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January 16, 2021

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

News COVID-19

Talbot County Ready to Enter Vaccination Phase 1B on Monday, Jan. 18

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Dr. Maria Maguire, acting health officer for Talbot County, says the Talbot County Health Department is ready to move to Phase 1B on Jan. 18 following Gov. Larry Hogan’s announcement on Thursday that he was accelerating Maryland’s COVID-19 vaccination plan.

Phase 1B includes group homes and other congregate care facilities, continuity of government officials, high-risk incarcerated adults, people over 75 years old, and K-12 school staff. Healthcare workers and first responders were in Phase 1A.

Counties are allocated vaccines based on general population size, meaning counties may complete phases at different paces based on the demographics of their specific population.

Other counties may be in different phases than Talbot County due to having fewer individuals eligible for 1A and 1B in their population.

Many healthcare providers and seniors live and work in Talbot County, making the county’s 1A and 1B categories much larger than some of our surrounding counties.

“I am excited to hear the governor’s announcement about the state moving into Phase 1B, as Talbot is ready to do so next week,” Dr. Maguire says. “We have been limited only by the supply we’ve received.”

Talbot County residents 75 years of age and older must pre-register for their COVID-19 vaccinations on the Talbot County Health Department website at bit.ly/talbot-75. TCHD staff will then respond to individuals confirming receipt of the pre-registration and, when vaccine is available, instructions on how to register for a vaccine clinic.

TCHD also plans to set up a call center for residents to schedule vaccinations with updates announced through social media, on the TCHD and talbotcovid19.org webpages, and through public service announcements.

Wendy Sauca (right) and Sr. Airman Rachel Davis wait for their next patient during a recent vaccination clinic.

County Manager Clay Stamp is delighted that Talbot County’s vaccination plan is working effectively and that healthcare professionals now have a weapon against the COVID-19 virus. Talbot County is utilizing all available resources in order to distribute the vaccine as quickly and effective as possible. The Maryland National Guard was able to assist at the most recent vaccine clinic for healthcare providers.

“The vaccine is an offensive tool we can use to help bend the curve of the pandemic,” Stamp says. “This is a significant part of a broader operation to bring together the community through coordination with our emergency operations center team to support the health department, business community, and people of Talbot County.”

As of Tues., Jan. 12, TCHD had received 1,700 Moderna vaccinations. The health department requests vaccinations each week, and has been receiving on average 500 vaccinations per week. TCHD has administered 1,132 vaccinations to date.

For more information about Talbot County’s vaccination plan, visit TalbotCovid19.org.

Where to Find More Information:

CDC COVID-2019 Website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Talbot County COVID-19 Information: www.talbotcovid19.org

Shore Regional Health COVID Information: https://www.umms.org/shore/patients-
visitors/coronavirus

Maryland Department of Health Website: https://health.maryland.gov/pages/home.aspx

Talbot County Health Department Website: https://health.maryland.gov/talbotcounty/Pages/home.aspx

Maryland COVID-19 Website: https://governor.maryland.gov/coronavirus

Study Shows 50th Waterfowl Festival Will Be Important Part of Recovery

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As the country, the state of Maryland and the Eastern Shore look forward to a smoother 2021, Waterfowl is gearing up to be a strong force in our region’s economic recovery. The newly released “Economic Impact and Quality of Life Study of the Waterfowl Festival”, developed from data collected at the 2019 event, shows that Festival visitors are especially loyal guests who fueled $2.6 million in economic impact for Talbot County.

This is a remarkable result for a once-a-year event of its size. If the past is prologue and with vaccines beginning to roll out, the report findings offer insights into what the region is likely to experience in November 2021 — a 50th Waterfowl Festival that is truly a once-in-a-century celebration and economic boon for the county.  

“Waterfowl Chesapeake commissioned this study to showcase the cultural and economic value of the Waterfowl Festival. We wanted to clearly demonstrate what this event means for our community and our region,” explains Executive Director, Margaret Enloe. “These studies are exhaustive and most non-profits don’t pursue them due to costs. So we are incredibly grateful that the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority recognized the importance of this work and provided grant funding needed to accomplish it. The quantitative and qualitative evidence here backs up what we knew in our hearts — that our celebration of wildlife art, sporting heritage and the Eastern Shore lifestyle is woven into the fabric of our region and our state.”  

The 2019 study of the three-day event revealed the Festival’s economic and cultural impact on the Town of Easton, Talbot County and beyond. More than 15,000 people are estimated to have attended the last Waterfowl Festival.  Of those people, the more than 6,000 visitors who travelled to the Shore spent nearly $3 million on various goods and services in Talbot County.  Just over one-third of their spending was on retail shopping, both at the Festival venues and at local businesses – an amount that is three times the industry average. The Festival itself adds half a million dollars in operating monies to the economy, just to create the annual event. 

The study was conducted by Rockport Analytics, an independent firm based in Annapolis, MD.  Rockport has a long-standing track record of creating credible assessments of economic impact for leading organizations in both the private and public sectors. Their analysts have conducted a multitude of event and attraction impacts including those for high profile events like the Super Bowl, the Pocono 500, and the Masters.

While understanding the economic figures is important, Waterfowl Festival’s deeply rooted history means that it also has an impact on quality of life and culture. To explore these connections, Rockport’s experts also conducted surveys of residents to gain a clearer picture of the Festival’s connection to the Talbot County community.  Survey results show that most residents:

  • Recognize the crucial role the event plays in keeping traditions alive and that 82% believe the Waterfowl Festival is “very important or essential” to celebrating and showcasing the local culture and heritage; 
  • Acknowledge the Festival’s ability to bring people together with 63% of resident attendees believing that it is “very important or essential” to uniting the community toward a common goal; and,
  • Believe that the Waterfowl Festival is “very important or essential” to igniting a sense of community pride. 

“Given everything we learned from this report and people’s pent-up eagerness to begin to enjoy the company of their friends and family,” says Festival President Kevin Greaney, “we believe that the 50th Festival in November 2021 will be an integral part of bolstering our local economy – perhaps even more than in past years since we suspect we’ll have more visitors to Talbot County than ever!” 

Other findings from the 2019 study:

  • The Waterfowl Festival itself infuses $496,000 in event-related operating expenses by vendors, exhibitors and event organizers into the Talbot County economy. 
  • Of the more than 15,120 attendees, 45% visited specifically for the Festival and came from more than 50 miles away; each visitor spent slightly more than $400 on average during their trip. 
  • Waterfowl visitors average retail spend of $138 is more than twice the spend of visitors to the County at other times. 
  • Visitors stayed an average of 2.1 nights with 41% visiting Easton for the day, while the remaining 59% stayed overnight in other hotels, rentals or with friends in the region. 
  • Festival-initiated activity supported a total of 48 jobs (predominantly in hospitality), which resulted in $1.6 million in wages paid in Talbot County. A large proportion of these wages ripple through the economy as workers spend their income on various goods and services throughout the local area.
  • Talbot County retained about 74 cents of every dollar spent locally by Festival visitors and organizers. 
  • The Waterfowl Festival generated enough state & local tax revenues to pay the salaries of 9 Talbot County teachers or educate 32 Talbot County public school students.
  • About 14 cents of every dollar spent by Festival visitors was retained as state or local tax revenue.
  • Visitor spending associated with the Festival generated an estimated $787,000 in tax receipts, including $357,000 in federal receipts and $429,000 at state and local levels. 
  • The event contributed roughly $29,000 in hotel taxes and nearly $6,000 in state and local taxes and fees. 

“Net Promoter Scores” (NPS) are critical measurements for understanding customer loyalty and satisfaction. On a scale of 100, scores in the 60s are considered very good for an event. Festival’s NPS scores were well above this threshold and actually were excellent across its variety of audiences. 

  • Those who visited to “[enjoy] the cultural heritage & traditions of the Chesapeake Bay & Maryland’s Eastern Shore” and “because attending is a family tradition” both had NPS scores of 86. 
  • Repeat Visitors to Talbot County have an NPS of 83. First-time visitors to Talbot County had slightly higher NPS scores than repeat visitors at 86 vs 83 respectively. 
  • Of visitors who stayed overnight, those staying in Easton had one of the highest NPS scores at 90. 
  • The overall NPS for Talbot County Residents is 62 and the score for visitors is 74.

Rockport Analytics used the IMPLAN (or “impact analysis for planning”) modeling system that draws from the most extensive economic database available while allowing for the input of detailed and relevant local data, thereby generating a detailed analysis of Festival related spending and its local economic benefits. The IMPLAN software is the industry standard that has been used by government agencies, academia, and leading researchers for more than 40 years to carry out economic impact studies.

“Over our history, Waterfowl has invested nearly $4 million in habitat conservation, more than $1.2 million in education, and more than $26,000 in wildlife research initiatives,” says Enloe. “In 2020 we worked to support our community, our artists and Waterfowl stakeholders with new programming like CommUNITY Day, which offered local residents a way to be together without coming together. We also dove into the virtual world, creating the Festival’s first Virtual Art gallery, a program that continues to successfully connect art lovers to the finest of waterfowl and wildlife artists. As we begin 2021, we can’t wait for the 50th Festival, when our guests and devoted friends can once again flock to Easton to celebrate our shared love for the fall and the bird life it brings to the Chesapeake Bay region.”

 

“Move Talbot’s Confederate Monument” Signs Appear in Easton

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The signs of change are everywhere, and they say “Move Talbot’s Confederate Monument.”

More than 100 properties in Easton are displaying these yellow and black signs, part of a project launched on New Year’s Day by  Move the Monument Coalition.

 “I wanted a yard sign because I never want there to be a doubt on where I stand, or which way my moral compass is pointing,” Easton resident Jazzmine Davis said.  “Now more than ever, we must stand firm and on the right side of history.”

The coalition seeks to move the Confederate monument from the Talbot County Courthouse lawn. Dedicated in 1916 during the Jim Crow era, the statue is part of Talbot County’s history –but not one that should be memorialized next to the courthouse, the symbol of liberty and justice, the coalition maintains.

The coalition supports preserving history but believes the full history needs to be told of what the statue of the so-called Talbot Boy–holding a Confederate flag–represents.

“Anyone doubting the toxic residue of Talbot’s Confederate monument need only look at pictures of marauders storming the Capitol last week carrying Confederate flags,” coalition leader Denice Lombard said.

With the overwhelming  success throughout downtown Easton, the coalition has already ordered more signs and is working to fulfill requests to spread them countywide.

Organizers are looking for people from neighborhoods throughout the county to serve as recruitment captains to help with sign distribution.  Anyone interested in obtaining a sign or volunteering on behalf of the project  should email movethemonumenttc@gmail.com and be sure to like and follow the coalition on Facebook and Instagram.

Meredith Foundation Awards Poetry Honor to Chestertown’s Robert Earl Price

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The William Meredith Foundation has announced that their 2021 Award in Poetry will be given to Chestertown’s Robert Earl Price for his latest book entitled “BLOOD FLOW.”

In his poem remembering Robert Lowell, William Meredith writes,

“Your language moved slowly toward our language
until we saw that we were all immigrants –
had perhaps been shipped as convicts –
from the land of your reluctant indictment,
a land of our consent, if not our doing.”

– William Meredith

The language Meredith is describing here is the language of the tribe, and it is the same tribe Robert Earl Price describes in his introduction to “BLOOD FLOW”:

“Let our blood flow radiate warmth
From me to you
From you to yours
Until there arrises a single tribe of humans
Proud and pure as the blood flowing in their veins.”

– Robert Earl Price

Poem after poem in “BLOOD FLOW” trace the damage, the cruelty of this human tribe to each other from the murder of four little girls at the 16th Street Baptist church in Birmingham, to a disheartened Dr. King the week before his assassination: “I fear I am integrating my people into a burning house.” The poems are often more than dark. They take despair as a given: “The house is ablaze and we are trapped inside/ Hostages of suicidal arsonists.” We are asked to roll the dice again, but the election will not be fair, There is no need to vote. Still, the little martyrs lead us to the Civil Rights Act, we finally have achieved a black President. History provides us with hope.

Price opens “BLOOD FLOW” with a quote by Amiri Baraka: “The artist’s role is to raise the consciousness of the people. To make them understand life, the world and themselves more completely.” And while it is often said that a poem fails exactly to the extent it tries to preach to a reader, the redeeming quality of these poems is the extraordinary force of the images, the spot on dramatic monologue of 12 women artists, lines that show what it is like to be “the other” in society and approach philosophy: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

“If we can not share his blood, we have at least the poems. They help us understand how black lives matter, how to look into the eyes of a fellow human being and find our own humanity. This is the great gift Price has given us. The racist world we were all born into, the land of our consent, if not our doing, is ameliorated somewhat in these poems. We are able to transcend our ontology, escape the loneliness of being who we are a bit in Robert Earl Price’s ‘BLOOD FLOW.’ William Meredith would have been so glad the 2021 award in his name has gone to Robert Earl Price, brother in the art.”

Rotary Club of St Michaels Supports Talbot Hospice

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From left to right it is: Kara Hope (Clinical Director Talbot Hospice Steve Friedberg (Rotary) Carol Armstrong (Rotary) Tom Roesel (Rotary President) Bob Holden (past Rotary President) Chris Chekouras (Talbot Hospice Executive Director) Debbie Collison (Rotary past President) Mia Cranford (Director of Development Talbot Hospice)

For the past 25 years, the Rotary Club of St Michaels honored its tradition of support for the Talbot Hospice.  Each year the club’s goal was to provide at least three months of housekeeping supplies for Hospice’s guest wing and family visiting rooms.  Prior year projects began when Hospice clinical director, Kara Hope, provided a “shopping list” of needed supplies.  The list was divided into chits drawn at random and purchased by club members. Plans for delivery, loading, unloading and delivery were coordinated with Hospice and supported by a team of club Rotarians.

Due to the Covid pandemic, this year’s project was supported by generous contributions from club Rotarians and the presentation of a check by St Michaels Rotary Club President Tom Roesel to Hospice executive director Chris Chekouras and clinical director Kara Hope.

Md. Lawmakers Will Map Congressional Districts Based on 2020 Census

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Maryland lawmakers later this year will draw new maps for the state’s congressional districts based on the latest population statistics from the 2020 Census.

The U.S. Constitution requires the census to be conducted every 10 years. The population numbers are then used by states to draw new congressional districts, which typically is completed in time for the congressional election two years after the census.

Following the decennial census, federal law requires states to be notified by Jan. 25 by the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives on the number of congressional seats that state will have for the next 10 years.

That notification will be delayed this year, however, as the U.S. Census Bureau continues processing and tabulating the population numbers.

According to The Washington Post, the census bureau currently believes it will finalize state population numbers by March 6, more than two months after the Dec. 31 deadline.

The deadline was missed as a result of delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic and changes made by the administration of President Donald Trump, which is being sued over some of its decisions concerning the census.

Although the count continues, population estimates suggest Maryland will retain its eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Once the state is told how many seats it will have, Maryland lawmakers will draw new boundaries for those congressional districts. After the congressional map is approved by the Maryland General Assembly, it is subject to veto by Gov. Larry Hogan.

 

 

Andy Harris Among GOP Lawmakers Likely to Object to Certification of Presidential Election Results

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A joint session of Congress began meeting at 1 p.m. to certify results of the presidential election but a large number of Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Andy Harris, are expected to object to results in certain swing states that led to an Electoral College victory for Joe Biden over Donald Trump.

Certification is usually a routine process, but objections will make it a much lengthier one.

The first objection — which requires an objection in writing from at least one senator and congressman — to the Electoral College votes came when the results from Arizona were read. As a result of the objection, the Senate and the House of Representatives withdrew from the joint session and met separately to debate and vote on the objection.

A dozen Republican senators and more than 100 Republican congressmen have said they intend to object as the Electoral College votes are read state by state.

Maryland Rep. Andrew P. Harris (R) told WBAL-TV on Monday that he will likely object to several states “where I think the outcome is probably in doubt because inadequate investigation has been allowed to occur.”

“If there is no wrongdoing, there is nothing to hide, let’s go ahead, you know, throw open the windows, open the doors, let’s see all the materials,” Harris told the station. “…I would love to hear from the other side why investigations shouldn’t be done.”

Harris was one of two Republican congressmen who voted against seating the newly elected House members from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Forbes reported.

A Republican Texas congressman opposed to efforts to reject the presidential results had challenged the seating of those House members, arguing that any voter fraud in those states would also affect the congressional results. By challenging the results in those House races, he forced his GOP colleagues to acknowledge the legitimacy of the congressional results in those states.

To watch the debate, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKy84YmL-sU.

17th Annual Garden Club of the Eastern Shore Scholarship Available

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Each year, the Garden Club of the Eastern Shore (GCES) awards a merit-based scholarship of up to $5,000.00 to a graduating senior who attends high school in Talbot County and expects to major in horticulture, landscape architecture or design, botany, environmental science, agriculture or a related field. Scholarship applications are available from guidance counselors in all Talbot County high schools and may also be obtained by calling Dorothy Whitcomb at 443-385-0486.

The GCES Scholarship is entirely merit based. Outstanding academic achievement along with volunteer or work experience, which shows a strong work ethic and a commitment to excellence, will be considered when evaluating applications.

GCES President Kathy Gibson says: “The Garden Club of the Eastern Shore has awarded 18 scholarships to Talbot County students since 1999. The club is committed to supporting motivated students who have shown an interest in pursuing studies in ecology, horticulture, landscape design or related fields. Previous recipients have become successful teachers, landscape architects, designers, and environmental researchers, both here on the Eastern Shore and around the country.”

The GCES is focused on promoting environmentally sound landscape practices and providing educational programs for the community that explore conservation practices and environmental issues. In addition to awarding its scholarship for the past 17 years, the GCES spearheaded the restoration of Easton’s Thompson Park and continues to maintain it. The club also contributes to various community services projects in Talbot County.

For information about GCES programs or to make a contribution to the scholarship fund, please call Dorothy Whitcomb at 443-385-0486.

Initial COVID-19 Vaccinations in Md. Focus on Front-line Healthcare Workers, Nursing Homes, First Responders

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With a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines, Maryland is focusing its initial vaccination efforts on front line healthcare workers, long-term care residents and staff, and first responders.

Maryland developed a four-tiered vaccination plan and the state remains in phase 1A.

Maryland’s COVID-19 vaccination plan has four phases. The state is now in phase 1A — vaccinating health care workers, first responders, and nursing home residents and staff.

An additional distribution of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines last week allowed local health departments to begin vaccination clinics for first responders and provided hospitals with enough doses to vaccinate all critical front line staff.

The additional doses also helped support CVS and Walgreens with the vaccination of nursing home residents and staff.

Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) at a Nov. 5 press conference regarding COVID-19 cases in the state of Maryland. Photo by the Executive Office of the Governor.

These “COVID-19 vaccine allocations will allow our first responders to begin getting vaccinated and help keep them safe while they keep us safe,” Gov. Larry Hogan said. “This is another important step as we make our way through the initial phase of our statewide vaccination plan.”

Maryland’s total allotment from the federal government through last week included 273,875 doses of the vaccines (140,300 doses of Moderna and 133,575 doses of Pfizer). Marylanders are encouraged to visit covidlink.maryland.gov to learn more about the state’s vaccination plan, review safety information about the vaccines, and get answers to frequently asked questions.

First Responders

Local health departments got 33,100 doses of the Moderna vaccine last week in order to vaccinate first responders. Each local health department is guaranteed to receive a minimum of 600 doses, with the remainder allocated based on the size of the jurisdiction’s population.

State health officials have advised local health departments that these doses are to be prioritized for career, commercial, and volunteer first responders, including EMS, firefighters, and law enforcement personnel who are at increased risk of exposure to the virus.

Front Line Healthcare Workers

Maryland hospitals got an additional 29,700 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to vaccinate critical front line staff. With last week’s shipments completed, enough doses will have been distributed to vaccinate 100% of the state’s critical front line hospital staff.

In addition, 500 doses will be provided for front line staff at Kaiser Permanente, which is one of the state’s largest integrated delivery systems with facilities in Largo, Gaithersburg, and south Baltimore.

Vaccine administration is the responsibility of each hospital.

Long-Term Care Facilities

CVS and Walgreens got an additional 19,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to vaccinate nursing home residents and staff through the federal Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program.

Vaccination clinics at Maryland nursing homes began two weeks ago.

The Science of Waving on the Mid-Shore by Tom McHugh

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Editor’s Note: Over ten years ago, Tom McHugh, the force behind the Rock Hall’s famed music venue, the Mainstay, but perhaps more noted as the retired Vassar College and Washington College education professor, who offered his advice to newcomers on the art, science, and protocol of waving to your neighbors on the Mid-Shore from your car.

From the Spy archives from 2010:

For those of you who want an education and a primer on what the “Rock Hall Wave” actually is and what it means, I have jotted down my thoughts as a means to open a discussion and lay some important groundwork.

I set forth my disclaimers. First disclaimer, I’m not talking about the nautical waves which surround us, or the waves we give as we see people depart on a trip, but rather, the ever-present waves which take place between drivers of cars, trucks, farm machinery, hay wagons, travel lifts, school buses and other vehicles here in the Rock Hall environs.

Second disclaimer, I was born and raised in Philadelphia. If someone waved to me from another car there, I assumed either they saw smoke coming from my engine or that they mistook my car for their Aunt Masie’s 1950 Ford coupe, the same of which I drove for a long time. This is to point out that I am not born into the rich Rock Hall culture. Forever, I will wear the tag: a move-in. So I set the tone of this article as not to define the wave culture, but to seek advice and clarification from others.

So, for a start, let’s try to define the different “waves”:

There is the full hand, off the wheel wave, sometimes almost frantic in its movement from side to side
There is the one finger wave, where the driver just lifts a finger (no, not that finger!) often to acknowledge an oncoming wave from another vehicle.

There is the late wave, a jerky late response to a wave from another car

Then there is the nod wave with a slight hand movement to include a pretty decisive nod of the head.

If it is warm weather, and the driver’s window is open and an arm is extended on the window sill, there is the quick hand up, wave up, wave down wave. Quickly is the key.

And finally, when you have definitely missed an oncoming wave, and you feel great guilt because it is from your minister, or the mayor, or someone you owe money to..there is the behind the car, backward hand motion wave.

OK, those are at least starting definitions.

Who waves? Well, this one is tougher. For a long time, when I first came from the city, I assumed that people waving at me knew me. Naturally, I’d squint to see a face. Sometimes, later in the day, I’d run into that stranger on the grocery store parking lot and say “HI! I saw you on 288 today!” ……And they would return these blank stares. So, you really don’t have to know the waver to get a wave, or give one.

Are there people who don’t wave? Well, here I have to get a rant in on the younger generation, for they seem too busy texting, or have their Ipods glued to an ear, or are deafening themselves with the sounds coming from the MegaBass system in the car. Youth!

So, waving seems to be something that has just become a part of Rock Hall culture. True, women don’t seem to wave as much, but many do. Thelma Shirley doesn’t wave, Robin Wood Kurowski does, Jane Hackett does, but I don’t think that Miss Edna Marie Hubbard Sutton does, not sure…I could be wrong. Miss Helen Durding does and doesn’t….and we are all just fine with the fact she can do whatever she wishes.

I say it is a Rock Hall thing, because I find that once past the Fairlee turn, waving declines rapidly as you head to Chestertown. Of course, lawyers don’t wave, with exception of Robert H. Strong, and it would help if they did. Maybe the Historical Society could sponsor a team of expert Rock Hall Wavers to do a seminar at the Chestertown Fire House for wave-learners.

But, you know, even if people don’t wave, I’ve never had anyone say they don’t like to be waved to. And that is nice. A few years ago two of my friends who are from Hungary visited me and toured around with me for two weeks. One of them said after trip that they realized that I know everyone in Rock Hall..why did they think that? Because of the Rock Hall Wave!

I’d hate to see the wave die. But these new model cars, now with cameras in back, and automatic parallel parking, and engines that can start when you are a half mile away, what next? Well, I hope they don’t invent an automatic wave device.

By the way, does anyone remember the Leo Hicks wave?

Tom McHugh has been a teacher all of his life…teenage camp counselor, boarding school house parent, middle and high school teacher, and college professor. With undergraduate and graduate degrees from Temple University and The University of Pennsylvania, he started his college teaching career at Washington College, Chestertown Maryland. From WC, he moved to Vassar College as Chair of The Department of Education and retired in the early nineties as a full professor. He moved back to Rock Hall, Kent County Maryland to raise his two girls in the Eastern Shore setting. In 1997, Tom founded The Mainstay in Rock Hall as a community center for the arts.