| Spring cleaning is one thing but finding significant and enduring items brings joy! I have previously written about all the USS Lexington, CV2 material my father collected in the Navy trunk and now safely in two museums. Thankful to the WWII Museum in New Orleans and the Lady Lex Museum in Corpus Christi, TX for their acceptance of these historic items!
Of course, there were many more items that both my parents safely stored, and I was elated to discover a fabulous piece of art purchased for them while on one of my many trips to Papua New Guinea. It is an extraordinary pen and ink piece created by J. Laben Sakele in 2004. I could not part with it, as you all know how much I adore the contemporary artists residing in these beautiful island areas of Melanesia. It was rushed to the framer to have it look elegant hanging on my wall. |
“Aroma Girl” is from the Central Province in Papua New Guinea. What an incredibly proud woman in traditional dress and body tatoos! Priceless! Thank you, Laben for the art, communication, and story behind the portrait.
Amongst other items cherished by my parents were three images of the earth from outer space. Apollo XVII circled the globe and astronaut, Gene Cernan, took the photos from the space capsule in 1972! Although the matting shows its age, the photos do not. The prints were made as a gift to a friend of my father’s, who was involved in the Naval Fleet Reserve. Captain Eugene A. Cernan logged 566 hours and 15 minutes in space—of which more than 73 hours were spent on the surface of the Moon. Captain Cernan was the second American to have walked in space, and one of only two men to have flown to the Moon on two occasions. As the commander of Apollo 17, Cernan had the privilege and distinction of being the last person to leave his footprints on the surface of the Moon.
Here is the best part of the story. The President of The Pacific Northwest Chapter of The Explorers Club, Mark Kerr, loves space, especially during the time of Apollo. Mark’s achievements are impressive, and he immediately knew these prints should be cherished. Even better yet – he carried Flag # 46 for a project. This is the same flag number I carried for the Headhunt Revisited: Charting Cultural Change in Melanesia! Here’s to finding the perfect home for these historic prints!
The Explorers Club website reports its “flag” and represents an impressive history of courage, accomplishment, and has been carried on hundreds of expeditions by Club members since 1918.
Flag #46 was carried on these expeditions:
Gene Lamb 1931 Expedition to North Tibet
Russell E. Matthews 1991 The Earhart Project Search Expedition
Capt. Robert G. Hahn 1992 Biosphere 2, First Two year Closure
Daniel Liebowitz, M.D. 1994 Forest Elephant Training Program
Jay M. Short, Ph.D. 2004 Kamchatka Microbial Expedition
Jay M. Short, Ph.D. 2004 Yellowstone Lake MATBI
Michele Westmorland 2005 Charting Cultural Change in Melanesia
Ralph B. White 2007 The Inner Space Speciation Project
John H. Loret, Ph.D. 2007 2008 Easter Island Expedition
Kevin V. Denlay 2008 HMS Exeter Expedition
Martin T. Nweeia 2010 Narwhal Tusk Research to Tremblay Sound
Peter Rowe 2011 Lionfish Expedition
Mark Alexander 2013 Baltic Sea Expedition
Dale T. Andersen 2014 Tawani Antarctic Expedition
Andrew McKenna 2015 TIGHAR Earhart Project – Niku VIII
U.Horodyskyj, Todd Huhn, Mark Kerr 2016 HERA XII (Campaign 3, Mission 4)
Stay Tuned for Part Two!!!