August 2014 ttimes web magazine

Tidewater Times August 2014

Baker • Hickory Chair • Century • Lee • Vanguard • The Ralph Lauren Home

About the Cover Photograph

Dan Scenna and Joelle Herman

The cover photo,“Racing the Storm,” by Dan Scenna, with post processing by Joelle Herman, was taken at an antique threshing show.

Dan Scenna is an award-winning photographer and educator based in Frederick, Maryland. His works include portraiture, abstract, macro/ close-up photography, still life studies and fi ne art. He teaches classes and conducts workshops in a variety of photography subjects. His workshops on studio and location

figure fi ne art and portraiture have produced many contest winners for his students.

His first photographic love is black and white. The ability to show form and texture, using directional light on the subject is his favorite method. He loves being able to use the same basic techniques across different genres to produce emotional and thought provoking responses from the viewer, regardless of subject matter.

Joelle Herman lives outside of DC with her husband and two daughters. Working and creating art in the nation’s capital affords her many opportunities to contribute her artistic and project management talents to various organizations.

Her work has been published in MPT “Capture Outdoor Maryland” (fine art book and calendar) and Maryland Life Magazine. In addition to print and online, she has participated in juried exhibitions in several DC area galleries including The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center, Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts, Washington School of Photography, and twice a year with the Frederick Camera Clique competitions.

Herman currently teaches photography courses at Frederick Community College and gives private lessons in various photographic techniques.

“A Guarded Walk” by Joelle Herman.

“Waterlily” by Dan Scenna.

There’s a Car Under That Dust!

by Helen Chappell

So, I was in this support group meeting for people who love food too much the other day, and one of the members had just come back from a trip to the Thunderbird Museum down south. He’s a car enthusiast, and this trip was a very big deal for him. Somehow or another, he ended up describing my ’87 Corolla, gently aging in the parking lot.

I, on the other hand, also love my vehicle, but I adhere to the Code of the Writer. Oh, it’s an unwritten code, but it exists, and like our secret handshake, it’s how we can recognize each other in the wild.

“Oh,” sez he, “You’re the dirty white car with the semi-flat tires and the Who Died and Made You Elvis bumper sticker?” He was passive-aggressively teasing me, not because he dislikes me (I don’t think), but because for him, cars are a kind of religion ~ an object of veneration.

His truck is immaculate. You could eat off his carburetor, I’ll bet. He probably washes and waxes it once a week, and has his own hand vacuum just to clean the floor mats. I even bet he uses saddle soap on his leather seats. I mean, the man loves his vehicle. It must be a guy thing.

Most writers have absolutely filthy cars. Not just dried leaves and gravel rolling around on the floor mats, but enough dust and dirt on the outside to make our scratches and dents nearly invisible. Only bestselling writers, and those who have a rich spouse, drive shiny new high-end autos that are all sparkling and driven through the car wash once a week. That kind of clean is for wusses and amateurs.

A real writer drives a beater, like mine. The death seat is a second office, filled with papers, notebooks, Kindles, old mail, magazines you mean to pass on to the next reader, works in progress, books you’ve borrowed or lent, and, in my case, a teddy bear. I found him by the side of the road, and he rides shotgun ~ a little auto spirit that keeps me from T-boning someone at the Death Intersection of Oxford Road and the Bypass. He fits in nicely with the old People magazines and the reporter’s notebooks I keep on

There’s A Car Under There!

hand just in case, even though I stopped reporting a long time ago. Then there are the little stickers my dentist hands out to kids. My dashboard is covered with tiny bees, flags, race cars, apples, ghosts, and other tokens of my many dental hygiene visits over the years. Because, basically, I am a big kid, and my urge to decorate any available surface is as mighty as my aversion to going to the car wash. It could be argued that the more talented the writer, the dirtier and more cluttered the car. Two Pulitzer-winning writers of my acquaintance have amazingly neglected and cluttered rides of ven -

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erable age. Not to name names, but my former editor at the Washington Post , Gene Weingarten, once confessed in print that his

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There’s A Car Under There!

ride was such a hot mess that he found a long-forgotten and desiccated chicken dinner, still nestled in its styrofoam clamshell, buried under a pile of old Posts in his back seat. My hat is off to him. I could only hope to emulate such a car crime, as well as that Pulitzer he won. I’m doing better with the dirty car competition.

I come by my casual automotive neglect naturally. First, I grew up on the Shore, and spent much of my childhood on a farm on the water off an unpaved road. A clean car was unknown in those days. My silver-haired daddy also grew up on a farm, and I learned

by his example that physically you must be squeaky clean and well groomed, but when it comes to your car, baby, all bets are off.

Like most doctors of his generation, he drove a Ford. A new Ford every year. Ford to the hospital, Ford to the office, Ford home, a Ford to the hospital in the middle of the night, a Ford on the farm. And once on the farm, he drove the Ford up and down the unpaved neck roads, down to Hooper’s Island where the doctors had a gunning club, across the fields, ploughed and unplowed, full of his Hereford cattle, over high tides and through hurricane floods. In short ~ where he went, the Ford went. As my brother says, “He

There’s A Car Under There!

drove the hell out of those cars.” Literally. When he traded it in at the end of the year, that car had been driven.

All of those cars ended up covered in dust, full of bits of flora and fauna, bits and pieces of this and that, old medical magazines, uncashed checks from Southern States (that I got to keep if I dug around and found them first).

My brother, on the other hand, had an early love affair with cars. He had a job in high school to support his car habit. He loved his Austin-Healys, his Fiats, his little tiny, sexy babe-magnet sports cars. And you’d better believe they

were all immaculately maintained and waxed to a mirror shine. His spare time was spent tinkering with his cars.

He’s like my mother. As was the custom in mid-century, my father bought my mother a new Cadillac every year, and you’d better believe you could eat off the floor mats of her rides.

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There’s A Car Under There!

One of us has to be possessed of a fine engineering mind, and it ain’t going to be me. I keep myself and my clothes clean, take a whack at cleaning the house, the dishes are always done and I create better in little piles of organized paper, so what do you want from me? If you buy me a new car, I’m willing to meet you at the crossroads and at least hear what you have to propose.

Even though his love for low, slinky sports cars has gone with his adolescence, my brother still maintains immaculate cars and is horrified by my car slobbery. I am too, but part of my charm is that

I like to take something, an idea, an incident, a dirty car, and push it as far as I can. I consider it an art form.

But a friend who manages a car wash offered me a free session, so I just might take him up on it. It is time for its once-a-year bath.

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

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Captain Owen Burns: A Sailor’s Life Remembered

by Dick Cooper

The obelisk of gray stone that dominates a rise in the historic “Old Bohemia” Cemetery marks the Eastern Shore resting place of Owen Burns, a sea captain whose family story is the stuff of a sweeping American saga: Scotland in the 1730s is torn by political and religious strife. An 18-year-old lad follows a young nobleman who promises a new life in the Colonies and boards a ship docked on the River Clyde in Glasgow. The nobleman, Gabriel Johnston, is the freshly appointed governor of North Carolina Colony and the lad, Francis Burns, receives a land grant from the King of England. He works hard, builds a plantation and becomes a member of the landed gentry in his own right. He shepherds his family through the Revolutionary War and leaves a fortune to his heirs. A grandson becomes a privateer in the War of 1812 and his great-grandson (our interred sea captain) is at the heart of a family legend that includes a strong-willed woman and President Abraham Lincoln. As the family multiplies and spreads across the

ever-expanding nation, more fortunes are made and lost, landmarks are built and offspring leave their marks on the country from Florida to Hawaii.

Owen Burns was born in 1810 near the tidewater town of Swansboro, North Carolina, not far from the current-day Marine Corps base, Camp Lejeune. His father, Otway Burns Jr., was a well-known local sea captain who plied the Atlantic from Canada to the Caribbean.

Captain Owen Burns

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When the War of 1812 broke out, Captain Otway was granted a “Letter of Marque” by the United States government and sailed his Baltimore Clipper, Snap Dragon , as a privateer against the British. Captain Otway (Otway was his grandmother’s maiden name) became a hero of the war, capturing British prizes wherever he sailed. His exploits earned him chapters in local history accounts, and his biographer, historian Jack Robinson, in his book Captain Otway Burns and his ship Snap Dragon, compared him to John Paul Jones. He was, however, often gone from home and lost custody of his son when

his wife died in 1814. Robinson reported that court records show he regained custody five years later, only after paying $1,000 (about $18,000 in today’s dollars). After that, Otway built and lost fortunes. He was at times a shipbuilder and active in state politics. When he fell on hard times, President Andrew Jackson gave him a job as the tender on the Brant Shoals lightship. He died in 1850.

According to Swansboro’s history blog, Otway’s son, Owen, was about 14 when he followed his father to sea and became a Midshipman in the U.S. Navy. He worked his way up to the rank of Master by the time he was 21, served in the Mediterranean and Pacific, and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1834. Owen resigned his naval commission in 1840. Near the end of his book, Robinson reports that after the Navy, Owen lived in Portsmouth, North Carolina, and became a businessman and ship owner.

Owen shows up again in records

Captain Owen Burns

Captain Otway Burns, Jr.

Model of the Snap Dragon .

when he married Martha Armstrong, the 15-year-old daughter of a Baltimore family, in 1849, according to a family genealogy. Their first son, Paul, was born in Baltimore the next year, followed by Ignatius in 1854 and Louis in 1855. Louis lived for just over a week. After that, the family began to move back south. Son Xavier was born in 1857 in Wilmington, North Carolina. The family then moved to Fernandina, Florida, a boomtown and the Atlantic terminus of the first cross-Florida railroad that connected with Cedar Key on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Owen worked as a bookkeeper, and it was there that Martha gave birth to son Richard in 1859 and their only

2014-2015 Federal Duck Stamp Print The King’s Realm

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daughter, Camille Lillian, who was born in May of 1861, a month after the start of the Civil War.

Owen’s allegiance was never in question. He returned to the sea as a blockade runner for the Confederates, bringing supplies to his native North Carolina. Martha moved her young family back to the relative safety of Maryland, settling in Fredericktown, Cecil County. Federals captured Owen and threw him in prison with other Confederate sailors, where he fell into ill health.

Citing family oral histories, Robinson wrote that Martha sailed across the Chesapeake Bay to Annapolis, and then walked to Washington, D.C., where she convinced President Lincoln to release her

In the early nineteenth century, Captain Otway Burns, a privateer of some fame during the War of 1812, brought attention to Swansboro by constructing in 1818 the first steamboat ever made in North Carolina, the Prometheus.

husband to her custody for the duration of the war.

“Unfortunately, no official records have been found to substantiate the story of Owen’s presidential pardon,” Robinson wrote. “President Lincoln, in fact, did pardon prisoners during the war and several primary sources identify a person named Burns living in Fernandina during the Civil War. However, it cannot be absolutely established

Captain Owen Burns

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Captain Owen Burns

that this Burns is Captain Owen Burns. Even if the corroborative documents are never located, this story is a warm and intriguing part of Burns’ history and will no doubt continue to be handed down from one generation to the next.”

One thing is for sure, before the end of the war Owen arrived in Fredericktown, Maryland, and the prolific Burnses kept up their procreative ways. Son Walter was born there in 1866 and Edward in 1867. Captain Owen Burns died on his birthday, April 8, 1869, at the age of 59. His last son, Owen Jr., was born six months later.

Members of the Burns clan continued to travel and distinguish themselves over the better part of the next century. Paul married in Philadelphia and moved to San Jose, California. He died in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1903. Ignatius wound up in Honolulu, where he married Julia Regina Afong, the descendent of a Hawaiian chief. Xavier showed up in California married to an “orchardist,” and became a real estate broker and rancher. Richard first moved to Manhattan and then to Sacramento, California. Camille Lillian was married in Chicago and died in New York City.

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cessfully in North Carolina for the recognition he felt was needed for his War of 1812 hero grandfather, Otway Burns. A statue of Otway was erected at Walter’s expense. He died in Larchmont, New York, in 1930. Edward moved to San Francisco and eventually wound up in Sarasota, Florida, a town that was developed by his younger brother, Owen Jr. He died in February 1939 when a kerosene heater exploded. Owen Burns Jr.’s life is worth another story all by itself. In 1910, he moved to Sarasota to go fishing and wound up buying 75 percent of the city of Sarasota for $35,000. He became a business partner of circus magnate John Ringling. He built “Ca d’Zan,” Ringling’s palace on

Captain Owen Burns

Owen Burns Jr. as a young man.

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Sarasota Bay. He ran the company that dredged the city’s harbor, built St. Armand’s Circle and developed Lido and Longboat Keys. The glitzy high-rise condos of Golden Gate Point are built on fill that Burns dredged from Sarasota Bay. His name is still on many of the city’s

enduring landmarks. According to the Sarasota newspaper, his mother, Martha, moved to the city and was unhappy that there was no Catholic church. Owen stepped up to the challenge and helped build St. Martha’s Roman Catholic Church. By the time he died suddenly in

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Captain Owen Burns

Ca d’Zan

Captain Owen Burns

1937, however, like his grandfather Otway, Owen Burns Jr. had seen much of his fortune evaporate. His obituary in the Sarasota Herald was only five inches long and in -

The obelisk marking the grave of Captain Owen Burns.

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Captain Owen Burns

cluded the list of pall bearers. But, like his grandfather, his memory has been resuscitated. In 2010, the city council issued a proclamation declaring Owen Burns Week, honoring the pioneer with a special week to commemorate his birthday and celebrate his legacy.

The Eastern Shore cemetery where Captain Owen Burns has rested for the last 145 years has changed little since he was buried there. Twice in that time highways have been built to bypass the quiet farmland, and the obelisk, erected in his memory by his children, still stands tall and straight and proud. Its inscription is clear and deep.

Son of Capt. Otway Burns

Born 1810 - Died 1869

U.S. Navy 1824 - 1840

Dick Cooper is a Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist. He and his wife, Pat, live and sail in St. Michaels, Maryland. He can be reached at dickcooper@coopermediaassociates.com.

Capt. Owen Burns

TIDE TABLE OXFORD, MD AUGUST 2014

SHARP’S IS. LIGHT: 46 minutes before Oxford

TILGHMAN: Dogwood Harbor same as Oxford

EASTON POINT: 5 minutes after Oxford

CAMBRIDGE: 10 minutes after Oxford

CLAIBORNE: 25 minutes after Oxford

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

WYE LANDING: 1 hr. after Oxford

ANNAPOLIS: 1 hr., 29 min. after Oxford

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

CENTREVILLE LANDING: 2 hrs. after Oxford

CHESTERTOWN: 3 hrs., 44 min. after Oxford

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Anne Stinson Simply One of a Kind

by Kathi Ferguson

It was not until I was asked to write this story that I discovered Anne Stinson was my neighbor. Suddenly, it made sense that the eye-catching garden I had long been admiring from across the street just happened to belong to the author of the Star Democrat ’s weekly column, Nature Notes. A brief encounter with Anne on the way to the mailbox one afternoon offered the perfect opportunity to introduce myself and compliment her on her excellent taste in curb appeal. “When we moved here,” she informed me, “I decided I had to take out all of those ‘ordinary green things’ and plant something much more interesting!”

Quick to accept Anne’s invitation to visit the next day, we spent several hours getting acquainted over coffee and pecan Danish in the living room of her Easton home. A myriad of beautiful paintings (several with Stinson as the subject), drawings, and photos of Anne’s family cover the walls, seeming to encompass the baby grand piano that is perfectly positioned near the front window. “I used to play,” says Anne, “but

not very well, although I’m not a bad singer!” We chatted about life, love, family, art, and, yes, writing. One conversation with this lifetime lover of words was like hearing her stories come alive.

Anne Stinson enjoys an afternoon on the beach in the 1960s.

Anne Stinson

Anne will tell you she was born to write. Originally from Emmitsburg, Maryland, just south of Gettysburg, Stinson has always been an avid reader, which she believes is requisite to being a good writer. “If you haven’t been reading since first grade, you’re at a disadvantage. Make it a habit like breathing. Not only read, but pay attention and remember.”

That philosophy held merit as Anne’s natural writing ability was tapped at a very early age when she was asked to substitute for her sixth grade English teacher. “Not long after that I had my first by-

line,” she says. “I wrote the school song for my seventh grade commencement.”

A stellar student of high school Latin, Anne developed affection for Spanish in college and still loves to speak it whenever she can. She attended Goucher College, but left after her sophomore year to get married and raise her children. She returned to school when they were all grown. “That was 22 years later,” she says. “I like to think of it as my junior year lapse ~ but I never stopped writing.”

Anne was simultaneously working as a freelancer doing feature stories for the Baltimore Sun and the now defunct Baltimore News

Anne, surrounded by her children, Harriet, Ian, Bess and Josh.

Anne Stinson

American , “all while keeping house and bringing up five kids,” she adds. “I must say, I was one heck of a good mother!”

Whenever family entered our conversation, Anne’s sense of pride was undeniable. In addition to her four surviving children ~ Joshua, Ian, Bess and Harriet ~ she has four grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren. “They’re the loves of my life,” she says endearingly. “I simply adore them all. Daughter Harriet and I talk every day, and my granddaughters do most of my grocery shopping since I can’t drive anymore. I miss zipping around in my red Mustang convertible, but

all is not lost ~ granddaughter Evelyn inherited it, so I can still enjoy the ride.”

Stinson moved to Talbot County in the 1970s to work for Chesapeake Publishing as editor of the Dorchester News. In 1975, Anne joined the staff of the Star Democrat when the paper went from a weekly publication to a daily. “I became captivated by the treasure trove of stories on the Eastern Shore just waiting to be written, and was particularly fascinated by the waterman’s role,” she explains. “It’s like a whole other culture ~ wonderful! I really started getting into that part of my reporting.”

To get their story, Anne became a frequent passenger on board

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Anne Stinson

some of Tilghman Island’s now legendary skipjacks. “At the time, there were 12 of those marvelous boats sailing out of Dogwood Harbor,” she recalls while showing me one of the original black and white photos she took for an assignment. “I used to go out tonging with the crew in all kinds of weather, writing stories and taking pictures. My hands would get so cold in the winter I could barely move my fingers! We would set out at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. and return to dock around one in the afternoon for a cup of ‘hard coffee.’ To this day I’m not exactly sure what that meant, but it was strong enough to stand your hair on end! But the oyster stew made up for it! I had the most incredible times with those guys.”

As I indulge in my second piece of pastry, Anne begins to reflect on the other love of her life, her husband and fellow writer, the late John Goodspeed, whom she fondly refers to as “Johnny Boy.” I ask if the portrait I spotted earlier of the handsome and dapper-looking gentleman was of John. “Yes, indeed,” she answers. “And he was that good looking right up to the end of his life.”

Like Anne, Goodspeed was an accomplished writer and journalist. He held many editing and public relations positions throughout his career, and spent nearly 15

John Goodspeed. years at the Baltimore Evening Sun writing “Peep’s Diary,” a weekday column that chronicled the city, its habits and people. He also appeared on The Critic’s Place on Maryland Public Television from 1974 to 1986, reviewing books.

“We had such fun together,” Anne recalls. “John loved to play the piano. After dinner he’d start tickling the ivories and I would join in strumming my gut bucket bass and we’d both sing classic Cole Porter songs. A martini or two would most assuredly be involved!” She smiles. “Oh, he was such a dear.” Goodspeed passed away in 2006.

Calling it her “brief brush with insanity,” Anne left Chesapeake Publishing for a time to work as a

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press secretary for a congressman, but soon resumed her career at the paper as a reporter, columnist, editor and critic. Throughout that time, she initiated the Star Democrat ’s Weekend section and began her beloved Nature Notes column.

Captivating readers with her zany descriptions of flora, fauna, and anything in between, Nature Notes became (and remained for years) one of the paper’s most popular columns. “And there I am again!” Stinson says, chuckling. “My desire to write certainly did not diminish after retirement, so I suggested bringing Nature Notes

Anne Stinson

Anne with youngest daughter, Harriet Mills.

back to the paper ~ a metamorphosis of sorts. The editor agreed that I would send over four weeks of columns and see what kind of response it got,” Anne said. “In a word, overwhelming! I got so many phone calls saying how good it is to ‘have Stinson back’!”

Our coffee cups needing a refill, Anne insisted on showing me around the rest of the house. En route to the kitchen I spotted a jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table that was near completion, as well as a curious-looking object standing upright in the corner. “Isn’t that a ridiculous looking thing?” asked Anne. “It actually makes music! My son Ian found an old wooden cigar box and made it

into a guitar. By the way,” she added, “I made the table ~ and the high boy to match.”

The next room on my tour was what Anne fondly refers to as her “lab or atory.” It is easy to see why she is inspired here. Filled with natural light, a well-stocked bookshelf takes up one wall, a welcoming sofa on another, and the author’s desk sits next to the window looking out on a small yet ‘bustling’ yard.

“There’s always a flurry of activity going on out here,” says Anne, “and Mother Nature never fails to show me something new. I will often have to stop writing to watch such things as a hawk taking the feathers off a blue jay, or to tend

Anne Stinson

with her children,” Farwell recalls. “A lot of Anne’s influence is seen in what Tidewater Times is today. When I was older and began working full time here, she was a joy to have as a feature writer, and I continue to marvel at her eye for the interesting. Anne is a person who has really lived. She remains an integral part of the Eastern Shore lifestyle that Tidewater Times has endeavored to convey.”

to those rotten little rabbits eating my flowers! Rabbit spray works, but stinging their little butts with a BB gun is much more effective!”

It was in the late 1970s when Tidewater Times approached Anne to write for them after reading one of her stories in the Star Democrat. Anne chuckles. “My first story for them was the one about an ornery chicken named Gomer that fell off a truck and ended up on a farm, saving itself from the dreaded chopping block!” Anne has written for them off and on ever since. Now she writes the monthly book review called Tidewater Review. Current Tidewater Times editor Anne Farwell has known Stinson practically all her life. “Anne was our neighbor as we grew up down in McDaniel, and I was friends

A youthful 87, Anne has been officially retired since 2010, but as far as I could tell, only in theory. Warm, witty and perhaps a little quirky, Stinson still shovels, rakes, cuts down tree limbs in the backyard, tends to her beloved garden, reads, writes, and enjoys life. Getting to know her has been both a pleasure and a privilege. And she’s not a bad neighbor either! “Remember, darling,” she winks, “Put visual things in your stories, check your verbs, be careful with your adjectives and in every third paragraph or so, include a zinger!”

Kathi Ferguson is a freelance writer with a diverse and creative professional background. Some of her favorite subjects are the people of the Eastern Shore. To reach Kathi, e-mail kathi@inotherwords.info.

Anne

Celebrate the Tomato

Fresh tomatoes take center stage in summer recipes. While it is the time of year to bemoan the oppressive heat, we would do well to remember the refreshing things about summer, including the lovely luscious tomatoes available to us now. In a few months we’ll all have to be content with tomatoes that may look good, but are only a shadow of their fresh summer counterparts in terms of taste.

The following recipes take advantage of the bounty of fresh tomatoes available now. If you don’t have your own garden, go to your local farmer’s market.

You don’t need fancy recipes to enjoy tomatoes. A little salt, and maybe some bacon, lettuce, mayonnaise and your favorite bread is a perfect meal.

Salsa is one way to use tomatoes that never goes out of style. The

Celebrate the Tomato

fresh version is far superior to the bottled versions, and well worth the chopping time. The unexpected ingredient in this salsa recipe is the cheese. The brininess of the cheese is the perfect complement to the zing of the tomato. Try it with tortilla or pita chips.

1 T. red wine vinegar

4 oz. crumbled feta cheese

In a medium bowl, stir together the tomatoes, avocado, onion and garlic. Mix in the parsley and oregano. Gently stir in the olive oil and vinegar. Gently fold in the feta cheese. Cover and chill for 2 to 6 hours before serving.

TOMATO TART

Serves 4-6

1/2 (15-oz.) pkg. refrigerated pie crust

1 garlic bulb

1/2 t. olive oil

1-1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese, divided

AVOCADO FETA SALSA

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped

1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T. snipped fresh parsley

1 T. fresh oregano, chopped

1 T. olive oil

Tomato Tart

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Celebrate the Tomato

4 large tomatoes

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

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Press refrigerated pie crust into the bottom and up the sides of a square 9-inch tart pan. Bake at 450° for 9 minutes, or until pie crust is lightly browned. Set aside. Cut off the pointed end of the garlic bulb. Place the bulb on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle the top with olive oil. Fold the foil to seal. Bake the garlic at 425° for 30 minutes and then set aside to cool.

Slice the tomatoes evenly and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Place the slices on folded paper towels to draw out some of the moisture. Let stand for about 10 minutes.

Squeeze the pulp from the garlic cloves into the bottom of the pie crust and spread evenly. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the fontina cheese over the garlic. Arrange the tomato slices over the shredded cheese.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Celebrate the Tomato

Top with the remaining 1 cup of fontina.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes, or until tart is lightly browned.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

6-8 servings

4 large green tomatoes

2 t. salt

1 t. pepper

1-1/2 cups buttermilk

1 cup plain white cornmeal

1 T. Creole seasoning

2 cups all-purpose flour, divided Vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 200°.

Cut the tomatoes into 1/4-inchthick slices. Sprinkle both sides evenly with salt and pepper.

Pour buttermilk into a shallow dish. In another bowl stir together the cornmeal, Creole seasoning and 1 cup flour.

Dredge the tomatoes in the remaining 1 cup of flour. Dip the tomatoes in the buttermilk and finally, dredge in the cornmeal mixture.

Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches in a large cast iron skillet and heat over medium heat to 350°. Fry the tomatoes in batches for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Transfer the tomatoes to a wire rack and keep them warm in the oven until ready to serve.

MINI BASIL and TOMATO SANDWICHES

Makes 12 appetizer servings

These sandwiches can be assembled up to two hours ahead. Simply cover them with a damp paper towel to keep the bread from drying out. They are perfect for a Sunday brunch on the patio.

9 slices bacon, halved

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 garlic clove, minced

9 slices extra thin bread ~ whichever is your favorite

3 plum tomatoes, sliced

12 fresh basil leaves

Here is a tip to cook perfect bacon ~ once the bacon is in the pan, add just enough water to completely coat the bottom of the pan and cook over medium-high heat until the water has evaporated. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the bacon until crisp. It comes out perfect every time and greatly reduces the splatter.

Celebrate the Tomato

Stir together the cheese, mayonnaise and garlic in a bowl. Spread the mayonnaise mixture evenly on each slice of bread. Layer 3 bread slices, mayonnaise side up, with 3 slices of bacon each. Top bacon with 1 bread slice, tomato slices and basil. Top each with remaining bread slices, mayonnaise side down. Cut each sandwich into quarters.

TOMATO HERB PASTA

Serves 6

This is a nutritious summer dish. If you want it to be a little more substantial, add some cooked chicken, shrimp or tofu.

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1 T. sugar

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 (12-oz.) pkg. whole grain spaghetti

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 large cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced into half moons

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup firmly packed fresh mint leaves, chopped

1/3 cup firmly packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 T. canola oil

1 T. sugar

1 T. salt

1/2 t. dried crushed red pepper

Celebrate the Tomato

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Whisk together the vinegar and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a bowl. Add the onion and let stand for 30 minutes. Drain the onions, reserving 2 tablespoons of the vinegar mixture.

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Prepare the pasta according to package directions.

Place the chopped tomatoes and the next 9 ingredients in a serving bowl. Add the hot cooked pasta, onion, and reserved vinegar. Gently toss to combine. Sprinkle with peanuts and serve or cover and chill for up to 24 hours.

A longtime resident of Oxford, Pamela Meredith-Doyle, formerly Denver’s NBC Channel 9 Children’s Chef, now teaches both adult and children’s cooking classes on the south shore of Massachusetts, where she lives with her husband and son.

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

Frank Gary, CPYB

Tomato Herb Pasta

The Monty Alexander Jazz Festival

August 28-31

by Amy Blades Steward

This Labor Day weekend, the Monty Alexander Jazz Festival celebrates its fifth year of bringing world-class jazz to the Eastern Shore. Beginning with two concerts in 2010, the Festival has grown to a six-concert weekend that draws jazz lovers from states far and near and inspires support from hundreds of Shore residents ~ jazz enthusiasts and casual listeners alike.

“We look for top-notch talent and goodwill, good taste and positive outlook,” says Monty Alexander, the Festival namesake and artistic director. “It’s like a delectable meal. We want to be feted with outstanding and varied ingredients.”

This year’s Festival musicians are the same artists who are making waves on the New York jazz scene and around the world. Festival founder Al Sikes talks of “top-ranked quality” musicians, while Alexander desires “uplifting music.” The 2014 Festival lineup promises both.

Recording and touring artist

Frank Vignola, heralded by the New York Times as “one of the brightest stars of the guitar,” kicks off the Festival with a performance

The fifth anniversary Festival will open on Thursday night with an intimate night club-style concert featuring Frank Vignola at the Academy Art Museum.

on Thursday, August 28 at 8 p.m. at the Academy Art Museum. With a musical spectrum ranging from jazz to classical, pop and even R&B, Vignola has recorded and/or toured with Madonna, Wynton Marsalis, Leon Redbone and Ringo Starr and performed with the Boston Pops.

Etienne Charles will headline with his quintet Friday, August 29 at 8 p.m. at the Avalon Theatre. With a rich musical history in jazz and the music of the Caribbean, this native of Trinidad brings a Creole flavor to his music as he weaves a variety of stories with unmistakable

Monty Alexander

panache. A composer, educator and bandleader in addition to being an outstanding trumpeter, Charles has been lauded as a “daring improviser” by Jazz Magazine . He has arranged interpretations of the complex and varied rhythms of the Caribbean in a fresh way that builds on their diverse origins and takes them in a new direction. Audiences will be delighted by the new compositions and arrangements he is planning for the Festival.

The music continues Saturday morning with New Orleans jazz in Easton’s downtown Thompson Park. Following a second line parade to the Tidewater Inn, lunch will be

Etienne Charles

Monty Alexander

guest Frank Vignola on guitar, Alexander is certain to astonish the audience with his energy and spirit.

On Sunday afternoon at 2, jazz and gospel virtuoso Dee Daniels will wrap up the weekend with a unique blend of spirituals, gospel and jazz. Daniels embodies the tradition of performing gospel music with a jazz bent. She will be joined by a local choral group led by Jana Leslie.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet scored the first-ever million-selling jazz LP, Time Out, in 1959, and his signature song “Take Five” actually crossed over onto the Billboard pop charts in 1961.

served from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. The Saturday afternoon showcase at the Avalon Theatre begins at 2 p.m. and will feature a special salute to Dave Brubeck, who vaulted jazz to the apex of the music world in 1959 with his signature hit “Take Five.” The salute to Brubeck, who passed away in 2012, will be led by Bobby Militello, who became the legendary pianist and composer’s alto saxophonist after the death of Paul Desmond.

On Saturday night, the incomparable Monty Alexander and his trio will take the stage at 8 p.m. at the Avalon Theatre. Joined by Hassan Shakur on bass, Dennis Mackrel on drums, and special

The Avalon Theatre’s intimate setting and the stellar lineup of world-class artists make the Monty Alexander Jazz Festival a

In a career spanning five decades, pianist Monty Alexander has built a reputation exploring and bridging the worlds of American jazz, popular song, and the music of his native Jamaica, finding in each a sincere spirit of musical expression.

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Dee Daniels

fabulous destination for Labor Day Weekend. Presented by Jazz on the Chesapeake, the Festival is a program of Chesapeake Chamber Music. Tickets are on sale now. Visit www.ChesapeakeJazz.org for more information.

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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 .

UPCOMING EVENTS

Fiber Fest: Celebrating the Fiber Arts

August 7th, 8th & 9th in historic Denton

A 3-day celebration of the fiber arts, featuring exhibits, workshops, classes, guest speakers and the Heartland Quilter’s Shop Hop. Contact: fiberartscenter.com or 410.479.1009

The Caroline-Dorchester County Fair

August 6th - August 9th

Caroline County 4-H Park, Detour Rd, Denton

This fair offers fun for the whole family, including the Dress a Goat Contest, the Greased Pig Contest, amusement rides, pet shows, entertainment, food and more! $2 for adults/ FREE for children under 13. Contact: caroline-dorchestercountyfair.org

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 .

TIDEWATER GARDENING

by K. Marc Teffeau, Ph.D.

Summer Doldrums

August is the time when most activities slow down in the landscape. We usually focus on maintenance efforts like cutting the grass, if it has rained and the grass is still growing, and harvesting vegetables in the garden. If you have fruit plants in the landscape, they also need your attention now.

Fertilize your strawberries in August. With plants set out this past spring, apply 4 to 6 ounces of ammonium nitrate, or 12 to 18 ounces of a 10-10-10 complete fertilizer per 25 linear foot of row. Spread the fertilizer uniformly in a band 14 inches wide over the row when the foliage is dry. Brush the fertilizer off the leaves to avoid leaf burn.

For plants in the second year of growth, increase the application rate to 6 to 8 ounces ammonium nitrate or 18 to 24 ounces of 10-1010 per 25 linear foot of row. Strawberries set their fruit buds in the late summer/early fall for the next

August is the best time to fertilize your strawberry plants.

year, so they need a lot of fertilizer at this time. It is also important to maintain adequate water to the strawberries, blueberries, and bramble crops now. A slow, long soaking around the plants during the dry spells of August will ensure good fruit bud production for next year’s crop.

Don’t forget to prop up the branches of fruit trees that are threatening to break under the increased weight of ripening fruit. Be sure to make a mental note now to thin next year’s fruit crop in June

Adequate water for your peach crop means fat, juicy peaches!

to reduce the number of fruit the tree is carrying to improve the size and quality of the remaining fruit.

Watering is also critical for fruit trees at this time ~ especially peaches. To get the flesh to swell and to produce large fruit, be sure the tree gets adequate water about two weeks before the fruit is to be harvested.

After the fruit is harvested, reduce the number of pests on your trees next year by picking up and composting all fallen fruit. Worms hide in the fallen fruit and then pupate in the soil, ready to lay eggs the next year.

If slugs have been a problem for you in the landscape or garden this year, here is a quick and easy method of reducing their population, especially if you are squeamish about the critters. Put out squares of cardboard in your garden each night. In the morning, pick them

Slugs can sometimes be a problem in the garden.

up and if there are slugs clinging to the underside, discard the whole square in the trash.

The number and size of the squares depends on the size of your garden and how heavy the infestation is. This eliminates the process of hand-picking each one and is a good alternative to the beer in the pan trap.

August weather provides perfect conditions for powdery mildew to develop. Powdery mildew diseases attack a great many ornamentals, most often in late summer when the days are warm and nights are cool. Some mildews, particularly those on roses, apples, and cherries, are also increased by high humidity.

Prevention by proper cultural techniques is the first defense. Grow resistant varieties; space and prune plants to improve aeration and lessen shading; water early in the day and at the base rather than on leaves; and reduce nitrogen ap -

Powdery mildew.

plications to avoid excessive, lateseason growth.

You can apply over-the-counter fungicides to certain plants to try to keep the mildew under control, but it is usually a difficult battle. For plants like lilac, just ignore the problem and be sure that when you do your fall cleanup, you remove all diseased leaves to prevent a source of infection next year.

August is not the time to be putting mulch down. In fact, you should examine any mulched shrubs where the mulch is touching the stems. Mulched shrubs may not develop mature stem tissue where they touch the mulch. To harden stems so they withstand

early frost damage, remove about 2 to 3 inches of the mulch from the base of the stems in mid-August.

You can plan to do some planting in August for fall flowers and early spring flowers next year. Order peony roots now for planting in September. Plant about a month before the average first frost date in your area. Planting should be completed

before the first killing frost occurs.

Plant autumn-flowering crocus, sternbergia, colchicum, and other fall-flowering bulbs as soon as they become available at garden centers. Crocus and sternbergia need full sun; colchicum can be planted in areas receiving light shade.

August is a good time to sow perennial seeds, especially of plants like lupine and delphinium. Pansy, forget-me-not, and English daisies can also be sown this month.

If the August heat has taken a toll on your flower beds and left them looking ragged, don’t despair! Many annuals will bounce back with the cooler weather of

Forget-me-not.

fall. Renovate the flower bed, removing any dead plant materials, and clean up spent blossoms and seed heads. Put a hold on any fertilizing until next spring.

If your marigolds have been wiped out by spider mites and pow-

dery mildew has taken out the zinnias, replace them with cool-season annuals like salvia, coleus, and petunias. If we have a mild fall, you can have flowers right through November.

Some summer annuals don’t need replacing, just a cutting back to get them to bush out and start blooming again. Good plants for this pruning treatment include begonia, coleus, annual vinca and petunias.

Don’t forget to water the landscape plantings, especially those that flower next spring. Water shrubs deeply once a week during August. Many plants, including azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, and lilacs are setting flower buds

now for next spring’s flower display. Water early in the morning and apply the water to the base of the plants, not the foliage. Watering the foliage wastes water and can cause the spread of foliar diseases like powdery mildew. Do not fertilize or prune these plants now.

It is time to start thinking about the fall vegetable garden. If you did not do it already, start your broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts for transplanting in early September.

Root crops like beets and turnips can be seeded now for a fall crop, as can a crop of Sugar Snap or Sugar Ann edible pea pods. Wait until the end of August to seed your fall lettuce and leafy green mixes

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as the temperatures will be starting to cool. Make one more planting of an early maturing green bean variety in early August.

Surprisingly, one of the leafy greens that I had not eaten until recently was Swiss chard. I am familiar with collards and turnip greens, as my step grandmother, who was originally from Georgia, would cook up a “mess” with some fatback and onions mixed in. Good stuff!

Well, I have now added Swiss chard to my list. Fall is an excellent time to grow this leafy vegetable. Fortunately, it is easy to grow in the ground or in containers, and is one of the few greens that tolerates both cool weather and heat.

Swiss chard, a.k.a. silverbeet, perpetual lettuce, spinach beet, crab beet, seakale beet, and mangold, is in the same species as beetroot (garden beet) except it lacks the swollen, edible storage root. Cultivars of chard include green forms, such as Lucullus and Ford -

hook Giant, as well as red-ribbed forms such as Ruby Chard, Rainbow Chard, and Rhubarb Chard.

Because Swiss chard is extremely perishable and does not ship well, you will not normally find it in the grocery store. It is best to store it in a cold (32°) and moist (95%) environment. If you are storing it in the vegetable crisper in your refrigerator, it is recommended that you keep the leaves in a vented plastic bag.

Swiss chard is very easy to grow. Direct sowing is preferable to transplanting because there is less root disturbance. Sow the seeds now for a good fall crop. Plant in

loose, rich, well-drained and deeply cultivated soil in wide rows of beds with full sun.

Like beets, the seed is really a fruit containing several embryos that will need to be thinned. Space seeds 2 inches apart in all directions, and cover with 1/2 inch of fine soil or 1 inch of sandy soil.

Swiss chard.

Tidewater Gardening

Thin plants to 4 inches apart when they are about 2 inches high.

To speed up seed germination, you can soak the seed in water for 24 hours before planting. Swiss chard is a very heavy feeder, so apply a pre-plant fertilizer before seeding. Be sure to keep the plants uniformly supplied with moisture for best growth.

You can either harvest Swiss chard while the leaves are young and tender, or after maturity when they are larger and have slightly tougher stems. Young leaves ~ smaller than 4 inches ~ may be eaten fresh in salads. Mature leaves may be chopped and sautéed. The

ribs of the chard leaves may be eaten like celery.

Swiss chard can be harvested until the first frost, but you can try to extend the season by covering the plants with a row cover at night if frost is predicted. At any point in the growing season you can snip leaves 2 inches above the crowns to rejuvenate the plants. New, succulent leaves will soon be ready to harvest.

Happy Gardening!

Marc Teffeau retired as the 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 .

Swiss chard in the garden.

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Dorchester Points of Interest

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

FREDERICK C. MALKUS MEMORIAL BRIDGE is the gateway to Dorchester County over the Choptank River. It is the second longest span

Dorchester Points of Interest

bridge in Maryland after the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. A life-long resident of Dorchester County, Senator Malkus served in the Maryland State Senate from 1951 through 1994. Next to the Malkus Bridge is the 1933 Emerson C. Harrington Bridge. This bridge was replaced by the Malkus Bridge in 1987. Remains of the 1933 bridge are used as fishing piers on both the north and south bank of the river.

LAGRANGE PLANTATION - Home of the Dorchester County Historical Society, LaGrange Plantation offers a range of local history and heritage on its grounds. The Meredith House, a 1760’s Georgian home, features artifacts and exhibits on the seven Maryland governors associated with the county; a child’s room containing antique dolls and toys; and other period displays. The Neild Museum houses a broad collection of agricultural, maritime, industrial, and Native American artifacts, including a McCormick reaper (invented by Cyrus McCormick in 1831). The Ron Rue exhibit pays tribute to a talented local decoy carver with a re-creation of his workshop. The Goldsborough Stable, circa 1790, includes a sulky, pony cart, horsedriven sleighs, and tools of the woodworker, wheelwright, and blacksmith. For more info. tel: 410-228-7953 or visit dorchesterhistory.org.

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DORCHESTER COUNTY VISITOR CENTER - The Visitors Center in Cambridge is a major entry point to the lower Eastern Shore, positioned just off U.S. Route 50 along the shore of the Choptank River. With its 100foot sail canopy, it’s also a landmark. In addition to travel information and exhibits on the heritage of the area, there’s also a large playground, garden, boardwalk, restrooms, vending machines, and more. The Visitors Center is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information about Dorchester County call 800-522-8687 or visit www.tourdorchester.org or www.tourchesapeakecountry.com .

SAILWINDS PARK - Located at 202 Byrn St., Cambridge, Sailwinds Park has been the site for popular events such as the Seafood Feast-I-Val in August, Crabtoberfest in October and the Grand National Waterfowl Hunt’s Grandtastic Jamboree in November. For more info. tel: 410-228SAIL(7245) or visit www.sailwindscambridge.com .

CAMBRIDGE CREEK - a tributary of the Choptank River, runs through the heart of Cambridge. Located along the creek are restaurants where you can watch watermen dock their boats after a day’s work on the waterways of Dorchester.

HISTORIC HIGH STREET IN CAMBRIDGE - When James Michener was doing research for his novel Chesapeake , he reportedly called

Dorchester Points of Interest

Cambridge’s High Street one of the most beautiful streets in America. He modeled his fictional city Patamoke after Cambridge. Many of the gracious homes on High Street date from the 1700s and 1800s. Today you can join a historic walking tour of High Street each Saturday at 11 a.m., April through October (weather permitting). For more info. tel: 410-901-1000.

SKIPJACK NATHAN OF DORCHESTER - Sail aboard the authentic skipjack Nathan of Dorchester, offering heritage cruises on the Choptank River. The Nathan is docked at Long Wharf in Cambridge. Dredge for oysters and hear the stories of the working waterman’s way of life. For more info. and schedules tel: 410-228-7141 or visit www.skipjack-nathan.org.

CHOPTANK RIVER LIGHTHOUSE REPLICA - Located at Long Wharf Park in Cambridge. The replica of a six-sided screwpile lighthouse was completed in fall 2012. The lighthouse includes a small museum, with exhibits about the original lighthouse’s history and the area’s maritime heritage. The original lighthouse once stood between Castle Haven and Benoni Points on the Choptank River, near the mouth of the Tred Avon River and was built in 1871. For more info. tel: 410-228-4031 or visit www. lighthousefriends.com .

EASTERN SHORE TITLE COMPANY

Shopping locally speaks volumes.

When you refinance or purchase property you have a choice where you do business. Do you want to deal with a stranger on the Internet or a local , reputable business? Eastern Shore Title Company is the local answer for all your settlement needs. We are your neighbors who will guide you through your closing process.

Your choice speaks volumes in a hometown with people and jobs worth saving.

DORCHESTER CENTER FOR THE ARTS - Located at 321 High Street in Cambridge, the Center offers monthly gallery exhibits and shows, extensive art classes, and special events, as well as an artisans’ gift shop with an array of items created by local and regional artists. For more info. tel: 410-228-7782 or visit www.dorchesterarts.org.

RICHARDSON MARITIME MUSEUM - Located at 401 High St., Cambridge, the Museum makes history come alive for visitors in the form of exquisite models of traditional Bay boats. The Museum also offers a collection of boatbuilders’ tools and watermen’s artifacts that convey an understanding of how the boats were constructed and the history of their use. The Museum’s Ruark Boatworks facility, located on Maryland Ave., is passing on the knowledge and skills of area boatwrights to volunteers and visitors alike. Watch boatbuilding and restoration in action. For more info. tel: 410-221-1871 or visit www.richardsonmuseum.org.

HARRIET TUBMAN MUSEUM & EDUCATIONAL CENTERThe Museum and Educational Center is developing programs to preserve the history and memory of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday. Local tours by appointment are available. The Museum and Educational Center, located at 424 Race St., Cambridge, is one of the stops on the “Finding a Way to Freedom”

Dorchester Points of Interest

self-guided driving tour. For more info. tel: 410-228-0401 or visit www. harriettubmanorganization.org.

SPOCOTT WINDMILL - Since 1972, Dorchester County has had a fully operating English style post windmill that was expertly crafted by the late master shipbuilder, James B. Richardson. There has been a succession of windmills at this location dating back to the late 1700’s. The complex also includes an 1800 tenant house, one-room school, blacksmith shop, and country store museum. The windmill is located at 1625 Hudson Rd., Cambridge.

HORN POINT LABORATORY - The Horn Point Laboratory offers public tours of this world-class scientific research laboratory, which is affiliated with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The 90-minute walking tour shows how scientists are conducting research to restore the Chesapeake Bay. Horn Point Laboratory is located at 2020 Horns Point Rd., Cambridge, on the banks of the Choptank River. For more info. and tour schedule tel: 410-228-8200 or visit www.umces.edu/hpl .

THE STANLEY INSTITUTE - This 19th century one-room African American schoolhouse, dating back to 1865, is one of the oldest Maryland

schools to be organized and maintained by a black community. Between 1867 and 1962, the youth in the African-American community of Christ Rock attended this school, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours available by appointment. The Stanley Institute is located at the intersection of Route 16 West & Bayly Rd., Cambridge. For more info. tel: 410-228-6657.

OLD TRINITY CHURCH in Church Creek was built in the 17th century and perfectly restored in the 1950s. This tiny architectural gem continues to house an active congregation of the Episcopal Church. The old graveyard around the church contains the graves of the veterans of the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War. This part of the cemetery also includes the grave of Maryland’s Governor Carroll and his daughter Anna Ella Carroll who was an advisor to Abraham Lincoln. The date of the oldest burial is not known because the wooden markers common in the 17th century have disappeared. For more info. tel: 410-228-2940 or visit www.oldtrinity.net.

BUCKTOWN VILLAGE STORE - Visit the site where Harriet Tubman received a blow to her head that fractured her skull. From this injury Harriet believed God gave her the vision and directions that inspired her to guide so many to freedom. Artifacts include the actual newspaper ad offering a

Dorchester Points of Interest

reward for Harriet’s capture. Historical tours, bicycle, canoe and kayak rentals are available. Open upon request. The Bucktown Village Store is located at 4303 Bucktown Rd., Cambridge. For more info. tel: 410-901-9255.

HARRIET TUBMAN BIRTHPLACE - “The Moses of her People,” Harriet Tubman was believed to have been born on the Brodess Plantation in Bucktown. There are no Tubman-era buildings remaining at the site, which today is a farm. Recent archeological work at this site has been inconclusive, and the investigation is continuing, although there is some evidence that points to Madison as a possible birthplace.

BLACKWATER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE - Located 12 miles south of Cambridge at 2145 Key Wallace Dr. With more than 25,000 acres of tidal marshland, it is an important stop along the Atlantic Flyway. Blackwater is currently home to the largest remaining natural population of endangered Delmarva fox squirrels and the largest breeding population of American bald eagles on the East Coast, north of Florida. There is a full service Visitor Center and a four-mile Wildlife Drive, walking trails and water trails. For more info. tel: 410-228-2677 or visit www.fws.gov/blackwater.

EAST NEW MARKET - Originally settled in 1660, the entire town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Follow a self-guided walking tour to see the district that contains almost all the residences of the original founders and offers excellent examples of colonial architecture. For more info. visit http://eastnewmarket.us.

HURLOCK TRAIN STATION - Incorporated in 1892, Hurlock ranks as the second largest town in Dorchester County. It began from a Dorchester/Delaware Railroad station built in 1867. The Old Train Station has been restored and is host to occasional train excursions. For more info. tel: 410-943-4181.

VIENNA HERITAGE MUSEUM - The Vienna Heritage Museum displays the Elliott Island Shell Button Factory operation. This was the last surviving mother-of-pearl button manufacturer in the United States. Numerous artifacts are also displayed which depict a view of the past life in this rural community. The Vienna Heritage Museum is located at 303 Race St., Vienna. For more info. tel: 410-943-1212 or visit www.viennamd.org.

LAYTON’S CHANCE VINEYARD & WINERY - This small farm winery, minutes from historic Vienna at 4225 New Bridge Rd., opened in 2010 as Dorchester County’s first winery. For more info. tel. 410-228-1205 or visit www.laytonschance.com .

Easton Points of Interest

Historic Downtown Easton is the county seat of Talbot County. Established around early religious settlements and a court of law, today the historic district of Easton is a centerpiece of fine specialty shops, business and cultural activities, unique restaurants and architectural fascination. Tree-lined streets are graced with various period structures and remarkable homes, carefully preserved or restored. Because of its historical significance, Easton has earned distinction as the “Colonial Capital of the Eastern Shore” and was honored as #8 in the book, “The 100 Best Small Towns in America.”

Walking Tour of Downtown Easton Start near the corner of Harrison Street and Mill Place.

1. HISTORIC TIDEWATER INN - 101 E. Dover St. A completely modern hotel built in 1949, it was enlarged in 1953 and has recently undergone extensive renovations. It is the “Pride of the Eastern Shore.”

2. THE BULLITT HOUSE - 108 E. Dover St. One of Easton’s oldest and most beautiful homes, it was built in 1801. It is now occupied by the Mid-Shore Community Foundation.

3. AVALON THEATRE - 42 E. Dover St. Constructed in 1921 during the heyday of silent films and vaudeville entertainment. Over the course of its history, it has been the scene of three world premiers, including “The First Kiss,” starring Fay Wray and Gary Cooper, in 1928. The theater has gone through two major restorations: the first in 1936, when it was refinished in an art deco theme by the Schine Theater chain, and again 52 years later, when it was converted to a performing arts and community center. For more info. tel: 410-822-0345 or visit www. avalontheatre.com .

4. TALBOT COUNTY VISITORS CENTER - 11 S. Harrison St. The Office of Tourism provides visitors with county information for historic Easton and the waterfront villages of Oxford, St. Michaels and Tilghman Island. For more info. tel: 410-770-8000 or visit www.tourtalbot.org.

5. BARTLETT PEAR INN - 28 S. Harrison St. Significant for its architecture, it was built by Benjamin Stevens in 1790 and is one of Easton’s earliest three-bay brick buildings. The home was “modernized” with Victorian bay windows on the right side in the 1890s.

Easton Points of Interest

6. WATERFOWL BUILDING - 40 S. Harrison St. The old armory is now the headquarters of the Waterfowl Festival, Easton’s annual celebration of migratory birds and the hunting season, the second weekend in November. For more info. tel: 410-822-4567 or visit www. waterfowlfestival.org.

7. ACADEMY ART MUSEUM - 106 South St. Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Academy Art Museum is a fine art museum founded in 1958. Providing national and regional exhibitions, performances, educational programs, and visual and performing arts classes for adults and children, the Museum also offers a vibrant concert and lecture series and an annual craft festival, CRAFT SHOW (the Eastern Shore’s largest juried fine craft show), featuring local and national artists and artisans demonstrating, exhibiting and selling their crafts. The Museum’s permanent collection consists of works on paper and contemporary works by American and European masters. Mon. through Thurs. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. First Friday of each month open until 7 p.m. For more info. tel: (410) 822-ARTS (2787) or visit www.academyartmuseum.org.

Easton Points of Interest

8. CHRIST CHURCH - St. Peter’s Parish, 111 South Harrison St . The Parish was founded in 1692 with the present church built ca. 1840, of Port Deposit granite.

9. TALBOT HISTORICAL SOCIETY - Located in the heart of Easton’s historic district. Enjoy an evocative portrait of everyday life during earlier times when visiting the c. 18th and 19th century historic houses, all of which surround a Federal-style garden. For more info. tel: 410-822-0773 or visit www.hstc.org. Tharpe Antiques and Decorative Arts is now located at 25 S. Washington St. Consignments accepted by appointment, please call 410-820-7525. Proceeds support the Talbot Historical Society.

10. ODD FELLOWS LODGE - At the corner of Washington and Dover streets stands a building with secrets. It was constructed in 1879 as the meeting hall for the Odd Fellows. Carved into the stone and placed into the stained glass are images and symbols that have meaning only for members. See if you can find the dove, linked rings and other symbols.

11. TALBOT COUNTY COURTHOUSE - Long known as the “East Capital” of Maryland. The present building was completed in 1794 on the

Open Mon–Sat: 10–5

Occasional Sunday: 11–3

Always First Friday Gallery Walk 19 Goldsborough Street

Easton Points of Interest

site of the earlier one built in 1711. It has been remodeled several times.

11A. FREDERICK DOUGLASS STATUE - 11 N. Washington St. on the lawn of the Talbot County Courthouse. The statue honors Frederick Douglass in his birthplace, Talbot County, where the experiences in his youth ~ both positive and negative ~ helped form his character, intellect and determination. Also on the grounds is a memorial to the veterans who fought and died in the Vietnam War, and a monument “To the Talbot Boys,” commemorating the men from Talbot who fought for the Confederacy. The memorial for the Union soldiers was never built.

12. SHANNAHAN & WRIGHTSON HARDWARE BUILDING -

12 N. Washington St. It is the oldest store in Easton. In 1791, Owen Kennard began work on a new brick building that changed hands several times throughout the years. Dates on the building show when additions were made in 1877, 1881 and 1889. The present front was completed in time for a grand opening on Dec. 7, 1941 - Pearl Harbor Day.

13. THE BRICK HOTEL - northwest corner of Washington and Federal streets . Built in 1812, it became the Eastern Shore’s leading hostelry. When court was in session, plaintiffs, defendants and lawyers

all came to town and shared rooms in hotels such as this. Frederick Douglass stayed in the Brick Hotel when he came back after the Civil War and gave a speech in the courthouse. It is now an office building.

14. THOMAS PERRIN SMITH HOUSE - 119 N. Washington St. Built in 1803, it was the early home of the newspaper from which the Star-Democrat grew. In 1911, the building was acquired by the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club, which occupies it today.

15. ART DECO STORES - 13-25 Goldsborough Street. Although much of Easton looks Colonial or Victorian, the 20th century had its influences as well. This row of stores has distinctive 1920s-era white trim at the roofline. It is rumored that there was a speakeasy here during Prohibition.

16. FIRST MASONIC GRAND LODGE - 23 N. Harrison Street . The records of Coats Lodge of Masons in Easton show that five Masonic Lodges met in Talbot Court House (as Easton was then called) on July 31, 1783 to form the first Grand Lodge of Masons in Maryland. Although the building where they first met is gone, a plaque marks the spot today. This completes your walking tour.

17. FOXLEY HALL - 24 N. Aurora St., Built about 1795, Foxley Hall is one of the best-known of Easton’s Federal dwellings. Former home of

Easton Points of Interest

Oswald Tilghman, great-grandson of Lt. Col. Tench Tilghman. (Private)

18. TRINITY EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL - On “Cathedral Green,” Goldsborough St., a traditional Gothic design in granite. The interior is well worth a visit. All windows are stained glass, picturing New Testament scenes, and the altar cross of Greek type is unique.

19. INN AT 202 DOVER - Built in 1874, this Victorian-era mansion reflects many architectural styles. For years the building was known as the Wrightson House, thanks to its early 20th century owner, Charles T. Wrightson, one of the founders of the S. & W. canned food empire. Locally it is still referred to as Captain’s Watch due to its prominent balustraded widow’s walk. The Inn’s renovation in 2006 was acknowledged by the Maryland Historic Trust and the U.S. Dept. of the Interior.

20. TALBOT COUNTY FREE LIBRARY - Housed in an attractively remodeled building on West Street, the hours of operation are Mon. and Thurs., 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tues. and Wed. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Fri. and Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except during the summer when it’s 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www.tcfl.org.

21. MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AT EASTON - Established in the early

1900s, now one of the finest hospitals on the Eastern Shore. Memorial Hospital is part of the Shore Health System. www.shorehealth.org.

22. THIRD HAVEN MEETING HOUSE - Built in 1682 and the oldest frame building dedicated to religious meetings in America. The Meeting House was built at the headwaters of the Tred Avon: people came by boat to attend. William Penn preached there with Lord Baltimore present. Extensive renovations were completed in 1990.

23. TALBOT COMMUNITY CENTER - The year-round activities offered at the community center range from ice hockey to figure skating, aerobics and curling. The Center is also host to many events throughout the year, such as antique, craft, boating and sportsman shows.

Near Easton

24. PICKERING CREEK - 400-acre farm and science education center featuring 100 acres of forest, a mile of shoreline, nature trails, low-ropes challenge course and canoe launch. Trails are open seven days a week from dawn till dusk. Canoes are free for members. For more info. tel: 410-822-4903 or visit www.pickeringcreek.org.

25. WYE GRIST MILL - The oldest working mill in Maryland (ca. 1682), the flour-producing “grist” mill has been lovingly preserved by

Easton Points of Interest

The Friends of Wye Mill, and grinds flour to this day using two massive grindstones powered by a 26 horsepower overshot waterwheel. For more info. visit www.oldwyemill.org.

26. WYE ISLAND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AREA - Located between the Wye River and the Wye East River, the area provides habitat for waterfowl and native wildlife. There are 6 miles of trails that provide opportunities for hiking, birding and wildlife viewing. For more info. visit www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/eastern/wyeisland.asp.

27. OLD WYE CHURCH - Old Wye Church is one of the oldest active Anglican Communion parishes in Talbot County. Wye Chapel was built between 1718 and 1721 and opened for worship on October 18, 1721. For more info. visit www.wyeparish.org.

28. WHITE MARSH CHURCH - The original structure was built before 1690. Early 18th century rector was the Reverend Daniel Maynadier. A later provincial rector (1764–1768), the Reverend Thomas Bacon, compiled “Bacon’s Laws,” authoritative compendium of Colonial Statutes. Robert Morris, Sr., father of Revolutionary financier is buried here.

St. Michaels Points of Interest

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

1. WADES POINT INN - Located on a point of land overlooking majestic Chesapeake Bay, this historic inn has been welcoming guests for over 100 years. Thomas Kemp, builder of the original “Pride of Baltimore,” built the main house in 1819. For more info. visit www.wadespoint.com

St. Michaels Points of Interest

2. HARBOURTOWNE GOLF RESORT - Bay View Restaurant and Duckblind Bar on the scenic Miles River with an 18 hole golf course. For more info. visit www.harbourtowne.com .

3. MILES RIVER YACHT CLUB - Organized in 1920, the Miles River Yacht Club continues its dedication to boating on our waters and the protection of the heritage of log canoes, the oldest class of boat still sailing U. S. waters. The MRYC has been instrumental in preserving the log canoe and its rich history on the Chesapeake Bay. For more info. visit www.milesriveryc.org.

4. THE INN AT PERRY CABIN - The original building was constructed in the early 19th century by Samuel Hambleton, a purser in the United States Navy during the War of 1812. It was named for his friend, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. Perry Cabin has served as a riding academy and was restored in 1980 as an inn and restaurant. For more info. visit www.perrycabin.com .

5. THE PARSONAGE INN - A bed and breakfast inn at 210 N. Talbot St., was built by Henry Clay Dodson, a prominent St. Michaels businessman and state legislator around 1883 as his private residence. In 1877, Dodson,

St. Michaels Points of Interest

along with Joseph White, established the St. Michaels Brick Company, which later provided the brick for the house. For more info. visit www. parsonage-inn.com .

6. FREDERICK DOUGLASS HISTORIC MARKER - Born at Tuckahoe Creek, Talbot County, Douglass lived as a slave in the St. Michaels area from 1833 to 1836. He taught himself to read and taught in clandestine schools for blacks here. He escaped to the north and became a noted abolitionist, orator and editor. He returned in 1877 as a U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia and also served as the D.C. Recorder of Deeds and the U.S. Minister to Haiti.

7. CHESAPEAKE BAY MARITIME MUSEUM - Founded in 1965, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is dedicated to preserving the rich heritage of the hemisphere’s largest and most productive estuary - the Chesapeake Bay. Located on 18 waterfront acres, its nine exhibit buildings and floating fleet bring to life the story of the Bay and its inhabitants, from the fully restored 1879 Hooper Strait lighthouse and working boatyard to the impressive collection of working decoys and a recreated waterman’s shanty. Home to the world’s largest collection of Bay boats, the Museum regularly hosts temporary exhibitions, special events, festivals, and education programs. Docking and pump-out facilities available. Exhibitions and Museum Store open year-round. Up-to-date information and hours can be found on the Museum’s website at www.cbmm.org or by calling 410-745-2916.

8. THE CRAB CLAW - Restaurant adjoining the Maritime Museum and overlooking St. Michaels harbor. Open March-November. 410-7452900 or www.thecrabclaw.com .

9. PATRIOT - During the season (April-November) the 65’ cruise boat can carry 150 persons, runs daily historic narrated cruises along the Miles River. For daily cruise times, visit www.patriotcruises.com or call 410-745-3100.

10. THE FOOTBRIDGE - Built on the site of many earlier bridges, today’s bridge joins Navy Point to Cherry Street. It has been variously known as “Honeymoon Bridge” and “Sweetheart Bridge.” It is the only remaining bridge of three that at one time connected the town with outlying areas around the harbor.

11. VICTORIANA INN - The Victoriana Inn is located in the Historic District of St. Michaels. The home was built in 1873 by Dr. Clay Dodson, a druggist, and occupied as his private residence and office. In 1910 the property, then known as “Willow Cottage,” underwent alterations when

St. Michaels Points of Interest

acquired by the Shannahan family who continued it as a private residence for over 75 years. As a bed and breakfast, circa 1988, major renovations took place, preserving the historic character of the gracious Victorian era. For more info. visit www.victorianainn.com .

12. HAMBLETON INN - On the harbor. Historic waterfront home built in 1860 and restored as a bed and breakfast in 1985 with a turn-ofthe-century atmosphere. For more info. visit www.hambletoninn.com .

13. SNUGGERY B&B - Oldest residence in St. Michaels, c. 1665. The structure incorporates the remains of a log home that was originally built on the beach and later moved to its present location. www.snuggery1665.com.

14. LOCUST STREET - A stroll down Locust Street is a look into the past of St. Michaels. The Haddaway House at 103 Locust St. was built by Thomas L. Haddaway in the late 1700s. Haddaway owned and operated the shipyard at the foot of the street. Wickersham, at 203 Locust Street, was built in 1750 and was moved to its present location in 2004. It is known for its glazed brickwork. Hell’s Crossing is the intersection of Locust and Carpenter streets and is so-named because in the late 1700’s, the town was described as a rowdy one, in keeping with a port town where sailors

2014 Chesapeake Bay Log Canoe Racing Schedule

August 9-10: Tred Avon Yacht Club Annual Regatta

August 23-24: Tred Avon Yacht Club Heritage Weekend

September 6-7: Miles River Yacht Club Labor Day Series

September 13: Miles River Yacht Club

September 14: Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Bartlett Cup

St. Michaels Points of Interest

would come for a little excitement. They found it in town, where there were saloons and working-class townsfolk ready to do business with them. Fights were common especially in an area of town called Hells Crossing. At the end of Locust Street is Muskrat Park. It provides a grassy spot on the harbor for free summer concerts and is home to the two cannons that are replicas of the ones given to the town by Jacob Gibson in 1813 and confiscated by Federal troops at the beginning of the Civil War.

15. FREEDOMS FRIEND LODGE - Chartered in 1867 and constructed in 1883, the Freedoms Friend Lodge is the oldest lodge existing in Maryland and is a prominent historic site for our Black community. It is now the site of Blue Crab Coffee Company.

16. TALBOT COUNTY FREE LIBRARY - St. Michaels Branch is located at 106 S. Fremont Street. For more info. tel: 410-745-5877 or visit www.tcfl.org.

17. CARPENTER STREET SALOON - Life in the Colonial community revolved around the tavern. The traveler could, of course, obtain food, drink, lodging or even a fresh horse to speed his journey. This tavern was built in 1874 and has served the community as a bank, a newspaper

Fundraiser to be held at Clark Gallery of Fine Art

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Cocktails and Hors D'oeuvres at 5:3O P.M.

308 S. Talbot St. St. Michaels, MD.

Silent Auction Items donated by local businesses.

THE ART OF GIVING, THE ART OF CARING CREATES A SMILE ON A CHILD’S FACE.

Come and enjoy helping to Support CASA!

St. Michaels Points of Interest

office, post office and telephone company. For more info. visit www. carpenterstreetsaloon.com .

18. TWO SWAN INN - The Two Swan Inn on the harbor served as the former site of the Miles River Yacht Club, was built in the 1800s and was renovated in 1984. It is located at the foot of Carpenter Street. For more info. visit www.twoswaninn.com .

19. TARR HOUSE - Built by Edward Elliott as his plantation home about 1661. It was Elliott and an indentured servant, Darby Coghorn, who built the first church in St. Michaels. This was about 1677, on the site of the present Episcopal Church (6 Willow Street, near Locust).

20. CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH - 301 S. Talbot St. Built of Port Deposit stone, the present church was erected in 1878. The first is believed to have been built in 1677 by Edward Elliott. For more info. tel: 410-745-9076.

21. THE OLD BRICK INN - Built in 1817 by Wrightson Jones, who opened and operated the shipyard at Beverly on Broad Creek. (Talbot St. at Mulberry). For more info. visit www.oldbrickinn.com .

22. THE CANNONBALL HOUSE - When St. Michaels was shelled by the British in a night attack in 1813, the town was “blacked out” and

St. Michaels Points of Interest

lanterns were hung in the trees to lead the attackers to believe the town was on a high bluff. The houses were overshot. The story is that a cannonball hit the chimney of “Cannonball House” and rolled down the stairway. This “blackout” was believed to be the first such “blackout” in the history of warfare.

23. AMELIA WELBY HOUSE - Amelia Coppuck, who became Amelia Welby, was born in this house and wrote poems that won her fame and the praise of Edgar Allan Poe.

24. TOWN DOCK RESTAURANT - During 1813, at the time of the Battle of St. Michaels, it was known as “Dawson’s Wharf” and had 2 cannons on carriages donated by Jacob Gibson, which fired 10 of the 15 rounds directed at the British. For a period up to the early 1950s it was called “The Longfellow Inn.” It was rebuilt in 1977 after burning to the ground. For more info. visit www.towndockrestaurant.com .

25. ST. MICHAELS MUSEUM at ST. MARY’S SQUARE - Located in the heart of the historic district, offers a unique view of 19th century life in St. Michaels. The exhibits are housed in three period buildings and contain local furniture and artifacts donated by residents. The museum is supported entirely through community efforts. For more info. tel: 410745-9561 or www. stmichaelsmuseum.org.

26. KEMP HOUSE - Now a country inn. A Georgian style house, constructed in 1805 by Colonel Joseph Kemp, a revolutionary soldier and hero of the War of 1812. For more info. visit www.kemphouseinn.com .

27. THE OLD MILL COMPLEX - The Old Mill was a functioning flour mill from the late 1800s until the 1970s, producing flour used primarily for Maryland beaten biscuits. Today it is home to a brewery, distillery, artists, furniture makers, and other unique shops and businesses.

28. ST. MICHAELS HARBOUR INN, MARINA & SPA - Constructed in 1986 and recently renovated. For more info. visit www. harbourinn.com .

29. ST. MICHAELS NATURE TRAIL - The St. Michaels Nature Trail is a 1.3 mile paved walkway that winds around the western side of St. Michaels starting at a dedicated parking lot on S. Talbot St. across from the Bay Hundred swimming pool. The path cuts through the woods, San Domingo Park, over a covered bridge and past a historic cemetery before ending in Bradley Park. The trail is open all year from dawn to dusk.

Oxford Points of Interest

Oxford is one of the oldest towns in Maryland. Although already settled for perhaps 20 years, Oxford marks the year 1683 as its official founding, for in that year Oxford was first named by the Maryland General Assembly as a seaport and was laid out as a town. In 1694, Oxford and a new town called Anne Arundel (now Annapolis) were selected the only ports of entry for the entire Maryland province. Until the American Revolution, Oxford enjoyed prominence as an international shipping center surrounded by wealthy tobacco plantations.

Today, Oxford is a charming tree-lined and waterbound village with a population of just over 700 and is still important in boat building and yachting. It has a protected harbor for watermen who harvest oysters, crabs, clams and fish, and for sailors from all over the Bay.

1. TENCH TILGHMAN MONUMENT - In the Oxford Cemetery the Revolutionary War hero’s body lies along with that of his widow. Lt. Col. Tench Tilghman carried the message of Cornwallis’ surrender from Yorktown,

37’ Back Cove 2014

42’ Sabre Salon Express 2014

VA, to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Across the cove from the cemetery may be seen Plimhimmon, home of Tench Tilghman’s widow, Anna Marie Tilghman.

2. THE OXFORD COMMUNITY CENTER - This former, pillared brick schoolhouse was saved from the wrecking ball by the town residents. Now it is a gathering place for meetings, classes, lectures, and performances by the Tred Avon Players and has been recently renovated. Rentals available to groups and individuals. 410-226-5904 or www.oxfordcc.org .

3. THE COOPERATIVE OXFORD LABORATORY - U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Maryland Department of Natural Resources located here. 410-226-5193 or www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/oxford .

3A. U.S. COAST GUARD STATION - 410-226-0580.

4. CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY - Founded in 1851. Designed by esteemed British architect Richard Upton, co-founder of the American Institute of Architects. It features beautiful stained glass windows by the acclaimed Willet Studios of Philadelphia. www.holytrinityoxfordmd.org .

5. OXFORD TOWN PARK - Former site of the Oxford High School. Recent restoration of the beach as part of a “living shoreline project” created 2 terraced sitting walls, a protective groin and a sandy beach with native grasses which will stop further erosion and provide valuable aquatic habitat. A similar project has been completed adjacent to the ferry dock. A kayak launch site has also been located near the ferry dock.

6. OXFORD MUSEUM - Morris & Market Sts. Devoted to the preservation of artifacts and memories of Oxford, MD. Admission is free; donations gratefully accepted. For more info. and hours tel: 410-226-0191 or visit www.oxfordmuseum.org .

7. OXFORD LIBRARY - 101 Market St. Founded in 1939 and on its present site since 1950. Hours are Mon.-Sat., 10-4.

8. BRATT MANSION (ACADEMY HOUSE) - 205 N. Morris St. Served as quarters for officers of the Maryland Military Academy. Built about 1848. (Private residence)

9. BARNABY HOUSE - 212 N. Morris St. Built in 1770 by sea captain Richard Barnaby, this charming house contains original pine woodwork, corner fireplaces and an unusually lovely handmade staircase. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Private residence)

Tidewater Residential Designs since 1989

Oxford Points of Interest

10. THE GRAPEVINE HOUSE - 309 N. Morris St. The grapevine over the entrance arbor was brought from the Isle of Jersey in 1810 by Captain William Willis, who commanded the brig “Sarah and Louisa.” (Private residence)

11. THE ROBERT MORRIS INN - N. Morris St. & The Strand. Robert Morris was the father of Robert Morris, Jr., the “financier of the Revolution.” Built about 1710, part of the original house with a beautiful staircase is contained in the beautifully restored Inn, now open 7 days a week. Robert Morris, Jr. was one of only 2 Founding Fathers to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. 410-226-5111 or www.robertmorrisinn.com .

12. THE OXFORD CUSTOM HOUSE - N. Morris St. & The Strand. Built in 1976 as Oxford’s official Bicentennial project. It is a replica of the first Federal Custom House built by Jeremiah Banning, who was the first Federal Collector of Customs appointed by George Washington.

13. TRED AVON YACHT CLUB - N. Morris St. & The Strand. Founded in 1931. The present building, completed in 1991, replaced the original structure.

Oxford Points of Interest

14. OXFORD-BELLEVUE FERRY - N. Morris St. & The Strand. Started in 1683, this is believed to be the oldest privately operated ferry in the United States. Its first keeper was Richard Royston, whom the Talbot County Court “pitcht upon” to run a ferry at an unusual subsidy of 2,500 pounds of tobacco. Service has been continuous since 1836, with power supplied by sail, sculling, rowing, steam, and modern diesel engine. Many now take the ride between Oxford and Bellevue for the scenic beauty.

15. BYEBERRY - On the grounds of Cutts & Case Boatyard. It faces Town Creek and is one of the oldest houses in the area. The date of construction is unknown, but it was standing in 1695. Originally, it was in the main business section but was moved to the present location about 1930. (Private residence)

16. CUTTS & CASE - 306 Tilghman St. World-renowned boatyard for classic yacht design, wooden boat construction and restoration using composite structures. Some have described Cutts & Case Shipyard as an American Nautical Treasure because it produces to the highest standards quality work equal to and in many ways surpassing the beautiful artisanship of former times.

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.

The Oyster Runner

by Gary D. Crawford

In the old days, the oystering business was huge and lucrative. By the “old days,” I mean the thirty years after the Civil War, a period before the grandfathers of our oldest living watermen. It was a rough time on the Chesapeake. Steam power was changing everything.

By 1870, railroads had linked the two coasts and opened the heartland of America. Steamships plied rivers and canals throughout the country, connecting disparate communities and establishing new markets. Wheat, cotton, and cattle flowed out; manufactured products flowed in.

One of those products was oysters. Everybody seemed to crave them, and the Bay’s supply seemed inexhaustible. Nature took care of the plowing and planting; men just had to harvest. They even came in their own little boxes.

Their shells are heavy, however, limiting the distance they can profitably be shipped. Yet out of their shells, they quickly go bad; packing them in ice helped only for short distances. It was the development of efficient steam canning technology that solved the preservation problem ~ and it changed the Chesapeake Bay forever.

Baltimore was the center of the Chesapeake oyster trade, where a hundred canning houses were operating by 1870. Canned oysters went out far and wide, not just to the cities of New England and the Mid-Atlantic, but as far as the mining camps in Colorado and beyond. The vast supply generated a greater demand, and vice-versa, and the cycle spiraled upward. In Maryland alone, the harvest reached 5 million bushels annually, then 10 million bushels, and kept going up.

The Oyster Runner

A harvest of that magnitude couldn’t continue, of course, and the collapse came when the Maryland catch hit its peak of 15 million bushels in the winter of 1884-85. The next year it plummeted to 7½ million and continued down thereafter.

Somewhere, there must be a magic number, a break-even point ~ the number of oysters that can be harvested in the wild and be replenished by natural processes. The history of the oyster fishery in the 20th century suggests that this number was around 2 million bushels ~ if the oysters are healthy, if the bars are left intact, and if sediment doesn’t cover them.

The failure in 1873 of the largest bank in the United States (Jay Cooke & Company) popped the bubble of speculation that accompanied Reconstruction after the Civil War. A recession set in; times were tough and got tougher. Many men, even displaced farmers and city dwellers, saw oystering as a way to earn money with a minimum capital investment.

On the water, the competition

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became intense and sometimes nasty. There simply were too few oysters ~ and too many watermen.

A report published by the U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries in 1887 included a paper entitled “The Oyster Interests of Maryland,” by Richard H. Edmunds. He was impressed with the scope of the Maryland oyster industry, but less so with the oystermen. He found that dredgers were under so much economic pressure to find oysters that even the honest ones were forced into lawlessness.

“Dredging in Maryland is simply a general scramble, carried on in 700 boats, manned by 5,600 daring

and unscrupulous men,” he wrote. Tongers, he said, were better paid and so less prone to lawbreaking, but “like all others engaged in the oyster trade, either as catchers or shuckers, are as a class indolent and improvident.”

Edmunds also described the oyster “runners,” later known as buy boats. “Connected with the tongers, and each dependent upon the other, is a branch of the trade conducted by vessels generally known as runners, of which there are in this State about 200, carrying about 800 men.” A runner would anchor near a tonging ground and signal he was ready to receive oysters. Tongers would sell their catch to him, then return immediately to the oyster beds. When the runner was loaded up, he would speed off to market.

These old-time oystermen often pushed the limits of the existing oyster laws, and the tales of their contests with the Oyster Police are legendary. All that changed in the 20th century, with the establishment of some reasonable regulations and the rise of the professional watermen. By 1900, oystering had become a proud tradition for many families and a respectable alternative to farming. (It should be mentioned that one senior watermen here has hinted that some rules were still being bent even in his day ~ but I cannot confirm that.)

Back in the late 1880s, however,

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the hunt was getting desperate. Tongers were scouring the shallows of every river and creek; dredgers were going into deeper waters and working farther from home. Sometimes there were clashes, not with the law but between oystermen.

To bring one such event to life from 120 years in the past, we now turn to a new voice. The late Terrance M. Burrows of St. Michaels wrote an account of such a conflict. The typewritten manuscript turned up in the private papers of a Tilghman man who knows of my interest in such things, though he could not identify the author or how the manuscript came into his possession.

Mr. Burrows passed away before my time here, but a friend suggested I consult Pete Lesher, the Chief Curator at our wonderful Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Pete, who always seems to have answers to my historical puzzlements, came to the rescue again. He wrote: “Terrence McMann Burrows (18981968), the son of a St. Michaels baker, went to sea on tramp steamers and a sailing ship in the final decades of commercial sail. In the first issue of our membership magazine, The Weather Gauge (Spring

1985), we published an excerpt of his previously unpublished autobiography, Bound to be a Sailor, which is thought to have been written in the 1950s.”

The Burrows tale I have in hand is a ten-page short story entitled “Good Men Are Scarce.” It is fiction, well done, and, so far as I am aware, previously unpublished.

Here, then, is the conclusion of Burrows’ story about Capt. Dan Hardcastle, a “runner” captain in 1891. In the first part of the tale, Capt. Dan is robbed of $300 in Baltimore, “buy money” advanced to him by a seafood company to buy oysters. As today, such purchases normally are cash transactions, but Capt. Dan had no choice. Relying on his reputation as an honest man, he asked the tongers to accept receipts to be redeemed on the next trip. Some agreed, and they began to fill their hold. We pick up the action on the second day….

The next forenoon the crew of the Flying Scud sat on their cabin trunk and watched as tongers worked on the oyster bars of the Miles River. With their oyster rakes or tongs, equipped with wooden shafts from sixteen to thirty-five feet long joined together above the rakes in

The Oyster Runner

the manner of a great pair of scissors, the tongers located and raised clusters of oysters from the river bottom. From the Flying Scud’s anchorage her crew had a lovely view for most of the river’s length and breadth. Over a hundred oyster canoes were at work although some were out of sight working in creeks and on the nearby Wye River.

Suddenly from around Tilghman’s Point and out of Eastern Bay sailed a big two topmast schooner. Painted white and with all sails set, she sparkled in the sunlight. Even

“Look at dem tongers off Herring Island,” gasped Big Jim. “Dey’s stepp’n dere masts and sett’n sail des like dey seen dot little old police schooner, de Frolic . Dey acts like dey wanna run. Man, des look at ’em gett’n out de way dot big schooner.”

“They have a reason to run,” said Captain Dan, as it dawned on him what was happening. “That’s a big dredger from down the bay. See the dirty streaks down his side where his dredges have messed the paint like tobacco juice on a white beard?”

They watched fascinated as an exciting game took place before them. Each group of oyster canoes

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The Oyster Runner

stood above the sea of mud that covered most of the river bottom. Only on those underwater islands could oysters exist and multiply in great numbers.

Each group of log canoes marked an oyster bar, and this beautiful two topmast schooner bore down upon first one group and then the other, knowing that there the oysters would be located. Dragging her great chain-meshed dredges, one on each side, she raked in the cream from the tops of these underwater islands reserved by law for the tongers. Dredging was restricted to deeper waters of nearby Eastern Bay, the mouth of the Choptank River together with the waters of the Chesapeake and its other tributaries. But those dredgers were fearless lawbreakers, wild, hard-drinking men who sought excitement and courted danger. Today there was no police schooner such as the sleek fast-sailing Frolic to chase away this big two topmast schooner.

On she came, now quite close and beautiful to behold. Her decks held over a dozen men, all working industriously. Some were winding in the dredges with hand winches,

others were culling oysters, throwing stones and shells overboard and oysters into the great gaping cargo hold. Standing aft near the wheel were two husky individuals, apparently the captain and the mate. They were laughing indulgently as they watched the frantic efforts of the men in three log canoes which were being towed astern with their anchors fouled in the schooner’s dredges. Half sunk, they banged together and shipped solid water as it boiled around and over them until their struggling owners finally cut the anchor lines and were freed.

“The Sally Jones,” said Captain Dan, turning to Davy after reading the name on the schooner’s bow. “She dredges the Chesapeake in winter and trades to the West Indies in summer. She’ll carry a hundred tons.”

“I saw dat schooner in Canton Hollow as we sailed out Bal’more harbor,” said Big Jim. “She must’ve des come down de bay.”

The schooner sailed by, majestically silent except for the creaking of blocks, straining of ropes, and the weird soughing of wind in her rigging. She passed so close that those on her deck looked straight

The Oyster Runner

into the faces of the crew of the Flying Scud sitting on the pungy’s cabin trunk. And then she was gone.

“The dirty baboon!” roared Captain Dan as he bounced from his seat and raced to the rail, waving his fist at the departing schooner. Turning, he rushed back again to Davy and Big Jim. “That was him!” the old man shouted. “I’d know that face in a pickle barrel! Standing aft he was! Wart and all! And he give me a snaggled tooth grin!”

Suddenly orders began to pour from Captain Dan. His bellowing galvanized his two-man crew into action. In an incredibly short time, they had hoisted the foresail and mainsail. Captain Dan himself had been working furiously over the anchor chain, the end of which was finally slipped over the bow with an anchor buoy attached. He was slipping his cable because there was no time for hoisting the anchor. While his two men set the jib, he rushed down into his cabin and reappeared with his shiny doublebarreled muzzle loader which he laid upon the cabin trunk.

“Set that flying jib,” he bellowed as, spinning the wheel, he brought the pungy about and headed her up the river. “Big Jim! Come aft!” he shouted.

“Yes suh?” he panted excitedly as he rushed up to the old man at the wheel.

“Bring me that baby cannon you got for’d,” bellowed Captain Dan as

he slacked away the main sheet.

“You mean mah pappy’s goose gun?” gasped Big Jim, incredulously.

“I mean that unlawful duck slaughtering six-foot cannon that you call a goose gun,” roared Captain Dan. “Load it and bring it aft with your powder horn and shot, and be damned quick about it.”

Big Jim ran forward but returned shortly with an unbelievably long muzzle loader of the type made especially to slaughter ducks and geese when lined up over cornbaited waters.

“Lay it on the cabin trunk with my gun,” ordered Captain Dan. “Now you stay for’d and tend them jibs and the foresail. No matter what happens you stay on deck and keep your eye on me for orders. Send Davy back here to give me a hand.”

The Flying Scud was now racing up the Miles River at a lively clip with a freshening northwest breeze on her quarter. The river had become a scene of utter confusion. Log canoes by the dozen were sailing in all directions. Several were half sunk after having had their anchor lines fouled in the big schooner’s dredges. Their crews were bailing furiously to keep them afloat in the increasingly choppy seas.

The schooner had just gone about off Second Point opposite St. Michaels, and was trimming her sails to tack back down the river.

“He’s gonna pass over Ashcraft Bar, Davy my boy,” said Captain

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Dan as he spat a stream of brown juice over the lee rail.

Davy was bursting with excitement and scared stiff. Knowing the reputation those dredgers had for using rifles, he looked in despair at the two obsolete muzzle loaders on the pungy’s cabin trunk. But also he knew the indomitable will of his long-bearded uncle. Somebody was sure to die this day.

The two vessels were rushing rapidly toward one another at oblique angles; the pungy sailing up the river with a quartering wind; the schooner heading down the river and close-hauled. Both were heading for Ashcraft Bar.

Log canoes, all under full sail, plunged and rolled, striving to get out of the way.

Davy stood horrified. The closehauled schooner had the right of way because the pungy was actually running free. Yet he dare not question this fierce looking uncle who stood at the rail with long gray hair and beard whipping in the wind.

Big Jim, crouching beside the foremast, saw startled faces appear over the schooner’s forward rail. Frantic shouts and much waving of arms followed; but just as collision seemed inevitable, the big schooner came up into the wind with flapping sails. The Flying Scud sped across her bow, riding on a sea of foam. Throwing his wheel hard

The Oyster Runner

over, Captain Dan bellowed orders at his well-disciplined two man crew. The pungy’s fore and main booms jibed across her decks in a flash. Their sheets ran clear with never a hitch, and the two sails emptied themselves of their wind without undue strain on anything. Then the fore and main sheets were hauled taut quickly, after which Big Jim rushed forward and hauled the jib sheets flat. Davy ran aft and stood beside his uncle at the wheel.

Now the pungy was racing along on the windward side of the schooner which once more had filled away close hauled. Due to the larger vessel’s dredges slowing her down, the small but fast sailing pungy kept pace with ease. Their two tobacco chewing skippers could almost spit on one another.

“I had a damn good notion of running you down,” roared the schooner captain, a burly individual wearing a brown derby.

“Yes, and you had a damned good notion not to,” bellowed Captain Dan as he maneuvered the Flying Scud so that he robbed the schooner’s sails of much wind. At the same time the old man’s eyes rarely left the face of the man at the schooner’s wheel, who without a doubt was her mate.

“I’d know that face in a pickle barrel. That’s him! That’s him!” Captain Dan muttered softly in his beard.

A log canoe flashed out from behind the lee of the schooner’s mainsail and raced across her wake. The men in the canoe raised guns to their shoulders and blazed away at the schooner’s captain and mate. Some of their duck shot must have taken effect for, with a roar of rage, the schooner’s captain lifted a rifle from his cabin trunk and fired at the fleeing canoe. His rifle balls scattered mud and shells from the pile of oysters on the canoe, behind which the tongers had taken refuge. Only the hand of the helmsman was visible holding the tiller as they fled away before the wind in the opposite direction.

Now thoroughly enraged, the owner of the brown derby turned on Captain Dan. “Get that potbellied crab box to hell away from here,” he roared and fired twice in Captain Dan’s direction, his rifle balls clipped chips from the cabin trunk in front of the old man.

At that instant, another fast sailing canoe appeared from behind the schooner’s mainsail and sped across her wake. Two shots rang out from the canoe, and the schooner’s captain collapsed at the feet of his mate, the side of his face filled with duck shot at close range.

“Take the wheel, Davy boy. And keep close to him just like we are,” whispered Captain Dan. He then raised the great goose gun to his shoulder, took deliberate aim, and fired. The tremendous roar terri -

The Oyster Runner

fied the crews of both vessels, and the echo rolled back from the nearby wooded shore. The schooner’s main halyards received the full load of goose shot and were cut in two as if by a knife. Her main gaff dropped and her mainsail hung in flapping folds.

Captain Dan now stood with his own double barreled gun covering the schooner’s mate who still held the wheel. Most of the schooner’s crew had jumped down her hold when the shooting began. Several of them now watched cautiously from behind their galley near the foremast. The mate, with the captain dead at his feet, was thoroughly cowed.

“Bring her into the wind and give orders to lower your jibs,” shouted Captain Dan. “And if you take your hands off that wheel, I’ll blow your soul to hell. Come on! Follow my orders.”

The mate eased his vessel into the wind and at his orders the jibs were hauled down. The two-man crew of the Flying Scud, following Captain Dan’s sharp commands, at the same time brought the pungy alongside with only a slight bump. They instantly lashed her to the schooner fore and aft.

Captain Dan stepped across the rail and stood before the man he had longed so fervently to meet again. And now as before when

they had first met, his mind raced to form a decision as to what action he must take. He had his man, but how could he make him give up three hundred dollars. Suddenly the old man spoke.

“Pick up them rifles and that ammunition, Davy my boy, and take it aboard the pungy,” he said as he kept his eyes and his double barreled muzzle loader toward the mate. Then, speaking softly and for the mate’s ear only, he said, “Them tongers will soon be here and will carry you home with them to St. Michaels and hang you from a lamp post. You’ve got just one chance to hoist your sails and clear out with your dead captain before that happens. Give me my buy money which you robbed me of, and I’ll forget about your cracking my skull.”

Without a word the mate reached within his shirt, pulled out a canvas shot bag and offered it to Captain Dan.

“Is it all there?” snapped the old man suspiciously.

“Every cent,” replied the mate. “I didn’t have time to spend any.”

“Take it, Davy boy, while I keep him covered. Take it down in our cabin and count it.”

Davy was back shortly and assured his uncle that the shot bag contained three hundred dollars. They then returned aboard the pungy and let go their lashings. As the two vessels separated, they heard the schooner’s mate bark-

ing orders to his crew who now came climbing out of her holds. Her dredges were wound in and her jibs hoisted. She sailed away with her flapping mainsail. Two men were seen climbing aloft to reeve off new main halyards.

As the pungy sailed back to pick up their anchor near Deep Water Point, Big Jim pointed toward the schooner and broke out with a loud guffaw. “Dat’s de biggest goose what ever got crippled by my pappy’s gun,” he roared.

Davy, standing at the pungy’s wheel, looked at his uncle with undisguised admiration. “Uncle Dan,” he asked, “Wasn’t you just a little bit scared when them rifle balls chipped splinters off our cabin trunk?”

“Course not, Davy boy,” replied the old man as he cut himself a man-sized chew of tobacco. “I knowed for sure that my time was not up. I knowed it for a fact. That night on Long Dock, the Lord told me I had to stay here because, He said, ‘Good men is scarce.’”

[Note: Attempts to locate members of the Burrows family have proven unsuccessful thus far. I would very much welcome a contact. –GDC]

Gary Crawford and his wife, Susan, operate Crawfords Nautical Books, a unique bookstore on Tilghman’s Island.

(near town & hospital)

Fully furnished 2 BR, 1 BA, LR, DR, full kit, all appliances incl. w/d; Direct TV w/HD flatscreen, Blu-ray DVD, internet w/WiFi, central air, lawn care incl., large 12’x16’ deck w/BBQ, no pets, non-smoking, sec. dep. & ref. required. $1,500/mo. + utilities, dock privileges and boat lift negotiable. Available July

Tidewater Review

by Anne Stinson

Second Reading: Notable and Neglected Books Revisited by Jonathan Yardley. Europa Editions. 349 pp. $16.00.

Oh, the books I have missed, and the pleasure of being reminded of them by Jonathan Yardley, book critic and columnist for the Washington Post since 1981. My friend and neighbor Merrilie Ford and I are voracious readers and book-swappers, and we recently exchanged favorites. I gave her a rave description and the loan of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry that I reviewed for Tidewater Times last month. She reciprocated with her cherished copy of Second Reading that she bought at the Aspen Institute in 2011 when Yardley was featured speaker.

I read Fikry four times before I lent it, but was rewarded with a pearl of great price with the loan of Yardley’s treasure. Among the collection of some 60 authors of books chosen from bulging shelves, he emphasizes that not all of them are literary gems, but the authors have captured the characters of the subjects, both real and fictional. At

the back of the book he lists 37 more titles and authors worthy of attention. His re-reading of the books, from humor to history, biography and novels, has often reinforced (and sometimes changed) his opinions of their worth.

Early on, Yardley offers dazzling progressions from such books

Tidewater Review

Roman Empire from 46 BC through AD 95. But sooner or later the reader must turn to the original, as written by

about, as he labels it, “the corrosive effects of power... The Twelve Caesars in Michael Grant’s authoritative synthesis of bits and pieces that have come down to us through the ages about the men who ruled the

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, Chief Secretary to the Emporer Hadrian

in the second century AD.”

The original shocking accounts of cruelty, immorality, adultery ~ Caligula was probably the absolute worst among them, closely challenged by “the appalling Nero, who practiced every kind of obscenity.” Suetonius didn’t mince words. Neither did Robert Graves, who included it all in his translation.

Yardley rarely analyzes his chosen book in more that four pages of review. The temptation to read the next review is almost an itch, but to be wise, stick a marker at the end of three or four consecutive reviews. It’s best to digest wisdom with care lest the reader get brain overload.

It’s a surprise to realize the wide range of Yardley’s interests. For example, who would suspect that so serious a critic would revel in novels about crime and the Wild West? John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee series is not crime fiction, Yardley

claims, but is fiction ~ period. It has held up to the excellence that impressed him when he read the series ~ all 21 McGee books as they were produced beginning in the 1970s.

Tidewater Review life in crowded Florida, made the better by living on a boat at the dock or pushing out for some solitude. Yardley says it’s not necessary to read the series in their publication order. Just read them and enjoy them as they are available.

The main character, McGee, lives on an old barge converted into a houseboat in Florida. He’s catnip to the ladies, a kind of Robin Hood to friends in trouble, and when the trouble involves money and he recovers it, he splits it with its rightful owner. He’s laid back and uses his share for early “retirement” until the cash runs out.

Then, in the next book in the series, he handles another job for a friend. It’s the epitome of relaxed

In his re-reading of biographies of W.C. Fields, Yardley gives examples of the right way to tell a comedian’s life and the wrong way to do it. Here’s an excerpt from his opinion of James Curtis’s 500 pages of text plus another 100 pages of apparatus in W.C. Fields: A Biography.

“Earnest, dutiful and encyclopedic, it pulls off what only can be called an astonishing feat,” Yardley says. “It drains just about all the humor out of the man whom one

Tidewater Review

Yorker. He and his cohorts made the magazine sparkle with humor ~ “and how could it not with Thurber, E.B. White, S.J. Perelman, Wolcott Gibbs and Dorothy Parker, and Ogden Nash and Robert Benchley and Phyllis McGinley and...well, how much time have you got?...” Yardley huzzahs.

Thurber’s book is not a novel, “but a collection of short stories about his family’s tendency for small disasters ~ the first episode being The Night the Bed Fell , one of nine brief chapters, each of which is a gem,” Yardley says. The book “is more than a collection of laughs. It is also a book about the ties of family, about the connections between people and places....” Columbus,

Hollywood director called the ‘greatest comedian that ever lived.’ The life of Fields calls for a Dickens, a writer with a grand and vivid style to match Fields’s own, yet Curtis brings to the task the stylistic zest of a mortician.”

Fortunately, “Fields found his Dickens more than a half a century ago. He was Robert Lewis Taylor, the author of W.C. Fields: His Follies and Fortunes . In fewer than 300 pages, it brings its subject vividly, unforgettably back to life.... Biography is fiction as well as fact,” Yardley writes.

James Thurber’s My Life and Hard Times rates high on the Yardley cheer scale. The author is one of the incomparable cast of the New

Ohio, was Thurber’s base. Yardley says “Though Thurber did not dwell on it, the mood of the book is Midwestern, i.e. bedrock American.”

Every revisited book in this feast of words and ideas is an invitation to places and people without leaving a comfortable chair and sufficient light for the journey. It allows for a nostalgic repeat to good company or an exciting new adventure.

Second Reading will be this critic’s personal travel guide for all of the above, plus The Letters of Flannery O’Connor , edited by Sally Fitzgerald; The Robber Bridegroom by Eudora Welty; The Boys on the Bus by Timothy Crouse; Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion; Notes of a Native

Son by James Baldwin; Newspaper Days by H.L. Mencken, and that’s just for starters.

Thanks for the loan, Merrilie. And thank you too, Mr. Yardley.

Anne Stinson began her career in the 1950s as a free lance for the now defunct Baltimore News-American, then later for Chesapeake Publishing, the Baltimore Sun and Maryland Public Television’s panel show, Maryland Newsrap. Now in her ninth decade, she still writes a monthly book review for Tidewater Times.

3 rd Annual Great Eastern Shore Tomato Festival

August 23

On Saturday, August 23, the beautiful and historic town of Vienna will come alive in a most unusual way. The third annual Great Eastern Shore Tomato Festival will descend onto the banks of the Nanticoke, bringing family fun for the entire day, beginning at 10 a.m. and ending after the Great Tomato Wars that start at 4 p.m.

This unique event showcases the Delmarva region’s strong agricultural heritage, incorporating unusual and interesting activities for all age groups.

Stroll down Water Street to see the historic homes and enjoy the heritage demonstrators that will be plying their crafts and trades. Experience the wares of these mostly forgotten artisans, from basket weavers to blacksmiths and more, in an intimate setting where handson is encouraged.

For the little ones, visit the Kids’ Zone for fun games and activities. There will be exotic animals visiting Dorchester that day, too. And, since it’s August, cooling zones will be integrated with a sprinkler or two, guaranteed to revive.

If you are hungry, “Chow Chow”

is the place to visit. The smell of tempting crab cakes and grilled food should lead the way. Be sure to visit the old fashioned lemonade stand to quench your thirst, and don’t forget the ice cream and shaved ice!

“Big Boy” will play host to the day’s entertainment, including the Mayor’s Tomato Challenge Race, watermelon eating contest, peach pit spitting and more. Shelley Abbott will emcee and sing. At 2 p.m., New and Used Bluegrass (formerly Bitter Creek) will take the stage.

Throughout the day there will be many vendors, authors, jewelers, antique dealers, a Farmer’s Market, and a Flea Market. For the history buffs there will be exhibits set up at “Heirloom,” featuring artifacts of the canning industry, including beautiful graphics and more. Heirloom tomato testing will demonstrate the differences between the tastes of different kinds of tomatoes.

The grand finale will feature the

Tomato Wars

Tomato Festival

Great Tomato Wars. Sponsored teams will face off in elimination rounds. All contestants in the wars receive a Festival T-shirt, and the winners receive specially crafted Tomato Trophies.

The event is sponsored by the Dorchester County Historical Society with many local sponsors, including the Chicone Ruritans and Harman’s Septic Care. The event is free and there is ample parking with tram service provided. No coolers allowed on site. For more info. tel: 410-228-7953, e-mail dchs@verizon.net, or visit the website at www. dorchesterhistory.org.

“Celebrating the Surface” - Two-Person Exhibition

Hai-Ou Hou: Oils Mary Pritchard: Pastels Through August 30

Gallery Walk Reception

August 1, 5 to 8 p.m.

Bearded Man

Hai-Ou Hou

Summer Shadow Mary Pritchard

EUROPA TILE

Showroom: 342 N. Aurora St., Easton

Monday~Friday 9 to 5, Saturday by appointment

410-822-6828

europatile@goeaston.net

AUGUST 2014 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

“Calendar of Events” notices - Please contact us at 410-226-0422, fax the information to 410-226-0411, write to us at Tidewater Times, P. O. Box 1141, Easton, MD 21601, or e-mail to info@tidewatertimes.com. The deadline is the 1st of the preceding month of publication (i.e., August 1 for the September issue).

Daily Meeting: Mid-Shore Intergroup Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. For places and times, call 410-822-4226 or visit www. midshoreintergroup.org.

Daily Meeting: Al-Anon. For meeting times and locations, visit www.EasternShoreMDalanon.org.

Every Thurs.-Sat. Amish Country Farmer’s Market in Easton. An indoor market offering fresh produce, meats, dairy products, furniture and more. 101 Marlboro Ave. For more info. tel: 410-822-8989.

Thru Aug. 25 Exhibit: The Painterly Sublime ~ 2 Points of View featuring Raoul Middleman and Kevin Fitzgerald at Troika Gallery, Easton. For more info. tel: 410-770-9190 or visit www. troikagallery.com .

Thru August 31 Exhibit: The Language of Motion by Jay Lagemann on the front lawn and courtyard at the Academy Art

Painterly Sublime ~ 2 Points of View

August Calendar

Thru August 31 Kent Photo Club Art Show at the Administration Gallery, Heron Point, Chestertown. Latest photographs taken on location, mostly on the Eastern Shore. For more info. tel: 410-778-3224.

Museum, Easton. For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit www.academyartmuseum.org.

Thru August 31 Exhibit: Summer Salon, From Blackwater to the Bay by wildlife artist Neil Dampier at the Main Street Gallery, Cambridge. Reception on Aug. 9 from 5 to 8 p.m. The works of other Main Street Gallery artists will also be on display. For more info. visit http://mainstgallery.org.

Thru Sept. 7 Annual Members’ Exhibition at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. This year the Museum welcomes judge Lucinda Edinberg, Curator and Art Educator at St. John’s College, Annapolis. For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit www.academyartmuseum.org.

Thru Sept. 15 Exhibit: Outdoor Sculpture Invitational - Artists in Dialogue with Landscape at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely. For more info. tel: 410-634-2847, ext. 0 or visit www.adkinsarboretum.org.

1 First Friday Open House at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. 5 to 7 p.m. Free demonstrations by Academy Art Museum instruc -

Ecuador: Amazon and Galapagos Islands

An Adults-Only Adventure in January 2016 with George & Tracey Sellers of & Adventures

By Disney

Jay Lagemann and his sculpture, “High Five.”

tors in drawing, painting, pastel, photography, ceramics, printmaking and more. For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit www.academyartmuseum.org.

1 First Friday Gallery Walk in downtown Easton. 5 to 9 p.m. Easton’s art galleries, antiques shops and restaurants combine for a unique cultural experience. For more info. tel: 410-770-8350.

1 Karaoke Happy Hour at Layton’s Chance Vineyard, Vienna. 6 to 10 p.m. Singing, dancing and good times. Bring your own dinner or snacks. For more info. tel: 410-228-1205 or visit www. laytonschance.com .

1 Dorchester Swingers Square Dance from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Maple Elementary School, Egypt Rd., Cambridge. Refreshments provided. For more info. tel: 410-221-1978.

1 Concert: Rebecca Pronsky in the Stoltz Listening Room, Avalon Theatre, Easton. 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7922 or visit www.avalontheatre.com .

1-2 3rd Annual Great Chesapeake Balloon Festival. The event on Friday will feature at least 15 hot air balloons, skydivers, balloon rides, and a giant walk-through hot air balloon for children and adults. Saturday morning,

Waterfront Home Management Services

Service available November through March

· Site visit every other week, or at owner’s discretion.

· All buildings, outbuildings, piers & lifts.

· Heat and water settings per owner’s direction.

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· Follow-up and oversight of contractors at owner’s direction.

· Specific instructions per owner.

Licensed and Bonded

August Calendar

August 2nd, a Presentation of Colors will take place at 6 a.m. Festival location is Mistletoe Drive at Glebe Road Industrial Park, Easton. For more info. visit www.GreatChesapeakeBalloonFestival.com .

1-3 Wheat Threshing Steam and Gas Engine Show in Federalsburg. Official opening at 10 a.m. and events run throughout the day. Get a glimpse of antique farm equipment in action. There will be antique car and equipment parades, a flea market, blacksmith shop, steam and gas engines, tractor games, refresh -

ments, live entertainment and more. Free! For more info visit www.threshermen.org.

1-3 The Avalon Foundation’s Underground Actors present Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Avalon Theatre, Easton. Fri. thru Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7299 or visit www.avalontheatre.com .

1,8,15,22,29 Meeting: Friday Morning Artists at Joe’s Bagel Cafe in Easton. 8 a.m. For more info. tel: 410-673-1860 or visit www.FridayMorningArtists. org.

1,8,15,22,29 Bingo! every Friday night at the Easton Volunteer Fire Department on Creamery Lane, Easton. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and games start at 7:30 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-4848.

1,5,8,12,15,19,22,26,29 Free Blood Pressure Screening from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at University of

Maryland Shore Medical Center at Dorchester in Cambridge. Screenings done in the lobby by DGH Auxiliary members. For more info. tel: 410-228-5511.

1,15,29 Meeting: Vets Helping Vets at the Hurlock American Legion #243. 9 a.m. Informational meeting to help vets find services and information. For more info. tel: 410-943-8205 after 4 p.m.

2 First Saturday guided walk. 10 a.m. at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely. Free for members, $5 admission for non-members. For more info. tel: 410-634-2847, ext. 0 or visit www.adkinsarboretum.org.

2 Class: Life’s a Beach! ~ Painting People on the Beach with Diane DuBois Mullaly at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. $60 members, $90 nonmembers. For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit www.academyartmuseum.org or www.dianeduboismullaly. com .

2 Betterton Appreciation Day at Betterton Beach begins at 10 a.m. with a 5K race, parade, baby contest, craft vendors, cornhole tournament, food and more. For more info. tel: 410-348-5678.

2 Lotus Blossom Art and Nature Festival at Mount Harmon Plan -

S. Hanks Interior Design

August Calendar

grounds of the historic Tidewater plantation. $5, FOMH members and children under 12 free. For more info. tel: 410-275-8819 or e-mail info@mountharmon.org.

tation in Earleville. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors will delight in seeing the rare American lotus in full bloom, enjoy local artists, artisans, fine arts and crafts sale, car show, live music, food and beverage vendors, plant sale and nature walks on the 200-acre nature preserve and

2 Guided canoe trip up Watts Creek departing the nature center at Martinak State Park, 6 p.m. $10 for adults, $8 for children 14 and under. Reservations required. For more info. tel: 410-820-1668.

2-3 Talent “For Shore” hosted by the St. Michaels Community Center at the St. Michaels High School auditorium. Auditions on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with performance and judging on Sunday at 7 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-745-6073 or e-mail trish@stmichaelscc.org.

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2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24,30,31 Apprentice for a Day Public Boatbuilding Program at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels. Pre-registration required. For more info. tel: 410-745-2916 and ask to speak with someone in the boatyard.

FREE ESTIMATES

410-745-5071

· Trenching John (Jack) T. Shannahan, Sr. - President

2,5,9,12,16,19,23,26,30 Horn Point Laboratory Tours every Tuesday and Saturday through August 30. Get a behind-thescenes look at an environmental research lab associated with the University of Maryland. For more info. tel: 410-228-9250.

ARTESIAN WELL COMPANY, INC.

2,9,16,23,30 Easton Farmer’s Market held every Saturday until Christmas from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Town parking lot on N. Harrison Street. Over 20 vendors. Live music from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Easton Farmer’s Market is the work of the Avalon Foundation. For more info. tel: 410-253-9151 or visit www. theavalonfoundation.com .

2,9,16,23,30 St. Michaels FreshFarm Market in the municipal parking lot behind Pemberton Pharmacy. 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Farmers offer fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, cut flowers, potted plants, and much more. For more info. tel: 202-362-8889 or visit www.freshfarmmarket.org.

2,9,16,23,30 Historic High Street Walking Tour ~ Experience the beauty and hear the folklore of Cambridge’s High Street. Onehour walking tours are sponsored by the non-profit West End Citizens Association and are accompanied by Colonial-garbed

docents. 11 a.m. Fee. For more info. tel: 410-901-1000.

2,9,23 Skipjack Sail on the Nathan of Dorchester from 1 to 3 p.m., Long Wharf, Cambridge. Adults $30; children 6-12 $10; under 6 free. For more info. tel: 410-228-7141 or to make reservations online visit www. skipjack-nathan.org.

2,16,30 Music in the Park in Fountain Park, Chestertown. 7 to 8:30 p.m. Bring something to sit on as seating is limited.

4 Spa Day at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for ages 9 to 14. Dance, exercise, yoga, nutrition learning activities and more. Sponsored by 4-H, University of Maryland Extension ~ Talbot County. Registration requested. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www.tcfl.org .

4 Meeting: Live Playwrights’ Society at the Garfield Center for

Deborah Bridges · 410.745.3135 · www.swancoveflowers.com

the Arts at the Prince Theatre, Chestertown. 7:30 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-810-2060.

4-8 Summer Sailing Classes at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels. Weekly classes through August 8 for participants ages 8 and up. Fee. For more info. tel: 410-745-4941 or visit www. cbmm.org/l_families.htm.

4-8 Class: Music and Design with Heather Crow for ages 4 to 8 at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. 9:30 to 11 a.m. $100 members, $110 non-members. For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit www.academyartmuseum.org.

4-8 Class: The Summer Art Room at the Oxford Community Center, Oxford, with instructors Theresa Schram and Georgina Bliss Marshall. 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. each morning for grades 1 through 8. Fee. For more info. tel: 410-226-

or visit

.

4,6,11,13,18,20,25,27 Free Blood Pressure Screening from 9 a.m. to noon at University of Maryland Shore Regional Hospital Diagnostic and Imaging Center, Easton. For more info. tel: 410820-7778.

4,11 Movies at Noon at the Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. 4 ~ The Pirate Fairy , 11 ~ Monsters University. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www.tcfl.org .

4,11,18,25 Tot Time Story Hour at the Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. 10:30 a.m. For children 5 and under accompanied by an adult. For more info. tel: 410-8221626 or visit www.tcfl.org .

4,11,18,25 Meeting: Over Eaters Anonymous at UM Shore Medical Center in Easton. 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. For more info. visit www. oa.org.

August Calendar

4,11,18,25 Monday Night Trivia at the Market Street Public House, Denton. 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Join host Norm Amorose for a funfilled evening. For more info. tel: 410-479-4720.

5 Meeting: Breast Feeding Support Group from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at UM Shore Medical Center in Easton. For more info. tel: 410-822-1000 or visit www. shorehealth.org.

5 How to Draw Super Heroes with Paul Merklein at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 2 pm. for ages 8 and up. Registration requested. Supported with funds from the Talbot County Arts Council. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www. tcfl.org .

5-7 Workshop: Drawing from the Masters with Patrick Meehan at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. $180 members, $210 nonmembers. For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit www.academyartmuseum.org.

5,12,19,26 Open Art Studio at the Oxford Community Center, Oxford. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bring your works in progress and share time and experience with other com -

munity artists. Free and open to all skill levels. For more info. tel: 410-226-5904 or visit www. oxfordcc.org.

5,12,19,26 Walk-In Bereavement Support at the Talbot Hospice Foundation, Cynwood Drive, Easton. 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-6681.

5,12,19,26 Bingo! at Elks Lodge 1272, Cambridge. 7 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-221-6044.

5,19 Meeting: Bereavement Support Group at the Dorchester County Library, Cambridge. 6 p.m. For more info. tel: 443978-0218.

6 139th Annual St. Joseph’s Jousting Tournament and Horse Show at Old St. Joseph’s Church, Cordova. Gate charge is $1 for adults. Horse show begins at 9 a.m. with 11 classes. Country ham and barbecued chicken dinner starts at 11:30 a.m. $15 adults and $7 children. Jousting begins at 1:15 p.m. with 4 classes. For more info. tel: 410-822-6915.

6 Nature as Muse at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Enjoy writing as a way of exploring nature. For more info. tel: 410-634-2847, ext. 0 or visit www.adkinsarboretum.org.

6 Rocket Launch at the Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. 2 p.m. A program designed by the Lunar and Planetary Institute, a division of the Universities Space Research Association. Ages 9 and up. Registration is requested. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www.tcfl.org .

6 Spaghetti Dinner at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Cambridge. 4:30 to 7 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-228-1424.

6 Reiki Share at Evergreen: A Center for Balanced Living in Easton. 7:15 to 9:15 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-819-3395 or visit www.evergreeneaston.org.

6 Concert: Kinky Friedman at the

Avalon Theatre, Easton. 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7922 or visit www.avalontheatre. com .

6-9 Caroline-Dorchester County Fair at the Caroline County 4-H Park, Denton. The fair offers fun for the whole family, including the dress a goat contest, greased pig contest, amusement rides, pet shows, live entertainment, food and much more. $2 for adults and free for children under 13. For more info. visit www. caroline-dorchestercountyfair. org.

6,13,20,27

Meeting: Wednesday Morning Artists. 8 a.m. at Creek Deli in Cambridge. No cost. For more info. visit www. wednesdaymorningartists.com or contact Nancy at ncsnyder@ aol.com or 410-463-0148.

6,13,20,27 Social Time for Seniors at the St. Michaels Community Center, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-745-6073.

August Calendar

6,13,20,27 Oxford Farmer’s Market at the Oxford Community Center. Every Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. For more info. tel: 443-254-4107.

6,13,20,27 Teen Night at the St. Michaels Community Center, 5 to 7 p.m. for ages 12 to 17. For more info. tel: 410-745-6073.

6,13,20,27 Sip ‘n Paint classes with Laura Howell at Local Port of Art in St. Michaels. 6 to 8:15 p.m. Sip ‘n Paint is a BYOB class that offers a fun and unique way to uncork your creativity. $35 per person, per class. Payment is due in advance to hold space due to popularity. Class sizes are limited. For more info. tel: 443-205-2760 or e-mail info@ stmichaelsevents.com .

7 Stitch and Chat at the Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. 10 a.m. Bring your own projects and stitch with a group. For more info. tel: 410-8221626 or visit www.tcfl.org .

7 Play: The Legend of King Arthur with the Hampstead Stage Company at the Talbot County Free Library. 10:30 a.m. Supported with funds from the Talbot County Arts Council. For more info. tel: 410-822-

1626 or visit www.tcfl.org .

7 Blood Donation Drive at Immanuel United Church of Christ, Cambridge. 12 to 7:45 p.m. For more info. tel: 888-825-6638 or visit www.DelmarvaBlood.org.

7 Concert: Chris Noyes in Muskrat Park, St. Michaels. 6:30 to 8 p.m. Free. For more info. tel: 410-745-6073.

7 ArtFest Evening Art Talk at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton with Heidi Clark: A Different Perspective ~ Abstract Art. 7 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www. tcfl.org .

7-9 Cordova’s 52nd Annual Country Fair at the Cordova Firehouse. Little Miss Cordova Contest August 7. Miss

Chris Noyes

• Kayak Docks

• Floating Piers

August Calendar

Cordova Contest August 8. Parade August 9 at 6 p.m. For more info. visit www.cordovavfa.org .

7-9 FiberFest 2014: A Celebration of the Fiber Arts at the Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore in Denton. This three-day celebration features workshops, classes, guest speakers and demonstrations. Also featuring the Heartland Quilter’s Annual Shop Hop ~ a marketplace full of fiber arts vendors. For more info. tel: 410-479-1009 or visit www. fiberartscenter.com .

7,14 Free Movies at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 1 p.m. Aug. 7 ~ Up , Aug. 14 ~ Lion King . For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www. tcfl.org .

7,14,21,28 Dog Walking with Vicki Arion at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely. 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. For more info. tel: 410-634-2847, ext. 0 or visit www.adkinsarboretum.org.

7,14,21,28 Meeting: Caregivers Support Group at the Talbot Hospice Foundation, Cynwood Drive, Easton. 1 to 2:15 p.m. All are welcome. For more info. tel: 410-822-6681.

7,14,21,28 Cambridge Farmers Market from 3 to 6 p.m. at Long Wharf, Cambridge. Locally grown produce and meats, baked goods, crafts, flowers and more.

August Calendar for a kayak paddle on King’s Creek in Kingston with the Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy’s Choptank Riverkeeper Drew Koslow. $30 per person with a kayak provided, or $20 per person if you bring your own. For more info. tel: 410-745-2916 or visit www.cbmm.org.

7,14,21,28 Men’s Group Meeting at Evergreen: A Center for Balanced Living in Easton. 7:30 to 9 a.m. Weekly meeting where men can frankly and openly deal with issues in their lives. For more info. tel: 410-819-3395 or visit www. evergreeneaston.org.

7,21,28 Botanical Illustration: Session II from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, with Lee D’Zmura. Botanical Illustration I is a requirement. $95 members, $120 non-members. For more info. tel: 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

8 Explore the Chesapeake Series sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. 9 a.m. to noon. Participants are invited

8 Jewelry Workshop with Sue Stockman at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely. 10 a.m. to noon. $35 members, $50 non-members. For more info. tel: 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

8 Friday Art Walk in St. Michaels. 5 to 8 p.m. Come explore St. Michaels and its creative community this summer while you take in the sights and beauty of our local arts scene. For more info. e-mail info@stmichaelsevents.com .

8 Downtown Friday Night Cruise in Denton. In starting at 6 p.m. Step back in time and enjoy classic cars while a DJ spins the oldies. Free. For more info. tel: 410-829-6493.

8-9 Cruisin’ Back to the ’50s on the lawn of the Federalsburg Library on Friday, and Bullock’s Deli parking lot, Denton, on Saturday. Cruise back to the ’50s with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John at one of these spe -

August Calendar

cial showings of Grease. Movies start at dusk. For more info. tel: 410-479-8120.

8-10 7th Annual Pirates and Wenches Fantasy Weekend in Rock Hall. The Greater Rock Hall Business Association hosts a town-wide theme party celebrating the pirate in all of us. On Friday there will be a Rum Tasting and Sea Shanty Sing-ALong. Throughout the weekend there will be live entertainment, decorated dinghy parade, pirate dinghy poker run, a real pirate wedding, the Grand Buccaneer Ball, a town-wide treasure hunt, food, re-enactors and so much more. For more info. visit www.

rockhallpirates.com

8,9,10,14,15,16,17,22,23,24

Play: The Tred Avon Players present Curtains at the Oxford Community Center. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.,

Sundays at 2 p.m. and Thrifty Thursday on the 14th at 7 p.m. Curtains is a show about putting on a show while murder gets in the way. $20 for adults and $5 for students with ID. Thrifty Thursday tickets are two-for-one. For more info. tel: 410-226-0061 or visit www.tredavonplayers.org.

8,22 Meeting: Vets Helping Vets at VFW Post 5246 in Federalsburg. 9 a.m. Informational meeting to help vets find services and information. For more info. tel: 410-943-8205 after 4 p.m.

9 Kid’s Fishing Derby from 8 a.m. to noon at the Cambridge Municipal Yacht Basin, Cambridge. Open to ages 3 to 13, must be accompanied by an adult. Free event with prizes. For more info. tel: 410-330-8016.

9 Antioch Peach Festival from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Antioch United Methodist Church, Cambridge. Featuring sun-ripened peaches, pies, fritters, cobbler, crab cakes, ice cream, vendors

August Calendar

and more. For more info. tel: 410-228-4723.

9 Star-Spangled Celebration at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime museum, St. Michaels. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event features a variety of activities including viewing the Maryland Historical Society’s replica of the flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1812. Also, a visit from the Pride of Baltimore II. For more info. tel: 410-745-2916 or visit www. cbmm.org.

9 Friends of the Library Second Saturday Book Sale at the Dorchester County Public Library, Cambridge. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-2287331 or visit www.dorchesterlibrary.org.

9 13th annual Peach Festival at the Preston Fire House from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Food, peaches, bake table, vendors, music and more. Benefits the Bethesda United Methodist Church in Preston. For more info. tel: 410-673-7288.

9 Art Mart at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Art Mart is a day to sell (or buy) gently used art products. Participants interested in selling can rent a six-foot table for

$20 (space will be limited). For more info. or to reserve a table, tel: 410-820-5222.

9 Second Saturday Nursery Walk at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, with horticulturist Eric Wittman. 1 to 3 p.m. For more info. tel: 410634-2847, ext. 0 or visit www. adkinsarboretum.org.

9 The Cambridge Rescue Fire Company hosts the annual Seafood Feast-I-Val at Sailwinds Park, Cambridge. 1 to 6 p.m. Live entertainment, craft sales, door prizes, displays, all-you-can-eat crabs, fried fish, crab soup, fried clams, barbecued chicken and so much more. Free parking. For more info. and ticket prices tel. 410-228-1211 or visit www. seafoodfeastival.com .

9 Second Saturdays at the Artsway from 2 to 4 p.m., 401 Market Street, Denton. Interact with artists as they demonstrate

their work. For more info. tel: 410-479-1009 or visit www. carolinearts.org.

9 Concert: Roadhouse Clams in the Stoltz Listening Room, Avalon Theatre, Easton. 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7922 or visit www.avalontheatre.com .

9 Second Saturday in Historic Downtown Cambridge on Race, Poplar, Muir and High streets. Shops will be open late. Galleries will be opening new shows and holding receptions. Restaurants will feature live music. For more info. visit www.cambridgemainstreet.com .

9,23 Country Church Breakfast at Faith Chapel & Trappe United Methodist Churches in Wesley Hall, Trappe. 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. TUMC is also the home of “Martha’s Closet” Yard Sale and Community Outreach Store, open during the breakfast and every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

9,23 Concert in the Country at Layton’s Chance, Vienna. Kings Ransom will play on the 9th and Second Wind will perform on the 23rd. 6 to 9 p.m. $5 per person, and must be 21 years or older. For more info. tel: 410-228-1205 or visit www.laytonschance.com .

August Calendar

10 Pancake Breakfast at the Oxford Volunteer Fire Company. 8 to 11 a.m. Proceeds to benefit the Oxford Volunteer Fire Services. $8 for adults and $4 for children under 10. For more info. tel: 410226-5110.

$6 per child ages 6-17. Tickets include all-you-can-eat crabs, one hamburger or hot dog, corn, soda and water. Boat rides, beer and additional food will be available for purchase. For more info. tel: 410-745-2916 or visit www. cbmm.org.

10 One-Hour Skipjack Sail on the Nathan of Dorchester from 1 to 2 p.m., Long Wharf, Cambridge. Adults $15; children 6-12 $7; under 6 free. For more info. tel: 410-228-7141 or to make reservations online visit www. skipjack-nathan.org.

10 Waterman’s Appreciation Day at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Featured will be the boat docking contest, guest appearances from The Deadliest Catch’s Edgar Hansen, live music with Byrd Dog & the Road Kings, kid’s activities and much more. Food and drink at extra cost. Admission includes the Bird Dog & the Road Kings concert and crab feast at $25 for adults, and $16 for kids 6-17, with all children under six admitted for free. Museum members along with licensed watermen and their families get discounted admission at $15 per adult, and

11 Meeting: Suicide Grievers Support Group at the Talbot Hospice Foundation, Cynwood Drive, Easton. 6 to 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-6681.

11 Concert: The Joseph Baione Jazz Quartet in Muskrat Park, St. Michaels. 6:30 to 8 p.m. Free. For more info. tel: 410745-6073.

11,12 Fizz, Boom, Fold! ~ Experiment With Origami at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. Aug. 11, 2 to 3 p.m. and Aug. 12, 10 to 11 a.m. For more info. tel: 410-8221626 or visit www.tcfl.org .

11-13 Workshop: Summer Paint-In at the Academy with Diane DuBois Mullaly and Katie Cassidy

Edgar Hansen.

August Calendar

at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. $75 members, $30 drop-in fee per class. For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit www.academyartmuseum.org.

12 Puppet Show: School is Cool at the Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. 3 p.m. Produced and performed by our own Miss Carla! For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www.tcfl.org.

12,26 Meeting: Tidewater Stamp Club at the Mayor and Council Bldg., Easton. 7:30 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-1371.

13 Presentation: Science Unscripted at the Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. 2 p.m. Demonstrations from life science, physical science, and chemistry by the Maryland Science Center. This program is designed for children in grades K-5. Free tickets available begin-

ning Wednesday, August 6. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www.tcfl.org .

13 Meeting: Talbot Optimist Club at the Washington Street Pub, Easton. 6:30 p.m. For more info. e-mail rvanemburgh@ leinc.com.

13,27 Chess Club from 1 to 3 p.m. at the St. Michaels Community Center. Players gather for friendly competition and instruction. For more info. tel: 410-745-6073.

14 Lego Free Build at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 2 to 3 p.m. for ages 6 and up. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www.tcfl.org .

14 ArtFest Evening Art Talk at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton with Marie Martin: Photo Art Treasures. 7 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www.tcfl.org .

14,21,28 Memoir Writing at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Record and share your memories of life and family with a friendly group. Participants are invited to bring their lunch. Pre-registration is requested. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www. tcfl.org .

15 Workshop: Plaster Mold Making with Paul Aspell at the Academy Art Museum, Easton. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $80 members, $90 non-members. For more info. tel: 410-822-ARTS (2787) or visit www.academyartmuseum.org.

15 Hurlock Volunteer Fire Company Cornhole Tournament. Join HVFC for fun, food and cornhole to support the fire department. Round-robin team doubles, double elimination. $40 per team or $20 per person. Beer and food available. For more info. tel: 410-8293429 or visit www.marylandcornhole.net .

15 Concert: Jerry Douglas at the Avalon Theatre, Easton. 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7922 or visit www.avalontheatre. com .

15-16 Caroline Summerfest: Cruising Back to the ‘50s in downtown

August Calendar

Denton. Fri., 5 to 10 p.m. and Sat., noon to 9 p.m. Featuring three stages of regional and local entertainment, a Friday pedestrian parade, Saturday fireworks show, strolling performers, artisans, free KidzArt activities, gaming, food vendors and more. For more info. tel: 410-479-8120 or visit www.carolinesummerfest.com .

16 Choptank Rivah Run at Martinak State Park, Denton. Checkin at 8:30 a.m., paddle at 10 a.m. 2-mile paddling event for children and adults featuring a poker run, great prizes and a free

Look Years Younger

shuttle back to Martinak State Park. Register by July 31 to get a free T-shirt and pre-registration discount. PFDs are required, and children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. For more info. tel: 410-479-8120 or visit www.carolinesummerfest.com .

16 Crab cake and soft crab sandwich sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Salvation Army, 200 Washington St., Cambridge. For more info. tel: 410-228-2442.

17 Millington Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a parade, craft show, local food vendors and live music. For more info. tel: 410-928-3880.

18 Read to Latte, a certified therapy dog, at the Talbot County Free Library, Easton. 2 to 3:30 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www.tcfl.org .

105 Federal St., Ste. A, Easton 410-822-6777

Sue Sterling - Owner

18 Book Discussion: One Summer ~ America, 1927 by Bill Bryson at the Talbot County

Bring a friend to lunch at Belmond The Inn at Perry Cabin

And afterward join us in the Inn’s Library for dessert and a discussion on “Daytime

The Glamour and Style of Retro Jewelry

The first Monday of every month at 1:30 p.m.

Diamonds”

101 NORTH TALBOT STREET, ST. MICHAELS, MD

August Calendar

Free Library, Easton. 6:30 p.m. The Easton library book club and discussion is open to the public. For more info. tel: 410822-1626 or visit www.tcfl.org.

18 Concert: The St. Michaels Gospel Choir Collective in Muskrat Park, St. Michaels. 6:30 to 8 p.m. Free. For more info. tel: 410-745-6073.

19 Back to School Crafts at the Talbot County Free Library, St. Michaels. 3 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-1626 or visit www.tcfl.org .

20 Meeting: Dorchester Caregivers Support Group from 3 to 4 p.m. at Pleasant Day Adult Medical Day Care, Cambridge. For more info. tel: 410-228-0190.

21 Meeting: Stroke Survivors Support Group at Pleasant Day Medical Adult Day Care, Cambridge. 1 to 2 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-228-0190.

21 Third Thursday in Downtown Denton: Head to Denton from 5 to 7 p.m. as local businesses extend their hours and offer specials! For more info. tel: 410479-0655.

22 Concert: The Pam Ortiz Band in

the Stoltz Listening Room, Avalon Theatre, Easton. 8 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-822-7922 or visit www.avalontheatre.com .

23 3rd Annual Tomato Festival in Vienna. This event features regional heritage demonstrations, canning industry memorabilia, quality vendors, activities, tomato games, entertainment and fantastic food. Rain or shine. For more info. tel: 410-228-7953 or e-mail dchs@verizon.net.

23 Crab Feast to benefit Channel Marker, Inc. 5 to 8 p.m. at the Easton Club Riverhouse. Allyou-can-eat crabs, 50/50 raffle, music by DJ Erik Higgins. $50 in advance or $55 at the door. For more info. tel: 410-822-4619 or visit www.channelmarker.org.

23 A Cabaret Spectacular! benefiting Talbot Mentors from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at The Milestone in Easton. Entertainment by Free and Eazy Band, Shore Strings, and Christine Noyes. Dinner and cocktails. Reserve by August 15. $100 per person. For more info. tel: 410-770-5999.

24 Taylors Island Boat Docking Challenge at Slaughter Creek Marina, Taylors Island. Noon to 5 p.m. Sponsored by the Taylors Island Volunteer Fire Company. Come see the best dockers on

August Calendar

the Chesapeake Bay showcase their skills. For more info. tel: 410-228-3585 or visit www. taylorsislandboatdockingchallenge.com .

24 Movie: Bending Sticks at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely. 1 to 2 p.m. The feature-length documentary Bending Sticks celebrates the 25-year career of internationally renowned environmental artist Patrick Dougherty, who has created hundreds of monumental sculptures out of saplings. Free for members, $5 for nonmembers. For more info. tel: 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

26 Meeting: Breast Cancer Support Group at UM Regional Breast Center, Easton. 6 p.m. For more info. e-mail pplaskon@shorehealth.org .

26 Meeting: Women Supporting Women, local breast cancer support group, meets at Christ Episcopal Church, Cambridge. 6:30 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-463-0946.

28 Concert: Flatland Drive in Muskrat Park, St. Michaels. 6:30 to 8 p.m. Free. For more info. tel: 410-745-6073.

29-30 Hot and Tangy BBQ Chicken

and Beef at the Linkwood-Salem VFC in Linkwood. 10 a.m. until... For more info. or to call in an order tel: 410-221-0169.

30 5th Annual Race to Erase MS 5K at Wilmer Park, Chestertown. 8 a.m. All proceeds to benefit the National MS Society. For more info. tel: 443-480-8813.

30 17th Annual Charity Boat Auction at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels. Boating experts and novices alike have the same opportunity to bid on the boat of their dreams! Offering everything from wooden rowing skiffs to classic sailboats and modern power cruisers. Gates open at 8 a.m. with auction beginning at 1 p.m. For more info. tel: 410-745-4952 or e-mail lmills@ cbmm.org.

31 Bicentennial of the Battle of Caulk’s Field from 10 a.m. to 4

p.m. at Caulk’s Field Battlefield, Chestertown. A once-in-a-lifetime thrilling memorial event will take place as a tribute to both the American and British forces, and the British Marines and Sailors who died on Kent County soil. There will be a reenactment, American and British encampments, a flag raising, the unveiling of two new

memorial markers honoring the American and British forces, wreath laying, reenactor demonstrations, period exhibits, live music, food, vendors, historical interpretation of the actions and participants of the engagement, living history, and much more. For more info. tel: 410-7780416 or visit www.kentcounty. com/1812/events.php.

31 Guided canoe trip up Tuckahoe Creek departing the nature center at Tuckahoe State Park, 6 p.m. $10 for adults, $8 for children 14 and under. Reservations required. For more info. tel: 410820-1668.

BENSON & MANGOLD REAL ESTATE

Chuck Mangold Jr. - Associate Broker

Spectacular Water Views! Stunning open floor plan design, masterfully executed with exquisite care and attention to detail. Sailboat depth ~ 6+MLW. Gorgeous main house with 4 master suites, 3 fireplaces, pristine gourmet kitchen. Superb waterfront guest house. Ideal Easton/Oxford Road location. Peachblossom Creek. A perfect Eastern Shore sanctuary!

Visit LegatesCoveEstate.com $3,500,000

Great attention to detail is found at every turn in this custom-built estate situated on 5+ acres off the Oxford Corridor. 2-story great room with FP & built-ins; gourmet kitchen with granite countertops, commercial grade stainless steel appliances & FP; main-level master suite with double walk-in closets & a feature-packed master bath. Exterior features a covered front porch, brick paver patio, in-ground gunite pool, carriage house, barn, kennel & gardens.

Visit 28108BaileysNeckRoad.com $1,349,000

HISTORIC WATERFRONT ESTATE convenient to Easton and Oxford. Over 30 acres of fields and private park-like grounds with ancient shade trees. Excellent hunting potential from offshore blind ~ property has not been shot for over 40 years. Deepwater dock. Sandy beach. Southwest exposure with breathtaking sunsets. Large brick home recently updated. Barn, caretaker’s house and pool.

Please call Bob Shannahan for details: 410-310-5745.