Feb. 19, 2009 - Dockside Bookshop will host St. Croix author Anne Thurland, who has published her first book "Jens Larsen Photo Collection, St. Croix, 1935-1937." Thurland, a ninth generation Crucian, has scanned and restored photos taken by her uncle Jens Larsen of St. Croix during the 1930s and has identified the people and places in the photos, including the life of a young Crucian growing up in Christiansted. The book signing will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Dockside Bookshop in Havensight Mall.
Thurland said that her goal was to preserve Virgin Islands history through the photographs and the stories passed down through her mother, Modesta Larsen Thurland, who was Jens' sister. Part I of the book is a biography of young Jens Larsen, who, with a Kodak box camera, took many photos of his friends and the places he frequented, including Gallows Bay. There are rare photos of the slaughterhouse, the sugar cane tracks at the Bethlehem Sugar Factory, the ships that visited the harbor and many stories about Jens and his friends, who attended the St. Mary's School.
The author said that recently there have been many photos available to Virgin Islanders of the early period in V.I. history, but what makes her book unique is that she has identified the people and places, and has provided some background on the social, political, economic and cultural practices and health status during that period on St. Croix. There are many photos of well-known Crucians such as Fritz Tutein, the late Jessica Tutein Moolenaar and Darnley Petersen. The book also includes a glossary, which could help young people and others understand the terms and phrases used in the book. This project was funded in part by the V.I. Council on the Arts.
The book is available on St. Thomas from Dockside Bookshop and UVI Bookstore and in St.Croix from Danica Art Gallery, St. George Village Botanical Garden, Treasure Attic, UVI Bookstore and the Whim Museum Store. It is also available online from www.authorhouse.com/bookstore; www.amazon.com; and www.barnesand noble.com.