Depicting local history, a number of public murals across Maryland’s Eastern Shore celebrate the famous — Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Gloria Richardson — as well as the ordinary folks with unsung lives, the enslaved people, hunters, shipwrights, explorers, teamsters, watermen, … Continue reading History on the Eastern Shore — Murals
“You’re from somewhere, aren’t you?” ―Elizabeth Hadaway, American poet From Cecil County to Somerset, public murals dot the Eastern Shore, adding an unexpected sense of place. They help visitors get the hang of Maryland’s nine Shore counties. They connect Crisfield … Continue reading Sense of Place on the Eastern Shore — Murals
Running 63 miles from the Mason-Dixon Line to Wye Mills and traversing one canal, two colleges, three county seats, and four rivers, Maryland’s Rte. 213 is one of the prettiest roads in the state. It’s just a two-hour drive, but … Continue reading Eastern Shore’s Scenic Route 213
The neo-Confederate “Talbot Boys” statue — standing directly in front of the Talbot County courthouse in Easton, Md. — was dedicated in 1916, a half-century after Lee’s surrender to Grant and in the very middle of the virulent Jim Crow … Continue reading “Talbot Boys” Falling Out of Step
Like so many of the lower Eastern Shore’s end-of-the-road communities, Taylor’s Island — bustling in the 18th century — is a picturesque, history-laced backwater. Twenty minutes west of Cambridge, the drive to the island passes through part of Tubman country, … Continue reading Destination Drive: Taylor’s Island in Dorchester County
Kent County’s Eastern Neck Island became a 2,285-acre national wildlife refuge in 1962. Quite likely Captain John Smith and his men observed the island—maybe even landed on it—during their exploration of Chesapeake Bay in the early 1600s. Native Americans lived … Continue reading A Piece of Hunting History: Eastern Neck’s Gunning Skiff
In certain areas of the Eastern Shore, you may happen upon a slow freight train chuff-chuffing across the countryside, along woods, by fields, and through small towns. Well, not “chuffing,” because this railroad uses diesel locomotives, after all, but picturesque … Continue reading SNAPSHOT: MARYLAND-DELAWARE RAILROAD COMPANY
To visit the deeply rural stretches of the Eastern Shore, you need to shun the artery highways — Rtes. 50, 301, and 404 — and instead poke along less-traveled local roads that connect Shore communities. Case in point is Maryland … Continue reading ROAD TRIP: MARDELA SPRINGS TO GALENA ON ROUTE 313
INTRODUCTION This remembrance was written in 1965 while the author was working as a full-time civil rights volunteer with the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee (CNAC). It was in the form of a letter and addressed to Sam Smith, editor and … Continue reading Willie
Mostly because of the virus, during 2020, Janice and I took a drive somewhere on Maryland’s Eastern Shore or in Delaware once a week, usually on Wednesday. The nine counties in Maryland and the three in Delaware have a lot … Continue reading Some Favorite Photos from 2020
Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, self-emancipated slaves from Maryland’s Eastern Shore, helped John Brown to plan his radical insurrection at Harpers Ferry in 1859. Neither joined the raid, however. Somewhere between Cordova and Hillsboro near Tuckahoe Creek in Talbot County, … Continue reading Eastern Shore History: Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and John Brown
Living in Rock Hall in Kent County, and with the time and wherewithal to explore during these long Covid-ridden months, Janice and I have been making weekly driving trips to points hither and yon on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and Delaware. … Continue reading Covid-ian Getaways on the Eastern Shore
Tucked into southeast Dorchester County, LeCompte Wildlife Management Area was originally established as a sanctuary for federally-endangered Delmarva fox squirrels. The nearest town is Vienna, on the Nanticoke river at Rte. 50. LeCompte comprises 485 acres of mature oaks and … Continue reading Spotlight: Stalking elusive Delmarva fox squirrel at LeCompte WMA
Ready for a road trip that crosses a state line 19 times and traverses nine counties in four hours? Crosses the headwaters of five rivers and the main channel of a sixth? Begins at a museum and ends at four … Continue reading Looking for a Rural and Historical Day Trip?
Most motorists encounter Trappe only as that three-mile “Speed Awareness Zone“ on Rte. 50 in Talbot County between Easton and Cambridge as they whiz through, bound for Ocean City or the Bay Bridge. But just one block west of Rte. … Continue reading Snapshot: Trappe is more than a “Speed Awareness Zone”
Looking to walk in fields and woods for a few hours? Hankering to spot some birds? Just need to savor peace and quiet? A portion of an Eastern Shore farm was donated to the Audubon Society in 1981 to be … Continue reading Spotlight: Hiking at Pickering Creek Audubon Center
MEMO To: Municipal Officials in Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, La.From: An Eastern Shore FriendRe: A Modest Proposal Dear Friends: You recently suffered the loss of your beloved memorial to slavery, the short-lived Confederacy, the so-called Lost Cause, i.e., your heritage … Continue reading A Modest Proposal
On the north bank of the Wicomico river, tiny Whitehaven is one of the oldest towns on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, dating to the late 1600s and incorporated in 1702. As a National Historic District, Whitehaven was added to the National … Continue reading Snapshot: Historical Whitehaven
Drive to the very end of Rte. 20 in Kent County and you’ll be in Rock Hall, a quiet waterfront town 12 miles southwest of Chestertown. Historically a bustling hub for commercial fishing, crabbing, and oystering on Chesapeake Bay, its … Continue reading Snapshot: Rock Hall, Bayside Town
Food otherwise wasted turned into something delicious? That would be scrapple, pork-processing scraps turned into a high-calorie breakfast staple that’s popular in eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and Delaware. Produced by RAPA (Bridgeville, Del.), Kirby & Holloway (Harrington, Del.), or … Continue reading “Everything, but the Oink”
In 1959, George Brooks (from Detroit and Black) and I (White from New England) first met at Fort Sam Houston’s training center for medics, then together made it through jump school, and were both assigned to the 82nd Airborne’s Medical … Continue reading My First Sit-In
