For the last 20 years, dedicated volunteers have maintained artifacts of the island’s past for all to see, learn from and enjoy. This weekend, the Museum of the Islands is proud to celebrate its 20th anniversary and all are welcome to join in on a number of festivities. The event, scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 28, will feature two special programs led by award winning journalist and Florida nature essayist, Amy Bennett Williams.

The first program is geared to school-age children on Pine Island. Williams will lead a program on writing, journaling and appreciating nature and the fascinating history of Southwest Florida.

“This program is meant to inspire kids to write and to appreciate the island environment,” said long-time museum volunteer Gladys Schneider. “It is also my hope that the children will develop an interest about the history of their island. It is important to pass on history because it could easily be lost in just one generation.”

The chidren’s writing workshop will take place at the Fishers of Men Lutheran Church, just south of Pine Island center, beginning at 1 p.m.

Directly following the children’s program, at 2 p.m., everyone is invited to attend the 20-year celebration of the museum at Fishers of Men when Williams will present and discuss the history of the island. In addition, past presidents of the Museum of the Islands will present a slide show and offer comments about the rich history that can be found within the walls of the museum. Refreshments will be served at both presentations and a raffle will be held with winners announced during the event, for a framed print of fabulous Pine Island photographs.

Schneider first became involved with the museum in 1986, long before the current facility had been occupied.

“When my husband and I moved to the island, I was working as a historic preservation planner and when Elaine Jordan approached me for help I was more than happy to,” said Schneider. “The location Elaine was looking at was the old library. When the library abandoned the building and moved to its current facility we began working with the county to use it for a museum. At that time, the folks from the library were opposed to using the building for the museum as they had planned to have it demolished to make room for parking, so it took a bit of negotiating to get the property preserved and prepared to open as the museum.”

A small group of volunteers then began fund-raising efforts to repair and restore the building which had been constructed by volunteers in the early 1960s.

“We began by having booths at every island event to raise money. We also received several donations from generous islanders to get us started,” Schneider said. “Many of our donations came in the form of materials and labor as well. We had volunteers who put on a new roof, installed new air conditioning, painting the interior and exterior of the building and basically rehabbed the entire property.”

Then the hunt began to fill displays within the museum.

“Elaine Jordan had several artifacts she had found or been given, but we still needed a lot more to fill the space. We received some help from the University of Florida when they loaned us some artifacts and others stepped forward with contributions and other loans for displays,” said Schneider.

Other help came in the form of loans from the Naples Historical Museum of Collier County which contributed six large display cases and later, the St. Petersburg Historical Museum also offered a collection of showcases as well as furniture. Once the museum was filled with items that represented Pine Island’s rich history, a ribbon cutting was held on Feb. 4, 1990 and the Museum of the Islands was ready to receive its first guests.

For more information about the 20th anniversary celebration of the Museum of the Islands, call Gladys Schneider at 218-5008 or e-mail to gladysschneider@comcast.net.

The Museum of the Islands is open during the winter months Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. The Museum of the Islands is located at 5728 Sesame Drive, next to the Pine Island Public Library and to schedule a private tour for a group, call 283-1525.