Menokin 2022: The Road Forward from Executive Director Sam McKelvey
Letter from Executive Director Sam McKelvey
A sincere welcome to 2022 from Menokin. As evidenced by the continuing pandemic and events across the world, we know 2021 was a year of choices and challenges and we thank you for your steadfast support and engagement. In my own experience over the last year stewarding Menokin, a parent to three children in school, spouse, son, friend, and colleague, I have learned that we all have so many choices presented to us to spend our precious time for discovery, recreation, learning, reflection, and well-being.
Our hope at Menokin in 2022 is to continue to be of service to you and the communities we serve by delivering engaging programming, digital content, and 500 acres of physical space and structures to provide learning and personal reflection in a truly unique historical context. We hope to continue to provide a platform for lively discussion and healthy debate around challenging topics presented by the historical legacy of Menokin and all that it entails.
Our board and staff are hard at work planning for the launch of our last stage of stone stabilization of the Menokin ruin beginning this spring. The Menokin ruin and Glass House Project, as well as the rest of Menokin and its landscape provide spaces for learning and inspiration. We will be launching new online tools for you to monitor the progress of the project in real time, as well as on-site activities, tours and workshops. To see the latest with The Glass House project please visit our web site here for the Story of the House, and here for the latest on The Glass House Project.
Our “Elements” programming initiative continues this year, diving deeper into the unique preservation building methods in saving the ruin, including the history and legacies of the people who built Menokin. “Elements” will be adding online lectures, in-person tours, new videos, newsletters, festivals and bus-tours in addition to continuing its celebrated webinar series. Our aim is to bring you Menokin’s Elements across multiple platforms to enhance learning, discussion and discovery in whatever form you wish.
As Menokin approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we continue to learn more about its past and what that means for our lives today. Our new research department is organizing its information, discovering new documents, and speaking to our community to learn more about how Menokin has impacted our region and nation. Leading this effort are those that were descended from those that were enslaved at Menokin during its over 200 years as a plantation.
Our Descendant Collective is growing and continues to mark the trajectory of Menokin’s future. We look forward to working with these families to support the discovery and amplification of their history and stories through expansion of archival and genealogy resources, new digital tools for storytelling, discussion series, archaeology, and the development of a new Remembrance Structure exhibit.
We look forward to launching new outdoor events and festivals this year as representation and celebration of our history and culture across a wide range of maker and learning gatherings. Our water programs, including kayaking the historical surrounding waterways, will expand with the growth of Rappahannock Outdoor Adventures in partnership with the Town of Warsaw, VA. Menokin is evolving its self-guided history and recreational activities as well, improving its trails and signage, and adding scenic picnic areas and amenities to its secluded landscape for quiet contemplation and family time.
Comprehensive details on all the above programming, events, and more will be forthcoming throughout the year. If we were to give a theme looking forward into 2022, perhaps it may simply be well-being through learning, discovery and reflection.
As always, we look forward to meeting many of you on the Menokin landscape and virtually online!
Sam
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