We Had Our Very Own Disappearing Act!
Long-term museum volunteer, Mitch Mayhew, has been helping at the museum for almost 20 years. Despite the fact that he lives 8 hours away, he has managed to donate whole weeks in the recovery effort from Hurricane Matthew. Like our other wonderful volunteers, he has always stepped up to help with whatever was needed—from mucking out the pavilion to hauling endless debris, but a “step” last week surprised us all. Mitch was checking a corner of the gift shop where we had discovered a leak when we removed the red silk “wall paper.” Once the silk was gone, stains from the leak were clear, but none of us had any idea how severe the damage had been. When Mitch stepped closer to inspect, one foot went through the floor—almost taking him to the ground below! Thankfully the other foot was on more solid wood.
According to tax records, that section of the museum was built in 1880, so it was not surprising that there were a number of challenges in repairing the wall and floor. No worries now. Thanks to Mitch, the floor and walls are once again solid, and we figure a repair every 137 years is not so bad.
