Tom I are back at Fort Frederica National Monument for an eighth season. Our return to Fort Frederica was up in the air for a long time this year. We had not planned on returning. I was ready for a winter change, and we were confident we would be volunteering at De Soto National Memorial in Bradenton, Florida this year. We told Fort Frederica we couldn’t commit until after we got back from Europe, so if they could fill up all their RV spots, they should go ahead and do so.
And then Hurricane Helene hit the Tampa area. Once power was restored, the Volunteer Coordinator at De Soto let us know that they would be closed, probably for a long time. Their trails were washed away. The Visitors Center was underwater. The RV pad and the Living History area were both destroyed. Boats were washed up on the shore. The park was not safe for visitation and will be closed for a long time to come. It made us think of Scotty’s Castle, which closed in 2015 and still isn’t open for visitation. Nothing moves quickly in the National Park Service.
After a long discussion, and a lot of prayer, Tom and I contacted Fort Frederica National Monument. The Volunteer Coordinator at Fort Frederica told us they had a spot open for the month of January and after February 21. At first we were inclined to just skip it. Moving us and all our living history stuff down for a broken-up period like this is difficult. You just get into a groove working at the park when you have to pack up and move again. But winter is hard on my arthritis and I was ready for a change of scenery, so we decided to try it.
Packing up the RV is always a challenge. The longer we stay in Ohio, the more reluctant we are to load up the RV. The job builds up in our minds until it seems almost overwhelming. In reality it took us about four hours on a Sunday afternoon to pack up. We left early on Monday morning and arrived at Fort Frederica on Tuesday afternoon. In order to avoid the heavy traffic on I-95, we took US 321 through South Carolina, which turned out to be a lovely drive with very little traffic.
We have been to Fort Frederica so many times that it seems our return would be seamless. But every time we come, there are new challenges. This year there are significant staffing issues. Fort Frederica only has one ranger working. We love Bob Lumas, he is one of our favorite rangers. Ranger Bob works really hard, but he can’t cover all the things we are accustomed to doing. All the RV pads are full, so there are plenty of volunteers, but only a ranger can open and close the park, according to the park Superintendent. Consequently, the Visitors Center is now closed on Monday and Tuesday, Ranger Bob’s days off. Two days after Tom and I started working, Ranger Bob got really sick.
The Superintendent was going to shut the park, but Ellen, the bookstore manager, convinced the Superintendent that Ellen and the volunteers could keep the park open through the weekend. None of the manager rangers was willing to come in. Ellen isn’t supposed to come in on the weekends, but she wanted the bookstore open. So Ellen opened and closed the park and the volunteers ran the show during the day.
Tom and I did living history while volunteers Diana, Peggy, and Linda worked in the Visitors Center. With Ellen’s support, we welcomed over 500 visitors and had very good sales in the bookstore over the weekend. Ranger Bob is still out sick, but Chief of Interpretation Sarah is covering for him this week. A new Site Supervisor, Margot, is supposed to be starting next Monday, but she is administration, so it won’t really help the ranger shortage.
One thing we do have plenty of – volunteers. Ed and Debbie from Edmonton, Canada are here through March. Don and Diana from Illinois started in December and will be here through February. Although Don is maintenance, the rest of us are all interpretation volunteers and will be working at the Visitors Center. Tomorrow, Tom and I will start training Debbie, Ed, and Diana in living history. Hopefully they will be able to keep living history going on the weekends during the three weeks Tom and I have to be gone.
No matter how many times you return to a place, things are always changing. Fort Frederica has been especially unlucky in keeping good staff. We are thankful that Ranger Bob is still here and hope that he is able to return to work soon. Until then, the volunteers can keep the park open and accessible to visitors.