Bernie is a 5th-Generation Wellesley Island (his family goes back to 1849 on Grindstone Island with a history of boat builders and farming along the river). He attended the T.I. Park School (now the chapel) until 1954. He taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade in Harrisville for over 30 years. He was a deacon at St. Cyril’s Church in Alexandria Bay for over 20 years and is still active for special occasions. He can usually be found in the Museum on Thursdays.
Mary Lou Scheffield is a second generation Wellesley Islander. Her family settled in at Hutch’s Haven on Brown Bay in 1978. Her father, Robert Hedden, founded Plein Air Painters Thousand Islands Region (PAPTIR) in 2009 to promote painting in the outdoors. As a teenager, Mary Lou frequented movie nights and attended church services at the Tabernacle. Special memories include cross country skiing to Boldt Castle, ice skating around bon fires, and ice fishing on bitter cold weekends. Mary Lou enjoys sailing, scuba diving, and rowing. She works as a Physical Therapist and is a long time scout leader bringing her scouts to Wellesley island for ice fishing, canoeing and the International Brotherhood Camporee.
Joe Bourdow is part of the Cahill Clan from the little red cottage at the corner of Coast and Rainbow. His wife is Marylou. Although Joe is only at the Park for a couple weeks each summer, he spends many of those days at the Museum. He recently unraveled the mystery of the float plane picture taken at the Main Dock.
Emma is a 5th-Generation T.I. Parker and has been a docent at the TIP Museum since she was 12. She is a graduate of the Boston University School of Communications and now works for Save the River. Her film work has been featured on Adirondack Explorer and Mountain Lake Journal of Mountain Lake PBS.
Tom French is a 4th-Generation TI Parker, freelance writer, and local amateur historian. His book, River Views — A History of the 1000 Islands in 3-D won a Silver Medal for Best Regional Non-Fiction in the Northeast in the Independent Publishers Book Awards 2012. He is a regular contributor to Adirondack Explorer, and his work has been featured in Mac|Life, Adirondack Life, North Country Public Radio, Thousand Island Life, The Watertown Daily Times and other publications. Tom tries to spend a little time at the Museum every day.
Ashley Yaiser
Youth Docents
John Darou is a senior at Sandy Creek Central School. His family owns a cottage across from the Swimming Cove. He enjoys soccer, spending time with family, and biking. His favorite piece of T.I. Park History is the Columbian Fire. He hopes to have a career that allows him to be outside.