McLean: I was the first Black girl to work in the custos' office.
HANOVER:
FOR MRS. Beryl McLean, the 2005 Governor-General's Award for Trelawny has come as a welcome surprise.
"I am elated and happy, but humbled," she said. "I have been on the Governor-General's selection committee for a number of years. I have seen people selected, who have done so much in terms of community work, so I am glad that I have been selected."
Born in Duanvale in upper Trelawny on August 5, 1930, Mrs. McLean spent her early childhood years in the care of her grandmother, as her mother Kathleen Brown was an unwed single parent, and a teacher, and her father, Jousalin Miller, was absent. When Mrs. McLean was six years old, her mother relocated to the community of Perth Town, where she bought a shop, and took her to live with her.
QUALIFICATIONS
"Being an only child was not too bad. I had a close friend who used to come to the shop and help me do my chores," she said. "As an only child, I had to read a lot. I liked drama as well."
At age nine, Mrs. McLean was sent to board at a school in Falmouth operated by Presbyterian Minister Reverend G.H. Ricketts and his wife, where she stayed until she was sent to Kingston. There, she attended the Calabar Elementary School and secured a half scholarship to Excelsior High School. However, she was only able to attend the school for six months because of financial difficulties.
She later enrolled in the Kingston Technical High School, where she sat the Royal Society of Arts Examination, which entailed commerce, book-keeping, shorthand and typing and the completion of which qualified her as a secretary. She thereafter served as secretary to the chairman of the Trelawny Parochial Board, Walter Fletcher, Custos of St. James, and later the Barclay's Bank (now National Commercial Bank) .
"I was the first black girl to work in the custos' office," she noted.
Mrs. McLean's hobbies include reading and writing plays. So far she has written nine plays for her church, the St. Peter's Anglican Church. She is married to Linnel McLean and the union has produced one son.
Though retired, Mrs. McLean still plays an active part in the life of the Trelawny community, as she is still a stalwart member of the Falmouth Restoration Company.
- C.G.
