cakes and peppermint candies.” I don’t remember the names of the street vendors of my childhood, but I do remember visiting them on the corner of Holy Cross Church to buy a bag of peanuts, sugar cakes, dundesla or peppermints. Sometimes they were selling mangos or genips. I viewed these women mainly as providers of my daily treats, but in retrospect, they were so much more than that, a seldom documented part of the economic engine of any Caribbean town from colonial times to present.

History tells us that Sunday Market on St. Croix was the place where both free and enslaved women went to sell their ground provisions, bush teas and remedies and island sweets to those who had money to buy. That’s where they made a few more dollars used to feed family and add coins to buy freedom. Though many an artist and photographer have captured images of Virgin Islands women street vendors, I could not find much historical documentation about them. They blended into the background of our lives, quietly supporting families, plugging financial holes created by small paychecks and supporting the dreams of future college students. My anecdotal memory also tells me that not all of them remained street vendors, some created enough income for home kitchens and food trucks and a few became restauranteurs. Even now, in the community you can ask around to find women supplementing their living by baking cakes and making maubi. I hope to do future research on this topic.

As the world we live in is global and interactive, I would like to hear from you who know and love St. Croix who may have stories, pictures or memories to share about Company Street. Contact me at mcw@bluegaulinmedia.com or follow me on Facebook @companystreetchronicles or on Twitter @companystreet59.

Monique Clendinen Watson is a writer and public relations specialist who is from the U.S. Virgin Islands and who lives in Virginia. She owns a public relations firm, BlueGaulin Media Strategies, www.bluegaulinmedia.com. Photos by Monique Watson.

© Company Street Chronicles and Bluegaulinmedia are copyright protected. August 2017. All rights reserved.