Jekyll Island

Jekyll Island

Monday, May 2, 2011

Reflection on my Action Text and the Entire Ethnography


For my action text, I created a Brochure to send into the public to inform them of Jekyll Island and how amazing it is. I decided that I would put up the brochure on a billboard in the Student Center and I emailed the head of Media and Public Relations for www.jekyllisland.com, Eric Garvey. He is also a member of the Jekyll Island authority. I sent it to him because he is involved with publicity so I figured if he wanted t use it, he could. I am very happy with how it turned out. I tried to make it as attractive and eye-catching as I could. I used my own photographs because I do not like using other people’s photos when I have my own that are just as good. I am an artist, so that is why I did something that I could use some of my creativity with instead of just text. I did not find this project very challenging, I thought it was fun because I got to design a brochure for my favorite place and add things that are a little different that a normal brochure. What I personally think is unique about my brochure is that it has a few events at the bottom to show the public what kind of activities they hold on the Island. I added some pictures of wildlife and of the awesome driftwood. I hardly ever see pictures of the pretty part of the driftwood; it’s always just the stumps. I also added a website that is easy to remember so people can look it up. It is the best website for tourism, that is why I chose it.
            I have learned to captivate an audience by creating strong paragraphs that lead the viewer in and entice them to read the rest of the brochure. I opened the information with “ Jekyll Island is a wonderful place for people of all ages to visit”. This sentence tells viewers that it is a family friendly place and that there is something for everyone on the Island. I included some great places for the family to visit and mentioned that the Island is a very quiet and relaxing place. I said this because the beaches in Florida are getting more developed and crowded, so people are looking for more laid back vacation areas. I added that there are historical areas to entice the older crowd. On the side paragraph, I added some personal views of the island to tell how pretty and unique the Island is. I also learned how to consider whom I am writing to. The audience is a very important part of our writing because they are the ones we are trying to persuade and get to listen to what we have to say. My target audience for this assignment was the public in general to inform them of a great vacation spot here in Georgia.
            I personally feel that I have improved my writing a lot through this class because I have learned how to write in different styles and how to really study a subject from several different angles. I learned how to conduct different types of research such as interviews and direct observations. I learned how to free write and write non-academic essays. I learned how to write a blog, it’s still not my thing though. I have really come a long way in the last year. I finally don’t dread writing papers because I know how to set them up and cite everything properly. I have really enjoyed this class and I have learned a lot about place. I will always think of my new discoveries when I explore new places and even old favorites. I have learned that there is more to a place then just the physical location and the geography. I think that every place has some kind of meaning to us whether they are good or bad, big or small. We have some kind of association that evokes feelings and memories. Place effects everyone because we are always in one.  

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Information that is on the Brochure


Jekyll Island is a wonderful place for people of all ages to visit. It is one of Georgia’s state parks and is mostly untouched. The Island offers miles quiet beaches, bike trails all around the island, and many other family friendly activities including horseback riding and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. The island also is an important part of American history. Stroll back in time when you visit the Historic district.


The Island is full of amazing and beautiful things including the driftwood beach. This small area of beach is covered with fallen trees due to erosion. It is a very special and unique place. It is a perfect place to have a wedding or a photo shoot. The island has a very comfortable relaxed southern seaside feeling that leaves you feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. Since there are no large cities around the Island, the night sky glows with millions of small dancing twinkle lights. 

Brochure


This is my brochure that I made for my action text. I chose to create this to entice the public to visit Jekyll Island. I added my own photos and got the activities and dates from the www.jekyllisland.com. I also added a link to that website so people could get more information about the Island and more dates and find lodging. 

Monday, April 25, 2011

Trees

My favorite things in nature are trees. Here are some pictures that I have taken of the different trees on Jekyll Island.


Resurrection Ferns and Spanish Moss are common on trees in the South. 


This is the picture I took of my friend Alex. I entered this photo in a competition but didn't win anything.


This is my favorite tree or trees I guess. It is the perfect spot to look out at the ocean.


This is a hollow tree that we spotted off of the bike trails. 


This tree is hundreds of years old. Some of the branches are so long and heavy that they are permanently buried in the ground. 


A tree on the beach. I love this photo because it has good contrasting.


It is hard not to climb all over the trees.


The trees on the coast facing the Atlantic are permanently wind blown.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

My favorite Part of my Personal Essay


I am an artist, so I am constantly looking for inspiration. I love photography. There is one spot on Jekyll that I spend the day at. The locals call it driftwood beach or Roots. It is a beach that is hidden from the road and the rest of the beaches on Jekyll. There are trees that have fallen down over the years do to the tide and erosion. They are giant and absolutely stunning. Each tree is different and their branches are gnarly and tangled. The bark is striped gray from years of weather and tourists, but they are still beautiful and pristine in my eyes. Sitting on a tree, I study the scene. The ocean tide is smashing against the rock barrier that protects the trees from washing away into the sea. I am glad that someone built it so that the haunting elegance of this beach remains for a long time. My favorite tree is actually two trees that fell over together because their roots    had grown together. It forms a “C” shape and makes the perfect place to sit and look at the sea and all of the freight ships that pass by. A few years back I took a picture of my friend sitting in it and entered it into a photography contest. I did not win anything for it, but I got a lot of positive comments on it. 

My Favorite Moments

There are no major cities around Jekyll so at night you can see all of the stars at night. It is one of the most amazing sights to see. The sky glows with millions of small dancing twinkle lights. I spot the Milky Way and several other constellations. We stayed by the ocean for a long time just staring at the stars and listening to the soothing breaks of the small waves. The sea is almost as still as a lake. I walk down to the edge and let the waves wash over my bare feet. The water glides away and rushes back. The water is warm. I walk back to where Jason, Brandi and Omid are sitting. I gaze out at the horizon. Watching the shrimp boats on the horizon adds another layer to the magical mystery to the nights on the Island. I sit there and imagine what it is like way out there. There are so many of them that it looks like a city. My cousin always points at it and says that it is the I- 80 to Spain. I lie back on the cool sand and close my eyes. I feel the breeze blow through my hair as if it wants me to float away with it. Nothing in the world can beat these moments of total bliss. It is as if nothing in the world can ever harm me, like those moments are a gift from God. 

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Explore Jekyll Island

History
            “Jekyll Island has a diverse and significant history. The first occupants of the island were probably small groups of Native American hunter-gatherers, some time around 2,500 B.C., during the Archaic Period” (Hunter 1). John Hunter, a member of the Jekyll Island Authority talks about the beginning history of Jekyll in his article on Jekyll Island:
Archaeological evidence suggests that Jekyll seems not to have supported a long-term permanent settlement by aboriginal peoples, even though by 1000 B.C. Georgia’s coastal natives had begun to collect in settlements with les seasonal migration and larger population numbers. As Native American culture advanced, little changed on Jekyll Island. By A.D. 1540 the Georgia coast had become populated with Guale Indians. (1)
Many centuries passed and in the 16th century the Spanish built missions along the coast of Georgia, but there is no evidence of one being on Jekyll. The Spanish called the Island “Isla de Ballenas” meaning the Island of Whales.
In 1733, James Oglethorpe established the state of Georgia. The next year, Jekyll Island was named after Sir Joseph Jekyll on January 28th, 1734 by Oglethorpe (Wilkins 1). In April of 1736, William Horton, one of Oglethorpe’s men, set out to establish a colony on Jekyll. Over the next 50 years, many different people owned the Island, but by 1800, Christophe Poulain DuBignon owned the whole Island.
The DuBignon family is interwoven in the history of Jekyll Island. DuBignon built the Horton House, which was a tabby structure. “Tabby is a type of building material used in the coastal Southeast from the late 1500s to the 1850s” (Morris 1). It is “made up of equal parts of lime, water, sand, oyster shells, and ash” (Morris 1). When he died in 1825, DuBignon gave the land to one of his sons, Colonel Henry DuBignon. The other son named Joseph was out of the picture. Henry divided the Island into roughly three parts to give to his sons and a small share to his daughter. When he died, his nephew John Eugene DuBignon, the son of Joseph DuBignon, purchased the four parts because he saw the islands potential as a private hunting preserve (Keber 2).  “With his brother-in-law, Newton Finney, John Eugene organized a hunting club, and Finney used his contacts in New York to attract investors among the monied social elite, such as J.P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, and William K. Vanderbilt” (Keber 2). John Hunter stated:
Because of the concentration of internationally prominent business leaders, Jekyll Island has been the scene of some important historical events. AT&T president Theodore Vail placed the first transcontinental telephone call from Jekyll Island on January 25, 1915. Meetings that led to the development of the Federal Reserve System were held in secret on Jekyll in 1910 between members of what became known as the First Name Club. (3)
“In 1972 the Jekyll Island Historic District was listed on the National Resister of Historic Places, and in 1978, it was elevated to National Historic Landmark status” (Hunter 4). Since Jekyll Island has played an important part in American History, it has a national historic remembrance becoming a national historic landmark.
Historic district
            The historical district on Jekyll Island is one of my favorite places because different architects from around the world built each “cottage” with many different influences in design. I have comprised a couple of pictures of the mansions that I think best represent the district. I received the information from my visit to the Island.
Cherokee Cottage
            Edwin Gould built Cherokee Cottage in 1904 for his in-laws. The architecture style is Italian renaissance, but the architect is unknown. Today the cottage is used as a hotel and meeting place with a nice cafĂ©.
Villa Marianna
            Frances Miller Gould built Villa Marianna in 1904 for his wife Florence Amelia Bacon. It was named after their daughter and was designed with a Spanish influence in architecture. It was the last Jekyll Island Member house to be built on Jekyll.
Hollybourne Cottage
            Charles Stewart Maurice built Hollybourne Cottage in 1890. The Maurice family lived there for 50 years. During World War II, they were denied access to the property and due to the lack of residents the state wanted to turn the Island into a state park. The family was outraged and never returned there after 1947. Locals say that the Maurice sisters haunt the home to this day. It is the only cottage not to be renovated because every time someone works on it, the construction is torn down. I asked Brandi if she ever heard of a haunting story from the cottage and she said that she had actually been inside and saw a girl. “My friends and I decided onetime to visit there at night. It gave me chills when we approached the property that night. We snuck in the back door and didn’t stay long because we got scared. When we were leaving I looked back and saw a woman’s face behind the boarded up door we had just ran out of” (Garrett).


Works Cited
Chapman, Dan. “Sweetheart deal' alleged at Jekyll 
Plum for developer: Critics say state's $10
million rent break on such valuable land is absurd.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution 23 Jul. 2007: A1. Print.
“Jekyll deal sadly a steal Taxpayers shouldn't have to bear the costs of 'sweetheart deal' that
island authority approved.” Editorial. Atlanta Journal-Constitution 24 Jul. 2007: A10. Print.
Garrett, Brandi. Personal Interview. 26 Feb. 2011.
Hunter, John. “Jekyll Island.” The New Georgia Encyclopedia. 15 Sept. 2008. Web. 19 Mar.
2011.
Keber, Martha L. “DuBignon Family.” The New Georgia Encyclopedia. 10 Feb. 2003. Web. 19
Mar. 2011.
Larrabee, Brandon. “Perdue Fingerprints are on Jekyll.” The Florida Times- Union 15 Jul. 2007.
Web. 19 Mar. 2011.
Morris, Susan D. “Tabby.” The New Georgia Encyclopedia. 10 Dec. 2005. Web. 19 Mar. 2011.
Wilkins, Thomas Hart. “Sir Joseph Jekyll and his Impact on Oglethorpe’s Georgia.” Georgia
Historical Quarterly 91.2 (2007): 119-134. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 18 Mar. 2011.