By Jackie Garbarino
Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

Our wonderful carpenters…we ask and they deliver a precise and finished product.

In for a penny, in for a pound…as long as we have expert help in the house why not steal a bit of their time and a lot of their expertise.

All the shop staff:  Candianne, Devina and myself sketched out a plan to revise the shop to make room for the new entrance.

Ready for the changes.

Candianne, Pat and myself were on hand for the dismantling, construction, the usual need to change plans a bit and then putting it all together.

Gift shop stripped down and ready for a nip and a tuck.  The window will become a door and offer a direct entrance to the gift shop.  The door is on order so while we wait for its arrival, we decided to  rearrange the shop to accommodate the new entrance.

The map room has become the map and book room, the Kid’s Corner has a new corner and the salt, jewelry and baskets have more space for display.

Candianne Williams, assistant museum manager, cheerfully steps out of a management job description to provide some expert painting.

Our first customers in the well organized shop. The combination of Candianne’s salesmanship and the pleasant surroundings resulted in a successful transaction. In other words, these ladies spent some money!

We even have a proper post for the cash register and credit card terminal.

Come in and check out our new look!

By Donald H. Keith
Chairman of the Board of Trustees

The original Fresnel lens from the Grand Turk lighthouse.

We’re working on a new lighthouse exhibit for the Guinep House. The Fresnel lens has been on exhibit on the second floor for many years, but now we want to combine it with its original “clockwork mechanism.”

The problem is, although we have the lens and the clockwork, we do not have the column that used to support the lens, the driven gear at the top of the column that turned the lens, or the pool of mercury that the lens floated on to reduce friction. All of those things are still at the top of Grand Turk’s lighthouse that, for safety reasons, is not open to the public. Museum Director Pat Saxton made a few phone calls and got permission for Sherlin Williams and I to enter the lighthouse to photograph and measure the column so we could reproduce it authentically.

Sherlin and I arrived at the lighthouse just before 8 AM, along with the wind, rain, and Keeper of the Key, Jerome Miller.  Within 5 minutes we were through the massive lighthouse door, lugging our cameras and recording equipment inside.

Spiral staircase with 64 steps leading to the top of the lighthouse.

It being a dark and stormy morning courtesy of Tropical Storm Issac, the sounds inside the 160 year old cast-iron structure were straight out of a Hollywood thriller: wind moaning ominously, rain pelting the windward side hissing and falling silent like the Big Bad Wolf trying to blow the house down.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t dark inside.

Strategically-placed windows admitted enough sunlight to illuminate the 64 steps leading from the entry to four different levels as the distance between the walls narrowed and finally to our goal, the actual glassed-in light room at the top.

Sherlin Williams starting the tooth count.

After admiring the best view on Grand Turk for a few minutes Sherlin and I set to work.  One of the bits of information we needed was the exact number of teeth on the gear at the top of the column. I measured the elevations and diameters of the various elements of the column while Sherlin tackled the tooth count.  Eventually we had to count the teeth 6 times to get a reproducible number: 232!

With this and other critical dimensions we are now ready to contact our friends in the World Lighthouse Society for expertise on how to reproduce the column, gear, and some kind of bearing arrangement to replace the huge pool of mercury originally used to float the Fresnel lens.

This is turning out to be a much bigger project than we anticipated, but we believe the end result will be one of the Museum’s most attractive exhibits.

By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

Dr. Don Keith had his hands full with the Molasses Reef Wreck and the downstairs gallery renovation.  The AND Construction crew had their hands full moving 12-foot long anchors. But they all persisted as these photos show.

Downstairs gallery room BEFORE . . . remember this old grey carpet?

Don ponders moving the delicate wood pieced from the wreck. Candianne and Pat are ready to assist.

The new floor is tongue and groove pine, but to get a plank floor effect we used the “wrong” side of the wood. This required sanding off all the factory markings and then staining it. An arduous task in the August sun.

The AND Construction crew starts the installation. Two boards down, many to go.

With the floor complete the exhibit is reassembled. Here the AND crew is returning the anchor … the VERY heavy anchor . . . next the cannon.

The fantastic team of sanders, stainers, artifact movers, floor installers and gift shop re-arrangers. There is nothing this crew can not do! Painting is next.

Dr. Keith secures the cannon and breathes a sigh of relief that we and the artifacts survived the chaos of construction.

Jakaira Bascombe admires the new floor on a final weekday visit to the museum before school starts next week.

By Donald H Keith
Chairman, Board of Directors

Keeping up with repairs to the historic Guinep house has always been a challenge. But usually they didn’t involve a major disruption.  When I arrived on August 17th to help with long needed work I knew I was in for a busy couple of weeks. It’s been 20 years since we installed the exhibits on the Molasses Reef Wreck in the downstairs gallery and it was long past time for freshening up.

When the team from AND Construction arrived I briefed them on the task at hand.  They laughed when I told them that first we had to move a 12 foot anchor!

Then  we moved a 10 foot bombardetta (a 15th century cannon.)

Finally, we started dismantling the exhibit.  All in preparation for removing the carpet and replacing it with wood flooring. Luckily for me they were all willing and have strong backs and a great attitude!

Check back for more updates as we continue the process.

By Jackie Garbarino
Bookstore and Volunteer Manager

We tackled the kitchen this weekend. We still have more to do but the kitchen is looking good. The Home and Garden network has nothing on us.

The “before” is pretty uninspiring. This is after Hurricane Ike paid us a visit and before renovations.

We put in glass brick windows but kept the louvered shutters on the outside to maintain the building’s historical image.  Using glass bricks has improved security, and decreased energy costs by keeping out the hot air and letting in the natural light.

The “after” is worth it. And the floor looks great.

We will keep you posted on this and many more projects to renew the museum. By November it should be ready for visitors with the help of AND Construction a lot of elbow grease.

By Pat Saxton
Director

Last year we had the good fortune to be awarded a grant  from the Grand Turk Cruise Center/TCI Government Infrastructure Fund and a most welcomed donation from the TCI Government. Together they are providing the Museum the funds needed to do some much needed and long anticipated repairs to the aging Guinep House.

AND Construction was awarded the contract and work got began August 12.  Our list is a long one and includes:

• wood flooring main gallery downstairs
• decking on the second floor balcony
• renovating the old kitchen, including new steps, painting and eventually new exhibits
• 2 new windows downstairs
• 2 new windows upstairs
• painting throughout museum
• new carpeting upstairs
• repairs upstairs to fix a tripping hazard
• new exit through the gift shop
• new entrance to ease traffic in museum
• new pathway to the science building
• Gazebo tea garden between Guinep house and Science building
• generator system for both buildings
• more work in the botanical and culture garden including putting the old chimney back together to show how an traditional TIC kitchen looks from the outside.

We will be working on each repair in between visits from cruise ship passengers, but by November it should all be done.  Keep up with our progress and the usual surprises on our blog. But more important, come visit and see for yourself our facelift.

By Jackie Garbarino
Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

Steven Strom, John Glen’s cousin, and Jackie Garbarino enjoying the Friendship 7 special exhibit at the Museum. Photo courtesy Derek Been.

Steven Strom arrived early Saturday morning to view the museum’s exhibit of his famous cousin’s splashdown near Grand Turk in 1962.  He grew up hearing stories from his mother and from John Glenn himself of the historic orbit of planet Earth.

Steven Strom at the Friendship 7 Splashdown Exhibit. Photo courtesy Derek Been.

Mr. Strom said John was enchanted by the beautiful turquoise waters of our island.  For years Mr. Strom has been planning a trip to the Turks & Caicos but something always made him postpone it.

Finally he made it to Provo and decided to take a day excursion to Grand Turk to visit the museum and our Friendship 7 exhibit.

It was his lucky day as local historian Oswaldo Ariza happened to be at the museum.  Mr. Ariza enhanced the visit with personal stories of John Glenn’s connection to the islands.

Derek Been recorded the visit in photos for his web site www.grandturkevents.com.  He graciously agreed to allow the museum to use some of the photos for this blog.

by Jackie Garbarino
Shop and Volunteer Manager

Dense overgrowth in back of garden before the transformation.

These pictures tell the story of a magical transformation of the back section of the garden from a mass of weeds and rocks into a green sculpture using plants, trees, rocks, metal and gravel.

Conrad Baron designed and is implementing Phase II of the garden with input from Bryan Manco.  Baron and his crew created a drought resistant oasis.  Seamus Day is making new garden benches.

The start of something beautiful.

Of course we are in the baby stages and the plants and trees must grow to maturity before we can enjoy the full beauty and fruits of their efforts.

The purpose is not just aesthetic but also educational.   There will be an outdoor classroom to inspire students and our local gardeners to grow their own fruits & vegetables.

First you plant a tree with the guidance of Conrad Baron.

Recently children in the Junior Warden Summer Program assisted Mr. Baron and Mr. Manco in planting banana trees and other plants.  So the educational aspect has already begun.  Many of the plants will attract butterflies so we will have a butterfly garden to enjoy also.

A large black cast iron pot, found  somewhere between Salt Cay, Simpson Hill and North Creek depending on the local historian, will be a focal point in the back garden.

The infamous pot.

It may have been used for whaling on Salt Cay, cooking food for slaves, boiling pig parts or washing clothes in Grand Turk.  This pot probably was used for all of the above at some point.  What we do know is that it was not used to roast a missionary!

Our director Pat Saxton had a vision to transform the arboretum into a botanical and cultural garden.  She obtained funds from the Grand Turk Cruise Center and Turks & Caicos Government Infrastructure Fund, the Memorial Bench Fund, and the Turks & Caicos National Museum Foundation.

The transformation continues

The garden, in cooperation with the Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs, has received seedlings from the Royal Botanical Garden (Kew Gardens) in the UK to help rescue some of the endangered and endemic plants, so that we can enjoy them for generations to come.   We thank all for helping to turn a vision into a spectacular reality.

Junior Wardens, Mr. Baron and Mr. Manco at the end of a day in the garden.

We look forward to museum members and visitors visiting the new and improved Turks & Caicos National Museum’s Botanical and Cultural Garden.  We know you will enjoy it and appreciate it.

On April 9, 2012 Fred (Fritz) Miller returned to Grand Turk just 2 months shy of his original landing 60 years ago July 7, 1952.  This time he came with his beautiful bride, Phyllis and they were bearing wonderful gifts to add to the museum’s archival history of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

US Air Force Staff Sargent Frederick Miller was part of the Inter-American Geodetic Survey team was given the daunting task of mapping an entire continent. It became apparent during World War II bombing expeditions that adequate maps for most parts of the world did not exist. With the advent of travel by air day and night, it was of great importance to know where the mountains are! So the United States in collaboration with many other countries began the biggest geodetic and mapping programs ever undertaken.

Fred was stationed in North Caicos installing the survey station named Repay 23.  Living conditions were definitely not 5 star.  He lived in a tent, bathed in the sea, traveled by foot or on a sway backed horse and depended on the arrival of an amphibious aircraft for food supplies.  He made friends with a young man named Robert who provided him with fresh conch and fish.  The best part of his 3 month stay.

The gifts to the museum include a hand drawn chart of Secondary Controlled Photography and locations of Control Point Photography prepared by the First Computations Technical Squadron on January 25, 1952, photographs of the survey site and surrounding area as well as local people, Fred’s daily log of the highs and lows of life on an isolated island (we now call it Fred’s Blog), a copy of an article in the March, 1956 issue of National Geographic entitled Men Who Measure the Earth which features Fred and an in depth explanation of the survey project, and last but not least a hand-woven grass mat by Emiy A. Robinson.

She wove her name into the mat along with the inscription Whitby North Caicos. So the mat melds the technical and social history of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

We all enjoyed meeting Fred and Phyllis a lively and friendly couple. We can’t thank them enough for sharing this part of our history that would have been lost if not for their effort to bring these gifts to our museum.  Most of all thanks for putting us on the map–literally!

By Pat Saxton
Director

The Turks and Caicos National Museum was lucky enough to participate in the 50th Anniversary celebration of the splashdown of John Glenn. Appropriately named “ Splashdown Grand Turk” the week long festivities included a Stamp contest, fireworks, naming of John Glenn Drive, science fair, reception at Waterloo, educators from NASA visiting local schools, and NASA Deputy Director, Ms. Janet Petro, and retired Mercury Radar Technician, Mr. Alan Rakofsky arriving on Grand Turk!

Mr. Rakofsky told the Museum staff about life here on Grand Turk in the 1960’s. He is as spry as he was then, and now volunteers at the John F. Kennedy Space Center. We have a volunteer career for you here too Mr. Rakofsky!

Ms. Petro presented a lovely plaque to the TCNM with a first issue stamp commemorating the Mercury splashdown and subsequent trip by John Glenn into space at age 77.

Carnival Corporation spearheaded this celebration and if you are ever on Grand Turk you must stop by the Cruise Center and see the great outdoor space exhibit! New murals were installed during this 50th anniversary celebration!

The Turks and Caicos National Museum is selling commemorative pins with the 50th Anniversary logo. A small amount of pins are being sold, so if you are a NASA nut, now is your time to come to the Museum and purchase a pin! When you do, you will receive a FREE poster of the Turks and Caicos Islands seen from outer space!