Little more... where Rick's Cafe is used to be a Doctor's vacation home (not doctor's office) - he and his wife were 'off island' much of the time. Where the bar is at Rick's Cafe there used to be a swimming pool, we could sometimes sneak in via one of the workers there and take a swim. I think it must have been around 1973 or 1974 when Rick bought the place. Back in those times the place "to watch the sunset" was Awee Maway Village, which some of you might know as the Pickled Parrot. There was another place about 3/4 of a mile past the Lighthouse called Sunset Point, owned by a German man Norman. There was a jutty of land sticking out and people would walk there and watch the sunset.
Nick, I was robbed at James Palmer's house the same way, the thieves would use fishing poles and hooks to grab stuff through the windows, that were basically slats that could be moved, no screens back then. As you faced two of the houses owned by James Palmer, I stayed in the house to the right, first room on the left. One time I remember Negril at Christmas time got more crowded that it ever had been before (again 1973 or 1974 times). I went next door where the kitchen was and couldn't get the door open - James Palmer had rented out floor space to about five guys.
Another time at his place, two Asian guys from Canada came and stayed there and had a rented car. That worked out great for us because we would ride all over Westmoreland and Hanover with them. One very windy night, someone came and took the ENTIRE engine of the car out! We moved out of Redground shortly after that, we also had food stolen one time we had gone to Sav shopping for a Thanksgiving Day feast to cook next door where we could use the kitchen. Oh! and in those times your ride be most likely be in an old van, and the owner would set a concrete block on each side, with a board going across to sit on, there would be 3-4 rows.
Wherever you were situated in Negril, you could buy anything you wanted. A Rasta man named Everall had a little maroon truck, with fruit, vegetables, fish, chicken, rice, peas, as well as ganja which he kept under his hubcap. He would come once or twice a week, and also sold to the majority of the small amount of restaurants and little shops. You could also order from him and tell him what kind of fish you wanted him to bring to you the next time he came. You could buy large 1.5 foot by 1.5 foot blocks of ice and most people didn't have a refridgerator, delivered by the blue ice truck. We were lucky, we had a decent kerosene operated refridgerator and a decent gas stove. No electricity though, we used those Home Sweet Home lanterns, and I can't even remember where we bought the oil for them.
A girl named Chastity originally lived on the property where Home Sweet Home is now, and it had the same name. She had a one or two room treehouse type of structure, with the base of the tree being a large rock column.
Someone else in this thread posted that they stayed in "Daisy's house" -- I also rented from a "Miss Daisy" who lived across from where Ten Sing Pen is now. The original Pee Wee started a restaurant to the left of her house, and there was a little A-frame house back there that I rented. That house got really really hot, especially during the summertime.
We used to hand out at Rutland Point, which is the tip of the point near to Booby Key. There used to be a large blue and white abandoned boat, a good sized boat (and turned a little bit on it's side) - a fisherman lived in it. I think it might have been around 1976 when they started to build Hedonism. That was the start of the bigger A/I's.
I remember the woman who lived at Our Past Time, she had an impressive car like an old Bentley or something and would have her driver bring her to the Yacht Club (like at 11 a.m.) or so where she would get her first drink of the day. She had black glasses with diamonds on the side. I can't believe I can no longer remember her name ? maybe Elvira Revson ? or something like that?
And whoever made the comment on James Palmer's voice !! so true ! he had a very strange voice. He told me he had met several movie stars on the beach in the mid 1960's: Suzanne Pleshette and I think Marilyn Monroe. I can't even begin to imagine what the beach was in the 1960's!
Originally Posted by Shelly
