C LO C K FAC E F R O M L . H E D G E CO C K S M I T H ’S S T U D I O
recent history, African-American, arabbing consisted of a system of food distribution that linked the city’s docks along the harbor to street after street of row houses beyond. Today, arabbers are diminishing in number due to several factors. Donald “Manboy” Savoy, Sr., an elder in the arabbing community of West Baltimore, has been arabbing for over half a century. In St. Michaels, Michael Vlahovich (Talbot County) is a master builder and restorer of the Chesapeake’s vanishing skipjack fleet, the wooden boats that have dredged oysters for over a century. His apprentice, John Rafter, is learning this art by helping to restore Kathryn, located on Deal Island and one of the oldest skipjacks on the Chesapeake. M I C H A E L V L A H OV I C H & C R E W
Andy Shaw is the shipwright at historic St Mary’s City and a master spar-carver, which is the mast of a ship and critical for effective sailing. On land, Rhonda Aaron is a master muskrat skinner and cook who lives in and off the Blackwater marshes of Southern Dorchester County. Having been taught by his grandfather from the age of 6, Steve Sullivan (Dorchester County) is a master Purple Martin house builder, making homes for the singing birds that eat pesky insects. Each of Steve’s houses can provide homes for dozens of martins, which is why he sometimes calls them “martin mansions”. In Somerset County, Rich Smoker is a master duck decoy carver who won the 2008 Ward World Championship in the Shootin’ Rig category, and in 2011 he received the Maryland Traditions ALTA Award.
Warren Saunders, from Dorchester County, is also a
WA R R E N S AU N D E R S
master duck decoy carver who learned from many wellknown carvers, including the legendary Ron Rue. Warren was featured in Smithsonian Magazine, teaches at regional museums and high schools, and competes throughout the US. This year, he is teaching his apprentice, Roger Webster, an avid hunter, the art of making working ducks for use out in the marshes of the Eastern Shore.
The making of musical instruments is also practiced by many in the state. Baile McKnight is a celebrated master drummer and drum-maker in Maryland and DC’s African drum and dance community. He established Baile’s African Drum Works in Forestville in 1975, and performs today with Drum Call. Kevin Enoch and Pete Ross are masters in banjo making. Using the skills he has learned as a carpenter, Kevin’s late 19th century-style banjos are distinctive in design and