Meeting the locals - Dolly

     One thing I really love about Grand Turk is the people.  The local people of Grand Turk are genuinely kind and mostly religious people.  When we first visited 20 years ago, several times a day someone would pass us on the street and say "Hello, how do you like Grand Turk?"  Though you don't hear that now days, as fequently as we did back then, the Grand Turk people are still very proud of their island and friendly.    Over the years we have made many friends.  I have found the local people to be reserved at first taking a few hellos before they open up, but once they do open up, you are friends for life.

One of my favorite people is Dolly at Moore's Cozy Corner Store.   Moore's Cozy Corner Store, a tiny 12X12 room off Pond St.  Moore's has been there as long as we have been traveling to Grand Turk, 20 plus years.  We would stop in from time to time, when her father ran the tiny store, but didn't discover Dolly's yummy cakes until about 10 years ago  Dolly makes home made cakes and sells them by the slice.   Each night she makes 2 or so cakes and displays them under clear plastic covers on the counter for easy viewing of the delectable cakes.  These are not decadent cakes with thick frosting but more of the mother's homemade kind like; Martha Washinton Cake or Pound Cake.   She has a faithful following of locals who stop in each night to purchase a piece of cake and to chat a bit.


It's a tradition now for us to stop in after dinner, on our walk back to Crabtree, to pick up a slice of cake "To Go".  Dolly always greets us with that wonderful smile.  Over the years we got know Dolly a bit,  heard all about her large family and sadly the losses she has had too.  It was a heartbreaking story to hear of the loss of her daughter, mother and sibling all in one month.  These losses shook Dolly to her soul yet her strong faith never wavered.  You can see the sadness in her eyes somedays, but that warmth, which perhaps stems from that strong faith, still glows when she smiles.  It's a great feeling when we walk through the door; Dolly's face lights up with that grand smile and she greets us with a warm "Hello it's good to see you, how long have you been on the island?"  Her smile tells me she means what she just said and that we have made a friend.


Dolly's store is a little convenience store where you will find a little of everything from sodas in a little refrigerator, snacks and Parmalet milk on hand built shelves to frozen goods kept in a large chest freezer behind the counter.  Dolly opens her door about 4:00pm in the evening "to fill in the gap" as she would say, when the grocery stores close.  If you stop by in the evening you will find Dolly sitting behind a tall counter on a folding chair packing or unpacking things as she watches the news from a 19" tube TV hanging in the corner of the shop.  Or you may find her chatting with someone who has stopped in to say hello and talking a little politics.  


If you ever make your way to Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, be sure to drop by and try one of her delicious pound cakes.