Oxford Map and History

Oxford is one of the oldest towns in Maryland. Although already settled for perhaps 20 years, Oxford marks the year 1683 The Strand Tilghman as its official founding, for in that year Oxford was first named by the Maryland General Assembly as a seaport and was laid out as a town. In 1694, Oxford and a new town called Anne Arundel (now Annapolis) were selected the only ports of entry for the entire Maryland province. Until the American Revolution, Oxford enjoyed prominence as an international shipping center surrounded by wealthy tobacco plantations. Today, Oxford is a charming tree-lined and waterbound village with a population of just over 700 and is still important in boat building and yachting. It has a protected harbor for watermen who harvest oysters, crabs, clams and fish, and for sailors from all over the Bay.

For a walking tour and more history visit https://tidewatertimes. com/travel-tourism/oxford-maryland/.

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Benoni Ave. Pleasant St. Robes Hbr. Ct. South Morris Street Bachelor Point Road Pier St. E. Pier St. Oxford Road

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Oxford Community Center

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gela forged a lifelong friendship. After losing Bea, Angela described her friend for the New York Post, “Bea was absolutely the antithesis of the characters she portrayed. She was sensitive ~ really sensitive ~ and self-conscious. That voice gave people the wrong impression of toughness and an overbearing attitude.” That voice may have been misleading, but it served Bea well, first as a teen doing Mae West, later performing on Broadway, and finally in Hollywood.

Until 1971, Bea was living in New York with her second husband, award-winning actor/director Gene Saks. The couple had two sons and divided time between work in Manhattan and their country home in Bedford, New York. In those days many television dramas originated in New York City. Gene appeared in several series. Bea had small roles in dramas and revues while devoting herself to raising their sons. Then Norman Lear called from L.A.. Her good friend had created television’s hottest show. “Norman asked me to come out and play a part on one episode of All in the Family.”

Lear’s wife, Frances, a militant feminist, inspired the character of Edith Bunker’s cousin Maude. Norman wanted their friend Bea for the part. Of her one appearance, Bea said, “It created some

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kind of furor, because the next thing Norman knew, the president of CBS said, ‘Let’s give her her own show.’ So we took the character and what I was wearing and made Maude.” That episode won Bea her Emmy-winning series, the first successful spin-off from an existing show. Maude ran six years. “It was extraordinary,” she said, “because women all over the country regarded me like Joan of Arc, and I was really so unprepared and fairly disinterested.”

After six years, Bea opted to end the series. Gene, who had directed Mame on Broadway, was tapped to direct a screen version starring Lucille Ball as Mame and Bea’s Vera. Perhaps the film was an

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overreach, following the bestselling book Auntie Mame, adapted to the stage, then screen, then set to music on Broadway. The musical on film disappointed. Regardless, Bea’s Hollywood fortunes continued to soar, while Gene’s West Coast career waned. “It was very unsettling,” Bea said, recalling the circumstances leading to divorce. “He missed New York. His work was there. It took a toll on my marriage and family life.”

That voice had led to The Golden Girls. With three stars’ parts filled, one role remained open. From inception, Dorothy was designated for “A Bea Arthur Type.” Dorothy’s dialogue sounded in the writers’ heads in that voice. Rue McClanahan was recruited to persuade Bea to have a look. Bea loved the script, remembering, “I was so taken with the writing, it never dawned on me we were all older women.”

Like Maude, The Golden Girls never got canceled. It ran for seven years and only ended when Bea decided, “Let’s leave it. We’re never going to do it better.” Thereafter, Bea pondered her future, while making occasional guest appearances and one television movie. Today, YouTube still runs her favorite episode, when she and Estelle Getty impersonate Sonny and Cher singing I Got You, Babe.

An old friend from her drama

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student days recalled that Bea used to say, “I don’t want to act. I want to sing in front of an orchestra.” Early in the 2000s, Bea pulled all her experiences together into Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends, a solo performance combining narrative, songs and jokes. As she said, “The only things I haven’t done are rodeo and porno.” She toured the show intermittently, receiving standing ovations in New York and thirty other cities across the United States, Canada and Great Britain.

In the end, Bea’s dreams had fallen short, only in that her Hollywood stardom did not come to her as a petite blond, but rather the opposite. And she was accompanied

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on her final triumphant appearances by her friend, pianist Billy Goldenberg, rather than by a full orchestra. Bea died of lung cancer April 25, 2009 at her Brentwood home in Los Angeles. But, if reruns of The Golden Girls mean anything, Bernice Frankel gained immortality. Fans enjoy her shows in reruns several times a day around the world.

Forty-some years ago, A.M. Foley swapped the Washington, D.C., business scene for a writing life on Elliott Island, Maryland. Tidewater Times has kindly published portions of one upcoming work, Chesapeake Bay Island Hopping, along with other regional musings. Foley’s published works are described at www.HollandIslandBook.com.

The Treasure Chest

A Gift Shop Featuring Locally Made Artisan Crafts & Artwork

111 S. Morris St., Oxford MD 410-924-8817 www.treasurechestoxford.com

Oxford Artists’ Studio Tour - Sunday, September 5 12 to 4 p.m.

Purchase tickets at The Treasure Chest starting August 15, or day of the event! $5 each.

Wed. ~ Mon. 10 AM to 5 PM, closed Tues. · treasurechestofoxford@gmail.com