Cobb Island: A.M. Foley

Cobb Island by A.M. Foley

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 childhood 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