Freetown remembers Price

George Price

Testimonials about George Price are being offered across the country. But the Freetown Division, Price’s old political stomping ground, the people felt a personal attachment to the Father of the Nation from even before he was an area representative. Price first served in the Pickstock division, a part of which became the Freetown Division. This afternoon current PUP Freetown Area Representative and some of the area residents gave testimonials of Price that go back as far as the nineteen fifties.

Francis Fonseca, P.U.P. Area Representative, Freetown

Francis Fonseca

“We in Freetown feel that we have a special claim on George Price because of curse he was the first P.U.P. area representative for Freetown. If my facts are correct, I believe he served as the Freetown Area Representative from 1961 up until 1984 when he lost his first election. So he served and represented Freetown for over twenty-three years. And as you would appreciate during those twenty plus years, he formed deep and longstanding relationships with many of the people in this community. Obviously Freetown is a much changed division now; there was no Belama in those days. But the core area of the old King’s Park, Lizarraga Avenue, Gentle Avenue Area is what was the core of Freetown back in Mister Price’s day and remains the core part of Freetown today. And if you go into that area you would meet the old families; a lot of the homes there was built during Mister Price’s tenor as representative and all of those people that have lived in Freetown for twenty plus yearas know him, appreciate him, love him and have tremendous respect for him. So what we do; we are building on that foundation that he has left for us.”

Alma Arnold Jones

Alma Arnold Jones

“I get this house from Mister Price through lawyer Gray weh mi dead and me and he been close all the time. I remember when I take sick in 1961 when the hurricane; he visit me, I passed the hurricane and ih help me gone dah Guatemala and I come back. While I was in the hospital, the morning early, I see this lee Spanish man di come up and I say dah who this and this weather just di done. I say oh dah dah Mister Price. Ih seh well I hear that hospital gone down so I come see if dah true. From then me and Mister Price alright. I come live back yah forty odd years, I canvas with them and everything—ih call mi, Miss Arnold from the Albert. Ih dah mi wah very nice man to me. I think di whole of Belize feel the same way I feel. He was a very good person—somebody you coulda mi stop and talked with. I used to canvas with him back yah.”

Jose Sanchez

“Upon hearing the news, where were you when he passed?”

Alma Arnold Jones

“I was ina the hospital with my heart because I got bad heart. And I just come out when dehn say Mister Price dead. I say what? I couldn’t believe it. Mi daughter neva want ah know good that day. The evening when I hear and I take mi pills and gone sleep and the next morning when I wake up, I hear it on the radio and from then I deh ina tears. Mister Price dah mi wah godsend man. Definitely with the help of god, he gwen dah heaven. He was godsend person to this country.”

Alexander Bennett

Alexander Bennett

“I met mister price under sad circumstance. My mother ill was ill, I was teaching in August Pine Ridge and she became ill. And I brought her to Orange Walk to the Hospital and I taught it would be better to bring her down to Belize to try to get her well. I went to the doctor’s office and he examined her and he wanted her to go into his hospital but we didn’t have any money to keep her in the hospital. But it so happened that Mister Price was on the scene at the same time and he either spoke with me or heard what was taking place and he said; you know what, take her to the hospital. I am going to speak with somebody there and they will admit her to the hospital. I did so and I don’t remember the British doctor. And that is how my mother was admitted to the hospital and I felt Mister Price probably helped to save her life.”

Jeanette Bennett

Mrs. Jeanette Bennett

“I find mister price to be very humble. As others have said and I’ve heard it on the television; quite a humble, intelligent, straight forward, kind and all nice things that I could say of him personally. He was not a man for the rich; he was also for the poor. He always mentioned, whenever we were canvassing; go to everyone whether U.D.P. or P.U.P.; never miss a house and try to be nice when you visit homes. But to say of Mister Price, even before 1978, he was always mentioned in my home. He had a vision and he was for all and he wanted to make this country a sound one and so with that he tried for everybody. So he was a man for all seasons.”

Jeanette Bennett also said that if it wasn’t for Price, she would have never had the opportunity to get a parcel of land to build her home.