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| Jamaican natives Carsel (left) and Uton (right) were recruited to come work at French Lick Springs Hotel in the late 1990s, and they've become fixture in the bell/valet department. |
Carsel Harrison and Uton Bell both had jobs that they liked
back in Jamaica — Carsel at a resort in Montego Bay, and Uton at a hotel in the
city of Ocho Rios.
Yet they also had a nose for adventure and opportunity.
So they picked up, moved more than 1,500 miles away from
home, and charted a course for someplace called French Lick, Indiana, which
they’d never heard of. That was back in 1998. More than 20 years later, Carsel
and Uton are still delivering service with a smile on a daily basis (“we’re
entertainers,” as Uton likes to say) as two of the most well-known guys around
French Lick Resort.
If you’ve used the bell/valet service at French Lick Springs
Hotel, you’ve probably seen Carsel and Uton and been greeted by them with their
unmistakable Jamaican accents. But you might not be aware of their journey
here. They were among 45 staffers from Jamaica who were recruited in the late ‘90s
to come work here — and many of them still do, in the restaurants and in
housekeeping and other departments across the resort. We were able to sit down
with Carsel and Uton to find out a little more about their journey, and here it
is in their own words:
So you were recruited from Jamaica to come work here at French Lick.
How did that all come about?
Carsel: It was
through the Ministry of Labor; it was the government of Jamaica. You applied
for it through the government of Jamaica through to the hotel that you were
working for, fill out the form, they call you, they did an interview … and then
they get you the working visa and all that. That was the first time hearing
about French Lick, Indiana.
Uton: It’s not like you randomly just say, “You’re going to French Lick.” It’s a big business. In Tennessee at Opryland, Jamaicans come there to work. Same with Mackinac Island and other places like that, with Jamaicans coming here to work. Because that’s where they get the good help, is Jamaica.
Uton: It’s not like you randomly just say, “You’re going to French Lick.” It’s a big business. In Tennessee at Opryland, Jamaicans come there to work. Same with Mackinac Island and other places like that, with Jamaicans coming here to work. Because that’s where they get the good help, is Jamaica.
When we were coming here, we hear about French Lick and you’re
like, “French Lick, where’s that?” We didn’t know where we were actually going
to (be sent). You hear about Miami, New York City. I didn’t even know there was
an Indiana.
What made you want to make that jump to the U.S. in the first place?
Uton: For me, my
job was a really nice job back home. I don’t know if it’s a thing about us as
Jamaicans, but we like to try something different. For me personally, it was to
try something different. And I did.
Carsel: This is a better opportunity in terms of money-wise, because everybody’s looking for betterment. And I got to know a different place, too.
Carsel: This is a better opportunity in terms of money-wise, because everybody’s looking for betterment. And I got to know a different place, too.
It still had to be a major adjustment first coming to the U.S.,
especially here where business at the hotel was much slower before the
restoration.
Uton: It was a
shock. Where both of us lived in Jamaica, it was nothing like French Lick. Because
you’re used to living in a community where it was up and running and things
were happening all the time. When we moved here in this town, there was nothing
here. You could pretty much lie in the road for 30 minutes before a car would
pass by.
You must have seen a ton of changes here from when you first started 20
years ago.
Uton: It’s like
from a night to a day different. That’s how it changed. In our time, the air
conditioner (in the hotel guestroom) was in the window. That’s how way back in
time it was. It’s changed a lot, and for the better. Where the swimming pool is
now, that used to be the main dining room and main kitchen. There was no Event
Center at the time. The swimming pool was in the garden area is now.
How often do you talk with friends and family back home?
Carsel: Every
day. It’s easier now because we have a smart phone app where you can talk every
day, all the time.
And how often are you able to make it back to Jamaica?
Uton: Once or
twice a year. You can’t give away that roots, man! You’ve got to keep it going.
I was there for three weeks in January.
Carsel: And now we can actually enjoy Jamaica, because we’re on vacation. When you’re living there, you really don’t get to enjoy Jamaica. When you’re on vacation, you can do the entire country.
Carsel: And now we can actually enjoy Jamaica, because we’re on vacation. When you’re living there, you really don’t get to enjoy Jamaica. When you’re on vacation, you can do the entire country.
What do you do to keep your Jamaican heritage going up here?
Carsel: On
Sundays we have a soccer game – which we call it football – but every Sunday in
the summertime we meet together and do that. Here and there we’ll have house
parties, so keep it going. Uton: Keep
the reggae music going, man! What makes you be a real person, is you can’t
forget your culture. Here it’s a little different, but your culture is always
going to be you, so you’ve got to keep it going: the music, the food.
Speaking of food, what do you miss from back home?
Uton: Jerk
chicken.
Carsel: Ackee and saltfish. (Ackee is a Caribbean fruit, and saltfish is essentially salted cod.) If you go to a hotel there and you stay at a resort, you will see that on the menu. You can get a meal out of it with maybe roasted breadfruit or maybe fried dumpling.
Carsel: Ackee and saltfish. (Ackee is a Caribbean fruit, and saltfish is essentially salted cod.) If you go to a hotel there and you stay at a resort, you will see that on the menu. You can get a meal out of it with maybe roasted breadfruit or maybe fried dumpling.
I understand there even used to be a Jamaican Independence Day
celebration every year in the town of French Lick, since so many Jamaican
natives live here.
Uton: It’s not as
big as it used to be, but we still have a little thing going on. It’s on August
6, so we used to have big parties years ago.
Carsel: We look forward to that, and we even invite other people from here as well, and they enjoyed it.
Carsel: We look forward to that, and we even invite other people from here as well, and they enjoyed it.
Being at the hotel for so long, you surely become close with some of
the regular guests.
Uton: We see
guests who have kids that pretty much grow with us — from like age 5 or 6 and
now they’re grown. We pretty much watch them grow, after so many years.
Carsel: They become like family now. If I’m going to the airport, I can actually leave my car there (at the house of a guest he’s gotten to know) and they drop me at the airport and pick me back up. That’s how close we become with them.
Carsel: They become like family now. If I’m going to the airport, I can actually leave my car there (at the house of a guest he’s gotten to know) and they drop me at the airport and pick me back up. That’s how close we become with them.
With the rebirth of the hotel and everything in the last decade or so,
you’ve probably seen more than you ever expected to here.
Uton: I just hope
it lasts for a very long time – for another generation. Because this is like a
piece of gold in French Lick here. Without this (resort) … there’s no French
Lick.