Memories of the first disco that stood against segregation in the island of Utila from Mary Annie Rose Laurie

Back in the 1980s, life on the island of Utila moved at its own gentle rhythm. Neighbors were close, everyone knew everyone, and friendships crossed fences and front yards. You could borrow sugar, chat over a gate, or help each other in small ways, but when it came to social gatherings, there were lines people didn’t cross. Birthday parties, dances, and Sunday school events? Those were another story.

At the time, Utila had a kind of informal segregation. People got along in everyday life, but social events were often separated by race. Black and white communities were friends, sure, but they didn’t mingle for celebrations. If you were invited to a birthday party, you went with your own circle. Dances, or “discos” as they became called later, were largely segregated too. White dances were for whites, black dances for blacks, and trying to cross that line was awkward, at best.

Into this segregation stepped Mary Annie Rose, a native of Utila, and her husband Harley O’Neill Bush, known affectionately on the island as Mr. Pipe. Harley was originally from the island of Guanaja, but he moved to Utila, met Mary Annie, and together they built a few businesses out of which one many people still remember. After welcoming their first son, Arthur Lloyd, the couple decided to open a disco, and in doing so, they would do something new for the island.

But let's rewind a bit back to a while before they opened this disco. Harley’s older brother, came over from Guanaja. He was a schoolteacher, a respectable man by all accounts, but when it came to the dances of Utila, he found himself caught in an awkward limbo. One night, he tried to attend a black dance. But apparently, his skin tone wasn’t “dark enough,” and he was shown the door. Undeterred, he thought he’d try the white dance instead. You can probably guess what happened next: he wasn’t white enough, so he got bounced out of that one too. By the end of the evening, poor Harley’s brother had learned that in Utila, dancing was serious business… and apparently, the color line could be tricky to navigate.

These moments weren’t just funny anecdotes, they reveal how segregated even small communities could be back then. It wasn’t about dislike or animosity, it was just the way things had been organized socially.

Their disco by the name of the Lighthouse Disco, was located at what is now the Utila Lodge, a spot that would eventually become iconic for nightlife and gatherings. It wasn’t just a dance floor, they had a restaurant area for meals and snacks, and a theater. The idea was simple but radical: everyone was welcome. Black, white, or somewhere in between, anyone could come in and enjoy the music.

At first, it was a little awkward. People weren’t used to seeing their friends from the “other side” on the same dance floor. But over time, they adjusted. Slowly, laughter and conversation began to flow freely, and the disco became a place where barriers melted under the beat of the music. The social experiment worked: Utila had its first inclusive dance venue, where friendship and fun mattered more than skin color.

The story of this disco isn’t just about music or nightlife. It’s about how a small community began to break old patterns. Mary Annie and Harley, through their vision, created a space where the island could come together, one dance step at a time.