My Summer: Kit Candler

This summer I am doing lots of little things :) For 2 weeks in June I have been on Cumberland Island staying at my family's house on the north end of the island. I plan to write my thesis on this area, High Point, and its preservation, where it's headed, etc. As a life estate the property is leased from the park service. At one point, my family owned the land and houses there, but now the park service owns the land and leases it back to us. The lease runs out when those who were alive for the sale of the land to the park service have passed away. I'm planning to explore life estates as part of my thesis as well, examining how the park service handles the property, land and structures, once control and management reverts back to them. This means taking lots and lots of pictures on the island, documenting what is currently located within the property. My dog, Gracie, keeps me company while I'm down here!! I will return in July after my field school, which I'll get to in a minute, for another two weeks. 

I'm also volunteering with the Park Service this summer at Plum Orchard, a beautiful Georgian Revival Mansion that's located on the island toward the south end. Plum Orchard was built in 1898 by Lucy Carnegie as a wedding gift to her son George and his new wife Margaret - talk about a great wedding present!! The Carnegies built many homes on the island, and their descendants still retain property rights in deals similar to the one like my family has at High Point. Right now I'm learning all the information about the house and I may start giving tours there this week, but will definitely do so when I come back in July.

My Summer also includes some travel! I'm headed to Italy on June 26 to take part in Willowbank's Canova Field School in Domodosolla, Italy near the Swiss border. I'm so excited about this opportunity to learn about preservation in other countries, as well as get some hands on experience learning about masonry and medieval construction. I'll be sure to send another update once I'm there with more details about what I'm doing!

-Kit