Bill Anderson Honoured At Anglers Club Willet “Bill” Anderson was honoured as a life member of the Blue Water Anglers Club at a celebration on Saturday [May 3]. A spokesperson said, “On Saturday, May 3 at Blue Water Angler’s Club, the extended family of Willit ‘Bill’ Anderson arranged a fantastic night to pay homage to their patriarch. “At an elaborate setting attended by more than 90 family and friends, Mr. Anderson [94-years-old] was surprisingly made a life member of Blue Waters Anglers Club by club president Ray Bean on behalf of the executive and members. “Mr. Anderson shared that he was encouraged to join the club by one of its key founders, Reid Johansen, within a year of the club’s formation in 1958. The president acknowledged Mr. Anderson as one of the club’s oldest surviving members and considered him a founder. Mr. Anderson revealed that he was among the youngest members in 1959 [28-years-old at the time], with two boats and a passion for game and recreational fishing for food as a charitable contribution to family and friends.” Mr. Anderson said, “Reid Johansen was the driving force behind the formation of Blue Waters. The Governor you see here presenting prizes also fished along with us out of Blue Waters Anglers Club. “All the Black fishermen starting with fishing boats from St. George’s – pilot George Welch, pilot Gerald Pascoe, and Edric ‘Socky’ Pearman [Parrot]; boats from Spanish Point – Reid Robinson, Walter Dismont, Pilot Walter Darrell [Blanche], John Kennedy, Reid Johansen and Eddie Dawson [Bay Queen]; Southampton and West End fishermen Ed Kelly [Jews Bay], Cleary Stoneham, Chris Smith [Riddell’s Bay], Rupert Swan [Portland Square], and Bill Anderson [Scaur, Somerset Bridge].” The spokesperson said, “The event was coordinated by great niece Cecelia “Cessa” Edwards and embraced Mr. Anderson’s closest family and friends from his interesting life as Master Builder, sport and recreation fisherman, avid golfer, devout husband, and family anchor. “MP Kim Swan was the Master of Ceremonies. Mr. Anderson’s nephew presided over the event, which started with prayer by Rev. DonnaMae Postlethwaite [Mr. Anderson’s cousin], followed by a welcome by Cecilia Edwards [great niece], who later gave tributes on behalf of Mr. Anderson’s surviving sisters Barbara Swan and Rose Raynor. “Mr Anderson’s 62 year marriage to Muriel Darrell Anderson was lovingly honoured by Mrs. Levyette Robinson [Mr. Anderson’s niece], who captured the essence of their life centered around Mount Zion AME Church, the Whale Bay, Whaling Hill, and Rose Hill communities. “Although not a professional golfer like his nephews Kim Swan and Darron Swan and cousin Dwayne Pearman, Willet “Bill” Anderson grew up around top class golf from an early age. He and his younger sister Barbara Swan had to cut the grass where their uncle Herman taught and practiced his golf in Whale Bay.” Kim Swan said, “My uncle Bill grew up around fishing, farming, and golf in the Whale Bay community before Port Royal Golf Course was built/opened in 1970. My great uncle Herman “Tucci” Bascome, who was a great golfer, had a huge influence on all of our lives. The Whale Bay community played a major role in our family- The Bascome family owed most of the property in the Whale Bay/Whaling Hill area at one time and is closely connected to Mount Zion AME Church being at its current location.” The spokesperson said, “The stories about Mr. Anderson’s life filled the room as he shared experiences many had not known before about his development and that of those family members gathered. “As a young man growing up in the 1930s, Mr. Anderson shared about the impact of WW2 and how, at age 10, he vowed to build a house for his mother Ivy Ruth Hall Anderson of Southampton. He achieved that milestone in the early 1950s and purchased several parcels of land at Cedar Hill, Southampton West [now known as Granaway Heights], the area his mother once lived and his grandfather, Isaac McKinley Hall, once farmed. Throughout his life together with close family and friends, they would help each other build their homes. “It was indeed an honour to have celebrated our revered family member Willet “Bill” Anderson while he is able to appreciate how much we love and value his life of service. “May God continue to bless Uncle Bill.”