MANDEVILLE, Manchester – Havendale in Kingston has been the home of 83-year-old Gilfred Morris for over 30 years.

A 1953 graduate of Mico Teachers’ College, his teaching career also took him to places such as Canada and the Bahamas where he lived and worked.

However, it is the quiet North West Manchester community of Maidstone that has his heart.

Morris spent the early years of his life living with his grandfather Samuel Morris in the community and school and church were important agents in his socialisation.

His grandfather, who earned a living as a farmer, also taught him many lessons directly and indirectly as he acted in capacities such as “community organiser (and) village lawyer”.

As such, Morris penned Stories From My Grandpa & Glimpses of Old Jamaica, which has been available on Amazon.com since late last year.

“It is a kind of tribute, a work of love,” said the foreword, written by retired history professor at the University of the West Indies Patrick Bryan.

While the first section of the book focuses on Morris’ grandfather, the second part, he said, put the spotlight on the life and customs of the people of Maidstone then, and Morris’ own recollections of Kingston in the 1940s.

Bryan said that the church and school were important for social mobility and stability in the post-emancipation environment.

For Maidstone, he said, the role of German Moravian missionaries was central to development in the early years.

“In some ways the book is a testament to the utility of oral history. These personal and family histories speak volumes of the social history of Jamaica. Morris is to be congratulated and we can only hope that others will follow his example,” said Bryan.

Gilfred Morris said his grandfather was born in 1862 and as a youngster his interaction with persons older than he was made him aware of the “brutal sting” of plantation slavery.

Unlike that generation, however, his era allowed him the opportunity of a solid elementary school education.

Morris said that his grandfather was “fascinated by the interplay of great men and great events” and admired thinkers such as Manchester’s national hero Norman Manley.

He said that in time his grandfather stood out, not as a “firebrand” but as one who demonstrated a personal calibre that his people honoured and respected.

In 2010 Gilfred Morris published his autobiography — Up From the Majestic Hills: A Veteran Educator Reflects on his Travels and Life Experiences.

Any attempt at a third book will be about the changing values and attitudes in Jamaica, he said.