Find out what’s happening behind the scenes
By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager
On March 16th the museum ladies got together for a Baby Shower for Devina Mohamed. She is returning to Guyana to deliver her baby boy and get parenting tips from her Mom. Devina came to the museum as a volunteer in the gift shop and then became a fabulous tour guide. Her presentations were much appreciated and enjoyed by our cruise ship guests. We will miss her but know she and husband, Zaheer will excel at parenting as they have in their careers as civil engineers. We all wish them the very best in life
- Published in A Day at the National Museum
By Jackie Garbarino
Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager
On March 14, 2013, Candianne and I had the privilege to meet 10 members of the Manuel Family of Bermuda and introduce them to our wonderful museum. Bill Manuel is the patriarch of the group and donated a book written by his aunt who was born in Grand Turk in 1904. He also donated a copy of The Chronicle and Dependency News dated April 3, 1929 and a very old land and survey map of Grand Turk from the salt mounds in front of the Odd Fellow’s Lodge to the southern tip of the island.
The book, chronicle and map give us another window into the past of Grand Turk. It is my hope that on Bill’s next visit to Grand Turk he will have time to sit with us in our about to be established sound studio, and share his knowledge of the history of Grand Turk. Many members of his family lived and worked here from the early 1800’s, and his family still owns property on the island.
Candianne and I enjoyed the enthusiasm of the family members, and basked in the glow of their appreciation for the Best Little Museum in the Caribbean and our newly restored garden. They were very good shoppers too! Thanks to the Manuel Family for their contributions.
- Published in A Day at the National Museum
By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager
The museum could not function without the support of Catherine Foley and Mitchell Loeb.
From event planning, to cargo transport, to exhibit cleaning, to sign restoration, to repairs too numerous to mention.
We can not praise you or thank you enough! Hats off.
- Published in A Day at the National Museum
By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager
How lucky is the museum to have a volunteer electrician!
This time Deb was off the ladder and on the floor installing a new led light for the mast exhibit. This old house could provide her with a steady income. It came to electricity late in life and the house has a few ghosts who do not seem to like this new technology..
Her labor and knowledge donation to the museum is greatly appreciated. And she always arrives and leaves with a smile on her face. Thank you, Deb!
- Published in A Day at the National Museum
By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager
On February 23rd, Dr. Keith and the museum crew were invited to tour Timco’s warehouse on Front Street and look for treasures for the museum.
For those of you who may not know, Timco has been a general store and permanent fixture on Grand Turk for more than 100 years. The chance to browse the collection of goodies stored there was an invitation we just couldn’t pass up.
Dr. Keith found 2 items of interest to the museum, a portable telephone exchange box and a kerosene powered Tilley FL-6 general purpose floodlight. Electricity didn’t come to Grand Turk until the early 1960s so having a kerosene floodlight was essential for lighting any outdoor activity at night, whether for work or fun.
I was able to supply the museum with a few dozen glass tumblers for movie nights.
It seems Mr. Magnus, who owned Timco and is now deceased, had difficulty parting with the promotional materials (like glassware) sent to him by his suppliers.
Our thanks to Mrs. Sylvia Lightbourne and Mr. Allen for allowing us to tour this fascinating historic building, and for the treasures we found.
- Published in A Day at the National Museum
By Jackie Garbarino
Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager
On Grand Turk we love a party and what better excuse than a Birthday!
February 12th was the birthday of Abraham Lincoln but more importantly for Grand Turk it is also the birth date of our own famous Barrister Finbar Dempsey.
As luck would have it the museum was having a movie on Feb. 12th. And even luckier for all of us, Catherine Foley baked a delicious chocolate cake to celebrate Finbar’s 76 years on the planet.
What a feat…a chocolate cake big enough to feed 40 people!
A wonderful surprise for Finbar, his lovely wife Ann and the movie crowd.
- Published in A Day at the National Museum
By Jackie Garbarino
Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager
What would the museum be without the illuminating assistance of Volunteer Debra Hayes?!?
We would be in the dark most definitely. Deb is just a phone call away when an electrical problem appears and problems appear frequently in this old house.
Deb researched and assisted changing over to LED lights in the exhibit rooms and the exhibits, replaced the light switches on the exhibits, installed a new motion light outside the museum, changed tube lights in the science building, researched new lighting for the floor exhibit showing the mast and will install it, and so many other fixes too numerous to mention.
Our most recent upgrade was to replace our worn out decorative lights on the balcony.
We cannot thank her enough for her interest and support of the museum.
- Published in A Day at the National Museum
A Guest Blog
By Bryan Naqqi Manco, DEMA
Orchids are often thought of as fragile exotics; rarely-but-extravagantly-flowering plants that demand pampering and coddling to even survive, and a lifetime of horticultural commitment to thrive.
Not so the rugged Encyclia orchids of the Turks & Caicos Islands. These are not the tender slipper orchids of cloud forests, or the fragile pink ladies slippers of temperate woodlands. Encyclia orchids are tough, hard, and carry their own supply of water and nutrients in swollen stems when times are lean. They forgive root disturbance and leaf damage. While most orchid growers laboriously transfer their spoiled plants into expensive teak baskets with special sterilized knives, TCI’s Encyclia orchids are happy to be thrown down the stairs and run over by a truck before being strapped unceremoniously to a tree trunk with twine and doused with a roughly-handled bucket of water.
Such is a similar story of some of the orchids in the Museum’s Botanical & Cultural Garden. Rescued from building sites by the Turks & Caicos Islands Environmental Club and under the Department of Environment & Maritime Affairs “Rescue & Collection of Endangered & Endemic Plants” Project, some of the orchids brought to the Garden have actually been run over by heavy equipment. Cared for in DEMA’s Native Plant Biodiversity Conservation Nurseries until they were ready to be transferred to the Museum Garden, examples of all five of TCI’s native Encyclia orchids have been installed throughout 2012, right up to the end of the year, with the last installation occurring on Christmas Day.
One of these plants, a tall Encyclia orchid Encyclia altissima planted in July 2012, has already healed so well into its home that it has blossomed profusely in the garden. Throwing a spicy, vanilla-like scent from its golden-tan blossoms on a spike nearly five feet high, the orchid will bloom for several weeks in the garden. The plant could have chosen to save its energy due to the rough time it has through May and June: rescuing from its natural habitat, which was slated for construction; crowding into a too-small area with many others of its kind; transfer to Grand Turk on a plane inside of a dark box; Hurricane Sandy’s wind and westerly salt spray; and even an instance of orchid theft in the garden. However, it has instead elected to display its adaptability and survivorship by rewarding its stewards with its grand inflorescence. Please do come by , see, and smell this extraordinary Museum’s living collection every December to January; other species of orchids will flower at different times of the year.
- Published in A Day at the National Museum
By Jackie Garbarino
Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager
The old saying that you can’t tell a book by its cover proves true one more time. Our first bird tour guests of 2013 arrived on the Majesty of the Seas that was chartered for fans of Heavy Metal music. Cordelia, their guide reported that Charlie was very knowledgeable about birds and particularly good at spotting them. He brought along his own binoculars but we provided the ladies with them.
It seemed almost all the cruisers we saw were dressed in black so the black pirate hat was an easy sale for Candianne. An interesting day at the museum. Candianne is the photographer which is why it is not blurry! I emailed the pictures to our birders also for a Grand Memory on Grand Turk.
- Published in A Day at the National Museum
By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Volunteer and Gift Shop Manager
Mr. Robert Weiglein was kind enough to send us this letter and photos after visiting the Caicos Heritage House building site in Provo. The photos of the Heritage House compared to the 1837 Stone House in France are striking. It is and has been a Small World after all! Thank you, Mr. Weiglein for the encouragement and for sharing.
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December 30, 2012
Ms. Saxton,
While here for a family holiday, I have read with interest the Times of The Islands‘ articles related to the proposed National Museum and especially, the Caicos Heritage House. While bike riding earlier this week near Grace Bay, I came across the house under construction.
Last December, we discovered one of these small houses on Middle Caicos and met Norma, the daughter of the builder. The thick walls appeared to be a type of limestone block sourced locally. The metal roof, however, may not have been original. Norma shared the history of her life in this house before electricity arrived in the 1980’s and how the house withstood the ravages of Caribbean storms, while more modern structures had not. Ironically Norma had abandoned the old house and lived in a more modern one, with her daughter Cassandra. The newer home had been damaged in a recent storm and was still missing part of its’ roof.
This type of early island house is strangely reminiscent of a stone house, built in 1837, in Foret, Chasnay, France, for which I prepared scale drawings and documents earlier this year. The Foret house was also fabricated out of locally sourced stone, originally covered in a type of plaster mix not concrete as it is presently, the walls are nearly 24″ thick and the floor plan of the original structure was quite small. Unlike the island house, the French one has a highly pitched roof clad with traditional clay tile. Both houses have shutters. The French house, interestingly stands in a region that prizes historical preservation. Local historic architects provide owners with information and sources (at no charge), so that renovation plans are in keeping with the historic qualities that many French people want to preserve. Although the Foret house has been renovated, upgraded and added onto over the years, it still retains much of it’s original character.
Yesterday I stopped by the Heritage House again and met with Nini who was working on the interior. This is a fascinating process to me, so l watched what he was doing with great interest. Making this house a part of the overall plan is a wonderful way to draw attention to the new National Museum. We have always been curious about history of the Turks and Caicos. The new museum will enhance everyone’s experience. We look forward to observing this project as it continues to move forward.
Best regards,
Robert Weiglein
D E S I G N E R
1157 East 56th St.
Chicago, Il 60637
linkedIn Weiglein Design
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We hope many visitors will enjoy the Caicos Heritage House.
- Published in A Day at the National Museum