Dear Editor,
After reading the article on Nassau's lighthouse in today's Tribune I should like to add to the observations made by Mr. Ronald Lightbourn. Not only is our historic lighthouse in dire straits, but many of our other historical buildings and landmarks have also been, one might say, criminally neglected.
I very recently visited Great Exuma with some Canadian friends, and drove them out to Williams Town to tour the salt pans and the beacon used to guide the ships in days gone by. This historic treasure is also crumbling from neglect, wind and water erosion; the wooden boardwalk leading up to it is cracked and warped with dangerous nails and splinters protruding its entire length. The surrounding area is strewn with paper, cans and bottles, (the amount of litter in Exuma is mind-boggling!) the weather cover of the information pedestal is broken, and the historical information contained therein almost illegible.
The small battery of cannons below Fort Charlotte on West Bay Street is another typical case in point; overgrown by bush and weeds much of the time, with whole sections of the gun carriages broken off and the cannons themselves a sad monument of peeling paint and rust.
It has been said that the level of civility of a people can be measured in part by their care and respect for their historical monuments, antiquities and heritage, so what must the rest of the civilized world think of us?

- Ian Mabon

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