7 of 13 Jekyll Island Trip Series.

As anticipated, the 2023 Jekyll Island Axis/Vegas Meetup was the high point of our trip. We had a great time reacquainting with the folks we met last year and meeting lots of new Axis/Vegas folks this year.

Another cool thing at this meetup was when everyone with a e-bike brought them together to share and answer questions.

We enjoyed learning from each other. On left is TJ showing off his handcrafted “pullout pantry drawer with LED lighting”. He (and lots of others) have made wonderful modifications to their rigs. We also had great food and treats at “pizza night” and at a pitch-in supper (including these delicious RV sugar cookies from Geri).

The first visit was to Moss Cottage. The cottage was built for William Struthers Jr. and had the date of completion crafted into one of the attic dormers in sea shells. Struthers was the first club member to bring a “gasoline automobile” to the island. It was not well received and he had to send it back to Philadelphia. The cottage was built of all local materials, including cypress shingles and was named because of the profusion of Spanish moss hanging from the surrounding trees. Struthers was the retired owner of the Philadelphia John Struthers and Son Marble Works Company.
The cottage was later owned by George Henry Macy, tobacconist of Hudson, New York, who became president of Union Pacific Tea (later the chain of A&P grocery stores 1859-2015).

In keeping with the “simple” lifestyle at Jekyll, custom plates were on display in the kitchen. Most meals were eaten at the Club House. When the owners of the cottages wanted a meal at home they did not prepare it. It was prepared at the Club House and catered to be rewarmed, plated, and served at the cottage. From Moss Cottage, we moved on to Mistletoe Cottage.

The metal protective light globe and the (reproduction) stenciled ceiling. The entry door was placed on the side of the house so that horses and carriages would not park in front where those being entertained had room to spread out with the beautiful views looking west toward the sunset over the river and marshes.

This was the possibly the first “condominium” in North America.

We visited The Georgia Sea Turtle Center. Everyone is talking these days about the “terrible” Sargasso seaweed washing ashore on the Florida beaches. I thought it was a bad thing but learned the baby turtles swim straight for the Sargasso Sea seaweed patch in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The females live and grow in the protection of the seaweed for over 10 years before venturing back to the same beach to lay eggs. There was an awesome moss covered Live Oak tree just outside the Sea Turtle Center. It is so awesome it seemed like a Disneyland artificial creation.

Interior of Horton House ruins and a closeup of “Tabby” construction (like concrete but using clam shells instead of gravel)

Interesting historical stuff. If interested click to enlarge and read – or skip it…

PS. One more interesting thing we learned about Jekyll Island. A secret meeting of millionaires, bankers, and Senate Republican leader Nelson Aldrich, was held here in 1910 with a goal to improve the US banking system following the banking panic of 1907. A centralized (national) banking system, with a uniform interest rate, was determined here at Jekyll Island. This meeting was the conception of what in a few years would became the Federal Reserve System.

Interesting that today the Federal Reserve admitted the collapse of Silicon Valley Band (SVB) was (in part) a failure of oversight by the Federal Reserve System….