Preserving Maryland's History While Sharing Turtle Tails
Anne Turkos — In Her Own Words
The crocheted turtle bookmarks started as a project for children in the pediatrics unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital. They were having a turtle race for the kids and the staff wanted each of their patients to have a turtle pin for their hospital gowns. So I sent a bunch of them to the hospital.
Then I thought, "I bet we could put a tail on the turtle and make it a bookmark." At this point, I've probably made about 5,000 of these little crocheted turtle bookmarks and I give away about 1,000 a year to visitors and people throughout the Maryland community. It's a wonderful way to show our pride in the university.
As part of Maryland Day 2007, I created a "Crochet the Turtle" activity in collaboration with staff members from a local yarn shop, A Tangled Skein. The ladies taught over 100 visitors how to crochet the bookmarks in a constant stream of activity well past the last activities of the day.
Also, I made 879 turtle bookmarks to give away at this year's program. They were gone in three hours! For next year, I've set a goal of making 2,000.
Not being a Maryland graduate, I often describe myself as an adopted terrapin. I really enjoy knowing that I'm preserving things that are important to the university including what I call the crown jewel of the archives—the original diamondback terrapin that was the model for the many Testudos you see around the campus.
From my "Ask Anne" column in Terp magazine to the crocheted turtle bookmarks, sharing my enthusiasm and excitement about Maryland with a wide range of people is a wonderful way to make my mark. 
