In the otherwise highly developed and developing megalopolis stretching from Virginia to Maine, woodlands, fields, marshes, streams, and rivers remain on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Indeed, the Shore’s natural resources are threatened by population growth and steady losses of natural resources … Continue reading Nature 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
When I left Baltimore to move to the Eastern Shore 16 years ago, I thought I was leaving behind daily parallel parking, mosquito-free backyards, and Formstone houses. Turns out I was right about the parallel parking and the backyards, but … Continue reading Formstone — What do You Think? Classy or Tacky?
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
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
I remember the days when AM radio was my gateway to the world – especially to the world of music. Turn it on, fiddle with the tuning dial, and almost anything might come through the speaker. Especially if you were … Continue reading Old AM Radio Days on the Shore
My mother was Lillian Phillips Shivers. She grew up in the village of Allen in Wicomico County, married there in her parents’ parlor, while her father and her future mother-in-law wept on the front porch – out of joy, I … Continue reading The Superstitious Sayings of My Mother
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
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?
We moved to Chestertown about 25 years ago. I’d grown up here, but after college much of my life was spent in big cities – Boston, Philadelphia, and the last decade, Brooklyn, NY. As you can imagine, coming back home … Continue reading Pogo and Other Critters
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”
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”
Sometime in the last century, my father’s two brothers came to Chestertown for a visit. This was something of an occasion; Uncle Sam lived in upstate New York, so his visits weren’t frequent. Uncle Lew, on the other hand, lived … Continue reading The Curse of the Corduroy Pants
