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Gulf Breeze Postmaster's Legacy Lives on in New Museum
Artifacts dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries offer overview of area history.
5/20/2008–GULF BREEZE, FL–MARCOR Remediation, Inc. (MARCOR) and other local supporters are working with the Gulf Breeze Area Historical Society to make the town’s history accessible to everyone. A new museum in the former home of the town’s first postmaster, Mark Benson, is in the works.
Eloise Benson, who survived her postmaster husband, died recently and in her will donated the couple’s brick residence and land, which included three small clapboard cottages, to the historical society, with the stipulation that a museum would be established on the property. According to Gordon Sprague, past president and project director for the historical society, "Mrs. Benson was quite the lady about town and was involved in everything! In her will, she also donated money to the local fire and police departments, and donated land to the United Methodist Church for an educational center. But preserving area artifacts such as furniture, crystal, silver, photos, period clothing, family Bibles, postcards – even an early-1900s letter to the U.S. Postmaster General – was a passion she believed in."
Sprague and the other historic society board members decided to first demolish the three small cottages on the property and restore the brick residence to be used for the museum. One of the cottages, however, contained hazardous asbestos, a regulated material that must be removed by a qualified environmental contractor. MARCOR stepped forward to solve the problem.
MARCOR Project Manager Jerry Sobski explained, "We’re happy to donate our time, materials, and expertise for this worthy cause. We are removing 1,200 square feet of asbestos siding (transite) and 1,800 square feet of sheetrock with asbestos-containing joint compound. Affected areas will be safely contained, and our workers will wear half-face respirators, hard hats, safety glasses, and protective suits with gloves and boot covers that are taped shut at the edges. The removed materials will be properly packaged and then disposed at an EPA-approved facility."
A fundraising campaign for the Gulf Breeze museum is in the planning stages. For additional information, call Gordon Sprague at 850-916-0222 or Kathy Kuehl at 850-932-0410.
MARCOR Remediation, a specialty contracting company founded in 1980 with a current staff of 700 and headquarters in Hunt Valley, MD, performs a full range of environmental contracting services. These include industrial cleaning, MRSA decontamination, asbestos and lead hazard abatement, mold remediation, plant/process decommissioning and demolition, soil and groundwater remediation, storage tank management, restorative cleaning work, and many other specialty project types. Customers typically include commercial and industrial firms, government agencies, the hospitality industry, educational institutions, health care facilities, industrial hygienists, environmental consultants, real estate development and property management firms, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT), and others. Each of the company’s 14 offices is staffed with the necessary mix of senior technical management, regulatory compliance experts, and an experienced HAZMAT labor force. For additional information, call the corporate headquarters at 800-547-0128.
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