Salt Island BVI - 16x20
Oil on Canvas

While crewing on “Laughing Dolphin" in B.V.I. in the late ‘70s, we headed to Salt Island. I had the great pleasure to meet Clementine and Norwell. It was a wonderful visit with two gracious hosts.

While at one time there were a 100 residents, there are no longer any people living on Salt Island.

Two of the more recent residents were famous for passing along the histories and stories of Salt Island.

Clementine Helena Leonard Smith passed away in 1998. She maintained the beaches and salt ponds and received the British Empire Member Medal and the Frederick Pickering Memorial for her social and cultural contributions.

Norwell Durant greeted tourists until 2004. He would tell them about how salt used to be gathered during the spring when the two salt ponds would dry out leaving a layer of salt. After gathering salt, there would be a large party. Salt was an important commodity in the days before refrigerators. (There are also salt ponds on Anegada.)

Both Norwell and Clementine are buried on Salt Island.