[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 17] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 23600] [From the U.S. 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. ____________________