Tidewater Times December 2022

Published Monthly

Vol. 71, No. 7 December 2022

Features:

About the Cover Artist: Joan Voss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Publishers' Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Duck Blind: Helen Chappell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

The Banneker-Douglass Museum: Bonna L. Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Darry Hill - Breaking the Color Barrier: Michael Valliant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

My Personal Christmas Rainbow: James Dawson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Tidewater Gardening: K. Marc Teffeau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Tangier Sound Lights: A.M. Foley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Tidewater Kitchen: Pamela Meredith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

When Life Hands You Lemons: Dan Hoyt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Chamber Music Free Concert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Changes - Coming Again - A Work Progress: Roger Vaughan . . . . . . . . . . 158

Departments:

December Tide Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Easton Map and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Dorchester Map and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

St. Michaels Map and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Oxford Map and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Caroline County ~ A Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Queen Anne's County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Kent County and Chestertown at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Anne B. Farwell & John D. Farwell, Co-Publishers

Editor: Jodie Littleton Proofing: Kippy Requardt Deliveries: Nancy Smith & Brandon Coleman P. O. Box 1141, Easton, Maryland 21601 410-714-9389

www.tidewatertimes.com info@tidewatertimes.com

Tidewater Times is published monthly by Bailey-Farwell, LLC. Advertising rates upon request. Subscription price is $35 per year. Individual copies are $4. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced in part or whole without prior approval of the publisher. Printed by Delmarva Printing, Inc. The publisher does not assume any liability for errors and/or omissions.

About the Cover Artist

Joan Voss

I grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. My family spent our summers gleefully visiting the Eastern Shore. It was here that I fell in love with the area and shore birds. I enjoy painting and photographing nature and wildlife.

I have painted many gifts and commissioned pieces that include shore birds, landscapes, portraits, pet portraits, weddings and special events.

I don’t know a time in my life without art. I recall always loving artwork. My mother said I was born with a crayon in my hand. In high school and College (Sweet Briar

College in Virginia) all my elective classes were dedicated to painting and photography. Today, I spend as much time possible creating artwork.

Prior to moving to Eastern Shore

I was a Director of Corporate and Special Events at Top Of The Town in Arlington VA ~ a different type of creative outlet, but similar in the use of color, setting and theme. We now have a home in Saint Michaels. I am a member of the Saint Michaels Art League. You can see my work on Facebook at Joan Of Art Paintings. at

Celebrating 70 Years!

It has certainly been an eventful year for us. We have enjoyed celebrating our 70th anniversary with you all. Special thanks to all of our advertisers, readers, writers and friends who participated in our anniversary celebration at the iconic Robert Morris Inn back in May. During our silent auction at that event, we were able to raise over $4,000 for the Talbot County Sheriff's Department D.A.R.E. program.

Anne and I are excited for you to read all of the amazing stories our writers have put together for December. We are especially enthused about two several-part stories that begin this month.

The first is by our newest contributor, Dan Hoyt. He will take us through his battle with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), from diagnosis to stem cell transplant. Dan's writing is upbeat, with a sprinkling of humor, and his bepositive approach to life is truly an inspiration.

The second multi-part series, by Michael Valliant, features a groundbreaking Talbot County resident, Darryl Hill. Hill broke race barriers and became the first African American to play football at the University of Maryland. He

went on to establish himself as a very successful entrepreneur. It is a fascinating journey!

Anne, Pop and I want to thank you for an amazing year, and we wish you all the very best during this joyous holiday season!

~ John Farwell

P.S. Our newest family member, Doodler, wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas and is looking forward to lots of treats from Santa in her stocking!

Duck Blind

by Helen Chappell

They call it progging. You’re wandering the shoreline, look ing for this or that or whatever artifacts man or nature has cast up from the water. It might be an especially large oyster shell or a shard of some long-ago broken dish, or maybe a piece of machin ery. Or, indeed, almost anything. I have a friend who has one of the best collections of arrowheads and other native objects outside a museum. On the other hand, I’ve never as much as seen a piece of knapped stone, but I have some great pieces of old Blue Willow and Gaudy Dutch.

As a kid, I could spend a lot of time progging the shores around

our farm down on Ross Neck. And we had plenty of shoreline to prog, if you didn’t mind wading here and there when the tide came in. Just walking the dreckline, eyes down, you could get lost in solitude. There was no one around for miles, just ploughed fields or grazing Her efords or high rivershore, no sound but the tide lapping at the mud and the birds calling overhead.

It was a great way to be a kid all alone, especially when the house was full of relatives or we were in one of our full-bore Adolescent vs. Mom battles, such as all kids have. Probably about why I couldn’t bring a friend that weekend or one of my aunts being One of My Aunts.

My mother and her three sisters were a formidable quartet, and getting away from them was the only defense. The men could go ducking or fishing or whatever, but my only escape was progging.

I could cut east and follow the tidewall out of the old cemetery, filled with the people who’d owned the house a century before, all over grown with vines and weeds. Tombstones thrust up out of the woodbine like old teeth, and a coffin or two had rotted out, leaving deep de pressions in the ground. My mother said to stay out of there because it was filled with snakes, including copperheads, but I mostly avoid ed it because it gave me the whim whams. I wasn’t afraid of snakes, but ghosts, well…the curse of a good imagination and I walked around that plot and mostly gave it a good leaving alone when I was by myself.

Here and there, I might find a stretch of sand beach, and maybe an oyster shell about a foot long, the kind that used to be common

Duck Blind

around here before it got settled and oysters got overharvested. John Smith remarked upon huge oyster middens when he first came up the Bay during Contact. So I’d either keep the shell or skip it. It’s amaz ing to me now how good I used to be at skipping shells, and how that talent somehow got lost in the adulting process like so many other really cool kid skills I once had.

Before I got to the neighbors’ house, where I would have to interact and be social with other humans, I would turn around and walk back the way I’d come, hope fully ignored by any relatives who might see me down on the shore, and head toward the fields and for ests.

far I dragged it back out in the creek. A weird surreal battle that would have made a good Kather ine Anne Porter short story. That toadfish was dying and, perhaps in its sentient brain, wanted to die, and, busybody that I am, I was not going to let it go peacefully into that gentle toad heaven until I fi nally realized it wasn’t up to me. Then I let the poor thing alone. It had probably had a good toad fish life. Maybe she had laid her eggs and it was time to go, as it is with some animals. I have no idea what the lifespan of a toadfish is. I know only recently they’ve started marketing them as monkfish, and everyone says they’re good eating. But not for me. When we were fishing, they were trash and we cut them loose. And sometimes you can’t change your opinion. Maybe after my failed attempt to rescue a toadfish, I just gave up. I don’t know. Didn’t know then and don’t know now.

My progging would take me past high banks where the roots of pines were sticking out over the beach as

If I was really unfortunate, I might run into the skeletal re mains of something. What was left of a muskrat, all bones and fur, was enough to horrify my poor sensitive soul. A dying toadfish that I would try to prod back into the water, only to have it wash ashore, too weak to swim, no matter how

Duck Blind

the land slowly eroded. The stubborn trees, evolved to survive in brackish water, were tilting at an increasingly crazy angle, land losing the eternal battle with wind and water. I suspect by now it’s receded back 50 feet or more. On a recent trip to Taylor’s Island, I noted that what had been an apple orchard when I was a kid is now several feet underwater.

After I climbed over the tree roots and followed the shoreline a little farther toward the Little Choptank, I noticed a lot of empty crab shells. Crabs probably liked to shed in this warmish shallow lagoon where they’d be safe from predators. A friend of the family used to

collect and clean these shed shells, spray them with gold and glitter and make Christmas wreaths with them, so I’d pick up the unbroken ones to take home to her. I thought this was a great idea, but my mother thought it was tacky. When the arts and crafts movement hit big in the ’90s, both ladies had passed away and were unable to appreciate the irony.

Just around a bend in the woods, I would come upon my destination. A deserted duck blind.

We had blinds all over the farm. My father was, after all, a sportsman in an age when gentlemen were supposed to hunt and fish and have adventures. And he had a lot of friends with the same interests, so, yeah, duck blinds.

Duck Blind

Happily, gunning season hadn’t started yet, so I was able to swing into the blind, settle myself on the wooden seat and open the book and the cheese sandwich I’d brought for myself. No one would worry about me because I wouldn’t go off our farm, and I was, for heaven’s sake, outside getting some fresh air instead of sitting around with my nose in a book. I could have been casting spells in the woods and no one would have noticed. So it was perfect for someone being hit from behind by the hopping hormones of adolescence.

Out of gunning season, duck blinds are rather like treehouses. Natural, quiet, made of natural fibers and perfect places to hide. Someone’d been hiding there before me, I noticed. There was a half-drunk pint of Jack Daniel’s on the seat. I had a sneaking feeling one of the local boys who ran his muskrat traps around here might have been using this as his hideout, too. But I’m no snitch.

It was a beautiful autumn day. Cold weather and gunning season hadn’t started yet, the sun was warm on my face, the tide was coming in and flocks of migrating songbirds were dancing through the air on their way south.

Peace at last, and I settled down to read my book. I think I was in the Bronte/Austen phase then, virginal and costumed romantic as any newly teen girl.

Overhead, I heard the first lonely calls of the Canada goose coming south for the winter. We hadn’t gotten to foreboding in English class yet, but those geese were signaling the end of my childhood.

All these years later, I’m still floundering to learn how to adult.

Helen Chappell is the creator of the Sam and Hollis mystery series and the Oysterback stories, as well as The Chesapeake Book of the Dead . Under her pen names, Rebecca Baldwin and Caroline Brooks, she has published a number of historical novels.

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The Banneker-Douglass Museum

Preserving Maryland’s African American Heritage

by Bonna L. Nelson

The Banneker-Douglass Museum (BDM) is dedicated to discovering, documenting, interpreting, preserving and promoting African American heritage for all Maryland citizens and visitors.

Benjamin Banneker and Frederick Douglass would be most pleased with the State of Maryland’s official museum of African American his tory and culture that is named in their honor. I thought about that as we walked through the exhibit halls of the Banneker-Douglass Museum (BDM). It was a muggy, scorching hot day, typical for Maryland in July, when we took our granddaughter,

Bella, for a tour of a few Annapolis sites. The BDM was high on our list of stops to learn more about Maryland’s African American people with our always-inquisitive girl, as well as stops at the Maryland State House and the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial at the Annapolis City Dock.

As we approached the red brick and glass building that houses BDM, we noticed that half of the structure

looked like a church with beautiful stained-glass windows. We later learned that it is indeed a church ~ or, rather, was. The other half of the brick structure looked newer, incorporating sleek, modern architecture. After entering the BDM, we noticed how the newer building section integrates with the side exterior wall of the old St. Moriah Church.

Ted Hyman, seated at the recep tion desk, cheerfully welcomed us to the museum, and we felt immediately comforted by his warm greeting and the cool, refreshing air inside. Ted, the BDM security officer, explained how to tour the self-guided museum and its exhibits.

Granddaughter, Bella, stands with a bronze likeness of Harriet Tubman.

Banneker-Douglass

Being known as quite the storyteller, so he told us, he also shared stories about famous and not-so-famous Maryland African Americans, the history of the BDM and details of its namesakes and exhibits.

Ted shared that the BDM, a fivestar Trip Advisor site, opened in 1984 and is named for Benjamin Banneker and Frederick Douglass. The church side of the museum is the former Mount Moriah African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, a two-and-a-half-story gable-fronted Victorian-Gothic brick structure built in 1875.

After much-needed renovations were found to be too costly, the

church was rendered unusable for services, and was destined by the county for demolition. The community rallied successfully to save

Banneker-Douglass

the building, however. Old Mount Moriah AME Church was renovated, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and became the BDM. It later was enhanced by the construction of the expansive addition. The church continues to serve the community by telling the stories of the lives and traditions of Maryland’s African American people.

In each December issue of Tidewater Times, the publishers and I like to highlight a non-profit organization with the hope that you will learn more about the organization and support its mission with a holiday donation. The BDM focuses on a community-based approach to building collections, exhibitions, archives and a library. It also provides tours, public programs, outreach to schools

and libraries and other services supported by the Banneker Douglas Museum Foundation (BDMF).

The BDMF hopes that you will visit, explore, enjoy, attend events and programs, volunteer and donate historical and cultural materials for exhibits and educational purposes. Your monetary donation supports BDMF’s mission of promoting, documenting, protecting, interpreting and preserving African American history and culture in Maryland to improve the understanding and appreciation of America’s rich cultural diversity for all.

The BDMF is a qualified private non-profit 501©(3) organization created and operated to benefit the BDM. It was founded in 1976 to support the Maryland Commission on Afro-American History and Culture in establishing and maintaining the BDM as the State of Maryland repository of African American history and culture. Information on how to donate to the BDMF is included at the end of the story. We all thank you.

In addition to my husband, John, Bella and I were joined on this Annapolis tour by our friend Mylene Kempers, an Annapolis resident. She was sharing “her Annapolis” with us and remembered Ted from a previous BDM tour. They raved about a spectacular 2021 mural exhibit that Mylene had seen at the BDM.

We were not that familiar with Benjamin Banneker, but we learned more about him from Ted and the

Banneker-Douglass

and tides. He kept detailed journals about his nature studies with a special focus on his examination of hives and honey bees as well as cicadas.

Banneker, 1731–1806, was freeborn on a tobacco farm in Baltimore County’s Patapsco Valley. A park and museum named after him are located on his original homestead, and there are other parks, schools and streets commemorating his accomplishments. The self-taught scientist also had a United States Postal Service stamp issued in 1980 to honor his achievements.

BDM exhibits and website. Banneker was a naturalist, mathematician, astronomer and almanac author. He was also a landowner, surveyor and farmer.

Banneker was the first recognized African American man of science and mathematics. His scien tific achievements included crafting the first wooden striking clock in America, assisting with surveying Washington, D.C., corresponding with Thomas Jefferson about slav ery and racial equality and writing several popular almanacs based on his knowledge of astronomy, which included the prediction of eclipses

Frederick Douglass, 1818–1895, is more familiar to us Talbot Coun tians, as this is where he was born. He is also a well-known historical figure, both nationally and around the world. Douglass was a social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer and statesman. He escaped slavery in 1838 and shortly thereafter joined the American Anti-Slavery Society as a traveling speaker. He was the first African American to achieve in ternational fame as a social crusader.

He was a strong advocate for both the anti-slavery movement and wom en’s suffrage. He lobbied politicians and presidents for his causes and produced several newspapers and autobiographies. An internationally recognized orator, he was a national leader in the abolitionist movement. His autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845), became a best seller and is still important

Banneker-Douglass

reading for high school and college students and for those wishing for a better understanding of slavery. Douglass is honored with museums, parks, streets and highways, portraits and statues in other areas of the state and nation, as well as by an impressive statue on the Talbot County Courthouse lawn. The BDM is on the Frederick Douglass Driving Tour and is a National Park Service Network to Freedom Site. The museum exhibits and dioramas present the contributions of famous Maryland African Americans in addition to those of Banneker and Douglass. Exhibits include trailblazing notables such as the famous Underground

Railroad figure Harriet Tubman (whose recent

TIDE TABLE

OXFORD, MD

1. Thurs. 2. Fri. 3. Sat. 4. Sun. 5. Mon. 6. Tues. 7. Wed. 8. Thurs. 9. Fri. 10. Sat. 11. Sun. 12. Mon. 13. Tues. 14. Wed. 15. Thurs. 16. Fri. 17. Sat. 18. Sun. 19. Mon. 20. Tues. 21. Wed. 22. Thurs. 23. Fri. 24. Sat. 25. Sun. 26. Mon. 27. Tues. 28. Wed. 29. Thurs. 30. Fri. 31. Sat.

10:00 11:08 12:09 12:55 1:40 2:24 3:07 3:51 4:34 5:17 6:01 6:48 7:38 8:32 9:29 10:26 11:21 12:14pm 12:51 1:45 2:40 3:36 4:31 5:28 6:27 7:28 8:34 9:42 10:50

DECEMBER 2022

4:47 5:34 6:16 6:55 7:31 8:04 8:37 9:11 9:47 12:16 12:54 1:30 2:06 2:43 3:20 3:57 4:34 5:10 5:47 6:27 7:09 7:56 8:48 9:43 12:04 12:52 1:40 2:29 3:17 4:03 4:48

SHARP’S IS. LIGHT: 46 minutes before Oxford

TILGHMAN: Dogwood Harbor same as Oxford

EASTON POINT: 5 minutes after Oxford

CLAIBORNE: 25 minutes after Oxford

4:39 5:55 7:05 8:10 9:09 10:03 10:52 11:3610:26am 11:09am 11:54am 12:42 1:34 2:32 3:39 4:55 6:12 7:25 8:30 9:29 10:24 11:1410:42am 11:44am 12:50 1:59 3:14 4:31 5:47

CAMBRIDGE: 10 minutes after Oxford

ST. MICHAELS MILES R.: 47 min. after Oxford

WYE LANDING: 1 hr. after Oxford

ANNAPOLIS: 1 hr., 29 min. after Oxford

KENT NARROWS: 1 hr., 29 min. after Oxford

CENTREVILLE LANDING: 2 hrs. after Oxford

HIGH LOW 410.226.5592 campbellsboatyards.com HappyHolidays From all of us at Campbell’s

CHESTERTOWN: 3 hrs., 44 min. after Oxford

3 month tides at www.tidewatertimes.com

2022 was a great boating year, and we look forward to working with each of you in 2023!

BDM statue installation I returned to see, more on that later), Thurgood Marshall and Matthew Henson. The exhibit, “Deep Roots, Rising Waters,” represents Black life in Maryland. Also on display are African and African American art pieces, including the aforementioned murals, and African masks.

Special events presented through out the year include performances, workshops, lectures, educational programs and special exhibits. Ad ditionally. the BDM offers a library and archives. Mylene was impressed with The Black Vote Mural Project that she saw in 2021. The exhibit explored the intersection of public art, Black voices and civil rights with

17 murals and an installation that transformed the interior galleries of the museum. The murals were painted by regional artists.

The newest BDM exhibit, avail able for viewing through September 30, 2023, is The Radical Voice of Blackness Speaks of Resistance and Joy. The exhibit is described as presenting “fine art by fifteen Black Maryland-based artists, as well as the BDM’s Fine Art Collec tion to examine historic and con temporary themes of Black joy and healing created in opposition to and despite of oppression…paintings, photographs, prints, videos and conceptual works…give voice to the voiceless and dispossessed.”

An outstanding piece of BDM’s

Araminta with Rifle and Veve

new exhibit graces a spot just out side the museum’s main entry door. I recently stopped by to admire the 10-foot-tall sculpture of Harriet Tubman titled Araminta with Rifle and Veve. Araminta was Tubman’s given name at birth. The monument was created by Dr. Joyce J. Scott, a Baltimore native, MacArthur Fellowship “genius grant” recipient and a nationally and internationally acclaimed artist. She has been called one of Maryland’s greatest artists. The impressive reddish brown sculpture is made of painted milled foam with found objects, blown glass and mixed media appliques. Tubman stands ramrod straight and holds in

her hands a beautiful beaded rifle adorned with flowers and a beaded staff, called a “veve,” representing Scott’s continuing artistic themes of legacy and defiance. The monu ment celebrates the Harriet Tubman Bicentennial.

Bella was not present when we visited the newest BDM sculpture, but she was with us when we visited the Maryland State House, where she admired the statues of Harriet Tub man and Frederick Douglass. And she was with us when we visited the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial at the Annapolis City Dock. The site commemorates the arrival of the en slaved Kunta Kinte at that location in 1767. The bronze statue is of a seated Alex Haley, a descendant of Kinte,

Banneker-Douglass

reading to three small children from his book Roots, Kunta Kinte’s Story.

Enjoy a visit to the BannekerDouglass Museum, located at 84 Franklin Street off Church Circle in the Annapolis historic district. Free and paid parking are nearby. There is no fee to tour the museum, but donations are encouraged. Group tours with a guide can be arranged. BDM is closed Sunday and Monday but is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. all other days of the week except for holiday closures.

To donate to the foundation, mail your contribution to Banneker-

Douglass Museum Foundation, P.O. Box 1441, Annapolis, MD 21404 or donate on their website, bdmuseum. maryland, at the donation icon. You can also check the website to confirm hours of operation and read about exhibits and events or call 410-2166180 with questions about visiting or donating.

Put a visit to the BDM and donation to the BDMF on your holiday calendar.

Bonna L. Nelson is a Bay-area writer, columnist, photographer and world traveler. She resides in Easton with her husband, John.

Darryl Hill: Breaking the Color Barrier at University of Maryland

Part 1

by Michael Valliant

Imagine having to ride disguised in an Army bus to play in a col lege football game. Or being told someone is waiting with a highpowered rifle for you to come out on the field. How about having to drive more than an hour to practice because they wouldn’t let you on the practice field at the stadium? Or your mother being told she

couldn’t attend your game because there were no Blacks allowed? This was the experience Darryl Hill had playing football for the University of Maryland as the first African American to play Division I foot ball south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Hill played at Maryland from 1962 to 1965 and is in the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame.

Darryl A Hill (#31). Gonzaga

Palestine Hill,

father, Kermit Hill. Hill ran 85 yards for a touchdown on the kick off to help Gonzaga to win against St. John’s. Photograph was taken at Griffith Stadium, Washington DC • Nov. 22, 1959

star with mother,

and

Darryl Hill

Today, University of Maryland’s Jones-Hill House, the state-of-theart Cole Field House facility that houses Maryland’s football program, is named for Darryl and for Billy Jones, the first Black basket ball player at Maryland. Darryl’s playing days there tell the story behind the honor.

Darryl grew up in Northeast Washington, DC. His father, Ker mit Hill, had a trucking company, and his mother, Palestine Hill, was an educator and public school teacher in DC. Darryl is their old est child.

Maryland wasn’t the first place that Darryl broke the color barrier ~ he did the same thing at Gonzaga

College High School, becoming the first Black player at Gonzaga and graduating in 1960. He was named the city’s co-player of the year. His mother hoped he would attend a service academy, though Darryl was too young, playing football in his senior year at 15 years old and graduating when he was 16.

Darryl attended college at Xavier University on a football scholarship. After a year, a letter changed that. He received a letter from the White House telling him he had been appointed as a midshipman at the Naval Academy. It was signed by President John F. Kennedy

When Darryl got to the Naval Academy, he was among hundreds asked to try out for the football team. He met another promising

Darryl had his fans, even as a young child!

young player, a quarterback who could throw the ball all over the field. The two admired each other’s skills. The quarterback was named Roger Staubach, who would go on to become a Hall of Fame quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys.

“At first, I called him ‘Jolly Rog er,’ but after watching him play, I changed his nickname to ‘Roger the Dodger,” Hill said. That nickname stuck with Staubach throughout his playing career.

While playing for Navy, Darryl played against the University of Maryland, and he played well. And then he got a call from Lee Corso, Maryland’s freshman coach. He wanted Darryl to play for them.

“Coach, I think you forgot that

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Darryl Hill

Maryland plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is segre gated. They don’t allow Black play ers,” Darryl told him.

Corso told Darryl that was the point. They were looking to do away with that barrier, and they thought Darryl was the right person to do it.

In an interview with Don Markus for University of Maryland’s maga zine, Corso explained why they picked Darryl.

“Darryl Hill was the perfect candidate to be the first Black player [at Maryland],” Corso said. “First of all, he was intelligent, you could see that because he had gotten into

the academy. And he wasn’t afraid of a challenge. That was very important. As great of a football play-

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Darryl Hill

er as he was, he had the right tem perament. He wouldn’t let things bother him too much.”

Corso and Maryland were convinced. Darryl wasn’t at first.

“I told Coach Corso I wasn’t try ing to be Jackie Robinson. I just wanted to be a normal student, playing football and having fun,” he said. “He told me, ‘You must be afraid,’ and that did it, I became a Terp.”

As a transfer student, Darryl had to sit out for a year before he could play in games. Before he even stepped on the game field, Mary land’s coaches were hearing about it from the southern teams.

“We heard things like, ‘you’d better not bring him to Death Val ley (Clemson) ~ we won’t play. And that changed to ‘He won’t make it out alive,’” Darryl said.

There were hotels in the South that wouldn’t allow Blacks to stay, and when Corso and the team encountered this, the coach said, “If he can’t stay, we aren’t staying.”

Darryl encountered everything from being warned there was an assassin with a high-powered rifle on top of the dorms next to the stadium, waiting for him to come onto the field, to having to be driven to the stadium doors in Army buses to avoid having to walk through the crowds.

Maryland’s coaches and players

HE’S

GOT

IT ~ This is the kind of pass-catching expected of Darryl Hill as the flanker in Maryland’s backfield this fall. A transfer student from the Naval Academy and a Gonzaga High School graduate, Hill already has become known as “the Terrapin’s Bobby Mitchell.” He will be the first Negro to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Hill is six feet tall, 165 pounds.

had Darryl’s back. One player in particular: Jerry Fishman. Fish man was a Jewish player from Con necticut. Hill first met him when he was still playing for the Naval Academy and Fishman was playing for Maryland. In the first game, they played against each other and Darryl had a great game. Fishman noticed. In the second game, Hill and Staubach ran a trick play that

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Darryl Hill

ers was Brian Piccolo, who became a Chicago Bears running back and is the central character in the film Brian’s Song.

Piccolo came over to Darryl and apologized for how the fans were acting. He put his arm around Darryl and motioned for the fans to knock it off. The stadium went si lent, and Darryl was left alone for the rest of the game.

And then there was a game at Clemson University.

“My mother went to the Saturday games. My father wasn’t able to go ~ he owned a trucking company, and Saturdays were paydays,” Darryl said. “At Clemson, they hung a turtle from the goal post, with its face and paws painted black.”

Black people weren’t allowed

Fishman figured out, broke up and hit Hill hard.

As teammates, they became great friends. Fishman became a kind of big brother or bodyguard figure for Hill. Darryl calls him possibly the toughest football player he ever played with, and in the screenplay about Darryl’s time playing foot ball, his relationship with Fishman comes alive.

A couple memories of unexpect ed kindness at away games stand out to Darryl.

When Maryland played Wake Forest University, the fans were harassing Darryl. One of Wake For est’s stars and most popular play

Jerry Fishman

Kermit and Palestine Hill.

Darryl Hill

in the stadium. His mother was denied entry and was directed to a sign that said, “whites only,” in sinuating that she couldn’t read the sign. She had a PhD and was a teacher.

At that point, a gentleman inter vened. His name was Dr. Robert Edwards, and he was the chancellor at Clemson. He saw what hap pened and invited Darryl’s mother to sit with him and his wife in their suite. That next week, inspired by Palestine Hill, Edwards ordered all “whites only” signs on campus to be taken down.

Despite what he ran into with fans, what Darryl experienced from the players on the other teams was more positive.

“Young people in the South were

taught to despise and hate Blacks when I was growing up,” Darryl said. “However, never did a student athlete call me a name or unneces sarily rough me up. I got the usual tough treatment because I was a star player and scoring threat, but nothing was racially motivated. One student athlete was quoted as saying ‘we didn’t like the circus, we just wanted to play a football game.’ One player from Clemson that I met 50 years after that game told me that due to my courage and resilience by the second half of the game, he and many teammates were quietly rooting for me. He also told me that the coach urged the team to ‘give him hell.’”

After graduating from Maryland in 1965 with his Bachelor of Sci ence degree in economics, Darryl tried for a short time to play in the NFL. He was on the taxi squad for the New York Jets, where he had quarterback Joe Namath offer him a bedroom to stay in. Darryl played on special teams against the legendary Dick Butkus on the Chicago Bears, who hit one of Darryl’s teammates, a man much larger than Butkus, back several yards.

Football was a chapter in Darryl’s story ~ one that saw him break the color barrier, a life experience that earned him a place in Mary land’s Hall of Fame and has put his name on the University’s football facility.

It’s an incredible story that has

Darryl Hill

producer Mark Ciardi interested in making a movie. Ciardi has produced several sports-based films, including Secretariat, Invincible, Million Dollar Arm and McFarland, USA .

In Darryl’s story, though, football is just the opening chapter. His story gets more interesting with his business and entrepreneurial adventures, which we will be sharing in next month’s Tidewater Times .

When he looks back on what he accomplished at Maryland and with football, and regarding his

honors and legacy, Darryl offers a selfless perspective:

“If my story and what I did, if I could change someone’s life, if I can inspire someone to think that they can do something they didn’t think they could, that’s enough.”

Michael Valliant is the Assistant for Adult Education and Newcomers Ministry at Christ Church Easton. He has worked for non-profit organizations throughout Talbot County, including the Oxford Community Center, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and Academy Art Museum.

Jones-Hill House is named after former Maryland basketball player Billy Jones (who broke the color barrier in the ACC) and former Terps wide receiver Darryl Hill (who did the same in football).

~ Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics

My Christmas Rainbow

by James Dawson

I called it my Christmas rainbow ~ not to be selfish, but because it was uniquely mine. Meteorologists tell us that due to the angles of refraction that cause the rainbow, you would not have seen the exact rainbow that I saw even if you had been standing right next to me. Instead, you would have seen your own very special Christmas rainbow that was virtually identical to mine, but all yours.

This wonderful Christmas rainbow was visible in other parts of the county, a special gift to everyone lucky enough to have seen it.

It was a stunning rainbow, stretching in an unbroken arc from horizon to horizon. And if that wasn’t amazing enough, the fact that it made its appearance at

sunset on December 25, 2021 was an unexpected bonus.

Christmas Day 2021 was pleasant, with mild temperatures. After the Christmas festivities, I was lazing around the house late in the afternoon when I thought I’d take my dog, Miley, for a walk. I live in the country, so we were walking around the yard making our usual big 15-minute loop. On the last lap, as the sun was setting in the west, I noticed something unusual to the east ~ the short stub of one end of a rainbow sticking up across the field behind some trees.

I love weather events of all sorts, and this was unusual enough that I wanted to get a photo. Of course, I didn’t have my camera with me, so I hurried back to get it out of my car,

which was a few hundred feet away.

Christmas Rainbow was a delicious evening, as Thoreau might have said. Meanwhile, the setting sun hid behind some clouds, doubtless signaling that the show was over.

To my sorrow, the closer I got to my car and camera, the fainter and shorter the rainbow stub became. When I finally had my camera in hand, there was virtually nothing left of it. Oh, well. You can’t get ’em all! Better luck next year—but there was little chance of that happening, as this was probably the only Christ mas rainbow that I would ever see!

I snapped a shot as it faded away, but that was a sorry reminder of what I’d missed. For some reason, though, I stayed outside even after we’d finished our walk. It was an unseasonably nice evening: temperature in the low 60s, no wind and pleasant enough to be outside, rainbow or no rainbow. In fact, it

But what was that? As the clouds parted slightly to reveal the sun, I could hardly believe my eyes! Was the rainbow stub coming back?

I hardly dared to believe it, but soon there was no doubt that it was returning!

And it didn’t stop there. Soon, the stub was growing and arcing its way up into the sky as another stub formed simultaneously and reached up into the sky, too, forming the other half of the rainbow.

Now this was interesting! And then, almost before I knew it, the two ends met in the air to become the prettiest rainbow I’d ever seen

Christmas Rainbow

in my life or certainly will ever see!

I was transfixed, as I had a perfect unobstructed view of it across a flat soybean field.

Of course, I took photos, fearing it might be gone in a flash, but as it turned out, the show was not over yet.

Now, on the left side of the bow, there was a partial secondary bow growing just outside the main bow. Secondary rainbows are not often seen, and one of the interesting things about them is that their colors are reversed from the order they appear in the main rainbow. In the main rainbow, the colors would be red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet (the mnemonic for the acronym of the first letters of the colors in the sequence, which looks like someone’s name, is Roy G. Biv). The colors in the secondary bow would be reversed: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red, or VIBGYOR, which is Roy G. Biv backwards.

The partial secondary bow soon faded away into nothingness. See ing a complete secondary bow would have been incredible, but something that I’ve never seen, so I was definitely pushing my luck as it was. There is even such a thing as a third or tertiary bow, in which the colors are reversed back to the Roy G. Biv sequence of the primary, bow, and that would definitely have been supremely improbable!

Also interesting was that except for a brief sprinkle where I was, it was dry, which definitely aided viewing and photography.

As the sun was dipping below the horizon and restless geese were stirring and starting to take flight, I got my last wish. Several small flocks of geese flew across the base of the fading rainbow stub. I missed the first shot because not only were the geese too small to see in the viewfinder, but there is that annoy ing split-second pause with digital cameras after you press the shutter.

But the Universe was patient with me, and I managed to get a few shots as several more small flocks flew by. The Christmas sun sank below the horizon and the scattered clouds drew together like a curtain, putting an end to the third and final act of the rainbow show at 4:49 p.m. on Saturday, December 25, 2021. This was all a stunning event, the likes of which I never expect to see again. I would have to add that Miley was not at all interested.

I was pleased with my photos.

The rainbow was so large that it was too big to get in one shot, so I had to join two photos of the two halves and digitally paste them together. I did use Photoshop to blend the seam where the photos joined, but otherwise I did not alter the actual images of the rainbow. What a wonderful day, and what

an amazing and unexpected Christmas gift!

I sent a shot to my friend Terry in Easton, who said he had seen and photographed the Christmas rainbow, too. For some reason, his Christmas rainbow was smaller, so he was able to get it all in one shot, even though it stretched from horizon to horizon like mine did. This was probably the result of the different angles from which we viewed it. Terry had his very own Christmas rainbow as well.

I hope you saw it, too, but if not, I am happy to share mine with you.

James Dawson is the owner of Unicorn Bookshop in Trappe.

Dorchester Map and History

Dorchester County is known as the Heart of the Chesapeake. It is rich in Chesapeake Bay history, folklore and tradition. With 1,700 miles of shoreline (more than any other Maryland county), marshlands, working boats, quaint waterfront towns and villages among fertile farm fields – much still exists of what is the authentic Eastern Shore landscape and traditional way of life along the Chesapeake.

For more information about Dorchester County visit https://tidewatertimes.com/travel-tourism/dorchester/.

TIDEWATER GARDENING

by K. Marc Teffeau, Ph.D.

End-Of-Year Wrap-Up

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is coming to a close. Fortunately, this year wasn’t too challenging in terms of gardening activities. But if you are an active gardener, you know there are things to do every month of the year. Milder December days allow us to continue with some outside landscaping activities. Although I mention this every year, it is very important that woody shrubs and

trees have enough moisture going into the winter. This is especially true for foundation plantings under the eaves. Unless there is wind that forces rainfall close to the house, these plants can go without water. We often forget the spots outdoors where rain doesn’t reach. Check the moisture around foun dation plantings beneath a roof overhang, and water if necessary. Shrubs and trees that you trans -

planted earlier in the fall must have adequate moisture now to prevent winter desiccation. Broad- and narrow-leaved evergreen plants especially transpire a lot of water through their needles and leaves during colder months. You might have noticed how some pines, junipers, cedars and yews take on a brownish to grayish tinge in win ter. This is because more water is transpiring out of the foliage than can be taken in by the roots in cold soil.

Prune your grapevines a little earlier this year to make a clas sic wreath. If you can’t shape the wreath as you prune, soak the vines

in water overnight for increased flexibility. Cover strawberry plants with a piece of row cover to help prevent winter injury and promote early growth in spring. Inside the house, we need to

Tidewater Gardening

start looking for possible insect problems on houseplants, especial ly if you didn’t do a thorough job of cleaning the plants of dead leaves and spraying for insects before you brought them into the house from the porch, patio or deck. Warm, dry indoor air creates prime breeding ground for spider mites. Look very closely for fine webbing on the undersides of leaves, on new buds and at the base of stems. Set any suspicious-looking plants in the shower to wash off the mites, and repeat frequently. Small plants can be swished upside down in a sink of soapy water. Insecticidal soap also works, but it’s smelly to use indoors.

not to let the soil get too dry or the plant will drop its buds. When buds of Christmas cactus show signs of opening, resume a regu lar watering program and keep the plant cool for the best show.

Houseplants with large leaves and smooth foliage (philodendron, dracaena, rubber plant, etc.) ben efit if their leaves are washed with clear water at intervals to remove dust and grime, as this keeps the leaf pores open.

It is important to decrease water and fertilizer on Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti if the flower buds are developing. Be sure, however,

Cyclamen prefer cool tempera tures, so keep them back from south-facing windows that heat up during the day. If you brought geranium plants indoors for the winter, chances are they’ve be come very leggy by now. The short, cloudy days of December don’t provide enough light for these plants to thrive. Cut them back to about one foot tall. They will re-sprout and grow bushier when the days grow longer.

In winter, you can grow many fresh herbs indoors for use in the kitchen. Try sowing seeds of parsley, oregano, sage, chives and dwarf basil in clay pots. Place them under grow lights once they germi

nate, and water and fertilize (with a half-strength solution) only when very dry. If you bring your outside potted herb plants in for the win ter, be sure to check for and control any insect or disease issues.

As a general rule, the flowering potted plants like florist azaleas and poinsettias that you buy or receive as gifts during the holiday season are not meant to be kept as permanent houseplants. These cultivars of holiday plants are bred for greenhouse production and usually do not adapt long-term to the conditions in your home. Treat them like long-lasting cut flowers: enjoy them as long as possible, but discard them when they become unattractive.

There are some exceptions to this rule, however. For example, kalanchoes (Kalanchoe blossfel diana). These holiday plants are tough and can endure in our homes for a couple months during the winter. If you compare the leaves of the kalanchoe and the common jade plant, you will notice a resemblance. Both have thick, firm,

fleshy leaves. However, the kalanchoe is more flattened and tightly packed than the jade plant.

Kalanchoes like it hot and dry. If you need a plant that can reside in a hot room (like where the wood stove is located) or in drafts from a nearby radiator or heat vent, this plant will do well. You can even forget to water it sometimes,

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Tidewater Gardening

though flowering will be reduced if you do. When choosing your ka lanchoe, look for a minimum of two to three flower clusters on a 4-inch plant and four or five on a 6-inch plant. Make sure the plant has lots of color and few or no dead flowers. Once spring weather arrives, you can set it outside with your other houseplants and it will thrive.

you’ll need to keep the room temperature above 60 degrees and the plant in high-intensity light. If the amaryllis does not receive enough light, its leaves and flower stem will stretch or elongate too much and fall over. It takes an average of four weeks from the time the bulb is planted until it flowers. When you see the first flower bud begin to swell and turn color, it will only be another day or two until it opens completely.

As a rule, the larger the bulb circumference, the more flowers you will get. Larger bulb sizes (10 inches or more in circumference) will give you at least four flowers. Amaryllis flower colors range from white and pink to orange.

A popular house plant a few years ago, the spider plant (Chloro phytum spp.) is still grown by some homeowners. One question you

Amaryllis bulbs are popular at Christmas. This flower can be bought in any stage of growth, from a single bulb to the semi-opened or “puffy bud” stage. If you purchase one, be sure that one-third of the bulb is above the soil line in the pot. Place the bulb in a warm, sun ny location and watch the leaves unfold and the flower stem stretch. Keep the growing medium on the dry side ~ don’t overwater it.

Amaryllis are tropical plants, so

Tidewater Gardening

may have is how to produce spider plant “babies.” For these offshoots to occur, the spider plant must be mature and have short days (eight hours of sunlight) to produce flower stalks, the runners on which the plantlets form.

Leaf tip burn, a common problem in spider plants, can be caused by soluble salt buildup due to im proper watering and too much fer tilizer. Never allow the plant to dry out excessively. When you water, do so thoroughly from the surface, allowing plenty of water to drain out the bottom of the pot. This al lows for the removal of excess fertilizer and reduces salt buildup in the soil. Discard any water that drains out.

You might want to use distilled bottled water for spider plants, as they are very sensitive to fluoride levels in tap water. Depending on where you live and your water sys tem, fluoride may be present in levels high enough to cause the leaves to brown.

Want to know what to do with the cardboard cylinders from holi day wrapping paper? When my sons were little, these tubes were usually used for sword fights between family members, Mom and Dad in cluded. Don’t throw them out. They make great biodegradable cutworm collars to put around tomato and pepper transplants in the spring

vegetable garden. Cut into 3-inchlong tubes to fit over the small transplants, then discard once the plants become established.

What would a December column be without some mention of Christmas trees? To avoid drying out your freshly cut Christmas trees, trans port it covered with or wrapped in plastic or a cloth in the trunk of the car. I just shake my head when I see a bare-cut Christmas tree strapped to the roof of a car or exposed in the back of a pickup truck driving down the road at 60 miles per hour. This is the quickest way to dry out the tree. And then the homeowner complains that the tree excessively shed its needles and did not last long in the house. Duh…the moisture in the tree needles was sucked out on the ride home.

At home, cut an inch or two off the bottom of the trunk and plunge the butt into a pail of warm water.

Tidewater Gardening

Keep the cut tree in a cool, shaded, protected place outside or in an unheated garage until you move it into the house. Mount in a tree stand or place in a bucket with rocks and sand. Fill the stand or bucket with water after the tree is indoors, and check water needs daily. Sometimes overwintering insect critters or their egg masses, like praying mantids, become active because of the warm house temperatures. Not to worry. Suck them up with the vacuum and deposit them outside.

If you bought a balled and burlaped Christmas tree that you plan to plant after the holidays, dig the hole now, before the soil freezes.

Store the tree out of the wind and direct sunlight, and wait until the last minute to move it indoors. Move it outside and plant it as soon as you can after Christmas. If the tree stays indoors for an extended time, it will tend to dry out and lose some of its hardiness. Make sure you provide adequate moisture while the tree is in the house ~ and after you transplant it into the landscape. Happy Gardening and Happy Holidays!

Marc Teffeau retired as Director of Research and Regulatory Affairs at the American Nursery and Landscape Association in Washington, D.C. He now lives in Georgia with his wife, Linda.

Tangier Sound Lights by A.M. Foley

An unusual government offer almost went begging last summer. The General Services Adminis tration initially found no taker in auctioning off the Hooper Island Lighthouse. Extending the bidding period finally produced a winning offer of $192,000. (For the moment, the buyer is unidentified.)

If that seems like a bargain to anyone, they may be confusing two different lights: Hooper Island and Hooper Straits Lighthouses. The ex-Straits light was of screw-pile construction, a cozy-cottage-type beacon, symbol of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, which barged and re-erected it in 1966 in St. Michaels, Maryland, 40 miles from its home waters at Honga River. Instead, last August’s GSA auction offered the Hooper Island Lighthouse, which still stands

firmly in place, three and a half miles offshore west of Hoopers ville.

The recently sold light’s construction is not screw-pile but caisson type, a more utilitarian design familiarly described as Sparkplug. Its foundation was sunk pneumatically to a depth of 13.5 feet and surrounded by 300 tons of riprap in 1902. Unlike 11 lighthouse cot tages lost off their pilings to ice, this Sparkplug was built to last.

Chesapeake lights evolved off-

Hooper Strait Lighthouse

Hooper Island Lighthouse

St. Michaels Map and History

On the broad Miles River, with its picturesque tree-lined streets and beautiful harbor, St. Michaels has been a haven for boats plying the Chesapeake and its inlets since the earliest days. Here, some of the handsomest models of the Bay craft, such as canoes, bugeyes, pungys and some famous Baltimore Clippers, were designed and built. The Church, named “St. Michael’s,” was the first building erected (about 1677) and around it clustered the town that took its name.

For a walking tour and more history of the St. Michaels area visit https://tidewatertimes.com/travel-tourism/st-michaels-maryland/.

Tangier Sound Lights

shore after chronic erosion proved land-based stations impractical. Subsequently, lightships and cot tages atop sleeve- or screw-type piles proved vulnerable to ice. In severe winters, alternate freezing and thawing shaped wind-driven ice floes into massive bergs. Wind and tide battered pilings with these mounds, loosening cottages from their bases. The first Hooper Straits Lighthouse of 1867, a cottage erect ed on wooden pilings sleeved with cast iron, lasted only 10 years.

In 1877, lightkeeper John Corn well and assistant Alexander Con way escaped onto the ice from their cottage at the last moment, dragging a station boat to shelter and save them from frigid water between

floes. After a day and night of exposure, they were sighted by a Captain Murphy of Billys Island, who brought them ashore, badly frost bitten, to his home off Bloodsworth Island. Icebound there on tiny Billys Island, the pair recuperated far from any means of communication.

Two days after the parting, dawn revealed their lighthouse off Dorchester County, five miles from its pilings, settled to its roofline. Alerted by citizens, the lighthouse service dispatched two steamers, whose crewmen were disappointed not to find the keepers safe inside. They salvaged lens, lantern, fog bell and other materials, but the fate of the lightkeepers remained a mystery for two weeks, until thawing conditions allowed Cornwell to re lay word of their rescue.

Hooper Strait Lighthouse, ca. 1879.

John S. Cornwell

Keeper Cornwell explained in his report how he had duly completed his last quarterly report for 1876, but it had been lost with the light house. He added that they were safe and “should there be another house erected, or a boat placed in the site of the old one, Conway and myself will be ready to take charge of it.” He indeed took charge in 1879, when it was replaced with a second lighthouse using screw-pile design, wrought iron pilings screwed rather than driven into the bay floor. Nev ertheless, as quoted in Jane Ward’s history of the light, the station log recorded January 29, 1912, “Ice very strong, shakes house so bad put out light…5 PM, running very strong… can’t hardly keep on your feet.”

The lighthouse service eliminat ed such danger by adopting pneu matically constructed Sparkplugs. Coastguardsman Burton Whaley served on the Sparkplug Hooper Island Light in the early 1950s, 70 years before its auction. He told students of South Dorchester High School in an interview, “The only

way that they’d ever move this lighthouse would be to blast it or dynamite it. Because I’ve been on it in the winter time….Sometimes the ice coming down the Bay would be twelve to twenty-four inches thick and large sheets of it, miles wide, would hit the lighthouse and never

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Lower portion of caisson begin towed to site.

The top tier of the foundation flares out like a trumpet

Tangier Sound Lights

budge it. Never could ~ never ~ feel it inside.”

Apparently crewman Burton felt secure enough that eerie groans and crackles emitted by ice plates didn’t bother him. He minded warming weather more. Quoted in the school publication Skipjack , Burton said, “The worst times on the lighthouse were in the spring. The fog horn… would blast every so many seconds and if you were trying to sleep, ev ery time this fog horn went off, you practically came out of the bed. Sometimes the fog would set in for weeks ~ not just days ~ weeks at a time. When it did this, we would often go ashore to pick up a few sup -

plies, merely to get away from the sound of the fog horn.”

To escape blasts sounding sec onds apart, two of the light’s three crewmen would lower the station’s boat and risk a three-and-a-half mile trip in dense fog. According to Whaley, not being native to the area, it took two “to figure the wind, the waves, and everything else to actually get to the point where we would go into Hooper’s Island.”

Crews of that steadfast Spark plug had been blessed with some di version since 1925, when a wealthy New York woman sent a dozen radios to the Bay region to help relieve lightkeepers’ loneliness. By the early 1950s, young Burton Whaley craved more amusement than a ra-

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Oxford Map and History

13

Ave.Stewart Norton St. Mill St. St.Jefferson Banks St. Factory St. Morris St. Oxford Bellevue Ferry T r e d A v o n R i v e r

12

9 10 11

WilsonSt. Oxford Park

St.

Town Creek Oxford

15 16 17 18 19 4 5 6

8 1 2 3 7

Sinclair St. Richardson St. South Street TownCreek Rd. Oxford Community Center

First Street 2nd St.

Third Street Jack’s Pt. Rd.

Bonfield Ave.

14 © John Norton

To Easton 333

Oxford is one of the oldest towns in Maryland. Although already settled for per haps 20 years, Oxford marks the year 1683 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, Ox ford 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 sur rounded 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 har vest 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/.

Tangier Sound Lights

dio provided: “I was a young man of seventeen years old and it was the same thing as being in prison for no reason at all. You can imagine how it was, being confined to a lighthouse with seven rooms in it, hav ing to stay there twenty-four days and being off six days. It was not very pleasant.”

Perhaps mature crewmen adapt ed more easily to the environment. Both Hooper-named lights were among a cluster of fully manned stations guiding traffic around Tangier Sound’s shoals, offshore of numer ous islands and semi-aquatic vil lages. There were seven more lighthouses around the Sound: Sharkfin

Shoal off Clay Island, Great Shoals off Deal Island, Holland Island Bar off that severely eroded island, Solomons Lump in Kedges Strait, Janes Island at the entrance of An nemessex River, Somers Cove at Crisfield, and Tangier Sound, at its Virginia entrance. The lights’ occupants were part of a large society of amphibious people who lived around the water’s edge. Dwindling numbers of watermen today belie the fact that, in their day, resident “wickies” were not so isolated as might be imagined.

A hundred boats of all descrip tion may have passed in the course of a day, most too small to rate mention in the log, but captained by fa miliar watermen. If two men were

aboard the light when one received word by radio of an emergency at home, he could hail a passing wa terman for a lift ashore, so the sta tion’s boat remained with his mate. To augment supplies delivered peri-

Tangier Sound Lighthouse

Tangier Sound Lights

odically by tenders, crews fished off the railed gallery. Perhaps someone hauling watermelons to town might drop one off to the keepers.

Eastern Shore photographer Orlando Wootten interviewed a woman who spent her honeymoon at Great Shoals Lighthouse. Her new husband persuaded two mates to take leave while he smuggled his bride aboard for a week. The groom must have used some artistic li cense when completing the week’s log. Lightkeeping required such meticulous records of a day’s activi ties, it’s a wonder any work ever got done.

The honeymooners were throw-

backs to an earlier time, before chronic erosion forced locating lights away from shore. Earlier land-based lights were attached to dwellings, where keepers’ fami lies lived conventional lives. When later lights were erected off shrinking shorelines, families naturally moved along with them until icy winters proved too hazardous. Captain James Bolling of Sevenfoot Knoll Light had a family of seven aboard, plus a container garden, and assorted livestock fenced on the lower platform. They persevered through winter hazards and livestock losses until 1879, when a tugboat had to brave ice to rescue Mrs. Bolling and the children. They resettled in the city.

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Except for the Sparkplug Hooper Island Lighthouse, today’s automated Tangier Sound lights have been remounted on bases that formerly held cottages. The Coast Guard dismantled or burned obsolete cottages, aside from Hooper Strait

Sevenfoot Knoll Lighthouse Hooper Island Lighthouse, today.

Tangier Sound Lights

Lighthouse. Local citizens were or ganizing to save the lighthouse on location in the Straits when CBMM prevailed, slicing it in two and removing it to Navy Point in St. Michaels.

Visitors can overnight in CBMM’s Hooper Strait Lighthouse, perhaps imagining keepers enjoying a

leisurely life. Those who work “remotely” in our modern world know that employers devise ways to en sure their money’s worth for a day’s wages. Similarly, inspectors toured manned lights to confirm work logs had not become too fanciful.

Populations decline now on many shores around Tangier Sound, where lightkeepers once befriended villagers, occasionally found refuge

Tangier Sound Lights

among them, and courted and married local girls. Keepers like Cornwell and Whaley are ebbing into history, following smugglers who sailed men and supplies down the Sound into the Confederacy, pirates who rendezvoused among its islands, British bargemen who raided waterside planters and the indigenous people who fi rst harvested its rich oyster beds.

The new owner of Hooper Island Lighthouse might recapture some inkling of yesteryear’s adventurers. A Memorandum of Agreement with the Navy specifies awareness that the lighthouse is located in a “surface danger area.” The Naval Air

Warfare Center must be notified of visitors on the light. Nearby Bloodsworth Island is still pummeled periodically with practice bombs and inert missiles and rockets. In the days of manned lights in Tangier Sound, accidents were known to happen. Luckily, no keeper incurred serious harm.

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.

Happy Holidays from The Staff at The Avalon

Foundation!!

Christmas Open House

Christmas is my favorite holiday. December is a magical time of year and is perfect for hosting a party and welcoming friends and fam ily into your home. A holiday open house is an easy and informal way to entertain guests from all aspects of your life. If you have ever held or been to an open house, you know it’s

a relaxing, welcoming party where guests can be with you during a specific timeframe (usually about four hours). It’s the perfect format during the busy holiday season be cause your guests can come and go when they like, and they aren’t committing to spending hours with you unless they choose to do so! When

deciding what to serve, choose a low-maintenance menu that can be made ahead and that will still be delicious after a few hours on a buffet table. Remember that this is a “grazing” party with guests moving around. Serve bite-sized party food to eliminate plates and utensils. The recipes that follow were shared with me by family friends who lived in the Oxford area. They were all served at open houses.

Shrimp Mold

This recipe freezes well, so it can be made in advance. Simply thaw and serve. My mom often made this recipe when she entertained.

A Taste of Italy

2 cans tiny shrimp or 1 lb. cooked small shrimp 1 can condensed tomato soup 1/3 c. cold water 1 envelope Knox gelatin 1 c. mayonnaise 6 oz. cream cheese, softened ½ green pepper, finely chopped 1 t. minced onion 1 c. celery, finely chopped Dash of sea salt

Heat soup in a small saucepan. In a medium bowl, stir gelatin into cold water. Mix hot tomato soup into the gelatin liquid. Combine cream cheese and may onnaise in a medium-size bowl, then stir in soup mixture. Mix well. Add shrimp, green pepper, onion and celery. Spoon the mixture into a 1-quart mold and refrigerate overnight. Unmold on bed of lettuce and serve with crackers or toasted French bread.

218 N. Washington St. Easton (410) 820-8281 www.piazzaitalianmarket.com

Hot Crab Dip

Carol Jones gave this recipe to my family years ago. Carol’s father owned a crab packing house in

Hoopers Island. This delicious and addicting crab dip is ready in about

30 minutes!

1–2 lbs. lump crab meat (check for shells)

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature

1 c. sour cream

2 T. mayonnaise

1 t. each Worcestershire sauce, Ta basco and Old Bay

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and Old Bay. Stir together until combined, then fold in crab meat.

Spread into a casserole dish and bake for 20–25 minutes until heated through and bubbling. Place in

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a chafing dish to keep warm, and serve with a sliced baguette or tor tilla chips. You can make this dip up to 2 days ahead of time. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking.

Salmon Ball

Naudain Sellers had a Christmas open house every year she lived at Bonfield Manor and always served her delicious Salmon Ball. Cheese balls aren’t complicated to make, and they always impress as an appetizer. Served with crackers, toast points and cut vegetables, they are hearty enough to fill people while still being a lighter option. The

salmon makes it a particularly el egant hors d’oeuvre, and the horse radish gives it a little extra kick!

(16 oz.) can salmon, drained and flaked

(8 oz.) package cream cheese, soft ened

T. fresh lemon juice

T. grated onion

T. horseradish

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½ c. chopped pecans

¼ t. sea salt

¼ c. fresh chopped parsley

Combine the cream cheese, lemon juice, onion, horseradish, pe cans and salt in a large bowl. With a handheld electric mixer, blend on medium speed until mixture is well combined. Drain and flake the salmon and add it to the cream cheese mixture. Beat on low speed, being careful not to overmix. Cover and chill 3 hours, then shape into a ball and roll in parsley. This salmon ball can be made a few weeks ahead of time and frozen. Remove from the freezer at least 24 hours in advance and let it thaw in the fridge.

Mary Clubb’s Bleu Cheese Pâté

I enjoy pâté but have found it hard to find good recipes that aren’t too “livery.” The bleu cheese in this recipe makes this delicious and fla vorful.

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, soft ened

14 ¾ oz. liverwurst

½ c. bleu cheese

2 T. sherry

½ c. water chestnuts, drained and chopped

2 slices crisp bacon, drained and crumbled

2 T. minced onion

2 T. chopped pimento

2 T. chopped green olives

Place cream cheese, liverwurst, bleu cheese and sherry in food pro cessor and blend until smooth. Add all other ingredients. Pack pâté into small bowl lined with plastic wrap, leaving overhang. Cover and chill in refrigerator for 1 day. Unmold onto a garnished plate and serve with crackers or baguette rounds.

Chutney Cheese Spread

Gloria Clark found this recipe to be a hit with friends and family. It is delicious spread on crackers or as a spreadable vegetable dip. It also makes an excellent hostess gift!

4 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 T. dry sherry

¼ t. curry powder

¼ c. Major Grey’s Mango Chutney

1 T. green onions, minced

Blend cheeses, sherry and curry powder and mix well. Add chutney

and chill overnight. Hollow out half of a pineapple, reserving fruit. Just before serving, fill the shell with the spread and top with the green on ions. Serve with fruit or crackers. Makes 1-2/3 cups.

Joan Snyder’s Onion Sandwiches

Joan and Miss Louise were known for their onion sandwiches, and they weren’t just eaten, they were inhaled! Try them! You will be pleasantly surprised.

Loaf of soft white bread Hellmann’s mayonnaise White boiling onions, sliced ⅛ inch thick McCormick’s seasoned salt

With a round cookie cutter, make circles in each slice of bread (3–4 circles per slice). Spread each circle with mayonnaise. Sprinkle sea soned salt over each circle. Place onion slices on half of circles and cover with remaining circles. Cover with wax paper and a damp tea tow el until ready to serve. Refrigerate wrapped in wax paper and a damp towel if made early in the day.

Hollywood Fudge Bars

This is one of my favorite recipes from Katie Hertelendy. She would sprinkle with powder sugar. There will be no leftovers!

1 c. butter

10 (1 oz.) squares semisweet chocolate, chopped

4 large eggs

1 ½ c. sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

1 ½ c. all-purpose flour ¼ t. salt

Combine butter and chocolate in top of a double boiler; bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook

until butter and chocolate melt, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and let cool.

Beat eggs and sugar until thick and pale. Stir in melted chocolate and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix just until blended.

Grease and flour a 13x9x2-inch pan. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° F for 28–30 minutes. (Do not over-bake.) Cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Frosting ¼ c. butter

2 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened choc olate

2 ½ c. sifted powdered sugar 3–4 T. half & half

Combine butter and chocolate in a heavy saucepan; cook over

low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate and butter melt and mix ture is smooth. Remove from heat; add powdered sugar and enough half & half to make mixture a good spreading consistency, stirring constantly. Yield: enough frosting for 2 dozen brownies.

Holiday White Chocolate Cheesecake

The easiest and most satisfying holiday dessert is a cheesecake. Make this up to 2 days ahead and top it just before serving.

1 (9 ½ oz.) package Nabisco Chocolate Wafers

1/4 c. sugar

2/3 c. unsalted butter, melted

5 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, room temperature 1-3/4 c. sugar

5 large eggs, room temperature

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Combine these ingredients with a fork. Press the crumb mixture into the sides of the springform pan and then into the bottom. Bake for 5 minutes and then cool.

Whip cream cheese and sugar until soft. Add eggs, cream, flour and melted white chocolate. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the springform pan.

Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300° F and bake for 40 minutes more. Turn off the oven and allow the cake to rest in the oven for one hour. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

2/3 c. heavy cream

2/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. sour cream

4 oz. good quality white chocolate, melted 2 c .white chocolate shavings, to garnish

Preheat oven to 450° F. Butter a 10-inch springform pan. Crush the wafers by hand or in the food processor to create fine crumbs.

Place the crumbs in a bowl with ¼ cup sugar and the melted butter.

Before serving, spread sour cream over the top of the cooled cake and sprinkle with white chocolate shavings. Serves 12.

A longtime resident of Oxford, Pamela Meredith, formerly Denver’s NBC Channel 9 Children’s Chef, has taught both adult and children’s cooking classes. She currently resides in Easton.

For more of Pam’s recipes, visit the Story Archive tab at tidewatertimes.com.

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HOLIDAY

IN CAROLINE COUNTY, MD

Christmas in Ridgely Holiday Light Display

November 24th through January 2nd

Denton’s Holiday Parade & Lighting of the Green Thursday, December 1st, 6pm

Denton’s Christkindlmarkt Friday, December 2nd, 5pm - 8:30pm

Federalsburg Tree Lighting at the Triangle Friday, December 2nd, 6pm - 8pm

Greensboro’s Whoville Village Holiday Park Fridays & Saturdays, December 2nd - 17th, 5pm - 9pm

Christmas Daze in Preston Saturday, December 3rd, 4pm - 6pm

Ridgely Lions Club Christmas Parade Saturday, December 3rd, 6pm

Greensboro’s Holiday Parade & Snacks with Santa Saturday, December 10th, 1pm

Christmas In Ridgely Winter Festival Saturday, December 10th, 4pm - 10pm

Federalsburg’s Christmas Parade & Museum Open House Monday, December 12th, 7pm - 9pm

Christmas at Chambers Park in Federalsburg Sunday, December 18th, 5:30pm - 7:30pm

Caroline County – A Perspective

Caroline County is the very definition of a rural community. For more than 300 years, the county’s economy has been based on “market” agriculture.

Caroline County was created in 1773 from Dorchester and Queen Anne’s counties. The county was named for Lady Caroline Eden, the wife of Maryland’s last colonial governor, Robert Eden (1741-1784).

Denton, the county seat, was situated on a point between two ferry boat landings. Much of the business district in Denton was wiped out by the fire of 1863.

Following the Civil War, Denton’s location about fifty miles up the Choptank River from the Chesapeake Bay enabled it to become an important shipping point for agricultural products. Denton became a regular port-ofcall for Baltimore-based steamer lines in the latter half of the 19th century.

Preston was the site of three Underground Railroad stations during the 1840s and 1850s. One of those stations was operated by Harriet Tubman’s parents, Benjamin and Harriet Ross. When Tubman’s parents were exposed by a traitor, she smuggled them to safety in Wilmington, Delaware.

Linchester Mill, just east of Preston, can be traced back to 1681, and possibly as early as 1670. The mill is the last of 26 water-powered mills to operate in Caroline County and is currently being restored. The long-term goals include rebuilding the millpond, rehabilitating the mill equipment, restoring the miller’s dwelling, and opening the historic mill on a scheduled basis.

Federalsburg is located on Marshyhope Creek in the southern-most part of Caroline County. Agriculture is still a major portion of the industry in the area; however, Federalsburg is rapidly being discovered and there is a noticeable influx of people, expansion and development. Ridgely has found a niche as the “Strawberry Capital of the World.” The present streetscape, lined with stately Victorian homes, reflects the transient prosperity during the countywide canning boom (1895-1919). Hanover Foods, formerly an enterprise of Saulsbury Bros. Inc., for more than 100 years, is the last of more than 250 food processors that once operated in the Caroline County region.

Points of interest in Caroline County include the Museum of Rural Life in Denton, Adkins Arboretum near Ridgely, and the Mason-Dixon Crown Stone in Marydel. To contact the Caroline County Office of Tourism, call 410-479-0655 or visit their website at www.tourcaroline.com .

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When Life Hands You Lemons

a multi-part series by Dan Hoyt

Introduction

This is a story about my bat tle with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), from diagnosis to stem cell transplant. A lot of family and friends wanted regular updates, and updating them individually would have been impossible. I de cided to keep a daily journal and post updates on Facebook with photos of some of my day-to-day successes, problems and complica tions. “The good, the bad and the ugly,” I called it.

For the most part, my updates were upbeat and positive, with a sprinkling of humor. I ended up having so many followers and re ceived so much overwhelmingly encouraging feedback that it blew me away. They said I was an inspi ration, and they are looking at their lives differently by seeing what I went through and how I handled it. Some said I should write a book and share my positive inspirational journey. I started it but never fin ished. It wasn’t until a good friend

Dan and Dawn Hoyt at Hoover Dam.

Lemons

suggested I write about my expe riences in short form and share it through their monthly publication, Tidewater Times. I hope you like it, find some inspiration through my experiences and take away some snippets that can help you in some way in life or if you happen to encounter a bump in the road.

Pre-diagnosis and what was yet to come

I remember asking the nurses two questions: “Will I lose my hair?” They answered yes. And,

“Will my hospital room have good Wi-Fi access? Because I have to be able to work.” They answered yes but gave my wife a funny look, and Dawn responded with an eye roll.

I later asked my wife what she was thinking, and she said, “Not those questions.” She was thinking, “Will I live through this? How long does he have to live? Are we financially ready for this? Insurance, savings and all that serious stuff.” Looking back, I guess I was diving in with both feet and was ready for what ever was to come. My overwhelmingly positive attitude even shocks me today.

Dan and Dawn at Hoover Dam with in-laws, Kim and John.

Lemons

I hadn’t been feeling well since February of 2021. It felt like I was in the beginning stages of a flu that never seemed to come: body aches, tired and just feeling “punky,” as my wife calls it. After we both received the COVID vaccine shots, we felt a huge weight off our shoulders. We, as most people during the pandemic, hadn’t gone anywhere in over a year. We planned a trip to Las Vegas with Dawn’s sister and brother in-law, Kim and John. They had never been to Vegas, and we were old pros, so we were looking forward to showing them the town and doing some sightseeing, something we never took time to do.

I knew I was dealing with being punky and tired, but I was ready to get out and felt I could power through anything. We did a lot of walking, but I always managed. That was, until one long day and

extended night on the third day of our trip. We walked all day and visited the Pawn Stars TV show’s Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. We then took an Uber to a great little Mexican restaurant called Tacos El Pastor down the Las Vegas Strip, did some more walking through the Winn Hotel, the Palazzo and the Venetian, and caught another Uber back to the hotel. That evening, we went to see a show (The Australian Bee Gees) and had a late dinner at a quaint Italian restaurant (Battista’s Hole in the Wall). The final plan was to do a short walk from there to see the water show at the Bellagio; halfway there, my legs locked

up. I just couldn’t go any farther. I told Dawn what was happening and then asked Kim and John if they minded if we took an Uber back to the hotel. They agreed, and we called it a night. Nothing like that had ever happened before, but it was just the start of a crazy month and what was yet to come.

Diagnosis and what comes with it

I had been feeling tired for months, and I figured it was just my PV (polycythemia vera), a rare blood disorder (cancer) that I’d been diagnosed with the previous year, on April 7, 2020. To treat it, I was getting regular phlebotomies to reduce my red blood cell counts.

Lemons

You see, with PV, I had a mutated gene (JAK2), that caused my bone marrow to make too many red blood cells. When I was diagnosed, my hemoglobin (HGB) was 22.8 per deciliter and my hematocrit (HCT) was in the high 50s. These excess cells thicken the blood and slow its flow, which can cause serious problems such as a stroke or blood clots that could lead to a heart attack or an aneurism. I was prescribed the chemo drug hydroxyurea and was getting weekly phlebotomies until I reached an HGB of below 15 and an HCT of 42. Once I hit those numbers, I was taken off the hydroxy and contin -

ued with regular phlebotomies: bi weekly at first, then once a month and then every 6 weeks. When I went 16 weeks without needing phlebotomy, in addition to not feeling well, it was time to call my he matologist. My HGB was dropping instead of rising, which is not supposed to happen in someone with

PV. That was a Monday. The hematologist was able to get me in for an appointment the following Friday, April 23, 2021.

figure out what we should change with my PV treatment. New drug? Bone marrow biopsy to do a deeper dive? He left the room to see if we could get a biopsy that day when my phone pinged again with a new blood result, (the differential). We were looking through the results when I noticed a strange number. Blasts were supposed to be <=0, but mine were over 17,000! A moment later, the doctor came in with a grave look on his face. No longer in diagnosis mode, he was now very serious. He said I had a very bad blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and would need to be admitted to the hospital ASAP for treatment. He said the nurses would get me set up for admission

on Tuesday, April 27, which also happens to be my birthday. He told us I would be there for at least 30 days, which is when our heads started spinning. One minute we were talking about new treatment for my PV; the next we found out I have AML and would be going to the hospital for an extremely long stay.

The next few hours were a whirlwind. I received my first bone marrow biopsy with no pain meds besides the locals. I opted for Versed, a drug to help me for get the experience, but not taking the morphine was a mistake. The pain was bad; I have had seven ad -

ditional biopsies since that day, and I took both meds (the cocktail) from then on, making it much easier to get through the proce dure.

Next came the phone calls. The first was to my son-in-law Nick. He was watching our new puppy, Nel lie, a golden doodle we’d had for only a week. She turned 9 weeks old on the day of my diagnosis, and we’d asked Nick to watch Nel lie for a few hours while we attend ed my appointment. I called him to apologize and to let him know our appointment was going to take a few more hours than originally planned. I came right out with it and told him the diagnosis and the need for the bone marrow biopsy.

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He seemed as shocked as we were but handled it well. Next, I texted my boss and his boss. I let them know I wasn’t going to make it back to work that day and my di agnosis. I received a few encouraging texts in return, and I left it at that, still in shock. Over the next few hours and on our way home from Iowa City, I made a few more calls: to my father, my inlaws, my children and my siblings. They were hard calls to make, but being in a state of shock made it a bit easier, less emotional and more straight to the point.

The next few days at home were like a dream, Dawn and I didn’t know what to do with ourselves. We knew we needed to pack, but

Lemons

what, exactly? We didn’t get a list of suggested items, so we just winged it. My dad, brother and sister and their spouses all stopped by for visits. The children that lived close made special trips with their children to visit. It was a lot to handle, and all seemed to go in slow motion. I could see people walking around and talking but didn’t always understand what they were saying. The grandchil dren were all having fun playing, but I could barely see them. They were just a blur. It was a surreal weekend, but somehow, we got through it.

I posted my first social media

post with photos with my wife pre-haircut and post-head shave to get ready for what was to come. You can see on Dawn’s face that the stress was already setting in. I started to adopt a positive attitude, thinking I had a few ways to

Pre-haircut shot.

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go about this: with stress and worry or with complete trust in my doctors and nurses and remaining positive through the experience/ journey.

In the post, I asked for prayers from my family and friends and

explained how we’d learned I had AML that past Friday. I told them how aggressive the leukemia was and how the doctors wanted to treat it quickly. For my 56th birthday, I was to be admitted to the hospital for a long stay to aggressively treat this nasty cancer. With that, I shared the before and after photos. I ended with one request: please pray for me and my family!

Post-haircut shot.

My in-laws, Carmen and Dennis, offered their help and flew in from Florida Monday morning. They stayed for a month and helped with Nellie while Dawn came to visit me daily in Iowa City. Their time here with Dawn was invaluable and helped immeasurably at such a trying time.

The next day, Tuesday April 27, 2021, was the start of my journey. It was a rough morning saying goodbye to my daughters, Sara and Logan, and my in-laws. Before I left, Logan gave me a bag full of presents and letters. It was heavy, and with all the other stuff we were carrying we decided to bring it but leave it in our van so when Dawn came to visit, she could bring in the day’s gift or letter.

Next month we will focus on treatment, and what was yet to come.

Kaleidoscope Quartet Free Family Concert December 2

The Kaleidoscope Quartet will perform a free Family Concert at 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 2 at the Ebenezer Theater, 17 South Washington Street, Easton. Featuring music by American women composers Florence Price, Reena Esmail and Gabriela Lena Frank, the interactive performance will encourage the audience to join the quartet in exploring how composers reconcile and communicate their personal cultures and identi ties through their music. The Family Concert is presented by Chesapeake Music and is open to the public. No tickets are required.

Alumni of the nation’s top musi cal conservatories, Kaleidoscope Quartet members Brian Hong (violin), Ruben Rengel (violin), Caeli Smith (viola) and Arlen Hlusko (cello) met in New York City and trained together at Carnegie Hall’s

Ensemble Connect Program before forming the quartet. The players place a high value on personal and engaging concerts and on using music to connect with each listen er, regardless of their experience with classical music.

The Family Concert is part of a residency by the Kaleidoscope Quartet in Talbot County Public Schools, sponsored by Chesapeake Music. Through the residency, the quartet will visit Chapel Dis trict and White Marsh elementary schools to perform excerpts of Gabriela Lena Frank’s “An Andean Walkabout” and to provide stu dents with a closer look at their instruments and the collaborative music-making process.

Based in Easton, Chesapeake Music is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing renowned classical and jazz musicians to de -

Brian Hong Ruben Rengel

light, engage and surprise today’s audiences, and to educate, inspire and develop tomorrow’s. The organization has a long history of educational outreach to the Mid-Shore

Arlen Hlusko

community, including Chamber Music Festival Family Concerts, discounted tickets to chamber music, jazz and competition concerts, free open rehearsals during its annual Chamber Music Festival, and special video-recorded music programs for students. Upcoming events in Chesapeake Music’s educational outreach program include local school visits in April 2023 by the Aero Saxophone Quartet.

For more information about the concert and Chesapeake Music’s programs, visit chesapeakemusic. org.

Caeli Smith

Queen Anne’s County

The history of Queen Anne’s County dates back to the earliest Colonial settlements in Maryland. Small hamlets began appearing in the northern portion of the county in the 1600s. Early communities grew up around transportation routes, the rivers and streams, and then roads and eventually railroads. Small towns were centers of economic and social activity and evolved over the years from thriving centers of tobacco trade to communities boosted by the railroad boom.

Queenstown was the original county seat when Queen Anne’s County was created in 1706, but that designation was passed on to Centreville in 1782. It’s location was important during the 18th century, because it is near a creek that, during that time, could be navigated by tradesmen. A hub for shipping and receiving, Queenstown was attacked by English troops during the War of 1812.

Construction of the Federal-style courthouse in Centreville began in 1791 and is the oldest courthouse in continuous use in the state of Maryland. Today, Centreville is the largest town in Queen Anne’s County. With its relaxed lifestyle and tree-lined streets, it is a classic example of small town America.

The Stevensville Historic District, also known as Historic Stevensville, is a national historic district in downtown Stevensville, Queen Anne’s County. It contains roughly 100 historic structures, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located primarily along East Main Street, a portion of Love Point Road, and a former section of Cockey Lane.

The Chesapeake Heritage and Visitor Center in Chester at Kent Narrows provides and overview of the Chesapeake region’s heritage, resources and culture. The Chesapeake Heritage and Visitor Center serves as Queen Anne’s County’s official welcome center.

Queen Anne’s County is also home to the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (formerly Horsehead Wetland Center), located in Grasonville. The CBEC is a 500-acre preserve just 15 minutes from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Over 200 species of birds have been recorded in the area.

Embraced by miles of scenic Chesapeake Bay waterways and graced with acres of pastoral rural landscape, Queen Anne’s County offers a relaxing environment for visitors and locals alike.

For more information about Queen Anne’s County, visit www.qac.org .

Kent County and Chestertown at a Glance

Kent County is a treasury of early American history. Its principal towns and back roads abound with beautiful old homes and historic landmarks.

The area was first explored by Captain John Smith in 1608. Kent County was founded in 1642 and named for the shire in England that was the home of many of Kent’s earliest colonists. When the first legislature assembled in 1649, Kent County was one of two counties in the colony, thus making it the oldest on the Eastern Shore. It extended from Kent Island to the present boundary.

The first settlement, New Yarmouth, thrived for a time and, until the founding of Chestertown, was the area’s economic, social and religious center.

Chestertown, the county seat, was founded in 1706 and served as a port of entry during colonial times. A town rich in history, its attractions include a blend of past and present. Its brick sidewalks and attractive antiques stores, restaurants and inns beckon all to wander through the historic district and enjoy homes and places with architecture ranging from the Georgian mansions of wealthy colonial merchants to the elaborate style of the Victorian era.

Second largest district of restored 18th-century homes in Maryland, Chestertown is also home to Washington College, the nation’s tenth oldest liberal arts college, founded in 1782. Washington College was also the only college that was given permission by George Washington for the use of his name, as well as given a personal donation of money.

The beauty of the Eastern Shore and its waterways, the opportunity for boating and recreation, the tranquility of a rural setting and the ambiance of living history offer both visitors and residents a variety of pleasing experiences. A wealth of events and local entertainment make a visit to Chestertown special at any time of the year.

For more information about events and attractions in Kent County, contact the Kent County Visitor Center at 410-778-0416, visit www. kentcounty.com or e-mail tourism@kentcounty.com . For information about the Historical Society of Kent County, call 410-778-3499 or visit www.kentcountyhistory.org/geddes.php . For information specific to Chestertown visit www.chestertown.com .

“This novel ~ set in the round the world race ~ has some very bad characters out to ruin a young man struggling to find his identity, an unexpected love interest, and some intense blue water sailing."

The book was originally serialized in Tidewater Times. Available on Amazon, print or eBook.

Changes: Coming Again

A novel in progress

by Roger Vaughan

Chapter 15: Cruising

It could have been worse. After that lobster dinner, the Creightons, Jodi and Isha had adjourned to the open-air garden built into the middle of the house on Mustique. The garden was ablaze with flowers and large native plants and included a meandering pool of decorative carp. RD, Orion’s cap tain, joined them there to propose a plan for a cruise. He had outlined a two-week round trip north from Mustique, with stops in St. Lucia, Martinique and Dominica. Mark Creighton was delighted with the plan, but his wife, Nancy, dismissed it out of hand, citing Jodi’s lack of enthusiasm for sailing what would be Nina’s (Isha’s) first time cruis ing; and her own obligations on the island. Mark didn’t even bother to protest, as Nancy pointed out that for such an extended voyage as RD suggested, Mark could surely find a few other old salts who shared his inane desire “to go to sea.” A fearsome intimidator in business, Mark knew when not to force an issue with his wife.

RD had quickly come up with a three-day cruise to St. Lucia, a mere 60 miles north, a comfort able day sail for Orion . Nancy thought that would be very nice. Isha dreaded the thought of any of it but knew there was no way out. RD had provided Isha with the latest acupressure bracelet, along with some reliable pills to combat seasickness. It was a good thing, because it blew 15–20 knots out of the east the day they sailed to St. Lucia. Under reefed main and a small jib, it was a rolling beam reach that let the old yawl show what it could do. A joy to those familiar with sailing offshore, but for a novice, even for Jodi and Nan cy, it was on the wild side, as the boat frequently hit double figures, heaving thick bow waves to either side as it powered down the fronts of large seas. Every so often, an out-of-sequence wave would smack the hull broadside, causing anxiety for those unaccustomed to knowing when to hang on. Isha watched the salt spray drying white on her arms and legs.

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The sail took about six hours. RD had cautioned Isha to stay on deck in the fresh air rather than try to deal with the unexpected jolts and the stuffy conditions below that could cause nasty bruises as well as mal-de-mer. He showed her a safe place to sit, wedged in the cockpit. After an hour or so, given the boat’s consistently stable behavior, and from the obvious enjoyment be ing exhibited by RD, his crew and Mark Creighton, she started to relax. The bracelet and pills seemed to be working, the sun was warm, the boat seemed equal to the task. She began to appreciate the remarkable experience she was having. Sailing! This gorgeous boat was stretched out before her, the sails full, turning the water to hissing foam with its powerful passage, the deck wet and glistening, the lines taut, and all the new sounds of water and wind. This was one for the memory book. If it didn’t kill her. Isha Mowbry was sailing! How…fancy! “Dolphins under the bow!” Mark called out, causing Jodi to run forward. Isha could see them jumping. Amazing! She’d have to tell Cameron. She was also very glad when they sailed into the lee of St. Lucia and things calmed down. Soon sails were doused, and under power they

were turning into an anchorage on the west coast flanked by two very tall, striking pitons, and fronted by a lovely beach and a handsome hotel where Nancy announced they had reservations. “The crew needs to pick up,” Nancy said. “I like my bath hot, the water deep, thank you very much. And the food there is simply marvelous.”

This was one for the memory book.

If it didn’t kill her.

The next day, Nancy had arranged to play tennis and Mark was off skin diving, freeing Jodi and Isha to rent motor scooters and announce they would tour the island. Their real mission was to find Captain Jerome, an uncle of their friend Rosco on Mustique. They had told Rosco what Jocko, the diamond king, had said about smuggling. When he heard they were off to St. Lucia, Rosco told them they had to find his uncle, who might know more. That’s all he would say. But he said he’d be in touch with the Captain, let him know they might be coming around. He drew them a little map of how they could find him.

Isha and Jodi’s first stop on Ros co’s map was to find a fellow with the unlikely name of Sunshine Biscuit. The two of you, Rosco had told them with a smile, “need a guide who will protect you from the more ambitious dudes who would be competing to show you around. The Biscuit, he said, could be found

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in a village not far from where they would come ashore. He said Biscuit was good friends with the Captain, and people didn’t mess with him.

They found Biscuit on a narrow, steep little street full of tiny dwell ings nestled side by side, carv ing the fish and birds he sold to tourists. He was expecting them, but Rosco had obviously not men tioned the beauty that would be descending upon him. They had dressed down for the occasion, but even so, for a moment the two striking women brought a stop to neighborhood activity. Biscuit’s eyes registered surprise and appreciation, but the pow erfully built man’s demeanor remained low key and polite. He immediately invited them into his home, where he offered them cans of soda and something to smoke. Isha and Jodi could barely grasp how sparely he lived, or how Biscuit’s tiny “bedroom” was consumed by two ste reo speakers bigger than steamer trunks. Together, the speakers were larger than his cot. “Yes,” he said, “got to have music.” Jodi couldn’t resist asking him about his name. “The brand for my carv ings,” he said with a smile. “Hard to forget.” Indeed.

and soon the women were following him on trails that became ever narrower as they led deeper into the bush.

The two striking women brought a stop to neighborhood activity

The Captain’s hideaway in a clearing was impressive. The rhythmic wash of a small nearby waterfall, the source of the clear stream sliding past his dwelling, was constant, a sound like wind in the trees. The house was grand by comparison to how other St. Lu cians lived, but still simple, built of local materials and designed to serve basic needs. It looked as if it had grown in place. Biscuit stopped a respectable distance from the house, where the three visitors were greeted by two imposing young St. Lucian men with machetes hanging from their belts. Isha spotted a few others lounging around nearby. Guards? she wondered.

They greeted Biscuit as one of their own, and they were friendly to Jodi and Isha. Nearby, in an open structure with a thatched roof of palm fronds, three women were tie-dyeing fabric. Their color ful work was drying in the sun.

Biscuit had his own scooter, a gift from the Captain, he said,

Captain Jerome was a surprise. Both Isha and Jodi later agreed they expected someone much old er. Jerome was a St. Lucian native, but taller than most, and fit. Like the other men, he was dressed in shorts, but his top was a faded polo

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shirt bearing a yacht’s name with two crossed burgees embroidered over one breast. His full shock of hair was very white, and his weather-beaten face provided a certain dignity. Isha didn’t think he could be a day over 50. He spoke French patois with his fellows, but his English was excellent, colored by an intriguing accent. He gave Biscuit a powerful hug. Soon the four of them were seated in a comfortable glade enjoying glasses of cold tea.

“So you are hanging out with Rosco over on Mustique,” Jerome said. “Be careful. He is a dangerous boy.” Jerome shook his head and chuckled.

“You are his un cle?” Jodi asked.

was you who has the questions. And who might you be, if I might ask?”

“I am Nina,” Isha said, “Nina Simpson. I am Jodi’s companion.”

“It is a nice name,” Jerome said, “but too common. A companion? No story. Is there a story? There must be a story.”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Isha said. “Jerome. Captain Jerome. Jerome who? There must be a story there.”

Jerome. Captain Jerome. Jerome who? There must be a story there.

“Something like that. I understand you are Mark Creighton’s granddaughter. Mr. Creighton, the big boss who got rich poisoning our planet, and you have arrived here on Orion , the lovely Sparkman & Stephens yawl from the late 1930s.”

“You know about my grandfa ther.”

“Oh, yes. We have power here. My laptop tells me everything. And our local communications are very good. I have another nephew who runs the waterfront at the hotel where you stayed last night. But you,” Jerome turned to Isha, “you are a bit of a mystery. Rosco said it

Jerome scratched his head, sipped his tea. “Jerome Butler. I’m a private man,” he said. “Having seen much of it, I prefer to keep the outside world at arm’s length. But perhaps we could have an ex change. If you would agree to respect my privacy, I could tell you a little about me. Then you could tell me a little about you.”

“I would agree to that, if you also respect my privacy.” Isha said.

Jerome grinned. “I grew up here in St. Lucia,” he said. “Learned the water, fishing, sailing. Had a hotel job when I was 17. Ran the small rental boats. Got friendly with peo ple who sailed in on a maxi. They liked the way I did things, offered me a job. I took it. Sailed away for 15 years. Worked on many yachts. Learned the game. Became a cap tain. Had some good adventures, then enough was enough. Missed being home. Came back. That’s the short version.”

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“I grew up in the Bronx,” Isha said. “New York, tough neighbor hood. My father, a drunk, repeat edly attacked me when I was a teenager. One night when I was 16, I left for good. I’ve been living by my wits ever since. I’ve had some good times, and some bad times that were near-misses with the law.”

“Well, that’s pretty good,” Je rome said, smiling. He pulled a joint out of the dish on the table and struck a large wooden match. “Please help yourselves to some of the best weed in the world, grown right here in St. Lucia. ‘Piton Pure,’ we call it.”

Jodi helped her self. “We’ll share,” she said to Jerome, indicating Isha. Biscuit helped himself.

asked with a gracious smile. Biscuit gave a low chuckle.

Anything goes as long as it is dressed right

“You seem very comfortable here,” Isha said.

“I did well on the boats,” Jerome said.

“You seem to spread the wealth. That’s friendly. People must be grateful.”

“Here on St. Lucia, life is pretty easy. A little goes a long way.”

“It looks like more than a little. You must have been a very good saver. Or maybe you got lucky?”

Jerome took a drag and exhaled a cloud of smoke. “Are you living by your wits right now, Nina?” he

Jodi had passed Isha the joint. “I am,” she said with a laugh as she contributed a cloud of smoke to the conversation. Jerome laughed at her. Mostly, he was laughing at himself. This little package of dy namite was taking him back to his years fraternizing in some of the most prestigious yacht clubs in the world, witnessing that lav ish culture ~ being part of it as a professional ~ learning how to play in that high-end, not-muchmatters society where anything goes as long as it’s dressed right. It had been ten years since he’d made his six-figure score with the diamonds. It had been easy us ing the maxi he was captain of. With its billionaire owner, no one was going to bother. No one. A guy like Creighton. Ten years ago. Done. Back home. Squeaky clean. And now here comes this babe with her questions. My, oh, my.

“What are you getting at?” Je rome asked her.

“A fellow we met on Mustique is a high roller in the diamond business. We heard him talking about smuggling, about how he plays both sides. He said something about using sailboats as carriers. Race boats. Have you heard of such a thing?”

“I might have,” Jerome said.

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“Think it’s still going on?”

Jerome laughed. “Probably.”

“I know nothing about boats. I have so many questions. Where would you hide such a… package… on a boat?”

Jerome studied the sky. “Are you planning to become a smuggler?”

“It’s not a bad idea, really.” Isha paused. She knew it was time to show a few cards. Jerome would tell her some things, she was sure. But she had to play. Jodi passed her the joint. She took another hit. Jerome was right. It was very good. Piton Pure seemed to provide en hanced perspective, establish priorities, eliminate bother some details, cut to the chase. The white noise of the waterfall was reassuring. It helped one focus on the now. The row of tie-dyed gar ments hanging in the sun was a heady blaze of color, bringing a certain whimsy to the weight of the bush. Birds spoke sharply as they flew their speedy forays. The world seemed in sync here in this bounti ful hideaway of Jerome’s. Isha felt completely secure.

his claws into you.”

“I know. I know,” she said with a sly smile. “But the satisfaction!”

“Revenge,” Isha said. “That’s my mission.

Jerome’s smile was indulgent. “The package, to start with, is usu ally not very big, making it fairly easy to hide. With this in mind, study Orion when you get back aboard. Imagine you need to hide something less than half the size of a can of tennis balls. So many places: the spars, masts, booms, spinnaker poles. The rigging, the spreaders. Inside the winches. In the keel.” He paused. “I’ve heard of holes being drilled in the keel bulb, but retrieval becomes a prob lem. Too public. The boat must be hauled. One group, Australians, I think, was fond of remov ing a keel bolt. Quick and easy once they got the hang of it.”

“Australians.”

“I’m quite sure it was Austra lians.”

*

When it was time to leave, Jodi asked Jerome if he might have some Piton Pure he would part with. “I would be happy to make a purchase.”

“Revenge,” Isha said. “That’s my mission. People have something that belongs to me. I want it back. Simple.” She shrugged.

“Ahh, revenge,” Jerome said. “A strong beast, that one. He can get

“Of course,” he said, nodding to one of his machete-packing friends, who disappeared and re turned quickly with an envelope. “Please accept this with my compliments,” he told Jodi.

“No, really,” she said. “I would be

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happy to . . .”

“Please. I insist,” Jerome said. * They sailed back to Mustique on one of those gorgeous, sun-slick Caribbean days when the wind is light and the seas are calm. RD’s crew raised the mainsail and a sizable jib and turned on the engine. The result was a relaxed, comfort able passage.

Isha and Jodi made their way to the foredeck, where they could talk without being heard. RD and the Creightons were sitting in the cockpit. The crew was busy doing boat work and mak ing lunch. Jodi had questions. Isha’s focus on the smuggling bit had caught her attention. She was eager to know more. Jodi’s curiosity was exactly what Isha wanted. “Eager” created a useful avenue for disinformation. Isha had worked on her story, craftily coloring a few facts

for Jodi’s young ears. “Andy. His name is Andy,” Isha told Jodi. “Wealthy. We were en gaged. I was his partner in a devel opment project, a theme park-type hotel based on astronomy, his hobby. He dumped me, which wasn’t so bad. He was a bore, actually. What hurt was he cut me out of the project. His lawyers made me disappear. I had money invested. All gone.”

“Couldn’t you sue him?”

“Impossible with his army of lawyers. I didn’t have a chance. Plus, I was out of money.”

“They could have at least paid you off.”

Isha had worked on her story, craftily coloring a few facts for Jodi’s young ears.

“At least.”

“But where does the smuggling come in?”

“Andy is on a boat in that yacht race around the world. Maybe you’ve heard of it? The Race.”

Jodi shook her head.

“The boats just left Uruguay for Fort Lauderdale. You heard what Jocko told Sonny. You heard what

Jim Bent

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Jerome said. It’s starting to add up. I’m not sure why, I just have a strong sense that Andy is involved.”

“And if he is…”

“Exactly. We need to relieve him of the package.”

“How do we do that?” Jodi’s “we” was not lost on Isha.

“RD has lots of friends in Fort Lauderdale. He’ll be stopping there taking this boat back to Connecti cut.”

“We fly home next week. We could meet him there.”

“We need more information. And money.”

“Money’s not a problem,” Jodi said. *

toward the ocean where the swimming pool was located. They went into the pool house, with its com fortable little living room and bar, open to the sea. Sonny’s staff had lit a few candles at his request.

“Here we are,” Sonny said. He went to the bar and poured two glasses of champagne from a bottle nestled in ice, then handed one to Isha. He touched his glass to hers. They drank. “I think I have some thing for you,” Sonny said.

“Really?”

“Something you were asking about.”

“Really.”

“Yeah. But first, you have a little something for me.”

One of the great moments in music. Perfect song. Randy and Joe.

Isha’s work with Jodi had paid off, literally. And she didn’t have long to wait long for the information. The cocktail party the evening after they returned to Mustique was at Sonny’s. Isha and Jodi hadn’t been there 15 minutes before Sonny found them. “Look at you two,” Sonny said quietly. “Does it get any better?” He hugged Jodi, kissed her on the cheek. “I hope I won’t be arrested. You’re 18, right?” Sonny chuckled as he put an arm around Isha’s waist. “Excuse us, okay?” he said to Jodi. “Nina and I have some business.”

Sonny ushered Isha along a narrow, twisting path down a hill

“I do?”

“‘You can leave your hat on.’”

“What?”

“You don’t know that?” Sonny gave her a half smile, his eyes questioning. “Randy Newman song. Joe Cocker made it famous. 1986, it came out.” Sonny half sang the lyrics: “‘Baby, take off your dress, yes, yes, yes.’ I was there, in the studio. Two takes, that’s all. Two takes! Joe was amazing. Freaking Joe.” Son ny shook his head, poured more champagne.

“One of the great moments in music. Perfect song. Randy and Joe.” Sonny again half sang the words: “‘Stand on that chair, raise your arms up in the air, and now shake ’em . . .’ But you can leave

your hat on. God, how I love it. I was there. Now I’m here. Fantastic. Isn’t it?” He stared at her.

Isha stared back. She put her glass down without her eyes leaving Sonny’s. Slowly, starting at the top, she began unbuttoning her light cotton top. With a deft little shrug, she slipped it off her shoulders and onto the floor. Then, slowly, she raised her arms, entwined her fingers and gave a little shake.

Sonny was beyond enchanted. Again, he half sang the words as he feasted on the beauty: “‘You give me reason to live, you give me reason to live, you give me reason to live.’” He took a step and embraced Isha.

After a moment, Isha slowly and artfully disengaged herself. She picked up her top with one hand, her glass of champagne with the other. “Your turn,” she said, taking a sip.

“It’s a name,” Sonny said, working to regain his composure. “It took some persuading. I got it from Jocko, told him I wanted in.”

“Yes?”

“Grady. That’s it. Just…Grady.”

“Thank you, Sonny.”

“No,” Sonny said quietly. “Thank you.”

Chapters 1-14 can be found at www.tidewatertimes.com

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