June Archibald, bon vivant, radio personality and gardener, is making her debut this week as the newest Sourcer. She is already letting readers take a weekly peek at "June’s View From the Farm." And at long last, the Source will have a social column, "Scene," on what’s going on and who’s there to enjoy it.
Source Publisher Shaun Pennington says, "This is something I have wanted for 10 years."
"June’s View" will be under the Lifestyles tab in the Home and Garden section, and "Scene" will be in the People section, under the Community tab.
In 1988, June Archibald left the States to apply for a job in the Farrelly administration, returning to Raleigh, N.C. where she was then living, to find that because she didn’t "live" on St. Thomas, she was turned down for the position.
No matter. Archibald, with her characteristic intestinal fortitude and/or aplomb, packed her bags and arrived on the island she has called home ever since, a couple of months later. Born on Tobago, Archibald says she is a Trinbagoian, but her heart clearly lives on St. Thomas.
Archibald has become an integral figure in the island community over the past 21 years. With a strong background in radio and other media in the states, she headed the Department of Education public relations office for several years. When the territory was hit with Hurricane Hugo in 1989, she instituted daily briefings on WSTA radio.
While at DOE she pioneered several television specials on tough subjects – HIV/AIDS and school violence. She became a regular on WVWI radio with "June’s Saturday Basket," and later with the weekday show "The Morning Mix."
In 2002, Archibald’s voice suffered when she was diagnosed with cancer of the left sinus. Because half of her hard and soft palate had to be removed, her life changed irrevocably. "Having always been a chatterbox," she says, "this has taken a great deal of adjustment daily. I am still challenged by a speech defect."
Not to be deterred, Archibald has carved out a new life, returning to her first love: gardening. She is active in the island’s agriculture community, where she is now assisting in the Addelita Cancryn Junior High School garden. She is a fixture at the new Yacht Haven Grande markets, the first and third Sundays of each month, where she dispenses all manner of greenery from her Precious Produce Farms stand – bulging bags of arugula, Thai basil, squash blossoms, sprouts, oregano, even purple snow peas.
So, if you have a yen for squash blossoms, or you need a recipe for an arugula salad and you would like to be seen talking that over with a friend at the latest social gathering, come to the Source. You never know: Archibald might be peeking over your shoulder.
