The story of Asa Wright

By Kimberly Castillo
Saturday, March 6th 2010

Like an anxious homeowner anticipating the arrival of guests, a beaming Asa Wright, her smile immortalised in a black and white photograph, greets visitors and nature lovers as they set foot through the doors of the Asa Wright Nature Centre.

Some pay little notice to the picture, instead heading straight for the world-famous verandah, while others stop to ponder over the woman behind the smile, as if giving their respects to the Centre’s namesake.

Having died in 1971, very few people today actually know who Asa Wright was and very little has been written about her. That is until now. In her book, The Old House and The Dream, writer Joy Rudder provides the reader with an intimate look at Asa Wright herself.

Readers can look forward to more than just a history lesson. It may surprise many to learn, for instance, that the woman after whom the Asa Wright Nature Centre (AWNC) was named was not a naturalist, that she was an Icelandic aristocrat who was larger than life and was described by some as a tyrant, and by others as gracious.

The book has already been hailed as a ’must read for nature lovers’ as it tracks the growth of the Centre from the family home it once was to the sacred ground it now is for bird enthusiasts.
Writer of The Old House and The Dream Joy Rudder. Photos by Steve McPhee

Some of Rudder’s books include: Our Native Land and Glimpses of the Blue Caribbean. But she will be the first to admit that the idea to write a book detailing the establishment of the AWNC was not hers. It all began with an e-mail she received while in Miami from the chairperson of the Nature Centre, Dr Carol James.

Many of the people who were instrumental in making the Centre what it is today are either dead or aged. Both James and Rudder agreed that if the story of the Asa Wright Nature Centre was to be told by authentic voices - then it had to be done soon.

Rudder explained that writing the book was a difficult process. Throughout the course of seven years, she immersed herself in Asa’s Icelandic heritage, she travelled and met older heads, all the while scouring through piles and collections of letters and other forms of documentation in relation to the Nature Centre.

’I think my gentle, sweet world was ripped right open by the human venom I encountered in the true life stories of conflict at the centre in its formative days...matters of racism were written in unmistakable ways in the stories that unfurled. Ironically, in my own way, I lived a parallel version of this book in my own real life and so what I researched and wrote about shed light on some of the very real things I encountered in my jarring re-entry into Trinidad after seven years abroad,’ says Rudder.

It was during the second world war that Asa and her husband Henry Newcome Wright decided to leave England and move to Trinidad where they approached Joseph Holmes about buying the house at Springhill which decades later would become world-renowned. Holmes was a former artillery officer who was recalled to active duty during the war.

The husband and wife team then looked into growing cocoa, planting roses commercially and even tried rearing cattle, all as business opportunities. They failed miserably. So Wright began providing accommodation for researchers who worked at the William Bebee Tropical Research Station four miles away.

’Some people think she was this great naturalist. But she wasn’t. If the research station didn’t have enough space - the researchers went to Asa Wright, so for her, this was a good way to make a living,’ says Rudder.

When Wright’s husband died in 1955 and it became clear that her health was failing as well and that there was no one to inherit her estate, American bird artist Don Eckleberry sought to have the property purchased so as to preserve its place in history as a nature centre. He was successful. But if Eckleberry and others thought that Wright would remain on the sidelines and spend her remaining days quietly - they were wrong.

While researching the book, Rudder herself admitted that at one point, she didn’t like the story’s protaganist at all. In small circles and out of earshot, Wright was referred to by many nicknames, including ’Snow Queen’, ’machiavellian’ and even ’bitch’.

In The Old House and The Dream, much is written about Wright’s temperamental demeanor. On the one hand she was known to be witty and gracious, but also as one given to bad tempers, especially in her dealings with her workers.

Among the abundance of letters Rudder came upon while writing the book are fiery exchanges between Asa and Eckleberry and his wife Ginnie which are documented in detail in Chapter 23 of the book. Then again in Chapter 26, Wright’s strong personality features prominently at the centre of conflict. Her increasing paranoia became unbearable to many working at the Centre and even led to the resignation of some.

For those who have never been to the AWNC, The Old House and The Dream gives a glimpse into life in the Arima Valley, from the christophene fields which drape the hillsides on the drive to the Nature Centre to the tasty home-grown meals that await visitors as they stream in from nature trails.

Included in the book are photgraphs of the men and women who all played a part in making the AWNC what it is today as well as never-before-seen pictures of Asa Wright as a young woman.

But the book also addresses challenges the Nature Centre has been facing for a number of years. A major one being quarrying. In Chapter 40, Rudder includes a piece by conservationist William Conway in which he strongly denounces the quarrying work in the valley and highlights the lasting impact it could have on the Nature Centre itself.

Rudder sums up perfectly what readers of The Old House and The Dream can expect.

’What it did most of all was give me a deep insight as to the cost that was paid in making this beautiful place possible...the real tears and torments that people experienced, the personal losses, the sacrifices, the rages and yet the hopes and dreams and persistence that brought it into being and keeps it going’.

The Old House and The Dream can be found at the Metropolitan Book Suppliers, Paper Base, Nigel R Khan Booksellers and other bookstores.

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_woman_mag?id=161604162