INSTRUC`NS
Transcription
INSTRUC`NS
The Friends of Charles Towne Landing VOL. 38 • NO. 2 INSTRUC’NS SPRING 2014 The Friends of Charles Towne Landing stress CTL’s history, and continue a historical tradition in this newsletter’s name. “Instruc’ns” was the title given to the first communications that passed between the colonists and Lords Proprietors. Bear Awareness During the month of May the Animal Forest highlighted Bear Awareness Month. This week long event informed participants on the proper way to camp in bear country. For example, never stash snacks inside your tent. Always keep them 200 feet away from your campsite. Food preparation areas and washing stations should also be no less than 200 feet from your active campsite. Bear spray can provide protection to campers and hikers by blasting a strong pepper spray, which temporarily blinds the advancing bear and numbs their senses. However, the spray is only effective for close range confrontation. It’s best to avoid such circumstances, by being aware of your surroundings and practicing safe camping and hiking habits. A couple hints include: hike in groups, and only during daylight hours. Be aware of bear signs. Claw marks, tracks, or fur on the bark of trees can indicate a bear has been in the surrounding area. Charles Towne Landing’s resident black bears were more than happy to demonstrate what happens when you don’t follow good camping practices! They quickly demolished a mock campsite the zookeepers created within their habitat, and tore the tent into shreds. Seeing first-hand the destruction a bear can inflict on a campsite in a matter of minutes, visitors took away an appreciation for their strength, and agility as well as smart tips on how to keep their camping trip fun, and bear-free. ▲ Jillian Davis Become an The next Friends of Charles Towne Landing Adoptive Parent of an animal today Board Meeting will be July 15th If any member would like to submit an topic or item for the Board’s consideration, it should be sent to: garynichols1@bellsouth.net The Friends of Charles Towne Landing PO Box 31731 Charleston, SC 29417 Contact Us Today! Jillian DeLorge-Davis 843.573-8517 ctlandingaf@scprt.com PAGE 2 INSTRUC’NS PRESIDENT’S CORNER In this issue of the Newsletter, you will find articles by Board of Directors members Sarah Stuhr, Betty White, Haywood Titchener and Lisa Deaton; Park Manager Rob Powell, and Animal Forest Curator Jillian DeJorge-Davis. Their articles cover the broad spectrum of activities and programs at the Landing, and reflect the significant role of the Landing in the life of our community, region and state. As a result, and because of the dedication and hard work of the staff, our volunteers and members of the Friends organization, Charles Towne Landing State Historic Park enjoyed its best financial year ever, passing the one million dollar mark in revenue and becoming 90% self-sustaining. The Board of Directors has engaged Don Richardson, of Your WebPartners to manage our website, maintain our social media contacts, and keep our calendar up to date. Please visit our website at friendsofcharlestonlanding.com find out more about what’s going on at the Landing and to post your own comments, messages and suggestions. I’m pleased to report that Jennie Ramsey, the Administrative Assistant in the office is back full time after her recent hospitalization and recovery. Welcome back, Jennie.▲ Gary Nichols Race The Landing 5K Series Another Big Success! 5K 2014 ANNUAL RACE SERIES ONLY 1 RACE LEFT!!! July 10, 2014 EACH RACE WILL HAVE A THEMED EVENING REGISTRATION INCLUDES DINNER & BEER! CHARLES TOWNE LANDING Race the Landing races are going GREAT!! Health Charleston Challenge and Roper Saint Frances Hospital has joined the fun! Our timing company has joined the fun by offering $200 to any Male or Female that can break the race the landing record. At the June 5th race, Michael Banks set a record of 14:41 and Catlin Judd 18:22. Both received $200. Second Honey has agreed to play every race. Kids and family LOVE the music and fun. Joseph is providing homebrew for 2 of the races. I consistanly hear great things about these races, food and our volunteers! We are making a difference!▲ Lisa Deaton The members of “Friends of Charles Towne Landing” invite you to add us to your list of friends. You may do so by completing the Membership Application and mailing it to the address given or visit our website at friendsofcharlestownelanding.org and complete the membership application. THURSDAY EVENINGS 5K RACES BEGIN AT 7:00PM THEMED POST-RACE PARTIES HISTORICALLY HIP AWARDS FOR INDIVIDUAL RACE & SERIES KIDS FUN RUN starts at 6:15PM Bring the whole family! Membership Application Name Street Address City State Telephone ( ) Membership Level Zip Code E-Mail Amount RaceTheLanding.com Date Mail to: Friends of Charles Towne Landing • P.O. Box 31731 • Charleston, SC 29417-1731 info@RaceTheLanding.com INSTRUC’NS PAGE 3 First Annual Volunteer-Staff Appreciaion Dinner a A Special Thanks Rob Powell with Jillian DeLorge-Davis The first annual Volunteer-Staff Appreciation Dinner, following many years of honoring volunteers only was hosted by the Friends of Charles Towne Landing on Wednesday, April 23, 2014. The Friends wanted to honor not only our dedicated volunteers but to include our hardworking staff. No organization is ever a success without the dedication of the many volunteers and a committed staff. Founders Hall’s screen porch was the perfect setting for a spring “Lowcountry Boil.” As in years past, Ben Moise donated the food, his time and cooking expertise for the dual celebration. Following our wonderful meal, Rob Powell, Park Manager, presided over the Awards Ceremony and the presentation of door prizes donated by local businesses. (see box below for our donors) During the ceremony Jordan Smith was recognized for his work in the Animal Forest, Paul Carpenter for his contribution to Interpretation and Richard Ketcham to the following businesses for their donations to our Volunteer and Staff Appreciation Dinner. Please be sure to thank them whenever you are in their establishments. Anchor Automotive Black Bean Co Bear E Patch Café Bessinger’s Barbecue Blue Rose Café California Dreaming Five Guys Glass Onion Groucho’s Deli Kickin Chicken Low Countr y Diamond and Gold Ms. Rose’s Northbridge Exxon Ser vice Center Ride Bikes Sesame Burgers & Beer Sojourn Cof fee T Bonz The Gathering Three Little Birds Triangle Char & Bar Ye Old Fashioned Ice Cream Zen Asian Fusion The Semi-Annual Belk Charity Event was held on May 3rd, 2014. The Sale was a private, four-hour sale was dedicated to supporting local non-profit organizations. Participating charities sold $5 tickets to this event. Charles Towne Landing kept 100% of the proceeds from every ticket sold at the Visitor’s Center. Purchasing these tickets allowed park patrons to show their support for CTL and enjoy store-wide discounts! Total ticket sales for the Visitor’s Center was $215.00! The final dollar amount earned from the latest Belk Charity event, from Friends of Charles Towne Landing, has yet to be announced. It is with hope that the final tally will be made available by the end of June 2014. Our goal was to raise $425.00. Thank you to Pat Ezell and Paige Herrin Stowell for volunteering for being “Belk Runners”! The next Belk Charity event will be held in late October or early November 2014. Emails and other notices will be sent to FoCTL members once the next date is set, and when Belk Charity tickets become available again! They will always be sold at the Volunteer Center. Late Fall will be the best time to get an early start on your Holiday Shopping! Support our neighborhood park by purchasing a ticket and participating in the Belk Charity Event!▲ Haywood Titchener (L-R) Paul Carpenter, Barbra Aldrich, Rob Powell, Jordan Smith, and Richard Ketcham for his time and energy in Visitor Services. Barbra Aldrich from Archaeology was honored as the “Al Cannon Volunteer of the Year.” 2014 marked the first year of selecting an employee of the year. Jillian DeLorge-Davis, Animal Forest Curator, received the inaugural “Veronica Robinson Employee of the Year” award named for the employee who has the longest tenure in the history of the Landing of 28 years and still counting. Charles Towne Landing is extremely fortunate to have exceptional volunteers and staff. During 2013, our volunteers devoted a total of 7992 hours to support the activities and programs at The Landing! If you would like to become a volunteer, please contact Caroline Thibault at cwthibault@yahoo. com or301-233-5621. If you have not been to the Landing recently, please come and see everyone in action.▲ Sarah Stuhr Become a “Friend” of Charles Towne Landing The non-profit Friends of Charles Towne Landing organization has a mission to perpetuate and celebrate the birthplace of South Carolina above and beyond the means and resources given to the park by the state of South Carolina. Our programs include the living history of this special waterfront acreage. We have refurbished the Adventure, a reproduction 17th century cargo vessel and are re-creating the original palisade wall. We support the Animal Forest that is the home of many species indigenous to the Lowcountry when the settlers arrived in 1670. You can be part of the Animal Forest by adopting an animal. The park needs YOU! We welcome new volunteers. There are many different ways to volunteer at a park as diverse as Charles Towne Landing. Whatever your talent or time is, we have a place for you here! Please consider joining The Friends of Charles Towne Landing. We are a non-profit organization that is supported only by generous supporters like you. Be a part of history by joining us in the preservation of the birthplace of Charles Towne. ▲ PAGE 4 INSTRUC’NS CHASING RAINBOWS Wish List THE END…AND A NEW BEGINNING! It had never, ever occurred to me during the four years since becoming an almost daily walker in Charles Towne Landing and proudly wearing my “self-dubbed” title, #1 Rainbow Chaser, that I would NOT be able to rainbow chase regularly. But my regular rainbow chasing on No. 1 Fountain, located in the lagoon next to the Legare Waring House, ended in May, 2013, and lasted until the second “Race The Landing” Race, May, 2014. #1 Fountain was installed in early 2010 and after a couple of years of continual running, it would develop some mechanical problems, have to be taken out of the lagoon and go to the repair shop for a few days. And those guys responsible for repairs under that five-year warranty became less eager to respond promptly and efficiently. A year ago the fountain was removed for repairs and after reinstallation, it was different. It did not make rainbows anymore. The waterflow was different with the height very controlled, no water mist rose from the center, there was louder mechanical running noise and it behaved totally differently. The fountain’s failure to make rainbows was totally incomprehensible and devastating. It ran for a few weeks and developed more difficulties. It was shut down. Months passed without progress. I think in early April, Rob Powell told me they had found a company in Georgetown that would honor the warranty and make the necessary repairs. The local maintenance guys took it out of the water and transported it to Georgetown. Upon inspection, they immediately found that after the repairs a year before, one of the important parts had been reinstalled upside down. This error explained and caused the severe change in the fountain’s flow, level of noise, performance. etc. And that was why it quit making rainbows. When I arrived at Founder’s Hall to work the Race The Landing second race May 8, Rob told me the fountain had been installed that day. When the shuttle dropped me at my water station, I raced the few feet to the lagoon. I had heard the sound of the water flowing before getting there, but to see the fountain again in all its grandeur was totally awe- some. I was “over the rainbow” with happiness. The next morning I was out very early for my walk. I needed to rainbow chase again to discover the time the sun was located in the right spot to see the color, how long it lasted, exactly where the color was visible, etc. For the past year it had not mattered what time I walked. There was no urgent reason to get up and get going early. Now I have a schedule to meet with a narrow time frame. I enjoyed the rainbows on the No. 2 Fountain at the Visitor Center, but they are predictable and not a challenge to see. No. 2 Fountain had also given problems during this period. The water flow had dropped until finally there was hardly any. The maintenance group pulled that fountain out of the water, cleaned it, performed appropriate maintenance, reinstalled it, and that fountain is performing better than ever. It was surreal; for several days no fountain flowed at Charles Towne Landing. So, on that Friday morning I confirmed that #1 Fountain still makes rainbows. The sun is in position by 8:55 am to cause color on the left side of the fountain; the sun moves left fairly rapidly and allows all of the colors to arrive. Show’s over by about 9:15 am. That is a much shorter time frame than I remember previously, because I could follow the color around the yard of the Legare-Waring House until about 10 am. My daily “chasin’” should reveal the effects of time of year, etc. The sun must be brilliant to cause brilliant colors on the fountain. These conditions are not available every day. I find this rainbow chasing fascinating and addictive. I was distracted and delighted by five Canada geese loitering on the edge of the lagoon. They were around for a couple of days and then disappeared. I had heard a sad story that one of the Canada geese had been widowed. My time spent at CTL is always fascinating and rewarding with unexpected surprises. But rainbow chasing is just the best thing of all! ▲ The End Best Wishes, Betty P. White Due to the the continued success of the “Race the Landing” 5K Race Series, we have been able to purchase $10,000 worth of much-needed items for the Park. However, there are a few things we still need. If you can help with any of these items, please contact Park Manager, Rob Powell 852-4200 or rpowell@scprt.com (For complete “Wish List”, contact Rob Powell) The PARK is in need of: Commercial Weed Trimmer $300 Pole Chain Saw $550 Water Trough Pools for Puma and Bear Habitats $3000 Animal Transport Trailer (box trailer) $3500 PTO Blower $3000 Animal Scale $300 Riding Mower $12,000 Handicapped Accessible Shuttle Cart $8000 Barrels for History Exhibits $1000 School Group Educational Booklet Supply $1500 Animal Forest Exhibit Wayside $1500 You! Thank