Couple roams the globe

By Mary Alice Garrett

This story originally appeared May 14, 1992 in The News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware.

HOCKESSIN - Margie and Tom Ford prefer non-traditional vacations that improve the earth's environment. The Horseshoe Hill couple recently returned from a third Earthwatch expedition as part of a volunteer team searching for the origins of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Fords have been members of Earthwatch for seven years. The international non-profit organization, based in Boston, says its mission is "to improve human understanding of the planet, the diversity of its inhabitants and the processes that affect the quality of life on earth."

In Argentina, the Fords were members of the eighth team to locate where the first Buenos Aires village was founded in 1536. They spent two weeks working in the historic district of the city under the direction of Daniel Schavelzon, professor of urban archaeology at the University of Buenos Aires.

Tom Ford and other volunteers dug pits and turned up the foundations of 17th-century houses and cisterns. Margie Ford emptied buckets of earth and used warm water and dental picks to clean the artifacts found.

The volunteers ranged from their 20s to their 70s. They were assisted by university students. "It was a real good group," said Margie. "It's a 'share' experience. You become very, very fond of these people pretty quickly."

All stayed in a late 1800s hotel, just three blocks from the dig site.

The Fords relied on body language to communicate with the Argentines. One night in a restaurant, Margie inquired about "the soup of the day." The waiter replied, "I don't speak English. You don't speak Spanish," and then began to cry. "It turned out the soup was onion," Margie said, "and it was delicious."

Earthwatch volunteers sampled the plentiful Argentinian beef. "It was absolutely super, tender, succulent and generous," said Margie. They ate family-style in the same restaurant every night. Following local custom, they ate late, but still found that most Argentines did not dine before 9 p.m.

The Fords were impressed with the warmth and friendliness of the Argentines. Several took them home to meet their relatives.

They extended their trip by traveling from the north to the south of Argentina and also to Uruguay. Along the way they photographed sea lions, penguins and a glacier in Lago Argentino. They also took in a symphony concert and two tango shows. Buenos Aires is considered "the cradle of the tango."

"Argentina is a beautiful, beautiful country," Margie said. "Buenos Aires is a very, very sophisticated cosmopolitan city."

Argentina, four times the size of Texas, comprises most of southern South America and is the second largest country on the continent. Brazil is the largest.

In 1985, the Fords took their first Earthwatch expedition - to Montserrat in the West Indies - to study sugar plantations and the culture of its farming descendants.

Their second Earthwatch expedition, three years later, was to Tonga in the Pacific Islands. There, they studied the giant clams of Tonga, which were suffering from over-harvesting. They were among a crew of 15 who mapped area lagoons and made clam circles using smaller breeding clams. They worked from a yacht equipped with a computer which stored information on each clam. Volunteer divers fed information to those on board. Members attached tags of recycled aluminum to each breeding clam. They were inscribed with the word "tapu" meaning it was taboo to harvest the clams.

The mission was successful. "The wonderful news is that the clams are still there, and they're finding baby clams," said Tom Ford.

The Fords celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary while on the trip. Two years later, they held a Tonga reunion for 11 at their home.

The Fords are already planning a fourth Earthwatch expedition for next spring but haven't chosen their destination yet.

The expeditions are a wonderful way to get to places that are different from the ordinary vacation, Tom Ford said. "You are doing somthing that's interesting, useful and fun."

In addition to the expeditions, the Fords take an international trip every year. Last July they went to Bahai, Mexico, to view the total eclipse of the sun. Earlier, they traveled to Peru to view Halley's Comet.

Tom Ford was a Du Pont Co. research chemist for 40 years, retiring in 1981. A saxophoe player, he is the last of the original members of the Rhythm Doctors band.

Margie Ford was formerly part-owner of a Greenville yarn shop. She and her husband are avid tennis players with the Model A's Tennis Club and at Christiana Millcreek Racquet Club. They have four children, all living outside Delaware.