-on 170th anniversary of purchase of village
Five Victorians are to be honoured at a ceremony in New York at a cultural presentation in honour of the purchase of Victoria Village by 83 freed slaves.
In a press release the Friends of Victoria Village Diaspora said November 29 marks 170 years the freed slaves bought the village. The descendents of these freed slaves will on November 29 “honour and give praise to the eighty three men and women who had the vision and foresight to pool together their resources and invest in the cooperative venture that purchased Victoria.”
Victorians in the Diaspora will commemorate this date by honouring the ancestors with 2009 ‘Outstanding Victorians’ Award. They will also pay tribute and acknowledge the return on the investment by the original freed slaves and proudly boast of the leading educators, doctors, lawyers, engineers, playwrights, electrical and civil engineers, accountants, management consultants, land surveyors, nurses, public servants who have risen to the top of their chosen fields and professions.
The honorees include Professor Harold Lutchman whose paternal grandmother has deep roots among the original purchases and founders of Victoria. During his upbringing Lutchman was greatly influenced by the culture and values of the Victoria community from where most of his relations hailed. After service as a teacher and in the Civil Service he earned his BSc in Economics, his MSc (Govt) and PhD degrees. He served as Professor of Political Science at the University of the Virgin Islands where he also directed their Master’s Programme in Public Administration. He was professor and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Guyana and later Vice Chancellor.
A barrister-at-law (Gray’s Inn) and attorney in Guyana, Lutchman also served as a foundation member of the Board of Trustees of the Caribbean Court of Justice, representing the Caribbean Congress of Labour. He has had conferred on him the title of Professor Emeritus of the University of the Virgin Islands. Lutchman has also been recognised for his contributions to Guyanese scholarship and to education.
Doreen Butcher, educator, community activist and agriculturist, “exemplifies the spirit of our ancestors,” the release said. She has had an illustrious career as an educator, attaining leadership positions as a teacher and later head of the teaching staff at schools across the nation. Butcher received her teaching education at the Government Training College and graduated from the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama with a BSc degree in AgriBusiness Education. She lectured at the In-service Training Pro-gramme and at the Cyril Potter College of Education. Butcher is a mentor to many young Victorians and is very involved in activities at the Victoria Methodist Church. She also serves at the Greco Training Centre in the village.
The late Leslie Redvers Dolphin Ainsworth was an educator and Village Chairman at Victoria. ““Teacher Leslie” had great faith in the village community of Victoria and its ability to produce men and material for the development of Guyana,” the release said. He was unrelenting in his belief and dedication to the upliftment and progress of Victoria Village.
Ainsworth was a product of the Golden Grove Methodist School and after excelling at the Pupil Teachers’ Examination went on to Training College. He served as president of the Guyana Teachers’ Association from 1957-1959, 1966-1968 and from 1970-1974. He was also president of the Caribbean Union of Teachers from 1973 to 1975.
During his tenure as Village Chairman the Victoria Community Centre was completed and he hosted Princess Margaret there during her royal visit to British Guiana. Ainsworth also instituted the system for the village council members to pay quarterly visits to the Crown Dams for inspection and to oversee maintenance of the trenches and other developmental work in the village.
Additionally, Victoria Village Chairman and mentor Stanley Roberts worked as a manager at Plantation Enmore Sugar Estate for several years until he retired. He served as village chairman from 1951 to 1955 and under his leadership plans to build a community centre were initiated and subsequently completed. Roberts died at the age of 101.
International artist and master sculptor Ivor Thom was born in the East Coast village and had an early love for the military and outdoor life. He joined the Guyana Youth Corps in 1970 where he developed his talent for carving and painting. In 1979 after graduating from Burrowes School of Art he was granted a scholarship to study art at La Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas in Havana, Cuba.
In his third year Thom was selected as part of a team to work on the casting of one of the largest monuments to be done locally. This exposed him to various aspects of metal art and led to further involvement in sculpting. In 1983 he was appointed officer in charge of the Arts and Crafts Department of the Guyana National Service. He was also commissioned to create a life size bust of late President LFS Burnham, along with two large mural panels in bronze which is located at the mausoleum for Burnham. Thom was also commissioned to create the monument in tribute to slave rebellion leader Damon.
Thom’s works are in private collections in many countries around the world, including a permanent exhibit at the Josip Broz Tito Art Gallery of Non-Aligned countries in the former Yugoslavia. Thom remains one of Guyana’s premier sculptors.
