Old Stuff Can be Cool

First I must say a huge "Thank You" to Gemma. These are all her photos. I left me camera in my room~

Tonight I went to the Antarctica Heritage Conservation meeting. I wasn't sure what to expect, thinking it was science related, and was wonderfully surprised. They are the group in charge of conserving the huts at Cape Evans and Cape Royds. Several explorer groups have used the huts as they traversed the Continent, but the oldest is Scott's Expedition and Shacklton's. Both men's journeys were extraordinary and crazy. Why would you want to cross a giant Ice landscape? To the be the first I imagine. I wonder if it is any different than wanting to go to the moon? Why would you want to go somewhere where conditions can kill you just like that? The trill? Theexcitement? Perhaps I should have asked myself the same questions before I came down here. Although the threat to my life was minimal compared to earlier explorers and astronauts.

So they had different items from both huts, from clothing, to food. They are opening the box crates because they are deteriorating and they want to preserve what ever is inside of them. They say each one is like Christmas since they don't know what they'll find. They've found canned plums, flour, and corn among some of the items. It was interesting hearing the conservationists talk, you could just see their childlike wonder and passion about what they are doing. The huts turn a 100 this year, and they're permit to restore them runs out the end of the year. As you can believe they have a large undertaking and are trying to get as much done before the items have to be replaced for another 100 years

The Crates they are opening like Christmas Presents (Bag of Corn found in one crate)

Clothing found at Scott's Hut

Bicycle from 1910 Expedition (Only rode once and for less then 10 minutes)

Man's name was etched into the side

What I found most interesting was the mystery, the puzzles of conservation. Finding items from long ago and trying to figure out what they are or what they were used for. There was a tin can with a handwritten note on it, a description of it's contents, but the label was so corroded that you could only make out part of the word - "Chalk"; but what was the first word. Eyes straining you try and piece together the scratches you see, knowing they form a word, answer the question and yet your mind can't piece them together. What a frustration. A challenge. Oh what a mystery that lays within close reach with just a little imagination.

Tin with mysterious words written - Only the word "Chalk" was legible. What was the rest?

Conservationists can't catalog every item because they don't know every item, being asked as a viewer if you perhaps knew what it was was new. I'm used to the idea that scientists know everything, every item is always labeled with a date, time, location, without hesitation or doubt. Knowing that there is so much found around the world that can't be labeled - is studied with a a sigh and a shrug - cataloged as unknown, you don't really see that in museums. Wouldn't it be a surprise if one day you were visiting a museum and you see a beautiful object, smooth and curved, something about it is familiar, your mind thinks it has seen it before, but when you look for the small tag to tell you what it is, there is a single note. Written in pencil it says, "If you know what this is, write it on the wall around the corner," so you go drawing the pen from your pocket but as you turn the corner, the space is covered with sprawling handwriting. From different hands the items known identity is written, but as you look closer each frame of letters is different. One person has written something, while another something else. The wall is covered with different answers, but all that are the known facts by individuals. What strange things would people say that the discover was. Would your contribution to that piece make it more important, more relevant to you? Would you want to know what it really was, or be more fascinated by what others think it to be? What stories would the unknown history of that piece create? Would you add your own to the wall? What would that object be to you? Would your culture effect what it is, would your travels have revealed where you had seen it before? What would your answer be?

So, conservation is about saving what is deteriorating from the past so that those in the future can see what history was. I enjoyed the experience and got a lot more out of it than I expected.