If anyone mentions ‘Shining Town’ in Linden, they would be referring to Silvertown, which is one of Linden’s first communities. It got the name ‘Shining Town‘ because back in the early days most of the houses were made of aluminium sheets, and appeared luminous when the sun shone. Sad to say if you visit Silvertown today you would find only one of these houses still standing.
Over the years the community has experienced a total transformation. Many members of the earlier generation who lived there have either died or migrated, but Donald Deane is one those who has stayed, and has been living in Silvertown now for more than fifty years. Today he is seventy-eight years old, still very agile, with excellent vision and bursting with the desire to see his home community take a quantum leap in terms of development.
Like many others Deane’s house is made of concrete and wood, from a design which he was proud to say he created all by himself. “I had the younger bones do deh plastering but this is all