Anyone remember this lady?

Someone emailed me this picture this morning. I never had the pleasure of meeting her, but I have certainly heard the stories!

[dyn0d]

Is she the cat lady from Hope Town?

[Gayleupstairs]

Yes indeed dyn0d - that's Miss Lillie of Hopetown, may she rest in peace.

[cookie909]

Here's a picture of her house, now gone...

[Myra]

We still talk about Miss Lillie. What a great picture.

[Lime Cooler]

I took that photo of Miss Lilly! I had the most wonderful "interview" with her and have super photos of her.....and inside her home. I treasure those photos and the video taken at the same time. What an interesting lady! I shared the photos and narratives I wrote, along with the video, with my students over the years......they were enchanted as well.

[Desert Rats]

I remember Miss Lilly well! She had SO many cats and now the folks on various cays help Hope Town and those that have adopted them cover the bill for food, etc. Look for the collection containers while in various locations. She was a VERY interesting lady. The folks in Hope Town helped her as they could. Her house was right next to the little blue grocery store, Harbor View, in Hope Town. Know her house was falling down, but always feel a little sad to see it gone. She passed on a couple years ago. Rest well, Miss Lilly. Grammie D - Arizona

[It'lldo]

Quite frankly that house was anything but falling down, it was by all appearances run down and anyone familiar with it can say fragrant.

But solid as rock.

[Motuiti]

Dear Lime Cooler.
I too remember ole Lilly. I heard she was a Bethel and lived with an overly protected mother. When her mom passed away Lilly drifted into the state we all remember. Is this correct? Please contact me at or post here as I'd like to know more.
Sandy

[Bahamabrat]

Lilly did live with her Mother Flossie, who did help make her the way she was. I herd from my father that Lilly was in fact a very smart person when she was in her right form of mind.
I remember as a kid growing up on Hope Town I would hate walking past their house because of all the tales I had herd about them.

[fuzznsmoo]

Each time I returned to Hopetown, I was surprised the Miss Lilly hadn't blown away in a brisk breeze. I have that image going back so many years, I've often wondered if I've rolled two people together over the years. Was her mother equally will o' the wispy?

I didn't come down between 63 and 83 so I have memories of long gone people and places and can't always figure out how they connect to the present.

[Debbie S.]

Last summer we bought a picture of her that was being sold in the musuem at Hopetown. She is part of the history of Hopetown for us. We spoke with her several times over the years on our vacations as I'm sure most of you did. I'm glad she was part of our experience in Hopetown. Deb

Was poking around one of the sites on Abaco came across this-

http://www.motuiti.com/misslilly.html

interesting

[nancy mcdaniel]

When we lived in Hope Town in 1996-1998, we lived right next door to Miss Lilly. She was a trip, alright. Always asking for cigs, always polite in greeting our young children at the time aged 1 and 3. She walked only to Harbours Edge Restaurant and never further south in the settlement. Once or twice a year, the Hope Town community members would come and clean up her house, get rid of the cat poops, the stink, and old newspapers used as kitty litter. The entire settlement smelled like Clorox for a few days! She must have had 50 cats in her house. And yes, all history has Miss Lilly as very intelligent and indeed we saw it too. Resist the urge to Disney-fy Miss Lilly. She was as complicated as the rest of us.