Before Our Time: An Oral History of St. John

by Janet Burton, Tony Scimeca (Photographer)

I envisioned a publication that would combine biographical material with oral history and illustration which would be appealing to youngsters from middle school to adults. The children are the main reason that this labor of love began. I write for all the students I taught and the ones I don’t know and will never know. I want them to know what St. John was like for persons like my mother who was born almost 100 years ago in 1921 and for her contemporaries. I want them to get to know people like her, who may not have a structure or space named in their honor, but who were instrumental in passing on the culture and history of this special place, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. She motivated me to love and preserve our story.

Kindle Edition

Published March 24, 2019

About the author

Janet Burton is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David.