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| Mar/Apr 2017 23

North Eleuthera School Renamed After A ‘Teacher Extraordinaire’

Above: Mrs. Laura L. Anderson, sandwiched by Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie and Minister of Education, Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald, stands in front of the school’s new sign, with family members and other church and education officials.

(By BIS) - Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie said, on March 9, 2017, that the renaming of the North Eleuthera Primary School to the Laura L. Anderson Primary School is quite fitting as it commemorates the contributions of a “dedicated educator in our system.” “This practice is one that was implemented to herald the effective and efficient work of many unsung heroes in our country,” Prime Minister Christie said at the Official Renaming Ceremony at the school in The Bluff, Eleuthera. “It is one way of ensuring that those educators who displayed stellar leadership are forever remembered in the annals of the history of The Bahamas.” He acknowledged the presence of her family, friends, former colleagues, students and church members who came to endorse the naming of a public building in her honour. Prime Minister Christie added that Laura Louise Anderson, a daughter of the Bluff, now 99 years old, one of the oldest residents living in the township of The Bluff, was a “teacher extraordinaire” for more than 35 years and an educator all of her life. Present at the event was 104-year-old oldest living native of the settlement Samuel Neely: her brother. Prime Minister Christie related that the story of Laura L. Anderson began when she was born in The Bluff 1918, a few years after the First World War, “when life was much simpler.” Her role at this school also began “many moons ago” when the North Eleuthera Primary School was called The Bluff All Age School, he said. Mrs. Anderson was just five years old, he added, when she first attended the All Age School. He was advised that in 1922, and records indicated, she was a stellar student, earning five BJC’s and five GCE’s, which she had to travel to Nassau to take. Prime Minister Christie noted that Mrs. Anderson began teaching at the school, as a monitor, when she was 12 years old, under Mr. Mervin W Gibson, from Savannah Sound. She also taught under Principal C.W. Sawyer some years later. “Ms. Anderson then went on to become a staple in the community by serving as the public librarian, registering births and deaths, for more than 28 years, however she did much more than that during her time at the library,” Prime Minister Christie said. “The library became a homework help centre for many of Above: Scenes from the fun afternoon. Also seen are cheque presentations made to members of the community by the Passing Jacks Committee in March 2017.

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