Shards, Sherds and Other Old Stuff

When I visited St Croix the first time I was of about the rich history of human existence on the island- specifically at Salt River. The site has seen many different periods of history: from the aboriginal tribes during the pre-Columbus era, to the French fort which flip flopped between several countries, to the colonial period when the island was covered in sugar cane cultivated by slaves, to current day use by campers and sand castle designers. Each wave of people and use has left their mark on the land, traces of settlements that can still be seen today. The aboriginals left pottery and stonework. The French left the mounds of their earthen fort. The colonial period left behind a damaged ecosystem of invasive species and painful memories. And today a vehicular roundabout drives over prehistoric midens so that beachgoers can park and houses perch on the hillsides.

Today I'd like to focus on the archeological remains that have been found on the island. A week or so ago I had the opportunity to visit the Andersen Collection, archived in the recesses of Fort Christiansvaern in Christiansted. This is a remarkable collection that Folmer Andersen, a Danish citizen by birth, began to collect in 1920. It is comprised of 15,000 stone, coral, shell, bone and clay artifacts, many of which came from Salt River.

David Goldstein, Chief of Interpretations, National Park Service St Croix

This is the painstaking wire and glue repair job of Andersen and his team

Vomit sticks... used for ceremonial purposes... the gag reflex in me is grateful to not live during that time period.

More modern "cave drawings" by bored soldiers in the fort

Seeing these artifacts- many of them in great shape- was unbelievable. I've been to lots of museums that have items like this under thick glass to be gawked at by thousands of visitors each year. To see pieces just as spectacular with my bare eyes was an incredible experience. It reminded me again of what an important place St Croix is, and that the long legacy of human existence is something Crucians should take deep pride in. Unfortunately few people have the opportunity I did, as the collection is locked away in a windowless room. There is no facility on island that is safe enough from robbery and hurricanes that will accommodate the display of these pieces for the public. It is a lack that I have heard many people complain about, and as an outsider looking in I've seen the implications of an island that has limited access to it's heritage. St. Croix, despite it's small size, has a lot to be proud of. But unless it's people have access to those resources, how can they know the treasure on which they sit?

Bustin ah Lime.. at Jump Up!

A few weeks ago my new friends Sharelle and Vanessa taught me some Crucian slang. Here on the island it's easy to distinguish between a local and an outsider- outsiders talk about how much fun it was to "hang out", while locals will talk about "bustin ah lime". While there isn't an official origin to this phrase my guess is that it refers to slicing up limes to go with a glass or rum and good company- who knows? This past Friday a group of us drove down to Christiansted for Jump Up, an event that happens a few times a year to celebrate life, culture, music, food and crafts on St Croix.

Jump Up began as a way to boost the economy and moral on the island, and quickly became one of the favorite social events for both locals and tourists. At four times a year the streets of Christiansted are flooded with people enjoying music from a steel drum band, local cuisine, local crafts for sale and performances by the famous Moko Jumbies. My only regret from the evening was that I never actually laid eyes on those talented performers. (http://www.st-croix.net/fun/mokojumbies/index.html) All in all we had a great time, and ended our evening on the boardwalk enjoying a concert projected from boat.

Christiansted Boardwalk

Boardwalk (note the Christmas tree on top of the fake sugar mill)

King Street looking inland

Youth steel drum band- very cool!

King Street looking towards the bay

Queen Cross Street

And the garbage runneth over!

The "Gypsies" who hula hoop fire

Shane, Sharelle, Vanessa, myself and Erica. From what I heard there is little interest in eating food from the street vendors once you're out on the town.

Kirsten (an NPS turtle intern), Jordan (a UVI student we met at Heritage Day) and a random dude who had no idea his face would end up online.

Christmas in July?!

Yesterday I drove on the "wrong" side of the road, but that sensation can't compare to the weirdness of walking around in shorts and a t-shirt while Christmas music blares, ornaments dangle and everyone around me is wishes each other a Happy Thanksgiving. I feel like somehow I fell asleep for a few months and just woke up. How is it November 22nd? How is it two days till Thanksgiving? Why is Santa wearing a thick red coat with white fur trimmings when it's a balmy 82 degrees and sunny??!

A new friend of mine laughed at me mid holiday freak-out. I guess it's hard to understand what's so weird when you've grown up experiencing the holidays in the heat. For me the signals that the holidays were approaching were everywhere growing up. The days darkened sooner, leaves turn color then drop and the cold makes you reach into the closet for your heaviest coat. Seasonal change does happen here- the nights are a bit cooler, making you grab a light sweater before you leave the house- but it's a much more subtle seasonal change. As my friend Vanessa said "we a know Christmas is coming because we feel the festivities in the air building up to it".

These are images I took in a few of the shops in Christiansted. I wish I had my camera on me to capture the plastic snowmen globes in one of the grocery stores. These ornaments seem a little more island appropriate. I started a tradition back in Italy of collecting Christmas ornaments from places I visit. The sea turtle ornament is the one I'm bringing back with me, but there are a lot of great options here and I might be tempted to bring back a few more!

One of the shops features glass-work by Jan Mitchell, and five of her pieces from this year have just been sent to the White House to be featured on the tree there; a tradition that honors American art and culture through an eclectic mix of ornaments. You can find more of her work on her site (http://www.mitchelllarsenstudio.com/col-ornament.php)

Handmade Moko Jumbies, a Crucian icon (http://www.gotostcroix.com/mockojumbies/index.php)

A sea shell ornament, a sea plane (fastest transport between St Croix and St Thomas)

Decorated storefront

Jan Mitchell glassware

The top row are the ornaments sent to the White House this year

My little turtle ornament. Isn't he just adorable!!?

A Day at UVI

Today was a big day! After sitting in the passenger seat for two weeks I finally slid over to the driver's side and drove the full sized pickup out of the yard and off to UVI (University of the Virgin Islands). And let me tell you- I've driven just as big a truck through Manhattan, but with the giant concrete walls, the very narrow gate and the many obstacles to avoid in the yard I wasn't just nervous about driving on the left side of the road.

Once I got to the campus I met with several people including Shelly the Librarian, Betsy Rezende a anthropology professor, Nick Drayton the EPSCoR Coordinator, Bernard Castillo a science professor and Olasee Davis, an extension specialist. And now I have three very cool, very exciting NEW PROJECTS!!!

1) A new exhibit, that will show the history of landuse planning in Salt River, to be featured at the EPSCoR conference on Dec 4th.

2) A lecture!!! I, Sarah Nitchman, little girl from Queens, am giving a lecture in UVI's biggest auditorium on Dec 1st on public open space, Landscape Architecture, and the work my class did last semester.

3) The biggest, most involved project of all: organizing a public design charette that will bring together 3 stakeholder groups to talk about how to design or plan for the future of Easter week beach camping within Salt River Bay. Around Easter all the beaches on St Croix are filled with families who live there for a week (or more)- bringing couches, stoves, refrigerators, generators and boomboxes with them. This big party is a tradition that goes back generations, and is a huge part of the small island culture that make St Croix great. It is also a hot button issue for the locals because although the beaches on St Croix are public, hotels and residential communities have been laying claim over them by making it difficult for locals to access them, and the number of beaches truly accessible to the public are dwindling. The beach at Salt River has been used this way since the tradition began, but there is a conflict of interest because the nearby residential communities don't want the disturbance or the crime they associate with the camping, the Park Service and environmentalists have an issue with the destruction of archaeological remains on the site, as well as garbage and harm to the nearby mangroves.

As a landscape architect I am realizing more and more that our role is not simply to pick up a pen and draw, but also to engage community, and unify and direct it to achieve great things. My first step in this project will be to find people who camp at Columbus Landing, interview them and record their experience of Easter week, their desires their concerns and whatever else they will tell me. This is so important because it will be one of the first time someone has actually written and organized all this information, and material we walk away with can be used to better serve the needs of this particular group of park users. Additionally, through speaking with people I hope to identify leaders and representatives within the camping community that could be asked to participate in a design charette in the future.

(disclaimer: last 3 photos were taken off the internet)

Exhibit Opening

Well I've been in St Croix a little over a week now, and so it's probably about time that I let you know what I've been working on! Not too long ago the National Park Service purchased property on the top of a hill that looked down on Salt River. This land included a beautiful house that has since undergone renovations in order to function as a Visitor Contact Station for the park. Since the renovations (which were underway when my class was here in 2010) this building has gone unused because there wasn't someone on the NPS staff to coordinate and design it's use. All that changed this September when David Goldstein was hired as the Park Interpreter, and he is the man with a plan who I am partnering with throughout my time on St Croix.

The last week has been spent preparing for the first official exhibit opening at the station on monday November 14th (the date that Columbus is believed to have arrived at Salt River). Here the design process on a Marine Research and Education Center is shown through six student projects from my class and three alternatives by an architecture firm (Lord, Aeck and Sargent). Visitors are invited to become part of the design process as well by contributing ideas and critiques to the exhibition. The significance of this event is HUGE as it is put on by both the NPS and the Territorial Government of the island. Salt River Bay is one of the only National Parks that is jointly owned and operated by both local and federal government, and this fact has led to a lot of complications in terms of jurisdiction, decision making and action. This exhibit not only will set a precedent as the first co-hosted event and initiative of these two entities, but it will also be the first forum where the progress of this project will be shown to the public in such a way that they can see, understand AND contribute to it.

So onto the exhibit!!!! When we got here last Monday the place was a MESS- leaves, dirt and cobwebs everywhere, and hurricane shutters still tightly clamped on all the windows. Our first job was to get down and dirty with a broom and some windex- not very glamorous, but sometimes making a difference requires a bit of sweat and tears. Then I arranged the pieces for the exhibition, and David and I rigged up lighting and mounting for the work. The night of the event about fifty people came out, and after they had spent some time in the exhibit a local historian Wilfredo Geigel presented a lecture about the debate surrounding the location of Columbus's landing.

Throughout the week we spent working on the exhibit space it was amazing to see how people were already responding to our work- even before a single piece was hung! The building was shut up for so long that our arrival was noticed by the people living nearby, and many of them stopped in throughout the week to see what was going on. With last night's event, the new exhibit and this Saturday's Family Day I know that the work doing is going to make a big difference and really bridge gaps between the Park Service and the local community.