This year Tom and I got to help with Archaeology Education Field Trips at Fort Frederica National Monument (FOFR). After two years without field trips, it was nice to work with school groups again. The last time we had field trips at FOFR was in 2019 and Ranger Ellen Strojan was in charge of them. …
From National Parks
Postcards from the Edge of Fort Frederica
Tom and I had a new experience this year at Fort Frederica National Monument: we are now featured on some postcards. Tom, of course, being the diva that he has become while in British uniform, is on three of the new postcards while I am just on one. And my face doesn’t show in any …
Colonial Day at Fort Frederica National Monument
Colonial Day is one of our favorite days at Fort Frederica National Monument. This is our fifth season at Fort Frederica and we recently worked at our fourth Colonial Day. We didn’t have a Colonial Day in 2020 or 2021, so it was good to be able to return to it this year. Colonial Day …
Miscellaneous Jobs at Fort Frederica National Monument
Tom and I have been doing a variety of miscellaneous jobs at Fort Frederica National Monument this year. I have more of a routine than Tom does because he usually tries to avoid working at the Visitors Center. This year he has been less successful at that than in years past. My work week basically …
Canaveral National Seashore in Florida
Tom and I recently took a day trip south to Canaveral National Seashore in Florida, about a three hour drive from St. Simons Island. We had planned to go there several times before but something always interfered. This time we picked a day and stuck with it, even though it ended up being rainy and …
Denise and Bob Verba: Maintenance Volunteers
The only people that have volunteered more seasons at Fort Frederica National Monument (FOFR) than Tom and me are Denise and Bob Verba. They are in their seventh season of volunteering at Fort Frederica and we are only in our fifth. The Verbas started here one year before we did and came last year, when …
Wattle Fencing Around the Colonial Garden
Have you ever heard of wattle fencing? I had not until Tom was researching a project here at Fort Frederica and decided to use this method. Wattle fencing is a woven, light-weight, sturdy method of making permanent or movable fencing. It is an ancient, English method and was used by British colonists all over the …
African American Festival at Fort Frederica
The last Saturday of February, as we have for five of the last six years, Fort Frederica hosted an African American Festival. This is the culmination of Black History month for us. Two years ago we dedicated the Abbott Cemetery and had an attendance of 900 people. This year’s attendance was much smaller, perhaps reflective …
Goodbye to the Jennings
Last week I said goodbye to the Jennings. Steve and Susan have been interpretive volunteers here at Fort Frederica with us since the second week of January. They were last-minute replacements for another couple, but they came with enthusiastic and inquisitive spirits. We knew when they came that they would only be able to be …
Linda Usrey, Local Volunteer at Fort Frederica
Linda Usrey is another one of the volunteers that Tom and I work with here at Fort Frederica National Monument. Unlike the RV volunteers who come and go, Linda is a local. She volunteers two days a week for a couple of hours each day and for special events. Linda and her husband, Dave, moved …