With the winter season swiftly approaching, the volunteer staff at the Museum of the Islands is looking ahead to expanding its hours of operation. With that plan, however, more volunteers will be needed to help fill those hours.

“We are looking for people who can spare four hours a week or even once a month to help out as greeters at the museum,” said Naomi Brewer with MOTI. “Even if they have no knowledge of local history, this is a great opportunity to learn while training. Also, you may enjoy meeting visitors from all around the world.”

The winter hours for the museum will begin Nov. 1. The museum will be open Tuesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Sunday, from 1 to 4 p.m. The museum will be closed on Monday. Those interested in volunteering for a greeter position are asked to go to the museum on Friday, Oct. 16, at 9:15 a.m., to learn more about becoming a volunteer greeter. For more information, call Naomi Brewer at 283-4298.

MOTI is the only place on the island that has made a conscious effort to preserve the history of Pine Island. Artifacts dating back to the Calusa as well as the years when the island was a mecca for commercial fishermen are all represented within the walls of the museum.

The museum first came in to being in the 1960s when it occupied the first public library on the island. Renovations to the building were not tax supported and volunteers raised funds and solicited donations to complete the work.

In late 1989 the museum was finally ready to be filled with exhibits. During the time of the renovations, volunteers also collected materials for exhibits. The Naples Museum contributed six large, lighted 8-foot wall cases and the St. Petersburg Museum donated a collection of antique showcases, made in the turn-of-the-century style lending a Victorian feel to the museum interior.

Later the museum was officially dedicated on Feb. 4, 1990, and was opened to the public.

The museum continues to grow by adding new exhibits. Among the noted exhibits found at the Museum of the Islands are field notes written by an archaeologist who explored the western side of Pine Island in 1895. Frank Cushing was among the first to discover Calusa art and copies of which are currently displayed at the museum. Also among the authentic artifacts are pottery, shell tools and other materials found in the Calusa mound excavations on Pine Island.

Also hung on a prominent wall at the museum is a portrait of George Washington. In the form of a beaded tapestry, the portrait was created by Sarah Kuster and her daughter Mary Custer Close in 1874. According to family records, the Washington tapestry took the two women 10 years to complete and is still mounted in its original goldleaf frame. Prior to making its way to Pine Island, the Washington tapestry was exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and at the Florida Pavillon of the New York World’s Fair in 1939. Upon retiring in St. Petersburg the family hung the portrait in the lounge of the Pheil Hotel. When the hotel was sold and converted into a bank, the family then began searching for a new place for the portrait and it was then donated to the Museum of the Islands where it remains today.

The museum also maintains a collection of items that portray the island’s natural environment. The items include a boar’s head, several mounted fish species and a shell collection comprised of more than 1,700 different items.

In the main exhibit room, visitors are greeted by the “Doll Cart” in which several generations of dolls ride in a restored horse cart which dates back to the early 20th century.

In the area where household items are found, visitors will see every day items such as vintage telephones, farm machinery and fishing gear from years gone by.

An entire museum case is dedicated to the island’s recreational and commercial fishermen and contains many years worth of nautical maps as well as displays that tell of fishing and the fish that are the most sought after by anglers of yesteryear as well as today.

The Museum of the Islands is located at the corner of Sesame Lane and Russell Road next door to the Pine Island Public Library just north of the island center. For more information about the museum or to volunteer, call 283-4298.