Stollmeyer’s descendent happy about castle’s new life

CAROL MATROO

IT is one of the Magnificent Seven, a majestic building as you make your way just west of the Queen’s Park Savannah.

Stollmeyer’s Castle, also known as Killarney, carries majesty and history, built in 1904 by Charles Fourier Stollmeyer and his eldest son Conrad.

The building was bought by the People’s National Movement and has undergone millions of dollars in refurbishment through the years.

Now, the castle would be opened up to the public for art and culture with guided tours.

And none could be happier than Stollmeyer’s great-great-granddaughter Kathryn Stollmeyer-Wight.

“I am thrilled, I am absolutely overjoyed that the castle will be used for the public. I think this might be the beginning of an appreciation of these old buildings and what they have to offer. When it comes to tourism, I feel it is a whole new area that we need to embrace. It was built in 1904 and beautifully strongly built. When you think about the stones and the structure and where all these materials came from, “I cannot tell you how excited I am about that. I feel like we have been given a gift.

I love my country and you have no idea how it upsets me when somebody throws a KFC box out the window or leave garbage all around because it is like we don’t love where we came from or understand what we have,” Stollmeyer-Wight said during an interview.

She was very passionate as she spoke of her family and her heritage. She believed that in looking at old buildings, one could see the life and history of the people who went before. “The people who cooked, the people who cleaned, who designed, who built, who lived, who visited...there are so many parts of us that have been through that. We need to celebrate. I don’t care where you came from, what background you had, we all came here.

It was a journey of some sort that has brought us together. It is Easter weekend and we are celebrating Shouter Baptist holiday.

Where else in the world do we have these sort of opportunities,“ she asked in wonder.

Stollmeyer-Wight asked, ”Until we embraced where we came from, and who we were, how else could we show ourselves off?

“Stollmeyer came after the abolition of slavery. Sometimes it is difficult to get rid of this yoke of having a European name in a West Indian country because it was believed that you owned slaves. Oh my God, I would love for that yoke to be released. I don’t think any government has ever approached this family and asked what was this room, what was it used for. I am very grateful for this.”