Chapter 38 - Parallel Lives

[Elizabeth Helen Drake]

Oh! grinder! You tempt me. Another little rabbit trail calling!

I did look up Oakes and you are right, he was found murdered (though The Duke of Windsor who I think was the governor of the Bahamas at the time initially called it "suicide". Pretty hard to call it that.)

But I am not sure all of the points of the case would lead to one of the Caroline Groups "dismissal". Though anything is possible since the case has never been solved, I understand so far.

Apparently Oakes was a VERY influential man in the Bahamas, owning some 10,000 acres of New Providence (which is the name of the island where Nassau is located.) 10,000 acres of a small island to start with is ...... alot.

He apparently was instrumental in getting the first air service updated and improved and the airfield there (Oakes Field) of course was named after him. Chalks was the only service that continued the float planes after the others went to land airports.

I understand that he was a rugged individual that really was not the cocktail -stirring type .... and some of those social climbers didn't even realize that while they were trying to exclude him from certain social clubs .... that he actually OWNED the club that they were trying to keep him out of.........

Interesting man. First an American, then a Canadian (where he struck gold) .... then .... a Bahamian ....

He was found murdered on July 19, 1943. All traces and evidence were apparently " missing".

Some say that the American mob was at the root of it, some say the Nazis, so I guess that there is room to say that he MIGHT have been ready to talk about something he shouldn't have been talking about. This was 1943 ??????

Anyway ... if any of you want to go down that trail, have at it! It looks interesting. But I just can't go there right now. I am having a hard enough time trying to figure out with Paul what Townsend Brown was doing in those years.

It is intresting however to see the close associations with someone as dangerous looking as ..... Tolstoy. Elizabeth