Tidewater Times
February 2019
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Tidewater Times
Since 1952, Eastern Shore of Maryland Vol. 67, No. 9
Published Monthly
February 2019
Features: About the Cover Photographer: Heather Orkis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 The Printmaker Erick Sahler: Helen Chappell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Great Smoky Mountains: Bonna L. Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Are There Any American Indians Buried Here?: Herman Viola . . . . . 45 Uncluttered ~ Less Stuff and More Adventure: Michael Valliant . . . 57 The Capture of the Hiawatha and Whippoorwill: Hal Roth . . . . . . . . 65 Tidewater Kitchen - Winter Vegetables: Pamela Meredith . . . . . . . . 77 Tidewater Gardening: K. Marc Teffeau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Living Off the Land: Gary D. Crawford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Changes ~ One of the All-Time Great Parties: Roger Vaughan . . . 153
Departments: February Tide Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Dorchester Points of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Caroline County ~ A Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Easton Points of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 St. Michaels Points of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Oxford Points of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Tilghman ~ Bay Hundred . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Queen Anne’s County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 February Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 David C. Pulzone, Publisher ¡ Anne B. Farwell, Editor P. O. Box 1141, Easton, Maryland 21601 102 Myrtle Ave., Oxford, MD 21654 410-226-0422 FAX : 410-226-0411 www.tidewatertimes.com info@tidewatertimes.com
Tidewater Times is published monthly by Tidewater Times Inc. Advertising rates upon request. Subscription price is $25.00 per year. Individual copies are $4. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced in part or whole without prior approval of the publisher. The publisher does not assume any liability for errors and/or omissions.
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About the Cover Photographer Heather L. Orkis Heather Orkis is a local photographer from Townsend, Delaware. Her passion is wildlife photography ~ mainly DUCKS. Heather is a self-taught photographer and is always willing to teach others. When she is not out looking for, and shooting, the local birds and animals, she works full time as a f light paramedic. Heather has been involved in public service for 20 years, starting her career as a firefighter and then putting herself through paramedic school while raising two kids and working three jobs. Heather’s husband and two adult children are all paramedics. Photography is a way for Heather
to decompress. She uses the solitude of lying in a duck blind for hours as a means of relaxation and self-ref lection. Recently, she was awarded her f irst International Photography Silver Medal in the 85t h Wilming ton Inter nat iona l Exhibition of Photography 2018. Heather can be found every year at the Waterfowl Festival in Easton, along with other accomplished photographer peers. The cover photo featuring snow geese is titled, Little Bit of Love, a nd was ta ken nea r Tow nsend, Delaware. Visit Heather on the web at heatherorkis.com and on Facebook/Instagram. Please feel free to reach out to her.
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The Printmaker Erick Sahler by Helen Chappell
His work is filled with light and shape, bold colors and evocative subjects. You may have seen it around, since he’s done prints of towns in the Mid Shore, as well as other locations. There’s nothing shy about his work; it’s bold, graphic and visually stunning, reflecting both a background in the graphic arts and a lifetime of observation. When I first saw his prints of landmark build-
ings in Oxford and log canoes in St. Michaels, I felt an attraction to his vision in the same way I’m attracted to the work of Edward Hopper, who loved the clean look of sunlight on the side of a building. His work looks brisk and simple at first glance, but upon examination, it’s subtle and narrative. His prints can be great fun, like the tongue-in-cheek Big Assawoman Bay Nude Party back shot
Erick Sahler 9
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Erick Sahler
of the mid-20th century. Eastern Shoremen (and women) are fiercely proud of where they live, and those who vacation or second-home here have discovered our charms. My inspiration remains to celebrate all those things that make life around here unique, be it scrapple or log canoes or rocket launches or ponies on the beach.” A Wicomico County native, Erick has deep roots in the Shore and a childhood rooted in the Bay. “My family has been in Shad Point for 300-some years,” he says. “I lived in the village of Quantico from kindergarten to 10th grade, then we moved back across the Wicomico River near Shad Point.” “Dad was a high school teacher
of a nude woman wading into the water, or solemn and thoughtful, like the monochromatic Harriet Tubman Center. But they’re never, ever dull, as a visitor to his website can see by the variety of places and things he’s captured. From New Castle, Delaware, to a slice of our beloved scrapple, Erick Sahler has studied and captured so much: the bridge at Chincoteague, the churches of Salisbury, Thrasher’s fries, Rehoboth, Bethany and Wallop’s Spaceport, he’s done them all and more. “My design borrows heavily from the great WPA posters of the late 1930s and the travel posters
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Erick Sahler
know the bay from a perspective most people never see.” Mom, on the other hand, “was the librarian at my elementary school in Hebron. I couldn’t fart without my teachers running to tell her.” Not uncommon in small towns, where everyone knows your business before you do, and is more than willing to tell your parents before you even get home. After college at University of Maryland Baltimore Campus, Erick returned to Salisbury and began working at the Salisbury Times. There’s nothing like working in a newsroom to toughen you up and sharpen your skills of observation. “Mel Toadvine hired me to be the editorial graphic artist in the fall of
and basketball coach, then a Sunbeam bread salesman, then an engineer on a tugboat, then a building contractor,” he recalls. “I grew up loving basketball and still go to every Bennett home game. Dad took me on his bread route once. The truck was cold and loud and uncomfortable. I was miserable. A better memory is one summer in junior high, he took me on the tugboat for two weeks. “It was called the Holly S, and we pushed petroleum barges up and down the Chesapeake, from Norfolk to Baltimore to New Jersey. I had an absolute blast crabbing, exploring the docks and getting to
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his work has earned him over the years. “I have created and published thousands of illustrations, graphics and cartoons in the mid-Atlantic region since 1983. My clients have included American Public Power Association, Belmond Ltd., Boat U.S., Dunes Manor Hotel, Maryland Park Service, NASA, Perdue Farms and Salisbury Symphony Orchestra,” he says. In addition, “my artwork hangs in the collections of Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Pulitzer Prize winners Scott Higham and David P. Weber, former NPR Weekend Edition host Liane Hansen and Dame Sarah Mullally, the Anglican Bishop of London. It is in the permanent collections of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, Peninsula Regional Medical Center, Salisbury University, Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, the Commander Hotel and the historic Robert Morris Inn, and has been exhibited in the Lowe House Office Building in Annapolis and Red Bull Arts Detroit. “By 2009,” he recalls, “The newspaper business was circling the drain. The rise of internet news and the U.S. recession forced drastic cuts in editorial departments across the country. Layoffs and unpaid furloughs became routine. As middle management, I knew my days were numbered. “In addition, my life had become a hell of news budgets, personnel
1989. I had no journalism experience and utterly failed the spelling test administered to all newsroom applicants. Initially I produced illustrations and graphics for all sections of the paper. As I learned copy editing and page design, I took on more responsibility in producing the Monday paper and the weekly entertainment section,” he recalls. “Along the way, I picked up dozens of awards, including an Associated Press ‘Best in Show’ for graphic design and illustration, beating The Washington Post, Baltimore Sun and Wilmington News Journal, as well as all the smaller papers in the region” ~ the first of many awards
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Erick Sahler
of being employed by both small businesses and large corporations, I was ready to work for myself. I pondered and prayed about my skills and what I would be happy doing the rest of my life. I kept coming back to art, but I was realistic enough to know that launching a career (1) in the fine arts (2) on the Eastern Shore (3) during a recession was suicide. Selling paintings is tough in good times. “And then it hit me ~ silkscreen ~ which I had done for six years as my first job in high school and college. It was an artistic style and process I loved, and the idea of creating multiple images from a single illustration seemed to make it commercially viable.
problems and endless fires to extinguish. I had been on deadline for 20 years. I worked in hurricanes and snowstorms and on Christmas Day. I couldn’t remember the last time I had drawn an illustration, built a graphic or laid out a page. I was miserable and looking for a Plan B. The mid-1990s were a period of rapid change at our paper, both in technology and staffing, and I worked my way up the ladder to features editor, then design editor, then managing editor, a title I held for my last 11 years. “Also, at age 42 and well-acquainted with the shortcomings 20
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“So, I set about learning everything I could about screen printing on paper. I interviewed gallery and shop owners about the market for silkscreen prints. I converted my garage into a print shop. I researched and acquired a press and all the equipment and supplies I would need. And then I started making prints. It took two years.” He had trained with Eastern Shore maritime painter C. Keith Whitelock for six years as a teenager. In addition to teaching him about art, Keith taught him to love the Shore and all the things that make it unique. “I graduated from UMBC with a degree in graphic design in the pre-computer era, when every-
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Erick Sahler
are already too many options for folks who want paintings of workboats and wildfowl. The Erick Sahler Serigraphs motto is ‘Eastern Shore art for the rest of us.’ It’s ‘different,’ as they say, and it’s not for everyone. I’m OK with that.” Erick married Tracy, who works for the Wicomico County Board of Education, in 1992. “We both started in the newsroom at the Daily Times in the fall of 1989. We have two daughters. Alison, 18, is a freshman studying musical theater at University of the Arts in Philly. Molly, 16, is a junior at James M. Bennett.” To learn more about Erick’s work and view his prints, you can visit ErickSahler. com or contact him at Erick@ErickSahler.com.
thing ~ illustrations, typography, design ~ was all done by hand. And I worked six years in a commercial print shop, learning all the techniques to prepare artwork for the press. “In the summer of 2011, I gave notice at the newspaper. I walked out the door on July 19 and started a new life as Erick Sahler Serigraphs. “I knew to create a market for myself, I needed to present the Eastern Shore in a new way. There
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 name, Rebecca Baldwin, she has published a number of historical novels.
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The Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee Nation by Bonna L. Nelson
What bet ter way to celebrate a bir thday than on a train r ide through the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina? My husband John reserved lunch for us in one of the 1940s-era dining cars of the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. We savored a delicious meal with unlimited dessert and beverages in souvenir tumblers in front of a large picture window overlooking the mountain scenery. Our dining car hostess, Shay, a member of the local Cherokee Nation, shared her knowledge of the
area while keeping everyone well fed and thoroughly entertained. Our memorable 44-mile Nantahala Gorge journey carried us through t wo tunnels and over historical iron bridges, alongside lakes, rivers and streams and through the Great Smoky Mountains and valleys. We traveled beside the Little Tennessee and Nantahala rivers across Lake Fontana and into the magical Nantahala Gorge, observing some of the most beautiful scenery in America. We saw brave kayakers and whitewater rafters challenged
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The Great Smokies
of varieties of trees, thousands of species of f lower ing plants and hundreds of birds, animals and fish. Highlights of the excursion included v iew ing t he g reen-hued Lake Fontana (from copper in the mountain stone), dotted with geese and famous for its monster catfish. We saw the caves along the railroad where Shay said that Cherokees hid to avoid the 1838 “Trail of Tears” forced removal. We passed the Nantahala Rapids at the end of the first leg of our journey, man-made rapids for Level 5 Olympian whitewater rafters to practice. Nantahala in Cherokee means “land of the midday sun” because the sun can only be seen in the deep valleys through the trees at noon. We browsed the gift and sporting goods shops in Nantahala, selecting stuffed brown bears and T-shirts for family gifts and tucking them
Our waitress, Shay, is a member of the Cherokee Nation. by the rocky, tumbling rivers and hikers exploring mountain trails covered in greenery just beginning to show fall colors. We were told that the Smokies are home to hundreds
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The Great Smokies
Mountain Farm Museum, gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). The Cherokee Indians, a branch of the Iroquois Nation, can trace their history in the region back more than a thousand years. The Great Smoky Mountains area is the sacred ancestral home of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee used the resources in the forests of the Great Smoky Mountains to create food, shelter, medicine, clothing, tools and trade goods, all while sustaining and renewing those resources. Today there are approximately 15,000 members of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, most of whom
away in our Great Smoky Mountains Railroad souvenir tote bags. We were serenaded with bluegrass and country classics by a banjo player on the return train trip to Bryson City, North Carolina, where we had first boarded the train. The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad terminal houses a train museum with a model train layout and gift shop. The ser v ice was top notch from beginning to end. It was a perfectly memorable birthday. The next day, we visited Cherokee, North Carolina, and the nearby Ocona luf tee Visitor Center and
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The Great Smokies
We toured the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, with its worldrenowned exhibits, dioramas and collections displaying ancient and historical tools, weaponr y, jewelry, wardrobes, pottery, basketry, games, photos, manuscripts and other treasures. We listened to recordings of Cherokee storytellers, watched a video about the origins of Cherokee medicine and learned about the tribe’s sacred festivals, some still observed today. The Cherokee people were involved in creating the exhibits, elders were consulted, and life-size body figures were created from full-body
live on the 56,000-acre Cherokee Indian reservation, or “Qualla Boundary,” as it is sometimes called. They are descendants of the original Cherokee Nation and of survivors of the “Trail of Tears,” the forced relocation of Eastern Cherokee to Oklahoma and Arkansas. The North Carolina Cherokee Indian Reservation hosts millions of visitors a year. While the Cherokee tourism business is very successful, the Cherokee are also dedicated to maintaining their cultural heritage, traditional craft skills and speaking the Cherokee language.
Diorama of Cherokee chiefs preparing to greet colonialists. 32
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The Great Smokies casts of local people. Audio portions of the programs were also created by local Cherokee tribal members. In both the museum and museum store I was fascinated by the intricate beaded jewelr y, while John lingered at the weaponry displays. I bought a handmade beaded bracelet and he a spear with a hand-carved arrowhead. Touring the Museum gave us a greater appreciation and knowledge of the historical, cultural and environmental contributions of the Cherokee people, as well as their mistreatment. Across the street from the museum is the Qualla Arts and Crafts Co- Op, representing more than
300 Cherokee member artists who create baskets, pottery, woodcarving, beadwork, jewelry, weaponry, masks, dolls and other items of traditional Cherokee art. Photographic exhibits detail the creative process and examples of work. Local artists demonstrate their crafts frequently in both Qualla and the museum. The nearby Oconaluftee Visitors Center, gateway to the GSMNP, is
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named after a Cherokee village of the same name located on the river. The river runs through the presentday town of Cherokee. Oconaluftee means “by the river” in Cherokee. The Smokies lay at the center of the Cherokee territory prior to European settlement. The Visitors Center includes the
Mountain Farm Museum. Historic farm buildings and equipment are on display. The serene setting, in a valley along a stream, replicates many such homesteads that were scattered across the Smokies. Most of the log farm buildings, home, barn, sheds, corn crib, blacksmith shop and more date to the early 1900s and were moved to the site from locations throughout the Smokies to create the open-air museum. Touring the homestead site gave us a sense of how families may have lived over 100 years ago. The modern Visitors Center had the usual amenities ~ restrooms, rangers answering questions and providing directions, maps, weather reports, camping information, broNEW LISTING
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The Great Smokies
its ancient mountains, the preservation of mountain culture and for its recreational opportunities. Scientists estimate that up to 50,000 different types of plants and animals live in the park. Some of what the Smokies offer we could see from the car, including wildf lowers, f lowering trees, colorful foliage, mountain and valley vistas at outlooks, waterfalls and historic buildings. Of course, there are also opportunities to get out of the car and see more by hiking, biking, horseback riding, fishing and camping. Elevations in the Smokies range from 875 to 6,643 feet on the summit of Clingman’s Dome, our next destination. The Cherokee described these mountains as “shaconage,” meaning “blue, like smoke.” The mysterious bluish mist that clings to the mountainsides and fills the valleys gives the park its name and remains one of its most distinctive features. Researchers have determined that the Smokies, among the highest peaks in the Appalachian Mountain Range, were formed over a billion
chures and historical and culturally themed interactive exhibits ~ as well as a collection of artifacts. Leaving the Visitors Center, we d rove t he New fou nd Gap Road through the GSMNP from North Carolina to Tennessee. The scenic drive’s speed limit was 45 miles per hour, compared to the Blue Ridge Parkway’s 35 miles per hour. It was a beautiful sunny day: just a few cloud tufts, temperatures in the upper 60s, which grew cooler the higher we drove into the misty mountains. Spots of yellow and scarlet popped up here and there in preview of the coming fall color display. Established in 1934, GSMNP encompasses over 500,000 acres, of which 95 percent are forested. More than 11 million people visit annually, more visitors than any other national park. The area has been designated an International Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site. This national treasure is worldrenowned for the diversity of its plant and animal life, the beauty of
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The Great Smokies
The Webb Overlook is considered by some visitors and park specialists to be the most scenic, with sweeping views, sidewalks for brief, legstretching strolls, and lovely little white wildf lowers gathered under hemlocks. We agree with others that Webb is magnificent. Helpful signage explains the history of the area, and from the Webb we were ple a se d to ob ser ve Cl i ng ma n’s Dome, a large rounded mountain towering above the surrounding landscape, which was to be our next stop. We were a bit confused when a woman dressed in hiking clothes thrust a f lyer into our hands. What, we thought, commercial activity at the peak of the Smokies? Unfortunately, the f lyer was about a miss-
years ago. Composed of layers of sediment, limestone and metamorphic rock, the Smokies’ rounded shapes were caused by millions of years of erosion by water. Water runoff also helped to carve the v-shaped valleys and steep, sheer ridges. We obser ved t he spec tacu la r natural beauty, seemingly endless ridgelines and peacefulness of the Smokies through the mist when we stopped at the Oconaluftee and Webb Overlooks, off Newfound Gap Road. The contour-hugging, curving road travels through the park’s center, southeast to northwest from North Carolina to Tennessee, and was cut through the crest of the Great Smoky Mountains.
The observation tower on the summit of Clingman’s Dome offers spectacular 360° views of the Smokies and beyond for visitors willing to climb the steep half-mile walk to the tower at the top. 38
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The Great Smokies
been determined. Hypothermia is a guess. It had been wet, rainy, foggy and cool with nighttime lows in the 40s. The Park advises hikers to hike with others, but the woman and her daughter hiked separately. Heav y vegetation and weather changes can cause confusion, and hikers can easily get lost. There is no GPS or cell service. Lost hikers and fatalities are not uncommon in the Smokies. Preparation and following hiking safety guidelines can be life-saving. We learned from that sad event t hat t he nat u r a l fog, t he la r ge plumes of “smoke” that shrouds the Smokies, is caused by the vegetation exhaling volatile organic compound vapors. The beaut y, at tractions and activities bring visitors from around the world to GSMNP. The
ing hiker, and the lady in the Webb parking lot was her sister-in-law. A group gathered around to learn that Clingman’s Dome, the highest peak in the Smokies at 6,643 feet, was closed to visitors. Over 1,000 experienced hikers and specialists, as well as helicopters, were searching over 500 trails to find the missing 53-year old Ohio woman, an experienced hiker, who was lost when hiking Clingman’s with her daughter. The Dome parking lot was being used as search and rescue headquarters. We followed the story in the local papers for a week or so to learn that she had been found in a steep, heavily vegetated area not far from the trail. No known cause of death has
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Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and back again. We ascended approximately 3,000 feet in elevation, up the spine of the Smokies though birch, maple, pine, fir, oak, dogwood, magnolia and hemlock forests as well as rhododendron, azalea and sand myrtle undergrowth. Endlessly attractive, peaceful and calming, the Smokies represent the diverse tapestry of life. We felt reenergized by our mountain journey and ready to explore more of the nearby towns that nestle against the Smokies.
Gatlinburg, Tennessee misty majestic mountains; fragrant forests; sparkling rivers, streams and waterfalls; lush valleys and historic structures can be viewed from over 270 miles of road lined with overlooks and covered with tunnels. We traveled the 66-mile round trip Newfound Gap Road between C h e r o k e e , No r t h C a r o l i n a , t o
Bonna L. Nelson is a Bay-area writer, columnist, photographer and world traveler. She resides in Easton with her husband John.
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Are There Any American Indians Buried Here? by Herman and Susan Viola
American Indians have served in our nation’s armed forces since the founding of the Republic, and they have done so in numbers well above their small percentage of the general population. For example, if all Americans had volunteered to serve in our nation’s armed forces during World War II at the same rate as did our native peoples, there would have been no need for a draft. American Indians continue to ser ve, and they do so in greater numbers per capita than any other ethnic group in the United States. In recognition of that remarkable record of service and patriotism, Congress, in December 2013, authorized the National Museum of the American Indian to create The National Native American Veterans Memorial on its grounds to give people the world over the opportunity “to learn of the proud and courageous tradition of service of Native Americans in our nation’s A rmed Forces.” I am the senior advisor to the memorial, which is to be dedicated on Veterans Day 2020. Since one of our goals is to identify and list every Native American who has ever ser ved in the U.S.
military, beginning with the 5,000 or so in the Continental Army, we seldom miss an opportunity to add a native veteran to our database. That endeavor led to the following remarkable experience. In September 2017, my w ife, Susan, and I were part of a Lifelong L ear ning Institute travel/study group from Northern Virginia on a Gra nd Circle Travel r iver excursion to Southern France. On September 3, en route to Nice, our final destination for the day, there was a planned stop in Draguignan, France, to visit the Rhone American Military Cemetery. Buried there are 861 American servicemen, most of whom died in the late summer of
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which features a Thunderbird, a distinctive Native American symbol. This was appropriate because a majority of the soldiers in the 45th division were Indians. At t he cemeter y, Mr. D w ig ht (A ndy) A nderson, the cemeter y superintendent and representative of the American Battle Monuments Commission (AMBC), welcomed us and led us on a thought-provoking and moving tour. During our visit, I asked Mr. Anderson if he knew of any American Indians buried in the cemetery. Yes, there was one. Andy took me to the gravesite of Pvt. Andrew Perry, a Choctaw from Oklahoma who was killed in Southern France on August 20, 1944 during Operation Dragoon. After I explained the reason for my inquir y, A ndy asked me if I might be able to help him obtain a picture of Pvt. Perry. A goal of the cemetery is to have a photograph of each internee, but unfortunately it lacked one of Pvt. Perry. When returned to the United States, I contacted the Veterans Office of the Choctaw Tribe in Okla-
1944 during Operation Dragoon, the allied invasion of Southern France often cited as the Second D-Day. Launched on August 15 from the Mediterranean Sea, its primary goal was to open a second battle front in France, forcing the Axis powers to divert forces from the Normandy combat zone in Northern France and, hopefully, facilitating the Allied push into Western Europe. Most of those interred at Rhone were members of the U.S. Seventh Army, in particular the U.S. 45th Infantr y Division, known as the Thunderbirds. The nick name is derived from their shoulder patch
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Hayes, the Pima marine who helped raise the f lag on Iwo Jima, and they have heard about the Navajo code talkers who were active in the Pacific Theatre. Although the Navajo code talkers get the most attention, 33 other tribes, including the Choctaw, contributed code talkers to the war effort. The great irony, of course, is that Indian languages were crucial to the success of our war effort, while at the same time the federal government was forcing
Private Andrew Perry homa and asked if anyone could put me in touch with a member of Andrew Perry’s family. I received the phone number for Ms. Debbie Cheshewalla, Andrew’s niece, who was delighted to send her uncle’s picture to Mr. A nderson and to share with me family stories and his letters home. As I soon discovered, Andrew Perry was no ordinary foot soldier. He was a code talker, one of four Choctaw code talkers who served in World War II. The other three were Schlicht Billy, Davis Pickens and Forreston Baker. Pickens was also killed in action. Most Americans, if they know a ny t h i ng ab out I nd ia n ser v ic e in World War II, are aware of Ira
Schlicht Billy
Forreston Baker 48
World War I, and they were instrumental in bringing that long and terrible conflict to an end. The use of Indians as code talkers was largely happenstance. The Germans had proven so adept at intercepting and decoding allied messages that surprise attacks invariably failed. One result was the long and protracted trench warfare that came to be a hallmark of the Great War. All this changed shortly after the United States entered the conf lict in 1917, when a U.S. army officer overheard two of his Choctaw soldiers talking in their native tongue. He could not understand what they were saying, and he figured neither would the Germans. Thus began the use of Indians to send oral
Davis Pickens Indian children to abandon their native tongues and learn English. Even fewer Americans know that the use of code talkers began in
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American Indians
dian doughboys from other tribes, including the Cheyenne, Comanche, Cherokee, Osage and Yankton Sioux, are known to have sent messages in their own languages. In a sense, they were not “code talkers” like their compatriots in World War II because they simply spoke to each other in their own languages ~ none of which the Germans could recognize or understand. However, because certain military terms do not exist in tribal languages, the Choctaws made some creative adaptations that could pass as codes, such as “bad air” for poison gas, “stone” for hand grenade, “tribe” for regiment, “turtle” for tank and “hawk” for airplane. An interesting and largely unknown side note: with the possibility of another world war looming, Hitler in the 1930s sent German “scholars” into Indian country to study native languages in an attempt to foil their use should the United States enter the pending confl ict. Indeed, the success of Indians as code talkers was not forgotten, and when World War II did erupt, the military quickly recruited Indians who were f luent in their native tongues to become code talkers. One of them was Andrew Perry, a Choctaw born in 1920, who had not learned English until he had gone to school. Andrew was 19 when he enlisted in the army. In a letter to his sister while in basic training, he wrote:
and written messages in their own languages. Within 24 hours after the Choctaw telephone messengers began their work, the tide of the battle turned. Within three days, the Germans were retreating and the Allies were on full attack. The armistice that ended World War I was signed on November 11, 1918 ~ just a month after the first Choctaw message was used in combat. A captured German later admitted that his side could not make any sense of the Indian messages that they intercepted. “What language were they speaking?” the bewildered German asked. “American,” his captors told him. In addition to the Choctaws, In-
Pvt. Perry 50
“We will pull out of here someday, to where I don’t know and don’t care. We should of already been in Ireland but it was changed and so we are still here, waiting anxiously to move away from here which I hope we do before it gets too cold here.” One of the things he enjoyed doing was marching. “Did you listen to the Chicago Bears and Eastern All-stars play football? It was played at Boston. Well we paraded there before it started, two platoons of full blooded Indians from Oklahoma, and watched the game. I have paraded before many important people and large crowds especially at New York where I enjoyed it the most.” Andrew Perry wrote his last letter home March 11, 1944, five months before his death. “Dear Sis, Still battling here in Italy and mighty tired of it but can’t give up. I’ve lived through several months of fighting but still that’s no sign I’ll be able to go home as anything can happen any moment,
r Fo lity l i l Ca ilab a Av
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of American service members who are buried in the Rhone American Military Cemetery by inviting and hosting two family members of one of the fallen Americans. During the stirring and poignant c eremony t hat feat ure s French and American military personnel, including honor guards and musicians, the Mayor of Draguignan, along with members of the FrancoA merican Societ y and a variet y of civic and military leaders, pays homage to the fallen Americans. The designated service member and invited family members are given special recognition. As a direct result of our Grand
but I never do let that worry me as if it’s my time I’ll go. Andrew.” The people of Draguignan, as do most French citizens, remain deeply grateful for the ultimate sacrifice that so many American militar y personnel made in the liberation of France during World War II. An example of this gratitude is the Souvenir Franco-Americain (SFA), or Franco-American Society, that was founded in Drag uigna n on August 16, 1968. Each Memorial Day since its founding, the Society, in partnership with the Mayor of Draguignan, honors the memory
Photo by Jean Claude Garcia
Students of the Jean Moulin Lycee with their gift to Debbie Cheshewalla, who is standing at the right with the bouquet of flowers. Next to her is Mr. Chad Renfro. Dr. Viola is at the far left. 52
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bio welcomed the guests of honor, Ms. Cheshewalla and her cousin. Also in attendance was a group of junior high school students who made a special presentation to Ms. Cheshewalla ~ a large (approximately 3’ x 3’) poster that they had created featuring various highlights in Pvt. Perry’s life. Images included his photograph, a Choctaw Code Talker commemorative medal, a Totem Pole, an American tank and the Rhone Cemetery featuring the U.S. f lag f lying above the chapel. This art class project was a direct result of cooperation between the cemeter y’s educational outreach liaison, Ms. Alison Libersa, and the
Circle Travel visit to the cemetery and the question I asked, Debbie Cheshewalla and her Osage cousin Chad Renfro were the guests of honor at the 2018 Memorial Day Ceremony. Because we had initiated the contact, we were invited ~ and honored ~ to participate in the stirring commemoration that took place on Sunday, May 27, 2018, as well as in several other events that occurred over the course of several days. One of these events was a reception on Friday, May 25, at La Mair ie (The Tow n Ha ll), where Draguignan Mayor Richard Stram-
Photo by Jean Claude Garcia
Presentation of the flowers at the Memorial Day Ceremony. From left to right are four Jean Moulin Lycee students, one of their teachers, Draguignan Mayor Richard Strambio and Dr. Viola. 54
they asked in English. Debbie and Chad were enthusiastic, honest and thorough in their responses, to the delight of all. Some examples of the questions: Why did Indians assimilate? Why did Indians fight with Americans in World War II? Did wars other than WWII use code talkers? Where are the Choctaws located today? Do Indians have any special religion? What sports do Indians play? Do the Choctaws have any legends? Almost as memorable as these major events were the sightseeing excursions the Franco-American Society arranged for us and the dinners they hosted for us in their homes. None of us will ever forget the warmth, the generosity and the kindness everyone expressed for us and for the memory of Andrew Perry, whose spirit still lives as a result of this remarkable moment. Indians believe departed loved ones never die as long as their memories are kept alive. We never could have foreseen all that we would learn and experience from one simple question: Are there any American Indians buried here?
Photo by Jean Claude Garcia
Debbie Cheshewalla and her Osage cousin Chad Renfro at the grave of Private Andrew Perry. teachers of the Jean Moulin Lycee. Debbie and Chad were very touched, as we all were. One of the last events of our very memorable week was a questionand-answer session with the students in the librar y at the Jean Moulin Lycee. The young people were excited to meet two Americ a n I nd ia n s a nd had prepa re d many thoughtful questions about American Indian culture, which
Herman Viola is a curator emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution with a specialty in American Indian history and culture.
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Uncluttered: Less Stuff and More Adventure by Michael Valliant
Joshua Becker is a best-selling author of several books, including The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own and The Minimalist Home. He writes for Forbes, has made appearances on The Wall Street Journal and CBS Evening News and is the founder and editor of the popular site Becoming Minimalist. “Minimalism isn’t about removing things you love,” Becker writes. “It’s about removing the things
“Simplify” is a mantra that worked for Thoreau. He’s known as much for his decision to cast off his material shackles, build himself a cabin and try to live more intentionally as he is known for his writing. In today’s time, it’s the minimalist movement that has taken up Thoreau’s mantle. The idea behind it is to “unclutter” our lives, to get rid of the stuff we don’t need or use in favor of having time, space and energy for the things we love.
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and think about your own stuff and habits. There are people who take the idea of living with less to the extreme. In the award-winning documentary film Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things, filmmaker Matt D’Avella follows Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus through a lifestyle that would leave most people feeling naked and unprepared. It can seem almost like a contest to see how absurdly Spartan someone can be. But they arrived at that notion honestly, in the form of a rat race revelation. About 10 years ago, approaching 30 years of age, Milburn and Nicodemus hit a wall. “We had achieved everything that was supposed to make us happy: six-figure careers, luxury cars, oversized houses,” they wrote. “And
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It only brought more debt, stress, anxiety, fear, and loneliness.” Compounding that quandary was the realization that they didn’t control their own time ~ it was all spent in service to maintaining an unfulfilling lifestyle. Their reaction of jettisoning their stuff wasn’t made simply to get rid of stuff. It was what it made room for in their lives. “We focus on making room for more: more time, more passion, more creativity, more experiences, more contribution, more contentment, more freedom,” they wrote. “Clearing the clutter from life’s path helps make that room.” That’s the kind of “more” I want to make time and space for. In the past five years, I have lived in
yet with all that stuff, we weren’t satisfied. There was a gaping void, and working 80 hours a week just to buy more stuff didn’t fill the void.
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is to look at the choices we make every day, define purpose, make goals, stay focused and learn from others on the course. There are some things that I own that are key to going on more adventures: skateboard, stand-up paddleboard, bike, backpack, binoculars, books, notebook and pen. Beyond that, it’s negotiable. The key, for me, is getting rid of clutter on countertops and in closets, drawers and the garage ~ aligning my house with how I want to live. Lisa Avellan, who writes at Simple and Soul, talks about looking at decisions about our stuff and our homes in terms of beauty and utility. “The things we own (or do) should be useful, having purpose in our regular way of life, or they should be beautiful, life-giving external joys that reflect our internal peace and calm” she wrote. “It is the natural state of our souls, to be and surrounded by the useful and the beautiful.” She makes it more succinct with a quote from William Morris: “Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” That notion can’t only pertain to the things we already have. Getting rid of stuff in a one-time purge isn’t sustainable; it’s easy for me to fill space with new stuff. Uncluttering has to involve making proactive choices to think differently about buying new stuff. A minimalist
four different houses. During each move, I’ve been able to cast off some things, only to acquire more and to find myself ~ a lifelong procrastinator ~ living amongst clutter. My goal isn’t to wind up sitting in my house on my one sofa, with my one table, two shirts, and one pair of pants ~ though the dog and cats and daughters might enjoy running around in the extra space. My personal goal resonates with one from Becker’s community: “This year I plan to collect less stuff and go on more adventures.” I’m taking Becker’s 12-week course called Uncluttered. The idea
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stuff in my life, going through Becker’s “Uncluttered” course and removing the things that distract me in favor of focusing on things, time and activities I love. I think Thoreau had a few things figured out: “Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.”
blogger at “Tiny Ambitions” implemented a six-month shopping ban, spending money on nothing but rent, food and toiletries. That’s more extreme than I am looking for, but reading about her idea and experience is enough to make me look differently at how I approach my own spending. Life can feel complicated at times ~ spinning circles between kids, work, bills, house, family, friends and all the pressures, real and imagined, good and bad, that come with living. It’s easy to lose track of what’s important from moment to moment. My tendency to put things off doesn’t help and adds up to clutter. This is the year to unclutter. Rethinking my approach to the
Michael Valliant is the Assistant for Adult Education and Newcomers Ministry at Christ Church Easton. He has worked for nonprofit organizations throughout Talbot County, including the Oxford Community Center, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and Academy Art Museum.
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Old News from Delmarva
The Capture of Hiawatha and Whippoorwill by Hal Roth
When Prohibition went into effect on January 17, 1920, federal, state and local enforcement personnel stood tall and ready across the nation, but once liquor was banned, it seemed only to gain in desirability. The demand for spirits mushroomed, and until its repeal on December 5, 1933, the law was violated at nearly every crossroads and in every glen across the nation. Delmarva was no different. Homemade stills appeared in garages, barns, woods and marshes up and down the peninsula. Old newspapers are filled with reports of “the man” confiscating copper boilers and coils, smashing vats full of mash and hauling transgressors off to jail. But the majority of alcohol that appeared on Delmarva was distilled elsewhere and delivered to quiet coves in the dark of night by speedboats that downloaded the contraband from oceangoing vessels anchored off the Virginia Capes. “There used to be two boats: the Hiawatha and the Whippoorwill,” an octogenarian told me on a summer day in 1980 as we leaned on opposite sides of a white pick-
et fence. “They’d come up the bay and have different stopping points. They were like PT boats ~ something like that ~ and they were fast. They carried a lot of liquor. They finally caught one of ’em down in the lower part of the county, down in the Neck District. They caught ’em tied up in one of them creeks. It was a bit of shooting, I heard, but I don’t think nobody got killed. “Everybody knew when the boat was somewhere close ’cause these big trucks would come down the road in the middle of the night. They’d come down loaded with produce and go back before daylight with liquor under the produce. People always said that Kennedy owned the boats, and that’s how the old man made his money.” There are several errors in that narrative, which will be demonstrated later, and I shall also have more to say about the Kennedy name. “The Whippoorwill used to come up here,” another elderly gentleman offered. “One of the biggest places she would stop was Lewis Wharf [on the Nanticoke River below Vienna]. She didn’t go no farther than Vienna. She would put off her stuff 65
Hiawatha & Whippoorwill
NEAR CAMBRIDGE – SECOND RUM BOAT SEIZED IN THE BAY – ELEVEN UNDER ARREST BELIEVED TO BE MEMBERS OF BIG LIQUOR RING.” The following newspaper article ~ somewhat repetitious and disjointed in places ~ is representative of reports published around Delmarva and elsewhere. “Cambridge, Md., May 13 (AP) ~ Continuing a cleanup of the base of a Chesapeake Bay liquor smuggling outfit declared to have been operating in this section for two years or more, Federal officers today seized a second high-powered launch loaded with 400 cases of liquor and 50 cases of malt, a third motor truck, and arrested three more men. “The seizures and arrests brought the total in two days to 14
and turn around and go back out. She was a 45-footer and had two engines into her, and she could fly. They didn’t come till twelve or one o’clock in the night. Old Tommy was a whiskey man, and he was always waitin’ for her. He run the wharf at that time. I never did get involved with it. I never was much for gettin’ drunk and fallin’ down.” A resident of Sharptown, seven miles upriver, disagrees that the rum runners never ventured beyond Vienna. He was born during the early years of prohibition and often played along the river as a child. I asked if he had ever seen Whippoorwill, which was said to frequently ply the waters of the Nanticoke. “I never actually seen the boat,” he replied, “but I seen the spray from her. She went so fast that all you could see was the spray.” How long Hiawatha and Whippoorwill were able to elude federal agents on Delmarva is not precisely clear. Most reports claim it was two years or a little longer, but the time looms larger in the memories of our oldest citizens. It all came to an end with a flurry of newspaper headlines published during the second week of May, 1931: “PROHIBITION AGENTS CAPTURE RUMRUNNERS – THREE ARRESTS MARK WARFARE ON LIQUOR RING – LAUNCH LOADED WITH LIQUOR SEIZED
Mug shot of Benjamin Feldman, boss of lower Broadway gang smuggling via Chesapeake Bay. 66
launch, trucks, and a small arsenal. “G. Morris Greenburg, New York attorney for the men, protested, asking that the bail be placed at from $500 to $1,000 each. When this figure was refused by the commissioner, a formal hearing was demanded. “The three men arrested today will probably be arraigned tomorrow, or if not then will be heard on Friday with the others. “The second launch, a 54-foot, 1,200 horsepower craft capable of a speed of 50 miles an hour, officers said, was captured with three men aboard when it went aground off Bishop’s Head, about 15 miles from Taylor’s Island, scene of yesterday’s captures.
men arrested and two high-powered launches, three motor trucks, an automobile, 650 cases of liquor, and a quantity of arms confiscated. “The first eleven of the men arrested were arraigned before Commissioner T. Louder Hearn late today, and remanded for a formal hearing Friday afternoon. Customs officials asked that bail be set at $35,000 each for the men on charges of smuggling. The 11 men, all of whom gave New York and Pennsylvania addresses, were arrested in the course of a day’s activity by federal dry agents from the shore counties and Baltimore, which resulted in the seizure of some $40,000 worth of liquor, a $50,000 high-speed motor
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ficers revealed today. The fact that the radio was silenced was believed to have led to the capture of the second craft today, the Whippoorwill, as the three men aboard were without landing directions they had been getting from the other craft by wireless, in the opinion of officials. The first arrested yesterday were seven men, ambushed by the agents as they drove off Taylor’s Island with a truck loaded with 250 cases of liquor, all of whom were heavily armed but did not offer resistance. The island, officials said, was used as a central landing place for liquor, run into the bay from Canada and the Bahamas by ocean-going vessels and landed by the speedboat. “The three men on the Whippoorwill surrendered without resistance when covered by the Federal officers’ guns. The Hiawatha, seized while at anchor at Taylor’s Island, with four men aboard, is 59 feet long, five longer than the other. Both craft were of New York registry, and efforts to trace their ownership through Treasury Department records at Washington were made. “The hearing of the fourteen men held in jail here was delayed today when the Whippoorwill ran out of fuel at the mouth of the Choptank River when on its way here in charge of the Federal men. “Although the Federal officers had been on the trail of the liquor smug-
Mug shot of Whippoorwill’s Captain Axel Ohlsen of Brooklyn working for Feldman gang. “A score of customs and prohibition officers, District Attorney Simon E. Sobeloff, of Baltimore, and Robert D. Ford, prohibition chief for Maryland, took part in the second day’s operations or came here from Baltimore for the hearing before Commissioner Louder T. Hearn, of Salisbury. Simon E. Sobeloff, United States District Attorney for Maryland, came here today to take charge of the prosecution of the case. He was preceded by Robert D. Ford, chief enforcement officer for the Baltimore District, which embraces all of Maryland. “The first of the motor craft seized, the Hiawatha, was equipped with a radio transmitting set, of68
glers for months, they said, they were handicapped by the nature of the bay shoreline and conditions on the Maryland-Delaware-Virginia peninsula. “Liquor for years has been brought through the Virginia Capes into the Chesapeake Bay from the West Indies or Canada and transshipped from ocean going craft to speed boats, which in turn load it into motor trucks for delivery to Philadelphia or New York. The bay is dotted with small fishing ports and other landing places, and there are three excellent highways north, two in Maryland and the best, the Du Pont Highway, in Delaware.” John “Pat” Neild’s ancestors began to settle on Taylors Island dur-
Mug shot of Engineer Heones, of Whippoorwill. ing the seventeenth century, and the various family names have been
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Hiawatha & Whippoorwill
project took only a short while, and he returned home with some cash in his pocket and went to bed. “A couple of hours later, there was another knock on the door. This time it opened to federal agents. They had intercepted a bootlegger’s truck between Taylors Island and Cambridge and learned that my father had assisted them at the truck-loading site. The truck had been loaded at the waterfront with moonshine from a bootlegger’s boat. “My father was arrested and taken to Baltimore. After he pleaded innocent and told them he was unaware of the truck’s cargo, he was released to return home, but he was told that he must appear and testify at a court hearing about the incident.
prominent in South Dorchester ever since. He told me the following story about his father and an incident that may be connected to the final runs of Hiawatha and Whippoorwill. “Stapleforte and Mabel Neild lived in Hoopers Neck on Taylors Island from 1929 until the mid-1950s. Late one spring night, there was a knock on their door. The visitor told my father there was a truck stuck near the north shoreline of the island, about a mile from his home, and asked my father to bring his tractor to pull it out ~ for a generous fee. As he was young and a little hungry, my father didn’t ask any questions and agreed to help. The
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Mug shot of Harwood Park of Long Island City, radioman for Feldman gang. 70
“Fearful that the bootlegging outlaws would find and dispose of him, he slept with a pistol under his pillow from that night until well after the court case. I was just a baby at the time, so this had to be about 1930.” On the same day that the notorious Whippoorwill was captured by federal officers, Delmarva newspapers posted the headline: “DRY LAW DEBATE FRIDAY EVENING.” Readers today might be interested in the name of the individual who spoke against the Eighteenth Amendment. “Washington, May 13 (AP) ~ The Anti-Saloon League made known today that arrangements had been completed for a prohibition debate between Pierre S. Dupont, millionaire supporter of the Association Against the Eighteenth Amendment, and O. G. Christgan, assistant to the general superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League. “The debate was described at League headquarters as the first oratorical encounter of national representatives of the two organizations. It will be held Friday night at West Chester, Pennsylvania.” Most of the men captured in South Dorchester were New Yorkers. Whippoorwill’s skipper, Fred Johnson, alias J. F. Tonnenson, had previously owned and captained another rumrunner registered as Gloria. Three others also gave aliases, but their true identities were quick71
Hiawatha & Whippoorwill
members who failed to appear, customs agents later apprehended one in New York, and a second turned himself in. The other three forfeited a total of $26,000 in bail money. Official reports document Whippoorwill as weighing 72 tons and measuring 53 feet, 6 inches in length by 11 feet, 5 inches at her widest point. Powered by three 450-horsepower Liberty motors, she had the reputation of being the fastest craft afloat on Chesapeake Bay. But at 56 feet, 4 inches in length, 14 feet wide and equipped with a triumvirate of 12-cylinder engines, Hiawatha was never far behind. Either boat could exceed 50 miles per hour and was capable of outrunning anything that federal or state agents could muster in pursuit of them. On July 22, 1931, Whippoorwill and Hiawatha were put on the auction block at the Arundel Cove Coast Guard Depot. Estimated to have a combined value of at least $50,000, the boats were struck off for the astonishingly low bids of $2,575 and $2,250, respectively. When several of the boats’ crewmembers ~ out of jail on bail ~ were spotted at the auction, the government smelled a rat, and the U. S. District Court declared the auction null and void. The boats were retained by the government and converted into Coast Guard chasers. Whippoorwill became CG-987, and Hiawatha was rechristened CG-834. An investigation by customs
ly learned: Timothy Connolly, alias Tim McClosky; Guy Parkhurst, alias Frank Weber; and Benjamin Feldman, alias Ben Frye, alias “Little Bennie.” Connolly and Parkhurst were former New Jersey state troopers, and Feldman turned out to be a central figure in the smuggling ring. Others arrested included Hiawatha’s captain, Axel Ohlsen; radioman Harwood Park; convoy leader James Wilson; and Ben Stearns, alias “Big Ben,” little Bennie’s right-hand man. John Erickson and Frank Heones initially eluded capture but were collared the following day in the vicinity of Wingate. The group spent several nights in the Cambridge jail before being transported to Baltimore on a bus. Six thousand cases of contraband were hauled to the Baltimore Customs House on a captured truck and the two impounded speedboats. The men were arraigned before U. S. Commissioner J. Frank Suplee on conspiracy-to-smuggle charges and were indicted in July by a Federal grand jury. By that time, three more members of the gang had been rounded up, bringing the total to seventeen prisoners. In December 1931, twelve defendants in the Whippoorwill-Hiawatha case were tried in federal court in Baltimore, found guilty and sentenced to between six months and two years in prison. Of the five 72
marva ~ especially in Dorchester County ~ still don’t believe that either of the men named in court records was the real boss behind the operation. Remember my 1980 conversation across the picket fence: “People always said that Kennedy owned the boats, and that’s how the old man made his money.” My informant was referring to none other than Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr., prominent businessman, political figure and the father of President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert and Ted Kennedy. The fact that no documentation in support of such a claim has ever been published has done little to cap the rumor. Smuggling liquor from Canada
agents and Coast Guard Intelligence determined that a New York syndicate led by Sam Lee, alias “Sam the Chink,” was responsible for the bootlegging operation whose vessels ranged up and down “Rum Row,” taking in much of the Atlantic Coast south from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The official government report claims that Whippoorwill and Hiawatha were the property of Bango Shipping and Chartering Corporation, presided over by Benjamin J. Feldman at 305 Broadway, New York. “Little Bennie,” as he was known, was also convicted of violating the Prohibition law and sent to federal prison. But old timers on much of Del-
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This awakened his suspicions and led him to discovery of the trick.”
had apparently been going on long before the advent of Prohibition, some of which was apparently quite inventive. While browsing through old journals, I discovered the following short article, published on December 15, 1865, 55 years before the national ban on spirits took effect. “Smuggling from Canada has attained the perfection of a fine art. The last plan discovered is a bogus baby made of tin and filled with spirits, and then, swaddled in shawls, it is carried in a woman’s arms across the line. In a train of cars recently, a detective noticed that out of thirty babies only two cried in a journey of fifteen miles.
Reprinted from Tidewater Times, June 2008 Hal Roth served with the United States Air Force during the Korean War, attended Muhlenberg College and Lehigh University, and moved to Maryland in 1957 to pursue a career in public education. He authored many popular books of Eastern Shore history and folklore and was a regular contributor to Tidewater Times for 15 years. In recent years he has devoted his time to the avocation of photography.
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Winter Vegetables Play Key Role in Healthy Diets Traditionally, we think of the spring and summer seasons as the time to eat fresh garden delights. There is an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables on local farms and in farmers markets. During the winter months, we need to be a little more creative. The majority of choices available, such as root crops, greens, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and winter squash, do tend to take a bit more preparation time and creativity to cook.
To help us maintain good eating habits in the winter months, here are a few ideas that can save time, while providing our bodies with the daily recommended six to nine servings of fruits and vegetables we need. ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES When I learned the secrets of roasting vegetables, a whole new world of cooking opened up to me.
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Winter Vegetables The roasting process adds tremendous f lavor. They go well with fish, pork, beef and chicken. Store the leftovers in the refrigerator, as they make a great topping for a salad later in the week. 1 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch disks 2 leeks, white parts only, well washed and coarsely chopped 1 8-oz. parsnip, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch disks 4 carrots, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch discs 1 lg. beet, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch disks 3 T. extra-virgin olive oil 1 t. Kosher salt
1 lb. rice or noodles, cooked according to package directions 1 lb. boneless chuck, round or f lank steak, chicken or firm tofu 1/2 cup white wine or sherry 1 T. sesame, walnut or olive oil 2 T. soy sauce 1 T. honey 1 T. cornstarch 1 T. fresh grated ginger 1 T. minced garlic 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally 1 lg. onion, sliced 4 ribs celery, sliced diagonally 1/2 head cabbage, shredded 1 head broccoli or caulif lower, cut into fork-size pieces 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced 1 green bell pepper, sliced 1/4 lb. baby Bella mushrooms 4 T. expeller-pressed canola oil 4 T. sesame, walnut or olive oil
Preheat oven to 400°. Combine the potatoes, leeks, parsnip, beet, oil and salt in a large bowl and toss well to mix. Arrange in one layer in a large shallow roasting pan and roast until tender and lightly charred, about 20 minutes. Note: carrots and parsnips should be unwrinkled and firm to the touch, and not larger than 1-1/2 inches. CREATIVE STIR-FRY Winter vegetables make an easy stir-fry and are a way to increase your vegetable intake.
Slice and marinate meat in the sherry, oil, soy sauce, honey, corn78
starch, garlic and ginger mixture for several hours. Tofu needs to be cut into cubes and marinated. Slice all vegetables fork size, slicing carrots, celery and peppers diagonally. Heat skillet on medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons sesame oil and 2 tablespoons canola oil. Add carrots, onion and celery and sauté for 3 minutes. Add green and red peppers. Sauté for an additional 1 minute. Add broccoli or caulif lower, cabbage and mushrooms. Sauté an additional 3 minutes. Remove from pan to platter; set aside. Add 2 tablespoons canola oil and 2 tablespoons sesame oil to pan. Lift meat or tofu from marinade and place in pan. Sauté until almost done. Return sautéed vegetables to pan. Cook together for 1 additional minute. Turn off heat. Serve over rice or noodles. Serve with soy sauce.
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Winter Vegetables
with salt and pepper and oil and toss to mix well. Arrange in a large roasting pan and roast uncovered on the upper rack of the oven until the vegetables are tender and lightly charred around the edges, about 1 hour. Place the tomatoes, cut side up, on a baking sheet and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss the mushrooms with 1 tablespoon oil and scatter them around the tomatoes. Place on the bottom rack of the oven and roast 30 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a large soup pot. Stir in the stock, bay leaves, and beans, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Season to taste. Remove the bay leaves. Serves 6-8.
thick rounds 1 russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch disks 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into thick rounds 1 onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 t. sea salt Freshly ground pepper 3 T. extra-virgin olive oil 3 large tomatoes, cut in half 4 oz. shiitake mushrooms, thickly sliced 4 cups vegetable stock 2 bay leaves 2 15-oz. cans Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
GINGER CARROT SOUP This wonderful combination of sweet carrots and peppery ginger is a snap to make. I buy fresh ginger at the farmer’s market in the summer and freeze it to use all year. If you buy carrots with their bright
Position two oven racks evenly apart and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine celery, rutabaga, parsnips, potato, carrots, onion and garlic in a large bowl. Sprinkle 80
green tops attached, you know they will be fresh and sweet; but since carrots’ sugar content does vary, it is suggested that you taste the soup and perhaps add a little sugar at the end. 2 T. oil 1 piece of fresh ginger (about the size of a lime), peeled and finely chopped 4 cups carrots, chopped 1 medium russet potato, peeled and chopped 8 cups vegetable stock Sea salt to taste Freshly ground pepper to taste Dash of dry sherry Dash of nutmeg 1 T. sugar (optional) Chopped fresh parsley or cilantro for garnish
party when you serve this hot, creamy soup along with your favorite French bread sandwich or other party favorites. 1 T. olive oil 1/3 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup chopped green onion 1/3 cup chopped celery
A Taste of Italy
Heat oil in a large soup pot, add onion and ginger, and sautĂŠ. Add carrots, potato, vegetable stock and sherry, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until vegetables are soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool. Puree the contents in a blender, working in batches. Return the puree to the pot and season with salt and pepper. If necessary, add the sugar. Serves 8
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Winter Vegetables
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped 3/4 cup blue, gorgonzola or feta cheese 4 thinly sliced scallions
2 cups peeled and cubed beet 3 cups cubed potato 1 cup chopped parsley 32 oz. vegetable broth 1 t. onion salt 1 t. curry powder 1/2 t. garlic powder 1/8 t. ground cumin 2 cups unf lavored almond milk Parsley for garnish
Dressing: 1/4 cup olive oil 2 T. mayonnaise 1-1/2 T. red wine vinegar 1-1/2 T. Dijon mustard 1-1/2 T. honey 1/4 t. sea salt
In a large soup pot, sautĂŠ both kinds of onions and celery in the olive oil until slightly softened. Add the rest of the vegetables, including the parsley. Add the broth and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer for an hour until the beets are soft when pierced with a fork. Cool. Working in small batches, puree the vegetables in a blender or food processor until they are very smooth. Place the puree back into the original soup pot and add the seasonings and almond milk. Stir well and bring back up to temperature for serving. Garnish with a bit of fresh parsley. Serves 6-8.
Combine the cabbage, apples dried fruit, walnuts, cheese and scallions in a large salad bowl. Toss several times so that ingredients are well combined. In a small bowl, briskly whisk together the mayonnaise and oil until completely smooth. Add the honey and mustard and whisk again. Finally, whip in the vinegar and salt. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to completely
RED CABBAGE SALAD This is such a nice combination of ingredients, and the dressing makes it very f lavorful. It is a unique and delicious salad recipe. 1 head red cabbage 2 red apples cut into small pieces 1/2 cup dried craisins or dates 82
combine everything. Serve immediately. Note: You may not need all the salad dressing. If you plan to have leftovers, hold off on the vinaigrette and nuts to prevent the salad from becoming soggy. Refrigerate the undressed salad in an airtight container for 4 days. Tip to prepare the cabbage: It is important to cut cabbage thin so that its natural sweetness has a chance to make its mark on the salad. Cut the head of cabbage in quarters through the core. Set one of the quarters on one of its f lat sides, cut the stiff stem away, and discard. Now cut that quarter in half or thirds. Finally, slice down across the leaves horizontally as thinly as you can. If you shred the cabbage in the food processor, the texture will be more like a slaw and less like a salad. A longtime resident of Oxford, Pamela Meredith, formerly Denver’s NBC Channel 9 Children’s Chef, now teaches both adult and children’s cooking classes on the south shore of Massachusetts. For more of Pam’s recipes, visit the Story Archive tab at tidewatertimes.com.
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TIDEWATER GARDENING
by K. Marc Teffeau, Ph.D.
Anticipating Spring While we are in the throes of winter, we can anticipate the coming of spring. There are lots of small gardening activities, both indoor and outdoor, that can keep our inner gardener busy. In your vegetable garden, did you mulch with hay or with hay and straw with manure? While both materials are great to build up the soil structure in the garden and provide a slow release of nutrients, they can be a source of weed infestation. I remember many years ago incorporating some horse straw bedding into my vegetable garden one spring. I raised the most beautiful crop of lamb’s quarter weed! I learned my lesson of the need to “age” that manure and straw before I tilled it in. If you have old hay and manure left over from last year’s gardening, there is an easy process to make it weed-free. Spread the manure and hay on the soil in late winter, water well, and cover with black plastic. Do not incor-
porate the manure into the soil! Any weed seeds present in the manure and in the straw or hay will sprout after a few days of warm weather and will then be killed by frost and lack of daylight. The heat collected under the black plastic will encourage germination of the weed seeds. You can also use clear plastic sheets over the manure and straw to encourage germination. After a few weeks, especially if we experience a run of sunny days, the weed seed will start to germinate. When this occurs, remove the clear plastic overnight when the night temperature will be below freezing. 85
Tidewater Gardening
also recommend that you wear protection and a face mask like you use when painting when cleaning out bird boxes. The boxes do contain bird poop, overwintering mites, feathers and debris that you do not want to breath in. Inspect the boxes for any rot or damage, and make the needed repairs.
You might also have leftover bales of hay or straw that you used to mulch the garden last season. Wait until the end of February, and then irrigate the bales. With the sunny days, warmer temperatures in March and the moist bales, weed seeds in the bales will sprout and be killed by the freezing temperatures. The other day, Linda and I were surprised to see a pair of bluebirds at the bird seed feeder in the back yard. This reminded me that if you have bluebird houses or other bird nesting boxes, now is a good time to clean them out before the birds start looking for a home. Don’t clean the bird boxes on a windy day. I would
February activities in the landscape include pruning ornamental grass clumps. Do this before the new growth of grass appears. Tie large clumps of perennial grasses with rope and cut with a hedge trimmer. If you did not prune your hybrid tea roses and knockout roses in the fall, you can do it now. Remove old canes and lowering plant to a height of 12 to 15 inches. Apply a drop of white glue or a thumbtack to the end of freshly cut canes to prevent borers from entering the cut stems. 86
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ply a fresh two- to four-inch layer of mulch to rose beds. Inspect any summer bulbs that you may have stored in the garage to be sure none are drying out. Discard any that show signs of rot. Summer bulbs includes dahlias, gladiolas, elephant ears, and caladium bulbs and tubers. February is the time to start plants indoors for setting out later in the spring.
Apply a dormant spray of limesulfur and dormant oil before active growth appears. Clean up the rose beds by removing diseased foliage and f lowers and pieces of canes. Remove the old mulch that may contain dead weeds and reap-
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the time to start slow germinating seeds such as alyssum, coleus, dusty miller, geranium, impatiens, marigold, petunia, phlox, portulaca, salvia, vinca and verbene. Mid- to late February is the time
Good examples are tuberous begonias that are set outside for summer-long f lowering in pots, beds or hanging baskets. Start the tubers indoors during late February or early March. Sprout them by placing them, hollow side up, close together in shallow, well-drained pans. Use a mix of equal parts perlite, sphagnum, peat moss and vermiculite. You can also use chopped sphagnum moss and perlite. This should be kept damp (not soggy) in a shady window with a temperature in the lower 60s. Transplant the tubers to pots or baskets when growth starts, normally within three weeks. Place outside only after all threat of frost has passed. February is also
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Practicing good sanitation is the best way to try to control diseases in fruit trees. If you have bramble plantings, February is a good time to do some pruning. Red, black and purple raspberries and both thorny and thornless blackberries are referred to as brambles. To understand the prun-
to apply a dormant horticultural oil spray to your home fruit plantings and to ornamental trees and shrubs. Apply the oil on a mild, windless day when the temperatures are forecast to be above freezing for 24 hours. Dormant oil sprays will help to control overwintering scale insects and mites and will kill the overwintering eggs of insects like aphids. Apply a dormant spray of lime-sulfur to your peach trees to control disease issues. If you did not do it earlier in the fall, clean up around your apple, pear, peach and plum trees, raking and disposing of last year’s fruit mummies and diseased leaves.
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so that fruiting begins during the first growing season. The f lower buds are initiated on the top third of the primocane. They f lower in late July and begin fruiting in August. These canes finish fruiting with the first frost. After fall-fruiting raspberries have finished fruiting, you can cut out all the canes because they will produce new fruiting primocanes in the spring. For regular brambles, carefully prune out the dead canes in the plants now and leave the fruiting canes for this year’s production. February is the time to order fruit plants from mail order nurseries for the upcoming growing season. They will arrive bare-root,
ing practices for your brambles, it is first necessary to understand their growth habits. Brambles have perennial crowns and roots with only biennial canes (they live for two growing seasons). The vegetative shoots that come from the crowns are called primocanes during their first growing season. In the late summer, flower buds are formed on the primocanes and remain dormant through the winter. During the second growing season, these buds f lower, fruit and then die. This two-year pattern is typical of all brambles, except for fall-fruiting raspberries such as Heritage. In fall-fruiting raspberries, the cane growth and fruiting are similar but are compressed
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so you need to plant them as soon as they arrive from the grower. I recommend purchasing fruit varieties from mail order nurseries because many times the plants available at the local big box store or retailer are limited in what varieties are offered. Select recommended, disease-resistant varieties when possible, and be sure you indicate a desired shipping date. A listing of University of Maryland Extension-recommended small and tree fruit varieties can be found in their publications HG 68 and 69 on the Maryland Home and Garden website: https://extension. umd.edu/hgic. If you would like to “hurry” spring a little bit, prune branches of pussy willow, quince, crabap-
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If you notice leaf yellowing and leaf drop on some of your houseplants, it is usually a result of low light conditions combined with over-watering. Most houseplants should be watered only when the top of the growing medium begins to dry out. It is always safer to slightly under-water than to over-water houseplants. If you need to, try to reposition your houseplants in the room to receive more sunlight. Happy Gardening!
ple, forsythia, pear and f lowering cherry and force them indoors. Place the stems in a vase of water and change the water every four days. Did you receive an amaryllis for the holidays? Keep it in a sunny window. After it is done f lowering, the plant will produce leaves. It can be taken outside during the summer and then brought back inside by mid-summer. As you may have noticed, in February we will have passed through the darkest part of winter ~ the days are getting longer, and the sun is starting to get brighter and higher in the sky. This is very good for houseplants, as they will start to “perk up.” Wait until March to fertilize houseplants.
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Dorchester Points of Interest
Š John Norton
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. FREDERICK C. MALKUS MEMORIAL BRIDGE is the gateway to Dorchester County over the Choptank River. It is the second longest span 95
Dorchester Points of Interest bridge in Maryland after the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. A life-long resident of Dorchester County, Senator Malkus served in the Maryland State Senate from 1951 through 1994. Next to the Malkus Bridge is the 1933 Emerson C. Harrington Bridge. This bridge was replaced by the Malkus Bridge in 1987. Remains of the 1933 bridge are used as fishing piers on both the north and south bank of the river. HERITAGE MUSEUMS and GARDENS of DORCHESTER - Home of the Dorchester County Historical Society, Heritage Museum offers a range of local history and gardens on its grounds. The Meredith House, a 1760’s Georgian home, features artifacts and exhibits on the seven Maryland governors associated with the county; a child’s room containing antique dolls and toys; and other period displays. The Neild Museum houses a broad collection of agricultural, maritime, industrial, and Native American artifacts, including a McCormick reaper (invented by Cyrus McCormick in 1831). The Ron Rue exhibit pays tribute to a talented local decoy carver with a re-creation of his workshop. The Goldsborough Stable, circa 1790, includes a sulky, pony cart, horse-driven sleighs, and tools of the woodworker, wheelwright, and blacksmith. For more info. tel: 410-228-7953 or visit dorchesterhistory.org.
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DORCHESTER COUNTY VISITOR CENTER - The Visitors Center in Cambridge is a major entry point to the lower Eastern Shore, positioned just off U.S. Route 50 along the shore of the Choptank River. With its 100foot sail canopy, it’s also a landmark. In addition to travel information and exhibits on the heritage of the area, there’s also a large playground, garden, boardwalk, restrooms, vending machines, and more. The Visitors Center is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information about Dorchester County call 410-228-1000 or visit www.visitdorchester.org or www.tourchesapeakecountry.com. SAILWINDS PARK - Located at 202 Byrn St., Cambridge, Sailwinds Park has been the site for popular events such as the Seafood Feast-I-Val in August and the Grand National Waterfowl Hunt’s Grandtastic Jamboree in November. For more info. tel: 410-228-SAIL(7245) or visit www. sailwindscambridge.com. CAMBRIDGE CREEK - A tributary of the Choptank River, runs through the heart of Cambridge. Located along the creek are restaurants where you can watch watermen dock their boats after a day’s work on the waterways of Dorchester. HISTORIC HIGH STREET IN CAMBRIDGE - When James Michener was doing research for his novel Chesapeake, he reportedly called Cambridge’s High Street one of the most beautiful streets in America. He modeled his fictional city Patamoke after Cambridge. Many of the gracious homes on High Street date from the 1700s and 1800s. Today you can join a historic walking tour of High Street each Saturday at 11 a.m., April through October (weather permitting). For more info. tel: 410-901-1000. High Street is also known as one of the most haunted streets in Maryland. join a Chesapeake Ghost Walk to hear the stories. Find out more at www. chesapeakeghostwalks.com. SKIPJACK NATHAN OF DORCHESTER - Sail aboard the authentic skipjack Nathan of Dorchester, offering heritage cruises on the Choptank River. The Nathan is docked at Long Wharf in Cambridge. Dredge for oysters and hear the stories of the working waterman’s way of life. For more info. and schedules tel: 410-228-7141 or visit www.skipjack-nathan.org. CHOPTANK RIVER LIGHTHOUSE REPLICA - The replica of a six-sided screwpile lighthouse includes a small museum with exhibits about the original lighthouse’s history and the area’s maritime heritage. The lighthouse, located on Pier A at Long Wharf Park in Cambridge, is open daily, May through October, and by appointment, November through April; call 410-463-2653. For more info. visit www.choptankriverlighthouse.org. DORCHESTER CENTER FOR THE ARTS - Located at 321 High 97
Dorchester Points of Interest Street in Cambridge, the Center offers monthly gallery exhibits and shows, extensive art classes, and special events, as well as an artisans’ gift shop with an array of items created by local and regional artists. For more info. tel: 410-228-7782 or visit www.dorchesterarts.org. RICHARDSON MARITIME MUSEUM - Located at 401 High St., Cambridge, the Museum makes history come alive for visitors in the form of exquisite models of traditional Bay boats. The Museum also offers a collection of boatbuilders’ tools and watermen’s artifacts that convey an understanding of how the boats were constructed and the history of their use. The Museum’s Ruark Boatworks facility, located on Maryland Ave., is passing on the knowledge and skills of area boatwrights to volunteers and visitors alike. Watch boatbuilding and restoration in action. For more info. tel: 410-221-1871 or visit www.richardsonmuseum.org. HARRIET TUBMAN MUSEUM & EDUCATIONAL CENTER - The Museum and Educational Center is developing programs to preserve the history and memory of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday. Local tours by appointment are available. The Museum and Educational Center, located at 424 Race St., Cambridge, is one of the stops on the “Finding a Way to Freedom” self-guided driving tour. For more info. tel: 410-228-0401 or visit www. harriettubmanorganization.org. SPOCOTT WINDMILL - Since 1972, Dorchester County has had a fully operating English style post windmill that was expertly crafted by the late master shipbuilder, James B. Richardson. There has been a succession of windmills at this location dating back to the late 1700’s. The complex also includes an 1800 tenant house, one-room school, blacksmith shop, and country store museum. The windmill is located at 1625 Hudson Rd., Cambridge. For more info. visit www.spocottwindmill.org. HORN POINT LABORATORY - The Horn Point Laboratory offers public tours of this world-class scientific research laboratory, which is affiliated with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The 90-minute walking tour shows how scientists are conducting research to restore the Chesapeake Bay. Horn Point Laboratory is located at 2020 Horns Point Rd., Cambridge, on the banks of the Choptank River. For more info. and tour schedule tel: 410-228-8200 or visit www.umces.edu/hpl. THE STANLEY INSTITUTE - This 19th century one-room African American schoolhouse, dating back to 1865, is one of the oldest Maryland schools to be organized and maintained by a black community. Between 98
1867 and 1962, the youth in the African-American community of Christ Rock attended this school, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours available by appointment. The Stanley Institute is located at the intersection of Route 16 West & Bayly Rd., Cambridge. For more info. tel: 410-228-6657. OLD TRINITY CHURCH in Church Creek was built in the 17th century and perfectly restored in the 1950s. This tiny architectural gem continues to house an active congregation of the Episcopal Church. The old graveyard around the church contains the graves of the veterans of the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War. This part of the cemetery also includes the grave of Maryland’s Governor Carroll and his daughter Anna Ella Carroll who was an advisor to Abraham Lincoln. The date of the oldest burial is not known because the wooden markers common in the 17th century have disappeared. For more info. tel: 410-228-2940 or visit www.oldtrinity.net. BUCKTOWN VILLAGE STORE - Visit the site where Harriet Tubman received a blow to her head that fractured her skull. From this injury Harriet believed God gave her the vision and directions that inspired her to guide so many to freedom. Artifacts include the actual newspaper ad offering a reward for Harriet’s capture. Historical tours, bicycle, canoe and
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Dorchester Points of Interest kayak rentals are available. Open upon request. The Bucktown Village Store is located at 4303 Bucktown Rd., Cambridge. For more info. tel: 410-901-9255. HARRIET TUBMAN BIRTHPLACE - “The Moses of her People,” Harriet Tubman was believed to have been born on the Brodess Plantation in Bucktown. There are no Tubman-era buildings remaining at the site, which today is a farm. Recent archeological work at this site has been inconclusive, and the investigation is continuing, although there is some evidence that points to Madison as a possible birthplace. HARRIET TUBMAN VISITOR CENTER - Located adjacent to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center immerses visitors in Tubman’s world through informative, evocative and emotive exhibits. The immersive displays show how the landscape of the Choptank River region shaped her early years and the importance of her faith, family and community. The exhibits also feature information about Tubman’s life beginning with her childhood in Maryland, her emancipation from slavery, her time as a conductor on the Underground Railroad and her continuous advocacy for justice. For more info. visit dnr2.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/eastern/tubman_visitorcenter.aspx. BLACKWATER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE - Located 12 miles south of Cambridge at 2145 Key Wallace Dr. With more than 25,000 acres of tidal marshland, it is an important stop along the Atlantic Flyway. Blackwater is currently home to the largest remaining natural population of endangered Delmarva fox squirrels and the largest breeding population of American bald eagles on the East Coast, north of Florida. There is a full service Visitor Center and a four-mile Wildlife Drive, walking trails and water trails. For more info. tel: 410-228-2677 or visit www.fws.gov/blackwater. EAST NEW MARKET - Originally settled in 1660, the entire town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Follow a self-guided walking tour to see the district that contains almost all the residences of the original founders and offers excellent examples of colonial architecture. For more info. visit http://eastnewmarket.us. HURLOCK TRAIN STATION - Incorporated in 1892, Hurlock ranks as the second largest town in Dorchester County. It began from a Dorchester/ Delaware Railroad station built in 1867. The Old Train Station has been restored and is host to occasional train excursions. For more info. tel: 410-943-4181. 100
VIENNA HERITAGE MUSEUM - The museum displays the last surviving mother-of-pearl button manufacturing operation in the country, as well as artifacts of local history. The museum is located at 303 Race, St., Vienna. For more info. tel: 410-943-1212 or visit www.viennamd.org. LAYTON’S CHANCE VINEYARD & WINERY - This small farm winery, minutes from historic Vienna at 4225 New Bridge Rd., offers daily tours of the winemaking operation. The family-oriented Layton’s also hosts a range of events, from a harvest festival to karaoke happy hour to concerts. For more info. tel. 410-228-1205 or visit www.laytonschance.com. HANDSELL HISTORIC SITE - Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008, the site is used to interpret the native American contact period with the English, the slave and later African American story and the life of all those who lived at Handsell. The grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk. Visitors can view the exterior of the circa 1770/1837 brick house, currently undergoing preservation work. Nearby is the Chicone Village, a replica single-family dwelling complex of the Native People who once inhabited the site. Special living history events are held several times a year. Located at 4837 Indiantown Road, Vienna. For more info. tel: 410-228-745 or visit www.restorehandsell.org.
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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. 103
© John Norton
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Easton Points of Interest Historic Downtown Easton is the county seat of Talbot County. Established around early religious settlements and a court of law, today the historic district of Easton is a centerpiece of fine specialty shops, business and cultural activities, unique restaurants and architectural fascination. Tree-lined streets are graced with various period structures and remarkable homes, carefully preserved or restored. Because of its historical significance, Easton has earned distinction as the “Colonial Capital of the Eastern Shore” and was honored as #8 in the book, “The 100 Best Small Towns in America.” Walking Tour of Downtown Easton Start near the corner of Harrison Street and Mill Place. 1. HISTORIC TIDEWATER INN - 101 E. Dover St. A completely modern hotel built in 1949, it was enlarged in 1953 and has recently undergone extensive renovations. It is the “Pride of the Eastern Shore.” 2. THE BULLITT HOUSE - 108 E. Dover St. One of Easton’s oldest and most beautiful homes, it was built in 1801. It is now occupied by the Mid-Shore Community Foundation. 3. AVALON THEATRE - 42 E. Dover St. Constructed in 1921 during the heyday of silent films and vaudeville entertainment. Over the course of its history, it has been the scene of three world premiers, including “The First Kiss,” starring Fay Wray and Gary Cooper, in 1928. The theater has gone through two major restorations: the first in 1936, when it was refinished in an art deco theme by the Schine Theater chain, and again 52 years later, when it was converted to a performing arts and community center. For more info. tel: 410-822-0345 or visit avalontheatre.com. 4. TALBOT COUNTY VISITORS CENTER - 11 S. Harrison St. The Office of Tourism provides visitors with county information for historic Easton and the waterfront villages of Oxford, St. Michaels and Tilghman Island. For more info. tel: 410-770-8000 or visit tourtalbot.org. 5. BARTLETT PEAR INN - 28 S. Harrison St. Significant for its architecture, it was built by Benjamin Stevens in 1790 and is one of Easton’s earliest three-bay brick buildings. The home was “modernized” with Victorian bay windows on the right side in the 1890s. 6. WATERFOWL BUILDING - 40 S. Harrison St. The old armory is 105
Easton Points of Interest now the headquarters of the Waterfowl Festival, Easton’s annual celebration of migratory birds and the hunting season, the second weekend in November. For more info. tel: 410-822-4567 or visit waterfowlfestival.org. 7. ACADEMY ART MUSEUM - 106 South St. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Academy Art Museum is a fine art museum founded in 1958. Providing national and regional exhibitions, performances, educational programs, and visual and performing arts classes for adults and children, the Museum also offers a vibrant concert and lecture series and seasonal events. The Museum’s permanent collection consists of works on paper and contemporary works by American and European masters. Mon. through Thurs. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. First Friday of each month open until 7 p.m. For more info. tel: (410) 822-ARTS (2787) or visit academyartmuseum.org. 8. CHRIST CHURCH - St. Peter’s Parish, 111 South Harrison St. Founded in 1692, the Parish’s church building is one of the many historic landmarks of downtown Easton. The current building was erected in the early 1840’s of Port Deposit granite and an addition on the south end was completed in 1874. Since that time there have been many improve-
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Easton Points of Interest ments and updates, but none as extensive as the restoration project which began in September 2014. For service times contact 410-822-2677 or christchurcheaston.org. 9. TALBOT HISTORICAL SOCIET Y - Located in the heart of Easton’s historic district. Enjoy an evocative portrait of everyday life during earlier times when visiting the c. 18th and 19th century historic houses, all of which surround a Federal-style garden. For more info. tel: 410822-0773 or visit hstc.org. Tharpe Antiques and Decorative Arts is now located at 25 S. Washington St. Consignments accepted by appointment, please call 410-820-7525. Proceeds support the Talbot Historical Society. 10. ODD FELLOWS LODGE - At the corner of Washington and Dover streets stands a building with secrets. It was constructed in 1879 as the meeting hall for the Odd Fellows. Carved into the stone and placed into the stained glass are images and symbols that have meaning only for members. See if you can find the dove, linked rings and other symbols. 11. TALBOT COUNTY COURTHOUSE - Long known as the “East Capital” of Maryland. The present building was completed in 1794 on the site of the earlier one built in 1711. It has been remodeled several times.
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Easton Points of Interest 11A. FREDERICK DOUGLASS STATUE - 11 N. Washington St. on the lawn of the Talbot County Courthouse. The statue honors Frederick Douglass in his birthplace, Talbot County, where the experiences in his youth ~ both positive and negative ~ helped form his character, intellect and determination. Also on the grounds is a memorial to the veterans who fought and died in the Vietnam War, and a monument “To the Talbot Boys,” commemorating the men from Talbot who fought for the Confederacy. The memorial for the Union soldiers was never built. 12. SHANNAHAN & WRIGHTSON HARDWARE BUILDING 12 N. Washington St. It is the oldest store in Easton. In 1791, Owen Kennard began work on a new brick building that changed hands several times throughout the years. Dates on the building show when additions were made in 1877, 1881 and 1889. The present front was completed in time for a grand opening on Dec. 7, 1941 - Pearl Harbor Day. 13. THE BRICK HOTEL - northwest corner of Washington and Federal streets. Built in 1812, it became the Eastern Shore’s leading hostelry. When court was in session, plaintiffs, defendants and lawyers all came to town and shared rooms in hotels such as this. Frederick
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Douglass stayed in the Brick Hotel when he came back after the Civil War and gave a speech in the courthouse. It is now The Prager Building. 14. THOMAS PERRIN SMITH HOUSE - 119 N. Washington St. Built in 1803, it was the early home of the newspaper from which the Star-Democrat grew. In 1911, the building was acquired by the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club, which occupies it today. 15. ART DECO STORES - 13-25 Goldsborough Street. Although much of Easton looks Colonial or Victorian, the 20th century had its inf luences as well. This row of stores has distinctive 1920s-era white trim at the roofline. It is rumored that there was a speakeasy here during Prohibition. 16. FIRST MASONIC GR AND LODGE - 23 N. Harrison Street. The records of Coats Lodge of Masons in Easton show that five Masonic Lodges met in Talbot Court House (as Easton was then called) on July 31, 1783 to form the first Grand Lodge of Masons in Maryland. Although the building where they first met is gone, a plaque marks the spot today. This completes your walking tour. 17. FOXLEY HALL - 24 N. Aurora St., Built about 1795, Foxley Hall is one of the best-known of Easton’s Federal dwellings. Former home of Oswald Tilghman, great-grandson of Lt. Col. Tench Tilghman. (Private)
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Easton Points of Interest 18. TRINITY EPISCOPAL CATHEDR AL - On “Cathedral Green,” Goldsborough St., a traditional Gothic design in granite. The interior is well worth a visit. All windows are stained glass, picturing New Testament scenes, and the altar cross of Greek type is unique. For more info. tel: 410-822-1931 or visit trinitycathedraleaston.com. 19. INN AT 202 DOVER - Built in 1874, this Victorian-era mansion ref lects many architectural styles. For years the building was known as the Wrightson House, thanks to its early 20th century owner, Charles T. Wrightson, one of the founders of the S. & W. canned food empire. Locally it is still referred to as Captain’s Watch due to its prominent balustraded widow’s walk. The Inn’s renovation in 2006 was acknowledged by the Maryland Historic Trust and the U.S. Dept. of the Interior. 20. TALBOT COUNTY FREE LIBRARY - Housed in an attractively remodeled building on West Street, the hours of operation are Mon. and Thurs., 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tues. and Wed. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Fri. and Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit tcf l.org. 21. U. of M. SHORE MEDICAL CENTER AT EASTON - Established in the early 1900s as the Memorial Hospital, now a member of
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University of Maryland Shore Regional Health System. For more info. tel: 410-822-100 or visit umshoreregional.org. 22. THIRD HAVEN FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE (Quaker). Built 1682-84, this is the earliest documented building in MD and probably the oldest Quaker Meeting House in the U.S. William Penn and many other historical figures have worshiped here. In continuous use since it was built, today it is still home to an active Friends’ community. Visitors welcome; group tours available on request. thirdhaven.org. 23. TALBOT COMMUNITY CENTER - The year-round activities offered at the community center range from ice hockey to figure skating, aerobics and curling. The Center is also host to many events throughout the year, such as antique, craft, boating and sportsman shows. Near Easton 24. PICKERING CREEK - 400-acre farm and science education center featuring 100 acres of forest, a mile of shoreline, nature trails, low-ropes challenge course and canoe launch. Trails are open seven days a week from dawn till dusk. Canoes are free for members. For more info. tel: 410-822-4903 or visit pickeringcreek.org. 25. W YE GRIST MILL - The oldest working mill in Maryland (ca. 1682), the f lour-producing “grist” mill has been lovingly preserved by
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Easton Points of Interest The Friends of Wye Mill, and grinds f lour to this day using two massive grindstones powered by a 26 horsepower overshot waterwheel. For more info. visit oldwyemill.org. 26. W YE ISL A ND NATUR AL RESOURCE MA NAGEMENT AREA - Located between the Wye River and the Wye East River, the area provides habitat for waterfowl and native wildlife. There are 6 miles of trails that provide opportunities for hiking, birding and wildlife viewing. For more info. visit dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/eastern/wyeisland.asp. 27. OLD WYE CHURCH - Old Wye Church is one of the oldest active Anglican Communion parishes in Talbot County. Wye Chapel was built between 1718 and 1721 and opened for worship on October 18, 1721. For more info. visit wyeparish.org. 28. WHITE MARSH CHURCH - The original structure was built before 1690. Early 18th century rector was the Reverend Daniel Maynadier. A later provincial rector (1764–1768), the Reverend Thomas Bacon, compiled “Bacon’s Laws,” authoritative compendium of Colonial Statutes. Robert Morris, Sr., father of Revolutionary financier is buried here.
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St. Michaels Points of Interest
© John Norton
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. 1. WADES POINT INN - Located on a point of land overlooking majestic Chesapeake Bay, this historic inn has been welcoming guests for over 100 years. Thomas Kemp, builder of the original “Pride of Baltimore,” built the main house in 1819. For more info. visit www.wadespoint.com. 117
St. Michaels Points of Interest 2. LODGE AT PERRY CABIN - Located on the scenic Miles River with an 18 hole golf course - Links at Perry Cabin. For more info. visit www. belmond.com/inn-at-perry-cabin-st-michaels/. (Now under renovation) 3. MILES RIVER YACHT CLUB - Organized in 1920, the Miles River Yacht Club continues its dedication to boating on our waters and the protection of the heritage of log canoes, the oldest class of boat still sailing U. S. waters. The MRYC has been instrumental in preserving the log canoe and its rich history on the Chesapeake Bay. For more info. visit www.milesriveryc.org. 4. INN AT PERRY CABIN BY BELMOND - The original building was constructed in the early 19th century by Samuel Hambleton, a purser in the United States Navy during the War of 1812. It was named for his friend, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. Perry Cabin has served as a riding academy and was restored in 1980 as an inn and restaurant. For more info. visit www.belmond.com/inn-at-perry-cabin-st-michaels/. 5. THE PARSONAGE INN - A bed and breakfast inn at 210 N. Talbot St., was built by Henry Clay Dodson, a prominent St. Michaels businessman and state legislator around 1883 as his private residence. In 1877, Dodson,
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St. Michaels Points of Interest along with Joseph White, established the St. Michaels Brick Company, which later provided the brick for the house. For more info. visit www. parsonage-inn.com. 6. FREDERICK DOUGLASS HISTORIC MARKER - Born at Tuckahoe Creek, Talbot County, Douglass lived as a slave in the St. Michaels area from 1833 to 1836. He taught himself to read and taught in clandestine schools for blacks here. He escaped to the north and became a noted abolitionist, orator and editor. He returned in 1877 as a U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia and also served as the D.C. Recorder of Deeds and the U.S. Minister to Haiti. 7. CHESAPEAKE BAY MARITIME MUSEUM - Founded in 1965, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is dedicated to preserving the rich heritage of the hemisphere’s largest and most productive estuary - the Chesapeake Bay. Located on 18 waterfront acres, its nine exhibit buildings and floating fleet bring to life the story of the Bay and its inhabitants, from the fully restored 1879 Hooper Strait lighthouse and working boatyard to the impressive collection of working decoys and a recreated waterman’s shanty. Home to the world’s largest collection of Bay boats, the Museum regularly
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202B S. Talbot Street St. Michaels · 410-745-8032 Open Thurs. - Sun. 121
St. Michaels Points of Interest hosts temporary exhibitions, special events, festivals, and education programs. Docking and pump-out facilities available. Exhibitions and Museum Store open year-round. Up-to-date information and hours can be found on the Museum’s website at www.cbmm.org or by calling 410-745-2916. 8. THE CRAB CLAW - Restaurant adjoining the Maritime Museum and overlooking St. Michaels harbor. Open March-November. 410-7452900 or www.thecrabclaw.com. 9. PATRIOT - During the season (April-November) the 65’ cruise boat can carry 150 persons, runs daily historic narrated cruises along the Miles River. For daily cruise times, visit www.patriotcruises.com or call 410-745-3100. 10. THE FOOTBRIDGE - Built on the site of many earlier bridges, today’s bridge joins Navy Point to Cherry Street. It has been variously known as “Honeymoon Bridge” and “Sweetheart Bridge.” It is the only remaining bridge of three that at one time connected the town with outlying areas around the harbor. 11. VICTORIANA INN - The Victoriana Inn is located in the Historic District of St. Michaels. The home was built in 1873 by Dr. Clay Dodson, a druggist, and occupied as his private residence and office. In 1910 the property, then known as “Willow Cottage,” underwent alterations when acquired by the Shannahan family who continued it as a private residence for over 75 years. As a bed and breakfast, circa 1988, major renovations took place, preserving the historic character of the gracious Victorian era. For more info. visit www.victorianainn.com. 12. HAMBLETON INN - On the harbor. Historic waterfront home built in 1860 and restored as a bed and breakfast in 1985 with a turn-ofthe-century atmosphere. For more info. visit www.hambletoninn.com. 13. SNUGGERY B&B - Oldest residence in St. Michaels, c. 1665.The structure incorporates the remains of a log home that was originally built on the beach and later moved to its present location. www.snuggery1665.com. 14. LOCUST STREET - A stroll down Locust Street is a look into the past of St. Michaels. The Haddaway House at 103 Locust St. was built by Thomas L. Haddaway in the late 1700s. Haddaway owned and operated the shipyard at the foot of the street. Wickersham, at 203 Locust Street, was built in 1750 and was moved to its present location in 2004. It is known for its glazed brickwork. Hell’s Crossing is the intersection of Locust and Carpenter streets and is so-named because in the late 1700’s, the town was described as a rowdy one, in keeping with a port town where sailors would 122
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St. Michaels Points of Interest come for a little excitement. They found it in town, where there were saloons and working-class townsfolk ready to do business with them. Fights were common especially in an area of town called Hells Crossing. At the end of Locust Street is Muskrat Park. It provides a grassy spot on the harbor for free summer concerts and is home to the two cannons that are replicas of the ones given to the town by Jacob Gibson in 1813 and confiscated by Federal troops at the beginning of the Civil War. 15. FREEDOMS FRIEND LODGE - Chartered in 1867 and constructed in 1883, the Freedoms Friend Lodge is the oldest lodge existing in Maryland and is a prominent historic site for our Black community. It is now the site of Blue Crab Coffee Company. 16. TALBOT COUNTY FREE LIBRARY - St. Michaels Branch is located at 106 S. Fremont Street. For more info. tel: 410-745-5877 or visit www.tcfl.org. 17. CARPENTER STREET SALOON - Life in the Colonial community revolved around the tavern. The traveler could, of course, obtain food, drink, lodging or even a fresh horse to speed his journey. This tavern was built in 1874 and has served the community as a bank, a newspaper
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St. Michaels Points of Interest office, post office and telephone company. For more info. visit www. carpenterstreetsaloon.com. 18. TWO SWAN INN - The Two Swan Inn on the harbor served as the former site of the Miles River Yacht Club, was built in the 1800s and was renovated in 1984. It is located at the foot of Carpenter Street. For more info. visit www.twoswaninn.com. 19. TARR HOUSE - Built by Edward Elliott as his plantation home about 1661. It was Elliott and an indentured servant, Darby Coghorn, who built the first church in St. Michaels. This was about 1677, on the site of the present Episcopal Church (6 Willow Street, near Locust). 20. CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH - 301 S. Talbot St. Built of Port Deposit stone, the present church was erected in 1878. The first is believed to have been built in 1677 by Edward Elliott. For more info. tel: 410-745-9076. 21. THE OLD BRICK INN - Built in 1817 by Wrightson Jones, who opened and operated the shipyard at Beverly on Broad Creek. (Talbot St. at Mulberry). For more info. visit www.oldbrickinn.com. 22. THE CANNONBALL HOUSE - When St. Michaels was shelled by the British in a night attack in 1813, the town was “blacked out” and
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St. Michaels Points of Interest lanterns were hung in the trees to lead the attackers to believe the town was on a high bluff. The houses were overshot. The story is that a cannonball hit the chimney of “Cannonball House” and rolled down the stairway. This “blackout” was believed to be the first such “blackout” in the history of warfare. 23. AMELIA WELBY HOUSE - Amelia Coppuck, who became Amelia Welby, was born in this house and wrote poems that won her fame and the praise of Edgar Allan Poe. 24. ST. MICHAELS MUSEUM at ST. MARY’S SQUARE - Located in the heart of the historic district, offers a unique view of 19th century life in St. Michaels. The exhibits are housed in three period buildings and contain local furniture and artifacts donated by residents. The museum is supported entirely through community efforts. For more info. tel: 410745-9561 or www.stmichaelsmuseum.org. 25. GR ANITE LODGE #177 - Located on St. Mary’s Square, Granite Lodge was built in 1839. The building stands on the site of the first Methodist Church in St. Michaels on land donated to the Methodists by James Braddock in 1781. Between then and now, the building has served variously as a church, schoolhouse and as a storehouse for muskrat skins. 26. KEMP HOUSE - Now a country inn. A Georgian style house, constructed in 1805 by Colonel Joseph Kemp, a revolutionary soldier and hero of the War of 1812. For more info. visit www.oldbrickinn.com. 27. THE OLD MILL COMPLEX - The Old Mill was a functioning flour mill from the late 1800s until the 1970s, producing f lour used primarily for Maryland beaten biscuits. Today it is home to a brewery, distillery, artists, furniture makers, and other unique shops and businesses. 28. CLASSIC MOTOR MUSEUM - Located at 102 E. Marengo Street, the Classic Motor Museum is a living museum of classic automobiles, motorcycles, and other forms of transportation, and providing educational resources to classic car enthusiasts. For more info. visit classicmotormuseum.org. 29. ST. MICHAELS HARBOUR INN, MARINA & SPA - Constructed in 1986 and recently renovated. For more info. visit www.harbourinn.com. 30. ST. MICHAELS NATURE TRAIL - This 1.3 mile paved walkway winds around the western side of St. Michaels starting at a dedicated parking lot on South Talbot Street. The path cuts through the woods, San Domingo Park, over a covered bridge and ending in Bradley Park. The trail is open all year from dawn to dusk. 127
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Oxford Points of Interest Oxford is one of the oldest towns in Maryland. Although already settled for perhaps 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, Oxford and a new town called Anne Arundel (now Annapolis) were selected the only ports of entry for the entire Maryland province. Until the American Revolution, Oxford enjoyed prominence as an international shipping center surrounded by wealthy tobacco plantations. Today, Oxford is a charming tree-lined and waterbound village with a population of just over 700 and is still important in boat building and yachting. It has a protected harbor for watermen who harvest oysters, crabs, clams and fish, and for sailors from all over the Bay. 1. TENCH TILGHMAN MONUMENT - In the Oxford Cemetery the Revolutionary War hero’s body lies along with that of his widow. Lt. Col. Tench Tilghman carried the message of Cornwallis’ surrender from Yorktown, VA, to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Across the cove from the
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Oxford Points of Interest cemetery may be seen Plimhimmon, home of Tench Tilghman’s widow, Anna Marie Tilghman. 2. THE OXFORD COMMUNITY CENTER - This former, pillared brick schoolhouse was saved from the wrecking ball by the town residents. Now it is a gathering place for meetings, classes, lectures, and performances by the Tred Avon Players and has been recently renovated. Rentals available to groups and individuals. 410-226-5904 or www.oxfordcc.org. 3. THE COOPERATIVE OXFORD LABORATORY - U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Maryland Department of Natural Resources located here. 410-226-5193 or www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/oxford. 3A. U.S. COAST GUARD STATION - 410-226-0580. 4. CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY - Founded in 1851. Designed by esteemed British architect Richard Upton, co-founder of the American Institute of Architects. It features beautiful stained glass windows by the acclaimed Willet Studios of Philadelphia. www.holytrinityoxfordmd.org. 5. OXFORD TOWN PARK - Former site of the Oxford High School.
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Recent restoration of the beach as part of a “living shoreline project” created 2 terraced sitting walls, a protective groin and a sandy beach with native grasses which will stop further erosion and provide valuable aquatic habitat. A similar project has been completed adjacent to the ferry dock. A kayak launch site has also been located near the ferry dock. 6. OXFORD MUSEUM - Morris & Market Sts. Devoted to the preservation of artifacts and memories of Oxford, MD. Admission is free; donations gratefully accepted. For more info. and hours tel: 410-226-0191 or visit www.oxfordmuseummd.org. 7. OXFORD LIBRARY - 101 Market St. Founded in 1939 and on its present site since 1950. Hours are Mon.-Sat., 10-4. 8. BRATT MANSION (ACADEMY HOUSE) - 205 N. Morris St. Served as quarters for officers of the Maryland Military Academy. Built about 1848. (Private residence) 9. BARNABY HOUSE - 212 N. Morris St. Built in 1770 by sea captain Richard Barnaby, this charming house contains original pine woodwork, corner fireplaces and an unusually lovely handmade staircase. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Private residence) 10. THE GRAPEVINE HOUSE - 309 N. Morris St. The grapevine over the entrance arbor was brought from the Isle of Jersey in 1810 by
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Oxford Points of Interest Captain William Willis, who commanded the brig “Sarah and Louisa.” (Private residence) 11. THE ROBERT MORRIS INN - N. Morris St. & The Strand. Robert Morris was the father of Robert Morris, Jr., the “financier of the Revolution.” Built about 1710, part of the original house with a beautiful staircase is contained in the beautifully restored Inn, now open 7 days a week. Robert Morris, Jr. was one of only 2 Founding Fathers to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. 410-226-5111 or www.robertmorrisinn.com. 12. THE OXFORD CUSTOM HOUSE - N. Morris St. & The Strand. Built in 1976 as Oxford’s official Bicentennial project. It is a replica of the first Federal Custom House built by Jeremiah Banning, who was the first Federal Collector of Customs appointed by George Washington. 13. TRED AVON YACHT CLUB - N. Morris St. & The Strand. Founded in 1931. The present building, completed in 1991, replaced the original structure. 14. OXFORD-BELLEVUE FERRY - N. Morris St. & The Strand. Started in 1683, this is believed to be the oldest privately operated ferry Tidewater Residential Designs since 1989
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Oxford Points of Interest in the United States. Its first keeper was Richard Royston, whom the Talbot County Court “pitcht upon� to run a ferry at an unusual subsidy of 2,500 pounds of tobacco. Service has been continuous since 1836, with power supplied by sail, sculling, rowing, steam, and modern diesel engine. Many now take the ride between Oxford and Bellevue for the scenic beauty. 15. BYEBERRY - On the grounds of Cutts & Case Boatyard. It faces Town Creek and is one of the oldest houses in the area. The date of construction is unknown, but it was standing in 1695. Originally, it was in the main business section but was moved to the present location about 1930. (Private residence) 16. CUTTS & CASE - 306 Tilghman St. World-renowned boatyard for classic yacht design, wooden boat construction and restoration using composite structures. Some have described Cutts & Case Shipyard as an American Nautical Treasure because it produces to the highest standards quality work equal to and in many ways surpassing the beautiful artisanship of former times.
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Tilghman’s Island “Great Choptank Island” was granted to Seth Foster in 1659. Thereafter it was known as Foster’s Island, and remained so through a succession of owners until Matthew Tilghman of Claiborne inherited it in 1741. He and his heirs owned the island for over a century and it has been Tilghman’s Island ever since, though the northern village and the island’s postal designation are simply “Tilghman.” For its first 175 years, the island was a family farm, supplying grains, vegetables, fruit, cattle, pigs and timber. Although the owners rarely were in residence, many slaves were: an 1817 inventory listed 104. The last Tilghman owner, General Tench Tilghman (not Washington’s aide-de-camp), removed the slaves in the 1830s and began selling off lots. In 1849, he sold his remaining interests to James Seth, who continued the development. The island’s central location in the middle Bay is ideally suited for watermen harvesting the Bay in all seasons. The years before the Civil War saw the influx of the first families we know today. A second wave arrived after the War, attracted by the advent of oyster dredging in the 1870s. Hundreds of dredgers and tongers operated out of Tilghman’s Island, their catches sent to the cities by schooners. Boat building, too, was an important industry. The boom continued into the 1890s, spurred by the arrival of steamboat service, which opened vast new markets for Bay seafood. Islanders quickly capitalized on the opportunity as several seafood buyers set up shucking and canning operations on pilings at the edge of the shoal of Dogwood Cove. The discarded oyster shells eventually became an island with seafood packing houses, hundreds of workers, a store, and even a post office. The steamboats also brought visitors who came to hunt, fish, relax and escape the summer heat of the cities. Some families stayed all summer in one of the guest houses that sprang up in the villages of Tilghman, Avalon, Fairbank and Bar Neck. Although known for their independence, Tilghman’s Islanders enjoy showing visitors how to pick a crab, shuck an oyster or find a good fishing spot. In the twentieth century, Islanders pursued these vocations in farming, on the water, and in the thriving seafood processing industry. The “Tilghman Brand” was known throughout the eastern United States, but as the Bay’s bounty diminished, so did the number of water-related jobs. Still, three of the few remaining Bay skipjacks (sailing dredgeboats) can be seen here, as well as two working harbors with scores of power workboats. 135
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Living Off the Land by Gary D. Crawford
I know virtually nothing about agriculture. Let’s be clear about that up front. Although I grew up in rural Ohio, my parents were whitecollar folks. But one cannot live on the Eastern Shore very long without recognizing that this really is farm country, both originally and essentially. For a variety of reasons, there are no big cities on Delmarva and probably never will be. A few moderate-sized county seats are just about it. The rest is farmland and woodland and marsh, punct uated by streams, rivers and a big Bay. Times have changed, of course, and there aren’t nearly as many farmers as there once were. Farms are larger today and more mechanized; many of the smaller fields are leased to a few active farmers. Still, it’s all about the land and what you do with it. When it became clear that there were no piles of gold lying about or waiting to be dug up, as in Peru or Mexico, our forebears realized that they were going to have to derive their wealth from the land. As in the Mother Country, prosperity would have to be wrested from fields, forests and streams. The Bay might be the world’s most productive estuar y and would prov ide
bounteous food for local consumption, but the exporting of fish and oysters lay 250 years in the future. They had little choice but to turn to the land. Land was wealth, and acquiring land was the objective. But what was the best use of the land? How did one best convert land into money? PLANTS Clearing land was devilish hard work, but once cleared, acre by acre, the soil was fertile. Here in Delmarva, and below the line of falls on the western shore, there were few rocks in the way of the plow, as in stony New England. Most English settlers managed to plant gardens to feed themselves. Still, what was required was a good cash crop. They needed to find a crop to export so they could import what was not available in the New World ~ fine fabrics, metalwork, art, and so on. Livestock could not be shipped across the Atlantic profitably, and meat could not be transported any significant distance without refrigeration. Salt pork and salt beef had a limited market, primarily as stores for sea voyages. So what did the early colonists have, or what could they make or grow that, given the
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Living Off the Land extraordinary distances involved, that could be sold at a profit in London? Fortunately for colonists in Maryland and Virg inia, t he Spanish recently had besotted the European upper classes w ith an addictive weed, a plant they had discovered in their colonies in Central America and brought home. Soon the nobles and the gentry were hooked on the stuff, and prices went sky-high. The demand quickly spread as far down in society as it could be afforded. It was, of course, sot-weed ~ tobacco. Native Americans in the Chesapeake region also smoked it, but it was an inferior strain, and colonists largely ignored it. But as soon as seedlings of the good stuff were brought into Virginia, an English market to rival the Spanish monopoly immediately sprang up ~ and farmers here were off and running. Marylanders quickly turned to tobacco farming. The tobacco bonanza lasted a cent ur y or so in Ma r yla nd a nd then dwindled. There was massive competition on every side, of course, and the Carolinas proved an even better climate for the weed. Besides, tobacco farming has a serious downside. The plant Nicotiana consumes many more nutrients from the soil ~ nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium ~ than other major crops. Cultivating tobacco involves topping
and pruning (de-suckering) plants to increase the nicotine content and leaf yields, which causes them to draw up even more nutrients. In the days before efficient chemical fertilizers, this meant that the yield from any given tobacco field decreased each year until, all too quickly, the yield was not worth the effort. And a hugely labor-intensive effort it was. In addition to the planting and harvesting, there was constant cultivation during its growth, followed by careful stripping and drying of leaves. Finally, the cured leaves had to be carefully and very tightly packed into heavy barrels ~ in just the right ways, at just the right moment. Shipping charges were by the barrel, not the weight, and the precious leaves had to survive a long ocean journey and arrive in prime condition. Just getting these 150-gallon barrels, called hogsheads, to a dockside warehouse
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was challenging. Tobacco was a yearround endeavor. It was a chancy trade, too. Before the buying was handled here, the great casks were opened at the London warehouses. There the product was checked carefully, graded and ~ only then ~ assigned a price. Six months or more could elapse before the Maryland farmer knew whether his year’s work had been worthwhile. All too often, the shopping list that went off with the tobacco shipment came back partially filled or ignored. Imagine the farmer’s family as they eagerly awaited a return ship to learn whether daughter Sarah would be getting that new ball gown she so much hoped for. Maryland farmers switched to
other crops, notably corn and wheat; tomatoes and other vegetables grow well here, too, as do fruit trees. Farmers reap only what they sow, so they must plan carefully and always be on the lookout for ways to make their farms more profitable. Since colonial times, the results of agricultural experiments have been published in journals dedicated to exploring different methods of planting and harvesting, discussing the advantages of different crops and reporting on new mechanical aids. ANIMALS Of course, land can be used to raise animals as well as plants. Livestock always has been an im-
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Living Off the Land por t a nt element of fa r m i ng on Delmarva. Nowadays we see lots of chicken farming, but cattle, milk cows, sheep and hogs continue to be grown on Eastern Shore pastures ~ even an occasional llama. Although all farm animals can be useful, the perennial question is which will be most profitable in a given area. An answer to that question appeared in an article in The American Farmer, which the Easton Gazette reprinted on March 12, 1825. What kind of stock can a Maryland far me r rai se to most advantage? This is a quest ion we often hear, and about which we have long held but one opinion. A very small portion of the state can be called a grazing country ~ much income is therefore not to be derived either from rearing or fattening cattle. Sheep are not only usef ul, but indispensable: they yield a good profit on the capital, and are excellent aids in the small way; but you cannot make a large ite m out of the m. A Mar yland farmer will always receive a due return from a small snug f lock, well kept ~ but they bite excessively close; an overstock of them keep the pastures always naked, and starve each other as well as all the rest of the animals belonging to the farm. Mules and high priced horses, or horses of the first grade may be raised to advantage; but
these also can only be considered as good aids; they too are small item s. We have long been convinced that the hog is the animal most worthy of the attention of our farmers. The general kind of sheep among us will not do for the butcher in under three years ~ cattle and horses take four to seven to bring them to market ~ the returns come in slowly, and a great number must be kept in proportion to the number which can be annually sold. But with proper treatment the hog can be pushed to a very good size at twelve or eighteen months ~ and may thus be made to produce a regular annual return. So, having concluded that hogs are the most profitable livestock, the author continues w ith some strongly worded advice about how best to rear and feed them. The general experience of our far m e r s h a s a lr e a dy s tamp e d them as valuable ~ and this too in spite of a miserable system of both rearing and fattening. We do not believe that an average of six hogs is brought annually to the knife or scalding tub for each breeding sow kept in the state, and corn is fed to them in the cob, on the ground, in the mud and in the most wasteful way possible. If, as may and ought to be done, each breeding sow was made to rear and bring yearly to the fattening pen twelve hogs ~ and this would be only two farrows of six
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Living Off the Land pigs each ~ and if this were done as the experiments we this day publish most satisfactorily prove can be done with less than half the corn now commonly used, we need not make any minute calculations to prove the profit of such business even without any increase in the average number raised to each breeding sow. The trick, it seems, was how best to feed hogs. Rather than toss corncobs into the mud for them to munch on, the author argues that cooked corn mash will pay off handsomely and be well worth the investment. Anticipating objections to this additional labor and expense, he takes them on squarely. First, he scoffs at the extra bother. But we shall be told that this method will involve a great deal of trouble in sending to mill, &c. and expense in buying and setting up boilers and getting wood &c. Ec. Well, gentlemen, fold your arms and go to sleep; if you can sleep when hungry. And is it not worth a little trouble to save half the corn you now use to your hogs? The author addressed the cost objections rather more carefully ~ and persuasively. With boiled corn, hogs can be fattened with just half the amount (then $2 a bushel), a savings that quickly recovers the one-time investment in boilers. Breaking down the kernels apparently aids in digestion.
And as to the expense, let us look into it a little. If you fatten forty hogs in the common (nay, universal) mud fashion, that will average 150 weight, they will eat you not less than 80 barrels of corn ~ half this even now will sell for $80 ~ and $80 will buy the boilers, bricks, and lime, and pay for setting them up. That is, you will be nothing out of pocket the very first year; and forty barrels of corn better off every year after. If you fatten fewer hogs the fixes will cost less. If you fatten a larger number, the saving will be of more consequence. If the boilers are tolerably set up, 5 cords of dry pine wood, worth $2 a cord, will cook amply for a hundred fattening hogs for two months. The article concluded with an appeal for field trials ~ and a forceful injunction: We really hope these experiments will excite the attention they well merit ~ and that their truth will be tested by accurate and well conducted ex periments. But we protest against all slovenly, dirty, inattentive, miserable, half way attempts or trials. This article illustrates how criti-
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Living Off the Land cal it was for a farmer to choose the right crops and livestock and to find the most cost-effective ways of raising them for market. There was, of course, another very important “crop” on the lands around the Chesapeake Bay, one which (originally) didn’t need to be planted. TIMBER Forested properties were highly prized, for they provided an already grown crop. Timber was in high demand, both for the farmer’s own uses and for sale. Given the scarcity of stone on Delmarva, nearly all buildings in colonial times were frame constructions. Shipbuilding, too, consumed vast amounts of timber. The double bonus was that once a forested tract had been harvested, the land could be cleared for planting and for raising livestock. If a property had a good supply of timber, that fact always would be prominently mentioned in advertisements. For example, back in 1810, a realtor in Baltimore knew what he was doing when he wrote up this announcement offering Sharp’s Island for sale. Note that its timber was the first thing mentioned, even before the house and farm buildings. Sharp’s Island Consisting about 700 Acres ~ FOR SALE. This valuable body of land is situated in the Chesapeake
Bay, about fifty miles from Baltimore, and twenty-five from Annapolis, near the mouth of Great Choptank river, in Talbot county; about one third of the Island is in wood, pr incipa lly Oa k and Pine, among which is a considerable quantity of Ship Timber; the soil is very productive for the production of hemp, tobacco, barley, corn, wheat, &c. and stock of every kind may be raised on it to great advantage ~ fish and wild fowl are in great abundance. The improvements are, a comfortable house, three large barns, and other necessary buildings ~ This valuable Island is in a state of profitable cultivation. For terms, which will be made convenient, apply to PHILIP THOMAS. No. 27, Hanover St. Baltimore. February 13, 1810. Har vesting timber was a ver y labor-intensive chore for the farmer.
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of crops, which, as we all know, is critically time sensitive and weather dependent. Tree-cutting could be scheduled after the fall harvests. Still, it was massively difficult in the days before power equipment. Cutting down a large tree could be a full day’s work for two men, and getting the logs out of the forest was just as difficult. Trees had to be felled, branches removed, and the heav y tr unk s dragged by teams of oxen along rough tracks cut through the woodland to wherever a sawmill might be available. At least farmers could decide when to cut timber, unlike the planting and harvesting
LUMBER When houses and boats were constructed of logs, they could be taken to the construction site, trimmed, shaped and cut to length. But it was lumber that everyone wanted ~ cutting the logs into f lat slabs to make planking for the hulls and decks of ships, boards for house-building
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Living Off the Land and furniture construction, barrel staves, fencing, roof shingles and much more. Lumber also could be exported to England, where it was in great demand; in 1790, 36 million boardfeet of pine boards were shipped across the Atlantic. Nearly all of that came out of Massachusetts, however. Here in the Chesapeake, the lumber trade was primarily for local consumption.
Two-man ripsaws, working vertically, proved the fastest method. To allow two men to work together with a long saw blade, they built platforms or dug pits. The bottom, or “pit-man,” pulled dow n hard to make the cut; his partner jerked the saw back up for the next stroke. Of course, the “pit man” also got the sawdust. The amount of labor involved in sawing enough planks for even a small home boggles the mind. Landowners very much wanted to exploit their timber resources, how-
But how were logs cut into lumber? Initially, of course, it was all done by hand with a rip-saw at an agonizingly slow pace. Sawing horizontally was aw k w a r d a nd m ade perfectly straight cuts nearly impossible. The tr ick was to keep the saw running straight and true, with t he ma x i mu m nu mber of teet h cut t ing through the shortest distance ~ t hat is, straight into the log. 146
ever, and water-powered sawmills were soon developed. By 1700, thousands were operating in New England. These mills used a wooden waterwheel with a crank connected by a “pit-man arm” to a wooden frame or “sash,” in which was mounted the straight saw blade. T he r e c ipr o c at i ng motion of the vertically mounted saw results in the charac ter i s t ic s t r a ig ht “up and down” saw marks on boards and timbers cut on these sash-type saws. In 1790, New England ex por ted 36 million feet of pine
boards and 300 ship masts, with over 75% coming from Massachusetts (which then included Maine) a nd a not her 20% c om i ng f rom New Hampshire. By 1830, Bangor, Maine, had become the world’s largest lumber shipping port and would move more than 8.7 billion board feet of timber over the following 62 years. But that was in New England. Here in Delmarva, the necessary hills and streams for water-powering mills of any kind were scarce. And since moving logs overland any distance was virtually impossible, the trees growing near a shoreline were harvested first. Now here is why I like delving into old documents and clippings. Some-
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Living Off the Land times the thing I am reading for an article suddenly reveals something entirely unexpected. It might be an entirely new historical puzzlement or, as in this case, the answer to a riddle that has long eluded me. One question I have never been able to answer was who built the first bridge across Knapp’s Narrows, to connect Tilghman’s Island to the mainland, and when. We can be (fairly) sure t here was no bridge in 1805 when Dr. Bartlett made two trips from St. Michaels to tend to some sick folks on the island. He fails to say how he got across Knapp’s Narrows, then much wider and shallower, but a rainstorm unexpectedly kept him on the island one night. That sounds like he had to wade, or ride a horse, across at low tide, probably at the west end, where all boaters know the silt tends to build up. There definitely was a bridge in place by the 1860s, for it is shown on maps. It was a fixed bridge, of course, not one of the flamboyant rockingchair types with which we are now so familiar. But I have been unable to nail the name of the builder or the date of that first bridge. So, back to the problem facing the farmer who wants to harvest not just logs, but marketable lumber from his woodlands. The best solution would be some kind of portable steam sawmill, one he could set up
where needed, operate it there for a while, and then move it to the next good spot. As it turns out, a chap in Baltimore invented just such a rig and got it patented. His name was George Page, and he was giving demonstrations throughout the area. The Maryland Agricultural Society for the Eastern Shore heard about Page’s invention and wanted details. So, at their meeting on April 27, 1843, Mr. Tilghman Goldsborough gave a report on his interview with Mr. Page and his new contraption for sawing lumber. Goldsborough’s repor t, published in t he Easton Gazette on June 10, 1843, began as follows: In the latter part of February last [1843], I visited Tilghman’s Island, and observed for several days the operation of the lumber sawing establishment lately erected thereby Gen. Tench Tilghman &d Mr. George Page. Aha. So old General Tilghman had heard of Page and engaged his ser vices. (Tench was engaged in selling off portions of the island.) Goldsborough was very impressed with what he saw there, describing it as one of “the mechanical wonders of the present age,” and recognized its importance to agriculturalists. What so astonished him was that Page’s sawmill didn’t use the traditional straight up-down sash ripsaw. It used a circular saw-blade, so there was much less equipment
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Living Off the Land f lying up and down. Best of all, despite the rapid sawing speed, fine straight cuts were routine. Circular blades had been developed earlier, both here and in Europe, but they overheated, forcing the mill to run slower or to stop from time to time to prevent damage to the blade or the lumber. Page somehow figured a way to avoid the overheating. Goldsborough doesn’t say how, just that Page did it by “a very simple, & hence the more admirable, contrivance.” Page had landed on the island with his patented 10-horsepower Portable Steam Engine in December of 1842. He and a team of a dozen men erected the sawmill and proceeded to cut enough lumber to erect five small sheds and a large (43’ x 65’) building for the sawmill itself. In addition, he constructed a pile-driver and built a 200-foot wharf out into Black Walnut Cove, and even placed wooden f looring from its end, across the land, and into the mill ~ some 500 feet. What? Black Walnut Cove? Suddenly I was paying close attention, for we live on Black Walnut Cove. That mill was right here somewhere! Goldsborough then describes in detail how the mill was laid out, how the logs were brought in and cut into lumber. Further, he says the mill also could do ef f icient cross-cutting cut-offs to produce
laths, garden poles, scantling and cord wood. The mill had a device for mortising white oak fence posts for five-plank fencing.
The spe e d of t he produc t ion amazed Goldsborough. He saw one of the mills “cutting plank 12 feet long and 14 inches wide at the rate of one plank in three fourths of a minute.” And then he dropped this bombshell. Whilst I was there, the hands were partly withdrawn and engaged in the construction of the bridge to connect the island with the main, & which was soon after completed. But for the prevalence of low tides and high winds, this
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bridge, 300 feet in length, would have b e e n c omplete d in ab out two days. Bingo! The answer to my longstanding question! So the very first Tilghman bridge was constructed by George Page and his men, for General Tench Tilghman, in Febr uar y of 1843. That br idge was 300 feet long and built with island lumber sawn by Page at his Portable Steam Mill, in what one day would become the village of Fairbank. The sawmill operation proved a profitable one for Gen. Tilghman and his successors here for many years. Today, forestry is the fifth largest industry in Maryland, and is No. 2 on the Eastern Shore after poultry. The top three crops nowa-
days are corn, soybeans and wheat. Agriculture remains Maryland’s largest commercial industry. More than 30 percent of the state’s real e s t ate , i nc lud i ng a sig n i f ic a nt chunk of farmland on the upper E a ster n Shore, i s de d ic ate d to grow ing crops and raising livestock. Our farmers are still living off the land. Gary Crawford and his wife, Susan, own and operate Crawfords Nautical Books, a unique bookstore on Tilghman’s Island.
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Changes:
One of the All-Time Great Parties An excerpt from
ARTHUR CURTISS JAMES, Unsung Titan of the Gilded Age
by Roger Vaughan Arthur Curtiss James (18671941) was one of America’s 10 wealthiest men in the 1930s. A railroad magnate, he owned 1/7 of the track in the country when he died. Yet unlike his fellow titans ~ men like Vanderbilt, Harriman, and Morgan ~ he was virtually unknown. Why? He wanted it that way. A private man, he did not need approbation to know his worth. He was most comfortable at sea aboard one of the great yachts he helped design.
In 1910, Arthur and his wife, Harriet, moved to Newport, Rhode Island, and built a formidable 125-acre estate on Telegraph Hill. For Arthur, the estate’s extensive planting included vegetable gardens and a heated greenhouse where bananas would thrive. Harriet favored flower gardens, including a tour de botanical force called the Blue Garden, designed by the famous Olmsted Brothers landscape architectural firm in Boston. The Garden was a large,
Arthur Curtiss James and his wife, Harriet Parsons James. 153
Great Party formal layout in the shape of a cross with pergolas at each end. It contained several shallow pools surrounded by spray jets. All the flowers were shades of blue, interspersed with blooms of white for contrast. Newport’s conspicuously consumptive social scene had tempered by then, but it was still expected that super-rich citizens of the town would christen their
“cottages” in a memorable manner. Harriet wanted to focus a celebration on her unique and striking Blue Garden. Such an outward show was not exactly Arthur’s cup of tea, but he tended to indulge his wife’s whims. Just how to celebrate the Blue Garden was the question. The answer began taking shape when Arthur and Harriet met the American painter Joseph Lindon Smith. It is uncertain how the Jameses met Smith, but as we have
The view in this late 1920s Aiglon aerial photograph is to the northeast, over the expanse of some of the James property. In the foreground are the amphitheaters and rose garden; to the left are the garage and carriage house. In the middle is the mansion on Beacon Hill ridge. The small circular Telescope House is on axis with the Blue Garden to the left. Courtesy of the National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site.
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seen, the Jameses embraced art in their daily lives and were generous patrons as well. A significant contributor to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for many years, Arthur would be elected to the museum’s board in 1918. Along with John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, and other artists of renown ~ including the writer Henry James and the poet Robert Browning ~ Joseph Lindon Smith had been an enthusiastic participant in Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Venetian salon at Palazzo Barbaro that f lourished in the late 1800s. In fact, Smith had been a favorite of Miss Gardner. A prominent patron of the arts from Boston, Gardner had some inf luence on Smith
being commissioned to paint an homage to Venice in one of the new Boston Public Library’s vestibules. This idea did not sit well with Charles McKim, who had designed the library, and the reverberations of the resulting tiff would not have escaped patrons like the Jameses, who paid attention to the art world’s controversies. Smith was primarily a painter. He started out doing portraits, but he once admitted that his frustration with the models moving too much had made him switch to inanimate objects. A trip to Egypt before the turn of the century sparked his interest in temples and sculptures, which he painted in profusion. Travel inspired him.
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Great Party According to a Smith biographer, Diana Wolfe Larkin, “cultural sights on [two] European and other trips early in his career inspired Smith to revisit historical styles through his own painted versions of works he admired from the past, especially from the Italian Renaissance and Classical Greece. . . A passion for the distant past would drive him to spend much of his life recording, in oil on canvas, the artistic heritage of other cultures.” Once again, the idea of an artist packing off to bring back rivet-
ing historical images from the far reaches of the world would have appealed to Arthur. From his home in rural New Hampshire, Smith had also dabbled in writing pageants for friends. He had built two outdoor theaters in the process. But it was Smith’s meeting with Percy MacKaye, in Europe, that launched his second career as a theatrical wizard. Percy MacKaye was the son of the great theatrical innovator Steele MacKaye, who wrote 30 plays and initiated more than 100 items common to today’s theaters, such as overhead lighting, fold-
The Blue Garden 156
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Great Party ing seats, f lame-proof curtains, and a machine for creating smoke onstage. Funding for the elder MacKaye’s most ambitious project, a 12,000-seat theater with 25 moving stages called the Spectatorium, proposed for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, dried up because of the financial panic that year. Smith joined with Percy MacKaye, who carried on his father’s work, on a number of productions in Europe. Back home, Smith began producing pageants for private parties, civic occasions, and fundraising benefits. As Smith’s wife, Corinna Putnam Smith, wrote in her biography, Interesting People: Eighty Years with the Great and Near Great, “. . .balls and masques and theatricals had been developed for social intercourse in eighteenth
Joseph Lindon Smith
century England, but the higher reaches of American society were ready for these kinds of divertissement as the gay 90s spilled over into the first decade of the new century. . . Joe was appealed to by hostesses with imagination for something different in decoration and novel in the way of entertainment.” It seems likely that Harriet James was one of those hostesses who had been intrigued by Smith’s talent with pageants, and, like many who met the gregarious man, she had been charmed by his engaging manner and contagious enthusiasm. As Alan Chong, associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, wrote in Gondola Days, Isabelle Stewart Gardner and the Palazzo Barbaro Circle, “Smith certainly shows how a middle-class artist, possessed with some talent, but perhaps more importantly endowed with a sense of humor and great charm, could be quickly swept up into the upper reaches of society . . . with a client list that read ‘like a page in Boston’s Blue Book.’” Harriet asked Smith if he would write a “Masque” ~ an entertainment wherein masked players represent mythological or allegorical figures ~ to dedicate the Blue Garden. Smith took the commission, and the results would be spectacular. According to Dennis O’Conner, a Chicagoan who is both a devoted
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collector of Smith’s work and a determined, potential biographer, Smith was fascinated by Steele MacKaye’s innovations. What MacKaye had done with lighting was of special interest. Until MacKaye began experimenting, stage lighting was available in eight or nine colors. MacKaye upped it to 70 or more colors. While in Europe, Smith secured the plans for the Spectatorium and began his own experimentation with lights. Smith used his own innovative lighting techniques in a pageant he did for the Tiffany Studio in New York in 1912 ~ imagine the shimmering effects of lighting all that glass! But what he brought to The Masque of the Blue Garden a year later was even more advanced. First, he illuminated the roof of the blue canopy that had been erected at the entrance to the garden, and that funneled guests to bleachers that had been set up to accommodate the 350 invited guests. But his major accomplishment was the stringing of miniature lights he had designed, in white and blue, that were scattered in profusion on all the bushes, trees, and plants. “The little lights faded on and off,” Dennis O’Conner says, his voice rising with incredulity when he thinks about it. “No one had ever seen such a thing! These were the lights that turned into what we buy today, a hundred years later, for our Christmas trees!” On the clear, moonlit night of
August 15, 1913, guests arriving at Beacon Hill House parked their carriages and automobiles on the lawn. Their wraps were taken by attendants, who directed them under the lighted blue canopy, thence into the garden where Arthur Curtiss James greeted them. His friends could only tell it was Arthur by the beard and the glasses. The rest of him had been elegantly transformed into Cosimo de Medici, the dominant force in Florence, Italy, for 50 years in the late 1300s and early 1400s. Arthur was draped in full-length robes and adorned with all the oversized accessories. He wore a large and intricately decorated hat of the pe-
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Great Party riod. Complexion-altering theatrical makeup completed the transformation. Casting the host as de Medici was a brilliant concept that assuredly came from the mind of Joseph Lindon Smith, with Arthur’s approval. The comparison was apt. Arthur and de Medici had much in common. Cosimo de Medici was born into wealth, and grew it, becoming the founder of the Florentine de Medici dynasty. He became perhaps the wealthiest man of his time through his prowess as a trader and banker. Cosimo de Medici was described as a “graceful schemer who gently corrupted his way to the top.” The Rome branch of the bank he founded managed the finances of the Catholic Church and took care of its hierarchy’s accounts as well. de Medici’s wealth, combined with his “popular” policies, made him a prime target of other wealthy families. He was forced to f lee Florence. He was incarcerated on a trumpedup charge. Thanks to bribes, he survived assassination attempts. A year later, the Medici family regained power, and Cosimo triumphantly returned to Florence. Cosimo de Medici supported the lesser guilds and the poor against the wealthy aristocrats who ran the city. During his time in public office, de Medici reformed taxa160
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Great Party tion, instituting a graduated scale that put a heavier burden on the wealthy. He put tax money into projects for the public good, something he believed was the civic duty of the rich. In the Blue Garden, an orchestra set the tone with selections from Wagner. Harriet appeared and welcomed the guests. “My friends,” she said, “I am glad to have you with me tonight to witness the dedication of my Blue Garden.” She was wearing “an Italian costume of old blue and mauve brocade, embroidered with sapphires
and amethysts,” according to The New York Times ~ no doubt another Joseph Lindon Smith design. “Her headdress was amethysts and sapphires held in place by strands of diamonds…Mrs. James waved an electric wand, and two little wood sprites appeared.” The wood sprites were the daughters of Joseph Lindon Smith, ages 9 and 11. They were two of the cast of 54 that included a score of Aloha’s crew (Arthur’s 216-foot bark), performing as extras. The drama commenced. The wood sprites were scared away by Cosimo de Medici and his friends, who were partaking of wine and
Harriet James wowed guests in a blue costume adorned with sapphires, diamonds, and amethysts at the Masque of the Blue Garden, a soiree celebrating the unveiling of the garden in 1913. From the collection of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum
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fruits. An old Italian song was sung, and then Joseph Lindon Smith appeared to announce the theme of the pageant, as summarized by Arleyn Levee in her book, The Blue Garden: “A fanciful tale of a vintage time when the goddess of the harvest (Ceres) and the goddess of the f lowers (Flora) with the earth sprites make offerings to Zephyrus, the gentle West Wind, to celebrate ‘the ecstasy of life.’” Cosimo de Medici gave Smith permission to proceed. “Two mermaids were brought into the garden on the backs of tritons,” The Times reported. “And two little sea nymphs tempted the mermaids
from their shells with fruits.” For nearly an hour there followed dances by Zephyrus, and others, including Ceres, “a gleaming bluewhite figure . . . contemplated the surface of the lily pool. It began to bubble, and from its disturbed surface arose Water, a dripping figure with strands of lily pads upon her shoulders and arms. She danced across the lawn and was lost in the gloom.” Newport Daily News coverage was detailed, albeit confusing: Pomona, Thyris, and Cyria, appearing to float across the moonlit grass, joined Ceres. With graceful, languorous poses, they stood in
Photos of Dancers from August 15, 1913.
The Masque of the Blue Garden Scrapbook, Redwood Library.
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shells. Within these hid the water nymphs. The dwarfs lured them to the water’s edge where the nymphs tried to drag them under the surface. In terror the gnomes fled.
Florence Noyes
- Redwood Library
the bluish glow, until Ceres summoned Flora. She could not be found. The goddess called upon the West Wind to find her, and his meager covering of a small leopard skin did not impede him in his swift obedience. Flora was found under a rose bush, dragged into view and made to dance, garlands of roses flying behind her in the night breeze as she darted in and out among the shadows. Zephyrus joined her and danced until he fell exhausted by the pool’s edge. Then darkness fell on the Blue Garden. Between the marble columns appeared Diana, a white draped figure. She espied Endymion and flew to him. He carried her to the lily pool and they watched their reflection on the surface. Slowly they walked away and the gnomes had the garden again to themselves. At the far end they found two large sea-
“Things got a little livelier when Florence Noyes made her entrance,” Deborah Davis writes in Gilded, How Newport Became America’s Richest Resort. Florence Fleming Noyes was a well-known modern dancer of the time. A few months before her Blue Garden appearance, she had portrayed Liberty in a tableau vivant in support of women’s suffrage in Washington, DC. Now, as Amphitrite, goddess of the sea, Noyes was carried in, recumbent upon a large conch shell. She arose, and entered the water in a revealing, diaphanous costume, dancing with “reckless grace before disappearing into the depths of the lily pond,” according to the New York Sun. Her thin, wet gown clung to her body, bringing the men in the audience to full attention. “This beats anything I’ve ever seen,” Davis reported one young man muttering, “as he watched the scantily-clad Noyes writhing in the water.” Afterwards, following a “pied piper” with trumpet, all 350 guests adjourned to Beacon Hill House where they dined on medieval fare, some of which was served from boars’ heads by waiters in period costume. Dancing followed. But the
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multicolored lights. Then, as a climax to her dance, the Sea Goddess disappeared like the mist that rose from the water.” The report is tantalizing for what is missing. “In the presence of society” implies a dance interpretation that was risqué, to say the least. And Noyes “throwing off her robe,” after her provocative performance in the Blue Garden pool makes one wonder exactly what, if anything, this lovely dancer was wearing under it. And don’t forget that West Wind character with his “meager covering of a small leopard skin.” In any case, The Masque of the Blue Garden was an enormous success, making Newport forget about the Mother Goose-themed extravaganza given by Newport’s grand dame, Mamie Fish, a few weeks earlier. With a single, well-orchestrated event, Arthur and Harriet had secured their place in Newport’s hall of social fame.
Florence Fleming Noyes drama was not over. As The Newport Daily News reported: “Reclining on a huge seashell, borne by six Tritons, Florence Fleming Noyes was carried into the ballroom where, in the presence of society, she interpreted the Sea Goddess in a pageant. Neptune, following in her wake on a white horse, greeted the Sea Goddess and invited her to dance. Throwing off her robe, she entered a tank glistening with the colors of the rainbow as it fell over
ARTHUR CURTISS JAMES, Unsung Titan of the Gilded Age, will be published on March 1, and will be available in paperback through Amazon.com and in a premium hardcover edition with companion DVD of the documentary film OF RAILS & SAILS at acjproject.com. Roger Vaughan has lived, worked and sailed in Oxford since 1980.
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FEBRUARY 2019 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Sun.
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“Calendar of Events” notices: Please contact us at 410-226-0422; fax the information to 410-226-0411; write to us at Tidewater Times, P. O. Box 1141, Easton, MD 21601; or e-mail to info@tidewatertimes.com. The deadline is the 1st of the month preceding publication (i.e., February 1 for the March issue). Daily Meeting: Mid-Shore Intergroup Alcoholics Anonymous. For places and times, call 410822-4226 or visit midshoreintergroup.org. Daily Meeting: Al-Anon and Alateen - For a complete list of times and locations in the Mid-Shore a re a, v i sit ea ste r n shore mdalanon.org/meetings. Every Thurs.-Sat. Amish Country Farmer’s Market in Easton. An indoor market offering fresh produce, meats, dairy products, furniture and more. 101 Marlboro Ave. For more info. tel: 410-822-8989.
Thru March 2019 Exhibition: Kent’s Carvers and Clubs at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels. The exhibition shares stories of Maryland’s Kent County carvers and hunting clubs through a collection of decoys, oral histories, historic photographs and other artifacts. For more info. tel: 410-745-4960 or visit cbmm.org. Thru March 2019 Exhibition: Ex plor ing the Chesapeake ~ Mapping the Bay at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels. The exhibition will view changes in maps and charts over time as an expression of what people were seeking in the
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later so you can enjoy gallery exhibits, unique shopping, special performances, kids’ activities and a variety of dining options. 5 to 8 p.m.
Chesapeake. For more info. visit cbmm.org. 1 The regular meeting of the Cambridge Woman’s Club will begin with a board meeting at 11 a.m., followed by a membership meeting at noon and refreshments at 12:30. At 1 p.m., the featured speaker will be Terry PhillipsSeitz, retired from the Maryland Department of the Environment, on Argentina ~ A Microcosm of Europe. The public is invited. 1 All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Dinner at Immanuel United Church of Christ, Cambridge. 4:30 to 7 p.m. Adults $10, children 5-12 $5, children under 4 eat free. Fa m i ly pack age for 2 adu lt s and 2 children under 12 is $25. Carry-outs available. For more info. tel: 410-228-4640 or visit immanuelucc.com. 1
First Friday in downtown Easton. Art galleries offer new shows and have many of their artists present throughout the evening. Tour the galleries, sip a drink and explore the fine talents of local artists. 5 to 8 p.m.
1 First Friday in downtown Chestertown. Join us for our monthly progressive open house. Our businesses keep their doors open
1 Dorchester Sw ingers Squa re Dancing Club meets 1st Friday at Maple Elementary School on Egypt Rd., Cambridge. $7 for guest members to dance. Club members and observers are free. Refreshments provided. 7:30 to 10 p.m. For more info. tel: 410221-1978, 410-901-9711 or visit wascaclubs.com.
1 Concert: The Kingston Trio at the Avalon Theatre, Easton. 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7299 or visit avalonfoundation.org. 1-24 Winter 2019 Mid-Shore Student Art Exhibitions at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. Opening receptions: February 4 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. for grades K-3; February 5 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. for grades 4-8; February 6 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. for grades 9-12. As
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Academy Art Museum, Easton. This exhibition features Roman, Greek and Hellenistic jewelry, helmets, vessels and other nearly 2,000-year-old and more recent objects. Academy Art Museum exhibitions are sponsored by the Talbot County Arts Council and the Maryland State Arts Council. Free docent tours on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to noon. For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit academyartmuseum.org.
in past years, visitors can expect a variet y of media, including painting, draw ing, sculpture, photography and printmaking. The Mid-Shore Student Art Exhibitions have been a Museum tradition for over 25 years, these are the largest and most prestigious student art exhibitions on the Eastern Shore. Academy Art Museum exhibitions are sponsored by the Talbot County Arts Council and the Maryland State Arts Council. For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit academyartmuseum.org. 1-March 31 Exhibition: Dressed to Kill in Love and War ~ Splendor in the Ancient World at the
1,2,8,9,15,16,22,23 Rock ’N’ Bowl at Choptank Bowling Center, Cambridge. Fridays and Saturdays from 9 to 11:59 p.m. Unlimited bowling, food and drink specials, black lighting, disco lights and jammin’ music. Rental shoes included. $13.99 every Friday and Saturday night. For more info. visit choptankbowling.com. 1,5,8,12,15,19,22,26 Free Blood Pressure Screenings from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays at University of Maryland Shore Medical Center, Cambridge. 1,8,15,22 Meeting: Friday Morning Artists at Denny’s in Easton. 8 a.m. All disciplines welcome. Free. For more info. tel: 443955-2490. 1,8,15,22 Meeting: Vets Helping Vets ~ 1st and 3rd Fridays at
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0 or visit adkinsarboretum.org.
Hurlock American Legion #243, 57 Legion Drive, Hurlock; and 2nd and 4th Fridays at V F W Post 5246 in Federalsburg. 9 a.m. All veterans are welcome. Informational meeting to help vets find services. For more info. tel: 410-943-8205 after 4 p.m. 1,8,15,22 Gentle Yoga at Evergreen: A Center for Balanced Living in Easton. Fridays from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. For more info. tel: 410-819-3395 or visit evergreeneaston.org. 1,8,15,22 Jeannie’s Community Café soup kitchen at the St. Michaels Community Center. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Menu changes weekly. Pay what you can, if you can. Eat in or take out. All welcome. For more info. tel: 410-745-6073 or visit stmichaelscc.org. 1,8,15,22 Bingo! ever y Fr iday night at the Easton Volunteer Fire Department on Creamery Lane, Easton. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and games start at 7:30 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-4848. 2 First Sat urday g uided wa lk. 10 a.m. at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely. Free for members, $5 admission for non-members. For more info. tel: 410-634-2847, ext.
2 Mini Masters Academy Open House w ith A nn Hansen and Nancy Fox at the Academy Art Museum, Ea ston. 10 a.m. to noon. Mini Masters Academy is an early enrichment program for children ages 2 to 4. Based on the Smithsonian’s Early Enrichment Center, and with a focus on creativity and art, children learn and develop in a mixed-age environment through art projects, circle time, museum gallery visits, play, literature, music and movement. For more info. e-mail minimasters@academyartmuseum.org. 2 Live at the MET in HD: Bizet’s Carmen at the Avalon Theatre, Easton. 1 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7299 or visit avalonfoundation.org. 2 Concert: Brad & Ken Kolodner in the Stoltz Listening Room, Avalon Theatre, Easton. 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7299 or visit avalonfoundation.org. 2,9 Workshop: Photography with Norm Bell at the Oxford Community Center. 10 a.m. to noon. Norm teaches sold-out photography classes around the DelMarVa region and inv ites you to tr y your eye in his class focusing on composition in photography. No prior experience required. $40
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covers both classes. For more info. tel: 410-226-5904 or visit oxfordcc.org. 2 ,9,16, 23 A na hat a Yoga w it h Cavin Moore at the Oxford Community Center. 8 and 10 a.m. $12/class ~ drop-ins welcome. In Sanskrit, anahata means “unhurt, unstruck and unbeaten.” For more info. tel: 410-226-5904 or visit oxfordcc.org. 2,9,16,23 Cabin Fever Film Festival, every Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. Watch feature films on the library’s big, professional screen. For more info. tel: 410822-1626 or visit tcfl.org. 4
Lunch & Learn at the Talbot Count y Free Librar y, St. Michaels. Sergeant Major Donna Dear, U.S. Army, Ret. will share stories of her life in the military and as co-owner of Pleasant Acres Farm. Dear served in the Army for 27 years, including tours in Vietnam and the Gulf War. She
was a part of the Women’s Army Corp at a time when neither women nor blacks were welcome. A member of the American Legion Blake-Blackston Post No. 77, Dear served as the Post’s first female commander. For more info. tel: 410-745-5877 or visit tcfl.org. 4 (Free) Lawyer in the Library at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 4 to 6 p.m. Free legal adv ice f rom the at tor neys at Maryland Legal Aid for those that qualify. These lawyers can help you with such civil topics as expungement, bankruptcy, housing law, landlord/tenant, domestic/family and more! For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit tcfl.org.
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February Calendar 4 Movie Night at Evergreen: A Center for Balanced Living in Easton. 1st Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-819-3395 or visit evergreeneaston.org.
4 Meeting: Tidewater Camera Club at the Talbot Community Center, Easton. 7 p.m. Guest speaker: Steve Dembo, adjunct professor of photog r aphy at t he C ommunit y C ollege of Ba lt imore County. The public is encouraged to attend. For more info. visit tidewatercameraclub.org. 4 Meeting: Cambridge Coin Club at the Dorchester County Public Library. 1st Monday at 7:30 p.m. Annual dues $5. For more info. tel: 443-521-0679. 4 Meeting: Live Playwrights’ Societ y at t he Ga r f ield C enter, Chestertown. 1st Monday from 7:30 to 9 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-810-2060.
4-5 Workshop: Landscapes in Oils with Carole Boggeman-Peirson at the Oxford Community Center. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This workshop is designed for students who would love to improve their skills. Carole will cover aspects of strong paintings, such as composition, values, color, light and texture, to help lift students’ work to a new level. $120 includes all supplies. Limited to 10 students. For more info. tel: 410-226-5904 or visit oxfordcc.org. 4,11,18,25 Meeting: Overeaters Anonymous at UM Shore Medical Center in Easton. Mondays from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. For more info. visit oa.org. 4,11,18,25 Monday Night Trivia at the Market Street Public House, Denton. 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Join host Norm Amorose for a funfilled evening. For more info. tel: 410-479-4720. 4 ,6 ,1 1,1 3 ,18 , 2 0, 2 5 , 27 Fo o d Distribution at the St. Michaels C om mu n it y C enter on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1 to 2 p.m. Open to a ll Ta lbot County residents. Must provide identification. Each family can participate once per week. For more info. tel: 410-745-6073 or visit stmichaelscc.org. 5 Family Crafts at the Talbot Coun-
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ty Free Library, St. Michaels. 3:30 p.m. Valentine crafts. For more info. tel: 410-745-5877 or visit tcfl.org. 5
Meeting: Eastern Shore Amputee Support Group at the Easton Family YMCA. 1st Tuesday at 6 p.m. Everyone is welcome. For more info. tel: 410-820-9695.
5,7,12,14,19,21,26,28 Steady and Strong exercise class at the Oxford Community Center. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:15 a.m. $8 per class. For more info. tel: 410-2265904 or visit oxfordcc.org. 5,7,12,14,19,21,26,28 Mixed/ Gentle Yoga at Everg reen: A Center for Balanced Living in Easton. Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-819-3395 or visit evergreeneaston.org. 5,12,19,26 Tai Chi at the Oxford Communit y Center. Tuesdays from 9 a.m. with Nathan Spivey. $35 monthly ($10 drop-in fee). For more info. tel: 410-226-5904 or visit oxfordcc.org. 5,12,19,26 Free Blood Pressure Screening from 9 a.m. to noon, Tuesdays at University of Maryland Shore Regional Health Diagnostic and Imaging Center, Easton. For more info. tel: 410820-7778.
5,12,19,26 Story Time at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. Tuesdays at 10 a.m. for ages 5 and under accompanied by an adult. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit tcfl.org. 5,12,19,26 Meeting: Bridge Clinic Support Group at the UM Shore Medical Center at Dorchester. Tuesdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Free, confidential support group for individuals who have been hospitalized for behavioral reasons. For more info. tel: 410-2285511, ext. 2140. 5,12,19,26 Healing Through Yoga at Talbot Hospice, Easton. Tuesdays from 9 to 10 a.m. This new complementary therapy guides pa r t ic ipa nt s t h r ou g h m i ndfulness and poses that direct healing in positive ways. Participants will learn empowering techniques to cope with grief and honor their loss. No previous yoga experience necessary. Yoga mats will be provided, and walkins are welcome. Free and open to the public. For more info. tel: 410-822-6681 or bdemattia@ talbothospice.org. 5,12 ,19,26 Tuesday Mov ies at Noon at the Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. Free. For more info. tel: 410-745-5877 or visit tcfl.org.
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February Calendar 5,12,19,26 Class: Printmaking Explorations with Sheryl Southwick at the Academy Art Museum, E a ston. Tue sd ay s f rom 5:30 to 8 p.m. $100 members, $125 non-members ($25 material fee payable to instructor). For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit academyartmuseum.org. 5,19 Meeting: Breast Feeding Support Group, 1st and 3rd Tuesdays from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at UM Shore Medical Center, 5th floor meeting room, Easton. For more info. tel: 410-822-1000, ext. 5700 or visit shorehealth.org. 5,19 Afternoon Chess Academy at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 4:30 p.m. Learn and play chess. For ages 6 to 16. Snacks ser ved. Limited space, please pre-register. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit tcfl.org. 5,19 Cancer Patient Support Group at the Cancer Center at UM Shore Regional Health Center, Idlewild Ave., Easton. 1st and 3rd Tuesdays from 5 to 7 p.m. For more info. tel: 443-254-5940 or visit umshoreregional.org. 5,19 Grief Support Group at the Dorchester County Library, Cambridge. 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at 6 p.m. Sponsored by Coastal Hos-
pice & Palliative Care. For more info. tel: 443-978-0218. 6 We are Builders at the Talbot Count y Free Librar y, St. Michaels. 3:30 p.m. Enjoy STEM and build with Legos and Zoobs. For ages 6 to 12. For more info. tel: 410-745-5877 or visit tcfl.org. 6 Meeting: Nar-Anon at Immanuel United Church of Christ, Cambridge. 7 to 8 p.m. 1st Wednesday. Support group for families and friends of addicts. For more info. tel: 800-477-6291 or visit nar-anon.org. 6,13,20,27 Meeting: Wednesday Morning Artists. 8 a.m. at Creek Deli in Cambridge. No cost. All disciplines and skill levels welcome. Guest speakers, roundtable discussions, studio tours and other art-related activities. For more info. tel: 410-463-0148. 6,13,20,27 Chair Yoga with Susan Irwin in the St. Michaels Housing Authority Community Room, Dodson Ave. Wednesdays from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. Free. For more info. tel: 410-745-6073 or visit stmichaelscc.org. 6,13,20,27 The Senior Gathering at the St. Michaels Community Center, Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for a well-prepared meal from Upper Shore Aging.
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For more info. tel: 410-745-6073 or visit stmichaelscc.org. 6,13,20,27 Acupuncture Clinic at Evergreen: A Center for Balanced Living in Easton. Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-819-3395 or visit evergreeneaston.org. 6,13,20,27 Meeting: Choptank Writers Group at the Dorchester Center for the Arts, Cambridge. 3 to 5 p.m. Everyone interested in writing is invited to join. For more info. tel: 443-521-0039. 6,13,20,27 Yoga Nidra Meditation at Evergreen: A Center for Balanced Living in Easton. Wednesdays from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-819-3395 or visit evergreeneaston.org.
7 Arts & Crafts at the Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free instruction for knitting, beading, needlework and more. You may bring your own lunch. For more info. tel: 410-745-5877 or visit tcfl.org. 7 CBMM Winter Speaker Series: Augustine Herrman’s Remarkable Map of the 17 th- Cent ury Chesapeake with historian Christian Koot at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels. Tucked inside a now almost forgotten set of maps once owned by famous London diarist Samuel Pepys is one of the most extraordinary maps of
7 Dog Walking at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely. 1st Thursday at 10 a.m. For more info. tel: 410-6342847, ext. 0 or visit adkinsarboretum.org.
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February Calendar
Valent ines and Beyond w it h Maggii Sarfaty at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. $120 members, $144 non-members (plus $10 material fee paid to instructor). For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit academyartmuseum.org.
colonial English America. 2 p.m. The cost per session is $7.50 per person, with a 20% discount for CBMM members. For more info. visit cbmm.org. 7 Free Family Law Assistance at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Meet with an attorney who will help you complete court forms for cases involving divorce, custody, visitation, child support, name changes, guardianship, adoption and juvenile record expungements. This program is provided on a first come, first served basis by the Circuit Court for Talbot County’s Family Service Grant through the Administrative Offices of the Courts, Department of Juvenile and Family Services. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit tcfl.org. 7 Pet Loss Support Group on the 1st Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. at Talbot Hospice, Easton. Monthly support group for those grieving the loss of a beloved pet. Hosted jointly by Talbot Humane and Talbot Hospice. Free and open to the public. For more info. contact Linda Elzey at lwelzey@ gmail.com or Talbot Humane at 410-822-0107. 7-8 Workshop: Paper Quilling,
7,14,21,28 Men’s Group Meeting at Evergreen: A Center for Balanced Living in Easton. Thursdays from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Weekly meeting where men can frankly and openly deal with issues in their lives. For more info. tel: 410-819-3395 or visit evergreeneaston.org. 7,14,21,28 Mahjong at the St. Michaels Communit y Center. 10 a.m. to noon on Thursdays. Open to all who want to learn this ancient Chinese game of skill. Drop-ins welcome. Free. For more info. tel: 410-745-6073 or visit stmichaelscc.org. 7,14,21,28 Caregivers Support Group at Talbot Hospice. Thursd ay s at 1 p.m. Th i s ongoi ng we ek ly suppor t g roup i s for caregivers of a loved one with a life-limiting illness. Free and open to the public. For more info. tel: 410-822-6681 or e-mail bdemattia@talbothospice.org. 7,14 ,21,28 Kent Island Far mer’s Market from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. every Thursday at Christ
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Church, 830 Romancoke Rd., Stevensville. For more info. visit kifm830.wixsite.com/kifm. 7,21 Meeting: Samplers Quilt Guild from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, Cambridge. The Guild meets on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of every month. Prov ide your ow n lunch. For more info. tel: 410-228-1015. 7,21 Classic Yoga at Evergreen: A Center for Balanced Living in Easton. 12:30 to 2 p.m. on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of every month. For more info. tel: 410819-3395 or visit evergreeneaston.org. 8 Mid-Shore Pro Bono Legal Clinic at the Dorchester County Public Library, Cambridge. 2nd Friday from 10 a.m. to noon. For more info. and to schedule an appointment tel: 410-690-8128 or visit midshoreprobono.org. 8 Concert: Pierce Edens & Sam Burchfield in the Stoltz Listening Room, Avalon Theatre, Easton. 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410822-7299 or visit avalonfoundation.org. 9
Friends of the Librar y Second Saturday Book Sale at the Dorchester County Public Library, Cambridge. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. $10 adults and children ages 3+. For
more info. tel: 410-228-7331 or visit dorchesterlibrary.org. 9 St. Luke’s Winter Used Book Sale at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, St. Michaels. There will be a wide variety of gently used books available in the Fellowship Hall from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you would like to donate your gently used books, please visit the church or call 410-745-2534, between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-745-2534. 9 Second Saturday at the Artsway from 2 to 4 p.m., 401 Market Street, Denton. Interact w ith artists as they demonstrate their work. For more info. tel: 410-4791009 or visit carolinearts.org. 9 Second Saturday and Art Walk in Historic Downtown Cambridge on Race, Poplar, Muir and High streets. Shops will be open late. Galleries will be opening new shows and holding receptions. Restaurants w ill feature live music. 5 to 9 p.m. For more info. visit CambridgeMainStreet.com. 9 Second Saturday Art Night Out in St. Michaels. Take a walking tour of St. Michaels’ six fine art galleries, all centrally located on Talbot Street. For more info. tel: 410-745-9535 or visit townofstmichaels.org.
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February Calendar 9 Concert: The Hague in the Stoltz Listening Room, Avalon Theatre, Easton. 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7299 or visit avalonfoundation.org. 9,23 Country Church Breakfast at Fa it h Ch ap el a nd Tr app e United Methodist churches in Wesley Hall, Trappe. 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. TUMC is also the home of “Martha’s Closet” Yard Sale and Community Outreach Store, open during the breakfast and every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to noon. 10 Firehouse Breakfast at the Oxford Volunteer Fire Company. 8 to 11 a.m. Proceeds to benefit fire and ambulance services. $10 for adults and $5 for children under 10. For more info. tel: 410-226-5110. 10 Oxford Polar Dip at the Tred Avon Yacht Club. Noon. Registration begins at 11 a.m. Brave the icy waters to raise money for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. All proceeds to benefit Camp Sunshine. For more info. visit http:// events.campsunshine.org/site/ TR?fr_id=1441&pg=entry. 11 Meeting: Caroline County AARP Chapter #915 at noon, w it h
a c overe d d i sh lu nche on, at the Church of the Nazarene in Denton. Join us for a fun game of BINGO. New members are welcome. For more info. tel: 410482-6039. 11 Caregiver Support Group at the Talbot County Senior Center, Easton. 1 p.m. For more info. tel: 443-746-3698 or visit snhealth.net. 11 Stitching Time at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 3 to 5 p.m. Work on your favorite project with a group. Limited instruction for beginners. Newcomers welcome. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit tcf l. org. 11 Read w it h Wa lly, a Pets on W he el s Therapy Dog, at t he Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. 3:30 p.m. Bring a book or choose a library book to read with Ms. Maggie Gowe and her therapy dog, Wally. For more info. tel: 410-745-5877 or visit tcfl.org. 11 Legendary Captain Wade Murphy Tells All at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 6 p.m. An evening with a local legend and one of our area’s greatest storytellers, Capt. Murphy, skipper of the Rebecca Ruark. In the warmer months, Capt. Murphy gives two-hour
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complete your advance directive paperwork, including the Five Wishes. Free and open to the public. For more info. tel: 410822-6681 to register.
tours out of Dogwood Harbor on Tilghman Island. Since her last rebuild, she is certified and inspected to carry 49 passengers. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit tcfl.org. 11 Meeting: St. Michaels Art League from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Christ Church Parish Hall, St. Michaels. Open to the public. For more info. visit smartleague.org. 12 Advance Healthcare Planning at Talbot Hospice, Easton. 2nd Tuesday at 11 a.m. Hospice staff and trained volunteers will help you understand your options for advance healthcare planning and
12 Grief Support Group Meeting ~ Healing from Traumatic Loss at Talbot Hospice, Easton. 2nd Tuesday f rom 6:30 to 8 p.m. This ongoing monthly support group is specifically for families impacted by a traumatic death, including accident, overdose or suicide. For more info. tel: 410822-6681 or e-mail bdemattia@ talbothospice.org. 12 Meeting: Us Too Prostate Cancer Support Group at UM Shore Regional Cancer Center, Idlewild Ave., Easton. 2nd Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-820-6800, ext. 2300 or visit umshoreregional.org. 12 Open Mic at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. Share and appreciate the rich tapestry of creativity, skills and knowledge that
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February Calendar thrive here. Topic: Honestly. All ages and styles of performance are welcome. The event is open to all ages. 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is free. Snacks provided; nominal charge for beverages. For more info. e-mail RayRemesch@ gmail.com. 12 Meeting: Tidewater Stamp Club at the Mayor and Council Building, Easton. 2nd Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-8226471 or visit twstampclub.com. 12,26 Bay Hundred Chess Class at the Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. 2nd and 4th Tuesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. Beginners welcome. For all ages. For more info. tel: 410-745-5877 or visit tcfl.org. 12,26 Meeting: Buddhism Study Group at Evergreen: A Center for Balanced Living, Easton. 2nd and 4th Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Open to the public. For more info. tel: 410-819-3395 or visit evergreeneaston.org. 13 Meeting: Bayside Quilters, 2nd Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Easton Volunteer Fire Department on Aurora Park Drive, Easton. Guests are welcome, memberships are available. For more info. e -mail mhr2711@ gmail.com.
13 Challenge Island: Penguins (STEM Learning Program) at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 4:30 p.m. Join us on a trip to Antarctica, home to some adorable penguins. We will learn about t he peng uin’s d ist inc t physical features and the physical and behavioral adaptations that help penguins stay warm in the frigid climate. For children in grades 1 through 5. Please pre-register. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit tcfl.org. 13 CBMM Winter Speaker Series: Exploring Maryland’s Lost Capital of St. Mary’s City with Henry M. Miller at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels. Miller will explore the findings from half a century of sustained archaeological exploration of Maryland’s first city and capital. This will include the fascinating clues from the recent testing of an underwater site found along the St. Mary’s shoreline, which may be the first 17th-century tobacco-f leet vessel discovered
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in the Chesapeake. 5:30 p.m. The cost per session is $7.50 per person, with a 20% discount for CBMM members. For more info. visit cbmm.org. 13 Peer Support Group Meeting ~ Together: Positive Approaches at Talbot Par tnership, 28712 Glebe Rd., Easton. 2nd Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Peer support group for family members currently struggling with a loved one with substance use disorder, led by trained facilitators. Free. For more info. e -ma i l mar iahsmission2014@gmail.com. 13 Meet ing: Bay water Ca mera Club at the Dorchester Center for the A rts, Cambridge. 2nd Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. All are welcome. For more info. tel: 443-939-7744. 1 3 Me et i ng: O pt i m i st Club at Washington Street Pub, Easton. 6:30 to 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-310-9347.
13,20, 27 Class: Beyond Digital ~ The Art of Seeing Creatively with Sahm Doherty-Sefton at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. 6 to 8 p.m. $100 members, $120 non-members. For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit academyartmuseum.org. 13,27 Stor y Time at the Talbot Count y Free Librar y, St. Michaels. 10:30 a.m. For children 5 and under accompanied by an adult. For more info. tel: 410745-5877 or visit tcfl.org. 13,27 Bay Hundred Chess Club, 2nd and 4th Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. Players gather for friendly competition and instruction. All ages welcome. For more info. tel: 410-745-9490. 13,27 Meeting: Choptank Writers Group, 2nd and 4th Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Dorchester Center for the Arts, C a mbr id ge. Ever yone i nter -
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February Calendar
d i r e c te d by Joh n Nor ton at the Oxford Community Center. Sandy, the four-times-marriedthree-times-divorced owner of a wedding chapel in Las Vegas, has certainly seen her fair share of matrimonies. In Four Weddings and an Elvis, we witness four of her funniest: Bev and Stan, who are getting married by the King himself as revenge on their exes; Vanessa and Bryce, two arrogant aging stars who are tying the knot as a publicity stunt; and Martin and Fiona, a gentle postal-worker and a tough ex-con trying to get married before the police arrive. The last wedding, Sandy’s fifth and final, brings all the characters together. For more information on tickets prices and times, visit tredavonplayers.org.
ested in w riting is inv ited to participate. For more info. tel: 443-521-0039. 13, 27 Da nce Classes for NonDancers at Evergreen: A Center for Balanced Living in Easton. 2nd and 4th Wednesdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. $12 per person, $20 for both classes. For more info. tel: 410-200-7503 or visit continuumdancecompany.org. 14 Mid-Shore Pro Bono Legal Clinic at the Caroline County Senior Center, Denton. 2nd Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon. For more info. and to schedule an appointment tel: 410-690-8128 or visit midshoreprobono.org. 14 Young Gardener’s Club at the Ta lbot C ount y Free L ibra r y, Easton. 3:45 p.m. For children in grades 1 to 4. Please pre-register. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit tcfl.org. 14 Concert: Naked Blue & Christine Havrilla Valentine’s Show in the Stoltz Listening Room, Avalon Theatre, Easton. 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7299 or visit avalonfoundation.org. 1 4-2 4 The Tre d Avon Player s pre sent Four Weddings and an Elvis by Nancy Fr ick and
1 4 , 28 Memoi r Wr iter s at t he Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Record and share your memories of life and family. Participants are invited to bring their lunch. For more info. tel: 410-745-5877 or visit tcfl.org. 15 Concert: Maybe April in the Stoltz Listening Room, Avalon Theatre, Easton. 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7299 or visit avalonfoundation.org. 15-March 8 Class: Botanical Art ~
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February Calendar Watercolor II with Kelly Sverduk at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely. Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Students will prepare a graphite study and then transform the drawing into a watercolor painting. Emphasis will be placed on composition, color mixing, and watercolor. Prerequisite: Watercolor I. $135 member, $165 non-member. For more info. tel: 410 - 634-2847, ext. 0 or v isit adkinsarboretum.org. 1 5-M a r c h 2 2 W i nte r/S pr i ng Homeschool Classes from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. Instructors are Constance Del Nero for ages 6 to 9 years and Susan Horsey for ages 10+. For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit academyartmuseum.org. 16 Soup ‘n Walk: Winter Greens & Distinctive Bark at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely. 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Look for green plants that seek the w inter sun and trees with telltale bark. Plants of interest include mosses, cranef ly orchid, magnolia and holly leaves, and the green stems of st rawber r y bu sh a nd g re enbrier. Following a guided walk with a docent naturalist, enjoy a delicious and nutritious lunch along with a brief lesson about
nutrition. Copies of recipes are prov ided. $25 members, $30 non-members. For more info. tel: 410-634-2847, ext. 0 or visit adkinsarboretum.org.
17 2nd Annual Seafood and Canning Show and Sale at the East New Market Fire Department from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Vendors a nd d i splay s f rom Hav re de Grace to the Eastern Shore of Virginia will be on hand for this agriculture- and heritage-related event. Antique appraisals will be held on site from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. by Charlene Upham and Steve Blumenauer. Cost for appraisals is $5 each piece or 3/$12. Admission is free, although donations to the Dorchester County Historical Society, a qualified nonprofit organization, are appreciated. For more info. tel: 410-228-7953. 18 Caregiver Support Group at the Talbot County Senior Center, Easton. 3rd Monday at 1 p.m. For more info. tel: 443-746-3698 or visit snhealth.net.
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SOUTH STREET ART GALLERY
Contemporary Decorative & Fine Arts
2019 EXHIBITION SCHEDULE MARCH: Journeys - Nancy Tankersley Solo Show APRIL: Lisa Egeli Solo Show MAY: Oil & Water - Georganna Lenssen + Ken Karlic Visit our website for our full year exhibition schedule Open Fridays & Saturdays 10 - 6, Sundays 11 - 4 By Appointment - Call or Text 5 South Street, Easton MD ♦ (410) 598-1666 ♦ SouthStreetArtGallery.com 187
February Calendar
Fort, and Maryland’s First Statehouse: The History and Archaeology of the Leonard Calvert House Site with Travis Parno at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels. Home to the colony’s first (and later third) governor, the Leonard Calvert House was one of the largest wooden structures in colonial Maryland that also functioned, at varying times, as a statehouse, an ordinary and the fortified center of a short-lived rebellion. 5:30 p.m. The cost per session is $7.50 per person, with a 20% discount for CBMM members. For more info. visit cbmm.org.
18 Peer Support Group Meeting ~ Together: Positive Approaches at Tilghman United Methodist Church. 3rd Monday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Peer support group for family members currently struggling with a loved one with substance use disorder, led by trained facilitators. Free. For more info. e-mail mariahsmission2014@gmail.com. 18-March 11 Meeting: Shattering the Silence at Talbot Hospice, Easton. Mondays from 6 to 8 p.m. This 4-week grief support group is specifically for families impacted by the death of a loved one from overdose or suicide. Registration is required. For more info. tel: 410-822-6681 or bdemattia@talbothospice.org. 20 Meet ing: Dorchester Ca re g ivers Suppor t Group. 3rd Wednesday from 1 to 2 p.m. at Pleasant Day Adult Medical Day Care, Cambridge. For more info. tel: 410-228-0190. 20 St. Michaels Library Book Club to discuss Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly. 3:30 to 5 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-745-5877 or visit tcfl.org. 20 CBMM Winter Speaker Series: Gubernatorial Residence, Rebel
20 Child Loss Support Group at Ta lbot Hospic e, Ea ston. 3rd Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. This support group is for anyone grieving the loss of a child of any age. Free and open to the public. For more info. tel: 410-822-6681 or e-mail bdemattia@talbothospice.org. 21 Stroke Survivor’s Support Group at Pleasant Day Medical Adult Day Care in Cambridge. 1 to 2 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-2280190 or visit pleasantday.com. 21 Family Unplugged Games at the Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. 3:30 p.m. Bring the whole family for an afternoon of board games and f un. For all ages (children 5 and under
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accompanied by an adult). For more info. tel: 410-745-5877 or visit tcfl.org. 21 Third Thursday in downtown Denton from 5 to 7 p.m. Shop for one-of-a-kind floral arrangements, gifts and home dĂŠcor, dine out on a porch with views of the Choptank River, or enjoy a stroll around town as businesses extend their hours. For more info. tel: 410-479-0655. 22-23 74th annual National Outdoor Show at Cambridge-South Dorchester K-8 School, Church Creek. During your visit to the Outdoor Show, we hope that you learn about this area in much the same way as our first settlers did when they discovered the Indians, who were willing to share their k nowledge of trapping, skinning, fur dealing, hunting, fishing, crabbing and oystering. As you view the exhibits, sample the food and observe the enthusiasm of the people involved in the show, we hope you will gain
an appreciation for the true spirit a nd cha rac ter of Dorche ster County. Friday 5 p.m., Saturday 10:30 and 7 p.m. For more info. visit nationaloutdoorshow.org. 23 Oxford Fire Company Auxiliary Rummage Sale at the Oxford Volunteer Fire Department from 9 a.m. to noon. Come explore the household goods, furniture, tools, artwork, rugs, jewelry and more. For info call 410-599-7403. 23 2019 Marine and Maritime Career Expo at Annapolis High School from noon to 3 p.m. More than 50 organizations will be on hand to discuss careers in the Marine Trades and the Maritime Sciences as well as educational and apprentice opportunities. Free for all students in grades 6 through 12, as well as recent high school graduates and college students from the Maryland and Chesapeake Bay region. For more info. visit eycfoundation.org/programs/ marine-maritime-career-expo.
500 Talbot Street, St. Michaels 410-714-0334
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February Calendar 23 Wearable Sculpey Art Workshop: One Day Intensive with Dawn Malosh at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. 1 to 5 p.m. for ages 10 to 15. $80 members, $90 non-members. For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit academyartmuseum.org. 23 Concert: Ben Rosenblum Trio in the Stoltz Listening Room, Avalon Theatre, Easton. 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7299 or visit avalonfoundation.org. 23-24 Workshop: Strong Values a nd E nga g i ng C olor s i n t he Landscape w ith Julia Rogers at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. $175 members, $210 non-members. For more info. tel: 410 -822ARTS (2787) or visit academyartmuseum.org. 24 Class: Needle Felting with Laura Rankin at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely. 1 to 4 p.m. Students will learn several basic techniques and how to use templates for f lat pieces. A ll materials are prov ided. $50 members, $60 non-members. For more info. tel: 410-634-2847, ext. 0 or visit adkinsarboretum.org. 25 Oxford Book Club meets the 4th Monday of every month at
the Oxford Community Center. 10:30 a.m. to noon. For more info. tel: 410-226-5904 or visit oxfordcc.org. 25 Read with Latte, a certified therapy dog, at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 4 p.m. Bring a book or choose one from the library and read with Janet Dickey and her dog Latte. For children 5 and older. For more info. tel: 410822-1626 or visit tcfl.org. 26 Charlotte Heath Presents: Ever Try to Draw a Flower? at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 1:30 p.m. Award-winning botanical artist Charlotte Heath will journey up the Delmarva Peninsula from her home in Onancock, Virginia, to tell her story of a life-long love of drawing plants and f lowers. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit tcfl.org. 26 Monthly Grief Support Group at Talbot Hospice. This ongoing monthly support group is for anyone in the community who has lost a loved one. 4th Tuesday at 5 p.m. Free and open to the public. For more info. tel: 410822-6681 or e-mail bdemattia@ talbothospice.org. 27 Meet ing: Diabetes Suppor t Group at UM Shore Regional Health at Dorchester, Cambridge. 4th Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Free
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and open to the public. For more info. tel: 410-822-1000, ext. 5196. 28 CBMM Winter Speaker Series: Maryland Design with Silas D. Hurr y at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels. As English Roman Catholics, the Calvert family created a ver y liberal polity in their new Maryland colony that allowed free worship of numerous religious beliefs. Hurry will review what was known as the “Mar yland Design” and explain how it was made real on the landscape of St. Mary’s City. The cost per session is $7.50 per person, with a 20% discount for CBMM members. For more info. visit cbmm.org.
28 Concert: Ellis Paul in the Stoltz Listening Room, Avalon Theatre, Easton. 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7299 or visit avalonfoundation.org. 28-March 2 Workshop: A Habit of Creativity ~ Making and Keeping an Art Journal with Marilee Tau s sig at t he A c ademy A r t Museum, Easton. 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. $195 members, $234 non-members (plus $20 material fee paid to instructor). For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit academyartmuseum.org.
Celebrating 25 Years Tracy Cohee Hodges Vice President Area Manager Eastern Shore Lending
111 N. West St., Suite C Easton, MD 21601 410-820-5200 tcohee@firsthome.com
www.tracycohee.com
NMLS ID: 148320
This is not a guarantee to extend consumer credit. All loans are subject to credit approval and property appraisal. First Home Mortgage Corporation NMLS ID #71603 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org)
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WINK COWEE, ASSOCIATE BROKER Benson & Mangold Real Estate 211 N. Talbot St. St. Michaels, MD 21663
410-310-0208 (DIRECT) 410-745-0415 (OFFICE) www.BuyTheChesapeake.com winkcowee@gmail.com
“THISTLE DEW” - A private waterfront retreat offering wonderful water views from almost every room. Living areas flow easily from family room to kitchen, dining and game room. The owner’s suite includes a beautiful bath, walk-in closet, vaulted ceiling. 4 BRs, 3 full BAs, screened porch, deck and in-ground pool. Private pier w/access to Miles River. Has excellent income as a vacation rental. $785,000.
LOW COUNTRY LIVING on the Eastern Shore. Extremely well built and tastefully designed home close to water. From the wrap-around porch to the comfortable living areas, no detail has been overlooked. $449,000.
COTTAGE BY THE BAY - Nestled in the heart of the popular village of Claiborne, this classic bungalow retains much of its original charm. A delightful porch, spacious rooms and a bright kitchen. Close to public landing. $125,000.
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“HIDDEN GETAWAY” Located two blocks from the Tidewater Inn. Cottage with Great Room (combined LR, DR, K); 2 bedrooms, bath, unfinished Study/Office. Offstreet parking. $178,000.
RECREATIONAL HUNTING FARM 60 acres with long Broad Creek shoreline. 8 ft. MLW offshore. 3 bedroom house, pool, large storage building. Sandy beach, cropland, pasture and hunting pond. Privacy. $1,499,000.
“THE SHIRETON” Just listed, and the first unit available in months. Second story. High quality construction, crown moldings, working fireplace. Granite counter tops, exquisite decor. $235,000.
“THE NANTUCKET HOUSE” Fascinating 5 BR home only a few blocks from the heart of Easton. Recently renovated. Central A/C. Gorgeous floors. High ceilings. A sacrifice sale at $399,000.
SHORELINE REALTY 114 Goldsborough St., Easton, MD 21601 410-822-7556 · 410-310-5745 www.shorelinerealty.biz · bob@shorelinerealty.biz
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