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During the recent closure of the museum due to the Safer At Home order, we took advantage of the time to start in on the preliminary demolition and construction work for our Capital Campaign remodel-ing. When you come to the museum you’ll see the “Pardon Our Dust!” signs posted. More work is planned in the near fu-ture, so we’ll keep you posted when that happens. We’re excited to see the start of this project and we hope you’ll enjoy the results once the work is finished. The photo on the left shows the new open space between the Gaslight Gallery and the Historic Preservation Room. The design image below is a view of the proposed new open room from the corner where the Wedding Dress lives. Details are being finalized and reviewed, such as where and how to display the Eight Flags. This is not yet the final version, but it’s exciting to see the potential!

Pardon Our Dust! Museum Construction For Capital Campaign Remodel Underway

The Preservation Room with the cabinets removed. Photo courtesy of Christopher Collins.

View into the proposed newly opened space. Design by Malone Design/Fabrication.

After being closed for over two months due to COVID-19, the Museum slowly began to reopen at the end of May. At that time, our intrepid staff returned to full time duty on site. However, we adopted a more cautious approach to opening our doors to the public. For the past three weeks we have limited public access to only three days a week (10:00-4:00; Thursday, Friday and Saturday). As we become more confident in our ability to provide a safe and healthful atmosphere to our staff, our volunteers and the public, we will expand the Museum’ days of operation. It wasn’t until June 19th that we reintroduced 3rd on 3rd in Baker Hall, and, even then, available seating was highly limited. We plan to reopen Baker Hall to our Brown Bag Lunch series starting on July 1st at noon. Again, seating will be limited. But, as Susan Martin mentioned in our last Newsletter, we have ramped up stories and communications on social media outlets. 3rd on 3rd and Brown Bag Lunch will continue to be available using Twitch. And Josh will continue to create and send out interesting and informative vignettes on Museum items and people who contributed to this Island’s colorful history. You will continue to receive emails of any new vignettes as well as announcements of all upcoming events. Last month we kicked off our Annual Fund Drive in an attempt to offset some of the lost revenue we would have generated through Shrimp Fest and Cottages and Courtyards as well as the entrance fees we

would have collected by being open to the public. I want to thank all of you who responded by renewing your membership or do-nating to the Museum. A special thanks to those who did both! It has certainly helped us maintain our viability. Also last month, inspired by Susan Bonnett, our Board Secretary, members of the Board sent out emails and letters to friends and acquaintances in an effort to increase Museum membership. So far it has resulted in 23 new members. I want to extend a spe-cial welcome to all of you new additions to the Museum family. We took advantage of our recent forced closure to do a little renovation inside the Museum in preparation for the new exhibits scheduled for installation early next year. When you have a few minutes, stop by and take a look. Also in preparation for these new exhibits, we had a building assessment performed by Miranda Architects to identify what work needs to be performed in order to insure the integrity of the building and safeguard our historic documents and artifacts as well as the planned new exhibits. We will be having all critical work performed over the next six months in preparation for our new exhibits opening. I encourage all of you to stop by periodically to see what is happening at the Museum and share with a staff or Board member any ideas you may have for its improvement. While our staff and Board members are extremely intelligent and creative, you bring a different perspective which can be of immense value in determining the future direction to the Museum.

Stay healthy and safe, Rob Hull Board Chair

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD

DUGOUT CANOE FOR NEW EXHIBIT

CHAIR

Rob Hull

We have been fortunate to receive grant funding to host artist Pedro Zepeda here at the Amelia Island Museum of History. Zepeda is an artist who specializes in woodwork-ing and other traditional Seminole arts. The current plan is to host Zepeda while he completes a dug-out canoe that will be part of our new exhibit space displays focusing on First Peoples here on Amelia Is-land and in Florida. He is listed as a speaker on our Event Calendar in September 2020. Photo from History Miami’s feature on artist Pedro Zepeda and his work

https://www.historymiami.org/pedro-zepeda/

WEDNESDAY JULY 1st Brown Bag Lunch at Noon

Outside the Box Our Curator explores the stories behind some of the weird and fascinating objects kept at the museum. The program theme is "In Sickness and Health" and will focus on our local history of medicine, disease outbreaks, and healthcare workers. FRIDAY JULY 17TH

3rd on 3rd at 6:00. Heritage Keepers Interview with the Joan Bean Family. We lost beloved community member Joan Bean before we could rec-ord her story for the Heritage Keepers Project. In the wake of her passing, we have arranged a special memorial inter-view with members of the Bean family who will recall her life and times to be recorded and saved by the museum. SATURDAY AUGUST 1ST

COMMUNITY APPRECIATION DAY Postponed

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 5th Brown Bag Lunch at Noon

TBD FRIDAY AUGUST 21st

3rd on 3rd at 6:00 Legacy: The Harris Twins Story. The Harris Twins are octogenarians and graduates of Peck High School. Seating is first-come/first-served. WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2nd

Brown Bag Lunch at Noon TBD

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18th 3rd on 3rd at 6:00

Pedro Zepeda Canoe Carving Demonstration.

LUIS SAYS: “Interested in games? Ask Thea about our new Boxed Camp!”

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 Curator, Joshua Whitfield, at joshua@ameliamuseum.org or call 904-261-7378 x 102. Seating at all programs is on a first come, first served basis.

JULY • AUGUST • SEPTEMBER CALENDAR

EXECUTIVE BOARD Chairman - Rob Hull Vice-Chair - Bill Tilson Secretary - Susan Bonnett Treasurer - Joe Anderson Past Chair - Susan Martin

BOARD MEMBERS Paul Condit Marsha Dean Phelts

Berta Arias Rob Hicks David Roeser Jim Longacre Peggy Bulger Neil Frink

Medardo Monzon Jennifer Harrison

STAFF Director - Phyllis Davis Media & Operations Manager -

Jennifer England Curator - Joshua Whitfield Education Director - Thea Seagraves Archivist - Ronda Outler Operations Asst. - Christopher Collins Group Tours - Brenda Brubeck

If you’ve been by the museum recently you may have noticed something new by the side of the road on 3rd Street. The Old Nassau County Jail historic marker has been installed! Thanks go out to Tom and Rebecca Raymond, the Historic Markers Project of Nassau County, the Raymond Family, our members and visitors who donated, and also those who donated in memory of Tom after his passing. This marker was part of Tom’s longer term Historic Markers Project of Nassau County that has been documenting historic markers around the island and the county. It is part of his legacy here at the museum.

Current Special Hours! Thursday -Saturday: 10 a.m. -4 p.m.

233 S. 3rd St. 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

Summer is in full swing and it is time for our Annual Fund Drive. You should have already received a letter from the Museum asking you to support our programs such as 3rd on 3rd, Brown Bag Lunch, and Veteran's History Project. You can do this by check or credit card or, there is a third option. You can join the growing ranks of our sustaining donors and we will make a monthly deduction from your designated account. For more information contact Phyllis: phyllis@ameliamuseum.org 904-261-7378, x. 101

JAIL HISTORICAL MARKER INSTALLATION