usvi-on-line
Victor Hall has passed away. Memorial Service Details
Victor Hall has passed away. Memorial Service Details
Earlier tonight I saw a Facebook post saying Victor Hall has passed away.
Later I found this post on Victor's last Facebook "note".
"Message from Mr. Victor Hall daughter Yassence Hall.....It is with great sadness that I write to the friends of Victor Hall that he has passed away. My father was very passionate about his teas and helping people. He has touched the hearts of many and he will be always in my heart. Take the time today to read his notes, look at his pictures and remember him always."
Later I found this post on Victor's last Facebook "note".
"Message from Mr. Victor Hall daughter Yassence Hall.....It is with great sadness that I write to the friends of Victor Hall that he has passed away. My father was very passionate about his teas and helping people. He has touched the hearts of many and he will be always in my heart. Take the time today to read his notes, look at his pictures and remember him always."
Last edited by lprof on Fri Mar 25, 2011 6:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.
... no longer a stranger to paradise
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designbyroe
- Posts: 1348
- Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:27 pm
- Location: Chilaxin on White Bay at least in my mind
That's sad news. Victor was the first islander I met on my very first trip to STJ in the 1980s. I was going down to help out some old friends who had a clever gig worked out with Maho. They picked me up at the ferry and on the way out to Maho, we stopped at The Kite.
We had some drinks while catching up with each other before going on to Maho. I have such strong memories of the time. I marveled at the beauty of it all and delighted in being with dear old friends again in such a magnificent place. It was heaven. Everything was perfect. Nothing to change, nothing to add or remove. We were in heaven and we knew it. This was within the first hour of being on STJ and I was staying for a month.
Victor was the genial, although not doting host and seemed to delight in my delight. He'd spent time working in the states and well understood the pure happiness of arriving on STJ. I returned to The Kite several times during that first trip. Paul Simon's "Graceland" had been released not long before and I heard it for the first time at The Kite. Victor loved it. . One night he put it on, stopped serving drinks and jammed with it on his keyboard, explaining that the bar would be open when the record was over. Sunday afternoons were full of music. I remember Kid Creole and Winston Grennan stopping by and staying long. 2000 miles from reality. Victor ran The Kite how he wanted. I remember someone asking for a virgin pina colada one evening. Victor explained that he did make pina coladas, didn't make them that way. The customer said that she'd be very willing to pay full price but didn't want any alcohol in it. And Victor again explained that he didn't make them that way. And that was that. If they ever get time travel worked out , I'll definitely spend a night at The Kite in the mid-80s.
Then one year we went back and The Kite was gone. A fire---I've never heard the story. It seems like that was a turning point for us. STJ was never the same. The Peter Bay of Victor Hall still exists in my heart and there's not much that can match up to it, certainly not the Peter Bay of today. The Kite couldn't exist anywhere on STJ today, much less at Peter Bay.
I bumped into Victor a couple of times after The Kite was gone and occasionally he would pop up out of the blue on one of the forums or there would be an article in one of the papers. Different ventures. Keeping some of the old knowledge alive. I asked him once if he had photos of The Kite. I was curious if the reality of it was anywhere close to my memories of it. Incomprehensibly I don't seem to have taken any pictures there myself. Maybe heaven isn't a place that you photograph. Victor apologized and said that he lost his photos along with a lot of other stuff in the fire. Someone did post a single photo of The Kite years ago. Maybe I can find it.
Victor was the first islander I met on my first trip to STJ and he was a splendid introduction to the island. I wouldn't think of him very often, but when I did I felt happy for him and happy for myself. His passing saddens me, but my memories are sweet and dear.
Perhaps some details will emerge. Many of his family are still on the island. For me it's the end of an era, but for the family it's the death of a loved one. Tonight I'll do some reflection, meditation and prayer. Victor Hall is gone.
We had some drinks while catching up with each other before going on to Maho. I have such strong memories of the time. I marveled at the beauty of it all and delighted in being with dear old friends again in such a magnificent place. It was heaven. Everything was perfect. Nothing to change, nothing to add or remove. We were in heaven and we knew it. This was within the first hour of being on STJ and I was staying for a month.
Victor was the genial, although not doting host and seemed to delight in my delight. He'd spent time working in the states and well understood the pure happiness of arriving on STJ. I returned to The Kite several times during that first trip. Paul Simon's "Graceland" had been released not long before and I heard it for the first time at The Kite. Victor loved it. . One night he put it on, stopped serving drinks and jammed with it on his keyboard, explaining that the bar would be open when the record was over. Sunday afternoons were full of music. I remember Kid Creole and Winston Grennan stopping by and staying long. 2000 miles from reality. Victor ran The Kite how he wanted. I remember someone asking for a virgin pina colada one evening. Victor explained that he did make pina coladas, didn't make them that way. The customer said that she'd be very willing to pay full price but didn't want any alcohol in it. And Victor again explained that he didn't make them that way. And that was that. If they ever get time travel worked out , I'll definitely spend a night at The Kite in the mid-80s.
Then one year we went back and The Kite was gone. A fire---I've never heard the story. It seems like that was a turning point for us. STJ was never the same. The Peter Bay of Victor Hall still exists in my heart and there's not much that can match up to it, certainly not the Peter Bay of today. The Kite couldn't exist anywhere on STJ today, much less at Peter Bay.
I bumped into Victor a couple of times after The Kite was gone and occasionally he would pop up out of the blue on one of the forums or there would be an article in one of the papers. Different ventures. Keeping some of the old knowledge alive. I asked him once if he had photos of The Kite. I was curious if the reality of it was anywhere close to my memories of it. Incomprehensibly I don't seem to have taken any pictures there myself. Maybe heaven isn't a place that you photograph. Victor apologized and said that he lost his photos along with a lot of other stuff in the fire. Someone did post a single photo of The Kite years ago. Maybe I can find it.
Victor was the first islander I met on my first trip to STJ and he was a splendid introduction to the island. I wouldn't think of him very often, but when I did I felt happy for him and happy for myself. His passing saddens me, but my memories are sweet and dear.
Perhaps some details will emerge. Many of his family are still on the island. For me it's the end of an era, but for the family it's the death of a loved one. Tonight I'll do some reflection, meditation and prayer. Victor Hall is gone.
Yehguafm!!!
I just tracked down the only photo of The Kite that is positively known to exist. It's yours. Here's the link:
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... c&start=75
Thanks for it again. And as I remarked at the time, it doesn't really seem as magical as I remember it to have been. But, of course, magic is often what we feel rather than what we see.
I just tracked down the only photo of The Kite that is positively known to exist. It's yours. Here's the link:
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... c&start=75
Thanks for it again. And as I remarked at the time, it doesn't really seem as magical as I remember it to have been. But, of course, magic is often what we feel rather than what we see.
Below are some links to Victor's Facebook albums/kite pics
https://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=1 ... &aid=16943
https://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=1 ... &aid=15141
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 1718127697
https://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=1 ... &aid=12010
https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid= ... 1718127697
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/floridalin ... 546015491/" title="photo-28 by lprof, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5256/554 ... 32ab4c.jpg" width="400" height="351" alt="photo-28"></a>
in this photo: RUM BOTTLE, KITE t-SHIRT $20, 2000 MILES FROM REALITY SONG COPYRIGHT 1982, VICTOR HALL'S FEET, JET FLYING INTO NEW YORK CITY SKYSCRAPER BUILDING, COPYRIGHT 1985
"Jet flying into skyscraper"... that is rather chilling!
https://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=1 ... &aid=16943
https://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=1 ... &aid=15141
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 1718127697
https://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=1 ... &aid=12010
https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid= ... 1718127697
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/floridalin ... 546015491/" title="photo-28 by lprof, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5256/554 ... 32ab4c.jpg" width="400" height="351" alt="photo-28"></a>
in this photo: RUM BOTTLE, KITE t-SHIRT $20, 2000 MILES FROM REALITY SONG COPYRIGHT 1982, VICTOR HALL'S FEET, JET FLYING INTO NEW YORK CITY SKYSCRAPER BUILDING, COPYRIGHT 1985
"Jet flying into skyscraper"... that is rather chilling!
... no longer a stranger to paradise
I never had the pleasure of meeting Victor, but we had chatted on FB about some of the herbal stuff he was working on. I had promised to look him up in Feb but could not find him. He said he would be at his stand in Coral Bay but he was never there. I had a number for him and never called, now I wish I had. Does anyone know if any of his CD's are still available anywhere?
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Tracy in WI
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:39 am
- Location: Wisconsin