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Not only do Air Force officials take care of the environment, but also they recycle old products and make them new again. One facility on station once used for space exploration in the past is now being refurbished for the National Reconnaissance Office to launch satellites to help warfighters in the future. And a lighthouse on Cape Canaveral AFS originally built in 1848 still stands and is the only fully opera- tional lighthouse owned by the Air Force. Base officials even preserve history by refurbishing old rockets and other launch vehicles and then storing them in a hangar on Cape Canaveral AFS instead of letting the humid coastal air erode these reminders of our space mission’s past. But long before the American government decided to use this land for the space mission, the Cape area was inhabited by people who only looked at the stars and not soared up to them. There are more than 100 recorded archaeological sites on Cape Canaveral AFS. In Titusville just up the road from the Air Force station, marine shell and shark tooth tools have been found at a site that dates back 8,000 years. A spring-fed pond potentially existed in prehistoric times, and conventional thought has humans arriving in the area 5,000 years ago and about 500 years ago Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon came to the Cape area looking for the fountain of youth. Cape Canaveral earned its name of Spanish origin, which translated as “Place of the Cane Bearers,” when Spanish explorer Francisco Gordillo was shot by native Ais Indians in the Cape area who used arrows made of cane to drive away unwanted explorers and sailors. Ancient Indian burial mounds still dot the area. Historic home and fort foundations from habitants from the 1700s and 1800s also can be found in the area. And several family cemeteries are located on the Air Force station. Base officials manage these precious assets with formal archaeological surveys and protect the area while respecting its legacy. “Preserving our heritage shows our lineage to the next genera- tions,” said Dr. Sonny Witt, the 45th Mission Support Group Det. 1 director of operations responsible for the maintenance, utilization, security and environmental protection of the Cape. “We must do all that we can to preserve our history, care for our environment and comply with standards to make the Cape a wonderful place for gen- erations to come because it is not only our responsibility, but also it is the right thing to do.” Mable O’Quinn, a Cape Canaveral Air Force Station biological scientist and conservation law enforcement officer, wipes away algae from headstones in the Quarterman family cemetery. The Quartermans were a pioneer family of Cape Canaveral in the mid-1800s. J May-June 2009 47