LATE CO-FOUNDER of the Nation Publishing Co. Limited Harold Hoyte touched the lives of many newspaper vendors, who had nothing but glowing remarks for the man.
Tessa Brewster remembered him as a man with a ready smile and “sexy dimples”. She said he always had time to stop and talk.
“Years ago, the NATION invited the vendors out on a cruise on the Bajan Queen and Hoyte was there mingling with everybody. I remember we also were treated to a trip to Antigua. You don’t get those things now; the NATION doesn’t have the funds,” she said.
Brewster described herself as one of the younger ones who still remembered Hoyte, as many of the vendors who interacted with him back in the day had retired or passed on. She knew both Hoyte and his wife Noreen before they got married and his death was a blow.
“When I heard he was sick, I was shocked. Then I heard he was doing well; then next thing I heard he died. I will attend the funeral if I can,” she said.
Brewster’s mother, Mary “Frances” Thomas, was one of the retired vendors. She said she remembered the late publisher as a gentleman, adding she too, was shocked at his death.
“We are the same age, we were born the same day and that was always something we had between us. I missed him for a while and when I asked for him, I was told he was in Miami sick.
The same Sunday, I was asking for him again, only to find out he died. I feel so sad,” she said.
Another retired vendor, Una King, also remembered Hoyte as a gentleman who was always pleasant and never appeared angry, at least not to them.
“He was a very nice man, not like some of the fellas ’bout the place now. I’m sorry to hear he’s gone,” she said.
Anthony Gaskin, who was at the NATION waiting for the paper to be printed – something he has been doing since 1993 – said he knew Hoyte from way back.
“I remember when they were up by St Mary’s [St Mary’s Row]. He and [former Circulation Manager] Edmund Holder and [retired journalist and former Managing Editor] Tim Slinger – it was great, we had a lot of fun in ’Town. Hoyte was a nice and respectable man, full of fun. Even after he retired he still remembered me. I saw him a time and shout him and he told me I was getting fat,” he said.
Gaskin added: “In the midst of life there’s death. I want to give my condolences to his family.”
A woman who was not a vendor, who declined to be identified, said she used to live near Hoyte in Chelsea Road “donkey years” ago, adding she felt saddened by his death.
“He was a pleasant man and he would give you a ride in his car anytime. He would never pass you and don’t speak,” she said.
The woman recalled seeing Hoyte at the Richard Stoute Teen Talent show in years past, taking time to encourage the youth. She said this was the kind of man he was. (CA)
UNA KING remembered Hoyte as a
“nice man”. (Pictures by Christoff Griffith.)
MARY “FRANCES” THOMAS said she and Hoyte were born the same day and she was sorry to hear he had pased away.
TESSA BREWSTER looking at some of the tributes to the late Harold Hoyte in Tuesday’s DAILY NATION. She said he had a ready smile and was always took time to speak to people.
ANTHONY GASKIN said he knew Hoyte for decades, describing him as a respectable gentleman.
