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Our grandparents, Leoncio Nieves Figueroa (Papá Leo, born in Luquillo, P.R. on 8/15/1886,
deceased 4/21/1968) and Dolores Torrens Carrillo (Mamá Lola, born in Luquillo in 1884,
deceased in 1973), lived in Estate Whim, #128B. (The street that runs by the house is now
JCT 701. To the west is JCT 1073 and to the east there is 667. To me the area is more like Carlton
since it is right behind it, not too far from what once was the Carlton Hotel now the Estate Carlton
Condominiums. The family called where my grandparents lived La Granja, farm.) Almost every
Sunday we visited them.   Some times we’d walk and at other times someone would drive us.
We called Whim the country. It seemed so far away! Papá Leo was a dictator. Kids were to be seen,
not heard. Kids were not to speak unless spoken to. Kids were not to be in the house unless
they were infants, sick or called in by an adult. We’d arrive, greet all the grownups then head for the
yard to play with the other visiting relatives. Mamá Lola on the other hand was as sweet as they
came. She was always there to comfort us.   Mamá Lola was an angel. Mamá Lola was short but in
my eyes, she was very tall. [Ma informed me that when Mamá Lola’s mother died, her father remarried.
Therefore, Mamá Lola had siblings from this second marriage. When Mr. Torrens died, his wife remarried to
someone by the last name Ortiz. In May 2004, I learned that one of Ma’s uncles, one of Mamá Lola’s brothers,
died. His name was Don Raimundo Torrens, March 16, 1923 to April 15, 2004. Mamá Lola and Raimundo had
the same mother and father. Don Felo, which I mention in my story about Estate Coble, was related to
Mamá Lola and Don Raimundo by father only.]

Papá Leo looked like he was over 6 feet tall. His skin was a dark cinnamon color (more like a dark
reddish brown) and I remember him having beautiful straight jet-black hair. (Recently, I was told that
under the hat he wore he was somewhat bald. A photo posted on the Ma & Family page proves that
he was somewhat bald.) To me he was Black but we were told he was Indio (Indian).   For all I
know grandpa could have been part Taino, a group of Natives found on Puerto Rico. [The story goes
that when Papá Leo registered to vote, he was listed as Black. He ripped the card up since he wanted to be
considered Indio. That was not one of the choices on the card.] Mamá Lola was short, very light skinned
(almost European [I was told that one of Mamá Lola's parents was Spaniard]), and I always remember her
with whitish hair that she always kept up in a bun. Both grandparents had big ears. Big ears run
in the family! [Years later I would meet Mamá Lola’s sister on Vieques and it was like seeing her again.
They looked like twins. However, Mamá Lola’s sister was more vibrant, full of fun and laughter. I suppose living
with Papá Leo was not easy!]

When we greeted our elders, we had to ask for their blessing. We’d say “Bendición Mamá Lola”.
She would in turn answer by saying, “Bendición mi hijo” or call us by name. When we departed, we
again had to ask for their blessing.   This time the response would be, “Que Dios te bendiga”.
[Today this custom is slowly disappearing. Who calls me Tío Jorge?]

I always noticed huge metal barrels in Papá Leo’s yard. I was eventually told that molasses was in
the barrels. Papá Leo would disappear into the bushes across the street and return hours later with a
jug or two in his hands. I soon found out that the old man was good at making moonshine!
[I recently discovered that other relatives, including aunts, were also in the business of making moonshine.
It was a source of income.]

Papá Leo also had a horse and cart (buggy). It was fun riding in it. However, when he got into
drinking he would ride all over the island in the cart. One day he appeared at my school and my
siblings and I pretended we did not know who he was because it was embarrassing seeing
him drunk. The moonshine he made must have been strong.

The house Mamá Lola and Papá Leo lived in was small. There was an outhouse in the back and a
shower. One would lower a bucket that was fitted with a shower head, fill it with water, lift it back
up and tie it securely, then open the shower head to let the water out. One would get soaked, turn
the water off, soap oneself then turn the gadget back on to rinse off. Back then, this system was
state-of-the-art for that time and considered an advancement. It was better than having to keep
taking water out of a bucket with a container and throwing it over ones body to wash then rinse.
[The house was eventually renovated and made larger. Pin and his family lived in it for a while until Titi Paca
and Don Carmelo moved back to St. Croix. UPDATE, 05/20/08: The house we called La Granja was
purchased by Carmelo Belardo. It is said that Don Carmelo’s father sold him the property. The other version
of this story is that it was bought from the government in an auction. Tía and Don Carmelo lived on St. Croix
from 1945 to 1952. When Titi Paca and Don Carmelo moved to New York in 1952, it was apparently sold to
Pablo (Pin). Mamá Lola and Papá Leo lived in the house for a while. When Titi Paca and Don Carmel decided to
move back to St. Croix in 1982, they re-purchased the house. It is said that the house had been sold to Pin to
keep it in the family!]

During our visits there was a lot to eat. It was great because we would get to see other relatives.
On some weekends, the men would kill an animal and the women would do the cleaning, cooking, etc.
I liked it when they let the kids help. When one of the relatives that lived off island came to visit us the
food was even more plentiful. During these visits animals were slaughtered to celebrate the visit.

I remember once a pig was hung to a tree, killed, and skinned. The killing was usually done by one
of the men.   Every part of the pig was saved, including the blood. The blood was used to make
blood pudding (molsillas). The only thing discarded was the waste found in the pig’s stomach and
intestines.   On one occasion the children were allowed to help clean the intestines in order to
make the molsillas.   Though the intestines stunk it was great sitting there and helping out.
Talk about a learning experience.   It was an assembly line operation. Everyone on the line had
a different function. By the time the goods reached the last person the molsillas
were ready for cooking.

Mamá Lola and Papá Leo had all kinds of fouls. They had chickens, turkeys, ducks, and Guinea Hens.
Guinea Hens were smaller than chickens and their feathers were a combination of black, gray with
specks of white. Ducks were nasty. Every time anyone spat they ran towards the spit and catch it
before it hit the ground! For that reason most of the fouls were placed in cages for a week or two to
have their system cleaned (purged) before being prepared for eating.

At one time, a group of friends from Frederiksted owned pigs. They were kept in pens on New St. on
the northern side of the cemetery. Eventually the lot would become the new Catholic convent.
One day Ma goes to feed her pig and it was gone. Someone had stolen the pig! How did she know?
There was a 2x4 in the pen with blood on it. It looks as if the pig had been bludgeoned to death.
Strangely enough, someone later came by the house and gave Ma portions of meat from a pig.
They claimed it was their pig that had just been slaughtered. Ma always felt that the cuts she
received were from her pig!

The good thing about having Puerto Rican parents and being born on St. Croix is the wide range of
foods and fruits I had to choose from. The locals had Kallaloo (Kallaloo is a soup with spinach, okra,
pork, meat, conch, and land crabs. When done it looks like a green mush and most people get turned
off by the color. However it’s delicious. The original Kallaloo was made with the leaves from a small
bush that grew in the wild. We called it the Kallaloo bush but it is also known as papalulu or papalolo,
(Corchoros siliquosus).   I doubt the bush can still be found growing on the island. With all the
“development” on the island lots of local plants have been lost. Most people eventually switched over
to spinach. Some people call it callaloo, calalue or calelu.), souse (a stew made from pig’s head,
tail and feet), fungi (cornmeal), sweet peas soup (made with kidney beans, sweet potatoes, meats, etc.),
and a lot of other great dishes while at home I ate such things as arroz con pollo (rice with chicken),
pernil (pork), stewed kidney beans, molsillas and a lot more. We had most of the American fruits
(apples, grapes, peaches, apricots, etc.) plus jo-jo plum (aprin, Ziziphus mauritiana), guava (guayaba,
Psidium guajava), hog plum (the fruit from the Spondias mombin tree, jobo), genip (kenep or kennep,
quenepa), mango (Mangifera indica), sour sop (guanabana, Annona muricata), sugar apple (anon,
Annona squamosa), custard apple (corazón, Annona reticulata), mammi (mamey, marmee,
Mammea americana), sea side grapes (Coccoloba uvifera), and a bunch of other great tasting fruits.
If my mother had remained on Vieques, I would have missed out on a lot of what St. Croix had to offer.
[Strangely enough, in 2003, I found a Kallaloo bush growing outside the house (# 46) next to Cinderella (#45 King St.).
I was so pleased finding it, I showed it to my niece Daisy.]

Puerto Ricans were good at making various soups. These were not part of a 5 course meal but were
served usually as the main meal. The soups had lots of meat(s) and vegetables. Most people served
“Johnny cakes” (arepas) with the soup, especially the one containing spaghetti. Here are the various
soups we ate: Asopao – could be made with lobster, pigeon peas, or chicken, etc., rice, diced potato
(optional),   and spices (sofrito). Sofrito was made by sautéing in a pot or pan a little cooking oil (aceite),
recao, chopped onions (cebolla), pimiento, tomato sauce (salsa de tomate), and salt to taste. Once
this is done the other ingredients of the soup would be added. Guíso – chicken, or beef, etc., and
any other vegetable you wanted to add like tania, sweet potato, bollito ( made from green banana and
contained salt and very little or no flour), cabbage, yucca, dumplins (dumplines). Sopa – choice of
meat, (sofrito) spices, potato and spaghetti. Strangely enough, my brother and I didn’t care for the
various soups. We felt they were not filling enough. Ma always made something else for us
whenever she made soup. Usually we were served rice, beans and a meat.
Today, I enjoy eating soup.

And then there were all the teas made from plants. There was a bush tea for headaches,
stomachaches, toothaches, insomnia, etc. We hardly had to go to the pharmacy to buy anything
chemically prepared.   Some of the herbal treatments tasted nasty but they worked.

Papá Leo was known to inhale something out of a can.   The substance came in a green rectangular
can with red letters. A little of the black powder would be placed in the cap of the can or small
receptacle and it would be lit. It fizzed like gun powder and gave off a strange fragrance. Papá Leo
would inhale the smoke. It was said that he had asthma and that this ingredient helped him feel better
after an attack.   I recently found out it was called Asmadol. What was really in this Asmadol? It is so
strange for someone with asthma to be inhaling smoke!
[Some relatives feel that Asmadol contained marijuana. We still joke about it.]

I cannot remember ever being hit by grandpa. He did yell a lot but I can’t remember him laying his
hands on us. The man was so stern that just his stare was enough to discipline us. He did not need
words to discipline us and he surely didn’t need to strike us. Just his stare was enough. We were all
scared of Papá Leo. However, when he was calm and peaceful it was a pleasure to talk to him,
sit next to him, etc.

During a visit, my grandfather needed help reweaving a rope. He called upon my brother.
During the process he told my brother to sujetala (hold it/grab it). My brother understood sueltala
(let it go/drop it) and let go of the rope. My grandfather started to scream. He ran into the house to
tell Ma what had just happened. I cannot remember him hitting my brother but did tell him he
should learn Spanish.

Mamá Lola and most of the women got together to weave blankets (patchwork quilts) and rugs.
They used a “cocos” bag (burlap sack) and then weave pieces of material into it. The material would
be strips of left over materials and strips cut from clothes/sheets being discarded. The material would
be cut into strips of about ¼ to ½ inch wide and as long as the bag. For the bed covers the strips would
be longer. The strips would be weaved into the bag horizontally then the vertical strips would be
passed under one horizontal strip and over the next. The rugs were very colorful due to the different
pieces of material used. The pieces of material used to make the bed covers were sewn together,
mostly by hand.   The completed bags would then be used as mats throughout the homes. While
making these, the women caught up with what was happening with each other’s family, friends, etc.

If my recollection serves me right, grandpa did not have any children with any other woman on
St. Croix or Vieques, though it was rumored he had a girlfriend in Vieques. Papá Leo officially
married Mamá Lola on April 14, 1968, a week before he died!

Eventually, Mamá Lola and Papá Leo moved back to Vieques. A cousin, Pablo (Pin, 4/13/35 to 1/7/93,
St. Croix) and his family moved into the house. Pin always had a smile on his face. Pin loved to
tease us.   He had a nickname for all of us. He knew we didn’t like to be teased so he teased us
even more. He’d make some of us cry!! I suppose it was his way of teaching us how to be tough.
However, he was a kind man. Pin was an auto mechanic and was very good at it. He had a truck
and he’d take us all over the island in it. Some of us were embarrassed to ride in the back of the
truck. I loved feeling the air against my skin as the truck moved along the roads. In my opinion,
the best trip was when Pin took us to Sandy Point. What a beautiful beach! There was sand all over.
The water was clear and a beautiful blue hue.   A certain time of the year, there would be
coco plums (Chrysobalanus Icaco) on the beach and we’d gather them to eat. They grew on a
small bush found mostly on the beach and abundant at Sandy Point. The plums were pinkish in
color and soft. They were white inside and very sweet. Pin would tell us not to eat too many
because we’d get constipated. (In Crucian the term for constipated is “cack up”. I suppose “cack”
is from cork, thus having your anus corked would thus create constipation.) Sometimes Piano,
a family friend, would visit my grandparents. When he was together with Pin, it was teasing non-stop!
Was it their way of showing us love?

Strangely enough, I always thought Pin was an uncle.   At one point or another I learned he was one
of Titi Guilla’s sons. I think Mamá Lola and Papá Leo raised him. [Titi Guilla’s other children were
Genoveva (Veva), Adriano, José Antonio (Toñin), Carlos Juan, and María Esther (6/6/39 to 8/30/82), and
she later adopted Yolanda.] I also later found out that the house we called Mamá Lola’s and Papá Leo’s
was really owned by Titi Paca and her husband, Don Carmelo, who were at the time living
in New York City.

One summer during one of Pin’s outings there was a Calypso song that was popular and which we
would sing on our way home as we sat in the back of the truck. The only words I can remember are:
“How your panty get wet? The sun ah shine and the rain no fall/How your panty get wet?”   I don’t
know who sang it. The line was also used to tease someone in the group if during the ride they had
an accident, like urinating on themselves.   We’d also sing other songs and play games
as we rode through the countryside.

Another song we used to tease each other with was “Crompo Boy”. The song was about a boy who
didn’t like getting wet, etc.   It was a known fact that whenever it rained the Black Crucians would run
for cover. They claimed that the rain would get them sick.   The song was used to make fun of them,
even though most were very clean. The few words I can remember are: “Crompo Boy, fraid water/When
the rain come down you should see how he run for fun…” I think it also said something like “…bathe
nasty, and he dress dirty…” but I am not that sure.

And then there was “Mama bull passing…” We basically used these words from the song to tease fat
or obese women. As they passed we sang those words over and over to make them uncomfortable.
Many women cussed us out!

On the days we walked to Whim, we’d cut through an abandoned house on the side of Centerline Road.
We were told to avoid the house because it was haunted.   Eventually the house was restored and it is
now the Greathouse of the Whim Museum. If we hadn’t believed the grownups back then we would
have been able to search the home and possibly find treasures.

Grownups had a habit of telling us that everything they wanted us to avoid was either haunted or
inhabited by someone who would do us harm or both. Not knowing better we avoided the places and
individuals.   We were told about werewolves, half-men, ghosts (“jumbies/jumbees”), children-eating
individuals, etc.

Except for the two towns, Christiansted and Frederiksted, most of the island was in darkness.
There were a few lights on Centerline Road.   Driving into the countryside at night was quite an
experience. For most of the ride the only lights visible were those of the car one was in. From time
to time another car would pass. At times a horse and cart would pass with a kerosene lamp
hanging on the side.

Because of all this darkness a lot was discussed about ghosts, spirits, (jumbies/jumbees), and the like.
One was told to avoid walking in certain places alone. We were told not to go into cemeteries at night.
A friend, who said he could see ghosts, said he was born breeched and that gave him special powers
and thus could see ghosts. He had a habit of walking in the middle of the street at night and at every
intersection he would make the sign of the cross. When asked why he did that, he stated that it is
hard to be caught by a ghost if one walked in the middle of the street. Since streets at an intersection
form a cross, he said ghosts were particularly scared of meeting any human at an intersection.
However, during the day it was okay to walk where one pleased since ghosts were nocturnal.
I was very skeptical of all this though when walking alone at night, I kept looking over my shoulder
from time to time!

Visiting my grandparents in Estate Whim also meant hunting for birds. We used mostly catapults we
made.   To make a catapult we’d look for a cedar tree that had a perfect Y formed in one of its
branches. The bark would be removed and the Y would let dry for about a day. We’d then cut two
½ inch strips from a bike or car tire. These we would attach to the top of the Y and secure them with
more rubber or twine. In the middle of these two rubber strips would go a piece of leather that would
be the receptacle for the projectile we’d use.   To make the catapult unique some of use would use a
piece of leather that was a color other than black. The projectile could be a small stone, a marble
or a ball bearing. One or two relatives had B-B guns.

On the island we had birds like Blue Pigeon (Red-necked Pigeon or Columba squamosa,
the white-crowned version is known as Coluba leucocephala), Ground Dove, Mountain Dove,
“Chinchiree” (or Chinchery, Tyrannus dominicensis, pitirre, wings and back feathers dark gray/black,
the breast and underside is whitish), “Trush” (Thrush, truche, wing and back feathers are brownish
and the breast and underside creamish, a little larger than the “Chincheree”, Margarops fuscatus),
“Sin-Sin” (yellow breasted Bananaquit, Coerebinae), Sparrow (greenish in color, male may have
black head/breast, gorión) “Gahlin” (or gaulin - egret, white and black, garza) and Cradle (possibly the
Bridled Quail Dove, Geotryon mystacea). There were also two types of black birds, one we called
crow and the smaller one was called Black Witch (Crotophaga ani). Most of these were also found in
and around Estate Whim.   The Mountain and Ground Doves (Columbina passeserina) are about the
same color but the Mountain Dove is larger. Blue Pigeons are majestic birds. They are larger than the
widely known pigeons but are all dark blue. To hear them sing is like hearing angels!! Cradles were
unique. They made their nests on the ground in the grass. The sound they made as they left their
nest when they heard us coming was beautiful. They’d dash out of their nests but stay close by without
flying away. They were hard to see since they were almost the same color as the dry brown grass.
[Update, April 2005: I have been told that the white-crowned Blue Pigeon exists on St. Croix and I have seen one.]

“Chinchirees” and “Trushes” can be annoying. “Trushes” will go after almost anything. They will eat
fruits, ravage other birds’ nests, etc. while the “Chinchirees” tend to go after fruits, seeds, etc. However,
they can be very possessive of their territory. Once I was in a tree looking for fruits and did not realize I
was close to a nest. A “Chinchiree” appeared out of no place and began to attack me. The maneuvers
the bird performed to get close to me were incredible. Luckily, it did not harm me.   They are very
protective of their nests!

[Strangely enough, during my visit to the island during 1989 the island felt void of birds. It was as if the Hurricane
Hugo had caused all of them to leave for more secure lands. As a matter of fact, a co-worker at the Social Security
Administration (SSA) told me that his mother told him that strange birds appeared in North Carolina after
Hurricane Hugo. Could some of these have come from the Caribbean? During my April/May visit to St. Croix,
I was pleasantly surprised at the number of birds visible. About the only one I found lacking was the Ground Dove.]

In my opinion, the two birds that are extremely beautiful are the hummingbirds (Dr. Bird, the long beak
of the hummingbird that is used to obtain nectar from flowers, etc., is said to look like a hypodermic
needle, pica flor) and the Blue Pigeons. The hummingbird I remember the most is the small black one
with green iridescent feathers on its head, wings and back.   The feathers glisten in the sun. One has to
see a hummingbird in flight as it goes from flower to flower collecting nectar to understand what I mean.
How can a bird so small move its small wings so fast and fly from flower to flower with such grace?
If one does not believe in a higher being, one must do so after seeing a hummingbird. The Blue
Pigeons are just as elegant and produce a heavenly sound.     The Almighty is incredible!

The other thing that’s incredible about birds, is the way they make their nests. Each bird has a different
way of making the nest and uses different materials to make the nest. Each bird uses a particular
tree/shrub, etc., to make the nest in.   Also fascinating is the color of each birds’ eggs. The eggs can be
white, cream, light blue, etc., and some even have spots.

We also set homemade traps to catch doves. The traps were in a pyramid shape and the wood used
was “Tan-Tan”. The trap would be held up by a piece of wood that was cut into two. A string would be
placed from the trap to the joint of the piece of wood holding up the trap. Food would be placed in
between the string. As soon as the bird entered the trap and began eating the food it touched the twine
which would pull on the piece of wood holding up the trap, it would collapse and the trap would fall
to the ground allowing no escape for the bird.

On one hunting expedition, a cousin who had a B-B gun shot me on a finger. I remember I was
doing something in a puddle of water on a dirt road when my cousin told me he had the urge
to shoot me. I told him I dared him to do it so he pulled the trigger. It hurt. I avoided any dares with
that cousin after this incident. In my eyes, my cousin was mad!

And if you take time out to watch a bird build a nest you will see another wonder of nature!
They all have their own techniques in collecting various types of objects to build. Some birds included
acacia (“kasha”) in their nests. Every bird had their own style of nests. Hummingbirds built a nest that
looked like a pocket hanging from the branches of the tree and made from dry grass, cotton,
dry leaves, etc.

We also had such things as lizards, iguanas (though rarely seen), mongoose (pronounced mangoose),
“gongolos” (millipedes: various colors – red, black (a lot bigger), and black ones with
yellow-green stripes), salamanders (salamancas), centipedes (alacranes, Ma is scared of these),
various types of ants, butterflies (such beauty and grace), bees (avejas), “jackspanas” (“jackspaniards”,
wasps, avispas), hornets, and many others. The greatest miracle of the insect world to me is the
butterfly.    It’s magical how a caterpillar can become a cocoon; days later evolve into one of the
prettiest butterfly ever seen! Ah! (Supposedly the mongoose were brought to the island to get rid of
snakes that ate chickens and their eggs. The mongoose got rid of the snakes and since it had nothing
else to go after, they began to eat the same thing they were there to protect, the chickens! Iguanas are
now readily seen throughout the island.)

In the area where my grandparents lived were many trees they called pinos (pines). I found it weird that
they were concentrated in this part of the island. There were two on the property where my
grandparents lived. We had a habit of carving our names and/or initials on the bark of trees.
However, one day a few of the girls decided to remove the bark from one of the two pinos. I think Lee
was the leader of the group.   When grandpa found out, he had a fit. If it was not for Mamá Lola
interceding on our behalf, grandpa would have beaten the hell out of us!

Close to my grandparents residence was a windmill to the SE, where we went for water and to the
NW was a concrete fixture on 4 columns used to store water. [Ma cannot remember if the water was pumped
into the concrete structure from the windmill and she cannot remember what became of the water in the concrete tank
once it was filled.] Also close by was a house that looked as if it was falling down and sort of crooked
which was called La Casa Broca.

Not too far from where my grandparents lived, there were one or two date palms. I think they were on
the land owned by the Johnson family. The trees were off JCT 7013. The tree when it was in season
would produce many green berry-looking fruits which would eventually turn yellow. When they are
yellow they were ready for eating.

08/30/06, 05/24/20

Estate Whim

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