Zebedee Pitterson
Unsung hero and philanthropist Zebedee Augustus “Sonny” Pitterson (1931 – 2014) had raised himself up from humble beginnings to become one of the most successful Belizean businessmen in the City, operating Sunnyside for 55 years.
In 1952, the first of Sonny’s businesses, Sunnyside Saloon, opened on West Canal, specializing in pastries. Opened with savings of $68, Sunnyside quickly established a second branch on Racecourse Street on the lower flat of Pitterson’s home, and emerged as a competitor to Dit’s Saloon on King Street.
Shrugging off the disaster of Hurricane Hattie in 1961 (during which he lost almost everything and yet was able to shelter and feed 33 people and mix 900 sacks of flour, by hand, to make bread for the hungry populace in the aftermath of the hurricane), and fires caused by overheating ovens in 1995 and 2002, Sunnyside Bakery has stayed alive.
Mr. Zeb will always be remembered as a stalwart of the people who protected them from arbitrary increases in the price of bread. On one occasion the Belize Bakers Association had decided to raise the price of bread from $1 to $1.50, but Mr. Zeb was adamantly opposed to the raise, saying the people could not afford the increase. Some of the bakers raised the price of their product to $1.25, but Pitterson held his product at $1 in solidarity with the people. He would hold the price of his bread at $1 for years, until he could no longer do so, at the same time donating 100 loaves of bread two times per week to feed people at the Salvation Army shelters. He was also feeding about 100 primary school students and needy elderly people three times per week. He also fed children of the neighboring primary schools through his Feed My Sheep Feeding Program, a feeding program he funded out of his own pocket.
Mr. Pitterson was awarded the Unsung Hero Award by the First Caribbean International Bank in October of 2008, and as a part of the prize, he received $12,000 to help with the expenses of his community work. Mr. Zeb said that he was happy that his program was recognized nationally, and promised that he would spend every penny to feed the children in the feeding program. He was also given a Meritorious Service Award by the Government of Belize in 2008, followed by the Spirit of Ubuntu Award presented by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
“My mother told me,” Pitterson told Amandala, “that whenever you do good for someone, goodness and blessings follow you. I waste no opportunity to help my community where I can.”
Source: Amandala Newspaper “Sonny and Tan” Pitterson – a Belizean original! — 12th. September 2008 by Aaron Humes and Belizean icon passes — 15 July 2014 — by Albert J. Ciego See original articles here:
http://amandala.com.bz/…/sonny-and-tan-pitterson-a-belizea…/ >/p>