Bernie Slate 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 bonfires, and ice fishing on bitter cold weekends. Mary Lou enjoys sailing, scuba diving, and rowing. She is a long time scout leader bringing her scouts to Wellesley island for ice fishing, canoeing and the International Brotherhood Camporee.

Jim Dickson was born a River Rat and his earliest memories are from along the River. His family owned the Beehive on Outlook Avenue until Jim’s father purchased Castle Francis in the early 1960s. Jim worked in the construction industry for most of his life and was involved in several projects on the Park including the building of the Gazebo in the 1988, the restoration of the Humphrie Cottage on United States Avenue, and has been the caretaker of the Vivekananda Cottage since 1989. He rebuilt several sections of the Vivekananda Cottage which was complicated by the need to protect certain parts of the cottage from Swami Vivekananda’s stay in 1895. Jim kept a photographic record of much of his work along the River which is now part of the Museum’s collection and available to visitors through a number of binders. He was also a close friend of Buggy Davis’s, participated in Buggy’s regular poker games, and has many stories to tell from his life along the river.

Tom Mathien first came to T.I. Park in 1971 with his wife, Julie McGrath (a member of the Fahey and Clifford families).  Julie’s grandfather owned a cottage west of the Tabernacle and Julie’s mother rented the Sweetheart Cottage in the early 1970s.  

Tom is a retired professor from the University of Toronto where he taught philosophy to the general student population for over 30 years and worked with the Transitional Year Program for nontraditional students looking to enroll in the University of Toronto.

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. In the off season, he lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he is a radio host on Radio St. Pete.

Emma French 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.