February 18 dawned bright over Grenada, the kind of morning when the sea itself seemed to whisper memories. Today would have been the 104th birthday of Sir Eric Matthew Gairy, the island’s first Prime Minister and the man many still call the father of independence.

In the quiet villages and the bustling towns, people spoke his name with a mixture of pride and reflection. For the older generation, he was not just a leader — he was the young man who returned from Aruba in the 1950s with fire in his spirit and justice on his tongue. He had no university degree, no polished pedigree, no elite connections. What he had was conviction.

They remembered how he walked the estates, listening to the workers who bent their backs under the sun for pennies. How he organized them, fought for them, and demanded what no one else dared to ask for:

• An eight‑hour workday
• Better wages
• Human dignity

Those victories changed the rhythm of rural life forever.

By midday, schoolchildren recited stories of Expo ’69 — the grand showcase that put Grenada on the world’s map — and the Easter Water Parade, a celebration of culture and joy that flowed through the streets like a river of unity. Many of the schools they sat in were built during his tenure, physical reminders of a leader who believed education should reach every child, not only the privileged.

But history is never a straight line. As the years passed, a new generation of university‑educated youth returned home, filled with ideas, ambition, and impatience. Their vision clashed with his. Disruptions grew. The island trembled with tension. Sir Eric, without the academic credentials of his critics, found himself challenged not just politically but personally — yet he remained steadfast in his belief that leadership came from service, not certificates.

As the sun set on this 104th anniversary, Grenadians reflected on a life that shaped the nation’s destiny. Sir Eric Gairy was imperfect, determined, controversial, visionary — but above all, he was a man who dared to lift the poor, challenge the powerful, and dream of an independent Grenada long before others believed it possible.

And so, on this February 18, his legacy lived again — in the rights workers enjoy, in the schools that still stand, in the independence that defines the nation, and in the unshakable truth that greatness can rise from humble soil.