Gary “Butch” Hendrickson, the renowned businessman who heads the National Baking Company, is extremely proud that he was inside the National Stadium on August 6, 1962, when the Union Jack of colonial master Great Britain was lowered, and the black, green and gold Jamaican flag was hoisted to officially signal the country’s Independence.

Hendrickson, who accompanied his grandfather, Reginald, to the National Stadium, shares vivid memories of the event.

“It was a grand occasion, but being only nine years old at the time and a student of Robertson Prep school — where the Brooklyn Supermarket is now located at the Twin Gates Mall in Kingston — I did not really understand the significance of what I was seeing inside the stadium.

“I vividly recall seeing Princess Margaret, who represented the Queen, the lovely cars that went around the cycle track, and of course my fellow Jamaicans dressed mainly in the colours of the flag.

“I remember the [British] flag going down and the [Jamaican] flag going up. It was a grand occasion. There was great excitement, and I am just happy I can say today that I was there.

“My father (Karl) is a true nationalist. He strongly believes in Jamaica, and I can recall the many conversations that took place at our house about Independence. Naturally, I did not understand everything that was being said, but you could not help but hear the word Independence and what it would mean for Jamaica. I can tell you that my father was very excited at the time, as were the rest of the people around us,” said the recipient of the 2016 Observer Business Leader Award.

Just before the formal Independence ceremony, Hendrickson was awestruck by some of the preliminary activities, in particular the thrilling manoeuvres of the British, jet-powered strategic bomber, the Handley Page Victor.

“My goodness! You can just imagine what it was like for a nine-year-old boy to see these massive aeroplanes flying over the house in Barbican (St Andrew) just before and on Independence Day.

“It was like an earthquake had hit us; the ground was shaking like hell, but it was a wonderful experience which brought a lot of personal joy.

“One thing I can tell you: If you didn’t love aeroplanes before, after seeing the Handley Page Victor you had no choice but to do so,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

As to life before Independence, Hendrickson, despite being only nine years old at the time, has pleasant memories.

“As I remember, life before Independence was good for a nine-year-old. Life then was not filled with strife. There was innocence being a child then, which I fear our children of today do not have. This was an innocence which for sure did not mean one was stupid; it was just being a child and doing what you were supposed to do.

“It is my view that the pressures of life should not be brought to bear on our children, and they should be given exposure to proper learning to aid their development.

“So, it was a good time. I remember not seeing much of my father (Karl) — meaning I saw him every day, but he knew only one thing and that was W- O-R-K. My mother was special and she looked after our day to day activities,” said Hendrickson, who received an honorary degree last weekend from the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean.

After the Independence Day celebrations, Hendrickson began his sojourn at Jamaica College, where he started to develop a keen interest in what was happening in the country.

“Five to seven years after Independence, you heard and saw some changes. It became quite noticeable that a number of new companies were being established. They were Reckitt & Colman, Colgate Palmolive, Nestle, Serv-Wel, our competitor the Jamaica Biscuit Company, Seprod with Felix Fox, and Metal Box Limited.

“On a more personal note, I cannot ever forget the long-necked Red Stripe bottle; so there were things happening — including the growth, expansion if you wish, of our company National Baking, which grew after a strong alliance with National Continental of the United States. That growth in technology — mainly state-of-the-art equipment and the training of local people — came to fruition in the late 1980s, early 1990s, [and developed] to what it is now,” Hendrickson declared.

However, in giving his overall assessment of independent Jamaica, Hendrickson did not hide his disappointment.

“We are now – Jamaica that is – 55 years old, and I don’t believe we have made the progress since Independence that we should have. Let me explain.

“I don’t think we really took the time to truly understand what the true ramifications of what Independence entailed, and our own collective and individual responsibilities in ensuring that the Independence process worked for the entire country, and what it required for the country to develop and grow — certainly in economic terms.

“I don’t think we have gone anywhere near where we could, but we cannot despair. We must continue playing our part in building Jamaica. There are no two ways about that …there are [simply] no two ways about that,” a now impassioned Hendrickson exclaimed, while pleading for a national consensus to frame the way forward.

“It can be done, let’s face it. We are dealing with only three million people, we are not trying to turn around a nation of 100 million people.

“What we need is a national consensus on what is right, and we need to call out what is wrong and understand where and why we are failing. We can’t just go around pretending that the things which affect our non-performance will simply go away. That will never happen — before or after Independence.

“ As a people, we must be honest. Every ‘Jack man’ must be honest enough to list our failures and systemically plot to remove these maladies if we have any intention of growth,” a now fully charged Hendrickson stated.