Tidewater Times
February 2021
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Vol. 69, No. 9
Published Monthly
February 2021
Features: About the Cover Photographer: Tracey Finch Johns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 The Hook and Other Tales: Helen Chappell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 A Journey in Pink - Part II: Bonna L. Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Wager on Teaching, Adventure and Life: Mike Valliant . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Following Dreams of Joy: Tracey F. Johns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Tidewater Kitchen - Creating a Stress-Free Kitchen: Pamela Meredith . . . 63 Tidewater Gardening - What's New for 2021?: K. Marc Teffeau . . . . . . . . . 81 Cobb Island: A.M. Foley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Capt. Bill Collins - The Art of the Decoy: Kathi Ferguson . . . . . . . . . 111 Changes ~ All American (Part XVII): Roger Vaughan . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Departments: February Tide Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Easton Map and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Caroline County ~ A Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Queen Anne’s County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Dorchester Map and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 St. Michaels Map and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Oxford Map and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Kent County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Tilghman ~ Bay Hundred . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Anne B. Farwell & John D. Farwell, Co-Publishers Proofing: Jodie Littleton & Kippy Requardt Deliveries: Nancy Smith, April Jewel & Brandon Coleman Social Media Liaison: Mary Farwell P. O. Box 1141, Easton, Maryland 21601 3947 Harrison Circle, Trappe, Maryland 21673 410-714-9389 FAX : 410-476-6286 www.tidewatertimes.com info@tidewatertimes.com
Tidewater Times is published monthly by Bailey-Farwell, LLC. Advertising rates upon request. Subscription price is $30.00 per year. Individual copies are $4. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced in part or whole without prior approval of the publisher. Printed by Delmarva Printing, Inc. The publisher does not assume any liability for errors and/or omissions.
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About the Cover Photographer Tracey Finch Johns presence through photographs while serving as vice president of communications. The picture on the cover was taken at CBMM. She is a writer, publicist and communications professional by trade, with amateur photography included in her hobbies of gardening, hiking and spending time anywhere land and sea meet. Her two grown children and their tribe of friends bring her particular joy. Tracey served as president of the Tidewater Camera Club and the Talbot Optimist Club and was recognized as Easton Rotary’s 2018-2019 Rookie of the Year and Talbot Optimist Club’s 1999 & 2009 Optimist of the Year. She includes numerous other organizations in her community service and is reachable at traceyfjohns@gmail.com.
Tracey Johns grew up in District Heights and Ocean City, Md., and lived in College Park, Md., Allentown, Pa., Arnold, Md., and Edgewater, Md., before moving to Easton, in 1995. She received her first camera as a gift for her 16th birthday. Her lifetime passion for photography has been inspired by the likes of professional photographers Margaret Bourke-White, Richard Avedon, Annie Leibovitz, Marion Warner, Kevin Fleming and, now, Jay Fleming. Tracey’s been observing people, places and nature through the lens since that time and into the digital age, shining a light on people and subject matter that helps stir people’s souls. Many recognize her photos of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in particular, where she spent nine years developing a social media
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The Hook, and Other Tales From a Friend of a Friend by Helen Chappell
As nature writer Sue Hubbell observed, “There are two ways to get old. The first is to cling to the familiar, to a rigid gripping conservatism for things that have long ago ceased to work. The second is to embrace change, accept new ideas and new things, to surrender the familiar and the comfortable and to continue to learn.� Much as I despise change, I have decided to embrace the latter as I age. Besides, it brings me a lot of
Readers, I tell you, I am honestly worried about kids today. No, their tats and their green hair, their music and their ornate body piercings, don’t bother me. I came up in a generation that set the standards for outrageous behavior. Generally, I find people younger than me have a fresh outlook, original thoughts and, not having been knocked around by life too much, a sort of sweet optimism that can only come from being untested by life.
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The Hook newer and younger friends with a fresher outlook, new ideas and a lively sense of reckless optimism that I am doing my very best to share. No one wants an old fud predicting poor decisions and impulsive actions that lead to regrets. I remind myself these are not my problems. And also, as long as I express neither shock nor dismay, I am au courant with the hippest trends, which I rather enjoy, since I have reached a stage where I no longer have to conform to them. But one thing does trouble me about my younger friends. They don’t seem to have learned the urban legends of their parents and grandparents. The horror! For instance, I was stunned the other day when one young woman did not know who The Hook is. If I’d been wearing my pearls, I would have had to clutch them! How has my generation failed? Readers, I ask you, what are we teaching our kids? How can you grow up without hearing about The Hook, The Cobra in the Bath Towels at Wal-Mart, the Copperhead in the Roller Coaster in Ocean City? These are just some of the urban legends that added life, color and thrills to our childhoods. Whispered at slumber parties, recounted in high school bathrooms, told at a campfire or at the end of a pier during a full moon, they were
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The Hook
don’t believe? Hey, it could happen to you. Take The Hook, the classic urban legend known from coast to coast until recently. Long story short, the dating couple pull into a dark lover’s lane one night. The radio’s playing the top forty, the guy sweeps in to go to first base. Second if it’s the third date. Anyway, just as he’s about to make his move, the deejay breaks in to The Righteous Brothers with the announcement that a homicidal maniac has escaped from The Towers and is roaming around the countryside. If you couldn’t tell he was an escaped maniac just by that, he also had a hook where his right hand should be.
passed around like that joint you swear you didn’t inhale. These were traditions passed down from older brothers and sisters, cousins, upperclassmen, that cute guy who pumped gas. . . these creepy stories were a part of our upbringing, and now, it seems, they’re gone. Never heard of The Hook? Heresy! Sure, they have Slenderman and a bunch of other creepies from TikTok and other social media, but come on. The urban legends from our childhood were gold, friends. Solid gold. Always sworn to have happened to A Friend of A Friend no one could ever locate, but you
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bath towels on sale and sticks her French-manicured hand right into that pile. Shrieks as she draws it out, the venomous cobra still attached to her hand. Turns out, the towels were made in some third world country where venomous snakes love magnoliapink terry cloth towels. Of course it’s true! I heard it from a friend of a friend who heard it from a friend whose cousin knew someone. . . And then we have the copperhead in the car of the roller coaster at a boardwalk park in Ocean City. Guy gets on, not noticing the copperhead in the bottom of the car. The roller coaster takes off, the snake wakes up and bites the guy’s foot right through his f lip f lop. So the guy starts to scream, but the stoner operator thinks he’s having
Well, the girl gets upset and says let’s go home. There’s a murderer out there! Teenage guy says whatsa hurry, baby? But she insists, and after some grumbling and whining, he complies, starts up the car and away they go. Well, when they get home, he gets out to open her car door for her, and lo and behold! There’s A HOOK hanging from the handle! Yes, The Hook was just about to get them. Of course, there’s a moral here. There’s always a moral here. And The Hook makes Slenderman look like a Hallmark Christmas movie. As does the cobra in the bath towels at Wal-Mart. Seems as if Karen goes in, sees a stack of
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find her way home, where she fainted on the doorstep but survived to tell the tale for many years. Never heard that one, either, kids? Y’all are getting no home training! Surely, you’d think they’d know about Big Liz, a slave who carried her master’s stolen treasure into Greenbriar Swamp. As soon as she buried it for him, he struck her from behind with a shovel and buried her with the treasure. Now, if you park on DeCoursey bridge late at night and blink your headlights three times, Big Liz will rise up out of the swamp with the treasure box in her hands. You’d think kids would have at least heard these last two, wouldn’t you? They’re so local! I say we need to be carrying on the urban legends tradition and not let these tales die. Kids need to know this stuff. Maybe it ought to be up on TikTok giving these new urban legends a run for their money. After all, I heard from a friend of a friend that they were all true.
such a good time, he sends the guy around again. And these and many more urban classics have totally passed the new generation by! Why, they barely know about Mrs. Maynardier at White Marsh Church, who was exhumed from her grave and had her finger cut off so two thieves could remove her valuable ring. The wife of the pastor was not dead, but in a coma, so the story goes. When the thieves sliced into her finger, it woke her up. The grave robbers ran, but Mrs. Maynardier managed to crawl out of the open grave and
Helen Chappell is the creator of the Sam and Hollis mystery series and the Oysterback stories, as well as The Chesapeake Book of the Dead. Under her pen names, Rebecca Baldwin and Caroline Brooks, she has published a number of historical novels. 18
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A Journey in Pink Part II, Eradication by Bonna L. Nelson
Our breast cancer (BC) journey was our new full-time job. It required everything that our former careers demanded of us: planning, organizing, researching, reading, consulting with specialists, traveling to meetings and consultations, preparing notes for meetings and post-meeting reports for support teams and advocating to keep the project on time and successful. This new journey was a bit more personal and invasive, of course, including such processes as physical exams, mammograms, sonograms, MRIs, CT scans, frequent blood tests and the next step, the much-feared chemotherapy, or what I call the “eradication.� With the new journey undertaken during the coronavirus pandemic, there was the addition of COVID-19 protection measures to be followed. Those measures still include waiting in the car until cleared to enter buildings for tests or to see doctors. Also, being asked the usual barrage of virus exposure-related questions, then wearing a mask, sanitizing ha nd s a nd hav ing temperat u re checked on entry and always the risk of exposure outside the safety of my home.
This phase of the Journey in Pink begins with a second consulting meeting with my wonderful University of Maryland (UM) medical oncologist, Dr. Mary DeShields, to discuss my eradication/chemotherapy plan. In our first discussion prior to surgery, Dr. DeShields had said that the number of chemotherapy treatments would range between four and sixteen, depending on the outcome of the lumpectomy and lymph node surgery.
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experience with intravenous therapy (IV). Chemotherapy must be given via an IV or a port. I agreed that the port was a better option than struggling with an IV insertion for each chemotherapy treatment, thus adding to the already stressful event. An additional reason for a port is that some strong chemo drugs can cause tissue damage around the more sensitive IV site. The port was implanted under the skin above my heart, same-day surgery, at the UM Shore Medical Center at Easton with a local anesthetic and antibiotic. The doctor showed me the port before surgery, and I took a photo of it. It is white plastic, about the size of a quarter, and includes a
My husband and caregiving angel, John, and I were ecstatic when we learned that the surgery outcome was very positive ~ no cancer cells in the margins of the removed tumor tissue and no cancer cells in the removed lymph nodes. For this result, Dr. DeShields awarded us with the four-star instead of sixteen-star chemo plan! We were winners in the adjuvant therapy program to eradicate any cancer cells remaining in the body after surgery and to ensure, along with the radiation therapy to come, that chances of recurrence would be diminished. This adjuvant therapy program was determined by years of research to be the standard of care for my early-stage, triplenegative, invasive ductal carcinoma breast cancer. Dr. DeShields also reviewed the chemotherapy drugs that she determined were best for my situation. I admit that after the news of four instead of sixteen treatments I tuned out for a while, but I did research the drugs later. I reconnected when Dr. DeShields reconfirmed that I would definitely start losing my hair within one to three weeks after the first treatment and that I should start wig shopping and looking for hats and scarves. Dr. DeShields suggested that I undergo a port implant. Not everyone needs one, but I had a negative
Time to start shopping for wigs and hats. 22
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daughter Holly and granddaughter Bella. Holly found A Special Touch wig shop in Annapolis, which matched a wig to my own hair. Surprisingly, it was paid for by my insurance plan (one in a lifetime). I also ordered other wigs, hats and scarves online from my mother’s favorite shop, Paula Young, as well as the American Cancer Society’s not-forprofit organization, Tender Loving Care (tlc). I decided to try to have some fun with a difficult situation and bought blonde, brunette, blonde streaked, curly and straight wigs. I also ordered an inexpensive pink wig to celebrate the Pink Journey and a red wig for Christmas. My wigs, hats, chemo beanies and scarves have brought my family, friends, medical team and me such
Port implanted before chemotherapy began. white plastic tube that is threaded into a vein that loops up from the port to near the neck and back down again close to the heart. The 1-inch incision was closed with glue. Bruising and discomfort lasted for a few days but were worth it for the comfort and convenience of chemotherapy administration that requires repeated injections of medicine at a high rate into the blood. The medicines mix better in the blood than with an IV because the port delivers medicine into a large central vein. Before each chemo procedure, I coated the port with a lidocaine cream prescribed by Dr. DeShields. This numbed the port to ready it for chemotherapy with a quick, no-pain stick. The port and catheter looks and feels strange but it gets the job done. I enjoyed w ig shopping w it h 24
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Eradication fun and joy! I keep them guessing about what I will wear next, and their smiles are such a reward for me. The various headcovers break the ice in every encounter.
My hair wrapped in ponytails. Getting ready for cutting.
I enjoyed a few books that covered the hair loss and wig experience with humor. One of the best was Not Now... I’m Having a No Hair Day by Christine Clifford. Clifford uses narrative and graphics to chart her treatment, including hair loss. She achieved her goal of writing a book for cancer patients to gift them the humor that brings us all healing. Also amusing is Joni Rodgers’ Bald in the Land of Big Hair. K now ing that I had some fun headgear helped me to plan for and accept losing my hair. I found an organization on the West Coast that makes wigs out of your own hair. My hair had to be over 10” ~ it was 17”. It had to be divided into 1” rubber-banded ponytails. Holly
divided it into the ponies, which took two hours. Then, the family and I took turns cutting off the ponies and storing them in a plastic bag for eventual wig making if my hair didn’t grow back or for donation if not needed by me.
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Eradication That first cut left my hair at about 1� long. I chose to leave some bangs, side and back fringe to give me the comfort of having some hair and to have hair to show with a hat. I also streaked it with pink dye, which gave family, friends and me some cheer. I was glad we cut it a week after the first chemo because it did start to fall out after that. I asked John to do the second cut. He electric-razored from one inch to one-half inch and scissor cut the back fringe. I have mostly retained that buzz cut and a few front fringes, though a small amount continued to fall out during and after chemo. I also lost body hair, but not my eyelashes ~ or fingernails which can be lost. I was lucky with that. The days leading up to the first chemotherapy f lew by. The tumor board, composed of the members of my oncology team as well as pathologists and other specialists, met, as they frequently do to review patient treatment plans. My post-surgery tumor tissue biopsy showed a second non-invasive tumor around the invasive tumor that was not seen on any imaging. Though the tumor tissue margins and lymph nodes were cancer free, a few members of the board thought that another excision surgery should be performed to remove more margin tissue for recurrence prevention after chemotherapy and before radiation. 28
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Eradication
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That recommendation, which was characterized by some of the doctors as “a coin toss” and “a very gray area” type of decision, and one of frequent disagreement among oncology specialists, caused me great distress. I really lost it! I had been accepting of my diagnosis, surgery, port procedure, chemo and radiation, but the thought of having another surgery in between threw me for a loop and brought on a flood of tears. While consoling me, John suggested we get a second opinion about the need for more surgery. Most of my local oncology team encouraged and supported our decision and welcomed
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My brother Mike and sister Kim were very supportive. 30
discussing my case with another team of specialists. My sister, Kim Smith, used connections in the medical field to arrange for me to see cancer specialists at the UM Medical System, Greenbaum Cancer Center in Baltimore in early September. John and I met with Drs. Tkaczuk, Terhune and Nichols to discuss my cancer and proposed treatment plan and my concerns about the need for more surgery. I strongly encourage readers to get a second opinion if in doubt about a decision or a doctor. You have to advocate for yourself, which I have done from the beginning. As one of my Easton doctors said you have to listen to your gut and do what you think is best for you and what
feels right. If something or someone doesn’t feel right, change direction. We were happy that we did. The Baltimore team adv ised against add it ion a l su r ger y, sug ge s t i ng instead a special and fairly new radiation treatment boost that is the current national standard of care. Shorter, stronger radiation sessions were recommended in lieu of surgery for my type of breast cancer and initial surgical outcome. They agreed with my four chemotherapy treatments and the recommended chemo drugs. The key members of my local team were on board, too. Next up: chemotherapy. During the entire Pink Journey, our spirits were lifted by the continuous support of family, friends, neigh-
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r Fo lity l i l Ca ilab a Av
bors and medical teams. We appreciated receiving continuing thoughts, prayers, texts, emails, cards, calls, meals, baked goods, dinners, flowers and support during the entire process. We especially needed that wonderful support to keep our spirits up during the months of chemotherapy adventures. To cite a few welcome supporters, my brother, Mike Herrmann, with his own medical challenges, visited and called frequently to cheer me on. Sister Kathleen Feeley, former president of the Notre Dame of Maryland University, my graduate school mentor and now good friend, also stayed in touch via email and calls. Still teaching, writing and driving at age 91, she inspires me and surprised me with a lovely in-person visit.
Sister Kathleen Feeley With my first chemotherapy treatment fast approaching, John and I attended a very detailed three-hour chemotherapy education program 32
prepared by Chanelle Lake, BSN, R N, Clinical Coordinator at the UM Shore Regional Health Cancer Center, where my chemotherapy was administered. Lake is also an oncology nurse (OCN) and trains and works with the other oncology nurses in the chemotherapy center next to Dr. DeShields’ office. The OCNs administer the chemo drugs via IV or port. Lake gave us a binder filled with information, including contacts, chemo drug briefs, side effect descriptions and a glossary of terms. This resource guide also contained a list of dos and don’ts ~ no teeth flossing or whitening, cut hair after first treatment before it falls out, use an electric razor or none at all ~ all tips
Leigh Mingus and Chanelle Lake, oncology nurses.
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Eradication
DeShields, that chemotherapy attacks and kills any remaining cancer cells. Cancer cells grow rapidly. But chemo drugs also kill rapidly growing normal cells in the body, such as hair follicle cells, which causes the hair loss. The chemo drugs kill cells in the GI tract, the mouth, the respiratory system and other body systems, which causes the side effect distresses. So, on treatment Day 1, I was ready. The por t was lidocained, and my steroids, anti-nausea, antianxiety and allergy meds had all been taken. I had packed my BC tote bag, a gift from Holly, with a blanket, a water bottle, a neck pillow, iPad, iPhone, snacks and magazines. We had an injection waiting at home in the refrigerator for John to administrator the next day to help me with bone pain and to stimulate the bone marrow to increase production of white blood cells to prevent infection. My ON, Leigh Mingos, RN, always called me before each treatment to review the drugs I needed to take before and after each session. She was an absolute angel during treatment, too. She let us pick our very comfortable chemo lounge cubicle, and I was lucky to always find a window seat. Looking outside at trees and people was comforting. Leigh always offered me a heated blanket, a pillow for under my knees and juice. Nurse L eig h t hen put on her hazmat gear to handle the potent
to protect the body while the immune system is compromised. She walked us through the topics, answered questions and then took us to see the chemo center. It was an extremely beneficial session. She also reviewed the drugs prescribed by Dr. DeShields to take before and after chemo treatments, such as steroids and anti-nausea pills to lessen the impact of chemo side effects. Lake said that I would need a COVID-19 test and a blood test and to see Dr. DeShields before each treatment. The blood test reveals the levels of various blood components. Red and white blood cell counts and platelets are of particular interest since they are reduced by chemotherapy. The nurse explained, as did Dr.
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asleep, drowsy from all of the pretreatment drugs. There was no pain, much to my a ma zement! W hen the time came, Leigh removed the Docetaxel needle and inserted the one for Cyclophosphamide. Finally, she inserted a saline f lush to clean the port and encourage the chemo drugs to disperse through the body. We were there for about three hours. I believe it is important to celebrate your accomplishments. So, after each treatment, we ordered carryout for lunch. I was always famished. Once back home, I put on my “comfies” and slept for the afternoon. Ever y night, I logged my side effects on the “Chemotherapy Side Effects Worksheets” found on the American Cancer Society website. I highly recommend these worksheets for obser v ing day-to-day effects to share with the medical oncologist and ONs. They always a sk about side ef fec t s, a nd t he worksheets provide the answers so that they can make adjustments in chemo and side effect drugs and prescribe other meds to help. My major side effects included extreme fatigue, hair loss, tinnitus, blurred vision, breathlessness on exertion, chemo brain (dizziness, spaciness, forgetfulness), mouth and throat sores, swollen ankles and feet, achy joints, red and puffy face rash, GI issues, mild nausea, mild headache, loss of taste and rubbery legs. I followed doctor’s
chemo drugs and to take my vitals. Dr. DeShields selected two drugs for me, each administered separately: Taxotere, also known as Docetaxel (switched to Doxorubicin after two treatments due to causing tinnitus, which I still have), and Cyclophosphamide. Interestingly, many chemo drugs are made from medicinal plants. Both of these drugs cause a variety of unpleasant side effects while killing any remaining cancer cells f loating around. I t hink t hat chemot herapy is rather barbaric; it kills you while it is killing the cancer. Killing the white and red blood cells and blood platelets causes the extreme fatigue. Hair loss, as previously mentioned, occurs within one to three weeks of the first treatment, and I noticed the hair on my pillow in the morning or in the sink after brushing, as predicted. GI issues, mouth sores, joint pain, breathlessness and chemo brain are all possible. But until they come up with something better, the chemo does its job to eliminate cancer cells for many types of cancer. Even after the worst side effects, I never doubted that I needed to be “chemoed.” I trusted the scientists. Next, Leigh painlessly inserted the chemo needle into my port and then it was time to take a breath and relax while the drug did its best work. I read, chat ted w ith Leigh or Chanelle or John, or fell 36
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Eradication orders and took meds prescribed to circumvent these effects, drank more than 64 ounces of water per day to rinse the chemicals from my system, ate nutritional foods and napped frequently. This routine was repeated three more times, three week s apar t. Each session was a little easier, as we knew what to expect. Tr y ing to bring humor to the process, for the first session I wore a burgundy cloche hat à la Mrs. Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. We dressed for the Halloween session as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her security detail. For the fourth and last session, wore pink and brought pink balloons and candy for the staff. A f ter t he la st se ssion, L eig h and the other ONs danced us out from the chemo room to the lobby to the tune of Kool and the Gang’s “Celebrate,” singing and playing musical instruments, tambourines and maracas to commemorate the grand finale. I w i l l c o n t i n u e t o s e e D r. DeShields or her nurse practitioner, Kimberly Yvonne Brice, for followup visits, to review blood work and to manage osteopenia, found during a Dexa Bone Densitometry test, with twice-yearly injections through the port. Additionally, the ONs w ill need to f lush the port with saline every two to three months to avoid blood clots.
Kimberly Brice To recap, on my Pink Journey we traveled from discovery in June; to surgery and healing in July; to chemo prep, port and tumor board in August; to second opinion consult, wigs and haircuts and first chemo treatment in September; to finishing chemo eradication in November. December was a time of healing before the nex t stor y, radiation treatment ~ GammaPods and Hypofractionated Beams in January. What an unexpected adventure! I am hoping that my experiences will help others to know what to expect during a similar journey. Bonna L. Nelson is a Bay-area writer, columnist, photographer and world traveler. She resides in Easton with her husband, John. 38
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Wager on Teaching, Adventures and Life by Michael Valliant
I failed 11th-grade English, sleeping through class rather than discussing literature. But I liked the teacher, Mr. Wager at Easton High School, and after summer school, I signed up for his journalism class my senior year. Wager was my first writing teacher. I got an A in the class, stoked my love of writing, and, years later, would find a kindred spirit and good friend for literary and outdoor adventures. So maybe this is a story about a teacher, about legacy, about a good life.
Michael Wager grew up in rural, central New York, on the edge of a big, open tract of farmland, rivers and woods. He and his friends would go down to the Mohawk River to play and explore. He went to the State University of New York at Oswego, on Lake Ontario, where he studied education, English and writing. Teaching wasn’t his first choice of jobs until he got to Hancock, NY, a rural Catskill Mountains town. “That was the first place that
Michael and Bonnie Wager 41
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TIDE TABLE
OXFORD, MD
FEBRUARY 2021
HIGH PM AM
1. Mon. 6:03 6:34 2. Tues. 6:57 7:19 3. Wed. 7:55 8:08 4. Thurs. 8:57 9:00 5. Fri. 10:02 9:58 6. Sat. 11:08 10:59 7. Sun. 12:14 8. Mon. 12:02 1:18 9. Tues. 1:03 2:16 10. Wed. 1:59 3:09 11. Thurs. 2:51 3:56 12. Fri. 3:39 4:39 13. Sat. 4:26 5:18 14. Sun. 5:11 5:54 15. Mon. 5:57 6:29 16. Tues. 6:45 7:04 17. Wed. 7:33 7:41 18. Thurs. 8:24 8:22 19. Fri. 9:17 9:09 20. Sat. 10:12 10:03 21. Sun. 11:09 11:01 22. Mon. 12:05p.m. 11:59 23. Tues. 12:58 24. Wed. 12:53 1:48 25. Thurs. 1:43 2:34 26. Fri. 2:30 3:18 27. Sat. 3:16 4:01 28. Sun. 4:03 4:43
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12:48 1:25 2:05 2:47 3:35 4:28 5:27 6:29 7:31 8:30 9:24 10:14 11:01 12:05 12:34 1:03 1:32 2:04 2:42 3:27 4:18 5:15 6:15 7:12 8:07 9:00 9:51 10:43
12:33 1:36 2:47 4:07 5:27 6:41 7:45 8:41 9:30 10:15 10:55 11:32 11:47 12:33 1:22 2:17 3:20 4:31 5:40 6:42 7:34 8:19 9:00 9:38 10:14 10:50 11:25
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Wager on Teaching
extending 50, 100, and 200 miles. “We could have ended up in Toronto, Denver, Charleston or Philadelphia,” Wager said. “Talbot County was the first place to offer us two jobs at the same time.” Wager landed at Easton High, where he taught for 30 years, from 1984 to 2014, and Bonnie at St. Michaels High ~ he is quick to say that Bonnie was a much better teacher than he ever was. They raised their two sons, Ben and Corey, in a house in Bozman, where they still live. Ben (34) is an engineer at Patuxent Air Station, and Corey (33) is a physical therapist in Colorado Springs, CO, where he and his wife recently had a daughter, Quinn, the Wagers’ first grandchild. This story is not exactly a biography. It’s also about the lasting im-
gave me my own classroom, and I thought, ‘Wow, they’re letting me have these kids,” Wager said. “You had general instructions and a curriculum that you had to somewhat follow, but every day you were in the classroom, what you did either succeeded or failed because of you ~ it wasn’t because they gave you a manual about how to do it. You had to figure everything out every day. You were king of your realm, and every day you were challenged to think, ‘how am I going to do this?’” In addition to learning that he loved teaching, Wager met the love of his life, his wife, Bonnie, in Hancock. They decided they wanted to start a life together, and they drew circles around major cities on maps,
The Wager family ~ Ben with his wife, Pati, Michael and Bonnie, Corey and his wife, Suzanne. The dog is Barley. 44
Easton Map and History The County Seat of Talbot Count y. Established around early religious settlements and a court of law, Histor ic Dow ntow n Easton is today a centerpiece of fine specialt y shops, business and cultural activ ities, unique restaurants, and architectural fascination. Treel i ne d s t r e e t s a r e graced with various per iod str uctures and remarkable home s , c a r e f u l l y preser ved or re stored. Because of its histor ic a l significance, historic Easton has earned distinction as the “C olon ia l C apitol of the Eastern Shore” and was honored as number eight in the book “The 100 Best Small Towns in America.” With a population of over 16,500, Easton offers the best of many worlds including access to large metropolitan areas like Baltimore, Annapolis, Washington, and Wilmington. For a walking tour and more history visit https:// tidewatertimes.com/travel-tourism/easton-maryland/. © John Norton
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Wager on Teaching
pact a teacher can have on a student. And maybe about having adventures and what it is to live a good life. Wager talks about running into former students, including ones some teachers didn’t have any hopes for. “Those are the ones who will come up to me in the store and say, ‘Mr. Wager, I was a real pain in your class, but I wanted you to know, I’m running this business… and I always ask, ‘Are you married? Kids?' And they show me pictures and it’s really rewarding knowing that when some might have counted them out, some of us didn’t. A lot of these kids whom I’ve loved and talked to in years past have made themselves into something. Teaching English was the job, but I like to think I taught kids to be something as well.” Wager has stayed close with some students over a wide range of 46
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Wager on Teaching
sea instructor for 15 years while he was teaching at Easton High. They
years, some now in their 50s, who are extremely close friends. He mentions Tony Schiera, who was a yearbook editor when Wager was the EHS faculty yearbook advisor. “A number of years ago now, I went over to the Middle East to stay with Tony and his family, then two years later, he got me to apply for a job in Oman for a summer teaching leadership,� Wager said. Wager had experience teaching leadership through Outward Bound, where he was a part-time
This was our journalism class, 1990-91, with Wager in the background. And a textbook from the 11th grade class I slept through ~ last year, Wager was going through old stuff and found my actual book. 48
way I thought and the way I taught.” The way he taught ~ I think back to journalism class in 1990-91. Wager got us excited about writing, about looking at what was going on around us and telling stories that we thought mattered. Then he would help edit and publish the paper in school. How did that come together? “I was never trained as a journalist, I didn’t know what I was doing, I learned desktop publishing on the fly, just before you guys did,” he said. “And that is another thing I will say about teaching: it helps when you realize, as a teacher, you aren’t the smartest person in the room. I have had kids that were brilliant and I knew were smarter than me. And so, as a teacher I needed to get into
were building an environmental education program for the schools, and they sent teachers on an Outward Bound program in Western Maryland “to go walk around the woods.” For his final project, Wager would find grants to do the programs, which meant that he would often wind up with his students on the Chesapeake Bay in spring and fall courses. After three years, Outward Bound sent him to sea school for an instructor’s course and then hired him. “It was grueling, and I was the oldest guy in the course,” Wager said. “After that, I’d work three to six weeks in the summertime, working on the boats, which was a phenomenal experience. It changed the
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Wager on Teaching
of the Florida Keys and traveled to Europe a couple times. Before the pandemic, when he would go visit his family in Colorado, it was never a straight shot. He always looked for stops along the way. “A couple of us drove down to New Orleans because a friend wanted a good cup of coffee and a beignet from the Café du Monde. So we drove like 800 miles out of our way to go to get that cup of coffee.” After a career teaching literature and going on adventures, Wager goes back to William Wordsworth and Walt Whitman the most. When I mention that they are also two of my favorite writers, he admits to imprinting them on me while I slept in
their heads and show them that they could do more than I could.” In addition to teaching, sailing has been a constant in Wager’s life on the Shore. He’s been sailing in the Wednesday Night and Saturday races in St. Michaels for more than 30 years. And it’s been a passion that has stayed with him into retirement. Since retiring, Wager has hit the road (up until COVID-19). He has driven across the country three times, wandered through South Dakota, driven out to Oregon, gone hiking and camping in the desert with friends, paddled the entire length
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Wager on Teaching
have done when I was a kid, and right now it’s all about a little girl who, because of COVID, I can’t go out and meet. Right now, it’s all about little Quinn. So that’s the future. I still want to travel, I still want to learn things, I still want to do interesting things, but really I want to get out to Colorado.” Sitting in the breezeway of their house, enjoying good beer and a vegetarian lunch he made, Wager muses on what makes a good life. He tells a story of two high-powered executives, one always striving for more than he has and the other saying, “I have something you’ll never have.” What’s that? “I have enough.” “And I have enough,” Wager said. “I have a great family, and I have good relationships with people going back 50 years; I’m still in touch with friends I went to high school with. I have raced on boats for and against the same guys for 30 years, and we’re all great friends. I’ve had amazing experiences. If I had said, well, I can’t do anything until I get a million dollars, then I would have missed out.”
his class. Over the past 15 years or so, it’s been the rekindling and continuing of literary and outdoor adventures with Wager that has been so fun and meaningful for me. We’ve been in discussion groups together reading Thomas Pynchon, David Foster Wallace, Cormac McCarthy and Frank Herbert. And we’ve taken group hikes around Maryland and Delaware looking for original Mason-Dixon stones. James Joyce has been mentioned as one of the next authors to tackle, and hiking the Dingle Way in Ireland has come up over a few beers. After all the adventures past and present, what’s next? What is it he is most looking forward to? “Being a grandfather, ‘Grumps.’ That’s it. That’s like 99 percent of what I am looking forward to,” Wager said. “I’ve traveled the whole world, and I’ve done amazing things that I never dreamed I would
Michael Valliant is the Assistant for Adult Education and Newcomers Ministry at Christ Church Easton. He has worked for non-profit organizations throughout Talbot County, including the Oxford Community Center, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and Academy Art Museum. 52
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Following Dreams with Joy in Easton’s Williamsburg Neighborhood by Tracey F. Johns
Leethian, or Lee, Roberts, 66, lives and works on his family’s two-acre property in Easton’s Williamsburg neighborhood, near the home where he continues today working and dreaming with joy and love in his heart. Roberts was the last born of six children to Mable (nee Williams) of Williamsburg and the Rev. James Thomas Roberts of Easton, Md. He
was born premature as a lone-surviving triplet. The family’s home at that time was a one-room dwelling that once served as a chicken coop. The outline of the original structure can still be seen as part of the home’s larger footprint today, which includes five major additions the family pieced together over the years while operating a yard maintenance business.
Lee Roberts in his workshop. 55
Following Dreams
His family used much of the land while Roberts was growing up to raise livestock that was harvested and shared with everyone in the Williamsburg neighborhood, oftentimes supplying an entire season of food so that no one went hungry. Williamsburg is a small, historically black community intersected by US-50 and located in the area between Landing Neck Road, Bailey’s Neck Road and a creek that runs near the Talbot Evangelical Church. Roberts says the area was once referred to as “Stumptown” because of the stumps left by trees harvested when the land was used for lumber. The neighborhood was later renamed after the Williams family, which at the time included Roberts’ mother and his Uncle Alec Williams, who was a lay speaker at the Williamsburg United Methodist Church. The area once had its own school before integration, with Williamsburg Elementary School housed in what became the church’s social hall.
The Roberts’ homestead. The home still relies on water from a well dug by the family. Roberts says he added indoor plumbing when he was 18 years old, in the 1970s.
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Following Dreams
after his mother purchased an Atlas sewing machine from a traveling salesman and through the help of his sister’s friend Harriett Brown, who learned sewing in a home economics class in high school. Roberts says he also learned to love versus hate through his devoutly faithful father, whose first church was the St. James Missionary Baptist Church in Easton, once
Now the property is where Roberts lives and works as a master upholsterer and automobile interior artisan, helping classic automobile enthusiasts and everyday boat owners with newly upholstered headliners, seats, cushions and more. Roberts says he learned to sew
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Roberts also has hopes and dreams for the future, despite losing loved ones ~ including stepdaughter Naomi by an overdose and his wife, local artisan Lou Anne Farlow Roberts, who was hit by a drunk driver while crossing US 50. Both died in 2013. His dreams include creating a village of tiny houses on his property for people recovering from addiction, along with re-outfitting and operating a food truck, or ‘wagon’ as he calls it, with his good friend and business partner, James Carter. He says the food truck will be named La Quick and will be used to prepare and serve a menu including cheesesteaks, beach fries and more.
located on the footprint of where the Talbot County Detention Center is today. Roberts says his family spent time at church every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and as an all-day Sunday tradition. Love leads and carries through everything Roberts believes and does today. This includes a deep devotion to his higher power, a life led following and sharing the 12 steps of recovery, and his work with Celebrate Recovery at Kent Island United Methodist Church. “I don’t like religion because I feel it separates us,” said Roberts of his beliefs today. “I do feel we each have a higher power, however, and that power will always lead each of us in the right direction.”
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Following Dreams
about their worries. He’s also deeply patriotic. “I have American privilege,” says Roberts. “There’s no other place on Earth that I would rather reside.” Tracey Johns is a storyteller, engaging local, regional and national audiences through her words and photography. She has worked in communications, marketing and business management for more than 30 years, including non-profit leadership. Tracey’s work is focused on public and constituent relations, along with communication strategies, positioning and brand development and project management.
Whether Roberts is looking back on his family’s history or forward to his dreams, he consistently finds reward in bringing joy to people and helping them forget
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Creating a Stress-Free Kitchen tools and utensils before you begin cooking. For many chefs, however, mis en place is not just the act of getting ready; it’s a state of mind that symbolizes focus, ease and presence in the kitchen. If you’re familiar with mindfulness practices, you might think of this as a meditative approach to cooking. In a busy restaurant, mise en place is a critical part of every day’s work. Long before the orders start coming in and the menu items are cooked, plated and served, each station must be set up with all the necessary ingredients sliced, diced and chopped. This allows the activity of a busy kitchen to f low rather than descend into chaos. Next time you dine out at a trendy restaurant with an open kitchen or at a “chefs table,” take a look at how carefully the ingredients are laid out. If you’re a naturally organized person, you may already know the value of preparing and laying out your ingredients in advance. But many of us tend to just start a
Are you ready to cook? If you are, you’ll want to learn core techniques, elements of plant-based cooking and recipes from quick bites to family favorites to dinner party sensations. Taking control of your health starts in the kitchen! An organized cook is a successful chef. Organization will change the way you look at preparing meals. Cooking should be fun, creative and satisfying on multiple levels. To help take stress out of the kitchen, follow along with our tips to ensure you’re well prepared, including a list of essential tools, a shopping list and some tips on choosing the best ingredients. One of the simplest ways to transform your cooking is to learn the value of mise en place. Mise en place (pronounced MEEZ on plas) is a French term that literally means “setting in place.” In culinary circles, it’s used to describe the gathering and preparing of all your ingredients, 63
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them in the right order and at the right time to get the desired result.
recipe and prepare the ingredients as we go. Before you know it, you’ve overcooked one vegetable while you’re hurrying to chop another. You’re scrambling to wash the pan you need for the next stage, waiting impatiently while something reaches the required room temperature or running to the corner store to pick up an essential ingredient. Mise en place not only saves time, it relieves stress. It can help you relax as you cook, knowing you have everything you need on hand. In some dishes, timing is critical, so having the ingredients lined up and ready to go will ensure you add
Essential Cooking Tools Knives: For the home chef, a large set of knives is not necessary, but make sure you have a good 8-inch to 10-inch chef’s knife, a serrated knife, a paring knife and
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Tidewater Kitchen
a large sautĂŠ pan. Stainless steel is a great cooking surface, and many chefs swear by pans with a copper core or coating for its superior heat distribution. Heavier castiron pans also offer excellent heat distribution. If you use nonstick pans, avoid Tef lon, and be sure to choose pans that are 100% PFOA and PTFE free, nontoxic and made from natural substances, such as ceramic.
a honing steel. Invest in the best quality your budget allows, and sharpen them regularly. Pots and Pans: You’ll need a variety of pots and pans, including a large stockpot, a skillet and
Blenders/Food Processors: A high-speed blender is an essential tool in a healthy kitchen and will allow you to make your own smoothies, soups and creamy sauces. If you can afford a Vitamix, it is well worth the investment. A
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Tidewater Kitchen
as an immersion blender, is a great tool for blending sauces or soups directly in a pan.
basic food processor is also useful for making dips, spreads, sauces, yeast dough, pie doughs and desserts. A stick blender, also known
Tips for Stress-Free Cooking: * Keep a well-stocked refrigerator and pantry. Read through the entire recipe ahead of time, and make sure you have all the ingredients you need and are doing all the prep necessary to execute the recipe correctly. Make sure your space is clear and you have your tools and utensils clean and ready. * Keep a shopping list on hand so you can make a note to restock if you run out of any pantry or fridge staples while you’re cooking. Clean up as you go, This may be the most important piece of advice we can give! If you’re waiting for something to boil or cook, use those few minutes to keep your space clean and tidy.
A Taste of Italy
Basic Tools: Most kitchen drawers are filled with accumulated gadgets that have no purpose and take up space. Your kitchen is your workshop and should contain only basic tools: * 3 stainless steel bowls * 2 wooden spoons of the finest wood available
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* 2 large stainless-steel spoons, 68
one with holes and one without
strainer with a fine mesh
* 1 pair large stainless-steel tongs
* Self-cleaning garlic press
* 2 spatulas ~ a 4-inch and a 7-inch
* Stainless-steel whisk (balloon type)
* Stainless steel bulb baster (forget about the plastic or glass ones)
* Set of 4 stainless steel measuring cups
* Rubber spatulas: 1 large and 1 small
* Set of measuring spoons, again, stainless
* A pair of all-purpose stainlesssteel kitchen scissors
* 3 liquid measuring cups (1 cup, 2 cup and 4 cup)
* 1 vegetable peeler * A four-sided stainless-steel grater
* A meat thermometer of good quality
* 1 large stainless-steel colander
* Pepper mill ~ it is very important
* 1 small and 1 large stainless-steel
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per * Wooden cutting board ~ it should be at least one inch thick. There are also plastic ones, but they get very tacky after a while. With proper care, wood is much cleaner. * Rolling pin * 6- to 8-ounce soup ladle * Small 3-pronged fork * A ball of cotton twine * Can opener * All-purpose funnel made from stainless steel (3 inches across the top and ½ inch at the bottom)
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Tidewater Kitchen
* 2 cookie sheets
Basic Cookware for the Oven: Choosing cookware for the oven is not as difficult as choosing pots and pans. Glass is satisfactory for most baking, but most chefs prefer aluminum. However, I like stainless steel roasting pans, as they are much easier to clean.
* 2 Pyrex loaf pans for bread or meat loaf * 1-2 muffin pans * 2 metal cake racks Tips on Cooking Ingredients: I am a great believer in using the best ingredients in cooking, The old saying “You only get what you pay for” certainly holds true.
* 2 heavy stainless roasting pans (12-inch and 18-inch) * Adjustable rack to fit both pans
Stocks ~ organic vegetable, beef and chicken
* Heavy aluminum jellyroll pan
Butter and oils ~ I use unsalted butter, as it doesn’t interfere with
* 2 layer-cake pans
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the f lavor. I keep it in the freezer to retain freshness if I buy a large quantity of it.
the following: place a small amount in each section of an ice-cube tray, fill with water and freeze.
For oils, I prefer grapeseed oil and extra virgin olive oil for cooking.
When using dried herbs, rub them between your hands to release the f lavor. Paprika and curry powder should be stored in the refrigerator.
Cheese ~ When using cheese, remember to use high-quality cheeses. The two most commonly used cheeses are Switzerland, not Swiss, and Parmesan. Look for those words stenciled on the rind. Parmesan sold in jars is far from the real cheese. Buy a small piece of aged Parmesan and keep it tightly wrapped in your refrigerator and grate as you need it. Freeze what you don’t need immediately.
Salt and Pepper ~ I prefer kosher or sea salt. To grind your salt freshly is not necessary. However, not to grind your pepper freshly is another story. It loses its f lavor quickly. I use Tellicherry peppercorns, as they have the most robust f lavor. Mustards ~ My favorite is Grey Poupon Dijon. Originally made in Dijon, France, it is the best all-purpose mustard. I like Colman’s for dry mustard.
Herbs and Spices ~ Buy fresh whenever available. If you have too many and need to preserve, then do
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Tidewater Kitchen
vored vinegar, why not make your own? Heat the vinegar and add your favorite herb, garlic or fresh ginger. Vanilla ~ The finest vanilla beans grow in Madagascar. The finest quality is Madagascar Pure Vanilla Extract. 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.
Vinegars ~ There are many f lavors of vinegar, but I use cider vinegar for everything. If you like f la-
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SWEET T R E AT S From decadant dinner kits that you can enjoy at home and beautiful bouquets from our local florists to romantic winter walks and cocktails by the fireplace, go to VisitCaroline.org/BeMine for ways to celebrate with your Valentine. We’re open for you, if you’re
VisitCaroline.org 76
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. 77
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Queen Anne’s County The history of Queen Anne’s County dates back to the earliest Colonial settlements in Maryland. Small hamlets began appearing in the northern portion of the county in the 1600s. Early communities grew up around transportation routes, the rivers and streams, and then roads and eventually railroads. Small towns were centers of economic and social activity and evolved over the years from thriving centers of tobacco trade to communities boosted by the railroad boom. Queenstown was the original county seat when Queen Anne’s County was created in 1706, but that designation was passed on to Centreville in 1782. It’s location was important during the 18th century, because it is near a creek that, during that time, could be navigated by tradesmen. A hub for shipping and receiving, Queenstown was attacked by English troops during the War of 1812. Construction of the Federal-style courthouse in Centreville began in 1791 and is the oldest courthouse in continuous use in the state of Maryland. Today, Centreville is the largest town in Queen Anne’s County. With its relaxed lifestyle and tree-lined streets, it is a classic example of small town America. The Stevensville Historic District, also known as Historic Stevensville, is a national historic district in downtown Stevensville, Queen Anne’s County. It contains roughly 100 historic structures, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located primarily along East Main Street, a portion of Love Point Road, and a former section of Cockey Lane. The Chesapeake Heritage and Visitor Center in Chester at Kent Narrows provides and overview of the Chesapeake region’s heritage, resources and culture. The Chesapeake Heritage and Visitor Center serves as Queen Anne’s County’s official welcome center. Queen Anne’s County is also home to the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (formerly Horsehead Wetland Center), located in Grasonville. The CBEC is a 500-acre preserve just 15 minutes from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Over 200 species of birds have been recorded in the area. Embraced by miles of scenic Chesapeake Bay waterways and graced with acres of pastoral rural landscape, Queen Anne’s County offers a relaxing environment for visitors and locals alike. For more information about Queen Anne’s County, visit www.qac.org. 79
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TIDEWATER GARDENING
by K. Marc Teffeau, Ph.D.
What’s New for 2021? Shallots and Peppers! At the beginning of each year, I like to highlight new flowering and vegetable plant varieties that are available to the home gardener. Some of these may or may not be better than or superior to the old tried-and-true ones but they usually offer distinctive characteristics such as different colors or sizes of vegetables. Other attributes are whether they can be grown in a
container or pot, have enhanced disease resistance or a unique taste or flavor. As with many activities in life, we gardeners sometimes get into the proverbial “rut� and grow the same thing each year. These new varieties help to expand our horticultural palate and, who knows, we might find something new that is really neat, easier to grow, great tasting or provides greater yields.
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companies, public gardens, universities and other locations. For 2021, a new AAS Winner is the Echalion Crème Brûlée shallot. This echalion is the first-ever shallot to receive the AAS Winner designation. The AAS describes it effusively: “Easy to peel, singlecentered bulbs have a bright coppery pink outer skin and a pretty rosy-purple interior with thick rings. The sweet tender bulbs are earlier to mature than the comparisons and have a slight citrusy f lavor when eaten raw. When caramelized, things get even better as the natural sugars are enhanced and do not leave any overpowering aftertastes. A fantastic variety for the home gardener as well as farm
The All-American Selections (AAS) organization (all-americanselections.org) is a non-profit group established and supported by the flower and vegetable seed breeders. Each year, AAS announces its yearly “Winners” for introductions of new flowers and vegetables. According to the AAS, the winner selections are the result of being trialed at AAS Trial Ground locations around the country where breeders have their new, never-before-sold varieties grown and compared against industry-standard varieties by a panel of unbiased volunteer judges. AAS Trial Grounds are based at breeding facilities, seed
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They have a flavor like an onion but are sweeter and more refined. The traditional shallot has the shape of an elongated golf ball. When you cross an onion with a shallot, you get what is labeled a banana shallot or echalion. The echalion is pronounced in its elongated shape. They are the largest variety and are named for their size. They have a smooth, tan-colored skin and are easier to peel. As they’re larger, they’re swifter to prepare than the same volume of smaller shallots. They have a milder, sweeter taste than onions and can be used as an onion substitute. Banana shallots are also less aromatic than a true shallot. They are, however, more expensive. One of the differences between
or fresh market growers.� Now a little explanation about shallots. Whether red, white, purple or yellow, onions are one of the easiest vegetables to grow in the garden. Onions are members of the lily family and are versatile in that their green foliage can be harvested for green onions or the bulb can continue to grow to maturity. The mature bulb is then edible. There are many different varieties of onions. Like onions, shallots are members of the lily family. Some people think that shallots are a variety of onion, but they are actually a different species. They are smaller than onions and look more like garlic.
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onions and shallots is that the inside of an onion consists of concentric circles. Onions are also annuals. Shallots, on the other hand, are perennial plants that seldom produce seed. When planted, the shallot bulb divides into a number of cloves or small bulblets that remain attached at the bottom. Like
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Tidewater Gardening garlic, shallots are formed in clusters of offsets with a head composed of multiple cloves. They are sometimes grown for the dry bulbs but usually for the young plants, which are used as green onions. Shallots are grown by planting the small bulbs in the same manner as onion sets, and their subsequent care and cultivation are the same. They are also grown as bunching onions. To complement your cooking with shallots, you might throw in some peppers. Most gardeners grow peppers in the soil or in raised beds. Some pepper varieties, like tomatoes, also do well as container plants. One of the AAS 2021 winners is a jalapeño pepper that can be grown as either a container or a hanging plant. According to AAS, “Pot-a-peno is a new jalapeño pepper with a compact habit perfect for growing in containers and hanging baskets. "Plentiful small, green jalapeño fruits have a traditional spicy zip
that is great in any dish where you want a little punch of spice. Simply leave the fruit on the vine a few extra weeks and they will ripen to red for a sweet, spicy flavor. This variety is earlier to mature than other jalapeños giving you a head start on your garden’s harvest. "A unique trait of Pot-a-peno is how the fruit hangs down beneath the plant making it quite easy to harvest without damaging the appearance or productivity of the plant. A dense foliage canopy makes for an attractive addition to your patio or balcony garden.”
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ber to avoid walking on frozen grass and groundcovers. Ajuga is especially sensitive to being walked on during the winter, and large portions can die back, leaving bare spots for the spring. The frozen
While it is too early to seed vegetables in the garden, there are other activities in the February landscape. This month, watch for signs of growth in early spring bulbs. When foliage is one inch high, gradually start removing mulch. Cloudy days are best for initial exposure of the leaves to strong sunlight, which can burn tender foliage. Pinch off early buds from developing pansies to encourage plants to branch and form more buds. Don’t be in a hurry to remove mulch from perennials too early. A warm day may make you think spring is almost here, but colder weather will return. Also remem-
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leaves are brittle and easily damaged. Even though there might be rain or snow, the soil dries out against a house under the eaves where rain rarely reaches. Be sure to water well during a thaw to prevent loss of plants. Remember that plants require water during the winter to replace water lost due to wind desiccation and lack of rain or snow. 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 pruning practices for your brambles, it is first necessary to understand their growth habits. Brambles have perennial crowns and roots with only biennial canes (live for two growing seasons). The vegetative shoots that come from the crowns are called primocanes during their first growing season.
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After these fall-fruiting raspberries have finished fruiting in fall, you can cut out all the canes because they will produce new fruiting primocanes in the spring. For the regular brambles, carefully prune out the dead canes in the plants now and leave the fruiting canes for this year’s production. If you are like me, I have a supply of various vegetable seeds that date back a couple of years. Most vegetable seeds have a short life and usually will not be viable after a year or two, especially if they have been stored in a shed or garage. Seeds with a short storage life include sweet corn, onions, okra, beans, parsnips and peppers. I have also found that both garden peas
In the late summer, flower buds are formed on the primocanes and remain dormant through the winter. During the second growing season, these buds flower, fruit and then die. This two-year growth pattern is typical of all brambles, except for the fall-fruiting raspberries such as Heritage. In fall ~ fruiting raspberries, the cane growth and fruiting are similar but are compressed so that fruiting begins during the first growing season. The f lower buds are initiated on the top third of the primocane, the f lower buds f lower in late July and begin fruiting in August. These canes finish fruiting with the first frost.
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nate, or if they did, they succumbed very quickly to damping off disease. The best advice is to use vegetable seed packed for the 2021 season and toss any seed that is two years old or older. It is important that you handle the seed packets carefully. Rubbing the outside of the packet to determine how many seeds are inside can break the protective seed coats. This will result in reduced germination of the seeds. Happy Gardening! Marc Teffeau retired as Director of Research and Regulatory Affairs at the American Nursery and Landscape Association in Washington, D.C. He now lives in Georgia with his wife, Linda.
and “sugar� peas lose their viability after about three years. I had some older sugar snap peas that I mixed with fresh pea seed and planted last year. The older ones did not germi-
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Dorchester Map and History
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. For more information about Dorchester County visit https://tidewatertimes.com/travel-tourism/dorchester/. 95
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Cobb Island by A.M. Foley
hood memories, it was reachable from the city’s heat when my parents and friends pooled gasoline rations. They’d siphon gas into one or two cars, pile in and head for my Aunt Min’s island cottage, singing all the way. Two childish observations linger in my memory from Cobb Island visits: On arrival, the military precision of my father’s buddies, busting blocks of ice to pack around a keg, to be tapped after a day fishing; and my admiration for Daddy’s pal Jim Cavey, who devised a live
In its present state, Maryland’s Cobb Island is subdivided, a home to retirees, commuters and a smattering of watermen. In the Illustrated Centennial History of Cobb Island, author Lee Hickling aptly describes this Southern Maryland haven as shaped “very much like a Maryland country ham with its shank pointing upstream, snuggled close against the mainland.” The island is notable now as a pleasant Charles County locale, within convenient reach of work or shopping. In my WWII-era child-
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St. Michaels Map and History
© 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. For a walking tour and more history of the St. Michaels area visit https://tidewatertimes.com/travel-tourism/st-michaels-maryland/. 99
Cobb Island trap to catch me a pet rabbit by propping an empty wooden Budweiser case on a stick. At that time, I wouldn’t have noticed any historic markers around the island, but I believe there are a couple there now. One marks the home of a lady who had a big impact on Eastern Shore history. The second marker references an obscure event that should have changed the world but somehow escaped general notice. *** Early in the country’s settlement, all of Cobb Island and a large chunk of the mainland belonged to Captain James Neale. Depending on who is believed, Captain Neale was either a pirate whose property was named for ill-gotten Spanish coins called “cobs,” or he was a distinguished diplomat who had been abroad in service to his king. Or maybe both. Before Captain Neale left Maryland for fifteen years, he had mar-
ried the beautiful Anne Gill, who set sail with him. Their daughter, born abroad in 1647, was christened Henrietta Maria Neale in honor of the English queen, who had fled for France two years earlier. (Her husband, King Charles I, was deposed and subsequently beheaded.) Family legend holds that the English queen was godmother to the Neales’ daughter. If the infant expatriate wasn’t actually named for her godmother/queen, Maryland definitely was. When chartered in 1632, the colony was named in honor of the then-reigning Queen Henrietta Maria. After the Neales returned to Maryland, young Henrietta matured at the captain’s Wollaston Manor, overlooking Cobb Island. In her late teens, she wed Richard Bennett, II, son of a Virginia governor. During a few short years of marriage, she gave birth to a son and daughter, then lost her young husband, drowned at sea. The lovely Henrietta was not long a widow before marrying Philemon Lloyd and crossing the Chesapeake
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Cobb Island to Talbot County’s Wye Island, where the pair established something of a dynasty. In his classic Rivers of the Eastern Shore, Hulbert Footner calls Henrietta Maria “the great ancestress of the Eastern Shore.” Philemon was the eldest son of Edward Lloyd I (“Edward the Puritan”), who had migrated to morereligiously tolerant Maryland when Virginia banished his co-religioun. Philemon, a toddler at the time, was Edward I’s eldest, but he subsequently needed no tag to differentiate him from eldest sons of the next seven generations of Edward Lloyds: Edward, the President; the
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Secretary; the Councilor; the Patriot; the Governor; the Farmer; and the Senator. Philemon Lloyd likely was christened in the old fashion, which dictated a first son be named for his paternal grandfather rather than for his father. Had the custom not fallen into disuse, succeeding eldest Lloyd sons would have alternated between Edward and Philemon. Richard Bennett III, son from Henrietta’s first marriage, and his sister Susanna grew up among ten sons and daughters from her second. As an adult, Richard came to be considered the richest man in Maryland. Resident of Bennett’s Point, he amassed 23,000 acres of land, operated Wye Mill and was 102
Oxford Map and History
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Oxford is one of the oldest towns in Maryland. Although already settled for perhaps 20 years, Oxford Oxford Bellevue Ferry marks the year 1683 177 166 as its official founding, 155 nd Stra St. 144 for in that year Oxford The 133 was first named by n a 18 8 19 9 hm Tilg the Maryland General k e e Assembly as a seaport Cr 122 St. n and was laid out as a son il W 11 East town. In 1694, OxSt. lair St. t nc 10 e Si rk St. Ma ford and a new town Oxford 9 t. Park hS called Anne Arundel son Hig 8 Richard . St (now Annapolis) were n Divisio St. selected the only ports of entry for the entire i Town Rd. non . eek Cr e B Ave Maryland province. n 3 isio t. Until the American S Div W. 2 Revolution, Oxford 1 t. S ne enjoyed prominence roli 7 ad Ro Ca d 333 Oxfor To Easton as an international Pleasant Oxford St. Community shipping center surCenter Hbr. Robes t. 4 C rounded by wealthy E. Pier St. Pier St. tobacco plantations. Oxford Today, Oxford is a Š John Norton 6 5 charming tree-lined and waterbound village with a population of just over 700 and is still important in boat building and yachting. It has a protected harbor for watermen who harvest oysters, crabs, clams and fish, and for sailors from all over the Bay. For a walking tour and more history visit https://tidewatertimes. com/travel-tourism/oxford-maryland/.
Cobb Island
Wye Mill one of the rare early colonials to own a merchant fleet. Meanwhile, Philemon had barely come of age when Edward I empowered him to administer his extensive Maryland interests when his father relocated to London, where a three-way power struggle raged
for decades between Puritans, and royal competition between Anglicans and Catholics. It was quite impossible from across the sea to recognize who was gaining the upper hand back in the mother country, or to anticipate what repercussions might befall colonials as English rule alternated among the factions. While Edward Lloyd I was evidently a staunch Puritan, his new daughter-in-law, Henrietta, was a lifelong Catholic. Philemon adopted the Church of England, even dictating in his will that their children be educated as Anglicans. Not to doubt anyone’s sincerity, but the Lloyds were unusually tolerant, with a foot in each belligerent camp.
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English titles of nobility were forbidden under Maryland’s charter, but the Lloyd family’s prominence cried out for something distinctive. Philemon attained the rank of colonel in the militia, a rank that attached to subsequent Edwards as a hereditary honorific. (You didn’t have to be from Kentucky to be an honorary colonel.) Following one General Lloyd, Colonel Edward Lloyds continued until Edward Lloyd VII (1825-1907), an actual colonel in service during the War with Mexico. Philemon’s wife came to be esteemed as Madam Henrietta, the colonial equivalent to Lady Henrietta Maria Lloyd. Her legendary royal association and personal qualities were preserved by numerous generations of daughters named in her honor, the descendants of her twelve children. Philemon died at thirty-nine in 1685. Henrietta lived a dozen years more as a widow. When she died at fifty, her son Richard Bennett had a tomb erected in the family cemetery at Wye House, inscribed in part:
der Captain Neale, Cobb Island remained relatively intact until the twentieth century. Its modern history dates from 1889, when a wealthy Philadelphian named George Vickers bought the entire island for $5,000 with money he won on an election bet. Vickers built a fine Queen Anne-style summer home, the island’s first known permanent house. When Mr. Vickers’s luck turned, he lost his Pennsylvania holdings and retreated full-time to the island. From Vickers’s house on December 23, 1900, Reginald Aubrey Fessenden initiated an historic radio transmission: Fessenden radioed his natural voice via electromagnetic waves across the length of
She who now takes her rest within this tomb Had Rachells face and Leas fruitful womb . . . *** Meanwhile, back on the western shore, from colonial days un105
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Cobb Island
Reginald A. Fessenden
Cobb Island. A year later, in 1901, Guglielmo Marconi was still transmitting mere dots and dashes, yet the Italian aristocrat ultimately won fame, wealth and the Nobel Prize for Physics as the inventor of the radio. Only two houses stood on Cobb Island in 1900, one mile apart, on either end of the island. Fessenden had a 50-foot “wireless” mast erected near each house and voiced, “Hello. One, two, three, four. Is it snowing where you are? If it is, telegraph back and let me know.” His assistant keyed back in Morse code, “Yes.” Fessenden had located his experiment on Cobb Island to protect its secrecy, and he certainly suc-
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ceeded. While preparing for the vocal test, he could have composed a more quotable message, maybe a bit of the Bible. Samuel Morse’s “What hath God wrought?” came down through the ages, though only keyed in code, not voiced. As Fessenden’s name has been forgotten, so has his message. What Fessenden possessed in genius, he lacked in equal measure as a promoter. Though receiving numerous patents in his lifetime, a shortage of funds often kept him from creative work. In contrast, through his Irish mother, Marconi was related to the Jameson Irish Whiskey fortune and enjoyed numerous connections in both Britain and Italy. A year after Fessenden’s
voice transmission, Marconi received great acclaim and the promise of future funding for wirelessly transmitting the letter “s” in Morse code (dot dot dot). On the other hand, from Massachusetts on Christmas Eve 1906, Fessenden produced a complete Christmas revue, including an Ediphone recording of Handel’s “Largo,” his own fine violin and vocal rendition of “O Holy Night” and a reading of seasonal Bible verses. His secretary and Mrs. Fessenden were to have read the verses but became the first victims seized by mic-fright. When they both froze, the inventor stepped up to do the Bible reading. In conclusion, he sent season’s greetings to anyone
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Cobb Island receiving the transmission and asked that they respond. An answer came in Morse code from an operator aboard a United Fruit Company ship off the Atlantic coast. The island historical marker may be off in one detail, saying Fessenden “for the fi rst time sent and received intelligible speech by electromagnetic waves.” Regardless, the name of Reginald Aubrey Fessenden has not been forgotten on Cobb Island. *** I don’t remember any educational tours setting out from Aunt Min’s cottage. Mainly I remember
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my excitement on rising Sunday morning to fi nd the trap sprung and a small paw in the handhold. I ran for Mr. Cavey to come lift the Budweiser case so I could hold my rabbit. When he carefully lifted one end of the case, we found the neighbor’s cat. Mr. Cavey also caught a lot of guff for baiting a rabbit trap with rockfi sh heads. I wasn’t allowed to keep Puss. Forty-some years ago, A.M. Foley swapped the Washington, D.C., business scene for a writing life on Elliott Island, Maryland. Tidewater Times has kindly published portions of one upcoming work, Chesapeake Bay Island Hopping, along with other regional musings. Foley’s published works are described at www.HollandIslandBook.com.
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Captain Bill Collins The Art of the Decoy by Kathi Ferguson
Captain Bill Collins was in the process of painting the feathers on a mallard drake decoy as he shared highlights of his journey to becoming one of the most sought-after decoy carvers and painters in the state of Maryland. “There are two
different elements of this art,” he informed me. “Carving and painting. Fortunately, I have become proficient at both.” In the early days, carvings were created as “working” decoys, used by hunters to attract ducks, geese
Collins with a mallard hen in his right hand and an American widgeon in his left. 111
The Art of the Decoy and other waterfowl into shooting range. This is where Collins started ~ making decoys as a tool. “Carving has developed into more of an art form and is much more detailed,” Bill claims. “In today’s world, decoys are less of a necessity and more of a luxury. Collectors often focus on a particular style of decoy, paint style or maker and have become more discriminating in what they purchase.” Born and raised in Perryville, Maryland, like most carvers, Bill always loved the outdoors and began hunting and fishing at an early age. “I was ten or twelve years old when my dad took me and my
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brother, James, squirrel hunting,” says Bill. “My first experience in making decoys came when I was in high school. James also taught me about waterfowl hunting, and we worked repairing and painting our own decoys.” Collins’ pathway to becoming a full-time decoy carver was much less conventional, however. After graduating high school in 1967, Bill spent a year studying computer programming in Baltimore but soon realized it was not for him. What next? The loss of his grandparents came not long after Bill entered college in 1968. During the course of their funeral services, the thought of becoming a funeral di-
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The Art of the Decoy rector struck a nerve. “I remember thinking, this might be a good profession because you are helping people when they can’t help themselves,” Bill explains. As luck would have it, he landed an apprenticeship at a funeral home in Havre de Grace, Maryland, with a gentleman by the name of R. Madison Mitchell. Mitchell promptly informed Bill that part of his job when not working on a funeral would be making duck decoys. A match made in heaven! Mitchell had a small shop behind the funeral home where he worked on his carvings when business was slow. After taking up the craft in
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The Art of the Decoy 1924, Mitchell carved tens of thousands of decoys throughout his 60year career and helped teach and mentor carvers of future generations along the way. Mitchell’s style became characterized by carefully detailed feather painting executed with world-class precision. His first day on the job, Bill was shown how to turn miniature bodies on the lathe. (A lathe is a device designed to hold a section of material to be shaped. Unlike a simple vise, a lathe not only holds a workpiece but also rotates it over a sawblade to remove excess wood.) Step by step, procedure by procedure, Mr. Mitchell continued to thought-
fully guide and instruct young Collins on all of the initial stages of
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making decoys, soon granting him free reign to experiment on his own. Learning to carve the head was next ~ a step for which Mr. Mitchell’s “blessing” was required halfway through the process before Bill could move toward its completion. After finishing his apprenticeship with Mitchell, Collins decided to “make it official” and attended the College of Mortuary Science in New York City in 1970, successfully completing the one-year course required to become a licensed funeral director. While serving in the Maryland Army National Guard for the next six years, Bill worked for Mitchell as a funeral director, simultaneously honing his skills in
the art of crafting decoys. In 1981, Mitchell sold his decoy business to Collins, including the shop, which Bill reopened as Upper Chesapeake Bay Decoys. In 1987, he sold Mr.
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The Art of the Decoy Mitchell’s lathe, machine tools and fixtures to the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum, and the shop was reconstructed on the Museum grounds. An opportunity to move to Centreville, Maryland, which he still calls home, presented itself to Bill in 1984. Plans would soon begin for the construction: not only for a new home for Collins, but for a new shop. Freed up from the rigors of his previous career, Bill’s time was filled carrying hunting parties and working as a charter boat captain out of Tilghman Island while continuing to make decoys. Collins does all of his carv-
ing in a part of the shop separate from where the paint and finishing touches are applied. He starts with the head since it takes the most amount of time and requires a good deal of attention. After laying out his pattern, Collins looks to the bandsaw for cutting out the body before shaping the piece with a drum sander, draw knife, spoke shave and carving knives. “I mainly work with American linden, also known as basswood, and white pine,” says Bill. “Occasionally, I’ll use cedar for some of my pieces.” Once he is satisfied with the carved and sanded piece, oil paint is intricately applied, resulting in a masterfully crafted work of art. Much goes into this craft be-
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The Art of the Decoy sides skill and love of nature. An accomplished carver such as Bill does a good deal of research on a bird before selecting a pattern that
will best represent it. Considering himself a traditionalist, Bill’s preferred style is the f lat bottom decoy (versus round bottom). Collins also sketches the bird in various poses, putting his own spin on what he feels it should look like. This, according to Bill, differentiates the decoy makers. “If you hold a duck in your hand, some people see only colors,” he smiles. “But I see the feather pattern, look at the head and bill and study the anatomy of the bird.” With each carving, Bill Collins blends his inherent knowledge and personal connection to his craft, while continuing to maintain the centuries-old skills that have been passed down from master to ap-
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The Art of the Decoy prentice for generations. Some of the carvers he admires are legends like Charlie Joiner (1921-2015), the Ward brothers Stephen Ward (1895-1976) and Lemuel T. Ward, Jr. (1896-1984) and, of course, his mentor, R. Madison Mitchell (19011993). “Each of these folks has inf luenced my work in some way,” says Bill. “And with each project, I try to improve on the one before it.” Collins continues to work on decoys while remaining active with Ducks Unlimited, the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum and the annual Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland. He served as the honorary chairman for the Havre de
Grace Decoy Show in 1989 and continues to sit on the Board of Directors for the R. Madison Mitchell Endowment Trust. He has received the Conservation Award from Queen Anne’s County Ducks Unlimited and several awards of appreciation from the R. Madison Mitchell Endowment Trust. Kathi Ferguson is a freelance writer with a diverse and creative professional background. Some of her favorite subjects are the people, places and history of the Eastern Shore. To reach Kathi, email kathi@inotherwords.info or visit her website at www.inotherwordschesapeake.com.
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Kent County and Chestertown at a Glance Kent County is a treasury of early American history. Its principal towns and back roads abound with beautiful old homes and historic landmarks. The area was first explored by Captain John Smith in 1608. Kent County was founded in 1642 and named for the shire in England that was the home of many of Kent’s earliest colonists. When the first legislature assembled in 1649, Kent County was one of two counties in the colony, thus making it the oldest on the Eastern Shore. It extended from Kent Island to the present boundary. The first settlement, New Yarmouth, thrived for a time and, until the founding of Chestertown, was the area’s economic, social and religious center. Chestertown, the county seat, was founded in 1706 and served as a port of entry during colonial times. A town rich in history, its attractions include a blend of past and present. Its brick sidewalks and attractive antiques stores, restaurants and inns beckon all to wander through the historic district and enjoy homes and places with architecture ranging from the Georgian mansions of wealthy colonial merchants to the elaborate style of the Victorian era. Second largest district of restored 18th-century homes in Maryland, Chestertown is also home to Washington College, the nation’s tenth oldest liberal arts college, founded in 1782. Washington College was also the only college that was given permission by George Washington for the use of his name, as well as given a personal donation of money. The beauty of the Eastern Shore and its waterways, the opportunity for boating and recreation, the tranquility of a rural setting and the ambiance of living history offer both visitors and residents a variety of pleasing experiences. A wealth of events and local entertainment make a visit to Chestertown special at any time of the year. For more information about events and attractions in Kent County, contact the Kent County Visitor Center at 410-778-0416, visit www. kentcounty.com or e-mail tourism@kentcounty.com. For information about the Historical Society of Kent County, call 410-778-3499 or visit www.kentcountyhistory.org/geddes.php. For more info. visit www.chestertown.com. 125
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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. 129
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Changes:
All American Part XVII of a novel in many parts
by Roger Vaughan Previously: The year is 1988. Andy Thomas made an ill-advised tactical call during a race in 50foot sailboats that nearly caused a dangerous collision. His father, Mitchell (at the helm), was livid. Later, at the awards dinner, a drunken Andy delivered a public declaration that made it virtually impossible for Mitchell Thomas, a well-known amateur sailor, not to mount a Round the World Race challenge. Okay, you know the rest, but if you missed anything or need a refresher, go to www.tidewatertimes. com (writers, Roger Vaughan), where you can find all previous chapters. ***
I
t didn’t make sense that the sun was out, the wind was around five knots, that the crew was in shorts and light jackets, that the biggest heads’l was up and that All American was sliding along sedately at six knots. This was the Southern Ocean, an open swath of
water encircling the globe between the Antarctic and the southernmost headlands of South America, Africa and Australia where the wind blows a gale most of the time. The wind blows a gale here because the Southern Ocean girdles the planet unimpeded. The temperature decreases as one moves southward, and air is def lected toward the poles by the Earth’s rotation, causing strong westerly winds. Without any land masses blocking the 20,000-mile-long ring of water that is the Southern Ocean, the prevailing westerlies also kick up frighteningly large, menacing seas. And, being bordered on the south side by the polar region, it’s usually quite cold. Blizzards can happen. This ocean has acquired nicknames that shiver the timbers of anyone who has sailed there and that get the attention of anyone who is even imagining being there; nicknames like “The Roaring Forties” and “The Furious Fifties,” after the degrees of latitude that define the Southern Ocean. Roaring. Furious. That’s the
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one awkward question had been how skippers planned to avoid growlers after dark. Jan Sargent Southern Ocean. But this day the crew of All had broken the moody silence that American couldn’t have been in ensued by telling the press that more sublime climes, except for growlers didn’t come out at night. Off watch, Andy had stretched one thing: the enormous iceberg off to starboard about a mile away. out on the foredeck in the warm It was mesmerizing, a stark white sun and had been studying the big island of ice brushed with bluish berg with his pocket scope. Beshadows, glistening in the bright fore long, he found himself in the sun. It was low, maybe 60-70 feet emergency rubber boat that was high, and more or less f lat topped, required equipment for all yachts but it had to be half a mile long. As in the race. It hadn’t taken him large as it was, there was three or long to convince Sargent it would four times more of it underwater. be a good idea. All American had So they said, but it was quite im- slowed to a crawl, and with the little 4-horse Honda, the rubber boat possible to imagine. would get to the berg The boat was quiet. The crew was Jan Sargent had told the for a quick look long press that growlers before All Ameritransfixed by the immensity of the didn't come out at night can arrived. And it would be a good berg. The boys were quietly lost in their own thoughts. test of the rubber boat. Joe Dugan Most of the off watch was on deck, was with him, steering while Andy some taking pictures, all eager to continued to focus his scope on fully experience what for most of the berg. He was fascinated by an them was their first iceberg. Ice odd play of light on shadowy areas was one of the lurking dangers of the ice that seemed to be comon this leg. The large bergs would ing from within the berg. Andy appear on radar, but the smaller found himself telling Dugan about ones, “bergy bits,” and “growlers” his email astronomy pal and the the size of Volkswagen Beetles that unidentified object in outer space f loat very low in the water, pre- they had been watching, and how sented a perilous minefield for the his pal was convinced if an alien race boats. Sharp eyes front were craft came to earth it would land required at all times. At the press in the ocean. Why look for isolated conference before the start of this land sites when the ocean was so 7,500-mile leg from Punta del Este vast, so uninhabited? He told Joe to Fremantle, Western Australia, his pal was also convinced an ice132
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tising clichés that weren’t quite right. The lip synch was off. The berg would be the perfect place for beer in one hand was labeled “Bub aliens to hide, undetected. Lite.” They reached the berg in 10 Moving slowly, Joe scooped up minutes. All American looked tiny some sun-softened ice and molded behind them. They quickly saw a it into a ball that he threw at the f lat ledge that made for easy ac- blonde. It passed right through cess. Their little Danforth anchor her. Andy and Joe scrambled as took a good bite in the ice. They one, falling and sliding down the tied a second line to an icy out- slope to their boat. The buzzcropping. They found a path to a ing was louder. They felt the berg larger ledge 20 feet up, and from move under their feet. It was going there a steep but manageable to capsize. . . “ANDY! For slope to the top. Andy was taking Crissakes, wake the hell up, we’ve in the incredible view of the not- got a weather system coming. so-furious Southern Ocean on this All hands, man! All hands! Get very rare, peaceful day when Joe dressed. Hurry it up!” Andy was hailed him. Joe was on his knees, yanked out of his perilous dream staring into a secwith a start by Sartion of ice that was They felt the berg, move, gent yelling at him. under their feet. very smooth and From scrambling translucent, look- It was going to capsize. down the berg of ing like it had been his dream, he was melted and refrozen. Andy joined scrambling down the deck, trying him and was shocked by what had to get his bearings. He didn’t know gotten Joe’s attention: a metal which was worse, the dream or the surface below the surface of the reality. ice. It was unmistakable, but what That thought occurred to him was it, a ship trapped in the ice? again an hour later when he was An airplane? A space capsule? steering All American, surfing The sudden buzzing coming downwind under spinnaker. The from the ice was also unmistak- weather had closed in. It was very able. An electronic female voice dark for midday. Visibility was made them jump. Andy and Joe limited by the strong westerly whirled around to see a volup- storm bearing occasional f lurtuous blonde in a bikini standing ries of snow. Boat speed was conthere holding a six-pack of beer in stantly approaching 30 knots. The each hand. Her voice had a metal- boat was on a tear like a big, terrilic ring to it as she repeated adver- fied dog trying to shake its leash, 134
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rifying thrill. He knew how surfers must feel when they managed challenging its master to maintain to catch a monster. He understood control. It was dangerous, exhila- how the underlying fear increased rating sailing, on the edge. the insatiable need to do it again, At the bottom of some waves, and again. the wind would decrease and the The monsters were willing. boat would overtake the spinna- Hundreds, thousands of them ker, causing it to collapse, then fill were lining up to take their shots with a loud CR ACK! as it climbed at those who would trespass up the next hill. The acceleration upon their province. The Southcould knock a person off his feet. ern Ocean seas have a distincWhen the boat began planing tive quality. They don’t have just down the front of a wave, a thin whitecaps or breaking sections on vertical column of water about their crests. The waves are laced three feet high would shoot up on with streaks of foam raised by the either side of the bow, close to the wind, foam turned a grayish white stem. Andy had made a note to ask by the dark blackish blue hue of Gib Frey what that was all about. the water in these latitudes. On a For the helmsman, good day, the water The underlying fear it was a signal the looks heavy, thick, afterburners had increased the insatiable somehow reassurbeen lit. After those ing. Add thick gray need to do it again. little geysers apclouds to take away peared, the wheel would begin to the sun, add that layer of menacfeel light in Andy’s hands ~ light ing foam streaks like the web of with very fine control ~ as he some hungry maritime spider, and watched the speedo climb quickly it looked as dangerous as it was. to 26, 28, often touching 30 knots. The danger had to be evaluated, He felt the boat begin to hum like a had to be responsibly inserted into well-balanced f lywheel as it tried the crew’s race mentality. That to free itself from the sea and en- was easier said than done. The ter a performance zone beyond race mentality had been a preany computerized predictability. existing condition for every memDuring these mad drops down ber of the crew, with the possible the faces of waves in the 40-foot exception of Andy, who had been range, Andy wondered how much shanghaied. But Andy was a comof the bow section was out of the petitor. Once he had yielded to the water. He wished he could see for inevitable, it hadn’t taken much himself. It was some ultimate, ter- to bring him into the game. Being 136
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Below, no one had been sleeping very hard in the heavy conditions, in race mode was essential. It was and all were still dressed. Stu’s also risky. Risk was part of racing, shout had given them a moment necessary for winning, but it was to react. There would be bruises also an attitude that could easily aplenty, but nothing serious. Dave become addictive and go beyond Zimmer fetched up covered with reason. The tail ~ the boat, in this a pudding Teddy Bosworth had case ~ could easily start wagging made as a dessert, something Bothe dog if cool heads didn’t prevail. sworth would never let him forget. The several radio reports of trouOn deck, it was different. Andy ble in the f leet, a broken rudder and Caskie Kolegeri had grabbed here, a broken boom there, helped winches and were hanging on, those cooler heads (Sargent, Di- suspended, struggling to find a maris) with their soul searching, foothold. Stu clung to the wheel. helped remind them that you can’t Roger Davis had hold of the win if you don’t finish. The broach weather backstay, and Joe Dugan put the icing on that cake. had fetched up on the hydraulic Stu Samuels boom vang connecthadn’t been on the As the mast came upright, ing the boom to the the spinnaker began base of the mast. wheel for five minutes when a cross The spinnaker tearing itself to shreds. wave smacked the had to be released, weather (starboard) stern of All or they would have to wait many American about the same time minutes hoping it would tear those little geysers began appear- apart, releasing the wind and waing at the bow. It was very bad ter that was pinning them down. luck. Stu reacted quickly, but the The boat’s bottom was now broadrudder was useless. There was side to the big seas that were nothing he could do but shout a breaking on it, sending cascades warning and hang on as the boat of water pouring down on the went into a rapid right-hand turn, crewmen trying to hang on. They the lee rail rolling down hard as were all clipped on, but being ranthe spinnaker (now pulling side- domly dragged by their safety harways) hauled the mast toward the nesses was to be avoided if at all water. Very quickly the boat was possible. on its ear, stopped, with the mast The spinnaker sheet was undernearly parallel with the sea, held water on the leeward winch, undown by a spinnaker full of air available. Andy realized his hand that was also filling with water. hold was the winch holding the 138
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20 knots instead of 30. “We have found out,” Sargent said to his battered crew, “when it is unadvisable to set.” The off watch went below to clean up the mess. Teddy Bosworth stuck his head up the hatch. “Just in case you think we dodged a bullet,” the unhappy Bosworth announced, “there will be no pudding for dessert.” ***
guy, the line to the pole-end of the spinnaker. One of his f lailing feet finally found a purchase on the end of the traveler track that was now vertical. He removed his right hand from the winch and found the knife he always had strapped to his leg. He lunged and reached with all he had, scraping the knife edge across the guy. The line was under such extreme tension it exn the Long Island estate, ploded, releasing and emptying the spinnaker and allowing the boat to Deedee was in her bedroom, where slowly but surely right itself. With she was spending most of her time one end untethered, as the mast these days. It had been a progrescame upright the spinnaker began sion. First she had stopped driving and doing errands. Then she had tearing itself to shreds. confined herself to Stu was on it, All American was the house. The last teasing the boat on her way to time she’d gone sailback to course as Freemantle again ing was with Andy water drained slowthe day he’d come ly off the deck and out of the cockpit. It didn’t help to beg her to get him off The Race. that a few waves broke over the That was a year ago now. For the stern until speed was reached. All last few months, she’d confined hands were now on deck, counting herself to her bedroom, an elegant heads and checking for damage to suite to be sure, with its writgear and themselves. The mainsail ing table, music system, televiand boom were miraculously in sion, plenty of comfortable chairs, one piece. So was the crew, freez- gorgeously appointed bathroom ing cold but all accounted for. The with heated f loor, walk-in closet, spinnaker remains were quickly and a view of the boathouse and lowered and corralled, thanks to Sound. But it was still the bedroom. the sheet staying secured to the Deedee’s hairdresser came by once a sail. Sargent called for the number week to do her hair. Myrtle did the three jib to be raised for balance. shopping, cooking and everything Soon, All American was on her else. Myrtle brought meals that went way to Freemantle again, making mostly uneaten to the bedroom. It
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Myrtle tied a bow on the box. Deedee took the box and put it in a had become rare to see Deedee in shopping bag. “Now I need you to deliver this to any other part of the house. It was after 9 p.m. In dressing Becky Cotton. Just like this. Keep gown and robe, Deedee was at her it out of sight. You must hand it to writing desk folding papers and Becky personally. You know where putting them in envelopes that she her studio is. It’s for her birthday.” “Yes ma’am, I placed in a handsome wooden box Mr. Thomas wanted to know know the place.” if Deedee were ready “And tell my husthat Ossie had made. She fastened the box for her evening cocktail. band yes, I’m ready for my cocktail.” shut and was trying to tie it with a ribbon when Myrtle Myrtle left with the box. Deedee appeared to say that Mr. Thomas slipped off her robe and got into wanted to know if she were ready bed with her back against the wedge pillow she used for readfor her evening cocktail. “Myrtle, my hands seem to be ing, smoothing the covers around failing me. Could you tie this, her. Her frail frame hardly made a bulge in the bed clothes. please?”
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Mitch arrived with her drink and some papers on a silver tray. “I brought some faxes from Race Headquarters,” Mitch said. “They seem to be doing well again on Leg 2. Had some heavy weather, but all survived, no damage. Andy got high marks. A good article about the fashion show in Punta.” Deedee gave Mitch a close look as she took the drink and the faxes. She hadn’t seen him so outgoing for some time. And saying something positive about Andy. Remarkable. Mitch could be quite charming, disarmingly so, when he needed to be. She knew that. Charming was probably the major secret of his success, in the early days, anyway. Charming and opportunistic,
certainly a winning combination with her father. But as Mitch had climbed up the ranks, charming Mitch had been locked in his room by mean and nasty Mitch, the real Mitch. Occasionally, the charmer got let out brief ly when it was needed. “Thanks, Mitch,” Deedee said, taking a sip of her drink. “Very nice. A little. . . sweet.” Deedee smiled. “Oh, I can’t wait to read these.” “I’ll let you be,” Mitch said, turning to leave. “Sleep well.” Roger Vaughan has lived, worked, and sailed in Oxford since 1980.
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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WAVERLY ISLAND ROAD - “One Particular Harbor”- Fabulous 5,000+ sq. ft. brick waterfront home with pool in desirable Waverly Island location in Oxford Road Corridor. Situated on 2+ acres in private park like setting on Platters Cove off the Tred Avon River, this contemporary mostly one level home boasts 4+ BRs, and well defined living spaces including a large River room with panoramic water views, formal living room (wood burning fireplace), formal dining room and a family room. Spacious kitchen w/granite, high end appliances, pantry and tons of cabinets. First floor primary BR suite with wood burning fireplace and luxurious primary bathroom. Additional first floor BR/library with full bath. 3 BRs up with full bath and study. Septic approved for 4 BR. Outdoor features include patio, large deck, oversized deep gunite pool with 9’ deep end. Property has 4+ MLW, 480’ shoreline with rip rap and protected harbor, bulkhead slip, and a 10K boat lift. Attached 2 car garage and workshop. $1,925,000. www.7302WaverlyIslandRoad.com
PARTRIDGE POINT FARM First time offered! 72+/- acres on Bolingbroke Creek. On a high bluff, this property has a custom 4 BR Timberpeg home with European influences, 3 BR guest house, pier, boat ramp, pond, barns and outbuildings. Main house has vaulted ceilings, arched beams, hardwood floors, 2 story foyer, multiple fireplaces and water views from every room. Offered for $2,695,000 www.PartridgePointFarm.com
Waterfront Estates, Farms and Hunting Properties also available.
Kathy Christensen
410-924-4814(C) · 410-822-1415(O ) Benson & Mangold Real Estate 27999 Oxford Road, Oxford, Maryland 21654 kccamb@gmail.com · www.kathychristensen.com
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BOSTON CLIFF, ca. 1729 Perfectly maintained brick house & guest house. Outbuildings, pool, deepwater dock. 2000 ft. Choptank River shoreline. Big views. 20 private acres of high land, close to Easton. Hunting. $2,995,000
EASTON, 1st STORY BEDROOMS Spacious low maintenance home designed for comfortable living! 4 BRs, 3-1/2 BAs. 2-car garage with shop. Dining room, family room with woodstove. Large kitchen. Deck overlooking colorful flower garden. Only $459,000
SEVENTH HAVEN 3.7 ac. facing west on Dixon Creek near Easton. 4 ft MLW. High ground. Ren. low maintenance 3 BR shingle-style home. Hardwood floors, Central A/C. $1,195,000.
“AVONBOURNE” 17 ac. private point of land, 600 ft of shoreline on Shipshead Creek between Easton and St. Michaels. 5 BR cont. brick home. Large garage/barn, pool, dock. $1,500,000.
SHORELINE REALTY 114 Goldsborough St., Easton, MD 21601 410-822-7556 · 410-310-5745 www.shorelinerealty.biz · bob@shorelinerealty.biz
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