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INSIDE JYF Issue 1 | April 2021

from the

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

e’re delighted to share the inaugural issue of our new magazine!

With spring in the air, we’re all eager to seize the opportunities that the future holds. We’ve been fortunate so many of you continue to stand with us. In a myriad of ways, we couldn’t have endured and navigated the past year without your unwavering support. We are grateful to each and everyone one of you. Yet, I also want you to know, we haven’t been resting on our laurels. For several months, the staff has been working on a number of strategic initiatives. We’ve identified three key areas to focus our work over the next few years: Our People, Our Programs and Our Communications. This magazine is just one manifestation of this renewed thinking. Our desire is simple: provide you timely, useful, informative and engaging information in an attractive format. This magazine reflects that desire, and more is coming as we begin rebranding efforts. With each quarterly issue, we look forward to bringing you an insider’s perspective, sharing stories of JYF, and alternating the focus between the museums. We’re also evaluating and creating new programs that fully reflect our mission. Most important, we are investing in our most critical asset – our staff. Thanks so much for being on this journey with us. We look forward to your feedback. Warm Regards,

Christy S. Coleman Executive Director

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CLAUDIA KESSEL TRACY PERKINS Editors JOAN HEIKENS JANET KANE Production Management HOLLAND WINSLOW Designer STAFF CONTRIBUTORS Cindy Daniel Heather Hower Constance Graham Cathy Fox Rawlins Elizabeth Halstead Abigail Schumann Jamie Helmick Meghan van Joosten STAFF WRITERS/PHOTOGRAPHERS Felicia Abrams, Cindy Daniel, Katherine Egner Gruber, Jamie Helmick, Mark Howell, Janet Kane, Homer Lanier, Hank Moseley, Steven Prokopchak, Abigail Schumann, Eric Speth, Bly Straube, Lara Templin If you no longer wish to receive INSIDE JYF in print or would like to convert to digital, email giving@jyf.virginia.gov or call (757) 253-4139.

INSIDE JYF Volume 1, No. 1 – printed April 2021 The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, an educational institution of the Commonwealth of Virginia accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, fosters through its museums – Jamestown Settlement and American Revolution Museum at Yorktown – an awareness and understanding of the early history, settlement, and development of the United States through the convergence of American Indian, European, and African cultures and the enduring legacies bequeathed to the nation.

JAMESTOWN-YORKTOWN FOUNDATION P.O. Box 1607, Williamsburg, VA 23187 (757) 253-4838

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table of CONTENTS About the Cover JYF Photographer Steven Prokopchak captured this sunset view of Jamestown Settlement’s three re-created ships moored at the museum pier. Susan Constant, the flagship of the “official fleet of the Commonwealth,” marks the 30th anniversary of its commissioning in April. The square-rigged vessel has been a favorite focal point for photographers and visitors since it was first built at the museum and set sail as a floating classroom to teach about navigational technology of the 17th century.

Susan Constant Turns 30 – An Anniversary Museum Gardens to Celebrate – Commissioned three decades Where History Blooms – Springtime is ago, JYF’s flagship sails on planting time at the museums

10 Shifting with the Times Tools for Learning – Museum educators adapt to a changing landscape

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“FOCUSED: A Century of Virginia Indian Resilience” Yearlong Special Exhibition 12

JYF Welcomes Stuarts! The Dynasty that Won & Lost Two New Senior Directors America – The who, what and why of Glenda H. Turner and Dr. Mariruth Leftwich JYF’s next special exhibition

20 Donor Spotlight Pete and Caddy Meekins – A sailing program volunteer leaves a legacy

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Susan Constant Year Commissioned: 1991 Sparred Length: 116' Length on Deck: 82' Beam (width): 24' 10" Draft: 11' 9" Mainmast Height: 95' Sail Area: 3,902 sq. ft. Burden Tonnage: 120 tons

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Susan Constant

TURNS 30

long the shores of the James River, a sprawling lumberyard dotted the landscape of the Jamestown Settlement waterfront in 1990. Stacks of massive timbers – greenheart, mora, purpleheart and courbaril, collected from around the world – were fashioned into a vessel by dozens of skilled carpenters and shipwrights. Within the frame of a massive, multiple-bay woodworking shop and elevated railway, the bones of a wooden ship reached to the sky. The flagship of our fleet, Susan Constant, was commissioned 30 years ago this year, and was built at Jamestown Settlement for the public to see. Under the leadership of Captain Eric Speth, who was hired to manage the project, Stanley Potter, the naval architect, and Allen Rawl, the master shipbuilder, a team of 70 craftsmen brought historian Brian Lavery’s research to life over the course of a little more than a year. After a fanfare christening and launch on a chilly morning in December 1990, the Susan Constant underwent sea trials in February 1991 and was officially commissioned on April 25, 1991.

Speth mused about the Susan Constant sea trials and testing the waters. “It was kind of like a butterfly stretching its wings for the first time,” he said. Homer Lanier, now Interpretive Program Manager, also recalled that first sail. “We had every flag and every stitch of canvas flying. And to feel it start to move through the water and build up headway… it was just a complete adrenaline rush.” The joy of finally sailing on the Susan Constant aside, the ship represented a bigger milestone for JYF. “I think that this project created a new standard for the Foundation in that it was driven by very careful research,” Speth noted. “Here’s something that was created from the remains of history. And we were able to create it to look like, and seem to perform like something as close as possible to the original, without having the original to copy.” Today, the Susan Constant is moored at Jamestown Settlement alongside re-creations of the Godspeed and Discovery, designated “the official fleet of the Commonwealth” by the Virginia General Assembly. – Cindy Daniel, Interpretive Program Manager

View more online through a photo gallery and crew interviews about the ship and volunteer sailing program. jyfmuseums.org/susanconstant

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After Angelo

MUSEUM HAPPENINGS After Angelo at Jamestown Settlement, an event on February 27 honoring the first African woman in Jamestown’s historical record, offered a lively celebration of African-American heritage and culture with a palette of artists showcasing a myriad of talents in music, storytelling and art. A community conversation with JYF Executive Director Christy S. Coleman and Barbara Hamm Lee, host of WHRV-FM radio show “Another View,” explored the importance of diverse cultural perspectives in American history. While After Angelo is a one-day annual event, museum gallery exhibits and films recount the culture of the first known Africans in Virginia in 1619 and African-American experiences in early America throughout the year.

Atumpan Dance Theatre

”Between Two Shores” performance of Angelo by Valarie Gray Holmes.

MILITARY THROUGH THE AGES returned to

Featured portrait shown by artist Jowarnise Caston.

Jamestown Settlement March 20-21, drawing thousands of visitors to the museum grounds for a unique chronological display of military history. The time-honored event, held every year since 1984 and cancelled for the first time last year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, featured enhanced safety protocols. Amid a backdrop of period music from The Federal City Brass Band and Field Musick Virginia, visitors explored how uniforms, weapons and tactics evolved through the centuries from military re-enactors depicting armed forces from the 9th century to modern-day soldiers with the Virginia Army National Guard.

pringtime is planting time at JYF museums, where field crops, heirloom vegetables and herbs are cultivated in all seasons of the year. Squash, okra and even purple carrots are among assorted surprises that flourish from each plant bed. Amid the mounds of crops grown in Paspahegh Town, raised garden beds outside the English fort and herbs at the Revolution-era farm kitchen and slave quarter, visitors can get a sense of the variety of plants grown in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as the techniques and time to turn earth, water and weed. It’s tough work for historical interpreters, who don period clothing while using hand tools to make holes for seeds, tend and water gardens and harvest crops. “Sometimes people think a plant is new because it may be trendy right now, like they ask ‘they had kale?’” explained Gretchen Johnson, supervisor of the Revolutionera farm. Historical mentions found in garden books, letters and even newspaper ads are among the ways Johnson and others learn about plants grown in

At the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, rows of vegetables and herbs line the kitchen garden of the re-created Revolution-era farm.

MUSEUM GARDENS:

Where History Blooms colonial gardens. She noted that colonists ate more varieties of vegetables than people in modern times, referring to a 1774 ad in The Virginia Gazette promoting eight different types of peas. Research into these historical accounts creates opportunities for interpreters to experiment with less common crops, too, especially in the enslaved person’s garden. Visitors enjoy seeing things like huckleberries, and actual sesame plants, whose pods spill their tiny seeds that finally look familiar.

The Revolution-era farm features an enslaved person’s garden with seasonal turnip greens, okra, chili peppers, sesame plants and huckleberries.

Planting and sharing these crops rooted in history, as well as personal labor, makes it all worthwhile. “It makes me feel connected to the people of the past, like they aren’t forgotten,” Johnson said. “Sometimes I wonder what they would think if they knew that hundreds of years in the future that we would be telling their stories and showing something like what they planted.” – Lara Templin, Assistant Interpretive Program Manager

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dramatic,

unique,

unforgettable PRIVATE EVENTS

hether you are planning an intimate formal dinner for just a few guests or a reception for a larger group, JYF museums have special indoor places and expansive outdoor spaces that offer unique backdrops for your iconic event. Perfect for receptions, ceremonies, meetings, conference off-site events, holiday parties and special occasions, including weddings. sales@jyf.virginia.gov jyfmuseums.org/privateevents

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Kim Kiely Photography

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Shifting with the Times

Museum educators love sharing colonial history with the public. But these days, not many school groups are taking field trips. So, museum educators shift their focus to engage people who are visiting the museums! In addition to providing virtual programming to students, on-site education programs are expanding offerings and adding experiences for general visitors and families.

SNAPSHOTS OF HISTORY “Snapshots of History” are engaging, quick-paced 90-mintue guided tours that allow visitors a chance to interact with one of our highly trained group educators. Exploring the outdoor areas at both museums, and a part of the gallery at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, these tours give visitors an add-on experience and connect with broader themes of the educational mission. These tours are an affordable option for families looking to enhance their museum visit.

THE RETURN OF THE CAMP

Summer History Camps are returning in-person to the museums this year. Interactive and educational camps are available for 4-6 year-olds and 1st-3rd graders in June and July. As a break from the computer screen, children have a chance to engage with educators and historical interpreters while solving challenges, creating crafts and connecting the past to the present. Space is limited. To register, go to bit.ly/jyfhistorycamp.

HISTORY ‘A LA CART’

As a traditionally “hands-on” institution, offering “minds-on” activities is a unique challenge during the pandemic. Even though visitors are unable to handle a reproduction object at the museums, it doesn’t mean that they can’t engage with the material culture. History a la Cart is a mobile enrichment station that can travel around the museums. These carts give educators a chance to dive deeper into particular subjects and engage visitors in a different way than before. They cover topics from writing the Declaration of Independence, science of the James River, how we know what we know, to perspectives of the Revolution. A new cart highlighting American Indian roles in the American Revolution is rolling out this year.

– Felicia Abrams, On-site Education Manager

Upgrade any JYF Museums admission ticket to include a private tour for your party of 14 or less. jyfmuseums.org/privatetours

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Interested in booking a tour? Contact Group Reservations at (757) 253-4939 or group.reservations@jyf.virginia.gov.

little red bag

Stuffed With Tools for learning

Armed with a trove of reproduction artifacts in little red bags, group educators are ready to welcome visitors again to Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.

These tangible tools for learning about early American history – bone needles, flint and steel, a sailor’s palm and hard tack – are used by group educators to pique interest in a range of topics and enhance visitor encounters with costumed historical interpreters while on a tour. Beyond the history basics, these tools are used to convey the underlying significance of the people and events that shaped the nation. After 72 hours of intensive instruction in history and teaching methodology, group educators go through an

extensive review process to ensure they have mastered the skills to engage visitors of all ages through a two-hour guided tour. While virtual education programs over the past year have reached those learning at home or in hybrid classrooms, a group educator’s main objective is to instill excitement for learning about history among families, adults and students on a field trip to the museums. Museum visits not only augment a teacher’s curriculum and reinforce state and national benchmarks for learning but offer inspirational moments in-person that connect the dots of history with lessons that span the gamut and incorporate science, math and so much more. – Mark Howell,

Education Director

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Focus on 100 years of Virginia Indian resiliency in a yearlong special exhibition featuring personal and professional photography collections charting this century of change, from the passage and repeal of the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 to state and federal recognition today.

FOCUSED:

A Century of Virginia Indian Resilience

hrough archival photography, traditional crafts and oral histories, “FOCUSED: A Century of Virginia Indian Resilience,” a contemporary exhibition on display at Jamestown Settlement, explores the resilience of Virginia’s Indian population, from the passage and repeal of the Racial Integrity Act in 1924 to the contemporary efforts of 11 Virginia tribes to receive state and federal recognition. In collaboration with Virginia Indian tribal communities, “FOCUSED” is principally a photographic exhibition drawing from collections held by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, as

In 1919, Pamunkey Indian couple Nannie and Paul Miles, along with an unidentified child and Union Ottaway Collins holding a dog, posed on the front porch of a house on the Pamunkey Reservation in Virginia. Frank Speck photograph collection, N12730; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

well as images from anthropologist Frank Speck in 1910s to 1930s, the work of award-winning Baltimore Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine in the 1940s and 1950s, and portraits by contemporary American Indian photographers. Discover themes central to Virginia Indian daily life, including the establishment and maintenance of Virginia Indian reservations and tribal lands, education, fishing and hunting, and traditional crafts and cultural heritage. The exhibition is made possible with the support of James City County. Learn more through blogs, interviews and photographs at jyfmuseums.org/focused.

Made in 1930s by Mollie Adams, Upper Mattaponi

TURKEY FEATHER MANTLE

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A turkey feather mantle hand-woven in the 1930s by Mollie Adams, a leading member of the Upper Mattaponi Tribe in the 1930s, is among the featured objects in the show. Anthropologist Frank Speck undertook extensive research of some of the Virginia Indian tribes, including the Upper Mattaponi community in King William County, where he met Mollie Adams (1881-1973) and her family in 1918. Speck’s written field notes included descriptions of feather work which correspond to the turkey feather mantle featured in the exhibition.

Portrait of Mollie Adams, Upper Mattaponi, 1918. Frank Speck photograph collection, N12647; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Mollie Adams was an Upper Mattaponi tribal leader with her husband, Jasper Lewis Adams, who served as chief of the Upper Mattaponi from 1923 to 1973. They raised 12 children in King Turkey Feather Mantle, circa William County and faced 1930s by Mollie Adams, Upper Mattaponi. Jamestown-Yorktown similar hardships as her Foundation, JS87.05.72.a. neighbors, including poverty, difficulty in attaining education, as well as bigotry and segregation in the wake of the 1924 Racial Integrity Act. The Racial Integrity Act, created through the Virginia Bureau of Vital Statistics, reclassified all Virginia Indians as “negro” or “colored,” a law that was eventually overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967. For Mollie Adams, she obtained a certified statement of her Indian ancestry, and worked to build a strong foundation for the Upper Mattaponi through her church and tribal activism.

First Person on First Peoples ‘INDIGENOUS PEOPLES INITIATIVE’ OFFERS

More Inclusive Look at Virginia Indian History JYF recently launched a comprehensive plan to provide a more inclusive representation of Virginia Indian history and culture, known as the Indigenous Peoples Initiative. As an educational institution, we have a responsibility to be equally inclusive of all cultures whose stories we tell. The goal of the Indigenous Peoples Initiative is to present a fair and balanced representation of Virginia Indian history and culture at both museums, through gallery exhibits and living-history inter-

pretation and, ultimately, to forge a stronger relationship between JYF and the Virginia Indian community. We want to collaborate with today’s indigenous populations to include them in telling their own story. Work has already begun at Jamestown Settlement, with the transition of the name of the Powhatan Indian village to Paspahegh Town to better align with contemporary Virginia Indians’ preference to use “town” to reflect the complex political structures Powhatan communities,

but also to more accurately describe the Paspahegh archaeological site on which our re-creation is based. Building on the success of the “FOCUSED” exhibit to foster stronger partnerships within Virginia’s state and federally recognized tribes, a Virginia Indian advisory board is under way to serve as a resource to gain cultural perspectives to help bridge understanding to tell a fuller story of Virginia Indians, past and present. – Jamie Helmick, Manager of Special Projects & Programs

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JYF WELCOMES two new senior directors

GLENDA H. TURNER, a leader in consumer marketing and advertising, joins JYF as Senior Director of Marketing and Public Relations after 22 years with Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA.

Turner manages sales and promotions, advertising and media relations. She succeeds Susan K. Bak, who retired in September 2020. In addition to her marketing expertise, Turner is equally dedicated to the Greater Williamsburg community. She serves on the Williamsburg Health Foundation Board of Trustees and as chair of the External Affairs Committee, as a board member for the Institute for Dance, and past board chair of the Avalon Center. She also received the 2017 J. Blaine Blayton Community Service Award presented by the York-James City-Williamsburg Chapter of the NAACP. Turner holds an MBA from Averett University, with undergraduate degrees in communications and industrial technology from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.

DR. MARIRUTH LEFTWICH, an internationally known leader in the museum and education profession, is JYF’s new Senior Director of Museum Operations and Education. She oversees exhibits, the collection, historical interpretation, public programs, curriculum-based educational programming, and visitor services at both museums. She succeeds Peter J. Armstrong, who accepted a position as executive director of the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut, in December. Leftwich most recently served as Director of Learning at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. She was previously the e-learning officer for the Museum of London and Vice President for Education and Programs at the Charlotte Museum of History before moving to London to pursue a master’s degree in history while working with the National Army Museum, and a doctorate in museum and gallery learning from the University of London’s Institute of Education. As an award-winning museum educator, her work has won accolades from the American Association for State and Local History, the Pennsylvania Council for Social Studies Excellence, and honored for education innovation on HundrED, a global education nonprofit. – Abigail Schumann, Exhibition Programs Manager

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history BLOG

Why Choose Jamestown Island?

fter a voyage of almost five months, the English colonists chose Jamestown Island for the site of the first permanent English colony in America on May 13, 1607. Their choice was based on “Instructions by way of advice,” which outlined criteria to be used in determining an appropriate location for the colony. The Virginia Company of London received its royal charter on April 10, 1606. Adventurers provided funding for the Company and expected a return on their investment. A council appointed by the King governed the Company from England and named a council of colonists to provide leadership in Virginia. The “Instructions by way of advice” were written by the royal council and opened by the colonists upon their arrival in Virginia. The colonists were to look for a river flowing from the northwest and establish their colony well inland – in hopes of discovering the Northwest Passage and to protect the early colony from other Europeans.

While their instructions implored the colonists not to offend the local tribes, it is clear that they had little trust for anyone other than their own countrymen. They were to establish a colony that was easy to defend and to encourage trade. The instructions also advised the colonists “not to plant [the colony] in a low and moist place, because it will prove unhealthful.” In Tidewater, Virginia, this proved to be the most challenging criteria to meet. In the end, two sites were considered – Archer’s Hope at the mouth of today’s College Creek and Jamestown Island. The latter was chosen, largely due to the depth of water along its shore, which allowed the ships to be tied to the trees for easy loading and unloading of cargo. The choice of Jamestown Island would drastically impact the lives (and often early deaths) of the early English colonists at Jamestown.

– Hank Moseley, Professional mariner working on three re-created ships Adapted from a JYF blog post on May 12, 2020. Read more at bit.ly/jamestownblog

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Which

Hue are You?

Dye sessions at the Revolution-era farm at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown are now resulting in multihued products for the museum shops. JYF interpreters prepare the dye and process the skeins of yarn, as well as silk and cotton scarves. The finished scarves and skeins of yarns are washed and prepared for sale in the museum shops; merchandise tags are added to explain the dyestuff that was used and note the date that the item was prepared. Additional interpretive-made product ideas to be added this year include split oak baskets, seeds and seedlings, and ladies’ decorated hats.

Discover more unique and handcrafted products like these at the JYF Museum Gift Shops, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and online at shopjyf.com.

Freshly dyed yarn drying on split rail fence.

Tagged and presented in the museum shop.

MUSEUM SHOP SPOTLIGHT: KAZI

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KAZI was founded on the belief that every individual on the planet deserves the right to provide for their family – not through charity, but through their talents and skill sets with pride and joy. Featured in our main museum shop at Jamestown Settlement, each magnificent and beautiful KAZI basket we are offering is unique and hand-crafted by a woman in a rural part of Rwanda, Uganda or Ghana and is made of 100% natural materials using organic dyes.

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on this date in

JYF HISTORY

Credit: London Pictures Service, Crown Copyright Reserved.

HIGH TECH AND HISTORY

1985 VOYAGE OF THE GODSPEED

Glistening covers of the Thames Barrier piers lend a highly technical setting for the facsimile of the historic 17th-century Jacobean barque Godspeed. She was making her way down the river Thames after master and crew had been wished ‘bon voyage’ by the Duke of Edinburgh at Greenwich before the start of their voyage to Jamestown, Virginia, where their new Godspeed was constructed.

In 1985, a re-creation of the Godspeed retraced the nearly 6,000mile route used by English settlers in 1607 from London, England, to Jamestown, Virginia. After years of planning and coordination, 14 crew members sailed on the first leg of the voyage en route to Jamestown, approximately the same size crew that journeyed on the original 17th-century vessel.

The 68 feet (21m) ship and the crew of 14 Virginians set sail from a mooring close to the yard where the original Godspeed was built. Their 6000-mile journey will follow the course taken by the expedition of 1606-7, which led to the first successful settlement in America – 13 years before the voyage of the Pilgrim Fathers. Godspeed, with no engines and only rudimentary sails is expected to take 10 weeks, by the southerly route through the Bermuda Triangle, to reach her home port in Virginia. The Thames Barrier is an impressive feat of engineering designed and constructed to defend London from the threat of flooding. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in May 1984 and has already been visited by more than ½ million people, including students, tourists and engineers from most parts of the world. – London Pictures Service, 1985

Upon its departure from London, the ship and crew were met with fanfare from locals and dignitaries alike. Bon voyage ceremonies featured visits from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and then Virginia Governor Chuck Robb, before the ship began its journey to Jamestown Festival Park, now known as Jamestown Settlement. The London Pictures Service published this image of the Godspeed as it departed the Thames Barrier piers on April 30, 1985. A detailed caption (at left) captured the contrast between “high tech and history” and the feat across the Atlantic undertaken by a small but mighty crew. Today, a new generation of the Godspeed, joins re-creations of Discovery and Susan Constant at Jamestown Settlement to teach visitors from around the world about America’s first permanent English colony in Virginia and 17th-century navigation and technology.

Stuarts!

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THE DYNASTY THAT WON & LOST AMERICA

Debuting November 2022

As Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown embark on a two-fold special exhibition spanning the centuries in November 2022, Special Exhibitions Curator Katherine Egner Gruber offers insight to the Stuart family hierarchy and influence in early America. WHO ARE THE STUARTS? Making your way down the English street scene in the galleries at Jamestown Settlement, perhaps you’ve noticed the looming figure of Queen Elizabeth I, the famous Virgin Queen and last of the House of Tudor, which reigned England from the 15th century. She is the namesake of the colony of Virginia, but her death without heir in 1603 begat the reign of the House of Stuart. Elizabeth died childless, so the right to rule England transferred to James Charles Stuart, King of Scotland and son of Mary, Queen of Scots (Elizabeth’s first cousin, once removed). King James ruled Scotland, England, and Ireland until his death in 1625. While these years proved formidable for Portrait of King James VI of Scotland, colonial ventures such as attributed to Adrian Vanson, Scotland, 1595, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Jamestown the House of JYF2003.19. Stuart, which continued its reign over England and her colonies until 1714, not only shaped Virginia, but lit the slow-burning fuse which ultimately exploded into Revolution in 1775. SO WHAT? It’s easy to understand why we’d undertake an exhibition about the Stuarts at Jamestown Settlement—Stuart monarchs, their colonial agents, and the turbulent events of the 17th century directly impacted European settlement of Virginia, colonial relationships with Virginia Indians, the rise of the slave trade, and the often volatile relationship between Virginia’s haves and have nots. Moreover, evidence

of the Stuarts is solidified on our very landscape— Jamestown, the College of William & Mary and Williamsburg itself are named for Stuart monarchs. Yet, extending this exhibition to the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown makes sense, too. The royal House of Painting of King William III by Franz van Stampart (1675-1750), Jamestown-Yorktown Hanover—the Foundation, JYF2007.1 dynasty most associated with America’s colonial discontent—was plagued and distracted by Stuart pretenders to the throne, leaving increasingly independent-minded colonists to pay for costly wars and campaigns at home and abroad, many of which were direct results of Stuart-era policy, empire-building and challenges to the throne. WHY NOW? As we approach the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, there has never been a better time to explore America’s Stuart past. By Coronation Medal of James I, made weaving together exciting by Charles Anthony, 1603, England, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, history, relatable personal JYF2004.5 stories and showstopper artifacts, these two ambitious exhibitions will highlight the nearly 200-year road to Revolution, and how the Stuarts were the dynasty that won and lost America.

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donor SPOTLIGHT Pete and Caddy Meekins

As charter members of The 1607 Society and Annual Fund donors since 1998, the Meekins have championed the preservation of American history for decades. Caddy and Pete met in 1953 while they were both stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army. They were married four months later. Pete later joined his family’s business, Warwick Plumbing and Heating in Newport News, while Caddy worked as a landscape architect. In 1969, the couple moved to Maine where Pete taught and Caddy served as athletic director at a college prep school. They both continued their service in the U.S. Army Reserve, Caddy retiring as a lieutenant colonel and Pete as a colonel. In 1980, the couple embarked on a new “career” as full-time volunteer researchers. They traveled the world, working on projects that benefited the environment, wildlife and people. Their service took them to all seven continents, including four trips to Antarctica, collecting data from volcanoes and diving with grey whales. As a skilled sailor, Pete became a volunteer with the JYF maritime program. As the sailing master and assistant captain for the 1985 re-enactment of the 1607 voyage of the Godspeed from England to Jamestown, Pete trained the crew and was responsible for sailing the 17th-century replica ship across the Atlantic. (See story on page 18.) Maritime Program Manager Eric Speth noted that, during the voyage,

Pete demonstrated his superior sailing skills and leadership abilities as he kept the ship moving toward its destination no matter what the ocean threw at them—all while keeping his good humor!

Pete passed away in May 2019 in Williamsburg at the age of 90, soon after the couple celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. In 2012, they became members of The Mathews Legacy Society with a planned gift. Recently, Caddy included JYF’s sailing program in her estate plans in honor of Pete and his passion for it. Families will enjoy learning about the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery for years to come, thanks to the Meekins’ generosity.

Leave a Legacy for History Join The Mathews Legacy Society Named in honor of the late Nick and Mary Mathews who donated land for the Yorktown museum, The Mathews Legacy Society honors friends of the museums who have included the JYF, Inc. in their estate plans. By making a bequest, donors to the society continue the spirit of the Mathews’ patriotism and philanthropy.

Their gifts help to grow the Foundation’s endowments and sustain its museums for years to come, keeping the story of our nation’s history alive for future generations. Members enjoy exclusive, behind-thescenes opportunities to experience the museums. Visit jyfinclegacy.org, call (757) 253-4139 or email giving@jyf.virginia.gov to learn more.

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Meet New Members of the JYF, Inc. Board of Directors

In October, the Foundation, Inc. welcomed four new board members who bring their dedication and talents to advocate for JYF, its museums and educational mission.

JOHN M. CAMP III

Mr. Camp has more than 25 years of experience in private equity investment and serves as Managing Director of Business Development for Arbor Investments in Washington, D.C. He previously served on the JYF, Inc. Board of Directors from 2011 to 2015. The Camp family foundations have generously supported JYF since 1980s, including museum galleries and interpretive areas, education programs, distance learning and the Annual Fund.

B.K. FULTON

Mr. Fulton is Chairman & CEO of Soulidifly Productions, a full feature film, stage and TV investment and production company designed to promote a more inclusive narrative in major media. Prior to becoming a media entrepreneur and published author, Mr. Fulton served as Vice President of the Mid-Atlantic Region for Verizon Communications, Inc. and President of Verizon Virginia and West Virginia. He has held senior leadership, media, technology and policy development posts with the U.S. Department of Commerce, AOL, Time Warner, and the National Urban League.

Sail Our Ships into the Future!

Support the Annual Fund FRANCES SYKES

As President and CEO of the Pascale Sykes Foundation based in New Jersey, Mrs. Sykes has for decades developed and refined the Foundation’s mission of promoting the independence, integrity and well-being of working, low-income families.

DAVID STEPHENS

Mr. Stephens recently retired from BP after a distinguished legal career spanning 44 years. Having obtained his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and his A.B. from Dartmouth College, David started with Fulbright & Jaworski in 1975, in Houston and Washington, D.C. David joined BP (then Amoco) in 1981. His roles there took him abroad for 27 years— living in Trinidad, Egypt, Hong Kong, Bolivia, Indonesia and the United Kingdom —as well as Chicago and Houston.

Gifts to the Annual Fund support JYF’s museums, including the sailing and maritime education programs! When you make a gift to the Annual Fund, you become a valued partner in helping sustain both museums. From growing the artifact collection to creating special exhibitions that engage audiences, to helping interpreters demonstrate immersive history, to reaching schoolchildren in Virginia and across the country, donations to the Annual Fund reach far and wide. Make your gift today! Visit jyfmuseums.org/donate.

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foundation voices

Fred Scholpp Love. And Lightbulbs. Interpreter Spotlight:

Hammering a breastplate of armor. Fastening links of chainmail. Firing a matchlock musket. These are all fond pastimes and teaching tools of Fred Scholpp, a historical interpreter in the re-created James Fort at Jamestown Settlement.

Visitors often recall encountering him on a school field trip and, sometimes, they share this memory with their own children, now on a similar field trip. As JYF’s longest serving historical interpreter, Scholpp has taught generations. He began his career in July of 1983, often a grueling time of the year with summer humidity in the outdoor livinghistory areas. Even the Virginia Company learned quickly not to send new colonists to Jamestown during the heat of summer, a detail that causes him to chuckle. “Adverse weather often gives you a glimpse of reality,” he said.

“I think that’s why some of my favorite visitors are the ones who come to visit us in the miserable weather because they want the real story. There’s nothing like summer weather when we’re talking about the colonists struggling through the heat, and we’re doing the same. That makes it real.” What motivates him, still, after 40 years? “For me, it’s about the love of sharing the excitement that comes when you suddenly have an insight into the past,” he said, recalling an exchange with a teacher about a breakthrough moment with a class. “You can see the lightbulbs appearing above everyone’s heads and suddenly the room gets a lot brighter.” Scholpp also values mutual learning experiences. “One of the things that I enjoy the most is when you have a chance to explore something together with a visitor,” he mused. “Then you have a connection, and you’re doing what historians have done for a very long time, which is look at things of the past and try to understand them. That moment when the visitor has gained some insight into events or people of the past, you can see it on their face: Boom! ‘Oh! Aha! I see!’ they say. Oh, that makes it all worthwhile, because you’ve reached someone.” – Cindy Daniel, Interpretive Program Manager

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JYF’s Maritime Traveler:

THE SECTOR

roduced in an early 17thcentury scientific workshop in central London, a mathematical instrument in the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation collection may have traveled to culturally rich Tuscany and from there to the steamy rain forests of the Amazon basin before finding a home at Jamestown Settlement 400 years later. The brass instrument, known as a sector, is covered with a number of scales that, with a pair of dividers, navigators, surveyors and gunners, is used to solve mathematical questions of proportion. The JYF sector is engraved “CW” for Charles Whitwell, “the most skilled and versatile” scientific instrument maker of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, according to historian Gerard L’E. Turner in Elizabethan Instrument Makers: The Origins of the London Trade in Precision (2000). Two sectors similarly marked are in the Science Museum London.

However, as the inscription “Robert Thornton” on one of the sector’s arms portends, that is just half of the story. In 1608, at the urging of the English explorer and expatriate Sir Robert Dudley, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, sent English sea captain Robert Thornton to explore Brazil in search of an appropriate base from which to export Brazilian wood. Dudley, regarded as a skilled navigator in his own right, wrote of Thornton’s successful expedition in his

The sector is one of 15 known scientific instruments produced by the leading Elizabethan maker Charles Whitwell (1558-1611). Captain Robert Thornton, owner of the sector, probably used it in his exploration of Brazil. Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, JYF2018.9.

Dell’Arcano del Mare. Furthermore, we know that Dudley commissioned navigational and mathematical instruments from Charles Whitwell, a number of which survive in the Museo Galileo, Florence. Our sector appears to be one of the instruments Dudley secured for Thornton’s transatlantic voyage. The JYF sector is one of 15 known Whitwell-signed instruments and is currently the only one known to be in the Western Hemisphere. It is a rare survival, demonstrating the early 17th-century awareness of the power of mathematics to solve practical problems. Applied mathematics in navigation and surveying formed the backbone of Elizabethan and early Stuart overseas expansion of which the exploration and colonization of Virginia was an integral part. – Bly Straube, Ph.D., FSA, Senior Curator

Like two other known Whitwell sectors, this instrument is marked only by his initials.

INSIDE JYF

calendar of EVENTS Protective protocols ensure a safe and enjoyable event experience.

Paul Miles and Union Collins with Canoe, 1922. Frank Speck Photograph Collection, N11864. National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

FOCUSED: A Century of Virginia Indian Resilience

ON DISPLAY THROUGH MARCH 25, 2022, AT JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT, this yearlong exhibition spotlights 100 years of Virginia Indian resilience with personal and professional photography collections charting a century of change, from the passage and repeal of the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 to state and federal recognition today.

Jamestown Day

MAY 8 AT JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT, marks the 414th anniversary of the 1607 founding of Jamestown with military salutes, maritime and interpretive programs. A special Indigenous Arts Day program celebrates the enduring cultures of Indigenous people through art, performances and special presentations.

Talking History Lecture: Tracy Y. Roberts

MAY 13 AT JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT, Tracy Y. Roberts of the Occoneechee of Virginia and contemporary photographer whose work is featured in the “FOCUSED” exhibition, presents a free public lecture “No More Stolen Sisters” to bring awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) and children through photos and discussion. 7 p.m. Advance online registration required. Limited capacity.

Liberty Celebration

JULY 4 AT THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION MUSEUM AT YORKTOWN, salute the 245th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with interactive demonstrations, patriotic programming and artillery firings honoring our nation’s founding. Explore indoor exhibition galleries to view a rare July 1776 broadside of this historic document and experience 18th-century daily life of citizens and soldiers in outdoor re-created settings.

Talking History Lecture: Patrick K. O’Donnell

ON MAY 20 AT THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION MUSEUM AT YORKTOWN, Patrick K. O’Donnell, a bestselling, critically acclaimed military historian and expert on elite units, delivers the first presentation of his new book, “The Indispensables: Marblehead’s Diverse Soldier Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Across the Delaware.” Pre-signed copies available prior to the 7 p.m. lecture. Advance online registration required for this limited-capacity event.

Juneteenth

ON JUNE 19 AT JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT commemorate Juneteenth – an American celebration that marks the end of slavery in the United States. Although the name springs from events that happened in Galveston, Texas, in 1865, the origins date to Jamestown as the place where the first enslaved Africans in 1619 were brought after landing at Old Point Comfort and where the first slavery laws enacted in the late 17th century impacted their lives and status. In this thought-provoking 90-minute outdoor program of performance, music and dance, meet African Americans from three centuries who fought against those laws until freedom came. Program begins at 2 p.m. MORE 2021 EVENTS & PROGRAMS Liberty Celebration • July 4 | American Indian Heritage Celebration • October 9-10 Yorktown Victory Celebration • October 16 | Family Frights • October 23-24 Foods & Feasts of Colonial Virginia • November 26-27 | Christmastide in Virginia • December 18-31 Museums open year-round 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day. Tours and ticket information: jyfmuseums.org/visit or call (757) 253-4838. Check out the complete calendar at jyfmuseums.org/events.

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