January is National Soup Month, a time to celebrate this beloved comfort food. January was designated National Soup Month by Campbell’s Soup Company in 1984. The best selling soup in the United States is chicken noodle, with tomato as a close second, clam chowder, potato, and minestrone are third, fourth, and fifth. Tomato was the first soup that Campbell’s produced in 1897, the perfect combination with a grilled cheese sandwich. Campbell’s invented condensed soup, introducing it to the world, also in the year 1897.

According to AARP, women are twice as likely to order soup for lunch than men. Americans eat more than ten billion bowls of soup each year. The earliest archeological evidence of soup dates back to 6000 BC and it was hippopotamus soup.

The American Medical Association considers soup a valuable food source because it keeps you full and hydrated in the winter months when it might be harder to get your daily water intake, soup basically waters your body. It also signals your brain that you are full and satisfied. Many ingredients in soup help your body fight off colds and flu, think garlic and other healing herbs in a hearty broth. The liquid consistency can stimulate your digestive tract, the fiber in soups can help keep your digestive system healthy. Soups warm your stomach and can clear nasal passages. Some soups, like tomato are rich in antioxidants, which can help neutralize harmful cell damaging molecules.

My Dad made soup every Saturday beginning in the fall. He had a soup pot that was so big that we would climb in while playing hide and seek. He would stew whole chickens with herbs and veggies all day long. Dad would then strain the bone broth and freeze huge batches for soup making. The roux came next, for the cream soups, pounds of butter, cream, white pepper, and flour. The word bisque was used by my Mom to describe my Dad’s fish soups with their velvety texture, wine, and cream. Big chunks of chicken, carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and peas with thick pasta were the elements in his chicken noodle soup. After visiting a friend’s house for lunch, I learned about Campbell’s soup and would beg my Mom to buy Chicken and Stars soup at the grocery store. Little did I know then that my Dad’s soups were actual health powerhouses with the amount of garlic and onions in the stock. The stewed chickens provided the nine essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein needed in the human diet, and the vitamins and minerals for bone health and brain function.

Beyond its health benefits, my Dad’s soup was an act of love, a symbol of connection, prepared with intention. Preparing soup was like a meditation for my Dad, the process of selecting the recipe, combining elements of the earth, tending to the pot, all to create something nourishing. Sharing that soup fostered a sense of togetherness.

My Mom did indulge my desire for the canned chicken and stars soup. I thought it was delicious until I had a bowl of the homemade, beautiful, and rich soup created by my Dad. The Campbell’s soup’s veggies were tiny, the chicken in small cubes, no visible herbs such as basil, rosemary, or sage, just a salty taste.

In the fall of my first year here (1987) on the Eastern Shore, I began to notice signs at local churches advertising “Soup Day.” I thought “soup day” was a charitable activity for those less fortunate, until I saw the “soup line” of fashionably dressed professionals. I learned that homemade soup made by church volunteers for “soup day” was a special monthly offering that citizens looked forward to, marked on calendars. Churches carefully guarded their recipes, each known for their “special” soup. It was at “soup day” that I had my first dry Lima bean soup, an absolute favorite. We could “carry out” the soup or eat at long tables in the church’s fellowship hall. After COVID, there are very few “soup days” here in Cambridge, I miss it.

Soup making isn’t easy but it is definitely worth it. Between shoveling the walk and bingeing Netflix during last week’s snowstorm, I made a pot of Dry Lima bean soup. I was given the recipe by the head of the soup making team at Christ Episcopal Church, years ago when I volunteered at “soup day.” It wasn’t great, definitely not the soup that I had remembered, my chickens enjoyed it though. I’ll keep making soup, it feeds my soul, and my kitchen smells amazing.

Agent 86 was dispatched to memorialize the recent snowfall from the air.  In his report, 86 takes us to Oxford and Town Creek, the Talbot Country Club, Trippe Creek, and Cooke’s Hope. At the video’s close, just as the music dies, so did 86’s drone.  It landed prematurely in a tree on the Cooke’s Hope entry road and fell upside down into a snowbank.  Fortunately, 86 was able to extract the coordinates of the crashed aircraft from his control unit, and with a few minutes of cultivation in the snow, the drone was recovered unscathed.

This video is approximately three minutes in length.

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What a great week this has been for making snowmen! Though maybe a little too cold and windy? Have you seen any snowmen or snowwomen in your neighborhood? A special thanks to Elizabeth Swaine for sharing this 1964 picture of her building a snowman with her brother John Swaine III in Royal Oak, Maryland!

Contact: Cathy Hill [email protected] to share your old photos and purchase our collections photos. Comment, Like our page and join the Talbot Historical Society!

The ancient 500 foot rock formations at Vedauwoo recreation area were created by wind, ice, and water. Vedauwoo (an Arapahoe word meaning “land of earthborn spirits”) is about a ten minute drive from the University of Wyoming in Laramie and a favorite stargazing spot. The enormous granite rocks are at an altitude of 8,200 feet, the views from these formations are breathtaking. Overlooking dense pine trees directly below and endless plains under the wide open Wyoming skies, you can see up to seventy miles south. It is a place of profound beauty.

A car was important at the University of Wyoming for weekend trips to ski areas, John Denver concerts in Colorado, and nearby hiking spots. My Mom gave me the family station wagon, a 1971 copper colored Mercury Marquis, an eight passenger behemoth. No roof ski rack was needed, two rows of seats down for skis and poles with plenty of room for passengers. That car was a like an armored tank that could comfortably reach speeds over ninety miles an hour on Wyoming’s pristine, unpopulated highways.

My friends and I would make plans for the weekend while eating dinner in our dorm’s cafeteria. A favorite Friday destination was Vedauwoo, to watch the sun setting. The sky in Wyoming is so big, especially at Vedauwoo, that we felt that we could reach out and touch the universe. Winter snow was rarely a problem, the Mercury had studded snow tires, but most of the snow would blow down to Colorado anyway. We’d park, climb a lower rock and watch the sun become a blazing ball of fire against the purple sky. It wasn’t long after sunset that the stars came out, it was like fireworks on the Fourth of July, we’d ooh and ahhh at every new constellation’s appearance. The piece de resistance was the Milky Way, it truly looked like the Greek myth where the Goddess Hera had sprayed milk across the sky.

While living in Coronado, California, on clear nights in the winter, my small children and I would walk across “the Strand” to catch the sunset. We’d climb to the top of a sand dune and watch the huge orange disk plop into the ocean. Afterwards, we’d lazily slide down the dune, bathed in nautical twilight, the afterglow of the sun below the horizon providing enough golden light to see our way home. The lights from the Naval Amphibious Base would greet us after navigating the darkened beach surroundings.

Waikiki was the perfect spot for sunsets, walking on the beach, the silhouette of Diamond Head in the distance made the energy of the sun setting magical. Driving over the Malkus bridge while the sun sets here in Cambridge is always a gift. The skyline here is different than Wyoming, California, and Hawaii but the sun setting over the Choptank River gives the same vibrant colors and fills my mind with dreams of the stars. My husband and I have spent many beautiful nights star gazing from the hot tub on our deck. Matt learned the constellations as a child from his Navy pilot Dad. We are always thrilled when the stars are clearly visible, but the best was the night a skein (flying) of snow geese flew over with the Big and Little Dippers as a backdrop.

I have been lucky to live my life with the gifts of the sky, nature’s treasures. Every sunset is a memory that made an impact on me, a powerful symbol of closure and renewal. Watching that golden orb gracefully bid farewell to the day allowed me to be fully present in that moment. Years ago, sitting on that dune in Coronado, I didn’t know that I was “grounding” with the earth. The calming effects that the combination of the sand, the ocean, and the sunset had on my children and me were profound, a quiet moment of wonder and joy.

This first week of the New Year I learned a new term, “glimmer.” “Glimmers” are those moments in the day that make you feel joy, peace, happiness, or gratitude. Once you are aware of “glimmers” they will appear more and more. I’m now on the look out for “glimmers.” The surprise snow on Friday evening was a glimmer, I love snow, especially while sitting in our hot tub.

Enjoy this close up Talbot Historical Society H. Robins Hollyday Collection photo of Harrison’s Chesapeake House and Marina on Tilghman Island, Maryland. The edge of Avalon Island is visible at the upper right! What are you favorite memories of eating a family style meal at Harrison’s? Loved the fried chicken, crab cakes , and especially the stewed tomatoes!! Maybe you can help date this special Tilghman Island winter scene? The Wylder Hotel Tilghman Island is now in this location.

Contact: Cathy Hill [email protected] to share your old photos and purchase our collections photos. Comment, Like our page and join the Talbot Historical Society!

It was no surprise to Central command at the Spy that Agent 86 would volunteer to cover the Bugatti show at the Academy Art Museum. With agent 007 endlessly reciting the beauty of Austin Martins, 86 was eager to show, once and for all, fellow agents and the general public how genuinely remarkable the Bugatti family has been in the history of automobile design.

This video is approximately three minutes in length.For more information on the Academy Art Museum’s Bugatti: Reaching for Perfection exhibition, please go here. 

“Onward and Upward,” was an idiom used often by my Dad, usually when something challenging had befallen our family. According to thefreedictionary.com, “onward and upward” is an expression that is defined as “something you say in order to encourage someone to forget an unpleasant experience or failure and to think about the future instead.” “Onward and Upward,” coined by C.S. Lewis in book five of the Narnia series is believed to be the adoption of a position that requires optimism, empathy, and curiosity.

To optimists, the future is believed to always be the place at which, when we arrive, everything will be alright. The future may be a quest to define conditions and circumstances in which we want to happily live forever. Adoption of “onward and upward,” spurs us to ask, “what can I do now to improve my situation?” Optimists evaluate conditions that are intense, emotional, or disappointing as something you are passing through, rather than something that is chronic or never ending. In other words, optimists see the positive side of things. They expect things to turn out well. According to Martin Seligman in his book, Learned Optimism, to adopt optimism for the long term, one must possess and display empathy.

Empathy is the ability to choose to respond rather than react, to understand and share the feelings of others. “How would I feel if this was happening to me? and What can I do to help?” are examples of how empathetic people focus on other people. When we concentrate on how others interpret a situation, it sheds light on the best approach to help the adoption of, “onward and upward.”

Jeff Naylor, CEO of SIRF Roundtables states that an optimistic outlook promotes curiosity, offering a positive approach to uncertainty, which is empowering in facing the future. Optimism and curiosity are necessary bedfellows for bringing about change. Optimism promotes the desired solutions and curiosity creates the foundation for those solutions. Optimists tend to have naturally curious minds, are open to learning, embrace new perspectives, and welcome novel ideas.

Iyanla Vanzant, author of Peace from Broken Pieces, suggests living well today, in this exact moment. We need to be joyful, peaceful, and grateful for what we have and what we are doing right now. When we do things that keep us feeling alive and hopeful, we learn to look forward to a brighter and better future. Vanzant appreciates our fear of the unknown, she recommends acknowledging that fear, accepting it, and walking through it with confidence.

In setting intentions for 2025, there’s a trend where you choose a word or theme to sum up what you want the next twelve months to hold. In contrast to a resolution, a one-word theme leaves room for creativity, whimsy, and fun. Compared to a resolution, a one-word theme is easier to keep uppermost in your mind so it can guide your actions through the year. To pick your own theme, pay attention to a word or concept that resonates with you. Your word might be a noun, an adjective, or a verb. There aren’t any rules when choosing as long as the word is meaningful to you.

With a nod to my Dad, I have chosen “onward and upward’ as my theme for 2025, continuing to move forward, rather than dwelling on negative experiences.

Yule, also known as Winter Solstice, is a traditional festival celebrated by many cultures, particularly those with Pagan or Germanic roots. It marks the longest night and shortest day of the year, typically around December 21st of 22nd in the Northern Hemisphere. Yule has both modern and historical significance, blending ancient traditions with contemporary practices. Historically, Yule is about the battle between darkness and light.

Celebrations honor the rebirth of the sun. Evergreen trees, holly, ivy, and mistletoe symbolize birth and renewal. These plants are still used to decorate homes during the Yule season. The return of the sun symbolizes hope, renewal, and the triumph of light over darkness. Yule emphasizes the cyclical nature of life and the interconnection between humans and the Earth. Yule is celebrated worldwide by diverse communities, as a part of their religious practice or as a way to connect with nature and the rhythms of the Earth.

The other key symbols of Yule include bells, which ward off evil spirits and welcome positive energies, and reindeer, sacred animals in Pagan mythology that symbolize strength and survival.

Wyoming History is taught in the fourth grade, it was that year that I learned that reindeer do exist, they migrate to Wyoming from Canada in search of food and habitat. These reindeer, often called Caribou travel up to 840 miles between seasonal ranges, which is a record for long distance migration in North America. Reindeer have incredible endurance due to their large hearts, which carry them further and in harsher environments than any other land animal. They can sprint up to fifty miles per hour and travel twenty miles per hour over long distances. A newborn reindeer is on its feet in minutes and can run as fast as an Olympic sprinter, only a half hour after birth.

Reindeer were a big part of our science curriculum the last week of school before the holiday break. We learned that in summer, reindeer eat a particular red and white mushroom called Amanita Muscaria that grows beneath cedar and birch trees. The Amanita Muscaria is the iconic toadstool portrayed in the Mario video games that Mario eats to “power-up.” This mushroom is poisonous to humans but not deadly. In winter, reindeer feed on Lichen, also called reindeer moss.

Reindeer are the only deer species to be covered in hair from their hooves to their noses. The hair on their nose helps to warm incoming cold air before it enters their lungs. Reindeer have a great sense of smell which helps in food foraging and locating danger.

There is aerial footage of a “reindeer cyclone” on YouTube that shows a reindeer stampede, a defense strategy to confuse predators. The herd of reindeer running counter clockwise protects the does and fawns who run in the middle of the cyclone, making it almost impossible to target an individual.

Reindeer are the only deer species to be widely domesticated, they are used as draft animals to pull heavy loads.

Santa’s reindeer were first mentioned in 1821 when New York printer William Gilley published a sixteen page booklet for children titled, “A New Year’s Present to the Little Ones from Five to twelve.” Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was created by Robert L. May in 1939 as a booklet for Montgomery Ward. The retailer had been buying and giving children little booklets each year and decided that creating their own story was more cost effective. Historians believe that Robert L. May knew about reindeer eating Amanita Muscaria and that gave him the idea for Rudolph’s red nose. All reindeer noses actually are a little red due to densely packed blood vessels, which helps them survive some of the harshest conditions on earth. Rudolph is loved by all, he is a unique individual, who despite the ridicule and isolation in the beginning of the story, his red nose helped him save Christmas. Rudolph’s story embodies the American dream for every child, the ability to express and receive approval for his or her individuality and special qualities.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has prohibited anyone from bringing reindeer into the state without a permit. Although he hasn’t been caught in the act, the NORAD Santa tracker has documented Kringle and his team of reindeer flying over the Cowboy State every year for nearly six decades. Santa Claus is known across the world as Father Christmas, St. Nicholas, and Kris Kringle. If the authorities in Wyoming catch up with him, he might need another alias.

This Talbot Historical Society’s H. Robins Hollyday Collection photo is a favorite repost for the Holiday Season! The snowman was a yearly Chamber of Commerce Season’s Greeting display that was set up on the East End of Dover Street in Easton, Maryland decades ago! Do you have memories of this snowman?

Contact: Cathy Hill [email protected] to share your old photos and purchase our collections photos. Comment, Like our page and join the Talbot Historical Society!