The Corn Islands Hall of Fame
Throughout history, there have been some well-known personalities that were born, raised and lived their whole life on the Corn Islands that have done great things for the community and its people, meanwhile, there are others that lifted high the name of the islands from afar, without forgetting where they come from.
The Hall of Fame is a section of the Corn Islands Virtual Library dedicated to immortalizing the name of those men and women who have devoted outstandingly their life serving others and lifting high the name of Great Corn Island and Little Corn Island.
These people are generally activists, teachers, health personnel, athletes, musicians, poets and writers, also those individuals who from their own initiatives or through their position have created positive impacts in the community or have contributed to other regional, national or international causes that favor humanity, especially in the fields of helping minority socially excluded groups, education, health, culture, human rights and the environment.
The below list shows the names of individuals who are part of the Corn Islands Hall of Fame. These were selected based on the criteria for this section that the Virtual Library follows and their personal and professional merit. The order in which the names are organized does not represent any level of importance of one individual over the other.
If you think that a name should be added to The Hall of Fame, please send us via email the name of the person and a description of who they are and what they have done to make them worthy of being part of the Hall of Fame.
PERSONALITIES OF THE CORN ISLANDS HALL OF FAME
Education
Ms. Alva Hooker (rip): Educator and founder of one of the first public secondary schools on the island. She was born in the year 1907 and died in 2002.
Ms. Marie Rigby: Educator and member of Ebenezer Baptist Church. She reopened Ebenezer Baptist School after years of closure.
Ms. Essie Nixon (rip): Founder of the first public school on Corn Island. She was born in 1912 and died in the year 1992.
Ms. Olive Brown (rip): One of the first public school teachers on Corn Island.
Mr. Wilford Hunter (rip): Outstanding academic, known for being one of the best English teachers on Great Corn Island. He was also the Principal of the Rigoberto Cabeza School and a member of the Star of Tomorrow dance group, from where he demonstrated moves of the island's traditional polka, mento and schottische dance and music. He was born in the year 1955 and died on the 29th of March, 2012.
Health
Ms. Ethel Kandler (rip): Considered to be one of Corn Island's first nurses. She was a midwife, devoted to helping women during labor. The local primary hospital is named after her.
Ms. Lestel Downs (rip): Local historian, environmentalist, midwife and nurse. She was born in the year 1944 and died in June 2020.
Sports
Mr. Cayetano Hunter (rip): Notable baseball player and catcher of the Corn Islands Baseball Selection during the island's first participation in the Atlantic Series in 1969. He was also part of the Nicaragua National Baseball Selection in 1971 and the San Fernando team. Mr. Cayo, as he was locally known, was also well involved in the promotion of the island culture through the North End Culture Committee. He was born in 1954 and died in March 2015.
Mr. Richard Hunter (rip): One of Corn Island's star baseball players. Mr. Richard debuted in this sport for several years until age 31. He played in various teams in the National Baseball League such as Costa Atlántica and Dantos. He also formed part of the Nicaragua National Baseball Selection on several occasions. Richard Hunter was born in 1969 and passed away in May 2020.
Mr. Elry Britton: Former player of the Costa Atlántica baseball team between 1984 and 1990. On August 13th, 2022, his name was added to the Nicaragua Hall of Fame of Sports in a ceremony in Managua, being the only Corn Islander to receive this distinction.
Mr. Cheslor Cuthbert: Former major league baseball player for the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White-Sox. He is the first Corn Islander to have made it into a major baseball league team.
Culture, literature and arts
Mr. Vertic Hodgson (rip): Local musician and composer of many notable songs like Launch Turn Over, for example. Mr. Vertic was born in 1918 and died in 1996.
Mr. Peter Lampson III (rip): Local musician, who along with Vertic Hodgson composed several iconic musics of their times.
Mr. Quito Downs (rip): Musician and painter. In his teenage, Quito was part of the Cojunto Isleño music band and later formed his own which was called The Black Sheep, which rapidly got recognized on the island and in other parts of the Caribbean Coast and western Nicaragua. He also painted the iconic mural of the announcement of Colonel Alexander McDonald, which was used as background for the stage of Miss Corn Island coronation night of 2002. Quito passed away on June 30th, 2019, in Sacramento, United States.
Ms. Arlene Hodgson: Local musician, poet and writer of the iconic Corn Island Song. Ms. Arlene was a member of the Children of Tomorrow music band and former Principal of BICU University in Corn Island.
Mr. Charles Hodgson: Known as Chaleco, he is one of the Corn Islands musicians, who have dedicated his life to teaching music, especially to kids and young people, and promoting the island's culture and traditions. Chaleco was also a member of the Children of Tomorrow music band and is the founder of the Island Stars kids and youth music group.
Mr. Spence Hodgson: Local musician, singer and composer. Former member of Children of Tomorrow and The Black Sheep music band and musical collaborator of many Caribbean artists and groups in Nicaragua. Mr. Rocco, as he is commonly known, is the writer and composer of the song Crab Soup and musical producer of the Corn Island Song.
Politics and government
Mr. Hurley Morgan (rip): Former mayor and one of the fathers of the Autonomy of the Caribbean Coast. Mr. Hurley was born in 1933 and died in the year 2009.
Mr. Norman Downs (rip): Sevent Mayor of Corn Island after it was declared a municipality. He was an electrician, mechanic, businessman and captain of boats. He was also the second Corn Islander to become a pilot. Mr. Norman was born in the year 1943 and died in 2021.
Career, community service and activism
Mr. Woodreau Bodden (rip): He was the first Corn Islander to become a pilot, receiving his academic formation in Managua and in the United States. Born in Great Corn Island in the year 1916 and died in a plane crash between Managua and Puerto Cabezas in 1946.
