The Goddess of Cumberland Island
This is the second installment of a four-part series exploring the remarkable legacy of Carol Ruckdeschel and the Cumberland Island Museum. This series will delve into Ruckdeschel's impact, the museum's contributions, and the importance of preserving this invaluable collection for future generations.
The ancient Greeks worshipped nine sister goddesses called Muses. Each Muse was the goddess of a particular art or science. A Mouseion was a place that was dedicated to these goddesses. Mouseion became museum in Latin more than 300 years ago. Today, we continue using the word museum to describe institutions devoted to preserving artifacts, art, documents and other items of value for posterity.
The Cumberland Island Museum, founded in 1985 by Carol Ruckdeschel is dedicated to preserving items associated with the ecology of Cumberland Island. In ancient Greece, Ruckdeschel would be considered a muse or goddess of Cumberland Island ecology. I seriously doubt she has ever considered herself a goddess, but I know many people who think otherwise, myself included.
Ruckdeschel's biological training began as a student assistant in charge of the vertebrate collection at Georgia State College in Atlanta. In Ruckdeschel’s eyes, every carcass is a potential specimen. “She grows ecstatic over a dead buzzard by the side of the road,” wrote Andrew Sparks for the Atlanta Journal in June of 1966. Ruckdeschel was quoted as saying, “Buzzards have the loveliest skulls."
She participated in a conference of biologists tasked with compiling the first list of rare and endangered species in the state of Georgia. Conferees gathered at the Fernbank Science Center from all over the Southeastern states to prepare the list at the request of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR).
During the process of selecting rare and endangered species for the list, the director of Game and Fish for the state of Georgia at the time, Jack Crockford, who was responsible for enforcement, pleaded for a short list. He went on to say his staff was overworked and were required to enforce a wide range of laws, including hunting and fishing, boating safety, littering, animal importation and more. “Game and Fish officers are overburdened and unless funding for additional officers is provided, we will not be able to do a good job,” Crockford said. This was in 1973.
Crockford continued that he hoped for a list that wildlife rangers and the courts could understand without the assistance of a biologist. “If the officer can’t identify the species, they can’t enforce the law," said Crockford. Conferees began to wrestle with Crockford’s plea for a “short and significant” list, one that would be easy to enforce.
Ruckdeschel protested by saying, “GDNR had invited professionals to participate in the compilation of a list of protected species and that the list compiled should be complete and professional.” She continued, “The list will have more uses than law enforcement." For example, “It might be used for future protection against destruction of habitat. The criteria for selection of a rare and endangered species should not be based on whether an officer might be able to identify it in the field.”
The following year, Ruckdeschel was named as one of 11 young women to be honored by Mademoiselle Magazine. These women were chosen to receive this annual award for outstanding achievements in 1973. Ruckdeschel was selected for her work as a wildlife ecologist. Bette Midler was among those selected for her achievements as a singer. All 11 women were honored and presented with awards in New York on Jan. 23, 1974. Ruckdeschel was indeed on her way to becoming a goddess of ecology.
Ruckdeschel has proudly professed, on more than one occasion to me, that “I am not a feminist; I just always did whatever I wanted to do.” She purchased a small house on the north end of Cumberland Island in 1976 and continued to do the work she always wanted to do.
Washington D.C. - 1979, Ruckdeschel crossed paths with “Bob” - Robert Shoop, Ph.D. (1935-2003). Over the next two decades, they studied Cumberland Island ecology and co-authored scientific papers and books. With help from students and volunteers, they built the Cumberland Island Museum together in 1985.
Carol Ruckdeschel and Bob Shoop – Photo courtesy of Carol Ruckdeschel
For over 30 years, Shoop held a position in the Zoology Department at the University of Rhode Island. In retirement, he continued conducting research with Ruckdeschel on Cumberland Island until he died in 2003. Shoop was known for his good humor. He had a special appreciation for barbeque, which came in handy while living on Cumberland Island as he and Ruckdeschel served many “mystery meats” to friends and museum visitors. Shoop's obituary was published in the Herpetological Review in September 2004.
Ruckdeschel and Shoop discovered amphibians that had not been identified in the state of Georgia before. They found out what food moles were eating and wrote about it in The Georgia Journal of Science.
Together, they wrote “Trauma to Stranded Sea Turtles on Cumberland Island,” which was published in 1987. Together, Ruckdeschel and Shoop documented a mass stranding of petrels in Georgia and Florida in 1994. They wrote about kestrels on migration feeding on Cumberland Island grasshoppers, spiders, rodents, reptiles, and other small birds.
Ruckdeschel, Shoop and George Zug were founding board members of the Cumberland Island Museum in 1985. Fifteen years later, they were still researching and writing about Cumberland Island ecology. On January 1, 2000, their book “Sea Turtles of Georgia” was published.
In 2002, Charles Seabrook wrote "Cumberland Island: Strong Women, Wild Horses." Ruckdeschel is portrayed as a naturalist and outspoken environmentalist living and researching on Cumberland Island since the 1970s.
"Sea Turtles of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States," written by Ruckdeschel and Shoop was published by the University of Georgia Press in 2006.
“Spanish Moss, the Unfinished Chigger Story” was published by Southeastern Naturalist on March 1, 2010. It was written by John O. Whitaker and Ruckdeschel. They debunked the widespread belief in the Southern parts of the United States that chiggers are common in Spanish moss. Turns out no chiggers were found among the 3,297 organisms collected on Cumberland Island by Ruckdeschel. However, mites, barlice, springtails, spiders, butterfly larvae, millipedes and thrips were found in abundance. Maybe it is the barlice or mites that make us itch for days after handling Spanish moss.
In “Art Education” published in March 2012, Ruckdeschel was featured in an interdisciplinary study: Research as Part of Artmaking by Paula Eubanks. Her illustration of a sea turtle and sea anemones was published as part of the study.
She is both a talented artist and scientist. Really, one can think of her as a goddess who happens to wear white rubber boots and carry a carcass carving kit wherever she goes.
In 2015, Will Harlan wrote “Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island.” In Untamed, Ruckdeschel is portrayed as a combination of Henry David Thoreau and Jane Goodall, who fights for sea turtles and the preservation of Cumberland Island.
Two years later, in 2017, Ruckdeschel wrote “A Natural History of Cumberland Island,” published by Mercer University. This landmark book establishes an essential ecological baseline for all future studies of Cumberland Island.
Ruckdeschel continues to write about issues facing Cumberland Island in the Cumberland Island Museum Newsletter, published quarterly since 1985. Wildfires, coyotes, land swaps, horses, hogs, fossils, park service management, and many other topics are discussed in the newsletter. Collectively, these newsletters weave together a web of ecological, political, and social information about Cumberland Island since 1985.
In 2024, the Cumberland Island Museum specimen collection was transferred to the National Park Service. The collection represents decades of work and research by many who love and treasure Cumberland Island National Seashore. Ruckdeschel hopes that very soon, the entire Cumberland Island Museum collection will be reunited at the University of Georgia Museum of Natural History for future use.
At 83, Ruckdeschel remains active and engaged in issues facing Cumberland Island. She is passionate about keeping development from encroaching into the wilderness on Cumberland Island’s north end.
She remains active in pursuing help for the horses on Cumberland Island. Although the Federal lawsuit filed on behalf of Cumberland Island horses was thrown out of court last month, Ruckdeschel continues to look for solutions that benefit the horses and protect island habitat.
Sifting through stories surrounding Ruckdeschel has convinced me she is quite deserving of yet another honor. As of today, let it be known that Carol Ruckdeschel is officially the “Ecological Goddess of Cumberland Island.” Long may she reign over Cumberland Island.
