Mr. Jerry Mueller, a United States citizen, has been regularly holidaying in Anguilla, for many years, accompanied by his wife. One of his pastimes has been, and continues to be, the cleaning of Sandy Hill Bay, on the eastern coast of the island where he usually resides.
Sandy Hill Bay is one of the locations in Anguilla where the beach is often littered with quantities of flotsam and, especially in more recent times, seaweed or sargassum drifted onto the shores of regional islands from the Atlantic’s Sargasso Sea.
At present, there are piles of collected seaweed at Sandy Hill Bay, some of which Mr. Mueller, a native of Wisconsin, assisted in raking up from the beach. Now that he left Anguilla on Thursday, this week, he has also left behind various effigies of the Easter Season which he constructed to adorn the beach.
“This time it is an Easter religious display on the beach,” he told The Anguillian newspaper during his farewell visit – until he returns to the island again. “I did Santa Claus and the reindeer for Christmas and people thought that was fantastic. I also did a Valentine display and then I had one that represented flowers. I also did a display for St. Patrick’s Day but now I am doing a religious one. It is with Christ rising and things like that. There are also a couple of Easter bunnies and Easter eggs.”
Mr. Mueller continued: “I also put up some rock statues on the island and the people like them. I have some at Mimi Bay, Junks Hole, Savannah Bay, over by us, at Sandy Hill Bay, and at Altamer. But I have been raking Sandy Hill Beach for four months but the weeds just came back in.”
His effigies are an attractive work of art. Asked about his background of artistic skills, Mr. Mueller remarked: “none”. He just loves what he does for Anguilla hoping it would be appreciated.
