The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community
What a beautiful c. 1930 photo of Talbot County’s Oxford, Maryland!! Note the steamboat at the wharf which had been in use since the mid 1800’s! Also note the lack of development around the visible part of Town Creek! 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!
This is the week when once again, Maryland Public Television’s Annual Chesapeake Bay Week invites viewers to immerse themselves “…in the history, science and culture of our nation’s largest estuary.
And, this year, there is a strong focus on life here on the Eastern Shore.
Tonight, MPT airs a near 30-minute version of THE LONG SHORE. This short film documentary of life on Chesapeake Bay was first presented by the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum last Fall. CBMM actively participated in the filming and MPT’s longer version provides for an even greater discussion about shipbuilding. The film airs at 7:00 PM tonight.
A Spy agent tracked down MPT producer Sarah Sampson and asked her to describe this week of special programing. She explained, “Chesapeake Bay Week is part of Maryland Public Television’s ongoing commitment to telling important stories about the history, people and culture of the Bay. Now in its 18th year, the popular week of programming highlights the beauty and diversity of our nation’s largest estuary.”
Chesapeake Decoys: The Nature of Waterfowl Art takes viewers to the Chesapeake marshlands, where hunters share in an age-old tradition, and to the Easton Waterfowl Festival where intricate decoys carved from blocks of wood fetch generous sums from enthusiastic collectors. The program aired early in the week repeats immediately following THE LONG SHORE at 7:30 PM. is also streaming now here.
Experts, scientists and policy makers converge on Thursday, April 21st at 9pm for The Chesapeake Bay Summit 2022 for a compelling discussion on the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, led by host Frank Sesno.
You can find a full listing of programs that are part of Chesapeake Bay Week here.
Happy National Library Workers Day! Thank you to all who have worked and are working in libraries throughout Talbot County and beyond! Libraries are wonderful wildernesses of knowledge and library workers are the guides that help us navigate through the depths of knowledge and information. Sometimes that knowledge and information is brought right to our doorsteps!
Pictured from the Laird Wise collection at the Talbot Historical Society posted in the Easton Star-Democrat on May 20th, 1949, is a librarian, possibly Miss Cockey, poised to begin her voyage on the new GMC cab truck bookmobile of the Talbot County Free Library (TCFL) that allowed room to walk inside amongst the shelves of about 1,200 books. The first bookmobile given by the Board of Education in late 1941 featured book shelves on either side on the back of the Dodge truck with doors that lifted upwards. Virginia Darrow and Charlotte Fletcher were two of the first library workers to operate the original bookmobile.
As always, if you have any information about the photographs, please let us know: Call 410-822-0773 or email kaylaw@talbothistory.org
Editor’s note: Esteemed Photographer Dave Harp sent along this stunning photograph to the Spy a few days ago. He writes “below is a photo I made of him in a tree behind my house, shortly before he departed in March.
He attracted hundreds, if not thousands, of avid birders and regular folks interested in a glimpse of his highness. It was such a pleasure having him (most likely a young male) around on gray winter days!
It was a snowy winter in Cambridge. What started out as a Christmas present in December turned out to be a winter-long gift, when a snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca) graced Cambridge with its presence until the end of March. The owl, most likely a young male, was far out of its normal range, which goes into the high arctic.
Nearly two feet tall, he made quite a presence and attracted birders with powerful scopes, photographers with their giant lenses and people with cell phone cameras looking for a glimpse of the beautiful owl. He would spend days on chimney’s, roofs, docks and trees in the historic west end of Cambridge, probably living off rodents, ducks and small birds. He was the talk of the West End all winter and provided a respite from thoughts of covid and other worldly matters. “Where’s Snowy today?” was usually answered by looking for pods of people, some with tripods and cameras, gazing heavenward.
We hope he returns next year.
The Easton Volunteer Fire Department recently shared their 1950’s photo album with the Talbot Historical Society which has allowed us to create an EVFD photo collection! Love this photo of two Easton Volunteer Fire Department fire engines on Washington Street Easton, Maryland in front of the Ebenezer Methodist Church which is now the Prager Family Auditorium. It appears there was a fire inside of the church! The house to the left was demolished to create the large town parking lot!
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!
At the Cross Ministries and St. John’s Chapel will partner with the Tilghman Watermen’s Museum, the Talbot Watermen’s Association, Tilghman Volunteer Fire Department and Ladies Auxiliary to host a Blessing of the Fleet Ceremony on Sunday, April 10, 2022 at 3:00 PM at Dogwood Harbor. The Blessing of the Fleet ceremony is an age old tradition typically held when boats are preparing for the opening of the season. Local watermen will bring their boats to the harbor, and local clergy will gather together with the watermen’s community to pray for a blessing of safety and prosperity for the new season, and for all those who pass through the waters of the Bay Hundred region. Several guest speakers will share their stories and the Talbot Watermen’s Association will honor Jimmy Ridgeway and Guy Ellis for their service with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. Join us at the harbor and meet the local watermen who work so hard to bring you the best seafood the Chesapeake Bay has to offer.
The Wye Episcopal Parish has joined with Washington College’s Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Old Wye church (Wye Mills, 1721) with a series of three lectures on the history of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The lectures, the first of which is on April 19, are free and open to the public.
The inaugural lecture will present the vibrant religious environment of the Colonial Eastern Shore, when generations of church-goers struggled over whether assurance of God’s favor could be found in established liturgies, or only in the inner experience of a spiritual rebirth.
The lecturer will be Baird Tipson, eminent scholar and past president of Washington College from 2004 to 2010. Dr. Tipson, now affiliated with Gettysburg College, is the author most recently of Inward Baptism: The Theological Origins of Evangelism, published in 2020 by Oxford University Press.
Dr. Tipson’s lecture will be delivered on April 19 at 4:30 p.m. at Washington College’s Hyson Lounge in Hodson Hall. Parking is available on the campus.
Two more lectures in the Wye 300th Anniversary series, also co-sponsored with the Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture, are planned for 2022. In September in Easton, at a time and place to be announced, Eric Anderson, AIA, scholar of religion and architectural theory and practice, will offer a presentation on eighteenth century Colonial architecture on the Eastern Shore.
In October 2022, the final lecture of the year will be delivered at Old Wye Church in Wye Mills by Dr. Joseph Prud’homme, author/editor of numerous books including Faith and Politics in America: From Jamestown to the Civil War (2011) and the Director of the Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture. His subject will be the impact on the Eastern Shore of the famous Anglican clergyman Thomas Bray, organizer of the Church of England in the Colony of Maryland.
For further information, call 410-827-8484 (Wye Parish) or 800-422-1782, ext. 6486 (Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture).T
Royal Oak, Maryland in Talbot County dates back to land grants made in 1659! The Royal Oak tree was a white Oak that was originally called Bartlett’s Oak because it stood on John Bartlett’s land somewhere close to the Bellevue ferry Road. The tree was cut down in 1867! Facts:Talbotcountymd.gov website. Photo from the Talbot Historical Society’s Charles C. Harris Collection. Contact: Cathy Hill cvhill@breezeline.net to share your old photos and purchase our collections photos. Comment, Like our page and join the Talbot Historical Society!
The National Park Service this week announced the newly designated National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom members, including the St. Stephen’s A.M.E. Cemetery in Talbot County.
The new listings have verified connections to the Underground Railroad and provide insight into the experiences of freedom seekers who bravely escaped slavery and those who assisted them.
All three Network to Freedom sites were researched as part of the Maryland Department of Commerce Office of Tourism’s “Four Fellowships for 400: Sharing Maryland’s Underground Railroad Stories” project. The project partnered with the Legacy of Slavery program at the Maryland State Archives and was funded by a grant from the 400 Years of African American History Commission. Last fall, four Maryland sites were added to the collection and with the additional three sites, Maryland now has 95 total designated Network to Freedom sites across the state.
“The successful partnerships between federal, state, and local agencies has allowed this important research to showcase these documented Maryland Underground Railroad stories,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “The historical uncoverings at these new sites further signify Maryland as the most powerful Underground Railroad storytelling destination in the world.”
The newly designated Maryland Underground Railroad Network to Freedom sites include:
“Every freedom seeker’s story is unique and powerful, and these new Network to Freedom Sites highlight three very different aspects of the Underground Railroad,” says National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program Manager Diane Miller. “We are eager to continue to work alongside site stewards to preserve and amplify this important history.”
Visitors and residents can utilize Maryland’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Visitor Guide, along with other interpretive materials, to develop an itinerary across Maryland to explore the Underground Railroad and the 95 National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom sites in the state. To plan your journey along the Underground Railroad and learn more, go to visitmaryland.org.
Another Spy has filed their report on the historic launching of the Maryland Dove at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum from earlier the week.
This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information on the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum please go here.
