To residents of tenth Street, Techier Village, Point Fortin, Myrtle Maurice-Bailey, known widely as Ma Bailey, will always be one of the pillars of their community.
To her 11 children, 20-plus grandchildren and several great and great-great grandchildren, she’s the glue that holds the family together and a light in the world for the last 101 years.
Yes, 101.
“Yuh must be saying this little old lady make all them children eh?” she joked, sitting next to three of her daughters and her caregiver.
Her personality is as colourful as the walls of her brightly painted gallery.
“I use to sing to him. He liked me singing to him,” she recalled of Lloyd Bailey, her deceased husband and father of her children.
She then burst into song.
A soulful ballad about missing him.
She smiled and pointed to his framed photo.
“That’s him there, you know.”
She apologised that she couldn’t remember as she did many years ago.
“I getting old inno. I does forget plenty now.”
Even with that being said, she then proceeded to recall that she was born and raised in Indian Walk, Moruga.
Born to Willie Maurice and Mabel Jacinta Cooper on December 29, 1924, Ma Bailey attended Indian Walk Government Primary School.
Dressed in a beige-coloured fitted dress with navy blue hearts, she recalled being raised by her grandmother, Margaret Elliot and the contention created when Lloyd first showed his interest in her.
She recalled his height and smile, but not her age when she first met him.
One of her daughters, Althea, interjected that her father had hailed from Princes Town.
“From what mom told us, he had visited their village, appeared well-mannered, hardworking, and she fell in love,” she stated, looking lovingly at their mom.
Lloyd, though, had three children from a previous relationship.
That did not sit well with Ma Bailey’s mother at all.
It didn’t matter that Ma Bailey also had her eldest child, Carol, from a previous relationship.
Carol stayed in Moruga and was raised by Ma Bailey’s mother.
The couple’s first child, Leon (now deceased) was conceived in Ma Bailey’s hometown at Indian Walk, Moruga.
It appeared they would settle there and eventually expand their family.
Lloyd, though, was in the oil and gas field, which led to a lucrative employment opportunity for relocation to Point Fortin.
In those days, Shell offered live-in bungalows in parts of Point Fortin for its employees.
Lloyd took his wife first to Mora Village, then to 14th Street Techier Village, Point Fortin.
Their family grew, which led to them relocating to tenth Avenue, as the bungalow there offered greater accommodations.
Ma Bailey would go on to give birth to Cheryl, Keith, Enol, Wayne, Althea, Rawle, Michael, Donna and Desmond.
In a brief telephone interview with Ma Bailey’s son, Keith, WE magazine learnt that the family believes her longevity is attributed to the love and care she showered on her children and others.
“Now we are showering that back onto her. My mom stepped in as our mother and father when our dad went abroad to work. He was the best provider, taught us principles and respect, but our mom nurtured all that he instilled and so much more,” he recalled.
Keith, the fourth child, said he was around ten years old when his dad migrated.
Their father, he recalled, never failed to send money through the post, and they saw him every Christmas.
His mother, who said she had thought about becoming a teacher, opted to remain a housewife, while their father worked abroad.
Keith holds his mother in high regard, as he recalled her never entertaining another man during his father’s absence.
His sisters agreed, with Althea recalling how overprotective her brothers were towards their mom.
“You all remember how Keith stopped the driver from bringing in a bag of groceries for mom? He took the bag and said ‘nah my mom ent need no help’. And mom agreed. Stopped that man in his tracks if he even had any intentions,” she joked.
Keith didn’t laugh. For him, even as a child, he emulated what he saw his mother practicing.
“Another thing I can tell you, my mom was a very good disciplinarian. You see, our education and spirituality, she didn’t play with those things. Everyone respected her, everyone,” he stated confidently.
Ma Bailey’s daughters agreed, adding that even “village bad Johns” showed her respect.
“All yuh remember when it had a fight, and mom went outside, called out to the “badjohn” and fight done,” joked Cheryl.
The sisters laughed.
Ma Bailey simply smiled and stayed silent as she listened to them speak.
On the topic of raising her children, Ma Bailey said she loved them, but also ensured they knew there were consequences to mischief or disobedience.
While maintaining her “no nonsense” approach, she ensured both her children and grandchildren were showered with kindness.
“Kindness, love and respect, they can take you far. I know everything yuh know, even though I’m getting old and does forget plenty,” she repeated, smiling.
The love of God was also instilled in her family, as she religiously attended service at the Point Fortin Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Members of that church now visit their home to continue praying with Ma Bailey.
Beverly said her grandmother thinks of church members like an extended family.
Ma Bailey has been a mainstay in all of her grandchildren’s lives.
When two of her daughters migrated, Ma Bailey gladly took up the mantle of raising Beverly, Tricia, Shelly and Bevon.
“Our grandmother loved us with her all. I remember, I was only eight, and to this day she continues to love us, just as if she gave birth to us. We have the best of both our mom and grandmom. Her support and positive influence on us continues to this day,” stated Beverly, who works as a nurse in the United States.
Historical ties
Ma Bailey’s gallery is as colourful as her history.
As it turns out, she is oldest of the Merikins of Moruga.
The Merikins were former enslaved African Americans who joined the ranks of the British naval services as Colonial Marines and settled in six areas in Moruga, known as The Company Villages.
Ma Bailey is a first cousin to Samuel Ebenezer Elliot, “Papa Neezer”, an Orisha priest who was known for healing and taking care of others.
A museum and shrine are planned to be built in honour of The Merikins and Papa Neezer in Moruga.
“We already broke ground, and all fundraisers we do now will go towards building both the museum and shrine,” she noted proudly.
Granddaughter Beverly Springer, Althea’s daughter, said she was so inspired by her grandmother’s ancestry, she had a discussion with a director, Oyetayo Raymond Ojoade, and they agreed to document her historical lineage.
She said aside from history, her love for Ma Bailey also led to making the documentary that’s to be aired in Trinidad in May at the Techier Community Centre.
Beverly was heartbroken when snowstorms in the US prevented her from visiting Trinidad to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday.
On December 29, the family matriarch celebrated her milestone with friends and family.
She wore a blonde wig, an elegant black and silver dress and her usual animated smile.
Usually, Austin “Super Blue” Lyons would be in attendance to serenade Ma Bailey.
Her children and Lyons’ attended primary school together in Point Fortin.
Beverly said her love for “kaiso” stemmed from her support of the iconic calypsonian.
As son Enol played footage from Ma Bailey’s birthday party, she danced and sang to calypso music, proving her love for life continues as she grows older and wiser.
