Monday we drove to Jekyll Island, one the many barrier islands on the Georgia coast. The island used to be owned by the Dubignon family who were from France. Theirs was a slave cotton plantation but after the revolutionary War they couldn't afford the upkeep, so the son and a son-in-law decided in the late 1800s to establish a hunting club and sell memberships. This was the start of the ultra rich owning the island. Memberships were $600, about $24,000 in today's money, a great sum for the day.
Members included the Vanderbilts, Rockefeller, Morgan's, Pulitzer,Goodyear and other Uber wealthy families of the day. (It is interesting that Frank Goodyear never made a tire in his life. He was a lumberman from Buffalo, NY. His son created the tire business). The owners of these mansions were so wealthy (how wealthy were they?) that their combined wealth was one-sixth the wealth of the entire world!
They would arrive by ship, private yacht or ferry with all their servants and all their clothing. Evening soirees would be held every night, and since the ladies would never submit to being seen in the same evening gown twice during the season, that meant at least 90 gowns in addition to other daily clothing for each. Quite a lot of luggage!
Mansions were built on the island, and all had their backs facing each other. The club had one chef who prepared all the meals for all the residents, and if a resident wanted to eat at home, the servants were able to go to the club, collect the meals, bring it back, prepare and serve their employers without ever being seen by the wealthy residents. And these homes were only used from January to March!
In 1947, the Governor of Georgia wanted to buy the island to make it into a state park. He offered the residents a total of $645,000, but the residents refused to sell for that price, instead countering with $800,000. The Governor took them to court, and the residents countersued, unsuccessfully. The land was had by the Governor, at his price, and the rich abandoned their mansions and departed. It is interesting to note that the Club which was owned by the wealthy residents owed the state $500,000 in back taxes, so the state got it fairly cheaply.
We went on a tour of the island and was taken thru one of the mansions, originally owned by William Struthers, who made his fortune with his Philadelphia marble works. His marble was used to build Philadelphia City Hall.
After our tour, we visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Rescue Center also located on the island. They nurse injured or ill sea turtles back to health, and if they can't be released back to the wild, they are placed in aquariums across the country. They also receive sea turtles from other states for rehabilitation. We observed an operation that was being performed on one turtle.
Tuesday we drove to St Simon's Island, just north of Jekyll Island. We drove around, looking at the residences, going on the beaches and seeing the sand dunes. It was an attractive island, but the traffic was very heavy.
Wednesday we climbed aboard the Mary Jane, an old shrimp trawler that was being used for educating people about the estuaries around the barrier islands. They did three net trawls during the 1-1/2 hour trip while a Naturist discussed what was brought up. The estuaries are used by a variety of sea creatures for laying their eggs and for the newly born hatchlings to grow until old enough to venture into the ocean. There are fewer predators here than the ocean, and commercial fishing is prohibited.
We netted white shrimp, blue crabs, squid, sea trout, rays, various jelly fish, Hatchet fish, anchovies, sea straws, puffers, and many others. After each was discussed they were released back into the water, where if they were lucky, would not be eaten by the gulls and pelicans that followed the boat.
The remainder of the week we stayed home due to storms and tornado watches. But as I'd walk the dogs near the lake I had to watch out for it's reigning denizen:
Today we drove to a new resort outside of Savannah, Creekfire Motor Resort, which is now Nancy's favorite.
It has two pools, a lake (with alligators), a lazy river, all large paved sites, an event center, two restaurants, a grocery store and much more. Nancy said that our late friend, Bill Boyes, would have loved it here, and she is right! Here's to you Bill, we miss you!
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