Volunteer Pam Neumann, Dennis Schutt and volunteer Kathy Schutt

• Forward this email to your friends 
• Join the planning committee
• Donate an item for the silent auction 
• Volunteer to help the night of the event
• If you own a business, buy some tickets for your employees or customers as a thank you. 

If you are interested in any of these ways to help, please email us at [email protected] or call Sandy at 710-6761.   

And please let the employees at Mandarin's Fresh Market know that you are also a friend of Mandarin Museum and that you appreciate their support of our community's heritage. 

Keith Holland, Lee Manley, Larry Tipping

"Meet the Maple Leaf Divers" Days  at Mandarin Museum 

Currently on display are rarely seen artifacts that represent military items, personal effects of Union soldiers and articles taken by the soldiers from plantation homes in South Carolina on the way to Florida. Hear about the ship, the archaeological expedition and the artifacts from those who know first hand - the men who actually dived into the dark waters of the St. Johns and touched every piece that was retrieved.

Also enjoy the informative 150th Anniversary exhibit, created by UNF Intern Matt Jones, see the beautiful model of the ship, view the actual diving suit of lead diver Lee Manley and listen to Mr.  Manley and Keith Holland talking to each other on a tape that was made during one of the earliest expeditions on the shipwreck site in the late 1980s.

Of special interest is the hand carved wooden pipe of Cpl. Victor Quillard, 13th Indiana Infantry. Cpl. Quillard emigrated to America from France shortly before the American Civil War. He enlisted in 1862 and his baggage was on the Maple Leaf when it was sunk by Confederate torpedoes on April 1, 1864 at Mandarin Point. Victor Quillard then left Jacksonville with his regiment to fight in Virginia and he was killed on the first day of battle at Cold Harbor - on June 1 - exactly two months to the day of losing all of his gear on the Maple Leaf.

Learn more by purchasing the book "Maple Leaf - An Extraordinary American Civil War Shipwreck". This book is the only book written about this ship, the dives and the cultural material that is so historically important. It was written and edited by Keith Holland, Jim Towart (MMHS President Emeritus) and Lee Manley and has been out of print for 20 years. Dr. Holland has generously allowed the Mandarin Museum to reprint it as a 150^th Anniversary edition. Buy a copy and have it autographed by the very men you will see pictured in the book. It is a treasure that you will want to read from cover to cover  and  pass down through your family. Special wooden magnets of the ship are also available in the museum bookstore as well as beautiful note cards.

For more information call 268-0784.

Memorial Day at Mandarin Cemetery

This year flags were placed at the all of the graves that had U. S. A. military service information on the markers. The effort was led by Mandarin Museum & Historical Society volunteer Don Carter and Cemetery Association volunteer Joe Walsh. Two Boy Scout troops who meet near the cemetery helped place the flags: Troop 321 from Mandarin Presbyterian Church and Troop 110 from the Church of Our Saviour. Many thanks to all of these volunteers who gave their time to remember and honor those who once lived in Mandarin and served their country.

If you know someone who is buried at Mandarin Cemetery and served, but does not have it listed on his/her marker, please get in touch with [email protected] so they can be included on Veteran's Day in November.

Troop 321

Troop 110

Those of you who lived in the small village of Mandarin in 1964 have lots of memories of the only full force hurricane to strike Jacksonville. You can visualize huge oak trees laying across the yards and roads, flooded properties, frightening winds, the loss of the famous Stowe window at the Church of Our Saviour and a whole week without electricity. It was a huge mess, but thankfully there were no deaths and everybody pitched in to help each other and share what they had. At the time there were only a few thousand residents in the area and the land was mostly rural. One can only imagine the devastation that would take place now in the sprawling and dense suburb of Mandarin and the surrounding area.  

The Mandarin Museum & Historical Society and Mandarin Community Club will be remembering Hurricane Dora at the Third Thursday Lecture on August 21 from 6:30-8:00. This evening will include a special taped discussion of the storm by George Winterling, famous and beloved WJXT meteorologist. Mr. Winterling was the only weather expert to correctly predict that Dora was coming our way. The event will also include some residents who lived through it sharing their memories and answering questions.

In preparation for this anniversary, the museum would love to see your photos and hear your stories. The organization will have a special Dora photographic display and will compile the collection of memories for the archives. If you have anything to share, please contact the museum at [email protected] or 268-0784 as soon as possible.

Mandarin Road after Dora