Treasure Beach News 2009

Beginning Tuesday, June 2nd, work is finishing up on Barco Road for new water lines. We are being told that in about two weeks when the pipes are being laid that we will have to start boiling our water. If work is being done on your street and you want a heads up on what to do and what to expect , read Larry Panchuck's posting entitled "Treasure Beach has Fresh Water" on May 12, 2009 (www.treasurebeachflorida.com). As this article is written a month in advance, unless our neighbors in the community send in special news and upcoming events in this column, most of the information here is of general interest. Of course, if you have any ideas or would like to contribute, just let us know. Our new website, www.treasurebeachflorida.com, is where you will find the most up-to-date information of what might be going on in Treasure Beach. There always seems to be a lot of things going on in and around St. Augustine. Some of these are even free so I hope you get a chance to take advantage of all that is being offered. Friends visited last week and we took them to Fort Matanzas for a visit. I never seem to get tired of going there. The trip across the river is always enjoyable. We also enjoyed a few hours at the Blue Crab Festival in Palatka and a visit to Corky Bell's Restaurant in East Palatka. Both events were well worth the trip. In Florida, our hurricane season officially starts June 1st and ends November 30th. On June 3rd, between 10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., a number of St. Johns residents attended a "Hurricane Party" sponsored by the St. Johns County Extension Office. Besides helpful workshops on hurricane preparedness, lunch was provided along with a special introduction and tour of the new location for the St. Johns County Emergency Operations Center. Vendors were also available to show ways to renovate homes to reduce the damaging effects of high winds. Thanks to all the extension office staff and volunteer Master Gardeners for providing this very helpful information. Many times residents of Treasure Beach have expressed notes of concern about loose animals in our community. I have witnessed this myself during some of my daily walks along Costanero Road. I have also seen owners walking their pets on a leash who still fail to take responsibility to clean up after them. When I go walking I always carry a few plastic bags with me. No one likes to step in animal excrements left along side the roadway. But silly me! I know very well that the person(s) who should be reading this paragraph are probably not! In August, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, will hold a ten-week course on American Sign Language, Part I. The class meets on Tuesdays from 4:00 – 5:30 PM. If you are interested, please contact the school at 904-827-2221. We have a wonderful resource in our community should anyone have an interest in learning more about communicating with the deaf. I read the following article in American Profile. It is of general interest. Perhaps one of you will get inspired to write something for your family. Sharing Family Stories (contributed by Tricia Sanders, a freelance writer in Duluth, GA) "Each generation creates a well of wisdom, stories of a lifetime that should be shared with the next generation. But with everyone living such busy lives, and with families spread across the world, we seldom take time convey the stories that connect us with our past and future generations." "Memoir writing is one way to ensure that your children and grandchildren have a link to their family's past. It's a process of capturing stories you remember being told as a child, as well as the ones you create in your own life, and putting them in an enduring format." "Memoir writing should begin by breaking down the process into bite-sized, manageable pieces, making it a project you look forward to completing. Here are three ideas to get you started: Use photographs – Choose 10 of your favorite photographs representing different time periods in your life. Take each photo and write down the details recalled and memories evoked by the picture. Describe the people, the place, the emotions of the day, and time when that particular memory was captured on film. Recreate as many details as possible. Attach the photograph to the paper you wrote the story on. After you have completed all 10, have them made into a spiral bound book at your local office supply store or copy center. Create your family tree – Draw a family tree, beginning with your great-grandparents. After you have listed everyone on the tree and shown how each person is related, write a story describing each person you listed. Create a timeline – Label one blank sheet of paper for each decade you have lived – zero to 10 years on the first page, 11 to 20 years on the second page, and so on. On each page, choose two memories from that particular decade and make a note, including the year, your age, and the event. Continue the process through each decade. Once you have finished, go back through your notes and write a story describing each event. You might include the year a sibling was born, the first date with your spouse or the birth of your first child. You can even invite other relatives to make notes on the timeline to help trigger more details of the memories you are working to describe. The most precious gift you can give to anyone is yourself – your stories are ones that will be shared for generations to come. Take the time now to ensure the past is remembered in the future. Remember to start small, with one project at a time. Before you know it, you'll have volumes of family memories ready to share." (Contributed to American Profile by Tricia Sanders, a freelance writer in Duluth, GA) Historic July – Important Events 1619 – the first American legislative assembly, the House of Burgesses, was convened in Jamestown, VA. 1775 – the U.S. Post Office was established with Postmaster Benjamin Franklin. 1776 – the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to George Washington's troops. 1777 – British troops captured Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution. 1812 – U.S. forces invaded British-ruled Canada during the War of 1812. 1829 – William Burt received a patent for his "typographer," a forerunner of the typewriter. 1848 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott led the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY. 1861 – the first torpedo attack of the Civil War took place. 1863 – rioting against Civil War military draft broke out in New York City. 1870 – Georgia became the last Confederate state readmitted to the Union. 1881 – President James Garfield was fatally shot by Charles Guiteau. 1881 – outlaw Billy the Kid was fatally shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett. 1928 – the antiwar Kellogg-Briand Pact was proclaimed by President Herbert Hoover. 1942 – gasoline rationing began in the U.S. during World War II. 1945 – the Senate voted 89-2 to ratify the United Nations Charter. 1951 – J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye was published. 1952 – Puerto Rico became a self-governing commonwealth of the U.S. 1969 – the Apollo II astronauts blasted off from the moon after 21 ½ hours on the surface. 1974 – the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach President Nixon for his role in the Watergate coverup. 1976 – America's Viking I spacecraft made a successful, first-ever Mars landing. 1976 – the U.S. celebrated its bicentennial. 1977 – the Medal of Freedom was awarded posthumously to Martin Luther King, Jr. 1982 – President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor as the first woman Supreme Court Justice. 1988 – the USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air passenger jet, killing all aboard.