Astrolabe
- Sense of Place March 13, 2019 Visits to the National Museum trigger common memories. By Candianne Williams As a museum professional, I get to experience many cultural exchanges between our visitors which makes my own experience very enriching. The TCI National Museum exhibits give them a “sense of place” which Fritz (1981) defines as the specific experience of a person as a result ... Read more about this post
- A Country’s Treasure Trove March 12, 2019 Why national museums and archives are so important. By Vanessa Forbes-Pateman Traditionally, a museum’s role is the housing and protection of cultural and heritage material; preservation and conservation of artifacts of historical or religious value and sentiment; the research and scholarly work associated with those artifacts and public education on and enjoyment of them. While the Turks & ... Read more about this post
- A Glimpse of the Past December 28, 2018 Early photographers on Grand Turk. By Jeffrey Dodge Edmund Neale Coverley, one of the most active early photographers on Grand Turk at the beginning of the 20th century, has been the subject of several past articles in the Astrolabe. He is well known because many of his photographs were used to produce early picture postcards. The earliest postcards ... Read more about this post
- Morning in the Garden of Good and Evil December 28, 2018 Investigating Grand Turk’s Over Island Graveyard. Story & Photos By Matthew A. Williamson, Ph.D. My apologies to the author John Berendt, who penned the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, for only slightly changing his title for this article. I think it’s appropriate though, given the work that I do and where I live. ... Read more about this post
- One Page at a Time September 18, 2018 Digitizing TCI’s archival heritage collections. By Dr. Kelley Scudder-Temple, Dr. Michael P. Pateman and Vanessa Forbes-Pateman Although occupied for more than 300 years, the Turks & Caicos Islands have been historically governed from afar. This absence of direct governance has resulted in limited archival conservation measures, leaving tens of thousands of rare documents in peril. While the Turks ... Read more about this post
- Casualties of War September 17, 2018 The Loyalists’ impact on the Turks & Caicos Islands. By Dr. Charlene Kozy Casualties of war usually are counted as members of the military. In the War for American Independence, the casualty count included civilians that did not agree with the Revolution. The Revolution was a minority movement. One-third of the population at the time were neutral, more ... Read more about this post
- The History Man July 4, 2018 Herbert “Bertie” Sadler made TCI history his life’s work. By Marjorie Sadler ~ Images Courtesy Marjorie Sadler Herbert “Bertie” Sadler, the Turks & Caicos Islands’ own “History Man,” died in 1992 at his home on Grand Turk. He had spent most of his adult life in the Turks Islands and wouldn’t dream of living anywhere else. He ... Read more about this post
- Childhood Memories July 4, 2018 Recollections of growing up on South Caicos. By Emily Malcolm ~ Photos Courtesy Sailrock South Caicos Archival Collection As I took a stroll through my community of South Caicos, I reminisced on my childhood and teenage years. I saw buildings or parts thereof that reminded me of some of the most exciting and joyous experiences in ... Read more about this post
- Window to the Past April 4, 2018 The legacy of Emily Kersteiner. By Emily Malcolm ~ Photos Courtesy Heidi Hertler The Turks & Caicos Islands are literally “Beautiful by Nature” with crystalline waters, white sandy beaches and stunning shoreside terrain. An archipelago of astonishing and well-preserved ecosystems, it is also home to well-preserved historical buildings of Bermudian-styled architecture found on the Salt Islands of ... Read more about this post
- Modern Crusoes January 29, 2018 “Streamlined Pioneers” seek utopia on East Caicos. By Jeffrey Dodge Newspapers all over America called them “Utopians,” “Streamlined Pioneers,” “Modern Crusoes,” “New Life Seekers” and “Colonists.” These were just a few of the monikers given to a group of 19 Californians seeking “to get away from civilization as it now operates for the lesser-privileged.” Group leader Richard ... Read more about this post
- Follow the Chimneys January 29, 2018 How I became an Islander. By Dr. Charlene Kozy Editor’s note: Dr. Charlene Kozy has been contributing articles to Times of the Islands for nearly a decade. They range from a survey of the various flags and emblems used by the country, to detailed histories of the life and times of the Caicos Islands’ Loyalist plantation ... Read more about this post
- Postcard Mania! October 11, 2017 Harriott sisters participated in the 1900s “craze.” By Jeffrey Dodge Old picture postcards from the dawn of the postcard-collecting “craze” are often under-appreciated but valuable historical documents. Those that bear personal messages in addition to period photos are doubly important. The following story by deltiologist (one who collects and studies postcards) Jeffrey Dodge is a case in point. ... Read more about this post
- Library Tales October 10, 2017 There is nothing like a library for making memories. By Pat Saxton, Director, Turks & Caicos National Museum My earliest memory of the neighborhood library was from grade school. Founded in 1875, Bayne Park Library was one of the oldest, scariest buildings in the borough of Belleview, Pennsylvania. Getting a library card was a rite of passage ... Read more about this post
- As Time Goes By . . . June 19, 2017 This beloved “Grandfather” is restored to new life. Story & Photos By Séamus Day, Chairman, Turks & Caicos National Museum Director Patricia Saxton asked me whether I would be able to build a new wooden long case for the Robert Crawford “Grandfather Clock” mechanism generously donated to the Museum by Mr. Hugh Hutchings (featured in the Spring ... Read more about this post
- The First One June 19, 2017 A “Grandfather” of Provo remembers the island’s first vehicle. By Candianne Williams ~ Historical photos courtesy Bengt Soderqvist Today, there are approximately 25,000 vehicles zipping along the network of roads and highways on the island of Providenciales, including personal, rented, corporate and utility vehicles. This stands in stark contrast to November 22, 1966 when there was only ... Read more about this post
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Marta Morton, our ace photographer for all things beautiful in nature photographed this little female Bahama woodstar hummingbird collecting nectar from Ixora flowers by the pool at Harbour Club. View more of her images at www.harbourclubvillas.com
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