Athaliah Reynolds, Staff Reporter

IT IS not uncommon to see women and men gathered along riverbanks in rural Jamaica, washing, cooking, or just enjoying the cool breeze and the beauty of their surroundings.

It is certainly no different for those living in the eastern St Thomas districts of Willowfield, Ginger Hall, Bath, Airy Castle, Sunny Hill and Airy Field - all communities served by several natural streams, including the Plantain Garden River (PG River).

Peta-Gaye and her sister, Stacey-Ann Murray, talk about the PG River as though it were a person.

"Mi nuh know how we woulda get on without it," says Peta-Gaye, a resident of Ginger Hall. "Some people have piped water and most people depend on the standpipe, but you have to get up early - all 5 a.m. - fi get water from the standpipe," interrupts Stacey-Ann.

Because of this, most residents turn to the river for the priceless commodity.

The Sunday Gleaner found the two sisters, along with the rest of their family, including Peta-Gaye's husband and two young children, gathered along the bank of the river.

The family was doing the week's laundry, as well as washing dishes and other household items.

While The Sunday Gleaner spoke to the Murray sisters, a man stood just a few chains from the group, naked, having his daily bath. He appeared comfortable and completely at one with his surroundings even with a Gleaner photographer only a few feet away.

"Is a regular thing. Most people come down here to bathe, cook and wash clothes," Stacey says with a chuckle.

Community party venue

Other residents later reveal that the bank of the river is often the venue for community parties and get-togethers.

"People gather down there all the time to party and feast, cook big pot, play music, fish and have fun," says Joy Williams, who The Sunday Gleaner met at her home in Ginger Hall. "They even bring their pets down there with them."

And, of course, there are many signs that told the tales of the communities' grand activities along the banks of the river and even in its bed.

Old shoes, old rags, burnt coal left back from previous feasts, used babies' diapers and even an old pot, decorate the parched bed of the once-sprawling river, which is now dry in most sections because of the long drought.

The Plantain Garden River is one of about 20 major rivers found in Jamaica. It is unusual in that, while most Jamaican rivers flow north or south from the main central mountain range, the PG flows mainly eastwards.

But just as the river is a friend to many, it has, on occasions, proven to be a violent and unforgiving foe.

The residents say over the years, they have lost a few young boys to its sometimes merciless force.

Williams also showed The Sunday Gleaner the various signs, left in her home, of the river's fury. Often when it rains, the river overflows its banks, dumping its contents into Williams' yard, and flooding her small house.

"Is three rivers meet up here - Clock River, Roaring River and PG River. We lose whole heap a things because of the water - furniture, bed, carpet. It awful man," she says.

Furthermore, Williams says the drain next to her house is in dire need of a good cleaning and, because of this, there is nowhere for the water to run when it rains heavily.

The river has also damaged a few bridges in its time, ripping the concrete apart.

But despite all this, Williams admits that the PG River is still an important part of the culture and existence of the people of St Thomas. "It very important. It help us out a lot," she says.

athaliah.reynolds@gleanerjm.com