Pamela Blalock recorded 578 hours last year, more than any other volunteer at the Beaches Museum in 2023. We are excited to honor her with our first-ever Volunteer Spotlight! We took a minute to sit down with Pam and ask her some questions about her time with the museum. Read on for the full interview!
Interviewer: You’ve got the most volunteer hours. Congratulations on getting all of those hours!
Pam: Thank you.
What did you spend your time doing before committing so much time to volunteering here at the Beaches Museum?
I was working before I retired.
What did you do for work?
I was the HR Manager for the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian.
Do you have a favorite collections item, and if so, what is it?
Ooh… I think I like the Foreman’s House the best.
The Foreman’s House in the History Park
What do you like most about it?
I find the kitchen fascinating, and, um, I don’t know–the adult potty chair. [laughs]
My next question was, do you have a favorite place in the History Park, but I guess–
Oh, well that answers that one, yes.
Do you have a favorite… plant? In the garden?
Oh, I don’t know one plant from another. If it’s not a rose, I don’t know what it is. [laughs]
What has been the most rewarding aspect of volunteering here for you?
Just meeting new people. Getting to make friends and meet people from all over.
Pam Blalock, Paul Meyerherm, and Tim Keeley at Springing the Blooms 2023
Is there a moment or memory that stands out about your time here?
Other than Kate? [laughs]
Do you have any advice for new volunteers?
Just enjoy your time. I mean, I enjoy it. The reason I keep doing it is because I enjoy it–and it gets me out of the house. It gives me something to do as a way to make friends. That’s why I started here.
You have made lots of friends here!
Well, and I started out at the Smithsonian as a docent doing dinosaur tours! So I was kind of–that gave me something to do. It was just a natural flow once I retired and moved down here.
Did you have a favorite dinosaur at the Smithsonian?
Yeah, the parasaurolophus.
I’ll have to look up how to spell that one.
I just love the name!
If you opened your own museum, what would it be the museum of?
Probably dinosaurs. [laughs]
Interested in volunteering? Simply fill out our the form below or ask for an application at the front desk!
The Beaches Museum will be closed on Saturday, January 20 for a private special event. We will resume normal operating hours on Sunday, January 21! We look forward to seeing you!
The Beaches Museum will be closed on Wednesday, August 30 so that our volunteers and staff can stay off the roads during the impacts of Hurricane Idalia. If conditions allow, we plan to re-open for our regular hours, 10-4, on Thursday. Please stay safe and we look forward to seeing you soon!
The Board of Directors of the Beaches Museum recently adopted the proposed 3-year Strategic Plan for the organization. Chaired by Doris McNeill, the Strategic Planning team was composed of board members, volunteers, staff and community leaders and was facilitated by Jana Ertrachter. The group worked for 6 months to compile data, surveys and other relevant information to distill the next three years of the organizations work in to four main goal areas:
Cultivate human and financial resources to strengthen the future of the Museum
Spark and nurture curiosity, conversation, and involvement with the mission of the Beaches Museum
Create and foster an atmosphere of belonging and ownership for everyone
Reinvent and transform the current exhibit experience
Funded in part by The Community Foundation, the comprehensive nature of the strategic planning process will help to guide the future of the Beaches Museum. The Executive Summary of the plan can be viewed HERE.
Researched and prepared by Sarah Sharp, volunteer and occasional writer for the Beaches Museum.
Introduction
For educators interested in Black and African American heritage and history in northeast Florida, especially in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and the Beaches, numerous people, neighborhoods, cemeteries, buildings, sites, museums, and special collections are available for covering this topic. Topics and sites are richly woven together across heritage and history, place and time, local and national.
Pfc. DeWayne Corbitt grew up in a military family.
His mother and father served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and all three of his older brothers enlisted in the Army during the Vietnam War era.
But Corbitt, a 1967 graduate of Fletcher High School, bucked family tradition when he joined the U.S. Marine Corps in February 1968.
Clockwise from top left: Dennis Corbitt, Donald Corbitt, Dale Corbitt and DeWayne Corbitt.
“He loved war movies, westerns and John Wayne,” said Corbitt’s older brother, Dennis, a retired high school teacher who served as an Army medic at Fort Benning, Ga., from 1962-65.
The second youngest of five children, DeWayne Corbitt was 14 when his father, World War II veteran Herbert E. Corbitt, died of cancer at the age of 40.
His mother, Maxine, who served in the Women’s Army Corps, worked as a dietician at Beaches Hospital when the family resided in the 900 block of 13th St. N., in Jacksonville Beach.
Four of the five Corbitt children attended Fletcher High, including Donald Herbert Corbitt, the second oldest, who was stationed in Germany and Korea during his Army service.
Dale Corbitt, a 1966 Fletcher grad, served in Vietnam as a machine gunner with an Armored Cavalry unit.
Frances Corbitt, a 1968 Fletcher grad, played four sports for the Lady Senators and sang in the school chorus.
“Part of her workouts included running knee-deep in the ocean,” said her daughter, Kelly McFarland of Tallahassee.
“All of them loved their time at Fletcher.”
Brothers in Arms
DeWayne Corbitt attended boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., and advanced infantry training at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
In June 1968, before his tour of duty in Vietnam began on Aug. 14, 1968, Corbitt spent a 20-day leave of absence in Jacksonville Beach.
Once overseas, he was assigned to the Marine Corps’ most decorated regiment, the 5th Marines.
During the Tet Offensive, 1st battalion, 5th Marines, engaged in fierce urban combat in the famous Citadel section of the ancient imperial city of Hue.
Corbitt wasn’t the only Jacksonville Beach resident serving overseas that summer. Pfc. William Raymond Gast, who also attended Fletcher, was assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines.
Both Corbitt and Gast were involved in Mameluke Thrust, a 1st Marine Division operation that ran from June-October 1968.
Gast, who joined the Marines in October 1967, and arrived in Vietnam in April 1968, was a prolific letter-writer during his tour of duty.
“It looks like we will be out in the bush from the 25th of August to the 15th of September,” one of his last letters said.
“It will probably be longer. No rest for the Marines.”
In other letters, Gast described his hatred of C-rations and canteen water treated with halazone disinfection tablets. He wrote that he once went 36 days without taking a shower and suffered from trench foot.
“My feet look like death warmed over,” he wrote. “It seems the other branches have it better than the Marines.”
Gast never made it back from his last mission, which was hampered by a Sept. 5 typhoon that swamped much of Quang Nam province where the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines were based.
He was missing in action for three days before his body was recovered. Gast was officially listed as killed in action on Sept. 10, 1968. He was 19.
Brief time in-country
In late August 1968, a platoon in Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, was ambushed near the Song Tinh Yen River. A dozen Marines were killed and another 18 were wounded.
According to his service record, Corbitt was assigned to Delta company, but it’s unknown if the platoon in question was his own.
“I know my Uncle Dale was in ‘Nam from 1968-1969, but my Uncle DeWayne was not there very long,” McFarland said.
“I’m not sure if he had time to write home from the day he landed until the day he was shot by a sniper on patrol.”
Pfc. DeWayne Corbitt was eight days shy of his 20th birthday when he was killed in action on Sept. 17, 1968.
According to a letter dated Sept. 27, 1968, and addressed to Dennis Corbitt, Lt. Col. Richard F. Daley, the commanding officer of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, said Pfc. DeWayne Corbitt was mortally wounded by enemy small arms fire.
“A medical corpsman rushed to his aid immediately, but his wounds proved too severe, and DeWayne succumbed almost instantly,” the letter read.
“DeWayne was a sincere, hard-working young man who impressed everyone with his eager manner and courteous demeanor. He took great pride in doing every job well and constantly displayed those
qualities of eagerness and self-reliance that gained him the respect of his seniors and contemporaries alike.”
The letter went on to say that a memorial service held in Corbitt’s honor at the battalion chapel was attended by his many friends in the battalion.
The same day that Corbitt died, Sgt. Ray Hayes of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, was killed while leading a squad of Marines on a reconnaissance of the same hostile area.
According to Hayes’ silver star citation, “After penetrating the enemy line and disregarding his own safety, he fearlessly moved about a hazardous area until he had pinpointed the enemy emplacements and located an injured comrade.”
After reporting his tactical observations back to his commanding officer, Hayes, a platoon leader on his second tour of duty in Vietnam, was mortally wounded by enemy machine gun fire “while crossing the dangerous terrain.”
Like Corbitt, Hayes had only been in-country a few weeks before his death.
Buried with Honors
A memorial service for Corbitt was held on Sept. 29, 1968, in the chapel of Giddens-Griffin Funeral Home in Jacksonville Beach. The following day, Giddens-Griffin held a similar service for Gast, whose parents resided across the street from the original Fletcher campus in the 2000 block of 3rd Street North.
Gast is buried at Warren Smith Cemetery in Jacksonville Beach.
Corbitt’s remains were buried alongside his father’s grave at Hancock Cemetery in Fort Meade, Fla.
Dale Corbitt, who was serving in Vietnam at the time of his younger brother’s death and was exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange while overseas, was flown home to attend the funeral service.
He died in 2007 and is buried in the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Fla. Donald Corbitt died in 2019 and is buried in the Jacksonville National Cemetery.
When McFarland and Dennis Corbitt learned that the Fallen Wartime Veterans Street Sign Program has plans to honor the memory of Pfc. DeWayne Corbitt with a special street sign in Jacksonville Beach, they were incredibly pleased.
“I wish my granny (Maxine Corbitt), my mom (Frances Corbitt Burke) and two of my uncles were still alive to see it,” McFarland said. “I feel like this is honoring them as well.”
The Beaches Museum has announced its Legends honorees for 2022. At a reception on the patio of the Beaches Museum Chapel, past Legends, Board Members and Museum supporters gathered to hear those deemed to be “making tomorrow’s history, today.”
The Legends will be honored at a gala event on September 16, 2022 at TPC Sawgrass.
This year’s honorees are Bill Hillegass, Herb Peyton, Mary Watson and Dr. Percy J. Golden. (As Pictured)
Herb Peyton
Herb Peyton, a self-made man, started Gate Petroleum as a 1-gas-station company in 1960. It has grown into a large regional corporation with multiple divisions, including hospitality. In 1981, Herb was heading out on an around-the-world trip, having decided to semi-retire. Then he heard the oil company that owned the historic Ponte Vedra Inn and Club was selling that Ponte Vedra property and 8,000 acres of primitive woodlands on the Guana River. Having no experience in running a resort, he decided to jump in with a bid against large national companies; and he won. Today, the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club is considered one of the top oceanfront resorts in the country, having received the coveted 5-Diamond Resort Rating in the luxury tourism industry. The miles of coastline he purchased are now owned by the state of Florida to be preserved for future generations.
Bill Hillegass
Bill Hillegass was raised in Jacksonville Beach as one of 9 children. He lost his father at an early age and watched his mom raise their family on her own by establishing a bookkeeping business in her living room. Bill and all his brothers pitched in with early morning paper routes, 7 days a week. After attending the Air Force Academy and working for a large accounting firm in Jacksonville, Bill established his own CPA firm in Jacksonville Beach. Throughout the following years, Bill was committed to helping others at the beaches through his involvement with The Exchange Club,Deck the Chairs, and numerous other organizations; as well as silently helping many individuals with their needs. He has always had a love for preserving beaches history and became involved with Beaches Area Historical Society in its early years; running the annual auction, fund-raising for the relocation of historic buildings to the history park and being a driving force behind building the beautiful museum we enjoy today.
Mary Watson
Mary Watson has been part of beautifying our community and preserving natural environments for decades. She is actively involved on the Garden Committee at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens. Mary routinely decorates Christ Episcopal Church for the various Holidays and special events. Additionally, she was instrumental in bringing a national organization, The Garden Conservancy, to Florida. However, these efforts are all eclipsed by her work on Bird Island Park. Located in Ponte Vedra Beach, it took 8 years of planning, fund-raising and construction; but she and a group of hard-working volunteers dedicated the 4.2-acre wildlife and native plants park in 2010. As a St. Johns County Master Gardener, Mary is proud that all the plants in the park are native, not requiring much maintenance; except for WEEDING, which she and others continue to do 12 years later! Mary was integral in the fund-raising and construction of Bird Island and currently coordinates local Boy Scouts pursuing Eagle Scout projects to continue to beautify the park.
Bishop Percy Golden
Dr. Percy Golden grew up in the church his mother founded in their living room in 1976 and he took the lead in 1992 to build and grow the congregation over the past 30 years where he serves as Bishop of the Holy Church of the Living God Revival Center in Atlantic Beach. Dr. Golden not only ministers to the Beaches communities from the pulpit but also serves as the Chaplain and Critical Incident Officer (CIO) of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department where he provides support, counseling and encouragement to the first responders and their families that serve our entire county. In addition, he serves as Chaplain of the Atlantic Beach Police Department. Dr. Golden has been instrumental in preserving the history and culture of his elementary school through the Rhoda Martin Cultural Heritage Center and was a visionary behind “Gospel in the Park,” held in Atlantic Beach annually since 2004.
The gala is the largest annual fundraiser for the Museum whose mission is “to preserve and share the distinct history and culture of the Beaches area.” To learn more about Legends or the Museum, visit www.beachesmuseum.org or call 904-241-5657.
The 2022 Beach Legends Gala is sold out! If you would like to be added to the waitlist should tickets become available, please email Chris Hoffman at director@beachesmuseum.org or call 904-241-5657 x 113
You may have noticed some royal blue street signs around the Beaches dedicated to the memory of local military personnel.
Known as the Fallen Wartime Veterans Street Sign Program, the project is a labor of love for Atlantic Beach resident Lenny Jevic, a historian with Beaches Veterans Memorial Park and a retired U.S. navy command master chief.
Jevic got the idea of honoring Beaches veterans who have died in war with a street sign listing their name, rank, branch of service, and highest military decorations after seeing the same program adopted in his hometown of Edison, N.J.
The street signs, created by Florida Transcor, a traffic safety supply company, are 30 inches in length and sit atop or below existing street signs. Many of the signs are sponsored by area businesses.
Jevic, a former police sergeant in Atlantic Beach, first approached the City of Atlantic Beach with the proposal in 2019. After the City Commission approved the project in October 2020, street signs were installed to memorialize a quartet of World War II servicemen and one Vietnam veteran with ties to the city, including heroic Navy aviator Richard Bull, who died in the South Pacific in 1942.
In October 2020, Jevic brought the street sign program to the attention of the Jacksonville Beach City Council. It was unanimously approved in May 2021 and incorporated into the city’s Honoree Street Sign Ordinance.
The first round of memorial street signs went up in Jacksonville Beach soon afterwards, including two dedicated to the memory of brothers Stanley and Roger Harrell, a pair of U.S. Marines who died in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969, respectively.
But Jevic didn’t stop there. Within weeks of Jacksonville Beach approving the street sign program, he pitched it to the City of Neptune Beach. A resolution was quickly passed authorizing the placement of signs at four locations around the city, including on the corner of Hopkins Street, the last home of record for Army Staff Sgt. Jody Pierce, a decorated paratrooper who lost his life in Vietnam.
A second round of signs may be going up in Jacksonville Beach later this year, including one for Marine Cpl. Marcus Preudhomme, a 2004 Fletcher High School grad who died in Iraq in 2008. Each colorful street sign in Jacksonville Beach includes a scannable QR code that can be read by a Smartphone and links to bios of each recipient. Bios are also located at jacksonvillebeach.org, under Parks & Recreation.
Beaches Museum • 381 Beach Boulevard Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32250
