A muli-repeat visitor to Anguilla is Jerry Mueller, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He likes to see children and adults swimming at Sandy Hill Bay and is making sure to lend his support to keeping the beach and water there as clean as possible. What is more is that he and his wife, Mrs Linda Mueller, own a residence in the area where they stay during their vacation trips to the island.
His beach-cleaning has come to the attention of the appreciative Ministry of Home Affairs as he joins a few Anguillian residents who also clean Sandy Hill Beach at times. It is one of ten beaches where the Ministry recently launched a clean-up campaign to remove masses of invading seaweed.
Mr. Mueller first came to Anguilla some years ago when he distributed a number of gold coins to children and adults. One of the recipients was Owen Mussington, a noted community worker at East End. “Owen was raking and taking care of Sandy Hill Beach at the time,” Mr. Mueller recalled. “I used to pick up the garbage over there. One day I saw Owen on the beach picking up garbage and I asked: ‘Owen, do you need help?’ He said ‘sure’ and since then I have been raking the beach.”
Mr. Mueller continued: “We are usually here for four and a half months. Last year I started raking the beach… I like to see the children in the water. Nobody likes to swim among that weed. I go there everyday from Monday to Saturday – in the morning – and rake the beach. My fancy is to see the children and the tourists enjoying the beach.”
Mr. Mueller bought a condo at Sandy Hill Beach Club some ten years ago. “Every year I like to do something different. The last couple of years I have been raking the beach,” he said.
He tells about some aspects of his background. “When I was younger I was in the US Military. I served in Vietnam and got wounded. The bullet lodged about a quarter inch from the femur and almost killed me,” he said.
He later became involved in various odd activities back home and explained some of the things he did when he first came to Anguilla. “I used to help Owen with the children,” he stated. “I used to teach baseball at the Owen Mussington Playing Field every Sunday afternoon. Two years ago a hurricane came and all our equipment disappeared.” Apart from cleaning Sandy Hill Beach, he occasionally assists Owen in his vegetable garden.
Mr. Mueller says Anguilla means a lot to him and his wife, not only because they own property here. “The people are fantastic. We love it here. It is just unbelievable,” he explained. “It is like a second family. We came here on December 5 and will be leaving on April 15, a period we normally visit Anguilla.”
