One of Dorchester County’s most iconic landmarks, the Spocott Windmill, rises alongside Route 343, which starts as Washington Street in Cambridge, becoming Hudson Street heading West into the Neck District.

The grandson of the man who, at age 95, undertook rebuilding the historic structure, disclosed that and many more stories in a newly published book detailing the incredible, indelible life of one of Dorchester County’s most dedicated office holders and civic contributors. 

Call Me Cousin George, A Personal Look at the Life of Senator George L. Radcliffe, by George M. Radcliffe Jr.–the senator’s only living grandson–was at first intended as a keepsake for the great grandchildren who had never gotten a chance to hear his stories around the family dining room table at the Spocott Farm as he had.

But the project soon took on a life of its own, befitting the larger than life accomplishments of its subject. 

Going through his grandfather’s treasure trove of voluminous correspondence, journals, and photographs turned into a ten year labor of love, providing a springboard to an outsized journey of learning about the man, the world he emerged from, and the historic times he became actively engaged in helping transform.

When the manuscript was finally presented to Salt Water Media in Berlin, MD, the impressed editors advised George M., Jr. that what he’d prepared contained a story holding great interest for a much wider audience than the family memoir he’d initially set out to create.

Prefaced with a well informed overview of a life spanning nearly a century (1877-1974), the chapters marking his expansive experiences and contributions are told in a series of highly readable essays detailing the nooks and crannies comprising the landscape of his life, clearly delineating a modest man of character, good will, and determination that saw him overcome the odds, from frail health as a youngster to surviving a violent robbery at age 90. 

Throughout, the story is sprinkled with famous names–Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Lyndon Johnson, just to name a few. 

But, in keeping with the grounded, down-to-earth values of Radcliffe’s persona, these are not necessarily the most memorable figures, not by a long shot. 

Instead, the reader relishes learning about picturesque personalities populating his inner circle. Among these was lifelong chauffeur and companion, Dorchester waterman John Swain Foxwell (Radcliffe never took up driving, yet commuted between Baltimore, Washington, and Dorchester County regularly, sometimes almost daily.)

Also, free African American woman Adaline Morris Wheatley, known as “Aunt Adaline” was the homestead’s cook, manager, and guiding light, whose picture held a singular place of honor in the Spocott homestead’s dining room.

Radcliffe’s Senate terms, 1935 to 1947, are noteworthy in overlapped with the Great Depression and World War II. But his overall contributions extend even beyond the consequence of his times. 

For instance, his friendship with FDR, long before he became president, inspired Radcliffe to become an early and ongoing leader dedicated to fundraising and fighting the scourge of infantile paralysis, also known as polio, culminating in the March of Dimes.

Visitors to Long Wharf Park can view a plaque commemorating FDR’s trip up the Choptank River via the Presidential Yacht Sequoia, to help dedicate the new bridge connecting Dorchester and Talbot counties, whose construction came about through Radcliffe’s efforts.

A voracious reader and student of history from his earliest days, raised within a strong boat building community, Radcliffe realized long before many others how vital it was for the U.S. to build up and maintain an ongoing seafaring force. His insight and efforts have been credited with what turned out to be the crucial beefing up of the Merchant Marine during the late 1930s, prior to U.S. official entry into World War II. 

Though a Democrat, Radcliffe, true to his rural roots, resisted being pulled into ultra progressive stances that clashed with his firm centrist and fiscally conservative views. Yet, in 1945, Radcliffe remarkably rose on the Senate floor to offer A Proposed Constitutional Amendment Providing Equal Rights for Women and Men.

Studying at Johns Hopkins, where then Professor Woodrow Wilson was an advisor, Radcliffe’s Ph.D. dissertation explored the pivotal role played by Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks, who also lived in Dorchester County, in keeping Maryland from seceding during the Civil War. 

The dueling loyalties which served as a backdrop to the War were reflected within his own family history. His Baltimore born mother, Mary McKim Marriott “Daisy” Radcliffe, had strong family ties to the Confederacy, while his father, John Anthony LeCompte Radcliffe, rooted at Dorchester’s ancestral Spocott Farm, left behind indications, including the tantalizing clue relating to his son’s middle name, that he had abolitionist leanings, according to his great grandson.

An inherent interest in and ability to pull on the state’s many historical threads without becoming entangled in messy controversies laid the foundation for Radcliffe’s successful revitalization of the Maryland Historical Society in the 1950s, bringing branches to every county, expanding its staff and Baltimore headquarters, and initiating outreach to schools.

At an age when retirement usually entailed a slowing down from an active life, an ongoing drive to preserve the cherished historical legacy inherited from his parents here in Dorchester county inspired him to embark on a project long promised to his mother, another, to himself. 

The first was the creation of the Grace Church Foundation, which involved the restoring and relocating the derelict original church building, a Taylor’s Island outpost of Trinity Episcopal Church in Woolford. 

The next involved hiring Mister Jim Richardson, legendary Dorchester boatbuilder, whose shipyard was across the street from the property, to tackle the prospect of authentically reconstructing, with no blueprints, the English windmill constructed by Radcliffe’s father in the 1860’s and destroyed by a heavy winter storm when he was 11. Believing from the outset that he’d find a way to somehow rebuild it, Radcliffe had managed to salvage original stone from its foundation. Despite the passage of 80 years, he kept the dream alive and saw it through. Over his objections, the structure was named in his honor, with a wooden sign bearing the title George L.

Radcliffe’s son, George M., and his only surviving son, George M., Jr, continued their patriarch’s legacy of service to community with a view to make life better for generations to come; George M. was a long time trustee of Washington College in Chesterton, George M., Jr. taught public school science for over 30 years. After retiring he essentially continued that pursuit, guiding the Maryland Ornithology Society’s junior birding program, the Audubon Society’s Dorchester County vital citizen science bird atlas count, and presiding over the Spocott Windmill and Village Foundation, which holds an open house twice a year.

Echoing his grandfather’s characteristic modesty and penchant for quietly doing good ( with no wish for reward other than that), George M., Jr. maintained that the story rightly should have been told by his late brother Bill, a local newspaper reporter, had survived an untimely death in an auto crash (along with his sister). Another sister also died at a young age.

Though unsure of his ability, he took up what he felt was a sacred duty to share his grandfather’s story with the next generation and followed it through to completion.  In so doing, he also kept his spirit alive.

Call Me Cousin George: A Personal Look at the Life of Sen. George L. Radcliffe, by George M. Radcliffe, Jr, Salt Water Media, Berlin MD, 2021 (www.saltwatermedia.com)

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is about to offer an exciting–you might even say ‘cosmic’–new vista to explore: the night sky.

A powerful, relatively compact Meade LX 600 telescope with 12 inch aperture lens, using a space saving folding mirror design, has been mounted on a platform in the field, the South Lawn, of the Visitor’s Center on Key Wallace Drive, past the Butterfly and Pollinator Garden.

Soon, the Friends of Blackwater will open a Night Sky Tours program to prospective stargazers aged 12 and up.

Dr. Harry Heckathorn, retired astrophysicist and Friends Board Vice President, who initiated the ground, or in this case, firmament breaking, idea, hosted the inaugural First Light event on Tuesday May 17 from 8:45 to 11:00 p.m., rescheduled from an original Sunday, when the lunar eclipse occurred, due to a forecast of cloud cover and storms.

First Light is the astronomical term referring to the prime sky viewing time following sunset until moonrise, Heckathorn explained.

A select group including the Friends Board, their spouses, and several others joined Heckathorn and Bob Quinn, a professional IT retiree adding his expertise to Blackwater’s five wildlife webcams, the Giftshop computerized cash register system, and now the telescope.

Quinn, a wildlife photographer, is enhancing the telescope’s already impressive capability with a sensitive camera, able to show more detailed views of the various stars, nebulas, and the moon.

It’s hoped that as Phase II of the Night Sky project advances, these photographic capabilities will also enable viewing from within the Visitor’s Center for those with disabilities precluding venturing over the grassy terrain, and when summer’s buggy and winter’s chilly nights make outdoor viewing less inviting.

All who attended were afforded the opportunity to spot a series of celestial bodies with what Heckathorn called “the incomparable naked eye experience.” But as the photographic images were displayed on a computer screen monitor, each sparked a spontaneous chorus of appreciative oooooohs and aaaaaahs from the group.

In addition to providing a unique viewing experience, Heckathorn also offered a remarkably detailed perspective on what each image showed, revealing encyclopedic knowledge of the subject in down to earth, easy to comprehend language and examples.

When enhanced photos, taken with Quinn’s Sony Alpha 7 full frame Mirrorless camera, appeared on the video monitor behind the telescope, Heckathorn enthusiastically answered the steady stream of observers’ questions.

With a laser the size of a flashlight, Heckathorn also pinpointed various individual stars within numerous constellations visible overhead, including Gemini, Virgo, Draco the Dragon, and Ursa Major ( The Big Dipper).

Besides bringing added perspective to the overall discussion, the laser locator directed attention to Blackwater’s outstanding vantage point for seeing a multitude of stars, with bonus Spring evening serenade from the Refuge wildlife multitude in the distance.

Blackwater’s night sky tour program represents an innovative Refuge development not only here, but throughout the system.

Heckathorn’s recent article in the Spring 2022 issue of The Link, The National Wildlife Refuge online publication, explained why Blackwater was uniquely situated to offer optimal telescope viewing:

“Satellite images of Earth at night show that Blackwater has the darkest skies east of the Interstate 95 corridor – particularly when looking south down the Chesapeake and toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Night sky photographs inspired the Friends of Blackwater to construct a small astronomical observatory for public night sky tours,” Heckathorn wrote.

The photos were taken during almost instantly sold out annual Milky Way photography workshops held over the past few years, organized by Robert Sullivan of Working Image Photography, with all proceeds donated FOB.

Heckathorn added that Blackwater’s after dark landscape also presents to viewers a chance to view the same stars which helped guide Harriet Tubman and other freedom seekers in this area , who relied on them to navigate their way to safety.

“I’m very excited we’re bringing this free educational offering to Blackwater NWR and feel like it will bring many new visitors to the Refuge. I don’t know of any other National Wildlife Refuge in the nation offering a unique program like our Night Sky Tours,” noted Rick Abend, FOB Board President.

“Receiving a $5000 grant from the Heart of Chesapeake Country Heritage Area and Maryland Heritage Area Authority was icing on the cake and allowed us to put Harry’s plan in motion. The Refuge Staff and our volunteer support has been amazing. Over a dozen people have helped with the construction. With Harry’s meticulous planning, the project has come together very smoothly,” Abend added.

Abend, Heckathorn, and Refuge Visitor Services Manager Ray Peterra, and other volunteers built the telescope’s concrete pedestal and a surrounding wooden platform to help viewers maintain safe footing. Heckathorn also designed the telescope’s customized protective enclosure, fitted with fans, heaters, and humidity preventing silica. The portable unit’s platform rises and lowers to safely allow the telescope to be removed from its concrete perch.

Initially (and still) heading the Friends’ scholarship awards program, Heckathorn began assisting photographer Tom Hook in setting up the Friends’ first digital Osprey webcam in February 2018, going on to prepare additional cameras focusing on waterfowl, eagles, and most recently, River Osprey.

His own interest in helping others take part in night sky viewing harkens back to his own boyhood experience, literally in the fields of his Minnesota, where he had many opportunities for stargazing, especially during his predawn paper route.

Heckathorn also cited his dad’s home built backyard telescope (“that was the most affordable way for people who wanted telescopes in those days”) as well as his high school astronomy club as influences.

But he points to a ride in his dad’s Buick one fateful 1957 day, during which he heard the radio news announcement about the Russian satellite Sputnik going into orbit around the Earth, as the actual unofficial launch of his eventual career path first in astronomy and then space science and rocketry.

He earned his doctorate in astrophysics in 1970, held a post-doctoral position at what was then NASA’s Manned Spaceflight Center in Houston, worked in the Physics Departments of the University of Houston and Johns Hopkins University and worked 25 years in the Space Science Department of the Naval Research Laboratory developing astronomical instruments for use at terrestrial observatories, on sounding rockets, and on the Space Shuttle. From there he became interested in rocketry and missile defense, managing the development and use of simulation software and data archiving and retrieval facilities for the Missile Defense Agency.

Retiring in 2006, Heckathorn relocated from Arlington, Virginia to Church Creek with his wife Glenna, a longtime health care industry professional, who currently serves as the Mid-Shore League of Women Voters Co-Convener.

For updated announcements, Abend recommends following the Friends of Blackwater Facebook page for Night Sky Tours.

Debra Messick is a retired Dorchester County Public Library associate and lifelong freelance writer. A transplanted native Philadelphian, she has enjoyed residing in Cambridge MD since 1995.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For John S. “Pat” Neild Jr., deep roots are in his blood and his soil. A lifelong Taylors Islander, the chairman of the board of Grace Foundation, which caretakes the area’s history and its church cemeteries, he’s been growing grapes and making wine at Ridgeton Vineyard since 1973, adjacent to historic Ridgeton Hall. 

But the ties binding his family to the land the vineyard sits on go back considerably farther.

“Originally owned by an ancestor, it is one of the oldest family properties on the island. The Keene, Travers, and Spicer families owned most of Taylors Island in the past, and my family claims most of them as ancestors,” he recalled. The properties making up Ridgeton’s current estate consists of about 850 acres, according to Neild.

In 2000 Neild undertook his own research of recorded deeds and related information, finding sources suggesting settlement as early as 1669, through the revolutionary period, spanning the 19th century, clear through to the 20th.

The celebrated home still standing there and listed on the National Historic Register, came a bit later. 

“Ridgeton was the home farm and residence of Judge Levi Dove Travers, Jr., born Nov. 21, 1828, died May 26, 1907. The large section of the Ridgeton house was built in 1859, but the smaller sections are older,” Neild wrote.

Documents accompanying the home’s nomination for the National Historic Register describe it as “one of the best-preserved Italianate style dwellings on the Eastern Shore,” built with timber from the surrounding farm along with materials shipped down the Chesapeake from Baltimore.

Neild himself grew up on the north end of Taylors Island, on Hooper’s Neck Road, until joining the Air Force in 1951, never having lived at Ridgeton himself.

 “That property was out of our family from about 1918, until my father bought it back in 1956. My parents, J. Stapleforte and Mable, lived there until they passed away. In 1999, my wife Ann and I inherited the Ridgeton house with 23 acres of land, replacing the roof, adding HVAC, and doing as much maintenance as required by the age of the house,” Neild added. But they did all they could to preserve its unique features, including the large kitchen fireplace and the rooftop “Widows Walk’, featuring a panoramic aerial view of much of central Taylors Island as well as the Chesapeake Bay.

During his parents’ later years, Neild took over the land’s farming responsibilities, improving equipment and outbuildings. He also began to help his mother, a DAR member, gather and organize notes she’d compiled about the family’s history. His dad had helped create the Dorchester County Historical Society Neild Museum dedicated to preserving Dorchester County’s agricultural history which opened in 1981. (Neild himself served as president of the Historical Society and South Dorchester Folk Museum. He has also presided over numerous other land and sea organizations, including the Tidewater Farm Club, the Rotary Squadron of the Chesapeake Bay and the Cambridge Yacht Club). 

Most of the remaining farmland was titled to the corporation Neild formed, Ridgeton Farms, Inc., jointly owned by the couple’s three sons. Since 2014, son Tom, president and majority owner of the corporation, has resided at Ridgeton Hall with wife Lisa.

Neild’s interest in growing grapes and making wine was sparked when Baltimore’s Boordy winery owner Philip Wagner, retired Sunpapers editor, spoke at the Tidewater Farm Club in the early 1970s. With an ag degree from the University of Maryland, Neild became intrigued. Accompanied by long-time friend Ron Wade, the enterprise got underway, starting out with a few cuttings “begged and borrowed” from Western Shore growers, including Boordy, Neild recalled. 

After the initial year Wade moved on but Neild kept Ridgeton Vineyard going. Since then, he’s continued to enjoy the process of planting, growing, crushing, fermenting, and then sharing, maintaining steadfast notes detailing each season’s progress. 

The not-for-profit enterprise, the fruits of which he has enjoyed sharing with family and friends, has also offered local wine lovers an opportunity to pick an array of grapes he’s experimented with growing, from fig to muscadine, even aronia berry. Over the years, he’s winnowed out varieties which didn’t perform as well in the local soil. Salt-water erosion has also contributed to the loss of about half of the original two-acre vineyard. (Photos posted on the Taylors Island Facebook Page following Friday’s King Tide and storm showed the vineyard area covered with water).

At 91, Neild recently considered winding down the operation, especially after several pick your own regulars stopped drinking wine. But he’s still enjoying the adventure, and nearby Layton’s Chance winery is remains a steady customer. 

“We usually buy Chambourcin and Vidal, and this year got about two tons of these and Norton grapes, one of my favorites,” commented winemaker William Layton. “Usually, his grapes go into our Farm Red, our dry red blend. We’re proud to be able to buy truly local grapes grown right here in Dorchester County,” Layton added.

Son Tom, until recently too busy with his full-time occupation, has recently begun to try his hand at the winemaking process, finding it to his liking. And in years to come, Neild’s numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren may discover its joys, as well, he noted.

For more information call 410-228-6175 or email [email protected].

Debra Messick is a retired Dorchester County Public Library associate and lifelong freelance writer. A transplanted native Philadelphian, she has enjoyed residing in Cambridge MD since 1995.

 

Depending on the season, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge hosts a myriad of natural treasures to view, from soaring and nesting eagles to a variety of migrating waterfowl.

From mid-September through early October, among the main attractions are embattled monarch butterflies. The monarchs flutter across our region in the midst of making their remarkable fall trek south to Mexico. Fortunately for the legendary golden winged travelers who need nectar to sip, and their legion of admirers who savor seeing them, however fleetingly, Blackwater provides a superb garden spot tucked behind the Visitors Center.

The Butterfly and Beneficial Insect Garden was brought to life through a collaborative effort between the Dorchester Garden Club, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, and the Friends of Blackwater NWR.

The Garden Club raised the initial $90 K which went towards construction of the design by George Corey, owner of Wye Tree Landscapers, Inc., and a striking bronze monarch butterfly sculpture titled Monarchs (Dannaus plexippus), crafted by twin brothers, Steven and Stewart Wegner, at their Fredericksburg, Virginia foundry, Wegner Metal Arts Inc., specializing in artistic wildlife renderings.

Ground was broken for the garden in 2001 and in May 2002 it was dedicated, with special tribute to long standing garden club member Kathryne (Kit) Carlon Holdt, lauded as “Miss Butterfly” during ensuing Blackwater Spring Fling celebrations, according to Rick Abend, Friends Board President.

In 1997 Holdt stepped up to serve as the National Garden Club’s Maryland Chairperson for the Butterfly Garden at the National Botanic Garden in Washington, DC. Through these efforts, she is credited with raising local awareness of the need for butterfly and beneficial insect conservation, according to a Butterflies at Blackwater brochure.

DGC President Chris Wilke added:

“The Dorchester Garden Club has created this garden, at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, to express its appreciation of Kit and to serve as a lasting centerpiece to our commitment to the art of gardening and our awareness of environmental concerns. For many, there are few pleasures in life that rival those found in the time spent in a garden. The butterfly garden in particular fosters an awareness of the interdependences between plants, animals and humanity. As a profound symbol of transformation and restoration, the butterfly offers hope that affirmative change is possible and is at work in our own lives. It is our hope that this endeavor will encourage visitors to establish small butterfly habitats in their gardens and understand that we can effect positive ecological change with remedial action taken in our own backyards.”

This idea resonated with Rhonda Franz-Floyd, a relative newcomer among the garden’s many dedicated volunteers, now with over a year of service there. She finds aesthetic enjoyment in the native plant landscape and gets satisfaction from giving back. But she’s especially gratified to gain recurring hands-on experience, learning to apply best practices to the home pollinator garden she’s creating in Trappe. She’s also glad to pay what she learns forward to others, in essence, helping grow the next generation of conservation minded gardeners.

Recently retired and relocating here from Severna Park with her husband, also a Blackwater volunteer, it’s a labor of love for Franz-Floyd who carefully weeds, selectively moves plants, and gathers seeds in mesh sachets. She’s been getting to learn which plants are the best and worst performers. Though eager to do it all, Franz-Floyd has heeded guidance to focus on becoming familiar with the growing stages of one or two types of weeds and plants at a time.

She’s grateful to experienced volunteers who have answered her questions and served as mentors, among them Jane Sebring, who has been a major force in maintaining the garden week in and week out from March through October since 2013, according to Michele Whitbeck, Volunteer Coordinator for Chesapeake Marshlands NWR Complex.

Whitbeck can’t say enough about the group’s “arduous work, dedication, and commitment,” calling the volunteers “the heart of the butterfly garden.” Their work was especially vital last March following the long Covid closure and safety protocols which paused not only visitors but volunteers from gathering on the grounds. Once back, the resumed tending brought about a relatively quick return to glory, according to Franz-Floyd, an encouraging sign for visitors struggling to get their own grounds back on track.

When asked about monarchs visiting the garden, Whitbeck recommended checking this site, noting that Cambridge falls roughly within the 38th latitude. (More information on the monarch migration can be found here.)

Whitbeck explained that the Butterfly and Beneficial Insect Garden is so named because it include pollinators like bees, butterflies, flies and moths, which pollinate flowers, and also predatory insects, which help control pests like aphids. While monarchs might get most of the attention, addition butterflies commonly observed there include black swallowtail, eastern tiger swallowtail, red admiral, common buckeye, pearl crescent, eastern tailed blue, red-spotted purple, and clouded sulphur. Refuge website and social media guru Lisa Mayo added the reminder to be on the lookout for toads, dragonflies, hummingbirds and a host of other critters.

(The refuge also hosts a separate Pollinator Sanctuary area.)

In 2015, while surveying bee species at Blackwater, USGS biologist Sam Droege of Patuxent Wildlife Research Center recorded the discovery of a new Maryland species, Triepeolus concavus, known to be a nest parasite of another bee species observed in the garden, Svastra obliqua. According to Droege, Svastra obliqua is associated with high-quality habitat.

Certified Bay Wise by the Master Gardeners program in 2006, the garden was revamped in 2014 after a three-year Visitor Center construction project. Most recently, The Friends of Blackwater received a $9250 in 2016 through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to expand the garden with a walkway to the new West Wing of the VC, new native species plants, signage and rain barrels, along with improved drainage. Since the initial construction, the Friends of Blackwater has been providing funds for the annual maintenance of the garden by Refuge volunteers, according to Amend.

For additional information, visit here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Short Stop food and convenience mart, also known as Foxwell’s, is a busy neighborhood hub where Washington Street meets Greenwood Avenue in Cambridge. Countless kids on bikes make their way there daily, and folks on foot take the well- worn path across the grassy lot. There’s a seemingly constant coming and going in and out of the parking spaces out front, with a steady stream of greetings to friends and family ringing out. 

But this summer there was an uptick in the usual hustle and bustle, one that few were expecting, but many have welcomed. Beside the blank walls on either side of the building, paint cans, brushes, and scaffolding began to appear. Several weeks apart, two local artists began an al fresco endeavor to transform plain cinder block into eye catching street frescos. 

Frank Azam, owner of Short Stop (Foxwell’s), who has been in the community for over 25 years, explained his reason behind bringing the barren walls to vivid life.

“Foxwell’s is a place of meet and greet for many. The inspirational message we are trying to give is if, if a young kid from Cambridge, who walk the same paths every day with Believing in themselves, they can become like Mr. Emory Jones. Many others can see it on the wall of Foxwell’s to remind them every day about Believing in themselves, saying to themselves I CAN DO IT, just like Mr. Jones did it,” he stated. “Seeing such a positive message in our community can help many young kids to grow up to be an inspiration, like Mr. Jones,” Azam added.

Jones is the Head of Lifestyle at Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s mega successful entertainment agency, and also co-founder of the company’s iconic streetwear legacy fashion line, Paper Planes. In a HuffPost article from 2017, Jones explained that the Paper Plane represents much more than a materialistic status symbol. Instead, it instructs people of all ages to imagine, dream, be persistent, and get in the right frame of mind in order to physically achieve their ultimate destination, whatever that may be. Jones also coined the fashion logo phrase “Bet On Yourself,” drawing on his and Jay-Z’s respective childhood communities, where “everyone bets on all the wrong things instead of betting on themselves.” A special Puma collection also featured Jones’ Groove City apparel. (Jones has donated funding to the Cambridge Empowerment Center as part of his own belief in remembering his roots and giving back.}

Such messages of transcending situations and surroundings with manifested self-belief resonated strongly with Bobbie Jo-Elle Ennels and Miriam Moran. Both are self-taught artists with no formal training, whose young lives have helped inspire and inform their craft.

Ennels, creator of the “Believe” wall and Miriam Moran, who designed “A Kid From Cambridge,” feel it’s a privilege to be able to share their hopeful visions with the surrounding community, especially youngsters. 

Ennels lived on the nearby street which became Gloria Richardson Circle while growing up. While struggling with challenges throughout her early years and teens, she found solace and support through crafts and music. When her son Alyx was born 3 ½ years ago, she turned to art as a therapeutic outlet while navigating single motherhood. 

On a whim, Ennels decided to try painting portraits from photographs. Beyond being personally rewarding, her realistic portraiture work began generating praise and paying commissions.

As the pandemic proceeded and Ennels’ “day” job ended, she became determined to take a chance and pursue her dream of working as an artist. Little did she imagine the outsized opportunity that would emerge—creating her first street mural, gracing space in the neighborhood she knew well. 

“I grew up walking this path to the Short Stop, and my grandfather working down the street, at Housing Authority headquarters,” Ennels recalled.

Among three designs submitted to Azam, her 3-D chromatic aberration of the word Believe was the decisive winner. Ennels’ next step was a digital rendering to fully display the array of shades. “By using all these colors, I wanted to create something which would reach all ages, genders, and races. Everybody seeing it could find their favorite color there,” Ennels noted.

Excited by the project, she woke Alyx at sunrise every morning and brought him with her to the project site. Her mom and cousin came out to paint, as did Jeannie Elliot, whose 26- year-old son Roderick Russ murdered in October 2020. So, too, did Cambridge Commission President Lajan Cephas. Marco Antonio Garcia of DORiS Media came out the first day to help tape up the exterior, Ennels recalled. Charles Scrimshaw, a chef at the Robert Morris Inn, brought paintbrushes and pitched in with paint strokes. To the many kids who asked if they could help, Ennels always answered ‘okay’, feeling like their contributions would create a sense of integrity, pride, and ownership.

She’s excited to already be working on designs for additional street murals appearing within Cambridge. But mostly, she feels fortunate to be able to inspire others in such a powerful way to overcome obstacles in their own lives, with too many problems and not enough talent or resources.  “People here know me, they know where I’ve been in my life,” Ennels added. “This shows them that they can do it too, if they believe they can.”

Shortly after Believe was completed, Artist Miriam Moran, designer of the groundbreaking Black Lives Matter mural on Race Street, began bringing to life her vision for A Kid From Cambridge. Building on Jones’ inspiring journey from small town Cambridge to an executive office in a downtown Manhattan sky-scraper, the images convey the connection between surmounting today’s surroundings and believing in one’s own abilities to reach for tomorrow’s sky high possibilities.

On her Facebook page, Moran describes herself in these words: “GOD GIFTED! Self-taught Taino,  Visual Creator. Paint for a Purpose. “ THE COMMUNITY ART VOICE” (Taino refers to the part of her heritage rooted in the indigenous Puerto Rican community.) 

With six children of her own ranging in ages from 2 to 15, Moran is also inspired by the youngsters she works with at the recently opened Boys and Girls Club of Cambridge at Leonards Lane. The Club is located just down the street from yet another inspirational street mural at Mount Moriah New Life Ministries at 1024 Cosby Avenue featuring a portrait of Coretta Scott King and her quote: “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” (The mural was partially funded by Cambridge Commission President Cephas, Dorchester Center for the Arts, and the Maryland State Arts Council.)

She’s contributed a commissioned wall mural in memory of a victim of gun violence, and will be painting faces for the free Unity Festival on the Pine Street community on July 31.

Working alongside her at the “Kid in Cambridge” mural each afternoon following her BGC day is husband Emmanuel Batson, delighted to join yet another of Moran’s many efforts, including Black Lives Matter as well as another memorial tribute at Dorchester County Public Library’s “Cora’s Corner” in the Children’s Section. “By working together, we model how we empower and support each other,” Moran stated.

Like Ennels, Moran has always been strongly influenced by the power of art and music in her own life.  Artist Frieda Kahlo, who surmounted physical disability, and singer/songwriter Selena Quintanilla, who celebrated her unique individual style, are among her heroes. But her late grandfather, Horiberto Moran, she considers her creative angel above, for exposing her to beauty and teaching her to live life to the fullest, she noted. 

Both her father and grandfather were artistic. While she aspired to follow them as a youngster, her own creative journey started in earnest following a car accident which left her severely injured and her young daughter, Miracle, paralyzed. Art became her personal therapeutic pathway to heal physically and spiritually, in sometimes surprising ways. Moran began creating stunning portraits using salt as her only medium. She also took up portrait painting, sometimes in unconventional ways. A tribute she created to honor Gloria Richardson which was displayed at the Liv Again Gallery on High Street several years ago drew Richardson herself, and foreshadowed the impact her work would bring.  Moran remembered “just being in awe, unable to believe that SHE wanted to meet Me!” 

She feels honored to and hopes to use her skills to help mentor youth in the community, who are having to deal with the ongoing trauma of gun violence, and other issues. And while she feels blessed to commemorate inspirational historical figures, Moran also hopes to provide outreach via contemporaries recognized by today’s kids. The mural, with the young boy and girl at one end, and Emory Jones and Jay Z at the other end, she feels, fulfills this mission. “Emory Jones was, after all, another kid from Cambridge, just like them,” she added.

For additional information, visit here. 

Debra Messick is a retired Dorchester County Public Library associate and lifelong freelance writer. A transplanted native Philadelphian, she has enjoyed residing in Cambridge MD since 1995.