The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community
Alumni of Oxford High School in Oxford, Maryland are holding cards that give the year that they graduated! Can you identify any of these Oxford High School reunion attendees? Photo from the Talbot Historical Society Laird Wise Collection.
Contact: Cathy Hill cvhill13@yahoo.com to share your old photos and purchase our collections photos. Comment, Like our page and join the Talbot Historical Society!
Readers of the Spy might enjoy a recent article by Martha S. Jones of the New York Times that was published yesterday. The historian marks the 200th birthday of a conductor of the Underground Railroad with a visit to her birthplace, only to learn how climate change is washing away memories of “the ultimate outdoors woman.”
Please read the article here.
The pre-dawn planet show we sky-watchers have been enjoying in June will continue into July, but some changes are on the way as we progress through the month. Mercury’s orbit will swing it past the Sun where it will emerge on the other side of our star between July 25th to the 29th. Look for Mercury in the west around 8:30 pm on the 29th when it lies just below and left of a crescent Moon. The combination of the orbital movements of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn; and also that of Earth, will cause these planets to appear to rise sooner, although still in the very late evening or very early morning eastern skies.
Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are all moving toward opposition later this year when they will all be at their closest to Earth and at their greatest brightness in over a year.
Saturn rises before 11 pm in early July and from 1 am to dawn will be favorably placed for viewing. Saturn brightens this month and telescopic views will be great; its rings system tilted 13 degrees to our line of sight. Saturn will be just above and left of the waning gibbous Moon on July 15th.
Jupiter rises just after midnight on July 1st and an hour before on July 31st. It brightens too in July. Best views occur in the hours just before dawn when it will be the highest in the sky, and telescopic views will reveal many surface features, while binoculars will show its 4 brightest Moons as jewels on either side of the giant planet.
Mars rises around 2 am in the east and slowly brightens throughout the month. Mars will still appear small even in telescopes, but when at opposition in December it will be more than 2 times bigger and much brighter. This will be something to look forward to seeing; a special holiday gift for us this year!
Venus dominates the eastern sky before dawn and appears close to a number of bright stars during the month as it moves along its orbit. Venus is just above Aldebaran (Taurus) on July 1st; passes just above Orion July 16 to 18; and just below a nice waning crescent Moon on July 26.
Earth reaches aphelion in its elliptical orbit; farthest point from the Sun on July 4th. July’s Full Moon is on the 13th.
Research done in the Sept. 1925 and Nov. 1926 issues of “Motor Boating” Magazine show pictures of this famous 38 foot Hydroplane racing boat. Yankee Doodle was designed by John L. Hacker, owned by H. Alex Johnson and was powered with 3,000 h. p.! She could go 100 miles per hour!! The “Motor Boating” Magazine articles were about the Yankee Doodle racing in races on Manhasset Bay Long Island Sound in 1925 and at the Corinthian Yacht Club of Washington D. C. In 1926! This photo location is unidentified. The photo is from the Talbot Historical Society’s H. Robins Hollyday Collection.
Contact: Cathy Hill cvhill13@yahoo.com to share your old photos and purchase our collections photos. Comment, Like our page and join the Talbot Historical Society!
The Avalon had a memorable evening on Saturday night when both loyal trustees and its dedicated staff took over the theater for a well-deserved birthday party for the building itself.
In what is just one of several events this year commemorating the historic site’s opening in downtown Easton, the entire building, from the rooftop terrace to the newly modernized backstage, was open for inspection with the help of live music, wine, hors d’oeuvres from Piazza, and the US Navy Cruisers outdoor concert to finish off the night.
The Spy asked one of our intelligence agents to provide a short video summary of what took place.
This video is approximately one minute in length. For more information about the Avalon Theatre please go here.
Maple Hall was a Claiborne, Maryland inn originally built in the 1860’s as a farmhouse. John Cockey bought it and used the 10,000 square foot family home and boarding house to suit the needs of the Claiborne railroad boom era. The ferry service between the Western Shore and Claiborne brought vacationers to the resort community and the railroad service enabled some of them to continue on to the ocean resorts! Maple Hall was demolished in 2010. Do you have any memories of Maple Hall? Facts: claibornemd.org. Photo from Talbot Historical Society’s Laird Wise Collection.
Contact: Cathy Hill cvhill13@yahoo.com to share your old photos and purchase our collections photos. Comment, Like our page and join the Talbot Historical Society
The first Easton, Md. baseball game was played on September 6, 1867! According to the “ Easton Album” by Norman Harrington the score was the Trappe Choptanks 85 and the Easton Fair Plays 47! Pictured is Easton’s Federal Park baseball field located between Federal and Bay Streets! Photo from the Talbot Historical Society’s H. Robins Hollyday Collection.
Contact: Cathy Hill cvhill13@yahoo.com to share your old photos and purchase our collections photos. Comment, Like our page and join the Talbot Historical Society!
As The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp prepares to welcome campers for its 35th summer in Ashford, Conn., CEO James Canton and Board Member Bradley Cooper announced today that the organization will open a second location on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 2023, providing “a different kind of healing” to more children with serious illnesses and their families in the Mid-Atlantic.
“For 35 years, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp has been guided by Founder Paul Newman’s creative spirit, expanding programming to bring joy and hope to more children with serious illnesses while also increasing opportunities for their families to experience the healing power of Camp all year long,” said Canton, who was a cabin counselor during the Camp’s first summer in 1988. “This same commitment that expanded our reach from 288 campers in 1988 to now more than 20,000 children and family members annually also inspired us to pursue this opportunity to bring Camp magic to more children and family members in the Mid-Atlantic – a region that Hole in the Wall has served to some extent since its earliest days. We are thrilled for this next chapter and humbled by the Aspen Institute’s incredibly kind and generous donation – it’s a gift that will keep on giving.”
According to Canton, Camp’s multi-year exploration of adding a Mid-Atlantic location took an exciting, unexpected turn when it learned that the Aspen Institute’s 166-acre Wye River Conference Center in Queenstown, Md. was for sale and that the board was willing to donate a majority of the historic property to Hole in the Wall. In 1979, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur A. Houghton, Jr., gifted the property to the Institute, which inspired the board to pay it forward. The historic property, which boasts scenic water views, tree-lined pathways and majestic meadows, contains several residential buildings and other conference facilities that will be renovated to provide a helpful starting point for Camp to begin programming.
“Since 1979, the Wye River campus has played an important role in the Aspen Institute’s history. This beautiful and protected site has hosted countless seminars and convenings, including some of international significance,” said Dan Porterfield, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute. “We are now proud to make available a significant part of this land to The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp to become their second location. Their mission to provide joy to children with serious illnesses and their families is inspiring, and secures a wonderful future for the Wye River campus.”
Maryland’s Eastern Shore represents an ideal Hole in the Wall location for many reasons. The Connecticut location’s on-site programming primarily serves those traveling from within a three-hour radius in the Northeast. The Maryland location will create an adjacent three-hour radius in the Mid-Atlantic, which contains some of the nation’s most prominent pediatric hospitals treating many of the populations that Camp hopes to serve at the Maryland location. Hole in the Wall’s plans for the new site are guided by Camp’s many years of experience serving children with serious illnesses while also answering the diverse needs of their families. The facilities and all programming will be designed to be family inclusive so that those most devastated and isolated by serious illnesses, including the rare disease community, will be able to find a caring community of support that understands their unique challenges.
Actor, producer and director Bradley Cooper is honorary chair of the committee leading the launch of the new location. Cooper, who volunteered as a cabin counselor at the Camp in 2006 and later joined the Board of Directors in 2014, has a deep, personal connection to the Mid-Atlantic having grown up near Philadelphia and graduated from Georgetown University.
“I’ve seen firsthand the life-changing impact of Hole in the Wall’s programs, which is why I’m honored and excited to see that Camp is bringing a much-needed escape, a support network and empowering experiences to the lives of some incredibly brave kids and families in the Mid-Atlantic,” said Cooper. “Just like when Paul Newman first started the Camp, this expansion into Maryland will rely on the generosity of many new friends who want to see these kids become campers and their family members experience all the magic Hole in the Wall has to offer.”
Following what is expected to be a one-year renovation, Hole in the Wall plans to open the Maryland location in summer 2023 by offering multiple sessions of Family Camp programming to serve those populations in the region who are most in need of Camp’s healing impact. In the meantime, Hole in the Wall’s Hospital Outreach program continues to bring Camp-style games and activities to several Mid-Atlantic hospitals daily with plans to establish a DC metro area regional office and expand to more medical facilities in the coming months.
Can you help us identify the location of this beautiful property? The race track is so large and the many buildings and fields appear to be perfectly cared for! This Talbot Historical Society H. Robins Hollyday photo may have been taken in the 1930’s or 1940’s.
Contact: Cathy Hill cvhill13@yahoo.com to share your old photos and purchase our collections photos. Comment, Like our page and join the Talbot Historical Society!
All seven of the major planets will gather in the pre-dawn eastern sky this month. This is a relatively rare event, although I recall a similar line-up about 20 years ago, but in the early evening western sky.
On the morning of June 24th looking east about 1 hour before sunrise, the 5 “naked eye” planets will span the eastern sky in order of distance from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will be seen, looking from left to right along a gently rising line of some 100 degrees along the ecliptic. The waning crescent Moon will also be nearby. All will be visible with the unaided eye.
Uranus and Neptune are also in the mix though binoculars will be needed to spot them. Uranus will be just east(left) of the Moon, and Neptune will be just west (right) of Jupiter. Mercury (magnitude +0.5) will be lowest to the horizon, and Venus (magn. –3.9) will be above and right. The Moon will be next in line mid-way from Venus toward the next planet, Mars (magn. +0.5). Jupiter (magn. –2.4) is next, followed by Saturn (magn. +0.4). These magnitudes (brightness) will help sky-watchers pin-point each planet. Also on the mornings before and after June 24th, the Moon will be closer to Mars or Venus respectively.
With no planets visible in the evening it is worth while to look at the Moon. A two day old crescent Moon will be just below the 2 brightest stars in Gemini; Castor and Pollux, just after sunset on June 1st. On June 5th the Moon will be near Regulus; Leo’s brightest star. The gibbous Moon is close to Spica (in Virgo) on June 9th, and the Full Moon is June 14th.
Saturn will be best viewed an hour before sunrise when it is at its highest in the sky. Jupiter, also well up then, offers the most visible surface details for those with telescopes. Mars’s surface features remain challenging even in telescopes this month even as it brightens. Venus is brightest of all, and on June 26th the Pleiades star cluster may be seen just above Venus and Mercury.
Overall June will be an excellent month for sky-watchers to enjoy!
