TWENTY-ONE years after the Jamaica School of Agriculture was unceremoniously abolished by an act of Parliament the JSA Old Students' Association is still active. But it is a dwindling set of middle-aged and very senior citizens who meet two times each year, January and June, for a family fun day and to honour outstanding graduates. It's executive committee meets quarterly to plan the events and perhaps more frequently to bury another alumnus who has made the transition to that great farm in the sky.
"I feel like an orphan", says 92-year-old Ivan Tomlinson, a 1929 graduate and one of the two oldest surviving graduates. The other is Herbert Walters, his classmate who pips him by a full month, having been born on March 14, 1911. This, incidentally was one year before the establishment of the Farm School at the Hope Estate, later renamed and, still later, transferred to Twickenham Park, St. Catherine, in 1957. Tomlinson, whose last public office was president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society from 1994 to 1997, had a long and distinguished career in the Ministry of Agriculture. He was the second recipient of the Norman Manley Award for Excellence in the field of Agriculture, the first being his predecessor at the school by seven years, the late great Dr. T. P. Lecky. His lament echoes the despairing cry of every JSA graduate dispossessed of a treasured tradition, deprived of a link to an honourable history. "We are a dying body", declared Derrick Vermont, a past secretary of the association, speaking last Saturday to a group of former students at a popular cafe in St. Andrew. Twenty-one of them, just about a half of the members of the Class of 1963, they were meeting to plan a week of activities to celebrate their 40th anniversary. "Our numbers are dwindling each year as members pass on and we have no means of replenishing", declared Vermont, himself from an earlier time and who is to be the master of ceremonies at the banquet on Saturday, August 2 at the Knutsford Court Hotel, Ruthven Road in Kingston. But even as he spoke the idea was beginning to form in the minds of the men gathered there. One of their planned activities is a visit to the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) on Thursday, July 31. When the JSA was closed in 1981 the students were transferred to the Passley Gardens Secondary School which was later upgraded and renamed the College of Agriculture. The college has since traced its history back to the old Farm School but "Old Farmers", deeply stung by the outrageous action against their beloved alma mater, have resolutely refused to accept it as a worthy successor. Had a formal link been made at the time perhaps the hurt and the rancour might have dissipated. After all the school had changed name and location before but the ritual of transferring "Carlos", the god of the farm, had then been observed and the changes had been planned and acceptable.
Time, they say, heal all wounds, and men tend to mellow with age. The idea was articulated, ventilated and finally accepted. The Class of 1963 of the Jamaica School of Agriculture will, on its trip to the College of Agriculture next Thursday, take with it the spirit of Carlos to help begin the process of rapprochement. The hope is that others will follow until the entire JSA alumni abandon at last the pain and the anger and accept the young ones into the fold. There is no doubt that the graduates of the Faculty of Agriculture long for it. They have made many overtures but without success. Maybe the time has come for the "Old Farmers' Association".
Gifford Morrel, farmer and businessman and chairman of the planning committee, believes that if the reunion achieves only this, it would be a major success. But they hope also to fund a scholarship to the college for a child of an Old Farmer. And over the week of activities beginning with a church service on Sunday, July 27 at the Cathedral of St. Jago de la Vega and ending on Sunday, August 3 with a visit to the Denbigh Agricultural Show, they will be honouring eminent graduates and eight former masters.
Other past students sharing with them will be Canon the Rev. Ernle Gordon who will conduct the service on Sunday and Dr. Karl Wellington, animal geneticist and farmer, who will be the guest speaker at the awards banquet. Of the 40 surviving members of the class at least 32 will be attending 10 of whom will be from various parts of the world. We wish them well.
Hugh Martin is a communications specialist and farm broadcaster. E-mail: humar@cwjamaica.com.
