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Good afternoon to all! After almost 6 long years, my husband and I are returning to St John for Thanksgiving. We had an amazing trip last time, in the Spring of 2000. What was most remarkable was the interaction we had with the gentleman who rented us snorkel gear. I believe the name of the business was Sweets Beach bar, and it was located near (on?) John's Folly. Anyhow, I was seven months pregnant at the time, and with my "motherly intuition" just absolutely was 100% sure I was having a girl. This man we met, who rented us gear and chatted with us, told me I was having a boy. When I laughed and said I was certain the baby was a girl, he laughed back, and told me that I was definitely having a boy, and would name him after himself. We asked this gentleman's name, and he told us it was Lincoln.
Well, fast forward a couple of months, and we have an amazing homebirth, and I am astonished to discover that the baby was indeed a boy!
Griffin Lincoln McGraw was born on June 26, 2000 and is the light of our lives. I would so love to bring our son's namesake a picture of him, and to let him know that he is thought of each and every day... every time we say our boy's name!
If anyone knows of this man, whose beautiful smile and spirit continue to remind us of our home away from home, please let us know!!
christine mcgraw
[email protected]
You're probably refering to Lincoln Mathias. He and many other of the Mathias family grew up right at the John's Folly beach and you shouldn't have any problem finding memebers of that family, they're all over the island. His son Ernest was on the St. John Olympic bobsled team!
Okay Christine... I have just got to know the outcome of all this. What a great story. Please let us know if you do indeed find him and how it all went with him. I think this is so cool!
crickett 🙂
We had an unbelievable trip, and yes, we did find Lincoln! It is hard to put into words everything I was feeling... but will try. My husband and I brought down a framed picture of Griffin, hoping that we would be able to see Lincoln again. We arrived late on Tuesday, but the next day, drove down onto John's Folly. The Beach Bar looked open, but no one was around, and we didn't want anyone thinking we were these strange tourists...you know, knocking on doors and what not. (We live in a tourist destination, so I was trying to imagine someone coming up my driveway and knocking on my door...and how I would feel)
Anyhow, the day after Thanksgiving, we went on a daysail with Captain Phil Chalker (amazing day...a whole other story in itself). His lovely first mate Allison made some phonecalls, and told us Lincoln's last name, and gave us some phone numbers. She reassured us that the Mathias family was still on John's Folly, and that no one would think us strange for knocking on their door.
We were both touched by Allison's generous spirit, which actually is a common trait in St John. Everyone we met, from Tomas, from hospitality car rental, to Victor Hall, who sold us his homemade Christmas CD (we love it!!) was open, loving and full of all the reasons we love ST John!
Back to my story...
we drove down to John's Folly again, when we could see there were a bunch of people hanging out. We were finally able to find Lincoln, and meet his great family.
I was overwhelmed with emotion, for this man was a big part of why St John had left such a deep and lasting impression upon us on our first trip. Griffin's picture was put in a place of honor.... I smile to think of our boy hanging up in the beach bar!!!
It was an amazing trip, for tired parents of 4 to re-discover each other as lovers... I feel we had a trip of the heart, in the many connections we made with people who live in St John. Needless to say, we won't wait another 5 years to return, and are still dreaming of the day we can stay forever.
Thanks so much for sharing this story. This is the heart and soul of STJ that I love so much. It seems harder for me to tap into it than it once was. I was delighted to see Victor Hall's name mentioned. I remember him from when he ran The Kite. Where did you bump into him and what is he up to? Thinking of him puts me in mind of the changes on STJ since we first visited. The Peter Bay of Victor Hall and the Peter Bay of Kenny Chesney seem worlds apart. What a wonderful story your child has to tell.
Thank you for sharing your story Christine. So often, people we meet touch our lives and they never realize it...I love reading about those who make the effort to tell someone how special they are!
Hi Christine,
What an awesome story... thanks so much for coming back here and telling the outcome. I relly was hoping to hear it. I'm going to make sure I look for the picture of Griffin when on STJ with my wife in March. Sounds like you had a magical trip!
crickett : )
