TO A SENIOR Bajan diplomat of yesteryear at the United Nations, it was a “Bajan food emporium” in the heart of Brooklyn.
But the place wasn’t strictly what Greeks had in mind when they spoke about emporos to describe a shop or commercial centre in a City state. To thousands of Bajans in New York City in the 1970s stretching into the early 21st century Peggy’s was the place to be on a weekend.
“Peggy’s kitchen often served as a place for group therapy for those Barbadians,” said Professor Calvin Holder, a Harvard University-trained historian at Staten Island College of the City University of New York. “On Saturdays, from late afternoon until very late at night, they talked about their woes, setbacks, concerns, successes and triumphs, and occasionally engaged in gossip.
“In these encounters successes were praised, concerns and setback received a sympathetic ear, and out of order roundly criticised,” noted the academic.
Of course, they discussed New York and American politics or analysed the goings-on in Barbados, especially speeches made on the floor of Parliament, in the bus stand in Bridgetown or Cabinet decisions. At times, a Prime Minister, Opposition Leader, minister, parliamentary back bencher, high court judge, diplomat, senior civil servant, bus driver, attorney, physician, store clerk or messenger, you name them, joined the conversation.
All of these things occurred while Peggy Kinch Layne, a product of Brittons Hill in St Michael and the first child of Robert and Doris Kinch, met the needs of people who were at home away from home.
With a with a smile on her attractive face, Peggy stirred cou cou, made soup, cooked peas and rice, prepared baked chicken or pudding n’ souse, offered fishcakes, baked coconut bread and other Bajan dishes that were so delicious that they became magnets attracting and holding the palate.
By now, you would have guessed some things about Peggy’s. It was a traditional brownstone on a relatively quiet tree-lined street and at today’s real estate prices the sedate property could easily fetch as much as (US) $2 million. Once there, you entered a street-level gate and door and you would quickly follow the scents of the variety of Bajan dishes
made by Peggy’s hands and sold at reasonable prices every Saturday, come rain, shine or snow.
When people described Bajan New Yorkers as the 29th or the 31st constituency, they were actually referring to centres like Peggy’s where food, mixed with good conversation and Bajan fellowship, thrived, reducing the longing for Barbados.
“Peggy’s residence was a safe and nurturing place for many Barbadian immigrants, coping with the challenges of life in the Big Apple,” added Holder, a resident of Brooklyn.
The conversations over plates of food ranged far and wide – social, economic and political issues in Barbados; race relations in the US, Canada or Britain, raising children in a race-sensitive country and establishing a Barbadian organisation to meet a specific need were all part of the agenda. In asense, Peggy’s kitchen was a sort of community centre, even an employment agency where Bajans told each other about jobs that were opening up at their places or employment and where people preached the virtues of education and scholastic achievement. Indeed, Peggy was a kind of missionary, super-chef, teacher, humanitarian, keen judge of character psychologist, businesswoman and community organiser all rolled into one.
Little wonder that when she died recently at the age of 84, her “home-going” funeral service in Brooklyn Church saw every pew filled as prayers were said, eulogies delivered, songs sung, tears flowed, and people smiled, saying thanks to the dearly departed and her children (Sandra Layne and Lionel Layne) siblings (Michael Kinch, Joan King, Thelma Rawlings, Jeffrey Kinch and Yvonne Smith), grandchildren and great-grands, along with other close relatives and friends.
She was the quintessential example of the West Indian woman that Paula Marshall, the heralded novelist and university professor with Bajan roots, had in a mind when she wrote Brown Girl, Brown Stones, a classic in 20th century American literature. The book captured the essence of the lives of black women who worked hard and lived long and sensibly to make it in a land where most foreigners strived to achieve the American dream for themselves and their children.
Tony Best is the NATION’s North American Correspondent. Email: [email protected]