The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

NOBODY has taken more photographs and videos of our athletes competing at the major international meets than historian Stanley Mitchell. So it’s no surprise that he wants to display all of his artefacts in a museum.

The Bahamas Olympic Museum and Sports Hall of Fame is something that he tried to do before but Mitchell said he’s going to go for the whole hog in a new location at the southern end of the building opposite the foot of the old Paradise Island bridge.

“I’ve spoken to the Bahamas Olympic Committee and they said that they are going to help me and they have applied to the International Olympic Solidarity area to get some funds because there are funds for museums,” Mitchell said.

“There is only one other museum in the western hemisphere and it’s in Canada in a little small town. So they are happy that someone down in this area has decided to do something in their country just to put the spotlight on the Olympic movement.”

The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture has also pledged, under their heritage fund, to assist Mitchell. Also, the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAF) through NACAC (the North American and Central American and Caribbean region) is also interested in lending their support.

“The idea is to have school children come and in one place see all of the heroes of sports from way back up to right now in this country, either through videos or in photos with their bios under them. We’re talking about people like Andre Rodgers, Gemeo Brennen, Tony Curry, Kingsley Poitier, all those persons who were the best in the world in their sports.”

From photos taken in black and white to videos from VHS machines, you mention the name of a sporting legend and Mitchell said he could produce them.

“World Championship and Olympic medalists, Commonwealth Games medalists, Central American and Caribbean medalist, they will be able to see them either in portraits or in movies,” he said.

“It’s similar to what Gina Rodgers did on Mychal Thompson and her father Andre Rodgers. I will have short stories on the Golden Girls, a movie called Howe the Bahamas took Edmonton by Storm when they had junkanoo and track and field in one when Avard Moncur won the World Championship gold medal in the men’s 400m).”

Mitchell said there are so many legacies in sports that he has in his possession that he will be able to proclaim in story either with photos or videos and clippings that include Troy Kemp beating world record holder Javier Sotomayor and Frank Rutherford winning the first Olympic medal in track and field.

There are also highlights of Sir Durward Knowles and Sloane Farrington and Knowles and Cecil Cooke winning the Olympic gold and bronze medals in sailing as well.

By next month, Mitchell intent to have the museum completed with its projectors, sound system and music. While he’s already had a test showing, Mitchell said he intent to show the promo on ZNS for everybody to see before the opening.

“I got in the front of the room and I saw I’m going to show you a movie about the Golden Girls,” Mitchell said. “I asked if anyone know the Golden Girls and about ten students raised their hands and said they said the show on TV of the old stars like Dorothy.

“I had to grab a photo and showed them our Golden Girls and they said they know Debbie (Ferguson-McKenzie). We love Debbie because as the youngest Golden Girl, she has done a lot of school visits. We tell their stories of how they all made it.”

It’s a collection of videos and photographs that Mitchell has taken for over 30 years, starting from the first Carifta Games held in the Bahamas. He has also acquired vintage photos and videos from his deceased father, ES Mitchell, a founding member of the lawn tennis, cricket, baseball and track and field associations; brother Stephen ‘Daddy O’ Mitchell, his cousin Garth Mitchell and his friend Bob Thompson.