Latest update February 8th, 2025 5:56 AM
Aug 30, 2009 News
Linden’s Douglas ‘Bugs’ Joseph is our ‘Special Person’
It was my love for historical documentation that probably led to me being installed as tour guide at the (Linden) museum in the first place. So all that I did there, was from the heart; I was doing what I love to do, which is disseminate information, as I feel it is imperative that knowledge should be disseminated to all mankind.’’
By Enid Joaquin
Exuding a youthful exuberance that belies his age, 62-year-old Douglas Leonard ‘Bugs’ Joseph, would enter a room and capture every one’s attention with his wit – his smile, his charm.
He exudes a joie de vivre (joy of living) that is utterly contagious.
That and his inherent helpful attitude are the traits that have made this simple man, a truly special person.
Not his status in life, or religious persuasion, not his academic qualifications and certainly not his money. It is his love of life, people, his community and its history.
To emphasise my point, ‘Bugs’ has been documenting important events that have unfolded in the mining town of Linden for over four decades. These he has carefully filed away. And this noteworthy collection of facts he has been able to share with the Linden museum, where the general public can easily access same. Anyone in a quandary as it relates to particular events during both the pre- and post-nationalization of the bauxite industry, and who is too lazy to visit the museum, need only ask him.
It was ‘Bugs’ who gave me a lot of the information for my article “The making of a mining town”, and photographs of early bauxite workers, shovelling the precious ore by hand; he also gave me that old faded picture of the very first bridge in Linden, the Hope Bridge.
That bridge was dismantled after the Hope Mines closed, and the components shipped to Mackenzie, where some parts were used in constructing the present Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge.
A born Lindener, who entered this world on October 19th 1946, Douglas Leonard Joseph, received his formal education, at the Mackenzie All-Age School and St Aidan’s Primary. He never attended Secondary School, but his vast knowledge and natural eloquence tell a different story.
The man’s knowledge of ‘’Mackenzie’’ is seemingly limitless. He knows so much about bauxite – when mining started, how it started, and how the ore was obtained in those early days. And the most impressive part is that ‘Bugs’ could quote the dates of myriad events that occurred decades ago in the mining town, off the top of his head.
His association with the Linden Museum was not surprising.
‘Bugs’ spoke of the facility as though it was his second home – he even invited me over to have a look at some of the items which he had contributed out of his personal archives. He was quite candid about his tenure there.
‘’ My job at the museum was quite challenging, but I loved it. I was employed as the tour guide, and I tried my best to give visitors a positive feel of what the facility represents. I would take them around and with the aid of photographs and other historical paraphernalia try to paint a true picture of our great legacy.
A lot of the pictures were from my personal collection, which I have gathered over the years.
It was my love for historical documentation that probably led to me being installed as tour guide at the museum in the first place. So all that I did there, was from the heart; I was doing what I love to do, which is disseminate information, as I feel it is imperative that knowledge should be disseminated to all mankind.’’
That was the last permanent job that he would hold. He told me that he had been ‘’unceremoniously’’ booted from the museum, for what he deemed was a minor infringement, and debarred from entering the premises, even though a lot of his personal items were still at the facility.
But there was a working life before that. His first job, shortly after leaving school, was that of a caddie, at the now defunct Surapana Golf Course.
During the same period, he was also involved in gardening and landscaping, around the houses at Watooka which at the time were mostly occupied by the expatriate executive staff of Demba (Demerara Bauxite Company)
He later gained employment at the Mackenzie Hotel as a bellboy, and subsequently landed a job with Demba, at their Maria Elizabeth mine, as a conveyor man, at the Primary Stripping Department, where a huge wheel excavator was located.
A transfer to Demba’s machine shop followed. Here ‘Bugs’ was engaged in helping to fit up machinery, and doing general overhaul of equipment.
“While at the Machine Shop, I was partly responsible for the general overhaul of the swing motors from the 1260 and 1300 walking draglines, and also the 450 and 480-ft machines. My task was to replace the worn bearings with new ones. Great care had to be taken in doing this job, as some of those bearings cost thousands of US dollars,” he recalled.
He would work at most of the Demba mines, including Maria Elizabeth, Kara Kara, and Arrowcane, during his tenure with the bauxite company.
After resigning from Demba, Bugs worked extensively in the interior regions of Guyana as a mechanic.
Expressing his personal feelings about the bauxite industry now, he says that without a doubt this once flourishing industry has certainly seen better days.
‘’The bauxite industry has gone through so much since nationalization – and not necessarily for the better, as a matter of fact, things have gotten progressively worse. I think if we had accepted the 51% that was offered by ALCAN, which was the Canadian-based Company that was in charge before nationalization, we would have been in a better position today. You see ALCAN had a lot of markets, and great contacts.’’
And these are the thoughts that occupy the mind of this man whom many people refer to as a ‘’walking history book’’
LIFE AS A MUSICIAN
Despite his passion for and popularity from retaining and imparting knowledge of the mining town’s history, it is his love of music and adept “guitar fingers” that really brought him to prominence in the community and further afield.
He has played in every ‘’nook and cranny’’ in Region 10, and throughout Guyana.
The acknowledged musical talent, has always been humble, and would many times play at functions ‘’for free’’. He would demonstrate the same patience and dedication, whether he was accompanying a child practicing for a school concert, or some debonair entertainer at an important rendezvous.
And the most astonishing thing is that this gifted musician was never taught to play the guitar.
’Ever since I was a child, I had this great love for music, and I would listen to my parents singing. Both my parents loved to sing.
I loved listening to the various popular pop artistes like the ‘’Blues Busters’’ and the ‘’Beatles’’ in the early ‘60s. My buddy Milton Alexander was hooked on the ‘’Beatles ‘’and I was hooked on the ‘’Shadows’’, an instrumental group from the UK. They were very popular in those days.
Milton and I, we were teenagers at the time, and every time we got a free period during our workday at the Mackenzie Hotel, we would practice singing all these songs,’’ Bugs reminisced happily.
‘Bugs’ later purchased his very first guitar for $15 and continued practicing his singing while accompanying himself on the guitar.
He later became a rhythm guitarist for a very prominent band in Mackenzie, by the name of ‘’The Oracles’’, which had initially started out as a singing group.
‘’Those were the best days, and I really enjoyed playing my guitar. We had these sessions here at Mackenzie that every teenager in those days looked forward to.
We would play on special occasions, like Easter Monday and Old Year’s Night, and private parties.
What is now known as the Linden Museum, was at the time known as the Recreation Hall, and we used to play for several events there and also at other venues like Constab Hall and Lodge Hall. I had great moments with my fellow band members and our many fans, especially when we went to New Amsterdam. A lot of fans came to see us and dance with the band, as quite a few of our band members hailed from New Amsterdam.’’
Music would later take ‘Bugs’ to Nova Scotia, Canada, after his prowess with the guitar was recognized by a Canadian playwright named Barry Stagg, who had come to the mining town on a cultural exchange visit to the Mackenzie High School.
‘Bugs’ was invited to be part of the exchange programme, and as a consequence was afforded the opportunity of visiting Canada, in 1994.
‘’Stagg had heard about me, and so he invited me to be a part of his project. I even had to complete the programme with the students, as he could not stay for its duration. This I did, and sent him a videotape of what was done after he left. He was so satisfied and elated, that he sent for myself, and one of Linden’s famous playwrights, Wayne Drakes, on an exchange visit.’’
The duo would appear in the Canadian media quite a few times, during their sojourn in North America .
‘Bugs’ was afforded the opportunity of visiting quite a few countries to showcase his talent, with neighbouring Suriname being one of the more popular destinations for him.
He was also prominently featured during both the first (1972) and last (2008) hosting of Carifesta in Guyana.
No longer playing at public events, ‘Bugs’ says he still enjoys all musical genre, but his only loathing is the ‘’smutty stuff’’.
’’ Music can be both uplifting and destructive, that is why I do not listen to the smutty stuff, because all that are contained in those songs are demeaning and often rebellious and violent messages.
I believe that music is the food of love and it is the language that is universally spoken, but we have to control what we listen to.’’
He also noted that since the advent of the electronic keyboard, people pay less attention to learning to read and write music, which is really sad, and pointed out that the ‘’One-man’’ band which is presently the popular craze, really involves a lot of computer-based technology.
‘’In a full-fledged band, every member has the opportunity to exercise their musical knowledge and creativity; that is absent with the one-man bands; because a lot of what these persons play is ‘cosmetic music’ because of the high degree of technology involved, in producing the sounds of various instruments. I don’t think that a one-man band ‘’player’’ could derive the sort of satisfaction as say, a guitarist or drummer, or any other musician in a regular band.”
On a deeply personal note, ‘Bugs’ confided that it really saddened him that he could not be at his son’s wedding recently, but insists that he was there in spirit.
His son, Loren, said he was almost moved to tears during certain segments of the ceremony, when the full impact of his father’s absence hit home.
There were also poignant moments during the reception that followed at the Watooka Club, when guests were asked to light their candles, and relatives asked to hold their special lights high, while a musical rendition was played in Bugs’s honour. Prayers were also said for his speedy recovery.
Nowadays, he only plays the guitar for his personal pleasure, probably once or twice a week, as he is too ill to do public engagements. But the saddest part for me is that this piece of equipment that provided thousands with musical pleasure over the years, and was a permanent feature of his wardrobe, perpetually slung over his shoulder, is no longer visible whenever I encounter Douglas Leonard ‘Bugs’ Joseph.
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