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Credit: In Jamaica

On the road to Point Hill

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IN THE BEGINNING

One sunny blessed day in the hills of St Catherine, Jamaica a heavily pregnant woman sat alone on her verandah contemplating the arrival of her fifth child. In the absence of DNA testing she wondered whether it would be her fourth girl or her second boy. An elderly wise woman, spiritualist, preacher from the surrounding district, Ms. Crisella approached her and uninvited said, “ You are going to have a boy and you must call him Joshua or Caleb. Furthermore you must not come out with him for 21 days.” She left.

In those days, unlike now young mothers did not present themselves to the community for 9 days after the birth of a child. But Caleb stayed in the dark with his mother for the full 21 days emerging with the reputation of being very, very special.

Figure 1 raymond Cooper finally tied the knot and married the love of his life, Emeriah Matilda Armstrong they already had five children, on Tuesday 29th January 1935.

The Patriarch - raymond Emanuel Cooper aka ‘Pahraye So on Thursday 1st November, 1934 Caleb Duncan Cooper was born the fifth of six children that were to be born to Raymond Cooper and Emeriah Matilda ArmstrongCooper aka “Pahraye” and “Naan” of Garden Hill, St. Catherine, Jamaica.

His siblings were Tomasina aka ‘Tuxcie’, Adassa, Lucille, and Bertram. His younger brother Henry aka Sonny followed shortly.

1971 – Tuxcie, Pahraye, and Naan in the shade of the sugar cane.

Naan with some of her children (missing Tuxcie and Lucille)

Country life was simple but hard work. There was no electricity and no running water. At night Caleb caught peeny wallies and kept them in a bottle providing enough light to do his homework. One of the chores in the morning was to walk three miles to collect water on his head. His sisters would then set up the stove to cook breakfast while he and his brothers went of to cut fire sticks and milk the cow; all of this before going to school. Caleb was bright, articulate, charismatic, high coloured like Naan who was herself a mulatto, and born to lead. Had it not been for an altercation between Naan and the head teacher of Garden Hill School Caleb would have attended that school with his siblings. However, his brother Bertram was the brain box of the family. He took the Third Jamaica Local at age 13 and passed with distinction. In those days that qualified him to be a probationary teacher who would get paid. It was not to be the School brought in an outsider to fill the role. Naan was slighted and moved Caleb and his younger sibling Henry ‘Sonny’ Cooper to Point Hill Primary. This meant that Caleb and Sonny had to trot 7 miles every day to Point Hill School, earning themselves the nickname “The Trotters”.

Peeny Wallies

Credit: Jamaicans.com

Driven by passion and a high sense of adventure Caleb excelled in every thing he put his hand too. Failure was not an option. Even when he failed he used it as a steppingstone and a learning curve to something better. He sat the 3rd Jamaica local exam and on leaving school was taken by Teacher Charlton to work at Worthy Park Sugar Factory as an office clerk. This was another 71/2 mile bicycle ride over very rough terrain. He remained there for 8 months. He earned £2 per week, which he gave to Naan. He did not know it at the time but she was saving a substantial amount of that money. It provided the fare for him to go to London.

l-r Sonny, Percess Caleb’s wife, Carmen Sonny’s wife, Edna bert’s wife, Naan, bert, Caleb Adassa

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