From left: Mary Romney-Schaab, Philipsburg Jubilee Library’s project manager Pieter Lucas and director Glenderlin Holiday in front of the Alice and Lionel Romney African Diaspora Collection.
PHILIPSBURG--Philipsburg Jubilee Library has decided to name its book collection about the African diaspora and its people after Alice and Lionel Romney.
They are the parents of Mary Romney-Schaab. She and Philip Schaab are long-time friends of Philipsburg Jubilee Library. Mary was born and raised in the United States, but her parents and ancestors are from St. Maarten.
The couple started to donate books to the library in 2012 to fill the gap in its collection about the African diaspora. Over time, the collection became so extensive that the library decided to call it the “Alice and Lionel Romney African Diaspora Collection,” named after Mary’s parents. The entire collection, which was saved after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, is on display in the library again.
This year, Mary will be finalising her book An African Caribbean in the Nazi Era – From Papiamentu to German about her father’s experiences during World War II. The book describes his experiences as a political prisoner of war in Italy and during the last year of the war in Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. Mary will present her book during Black History Month at the library in February.
