73.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesWeek of the Book in Full Swing and Featuring V.I. Authors

Week of the Book in Full Swing and Featuring V.I. Authors

Nov. 16 2005 – A journey to the home of three St. Croix authors revealed the rich history and culture of a family whose value of the written word has preserved a piece of Virgin Islands history for future generations.
Zorida Jacobs, Education Department Reading Campaign coordinator, and Ingrid Bough, copyright specialist for the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., took a step back in time Wednesday afternoon as they toured the historic Lawaetz Family Museum and learned more about the family's authors, Herman C. J. Lawaetz, Erik J. Lawaetz and Roy Lawaetz. Another book in the family collection is the memoirs of Frits E. Lawaetz, a former St. Croix district senator, written by Pricilla Watkins.
The visit was part of the Week of the Book sponsored by Education's Reading Campaign. The campaign promotes reading as an essential skill to ensure success in life. The organization's ultimate goal is to create a community of readers in the territory.
"We wanted to visit the home of the authors," Jacobs said.
The week-long activities began on Sunday with a writers' marathon. Jacobs said writers were assigned to pen a story about anything in Christiansted town and then the submissions were.
Irene Lawaetz, current caretaker of the house, gave Jacobs and Bough a tour of the 18th-century estate, with its accompanying ruins and rambling garden. The house is now leased to the St. Croix Landmark Society because of its historical value.
The four books written by and about the family were displayed on a mahogany table inside the residence. Herman C.J. Lawaetz wrote the book Peter von Scholten in his native Danish language. The information in the book was gathered from people who knew the Danish General and has since been reprinted in English. St Croix: 500 Years pre-Columbus to 1990 was written by Erik J. Lawaetz and The Modular Triangle System was written by Roy Lawaetz. Rounding out the collection is The Bull of Annaly, the memoirs of Fritz E. Lawaetz by Pricilla Watkins.
Book Week activities continue on Saturday with a parade in Christiansted beginning at 9 a.m. from Bassin Triangle to Fort Christiansvaern. An Anansi Festival with books for sale and reading for the children follows until 5 p.m. On Sunday there will be an author's awards ceremony by invitation only. For more information call Zorida Jacobs at 773-1520.

Back Talk

Share your reaction to this story with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.