Times of the Islands Winter 2016/17

astrolabe newsletter of the Turks & Caicos National Museum
promote, protect and preserve the history of the TCI, the
government will step up. Realizing this will not happen
if Islanders do not understand and appreciate the importance
of the Museum, we are concentrating on outreach
programs throughout the Islands.
The Museum’s budget is unbelievably small, given its
level of activity and accomplishments. It has only one fulltime
employee, Director Pat Saxton on Grand Turk and
a part-time museum representative on Providenciales,
Candianne Williams. Our guides are all part-time. A handful
of loyal volunteers cheerfully provide assistance with
everything from making building repairs to producing the
Astrolabe and maintaining our website.
Exploring, collecting, preserving, and disseminating:
everything the Museum does is for the Greater Good. We
have to keep following the road and finding the wherewithal
along the way to continue the journey—which is
where you come in. The Museum needs your support. It
will not survive without it. Financial assistance is crucial,
but we also need volunteers, donors of in-kind services,
old photographs, and authentic items for fitting out the
Caicos Heritage House.
Yes, it has been and is an ambitious journey. We are
fast approaching yet another fork in the road, and the
path we take will be critical. One path, with infrastructure
properly funded by the government or a large endowment,
leads to the realization of our vision for building
and operating the Museum on Provo, the Caicos Heritage
House and Cultural Garden, and National Archive. The
other path, with no reliable source of infrastructure funding,
leaves the Museum unable to grow and stranded on
Grand Turk to brave the vicissitudes of fortune while primarily
serving passengers from the Cruise Ship Center.
Beautiful by nature—enthralling by history
Life may be a journey rather than a destination, but most
of us do not just drift aimlessly. We have places to go
and things to do. Our journey becomes a series of destinations.
The people we meet, adventures we have, the
things we do, the joy and tragedy we experience, our
successes and failures, are what comprise our lives. In
the end, the story of that journey is all any of us leaves
behind.
Each of us has his or her own story, but the stories of
all the people who ever lived here, when combined, form
its history. The ultimate destination the Directors see for
This entry is from the Register of Marriages, St. John’s Parish, commencing
1865. Its existence proves the need for a National Archive.
the Museum is its secure, continued existence collecting,
preserving and disseminating knowledge of the cultural
and natural history of the Islands in perpetuity for generations
to come. a
For more information or to volunteer time, talent, or
resources, contact Museum Director Pat Saxton at (649)
946-2160 or email info@tcmuseum.org.
Join the Museum
Become a Member and receive a year’s subscription
to Times of the Islands (which includes Astrolabe),
free admission to the Museum, and a Members’
Discount in the Museum Shop.
Senior (62+) $35
Individual $50
Family/Friend $100
Sponsor $250
Contributor $500
Partner $750
To join*, send name, address, email, and type of
membership, along with cheque or money order
payable to “Turks & Caicos National Museum” to:
Friends of the Turks & Caicos National Museum
39 Condesa Road
Santa Fe, NM 87508 USA
Or, visit:
www.tcmuseum.org/membership-support/
*For U.S. residents, support of the Museum is tax-deductible via
Friends of the Turks & Caicos National Museum, Attn: Donald H.
Keith, 39 Condesa Road, Santa Fe NM 87508, our affiliated institution
and registered 501 (c) (3).
MELANIE CLIFTON-HARVEY
Times of the Islands Winter 2016/17 75