Times of the Islands Summer 2017
Presents the "soul of the Turks & Caicos Islands" with in-depth features about local people, culture, history, environment, businesses, resorts, restaurants and activities.
Presents the "soul of the Turks & Caicos Islands" with in-depth features about local people, culture, history, environment, businesses, resorts, restaurants and activities.
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astrolabe<br />
newsletter <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Turks & Caicos National Museum<br />
front street, p.o. box 188, grand turk, turks & caicos islands, bwi<br />
tel 649 946 2160 • fax 649 946 2160 • email info@tcmuseum.org • web www.tcmuseum.org<br />
These gears are from a 225 year-old Grandfa<strong>the</strong>r clock lovingly restored by Séamus Day.<br />
SEAMUS DAY<br />
It’s About Time<br />
By Dr. Donald H. Keith, President, Turks & Caicos National Museum Foundation<br />
While assembling this issue <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Astrolabe, I was struck by how much <strong>of</strong> it is about time. Time is kind<br />
<strong>of</strong> hard to define. It is only a concept, not something you can see, hold in your hand or put in a box. Time<br />
is how we measure change. Without change, time is meaningless.<br />
Séamus Day’s story “As Time Goes By,” about restoring a timepiece made by hand 225 years ago is<br />
a direct result <strong>of</strong> Director Pat Saxton saying, “It’s about time we put that old clock back to work!” It took<br />
a lot <strong>of</strong> time to complete <strong>the</strong> restoration and get <strong>the</strong> mechanism keeping time to within 1.5 seconds per<br />
hour. Candianne William’s story “The First One,” about <strong>the</strong> earliest days <strong>of</strong> development on Providenciales<br />
stems from a conversation with Bengt Soderqvist during which he observed, “It’s about time <strong>the</strong> first ones<br />
got some recognition!”<br />
Recently I told myself, “It’s about time I visited <strong>the</strong> Victoria Library to see <strong>the</strong> old documents <strong>the</strong>y have<br />
in storage.” But I didn’t, and now it’s too late. The library burned to <strong>the</strong> ground on March 9. All <strong>the</strong> old<br />
documents were lost. That’s ano<strong>the</strong>r thing about time: it doesn’t have a reverse gear. It does not <strong>of</strong>fer<br />
second chances. Lost opportunities do not circle back to present <strong>the</strong>mselves again.<br />
Speaking <strong>of</strong> opportunities, isn’t it about time we built a museum on Provo? This is <strong>the</strong> question <strong>the</strong><br />
Museum’s directors have been asking <strong>the</strong> community for several years. Now it is one <strong>of</strong> newly-elected<br />
Chairman Séamus Day’s priorities going forward, working with architect Ron Shaw. We hope to be able<br />
to present a comprehensive interior and exterior design in <strong>the</strong> next issue <strong>of</strong> Astrolabe. a<br />
<strong>Times</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Islands</strong> <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2017</strong> 51
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