Family members and guests release doves and white biodegradable balloons at the conclusion of the official centennial programme at Port St. Maarten.
POINT BLANCHE--For many the name Claude Wathey recalls an era when the island was smaller, opportunities were fewer and its future had yet to be written in hotel rooms, airport runways and cruise-ship berths.
It was a time when political leadership was often personal and direct, and decisions made around modest tables could help determine whether families remained on the island or left in search of work. Against that backdrop, Dr. Albert Claudius “Claude” Wathey imagined a St. Maarten connected to the wider world and pursued that vision with a determination that supporters say permanently changed the island’s course.
That combination of nostalgia and national reflection shaped the atmosphere at Port St. Maarten on July 24, where family members, government officials, parliamentarians, visiting delegations and invited guests gathered to mark the 100th anniversary of Wathey’s birth.
The festive yet reflective commemoration examined not only Wathey’s political career, but also the personal qualities, economic thinking and leadership style that earned him the enduring nickname “the Ole Man”.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Grisha Heyliger-Marten addressed the gathering from a position that was both official and personal.
She is the wife of one of Wathey’s eldest grandsons, former commissioner and former Member of Parliament Theo Heyliger, and the mother of three of Wathey’s great-grandsons.
Drawing on stories passed down through the family, Heyliger-Marten offered one of the evening’s most intimate portraits of Wathey as a grandfather. She recalled Sunday drives around the island, songs composed to entertain and tease the children, individual breakfasts prepared for each grandchild and the unavoidable spoonful of cod liver oil that followed.
The anecdotes, she said, revealed the same combination of affection, discipline and determination that Wathey later brought to public life.
“Once the Ole Man decided something was necessary for the good of those entrusted to him, he did not take no for an answer,” Heyliger-Marten said.
She portrayed Wathey as a leader who looked beyond St. Maarten’s economic difficulties and outward migration and saw the possibility of a tourism-driven economy before many others believed the island could sustain one.
At a time when residents were leaving for Aruba, Curaçao and elsewhere in search of employment, Wathey envisioned cruise ships arriving in Great Bay, passenger aircraft connecting St. Maarten with international markets and residents returning home to new opportunities.
Heyliger-Marten recalled that Wathey and Clem LaBega travelled abroad to promote the island when government resources were limited, sometimes sharing a hotel room as they worked to persuade investors, hoteliers and cruise-line representatives to consider St. Maarten.
Over time, she said, those efforts contributed to the arrival of hotels and cruise ships, the creation of jobs and the development of the airport, harbour, roads and communities. “As Minister of TEATT, I walk through the Ole Man’s legacy every day,” she said, pointing to aircraft arrivals, cruise calls and the livelihoods supported by the tourism industry.
Heyliger-Marten also announced that the Council of Ministers is considering how the country can give permanent national recognition to the spirit of the centennial observance. She said government is reflecting on placing such recognition on the national calendar in a way that honours St. Maarten’s history, acknowledges those who contributed to its growth and passes their values to future generations.
The Minister did not indicate whether the initiative would take the form of a national observance, commemorative day, public holiday or another official designation.
Her address also linked Wathey’s legacy to that of Theo Heyliger. She recounted that Wathey once entrusted a 15-year-old Theo and his cousin Roddy with travelling to Saba and St. Eustatius to obtain the political signatures needed to support the removal of a 10 per cent crisis tax affecting the Windward Islands.
According to Heyliger-Marten, Wathey prepared the teenager for leadership not by promising him a future position, but by giving him real responsibility. She later connected Wathey’s role in opening St. Maarten to tourism with Theo Heyliger’s involvement in expanding the cruise port and developing the Philipsburg Boardwalk.
While acknowledging that political opinions and party loyalties differ, she argued that political rivalry should not be allowed to erase projects and public works that helped shape the country. “The Boardwalk is there. The expanded port is there. The roads and public works are there,” she said.
President of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams reflected on the scale of Wathey’s influence, saying the centennial represented more than the passage of 100 years. It marked an era that turned St. Maarten towards possibilities few had initially dared to envision.
She said preserving Wathey’s vision did not mean copying the decisions of an earlier generation, but applying the same clarity of purpose to the challenges of the present.
Wescot-Williams highlighted what she described as a central lesson of Wathey’s political thinking: that economic development and strong institutions should form the foundation for major constitutional ambitions. “Nation-building comes first,” she said.
Port St. Maarten Group Chief Executive Officer Alexander Gumbs said the port’s development from modest beginnings into one of the Caribbean’s busiest cruise destinations reflected the continuation of Wathey’s early vision.
The ceremony included recorded tributes from Glenbert Croes, former Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs and veteran journalist Eddie Williams. Former commissioner and veteran trade unionist René Richardson, who worked alongside Wathey during his years in government, remembered him as a leader motivated by empathy and an unwavering commitment to improving the lives of St. Maarteners.
Closing the official segment, Wathey’s grandson Jason Lista said conventional political labels were too narrow to describe the full scope of his grandfather’s influence.
Lista acknowledged that St. Maarten had been built through the contributions of many men and women, but argued that Wathey stood apart because of the scale of the transformation achieved under his leadership.
He described his grandfather as the critical force behind St. Maarten’s emergence from economic neglect and limited opportunity into a more prosperous and internationally connected society.
“Words always fall short,” Lista said, observing that no single tribute could fully capture Wathey’s personality, character and impact.
He remembered Wathey as accessible but strong-willed, with a leadership style rooted in the everyday concerns of the population.
Lista said that by the time Wathey left public office more than three decades ago, St. Maarten had become a regional economic success story, with comparatively high income levels and low unemployment.
At the conclusion of the official programme, family members and guests released doves and white biodegradable balloons from the port.
The commemoration later moved to the Philipsburg Boardwalk, one of the modern landmarks repeatedly associated during the evening with the continuation of Wathey’s development vision.
A cultural programme and fireworks brought the centennial celebration to a close, ending an evening devoted to a man whose admirers believe did not simply govern the St. Maarten of his time, but helped imagine the country it would become.
