[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 163 (Thursday, November 29, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2170]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TRIBUTE TO THE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF JOSE ANTONIO JARVIS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN

                         of the virgin islands

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 29, 2001

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of all the 
people of my district to pay tribute to the 100th Birthday of the late 
Jose Antonio Jarvis--educator, historian, author, philosopher, 
journalist, poet, playwright, editor, artist, musician and public 
servant. He was an intellectual giant whose life and work greatly 
influenced the educational process in the U.S. Virgin Islands. His 
classroom was the entire Virgin Islands and for more than forty years, 
he devoted his life to discovering new and innovative approaches to 
education.
  Born in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands on November 22, 1901, to the 
Reverend Joseph W. and Mercedes Jarvis, J. Antonio Jarvis grew up under 
the guidance of his Godmother, Miss Mary Hughustein. He began his 
formal education at St. Anne's Roman Catholic School in St. Thomas, 
which he attended from age five to thirteen (1906-1914). Even during 
these early years, his teachers discerned in him an unusually high 
mental capacity, great ambition, and a keen interest in a wide range of 
activities. A life-long scholar, he continued his education by private 
tutors and through correspondence courses, and most importantly, by 
extensive,reading on his own initiative. In 1936, the Bachelor of Arts 
degree was conferred upon him by McKinley-Roosevelt University. He did 
additional work at the University of Puerto Rico, Columbia University, 
New York University, and the University of Chicago.
  Jarvis' career as an educator began in 1923, when he became a tutor 
at the St. Thomas Academy. During the period 1924-1932, he taught at 
Abraham Lincoln Elementary School and was an instructor at the 
Charlotte Amalie High School from 1932 to 1942. At Charlotte Amalie 
High, in addition to his regular academic assignments, he served as 
advisor to many student organizations and initiated a number of them 
including a student council and the school newspaper, The Reflector. In 
1942, he returned as principal to the former Abraham Lincoln School, 
where he remained until his retirement from public life on May 31, 
1963.
  Between 1930 and 1960, Jarvis published a number of works. These 
included ``Virgin Islands Sketches'', ``Jubilee Hall'', and other poems 
(1930), ``Fruits in Passing'' (1932), ``Bamboula Dance'' (1935), 
``Brief History of the Virgin Islands'' (1938), ``The Virgin Islands 
and their people'' (1944), ``Virgin Islands Picture Book'' with co-
author Rufus Martin (1948), ``Bluebeard's Last Wife (1951), and ``The 
King's Mandate'' (1960). In 1930, with Ariel Melchior, Sr., he co-
founded ``The Daily News of the Virgin Islands'', a daily news 
publication still in circulation today.
  In addition to his work in the fields of education, scholarship and 
the fine arts, Jarvis was active in numerous civic activities such as 
the American Red Cross, Public Utilities Commission, Selective Service 
Board, St. Thomas Teachers Association and the Virgin Islands Cadets 
Corps, among others.
  Many honors came to Jarvis over the years for his myriad of 
achievements. In 1927, 1929 and 1930 he won the Opportunity Award in 
Fine Arts. In 1939 and 1940, he earned the International Business 
Machines Corporation Award in Fine Arts. President Harry S. Truman 
personally presented him the United States Selective Service Medal in 
1946. For services rendered he was given citations from the Library of 
Congress, the American Red Cross and the Professional League if Virgin 
Islands in New York City. In 1970, the Abraham Lincoln School was 
renamed the J. Antonio Jarvis Elementary School. Additionally, in 1978 
the J. Antonio Jarvis Memorial Park was created in the heart of 
Charlotte Amalie. On May 18, 1980, the park was formally dedicated, and 
in it a statue of Mr. Jarvis, financed by Ariel Melchoir, Sr. 
Foundation, the St. Thomas Historical Trust, and donations from school 
children were unveiled. In 1983, Jarvis was inducted into the ``Virgin 
Islands Education Review'' Hall of Fame.
  The first biography of Jarvis, ``Man of Vision: A Biography of Jose 
Antonio Jarvis'' was written in 1975 by Addelita Cancryn, herself an 
imminent Virgin Islands educator.
  When an individual is gifted with so many talents and has served 
humanity as well as Jarvis did, it is most difficult to select the one 
area in which his contributions could be said to be greatest. Perhaps 
his most persuasive contribution was in the area of education in the 
broadest sense. Jarvis educated and enlightened, not only his classroom 
and schoolhouse performance but also through his books, poems, plays, 
editorials, and other writings, as well as his paintings. In the 
classroom and outside of it, Jarvis inspired many Virgin Islanders to 
attain high standards of achievement. He aided many financially and in 
other ways. The high success that many of these individuals achieved 
attests to his influence.
  Jarvis' motto was ``I try to make my sojourn here a useful 
interlude.'' That extremely useful sojourn ended on July 23, 1963 when 
the great man passed away deeply mourned.
  Had Jarvis chosen to live in and make his contribution in a major 
metropolitan country he undoubtedly would gain international attention 
and renown. However, it was his choice to live in and make his 
contributions to the Virgin Islands, which he loved.
  The Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Honorable Charles Wesley 
Turnbull, has proclaimed the week of November 18-24, 2001 as ``Jose 
Antonio Jarvis Week'' and Thursday, November 22, 2001, as ``Jose 
Antonio Jarvis Day'' in the Virgin Islands of the United States of 
America. I join Governor Charles Turnbull in calling upon everyone in 
my district, as well as those Virgin Islanders residing in the United 
States of America, to reflect upon the life and contributions of this 
great Virgin Islander--a true renaissance man.

                          ____________________