Setting the Donkey Cart Free

By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop  and Volunteer Manager

The work to free the donkey cart started in November and ended in the New Year.  It took weeks of work to remove the overgrowth of mother- in-law tongues along the front and side of the museum building.  Each plant has a deep thick root resembling a large carrot and it must all be removed to prevent these mothers from sprouting again.

As you can see in the picture at left, they had grown to the edge of the narrow walkway so there was no way the cart could pass.








We hope we have defeated these mothers but time will tell.  Joseph remains vigilant. 

Joseph is also cultivating a small kitchen garden.  The neighbor behind the museum has donated a papaya seedling and gave us each a papaya from the mother plant.  It was the sweetest treat and we both hope our plant bears similar delicious treats.

Restoring the Queens

By Jackie Garbarino
Museum Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager

Queen Victoria waiting to be restored.

When I began working at the Museum the condition of the Queens’ portraits distressed me. It was sad to see these elegant ladies in such an inelegant state: the frames had worm damage, the matting was water-marked, and the portraits were deteriorating as they were not under glass. Finbar Dempsey remembers these portraits hanging in an administrator’s office and thinks they may have been damaged by one of the many hurricanes we have had over the 47 years he has lived on Grand Turk. Time to do some fixing up, I thought.

I contacted Ian Worth at Greensleeves Frame Shop in Provo for advice and an estimate for putting things right. After sending him a photo and measurements, he gave me a price for restoring the three Queens currently hanging in the museum: Victoria, Mary and the Queen Mum. All are coronation portraits. Then Melanie Clifton-Harvey, our visiting archivist, found Elizabeth hiding in the archival room of the science building. We were very happy to have the current queen to add to the group, and her portrait was in much better condition being the youngest and protected from the elements.

That's me trying to squeeze in with
one of the Queens.

So now Pat Saxton and I set about finding sponsors to pay the piper. I spoke with my husband and we decided to sponsor Queen Victoria and dedicate it to his father, the great Italian actor Massimo Girotti. We thought he would be pleased to be remembered in this way on an island in the Caribbean. When I told Catherine and Mitchell of our plans, they immediately took the plunge and chose to sponsor Elizabeth, followed by Pat and Neil Saxton who came up with the funding for their favorite Queen!

The next hurdle was getting the portraits to Provo; Mitchell to the rescue again. He volunteered to fly the ladies first class in his plane if I went along for the final land delivery to Greensleeves. It was a tight squeeze as the portraits measure 42 x 30 inches.

Mitchell volunteered to fly the Queens to Providenciales
for restoration.  They got first class treatment.

When I delivered two of the portraits to Ian at Greensleeves, I could see by the way his eyes lit up with the challenge that the Queens would be well cared for and lovingly restored. We should have the two ladies back sometime in February via the Mitchell Express. Hopefully we will soon have sponsorship for the last remaining Queen, and can then take Queen Mary and Queen Mum to have them restored together. Anyone interested? Contact me: Jackie Garbarino at (649) 247-2160 or email garbarino.jackie@gmail.com.

Your support of our wonderful museum is always very much appreciated.

A Grave Project for Valued Volunteers

By Pat Saxton
Museum Administrator

The Hutt family carefully cataloged grave sites
at St Thomas Church on Grand Turk.

The Turks & Caicos National Museum has been very fortunate to have a lot of wonderful volunteers doing some very interesting jobs! Among the most interesting is cataloging the grave sites at St. Thomas’ church in Grand Turk. Many of the grave markers have been weathered beyond recognition, so the Hutt Family has been recording the headstones which are still readable, so that there will be a record for the future.

Duncan, Sally and their son Fraser have spent many long hours in the sun so that this bit of history will be saved. They came up with a schematic of the graveyard, and were able to record most of the site, using death records to help identify the graves. These records are now housed within the Museum and should one day find a home in a National Archival Building. The Hutts were in Turks & Caicos doing volunteer work on Middle Caicos for the National Trust, and for their Christmas break, decided to come to Grand Turk to volunteer for the Museum.

Now that is dedication!

Digging in the Garden: Bringing it Back Part 1

By Pat Saxton
Museum Administrator

Mary, Mary, quite contrary. How does your garden grow? This old English children’s rhyme had more to do with politics than gardening—but the Museum’s Arboretum/Botanical Garden is all about the garden!

Through the years the Turks and Caicos National Arboretum has metamorphosed into many things. After its establishment, native trees planted in the garden grew unexpectedly well into a cool, shady forest of green with winding paths and fragrant blossoms, where Museum events were held and people walked.  After Hurricane Ike in 2008, when it was nearly destroyed, the Arboretum was left to fend for itself and further deteriorated. Unfortunately, it had much help from invasive plants as well as non-caring folks who used it as a dumping ground for trash and stolen items.

The botanical and cultural garden will be divided into
zones reflecting the landscape diversity found in the
TCI. It will also eventually include a butterfly garden
and local plants used for medicinal purposes.

Flash forward to August 2010, when a new team of Museum staff saw the endless possibilities for the garden. A proposal was made, and with the help of a local botanist, a scheme was set in motion. With seed money from a Wilmington Hurricane Relief Grant and hopefully other funding, the National Arboretum is changing into the Turks and Caicos Botanical and Cultural Garden.  Oh, and did I mention that all of this work was done with volunteers? From the proposal, to the layout, to the removal of years of garbage, to the lovely benches that were donated by Caribbean Tours International, (see Gazebo Renovation, October 22, 2010), the work has been initiated through the in-kind donations of individuals and companies.

When we started the clean up last Fall, we stumbled across a cash register that had been dumped there after a recent robbery of a famous fried chicken establishment. The Police were called, and after getting the facts, the policewoman started speaking about how lovely the garden used to be and how peaceful it was. We explained that we were trying to turn it around, and she was extremely pleased.

This seems to be the consensus of the island.  The Garden’s focus will be expanded to include many different native plants, including those with uses in the local “bush medicine” pharmacopeia. Well-grown mature trees will be pruned properly and labeled with identification markers, and facilities for caring for the garden will be upgraded. Strategic use of native plants will showcase their value in landscaping to encourage homeowners and businesses to choose landscaping schemes inclusive of TCI’s own botanical heritage.

We hope the Garden will again be a peaceful place for both residents and day visitors to observe and learn about nature, be it the resident yellow crowned night-herons, the numerous butterflies, or whale watching in February. The garden is coming back to life and we hope to improve it into a true national treasure. We are still in the first stages of the transformation. Keep checking the blog for regular updates and when you can, come by and see it for yourself.