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Placencia, BelizeAs several of you have spent time in Placencia, Belize, we thought you would appreciate the following update, taken from the local paper. Enjoy! From the April 2002 edition of The Placencia Breeze
Placencia Sidewalk Fund 4,071 feet long and 4 feet wide – according to the Guiness Book of World Records, the narrowest main street in the world. A street, a sidewalk, a road? Whatever its characterization, the Placencia Sidewalk was the heart of Placencia Village, an important artery that linked the visitors, residents, businesses and homes of Placencia Village. It kept your feet from getting burned in the hot sand, allowed you to easily transport goods by wheelbarrow, served as an easy meeting spot – it was the focal point of the Village. The first sidewalk in Placencia was constructed in the early 1940s and ran from the home of Archbishop Dunn, the Archbishop of the West Indies, to the Placencia Village dock. Archbishop Dunn couldn’t walk very well in the sand because of the weakened condition of his legs, so someone suggested that a walkway might help him get around the Village more easily – and thus the first sidewalk was born. Arthur Villanueva (born October 29, 1925) recollects that original Sidewalk was only 2 feet wide – and was locally referred to as the “Jealous Man’s Street” because the Sidewalk was so narrow that the wives walked in front with their husbands following behind. Mr. Villanueva also remembers the builders of the first concrete Sidewalk, who were: Mauric Villanueva, Mark Faux, Liston Leslie, Edward Eiley, Christopher Lopez, Percy Leslie, Roland Garbutt and Herbert Eiley. From the 1940s through the late 1960s, the Sidewalk was continually lengthened and widened until it reached Mr. Clive’s house at its northermost end. Villagers did most of the work, including women and children. In the words of “Aunt” Thelo Cabral (born December 28, 1911), “They took it as a pleasure doing it, you know. No fussing. Everybody doing and working.” Peace Corps volunteers (U.S. college students) also provided the labor for the last segments of the Sidewalk as it was extended northward. The final work on the Sidewalk was done by Grandpa Garbutt in 1996 when the Sidewalk near Sonny’s Resort was widened to four feet. On October 8th, 2001 at 7:30 p.m., Hurrican Iris swept across the Placencia Peninsula. Much of the Placencia Sidewalk was destroyed – the heart of the Village was gone. The rebuilding of homes and businesses is now well underway and Placencia is again welcoming visitors. But, resources remain scarce, and funds for extras such as restoring our Sidewalk are just not available. After the Hurricane many former visitors called or emailed, asking: “What they could do to donate to Placencia? How could they help rebuild the village??” In response, a group of concerned citizens organized the Placencia Sidewalk Fund as a non-profit corporation in order to raise runds to restore the Sidewalk in Placencia Village. The Placencia Sidewalk Fund proposes to replace and repair the Placencia Sidewalk and widen it to a uniform width of four feet. The Sidewalk will remain in the same location as before Hurrican Iris. The Placencia sidewalk Fund will work along with residents and other community groups in installing improvements such as park benches, garbage cans, gardens and supplemental lighting. If enough funds become available the group looks forward to providing funds for a possible Sidewalk extension! Our donation scheme is as follows:
Use our donation boxes! Support our fundraisers! All kinds of donations are welcome: donations can be in cash, building materials, labor or equipment. We hope that EVERYONE will get involved. Let’s rebuild the World’s Narrowest Main Street! |