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Frenchtown Fetes Independence and A Native Son

July 15, 2008 — While it was an outraged bunch of French folk who stormed the Bastille prison outside Paris in 1789, the memory of that day was celebrated in Frenchtown Monday evening by a group who were anything but outraged.
Filled with joy and gratitude for the French independence, they sang a rousing rendition of the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise," celebrating the spirit of the day. They danced, they drank champagne, they chomped on canapes, they greeted one another with the traditional kisses on each cheek, and they listened quietly as Allan Richardson talked about the late Lionel Olive, to whom the evening was dedicated.
Traditionally, the Frenchtown Civic Organization hosts the event which ends the many celebrations of French Heritage Week. "We fight with the French Heritage committee to have the Bastille celebration here each year in the heart of Frenchtown where it belongs," Richardson said.
It was nearly an all-Richardson affair. Giselle Richardson, Allan's daughter, handled mistress of ceremonies chores with aplomb inherited from her dad. FTCO president Henry Richardson welcomed all to the evening. Nine of the 10 Richardson brothers had flown in from points all over the states for the occasion.
Allan Richardson spoke warmly of his longtime friend Olive, with whom he had grown up and who passed away in 2004.
"In 1968 when we first had the Moby Dick carnival troupe, it was Lionel who made it work," Richardson said. "He didn't go down the road with us — he wasn't interested in that, he just wanted to make sure the hitch was holding right."
"He built the mast you see here where we lower the fish basket on Old Year's Night. That was his idea," Richardson said. "He was an engineer. He worked for WAPA for 30 years, but it's his love of Frenchtown we honor. He was a giving, loving person. We have all benefited from his kindness."
Richardson did his old friend proud. Though he is well-known on the island for creative skills — like the lobster on top of the old Barnacle Bill's restaurant in Sub Base and a multitude of carnival floats, each more spectacular than the next — the memorial he built for Berry is a work of art.
The memorial is a brick boat which surrounds the mast Olive made. It's intricately constructed, holding an anchor, chain and buoy a couple hundred years old, salvaged from Charlotte Amalie harbor, set off by flowering plants. Richardson calls it the "outdoor section" of the adjacent Frenchtown Heritage Museum, next to the Joseph Aubain ballpark.
"That was a labor of love," commented Chester Cerge.
Lt. Gov. Gregory Francis brought the program to a fitting end. "Now," he announced with a huge grin, "Henry [Richardson] and I have something we want you to do. Stand up," he ordered. "Now, turn and face the person next to you and give them a hug and a kiss." And everyone did.
Then the several hundred French (and other) folk danced merrily into the night to the tunes of Richard Berry's Seabreeze band.
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