April 29, 2008 — Threads of times past and present were woven together Tuesday evening as Alton Adams Jr., his sister, Althea, and editor Mark Clague presented a copy of Adams' father's memoirs to the territory's new Education Commissioner, LaVerne Terry.
The Memoirs of Alton Augustus Adams Sr.: First Black Bandmaster of the U nited States Navy was published earlier this year by the University of California Press.
"We want the young ones in our community to have a way of addressing history. It's important that young people understand their history," Adams Jr.said Tuesday night at Café Amalia in Palm Passage, where several dozen people gathered to celebrate the release of the book and meet the editor.
Terry said she looked forward to reading about the island's rich musical and cultural history, as seen through Adams' eye.
"I'm excited to be here," she said. "It's so important that young people understand the history of the Virgin Islands in order to keep it alive. This book is an example of that; it's an important part of my work. I'm thankful to have it in our school system."
Local historian Ruth Moolenaar, who has written several historical accounts herself, said, "It was Mr. Adams' dream to bring this book to the next generation in hopes of giving them a way of seeing where they came from. I'm glad to be part of it."
Clague, who spent 10 years on the project, said, "The beauty I see in the Virgin Islands is not in the natural resources, but in Adams' values of cosmopolitanism, discipline and tolerance."
Retired newsman Ron Walker recalled his days in the 1960s with Adams Sr.
"We were just about all there was of a press corps then, along with a few others. You never called him anything but 'Mr. Adams.' It was never Alton."
Businessmen Ricardo Charaf, Cornelius B. Prior Jr. and Sebastiano Cassinelli Paiewonsky have each purchased 25 copies of the book, which will be distributed to the principals of all the territory's public, private and parochial schools.
Clague had a steady stream of some of those principals, along with other teachers and students of all ages, lining up with their books open for an autograph. Jonathan Gjessing, Dockside Bookshop owner, sat at a table opposite Clague selling the books as fast as Clague could sign them.
The world of music became a little smaller for Neomie Toussaint-Williams, Gladys Abraham Elementary School music teacher, and Clague Tuesday evening when they discovered she is attending a summer course he will be teaching at the University of Michigan where he is assistant professor of musicology, American culture and African-American studies.
Clague said the book is already receiving wide academic attention.
"The University of Alaska in Anchorage is teaching a course in Adams' music," he said.
Clague credits librarian Shirley Lincoln with contributing the basis for three chapters, which would otherwise have been lost.
Lincoln said when queried after the book signing, "Mr. Adams had given Isidor Paiewonsky some of the early parts of his memoirs because he knew Isidor would know what to do with them. He ran them in his columns in the Daily News for three years in the late '80s," Lincoln said. "They cover the '20s, '30s and '40s."
Terry was clearly taken with the evening's significance. She sees her part in it, and in her new community. "It is so small," she said, "you can reach out and touch people. That's the best thing about a small place. Who I am seems to fit here. I want to make sure the children are aware of their history and their music. When they sing the "Virgin Islands March," I want them to know where it came from."
The "V.I. March" is probably the best-known of Adams vast catalog of musical compositions.
For more on the book see "New Book Shows V.I. History Through Eyes of Bandmaster, Booster."
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