The fruit boat would come every now and then. It seems odd that in a fruit producing nation that supply would sometimes be lacking. I remember that on one occasion the people had been asking and asking for the fruit boat to come. When it finally came I heard a lady order "...one hand of bananas." The seller retorted, "Man, I thought you said you wanted bananas!" It was customary to buy bananas by the stalk so that when the boat did not return for a week or two this important staple would still be plentiful.
PANDY TOWN
Oak Ridge Key a little island about the size of a football field and it is little more than a stone's throw from its mother island of Roatan. Oak Ridge includes various areas, but none of them are very large. One such area is Pandy Town as pictured above. Many friends lived there.
SHIPWRECK ON THE REEF
Between Oak Ridge point and Oak Ridge Key was a hulk of a wrecked ship. I cannot remember its name but I do remember one of the people in town had its grand ship's wheel.
HAUNTS IN THE FLOOR!???
One afternoon I stepped into a bedroom at the back of the Oak Ridge Key Church. The floor was pulsating with a red light. This was not a week light but every bit as strong as pictured. This marvel was rosin in the pine floor, being hit by a reflection of sunlight off of the water below. Scared me for a second...
BUILDING IN THE WATER
Here is how the houses on posts are built. Wiggle in the posts, flatten the tops and add a house. Hay, it works! This was to become a Sunday School building at the Oak Ridge Key Church.
POLLY WANT A SODA BISKIT?
Here is yours truly teaching the Polly to talk, while Polly is teaching me to keep my hands to myself.
WHERE'S THE COIN SLOT?
Mother Necessity is teaching me a worthwhile lesson that wasn't covered in our inner-city ministry training.
SOME OLD OAK RIDGE FRIENDS
Harley Rivera came from a family of 19 children. His mom was a saint and I have heard of one sister presently in the ministry as a pastor's wife on Oak Ridge Key. (Let me know if the Harly is wrong. There were 19 and I might be mixed up at the moment.)
Shelly Cooper was captain on this shrimp boat. He was a level headed fellow and all the rest of his family were good friends.
A BRILLIANT DAY
A baptism at "Mission Point" is never to be forgotten. At the left is Sister Jean Isbell the founder of the Oak Ridge Key Church and Mission. I am told that she went to glory in the early 90s and now her son Dan Isbell oversees a greatly increased ministry that includes many works in Honduras.
OAK RIDGE KEY CHURCH
Oak Ridge Key Church was destroyed in a Hurricane. It is now restored in an even higher structure on Mission Point. Thus, others carry on Sister Jean's vision.
MISSION POINT -- GOD'S CHAPEL AT SEA
Today at this very location a Church moves forward. It was here in 1970 that I would listen to the Radio and "Revival Time's" C.W. Ward as he spoke of the long long altar that reached to the islands of the sea. I knew then that God's altar even reached to Mission Point.
Arriving in Roatan, 30 Years Ago
A Look Back at Oak Ridge
The Man-eating Ticks of Diamond Rock
High Road to Punta Gorda
Visit to Rio Platano
Buried Treasures of Jonesville
Page by: Jim Thorpe
This page has been posted so that my friends can enjoy the pictures that I took over 30 years ago. I have been told that Roatan is now somewhat changed. The experiences that I had in Roatan were very special, as were the people and friends. If you knew me you will notice that I failed to photograph most of my friends, and I also seldom took a camera to the Church meeting. If I have misspelled any names please forgive me and correct me. If I have left out any names please let me know.
