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John Muir (1838-1914) was a Scottish-American Naturalist and

environmental philosopher, known for his

natural adventure books, and his early

advocacy of preservation. Muir was the

founder and first president of the Sierra

Club. His travels brought him to Florida in

1867, where he undertook a journey from

Fernandina to Cedar Key, following the

path of the Florida Railroad. He recorded

the experience in his book A Thousand-

Mile Walk to the Gulf Coast.

“October 15. To-day, at last, I reached

Florida, the so-called “Land of Flowers,”

that I had so long waited for, wondering if

after all my longings and prayers would

be in vain, and I should die without a

glimpse of the flowery Canaan. But here

it is, at the distance of a few yards!--a

flat, watery, reedy coast, with clumps of

mangrove and forests of moss-dressed,

strange trees appearing low in the

distance. The steamer finds her way

among the reedy islands like a duck, and

I step on a rickety wharf. A few steps more

take me to a rickety town, Fernandina. I

discover a baker, buy some bread, and

without asking a single question, make for

the shady, gloomy groves.”

ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY 2 0 1 7 Join Us As We Focus On Our Local Natural History With A Year Of Temporary Exhibits & Programs

HOLIDAY HOME TOUR

Exploring Our Natural History N O V E M B E R • F E B R U A R Y High School Student Exhibit “Foodways” F E B R U A R Y • MAY It Came From The Attic : Fossils M A Y • A U G U S T Gerbing Gardens A U G U S T • N O V E M B E R

FLORIDA HUMANITIES COUNCIL SPEAKER SERIES ON NATURAL HISTORY

February 17th at 6pm When Manatees were Sea Cows: How Floridians Coped when Times were Hard with Janie Gould This program explores some of the inventive ways in which Floridians survived during the Great Depression and later in the 20th century. The presentation will focus primarily on food, especially items not generally consumed today, such as sandhill cranes, gopher tortoises, raccoons and armadillos. It will also include a woman’s memories of how her unemployed father was able to put food on the table during the Great Depression by collecting Spanish moss and selling it for use as mattress stuffing.

May 19th at 6pm Billy’s Wonderful Performances: The Art and Science of William Bartram with Mallory O’Connor This lecture by Mallory O’Connor explores the art of William Bartram and especially the images that are based on his travels in the Southeast between 1765 and 1775. Working under often extreme conditions, undeterred by raging rivers, wild beasts, exotic diseases and hostile natives, Bartram covered thousands of miles throughout the Southeast and drew, painted and described hundreds of plants and animals, and provided maps and field notes that formed the basis for America’s natural history.

2 0 1 7 TEMPORARY EXHIBITION SCHEDULE

New Year greetings from a very busy Museum. In December we had another very successful Holiday Home Tour. This is a great fund-raiser for our museum. Many thanks to Carla Foreman, Lee Hamer, and the many willing volunteers. Homes have already been selected for HHT 2017! The year ended with a lighthearted look at past Christmases and tra-ditions at the December Brown Bag Lunch (BBL) which is al-ways held on the first Wednesday of each month at noon. On the third Friday of each month at 6pm (3rd on 3rd) many of us enjoy a glass of wine while listening to the speaker. At these events the New Year has kicked off with interesting, thought-provoking topics ranging from a Civil War soldier’s dress and kit, to Water Ethics in Florida, the Mermaids of Weeki Wachee and to round out January we were honored to have Judge Henry Lee Adams and Bill Sheppard share their experiences during the Civil Rights Era. In February, we all thoroughly enjoyed Ann Masters (Maestro) sharing tales of her Menorcan (Minorcan) ances-tors and her poems of the Menorcan people. Sorry if you missed this. All events (including BBL and 3rd on 3rd) for the next three months are on the website or you can pick up a list of upcoming events at the front desk. Spring comes early to Amelia Island and two very popular Springtime fund-raising events will soon be upon us. On Fri-day February 24th the museum’s 15th Annual Golf Tourna-ment will take place with a pre-tournament reception party the evening of 23rd (all details on the museum’s website). Also mark your calendars for the first weekend in May when the Museum’s renowned mouthwatering gumbo will be on sale at the Shrimp Festival. A delicious way to support the museum! The museum’s Annual General Meeting will take place in Baker Hall at 5pm on March 27th. We have five excellent nominees coming before the Board. Your attendance is most welcome. You support the museum through your member-ship. It is extremely important to us and I do hope you were all able to attend the ‘thank you to members’ party, Roses and Rose´. It was fun to enjoy tasty nibbles and a glass of wine while greeting museum friends and becoming ac-quainted with those we have only nodded to across Baker Hall! The museum is very grateful to each of you for your financial and volunteer support. With your support, and the hard-working staff that we are so fortunate to have, this small museum will continue to go from strength to strength!

-Jennifer Harrison, Board Chair

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR MEMBERS ENJOY THE ROSES AND ROSE’ MEMBER PARTY ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH

register your child by going to www.ameliamuseum.org THURSDAY FEBRUARY 23RD Golf Tournament Pre-Party 5pm FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24TH 15th ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT WEDNESDAY MARCH 1ST Brown Bag Lunch at Noon with Emily Jane Murray - Archeology month! This program is free and open to the public. WEDNESDAY MARCH 15TH UnGeek Your Technology With Deryck Burnett Premier Workshop - GMAIL at noon. $15 per person. FRIDAY MARCH 17TH 3rd on 3rd at 6:00 With Frank Ofeldt. Civil War Artillery and Munitions. Seating is first-come/first-served. MONDAY MARCH 27TH ANNUAL MEETING, BAKER HALL 5PM WEDNESDAY APRIL 5TH Brown Bag Lunch at Noon TBA. This pro-gram is free and open to the public. FRIDAY APRIL 21TH 3rd on 3rd at 6:00 With Dr. Rodger Smith. Women of the American Revolution

LUIS SAYS: “Keep an eye open for Summer Camp sign-ups!”

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Chairman - Jennifer Harrison Vice-Chair - Allen Lennon Secretary - Susan Martin Treasurer - Joe Anderson Past Chair - Trish Dooley

STAFF

Director - Phyllis Davis Creative Director - Liz Taylor Curator - Gray Edenfield Education Director - Thea Seagraves Collections Manager - Jayne Nasrallah Operations Asst- Christopher Collins Group Tours - Brenda Brubeck

Special events and programs are subject to scheduling and cost changes, for the most up-to-date information please visit our website www.ameliamuseum.org or contact our Education Director, Gray Edenfield at gray@ameliamuseum.org or call 261.7378 x.102. Seating at all programs is on a first come, first served basis.

Seating is first-come/first-served. WEDNESDAY MAY 3RD Brown Bag Lunch at Noon. TBA. This program is free and open to the public. FRIDAY - SUNDAY MAY 5TH, 6TH & 7TH SHRIMP FEST FRIDAY MAY 19TH 3rd on 3rd at 6:00 Billy’s Wonderful Performances: The Art and Science of William Bartram with Mallory O’Connor. This program is made possible with a grant from the Florida Humanities Council. Seating is first-come/first-served.

SHRIMP FEST MUSEUM GUMBO BOOTH THE AMELIA ISLAND MUSEUM OF HISTORY WILL BE CLOSED SATURDAY, MAY 6th AND SUNDAY, MAY 7th FOR SHRIMPFEST. PLEASE VISIT OUR GUMBO BOOTH IN FRONT OF THE PALACE SALOON ON 2ND STREET. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER TO HELP, PLEASE CONTACT THEA AT 261.7378 X 105

FEBRUARY • MARCH • APRIL • MAY CALENDAR

BOARD MEMBERS

Paul Condit Neil Frink

Edgar Johnson Jerry Kawecki Jim Longacre Judy Pillans Bill Tilson

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 1ST Brown Bag Lunch at Noon Special guest Dr. Ann Browning-Masters presents "Floridanos, Menorcans, Cattle-Whip Crackers: Poetry of St. Augustine" Seating is first-come/first-served. This program is free and open to the public. TUESDAY FEBRUARY 7TH Veterans History Project Luncheon at noon, at the Fernandina Beach Golf Club (2800 Bill Melton Rd). The special guest will be author and retired Naval Commander J.R. Sharp. Tickets are $20 and available at the Mu-seum. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 11TH Roses & Rose Member Party. 4pm to 6pm at the museum. FRIDAY FEBRUARY 17th 3rd on 3rd/Exhibit Opening at 6:00 When Manatee were Sea Cows: How Floridians Coped When Times Were Hard with Janie Gould. This program is free and open to the public and made possible with a grant from the Florida Humanities Council. Seating is first-come/first-served. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 18th Free Kids Mini-Camp from 9-12. Please

Monday -Saturday: 10 a.m. -4 p.m. Sundays: 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

233 S. 3rd St. Historic Fernandina Beach Florida 32034

Adults - $8.00 Students - $5.00 Active Military - $5.00 5 and Under - Free Docent led tours at 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Included with Admission

Phone - 904.261.7378 Fax - 904.261.9701 E-mail - info@ameliamuseum.org

DEVELOPMENT CORNER

It was so wonderful to see all of you at the Member Party on February 11th, what a great time we had! If you have neighbors or friends who are not members I encourage you to invite them to join so they, too, can enjoy our many wonderful programs and events. It is as easy as going to our website and clicking on the Become a Member link at the bottom of the page or simply come into the museum and let the Greeter know you would like to join. And of course you can always call us at 261-7378 and we will be happy to help. Contact Phyllis Davis at 261-7378, x. 101 or phyllis@ameliamuseum.org.

REGISTER NOW BY VISITING WWW.AMELIAMUSEUM.ORG OR BY CALLING GRAY EDENFIELD AT 261.7378 EXT 102