June 19, 2006 — Henry Carter is a man with his feet planted firmly in the soil. And although he was discouraged from a life of farming by his father, who knew firsthand the hardships of tilling the soil, Carter could not deny his destiny.
"When I was two, I told my father I wanted to be a farmer," Carter recalled. "He told me no, be a lawyer. 'But poppa, I said, you told me not to lie.' Then my father said, 'Well then be a doctor.' I said 'Poppa I don't like tending to sores.'"
At 80, Carter's love for farming is still strong. In front of his modest home, where he lives with his wife, Margret, of almost 49 years, Carter tills a half-acre of land in which he grows vegetables, medicinal herbs and fruit plants.
He is a slight man, his work clothes hang on his angular frame, his black rubber boots caked with mud from the garden. His soft gray hair curls neatly around his head, contrasting with his scraggly mustache and beard. He uses a cane to maneuver through the furrows of his garden, but his lack of agility does not stop him from gardening up to 10 hours a day.
Carter is an organic farmer; he doesn't use chemicals or pesticides in his garden. An intricate series of pipes and hoses constantly drip water to thirsty plants. Every ounce of water is recycled from the house to the garden. A large black tub serves as a compost pile.
Carter credited his longevity to the natural food he eats. "If I was not eating properly, I would be dead and gone already," he said. "Food grown with chemicals is the main reason for cancer," declared Carter.
"We use everything to make the garden grow," said Carter. "A lot of people don't realize how many thousands of gallons of water they throw away every year."
Born in Christiansted on Oct. 7, 1926, Carter attended the La Valle School. While in grammar school he lived with his father, who supported the family by fishing and farming.
"We were very poor," Carter remembered. "What we ate usually came from the garden, and if the garden was not producing, we would eat sugar cane until our mouths bled."
"My father would say 'Boy, land work is hard work; don't ever become a farmer,'" Carter said. "But it was in my blood, I was determined to become a farmer."
Carter left St. Croix in the middle of his high school education and traveled to New York to stay with relatives. It was 1946, and he soon found a job at New York City College. "All I had to do was clean the blackboards and sweep the floors," he said.
Carter recalled that he was astounded at the pay, which was $65 a week, because he had been earning 60 cents a day back in the Virgin Islands. He stayed in New York for 16 years before returning to his homeland.
Back in St. Croix, Carter found a job selling refrigerators; at the same time, he set up his livestock and crop farm. After a few years, Carter concentrated on farming full time. He sold his crops to supermarkets and individual customers and perfected his particular brand of organic farming using recycled water.
Carter loved to share his knowledge of farming with students and many schools organized trips to his farm. "I can't just throw away the knowledge I was given, I have to pass it on." Those class trips make up some of Carter's fondest memories, if the photo albums and the students' handmade cards of thanks he treasures are any indication.
The schools were not the only ones to recognize Carter's commitment to farming. In 2006 the Agriculture and Food Fair grounds were named in his honor in recognition of his having dedicated his life to farming.
Carter said he would like to see the V.I. government make more use of the aloe vera plant that grows abundantly on the island. "Everything at the pharmacy has aloe vera in it," Carter said. "So why go to the store and buy products with aloe when you can just get it from your garden?"
Despite his love of farming, Carter knows farming is not for everyone. "You don't have to dedicate yourself to farming like I did," said Carter. "Just do enough so you can stay healthy."
Wise words indeed.
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