um, Wassau, Wisconsin. “I love to paint water birds in different lighting condi-tions. In fact, I started by loving to paint

water, since we lived on a boat for 12 years. I began with boats and buildings reflected on water, and then moved on to water lilies. And kind of late in the game I discovered that Florida was full of beautiful ponds with wonderful wad-ing birds. I guess I would say that the common thread run-ning through all my seemingly different

subject matter is that it pretty much has to be in the water.” Mary Louise O’Sullivan resides in Palm City, Florida.

Wildlife artist Mary Lou-ise O’Sullivan will exhibit her original art and giclee prints in the Nature Cen-ter at MacArthur Beach State Park from January 15 through March 30. A portion of all sales of her works will be donated by the artist to the Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park. The original oils on Belgian linen are collected by numerous mu-seums and cor-porate collections throughout the world and have been published in many books, such as “Birds in Art” and “The Best of Wildlife Art” in 1997 and 1999. She has been a participant in many prestigious exhibitions, including “Birds In Art” in 1994, 1995, 1997, and 2000-2003 at the Leigh Yawkley Woodson Art Muse-

Water Birds in Oil at MacBeach

Winter 2004

Dune NewsDune NewsThe

Special InterestArticles

Sea Turtle Naming Contest....3

New Hatches & Chairs...........3

New Board Members..............4

MacBeach’s New Website......4

In the Marketplace..................5

For Your Eyes Only.................6

Donor Honor Roll...................7

RegularHighlights

Thoburn’s Thoughts...............2

Shorelines...........................3-4

Did You Know... Nolan............5

Beach Spice...........................5

Volunteer Spotlight.................6

Manager’s Musings................8

Up-n-coming...................Insert

News le t te r des ign and layou t by Aa ron We lch , Ed i to r ( 772 ) 971 -0443

A quarterly newsletter sponsored by The Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park, Inc.

Thoburn’sThoughtsDear Friends of the Park, As I begin my term as President of the Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park, I have to take a moment to re-flect on what has happened to the organization over the past six years. Much credit and appre-ciation must be directed to Lynn Focht for all the accomplish-ments achieved over her six-year term as President. Many new programs have been initi-ated, financial support of the Park has increased substan-tially, accounting and budget-ary processes were formalized, position creation and employ-ment of a full-time administrator and Park Store Manager were fulfilled, and the creation of a formal endowment—the Nature Foundation—are just some of the many accomplishments achieved under her leadership and guidance. As I look forward, I foresee a very exciting period ahead for the Friends and the Park. Plans are underway to construct a fourth pod to the current Nature Center build-

ing, which will house a new Educa-tion Center and Park Store. The expanded Education Center and its programs will attract more visitors to the Park and its programs for students and youth groups. The Nature Cen-ter’s programs and exhibits will be doubled in size. The development of a new Internet site for the Park will be a boon to our public relations and the marketing efforts for the Park and its facilities and programs. We have come a long way over recent years and face many new and expanded opportunities for the future.

Ted ThoburnPresident, Friends of

MacArthur Beach State Park

John D. MacArthurBeach State Park

StaffPark Rangers

Mike WattsHonza RokytaBarry StevensRob Matriscino

Linda GabelmannSupport StaffRick Grimaldi

Junko NomuraDavid Posey

Phyllis WehnerMuseum Guide

Jennifer ZimmermanPark Services Specialist

Program DirectorMichelle ToepferToll Collectors

Celia ScottSecretary Specialist

Tiffany PeavyPark ManagerTerry Coulliette

Assistant Park ManagerPatrick Rash

Friends of MacArthurBeach State Park, Inc.

Board of DirectorsMorris Aherne

Paul AleskovskyLeni BaneRobert Bell

Terry CoullietteE.J. Crittenden

Mark DavisMary-Terese Delate

Rebecca DoaneDeborah Drum

Debbie FellLynn Focht

Larry HarjehausenJanet Heaton

Kelley HerrmannWilliam J. Hyland

Dr. John MarrDebra McCloskey

Dr. Bill MechValentino Miotto

Bill NolanKitty Omura

Andrew PineiroPatrick Rash

Ted Thoburn, PresidentPaul Thomson

Gilda VogelDan West

Stephen WigalMaura Ziska

AdministratorMartin A. Shiffman

Newsletter CoordinatorLeni Bane

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Welcome New Members!

Ms. Anita AchordMr. Vincent Cloud

Ms. Elizabeth EubanksDr. John Marr

Ms. Debra McCloskeyMs. Mary McGill

Mr. & Mrs. William NicolMs. Emily Parris

Shorelines

As many of you know, the Park is home to a rescued sea turtle hatchling, and every year we host a contest to name our baby loggerhead. Each local elementary class is allowed to submit one name to be placed on a ballot. Then, for one month, visitors of the Nature Center can vote on their favorite name. This year, the winning name is Squirt, from everyone’s favorite movie Finding Nemo. One hundred twenty-six classes from 33 schools sub-mitted names, and there were numerous “Squirt” submissions for the turtle, so the class who first submitted the name will be invited to the Park to meet the turtle; they also get their name engraved on a plaque, which hangs next to the aquarium. Congratulations to Melanie Stankiewicz’s kindergarten class of Discover Key Elementary School in Lake Worth, who won the 12th Annual Sea Turtle Naming Contest! We are excited to have our first kindergarten class to win the con-test, and we are looking forward to their arrival to meet “their” sea turtle. Not only is naming the turtle fun for stu-dents, but it is an education as well. To each class that submits a name, the Park gives lesson plans designed to teach all about the ecology and life history of sea turtles. Squirt is now approximately 15 weeks old and weighs less than 100 grams but will grow

up to be much larger. Logger-

heads, named for their large head, which is used for crush-ing mollusks, crabs, and other prey, average three feet in carapace length and can weigh up to 350 pounds! They are found in temperate and subtropical waters worldwide, and many come to the southeastern United States to nest during the months of March through September. In Florida, most nesting occurs from Volusia to Broward counties and at Cape Sable on the West Coast. Loggerheads do not reach maturity until they are 20-30 years of age, but when they do, they lay a clutch of approximately 100 eggs, typi-cally 2-3 times a season. Females, however, only nest every few years. Hatchlings dig themselves from their nests in the sand around 60 days later and spend the first few months of their life well camouflaged among the Sargassum seaweed. As for Squirt, he (or she) will stay at the Park for approximately one year. At that time, Squirt will be transferred to another facility until Squirt is big enough to be released into the Atlan-tic Ocean. Sea turtles return to the same beach where they were born to lay their eggs, and so maybe, just maybe, we’ll see Squirt all grown up nesting on our beaches someday, 20-30 years from now.

Sea Turtle Naming Contest Winner Announced!by Jennifer Zimmerman

Thanks to the generosity of The Friends and to volunteer Nancy Cohen, the two large aquariums in the Stuart Vogel Exhibition Center now have new hatches. Instead of one heavy door opening downward on each side, they have been replaced with two side-opening doors. The hatches and the tanks also have a nice new coat of paint, and they

New Aquarium Hatches and Theater Chairsby Jennifer Zimmerman

look fabulous! Thank you Friends and Nancy. We appreciate your generous donation! Also in the Nature Center Theatre we have new chairs. Most of you are familiar with the red, metal (and therefore cold) chairs we used to have. Now we have comfortable, gray cushionchairs with arm rests!

3

continuedShorelines

Welcome New Board Members

Paul A. Aleskovsky is Director of New Media for SGMA International, the international trade organization representing the manufacturers and retailers of sports equipment, footwear, and apparel. He has been with SGMA since 1985. He also serves as Convention and Meeting Planner, coordinating the Association’s major trade shows. Paul does independent Internet and mar-keting consulting. He was an Eagle Scout and is an experienced hiker and kayaker with a 35-year involvement as guide-instructor in swimming, hiking, canoeing, and kayaking. Paul and his wife, Gail, have two teenagers: daugh-

ter Caitlin, and son, Nate, who is also a guide and kayak instructor. Debra McCloskey is the Vice President and Senior Trust Officer with Comerica Private Banking. She has been with Comerica for 17 years. She is a mother of two daughters and has two grandchildren. She resides in Palm Beach Gardens.

Tino (Valentino) Miotto is the owner (retired from management) of Miotto Tile and Marble—one of the oldest and largest tile and marble importers and contractors in South Florida. The company was started by his father over 60 years ago. Tino, and his wife, Lillian, who is also retired from the company, live in Admirals Cove. He is an avid boater, she a landscape painter.

Mary-Terese Delate served two terms on the Friends’ Board of Directors in early 1990s. A former stock broker, she is a mother of four and very active in community, environmental, and cultural affairs. Her husband, Henry Iler, is a planner.

4

MacBeach has a new website!

Keep current with all of the cultural and natural events that are taking place at John D. MacArthur Beach State Park. Send a free elec-tronic postcard from the store, meet your Rangers and volunteers. You can even renew your Park member-ship online! Have you been involved in a Park event and have photos you would be willing to share? Please send an email with details to webmaster@macarthurbeach.org.

…that, because of its relation to inlets and other natural features, it is likely that “our” head of land is what Cabot called “Pointe St. Lucie” 500 years ago?

…that the closest the Gulf Stream comes to land in the world is here at MacArthur Beach? This phenomenal movement of warm water “bounces” our coast then “bounc-es” off the coast of Iceland, England, and Brittany. Because of this mass of water, London, which is at the same latitude as the southern part of Hudson Bay, has a winter climate very much like Seattle, instead of having polar bears like Churchill Canada.

…that the small green head of land on MacArthur Beach is the easternmost point in the State of Florida?

In the Marketplace In addition to our great regular selection of nature oriented merchandise we have some won-derful new items:• MacArthur Beach insulated coffee mugs• MacArthur Beach pens• MacArthur Beach Sweatshirts for adults and kids• T-shirts that change color in the sun and T-shirts that can be mailed like postcards?• Boingers: a new toy that has already sold out twice! New shipment just in.• Beautiful MacArthur Beach State Park photo postcards, guaranteed to make all who receive one jealous of your “Real Florida” winter.

All proceeds from sales in the Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park Gift Shop are used to support your Park: its educational programs, natural resources, and facilities. Thank you for making 2003 the best year yet in the gift shop!

Marty ShiffmanGift Shop Guru, Administrator,

Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park, Inc.

Did you know…

Did You Know...

…that Columbus never actually reached the mainland of North America, but just a few years after his voyage, John Cabot sailed along the coast of what is now Florida and drew the first map?

Bill “Did You” Nolan is one of MacArthur Beach State Park’s valued tram drivers. Anyone can learn troves of such tastey trivial morsels just by riding with one of our knowledgeable tram drivers across the estuary bridge or by taking a nature walk through the hammock.

Placeby W.S Merwin

On the last day of the worldI would want to plant a tree

what fornot for the fruit

the tree that bears the fruitis not the one that was planted

I want the tree that stands in the earth for the first time

with the sun already going down

and the watertouching the roots

in the earth full of the deadand the clouds passing

one by oneover its leaves.

5

Nolan

with Monk Larson

VolunteerSpOtlight

The AdlersBy Michelle Toepfer

I’m one of the lucky ones, who got to know and love Shirley and Sid Adler, who first volunteered at the Park’s opening 12 years ago. They were seen regularly on Friday afternoons: Sid at the wheel of a tram, and Shirley as docent in the Nature Center. Both carried walk-ie-talkies, which gave the rest of us a feeling that Sid and Shirley had everything under control. They also helped with special events: Shirley was a memorable Spider Woman on Fright Nights, and Sid had his camera rolling at the Art Shows. But then, as most of us recall with sad-ness, illness took the life of Sid Adler in October. Shirley lost her life-partner, and all of the MacArthur Beach family lost a close friend. I shall not soon forget the unique routine of these two, when Sid would walk visitors from the tram to the Nature Center, where Shirley would take over and wrap the newcomers in the warmth of her personality. Before leaving the Center, a visitor would have viewed the video, signed the guest book, and shared all kinds of personal

information with Shirley. As Leni Bane (Friends board member and former ranger) said, “Nobody is a strang-er to the Adlers, which makes them the kind of volun-teers we prize at the Park.” Their friendliness made first-time visitors depart with a sense of belonging to the Park. And we all could feel the love and tender-ness Sid and Shirley gave to each other—an example I want to follow in my own marriage. Shirley’s continuing presence in the Nature Center will be treasured, as in the past. It will also give us a sense of keeping the spirit of Sid Adler very much a part of this special place. Robert Frost expresses this nicely in a short poem:

DevotionThe heart can think of no devotion

Greater than being shore to the ocean—Holding the curve of one position,Counting on endless repetition.

6

For Your Eyes Only! All Park volunteers and Friends members are invited to our first Monthly Classic Movies series, beginning February 21, 2004, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. The kick-off film will be North By North-west in the pavilion next to the Nature Center. Popcorn and sodas will be served. Call the Nature Center for details: (561) 624-6954.

Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park, Inc.Membership Application

A not-for-profit Citizens’ Support Organization

❑ Benefactor... $500+ ❑ Patron... $100-$499 ❑ Family... $75 ❑ Individual...$40 ❑ Student... $20

Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________________________

City: _______________________________________________ State: ___________ ZIP: _________________

Email: ____________________________________________________________________________________Please send this application along with your donation to:

The Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park, Inc.PO Box 32395

Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33420For more information on the “Friends” please call (561) 776-7449

A copy of the official registration and financial information of the “Friends” may be obtained from The Division of Consumer Services by calling 800-435-7352

SpOtlightFriends of MacArthur

Beach State Park

Donor Honor Roll2002-2003

PEO Sisterhood, Chapter CWWatterson & Hyland, P.A.WCI Communities, Inc.

Mrs. Carol BoswellMrs. Nancy Cohen

Dr. & Mrs. Ernest JabourMr. Blakeney JacksonDr. & Mrs. Irving PaulMr. & Mrs. Joe SmithMr. Stephen Wigal

Ms. Pat Willard

Sidney AdlerMemorial Fund

Mr. & Mrs. Lee AdlerDr. & Mrs. Donald BaneMr. E. Franklin Deisher

Sam’s Club Pharmacy EmployeesMr. & Mrs. William Leimbach, Sr.

Mr. & Mrs. Bud PlumerMr. & Mrs. Alan Reiser

Mr. & Mrs. Martin Shiffman

Robert E. BoswellScholarship FundMr. Thomas B. Feagans II

Ms. Harriet HughesMr. & Mrs. Leroy Miller

Ms. Jonne SetliffMs. Mary Elizabeth Sheridan

Montgomery County Medical SocietyMr. W. Randolph YoungDayton Ear, Nose and

Throat Surgeons

Stuart VogelMemorial Fund

Mr. Douglas AdamsMr. & Mrs. Sidney AdlerMr. & Mrs. Glenn Albert

Mr. & Mrs. Jack AlterDr. & Mrs. Donald BaneChase Manhattan Bank

Ms. Rebecca BarberMr. & Mrs. Richard BarrettSara & Margaret Bartels

Mr. & Mrs. Paul BergmannMr. & Mrs. Jules BernsteinMr. & Mrs. Martin CohenMr. Terrence Coulliette

Dr. & Mrs. Frank CrittendenDr. Mark Damerau

Das DentalaborDr. & Mrs. Ronald Dudan

The Salivar FamilyMs. Jacqueline Feinbloom

Mr. & Mrs. Dale FellMs. Lynn Focht

JP Morgan Chase FoundationMr. & Mrs. James GentemannDr. & Mrs. Franklin GlickmanMr. & Mrs. Morton GreenbergMr. & Mrs. Jeffrey GreenblattMr. & Mrs. Joseph Greenblatt

Mrs. Caroline GruenwaldMr. Joe Halperin

Ms. Emily HauslohnerMrs. Janet Heaton

Mr. & Mrs. Stanley HerringtonMr. & Mrs. Curtis D. Hertz

Ms. Debra HillardMr. & Mrs. Joshua JustinMr. & Mrs. Murray Korn

Sunshine Dental LaboratoriesMr. & Mrs. Howard LewisMr. & Mrs. Melvin Lundie

Ms. Carolyn MalskiMs. Ann Mathews

Mr. and Mrs. William McGinnis

Dr. & Mrs. Barry MiskinMr. & Mrs. William Murray

Dr. Stephen RimerMr. & Mrs. Alvin Romanoff

Ms. Marilyn RosenMr. Bill Ryan

Mr. & Mrs. Cedric ShabsisMs. Kathleen M. Sheehy

Mr. & Mrs. Martin A. ShiffmanDr. & Mrs. Merlin StoneMr. & Mrs. Melvin Stone

Dr. & Mrs. Robert StrasserMr. Rock A. Tate

Mr. & Mrs. Ted ThoburnMs. Penny Tillman

Ms. Eileen Van der WareMs. Arlene Weiner

Mr. & Mrs. Phil WerndliMr. Dan West

Ms. Rita WilliamMs. Zhao Xiao-Hua

Thank you all for your generous donations!Not only are you preserving the Real Florida,

but also the treasured memories of loved ones gone.

Although this list was carefully reviewed, there may be errors and omissions, for which we apologize.Please direct your comments, questions or corrections to Martin A. Shiffman, Administrator,

Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park. (561) 776-7449.

7

John D. MacArthurBeach State Park

10900 State Rd. 703 (A1A)North Palm Beach, FL 33408

Office Phone:(561) 624-6950

Nature Center:(561) 624-6952

Fax:(561) 624-6954

Friends Office:(561) 776-7449

Websites:www.macarthurbeach.orgwww.floridastateparks.org

More than just a beach!

Newsletter created by

Aaron Welch • (772) 463-8216

Although South Florida sea-sons change little, MacArthur Beach changes seasonally. As temperatures decrease, traffic increases, due to the arrival of the annual “snowbirds,” as well as other winter visitors. Fortu-nately, along with the increased Park attendance, more of our seasonal volunteers come back to help with school groups. Even the beach changes as northerly winds carve away at the beach and bring more dynamic waves to our shores. In the winter, the beach sand is swept away by wind and water—replenished natu-rally with the summer currents. Our moonlight concerts continue, and I would like to remind the members of The Friends of Mac-Arthur Beach State Park that their membership entitles them to

a discount for some of the monthly events. Just show your card at the check-in table. Additionally, we are in the process of devel-oping a new free program for members and volunteers only. It will consist of a monthly “Classic Movie Night.” We’ll show old-time movies and serve popcorn to our guests. Be sure to come! Please contact the Nature Center for details. Setting a new record, the Park at-tendance exceeded the 100,000 mark for the first time this past year. With your support the Park continues to grow and improve. Work-ing together, we can provide a quality experi-ence for visitors and residents alike, while protecting and preserving the Real Florida. Thank you for your continued support as we begin the New Year, filled with exciting pos-sibilities and an abundance of blessings.

TerryTerry Coulliette, Park Manager

Manager’sMusings

John D. MacArthur Beach State Park10900 State Road 703 (A1A)North Palm Beach, Florida 33408

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More than just a beach!

Look inside and see how

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