Grand ol' Coronation ... Market

Shanica Blair • Gleaner Writer

There is more to Coronation Market in Kingston than fresh produce. It is a place where great bonds are fostered and treasured. Generations have passed through the iconic market, known as the 'stomach of Jamaica', bringing wholesome goodies from all across the island. From Westmoreland to Portland to the parish of St Elizabeth, many women travel to the capital to trade their produce, often with their children in tow. These children start their relationship with the market by accompanying their mothers, aunts and grandmothers, but sometimes their bond with the market can become permanent.

Mother-and-son duo

Fifty-year-old George McCrae and his mother, 77-year-old Edith McCrae, have been going to market together for more than 30 years.

"From my grandmother to my mother to me; everybody in my family either come market or farm. A nuh everybody can have education. My brothers, sisters, aunts, granduncles and uncles; most of dem are higglers or farmers," he told Food.

His mother, the quieter of the two, told Food that, when her son joins her in the market, he is able to look after himself and his family.

"Mavis Patterson, my grandmother, died at age 82, in 1992. She stopped going to the market about eight years before she died. My aunty dem did a higgler too, but dem live (in) New York now and my father was a farmer, so I went into it because I love it," George explained. "I achieved a lot of things from farming and selling in the market. My last daughter graduated from university and she now lives overseas. I was able to send my children to school, build my house, raise goats and other animals, and provide for my family," he said.

"When I was younger, I wanted to be a lawyer. My father, Vincent, always said that's what I would be. But when I was 15, they didn't have the money to send me to secondary school," he explained. The farmer/higgler, who has some farms in St Andrew, now resides on one of his other farms in St Mary. He told Food that he even applied for the 'Force' (Jamaica Constabulary Force), when he was 18 years old, but was turned down because he was too short.