If you think St. John is a great place to relax now, you should have seen it 40 years ago, as the Sprauve Family did during their summer vacations while living on St. Thomas. (Click on the photo for a bigger version.)
"There was a large open area where Wharfside Village is today that was used as a cricket field, when it was dry enough," wrote Jan Frey in an article about the Sprauves for the St. John Historical Society. "Where the Post Office is located today, there were goat pens. The goats would spend their nights there and be taken to an area just past where Mongoose Junction is to graze during the days. There was no road past the bottom of the hill, so the goats grazing area was fenced and gated."
Look at this startling comparison of Cruz Bay, in 1956 and in 2006.
The Society has an extensive Web site which includes old photos of the island, historical documents and articles, postcards, maps, and slide shows.
The St., John Historical Society’s next meeting will be March 13th at Bethany Moravian Church in downtown Cruz Bay at 7 p.m. Elroy Sprauve will speak on St. John’s distinctive Creole dialect.