NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | MONDAY, JANUARY 31, 2022 6 JAMAICA AT 60: MANCHESTER Keisha Hill/Senior Gleaner Writer TWO YEARS after Jamaica gained political Independence from Great Britain, Jean Anderson decided that she wanted to serve the parish of Manchester. She did so by becoming a justice of the peace (JP) and is today the longest-serving JP in the parish. “I feel very humbled to have been a justice of the peace for 58 years. It is a very rewarding experience after so many years of giving service without expecting a reward or recognition,” Anderson said. She added: “I was appointed at the relatively young age of 33, and I have been in this position since 1964. I have always had a friendly personality, and people usually gravitate towards me. It has always been a pleasure helping out and serving in the community,” Anderson said. Among her other outstanding achievements was to have been elected as the first female president of the Lay Magistrates’ Association, serving in that capacity for three years. Lending her assistance to the development of the country, and by extension the parish of Manchester where she resides, Anderson says she always had the desire to actively contribute to development. In 2011, she was conferred with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander, for her outstanding contribution to community service. Anderson’s memory is striking! You could listen to her all day, reminiscing on the good old days in Jamaica, and the wonderful memories she had with her siblings and her family. As an 88-year-old woman, she has lived an illustrious life, one filled with many firsts, and an undeniable legacy that will be etched in our island’s history for many years to come. Anderson is the only remaining sibling of five, whose roots began here in Jamaica in the early 1900s. She is the third of the children, with her eldest brother being former prime minister of Jamaica and former leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Edward Seaga. Her father was a businessman and the son of immigrants from Lebanon, while her mother was of mixed heritage. They operated a dry goods store on King Street and later Seaga’s Travel Service. She began her early years in Kingston, but married Ronald Anderson, a Scottish geologist, and relocated to the cool hills of Manchester. Moving to Mandeville was a new way of life for her, but she adapted quickly, and began in earnest to serve her community. “Mandeville at the time was a one-street town, with the courthouse in the centre, and the greens around it; the parish church which is St Marks, and there were a few grocery stores around us; the market, which was also in the centre, and is still there today. The post office was beside the market, but it has moved to another location in the town,” Anderson said. As the town began to grow with the impact of bauxite mining in the parish, Anderson went on to pioneer the leading travel service agency in mid-island Jamaica. Initially, travel was not a known industry and Anderson and one of her closest friends, through her father’s company, would helpmigrant workers to complete the necessary documentation they needed to travel on ships. “Britain opened the doors. Because of the war they did not have enough manpower, and they needed workers in their country. There was no air travel as that would have been be too expensive in those days. They were mostly chartering ships, and my father, they sold berths for the people to go to England,” Anderson said. Anderson indicated that initially it was a difficult process, as many of the people were not registered at birth and those who were registered had incorrect names. “I remember one time, there was this man who had a peculiar name, and try as we might, because he was not registered, we were unable to find the right spelling,” she said. However, things changed for the better when planes started making flights to and from Jamaica through Pan-American Airlines, and Anderson became an agent for her father. “People started travelling mostly to the United States, and this is where it became a booming industry. Eventually, I had to go on my own, and I came up with the name Global Travel Services. It became much larger in the mid-island – Mandeville, Christiana, Santa Cruz – with people wanting to travel,” she said. With demand from the bauxite industry andmore people desirous of travelling, the company grew exponentially and became the third-largest travel agency in Jamaica. Having stamped her mark in the world of business, Anderson became a leading philanthropist in the Manchester community. She was instrumental in the formation of the now Belair Preparatory and High schools, and she is one of six original members of the Mandeville Chamber of Commerce, now Manchester Chamber of Commerce. She served as its president, and during her active career served on numerous boards, including that of Manchester High School. Anderson, with her husband of 54 years, had two children, Ronna Lynn and Jacqueline (who is now deceased). Through Ronna, Anderson is the grandparent to two granddaughters and a grandson. Unfortunately, Jacqueline, her youngest daughter, developed type 1 diabetes at the age of 13 and died at 28. This led Anderson to divert her energy and focus in reviving the Diabetes Association of Jamaica, in memory of her daughter. “She suffered from many severe complications. I have never gotten over losing her. I travelled the world to find ways to extend her life. We didn’t know that support and lifestyle changes were what was required to help her with the disease,” Anderson said. keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com ANDERSON Jean Anderson (left) receives an award from Jenepher Baugh for the longestserving member of the Jamaica Association of Travel Agents in 2013. FILE PHOTOS JEAN ANDERSON Manchester’s longest-serving JP jamaica at
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