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March 5, 2021

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

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Spy Highlights

From and Fuller: $15 an Hour Push Back and Voter Rights in 2022

March 4, 2021 by Al From and Craig Fuller 1 Comment

Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.

This week, From and Fuller take on the possible raising of the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. They also turn their attention to the passage of HR 1, authored by John Sarbanes (D-MD), which expands how and when Americans can vote at the same time when some states are preparing legislature to curtail or eliminate current voter rights, like voting on Sundays or automatic voter registration programs.

This video is approximately fourteen minutes in length. To listen to the podcast version, please use this link:

And in our outtake session, Al and Craig chat for a few minutes on the Republican conservative CPAC conference held in Orlando last week.

Background

While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.

The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.

Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”

Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors.

For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.

Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last five years, where now serves on the boards of the Academy Art Museum, the Benedictine School, and Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors.

With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.

Filed Under: Spy Highlights

From and Fuller: Hogan’s Future, 1st District Politics, and the Romney’s Child Support

February 25, 2021 by Al From and Craig Fuller Leave a Comment

Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.

This week, From and Fuller talk about the Larry Hogan’s future and the politics of the 1st District. They also discuss Senator Mitt Romney’s well-received proposal on federal child allowance support.

This video is approximately fifteen minutes in length. To listen to the podcast version, please use this link:

In our bonus segment this week, Al and Craig remember the recently deceased Fanny Foxe and the Congressman Wilbur Mills’ scandal of 1974.

Background

While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.

The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.

Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”
Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors.

For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.

Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last five years, where now serves on the boards of the Academy Art Museum, the Benedictine School, and Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.  He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors.

With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.

Filed Under: Spy Highlights

King of the Road: The Amazing World of Choptank Transport on the Mid-Shore

February 24, 2021 by Dave Wheelan 1 Comment

For most of Geoff Turner’s adult life, he’s had a tough time explaining to friends and neighbors what his second-generation family business does. The CEO of Choptank Transport has found himself going into lengthy explanations at cocktail parties or other events to highlight what his company’s work is, only to find the listener still thinking at the end of it that he runs a trucking business.

Given Geoff’s easy-going nature, he resigns himself quickly to the fact that most people don’t have a clue what Choptank Transport does. Still, as one starts to take notice of this Mid-Shore’s company profile, it is rather astonishing that more can’t appreciate the extraordinary success story tucked away in a 30,000 square foot office complex just a few blocks from downtown Preston, Maryland.

In short, Choptank Transport plays a critical role in America’s huge freight industry. Turner and over three hundred employees work with individual truckers throughout the country to ensure that food and products get from “a to b” on time and at the best cost for its clients. It is a highly complex, logical operation for the layman, which is highly competitive in a world where 95% of trucking businesses own less than five tractor-trailers.

In Preston alone, the company has over 312 service professionals working the phones and Choptank’s proprietary database and software to create efficient “lanes” for customers to get their products to market. Add to the fact that all of these employees earn professional salaries, many in the six figures, and it doesn’t take long to see the huge economic impact Choptank has on the region.

Now Choptank is doubling down on the Mid-Shore with a new office complex planned for Easton this year which will house another 200 employees, and it doesn’t take long to see that Choptank is a substantial player in the economic development of the five-county area.

The Spy spoke with Geoff a few weeks ago about the company its plans for the future.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about Choptank Transport please go here.

 

 

Filed Under: Commerce Homepage, Spy Highlights, Spy Top Story

Mid-Shore Scholars: Andrey Perez and Washington College’s Scholar Program

February 23, 2021 by Dave Wheelan Leave a Comment

It might tell you something about Andrey Perez that he’s a hard interview to get. With a full school schedule, sports, and a part-time job at the new Chick-fil-A in Cambridge, the only time he could fit in a Zoom call was during his lunch break at work.

It is one of many hints of how motivated Andrey is to move ahead in this world. The son of first-generation Americans, the Sts. Peter and Paul High School student started to lay out a plan for his future after taking a personal finance course and discovering his interest in the medical field down the road. And included in that plan was, of course, higher education.

And that’s when Andrey turned to the Mid-Shore Scholars program.

With the help of this unique organization’s support and mentoring, the Andrey Perez’s of the world can navigate the complex elements of college admissions, including the college selection process, filling out forms, or even finding the money needed to even apply to a school.

In Andrey’s case, he will be the second Mid-Shore Scholar since the program started a few years ago. While almost twenty-five students are now in the pipeline to follow him in the years to come, the volunteers and staff are collectively holding their breath as he awaits hearing from the school of his choice; Washington College.

Not only has Andrey applied, but he recently was nominated to apply to the school’s prestigious Washington Scholars program, which provides its award-winners a free ride for four years on both tuition and housing.

The Spy checked with Andrey and Mid-Shore Scholars director Vivian Landau a few days ago to hear more about his aspirations and the great benefits that come with participating in such a successful preparatory support program.

With fingers crossed, Andrey will hear soon from WC while his Mid-Shore community awaits the news with double-crosses theirs.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more information about the Mid-Shore Scholars please go here.

 

 

Filed Under: Ed Portal Lead, Spy Highlights, Spy Top Story

Roadtrippin’ with Cambridge’s Bill Wright by Steve Parks

February 22, 2021 by Steve Parks Leave a Comment

Bill Wright, the “Roadtrippin’” DJ, featured four times a week on WHCP in Cambridge and weekly on WKHS near Chestertown, keeps his listeners guessing by winging it each time. “You never know what I’ll play next,” he says, “because half the time, I don’t know either. Until I do.”

For the most part, you can narrow his selections to pop, rock, or folk songs recorded–even if just on a demo–between the 1950s and the day before yesterday. It’s like picking tonight’s lottery numbers. I remember once predicting that the next song on WHFS-FM in Bethesda would be “Walk Away Renee” by the long-forgotten Left Banke about ten years after their one and only hit. There was no prize, and I’ve never matched such a prescient feat since.

Bill Wright

Listening to “Roadtrippin’” is a bit like that. It’s fitting that it comes from a DJ who worked at the Annapolis/Baltimore successor to WHFS, known for its free-wheeling approach to playlists, which at other stations demanded repeats of the half-dozen songs everyone expects when you think of, for instance, Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones.

When I listen to Classic Vinyl on Sirius-XM in our car, I switch the channel every time “Stairway to Heaven” comes on. I once grooved to it way back when–10,000 listenings ago. The Stones, however, remain musically ageless to me. I’ve probably heard “Satisfaction” 100,000 times. But my all-time Stones favorite is the relatively obscure “Dead Flowers” with its nasty anti-Valentine lyric, “Send me dead flowers to my wedding/And I won’t forget to put roses on your grave.”

“Hey, I played that just last week,” Wright said during our recent phone interview from my home and his on opposite ends of Easton during a recent sleet ice-over. “Dead Flowers” never got much radio time, possibly owing to the verse that goes, “I’ll be in my basement room/With a needle and a spoon/And another girl to take my pain away.”

But that’s what Wright does on his two- to four-hour “Roadtrippin’” shows. The one thing you can predict is that he’s not going to follow a Led Zep B-side with “Stairway to Heaven.” (Many of his listeners, I’ll bet, remember 45 singles with A and B sides.)

A recent Wright show on WHCP led off with the Byrds’ “Fido” from the “Ballad of Easy Rider.” Dylan also made Wright’s cut that night with “Oxford Town.” Sorry, I didn’t know the lyrics to that one either, though it was one of the deep tracks on his 1963 “Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” album. On the same show, he spun a mini-set of six Doors’ recordings–none of which were “Light My Fire.”

Wright, 54, earned his ornery streak by resisting playing songs easy listeners might request in his first professional gig as a Winchester, Va., DJ after graduating from the Broadcasting Institute of Maryland. New ownership there soon turned the station into “Froggie radio.” Wright and the other DJs were expected to take on reptilian nicknames. “I was Swamp Thing for two weeks before landing a job in Annapolis” at WYRE/WRNR, where he worked with WHFS alums. “It was supposed to be adult contemporary, but I played pretty much what I wanted,” he recalls. “Free form, like I play now.”

After a decade in Annapolis, Wright, a Bowie native, sought a different lifestyle from nearby Crofton, where he was living at the time. “It was overpopulated,” he says of his motivation for moving to the Eastern Shore. Shunning pre-programmed radio, he landed at WKHS, affiliated with Kent County High School, where students get on-air experience on weekdays. But nights belong to the pros; some linked to WPXN in Philadelphia. Wright’s playlist remained as fluid as ever–even more so when WCHP added him to its roster of DJs whose tastes span myriad genres.

Along the way in his itinerant career, Wright picked up a Jammy Award nomination in 2000. The awards go to improvisational jam bands and DJs who play their music instead of whatever major record labels churn out, from Coldplay or Train to whomever. “Mine is the anti-radio show–not a lot of rules,” Wright says.

The title “Roadtrippin’” comes from his longtime preference for the peripatetic circuit of festivals that provide showcases for new musicians, including unsigned ones. “There’s a lot of good grassroots music out there,” Wright says. “If you send it to me and it’s good, I’ll play it.”

The word has gotten around. “I’ll play songs you may never have heard by musical legends along with songs by musicians you’ve never heard of.”

But like many working folks these days, Wright is itching to get back into his “office” –or rather a live radio studio. Uploading at home from his digital library numbering thousands of songs to be recorded for broadcast takes twice the time it would by “just winging it” in the studio. That means eight hours for a four-hour show. He may as well be working full time because he is, essentially.

But this too shall pass. And sometime later this year, Wright will waltz in late at night at the downtown Cambridge studio of WHCP–maybe not at WKHS as it is located in a high school–without a mask, mind you. He will sit at one of the station’s studio consoles and play whatever pops into his well-seasoned brain as he sifts through the music of our times. Music we may have missed along the way.

Call it the Wright Stuff.

Steve Parks is a retired New York arts writer and critic now living in Easton.

ROADTRIPPIN’ WITH BILL WRIGHT

Ten p.m.-midnight Mondays and Wednesdays, 9-11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, WHCP 101.5 FM (low power signal available only in or near Cambridge), live-streamed at whcp.org Eight p.m.-midnight Thursdays, WKHS 90.5 FM (Worton), live-streamed at wkhsradio.org

Filed Under: Spy Highlights

WC’s Starr Center Former Director on Lincoln’s Journey to Washington

February 22, 2021 by James Dissette Leave a Comment

If the last four years feels like a crash course in American civics, constitutional law, and history, the Covid-19 pandemic—and our forced retirement from whatever we considered normal— has allowed us time to jump down the rabbit hole of research to look for facts, context, and an equation to understand how we arrived to a democracy in peril.

Had you attended the online event “Thursdays with the Starr Center” last week you would have discovered another perilous moment in American history—Abraham Lincoln’s thirteen-day train trip from Springfield, Illinois to his inauguration in Washington DC—a subject brought to the fore by historian Ted Widmer in his book Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington.

For Widmer, the Starr invitation to lecture was a chance to return to Chestertown: he was the first Director of the Center (2001-2006) and shaped its mission to become a preeminent learning center for American history. The author of many other books, Widmer is currently the historian at the Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York.

The evening was introduced by fellow historian and Starr Center Director Adam Goodheart, the successor to Widmer’s directorship. Goodheart’s book 1861; The Civil War Awakening stands as a stellar important contribution to the history of the Civil War. Over the years, Widmer and Goodheart have worked together on projects, including a 2010-2012 Civil War series in the New York Times. 

Widmer’s talk about Lincoln’s “Inaugural Express” train odyssey from Springfield, Illinois to Washington gave extraordinary insight to the gravity of the era, a year when six states had already seceded from the Union, the South was a burning fuse of insurrection, and the nation was adrift and desperate for a moral compass to guide them through the impending immolation of the young democracy.

While pro-southern militias awaited the President-elect in Washington, at least two assassination plots along the journey were discovered. Fear of plots to impair the electoral certificate count was rampant, and some believed Lincoln would not make it to The Capitol alive.

Where most historians address Lincoln’s Civil War years, Widmer finds the thirteen days before his presidency a window into the formation of the President he would become. Even during the train trip, few knew anything about the young legislator from the Midwest. Still, Lincoln used each stop along the way to build his reputation as a master of oratory and reveal himself as a “man of the people.”

Careful to hew toward a politically non-partisan approach to discussing the book, Widmer nonetheless conveyed such a vivid account of America teetering on the brink of civil chaos that one would be hard put not to find parallels with our current political dilemmas.

I recommend viewing the complete Starr Center talk on their Facebook page and buying the book. It’s elegant prose in the hands of a master historian who reminds us how tenuous the structure of Democracy can be.

This video is approximately eight minutes in length. For “Thursdays with the Starr Center” upcoming events, go here. 

 

Filed Under: Spy Highlights

From and Fuller : Trump vs. McConnell and Killing the Filibuster

February 18, 2021 by Al From and Craig Fuller

Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.

This week, From and Fuller comment on the current divide within the GOP with Trump on one side and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on this other. They also talk about current efforts to kill the filibuster option in the Senate, which many see as the cause of gridlock in Washington.

This video is approximately twelve minutes in length. To listen to the podcast version, please use this link:

And once again, we continue with our additional content with a short discussion of the political implications of the Texas snowstorm on state politics below:

 

Background

While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.

The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.

Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”

Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors.

For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.

Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last five years, where now serves on the boards of the Academy Art Museum, the Benedictine School, and Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors.

With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.

Filed Under: Spy Highlights

Sisterhood Personified By Debra Messick

February 17, 2021 by Debra Messick

Last February, Adrian Green Holmes commemorated Black History Month at the Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center. As creator of I am my sister dolls, she was selected to participate in the organization’s African American Doll Making and Puppetry event. She’s also been well received as a vendor at numerous other D.C. shows.

Holmes’ iconic one-of-a-kind folk-art creations were celebrated in her adopted hometown of Cambridge, with a September 2020 show at the Dorchester County Center for the Arts front gallery, an event both rewarding and inspiring.

“Seeing the sister dolls together in the gallery brought this incredible energy,” Holmes noted. “They represented women of all colors, not just Black women, bearing the essence of this feminine beauty we bring, denoting this strength that can be soft and hard but also direct, where you don’t challenge it,” Holmes added. With a warm laugh, she recalled the cherished memory of both her indomitable grandmothers in church, always digging in their purses for gloves, handkerchiefs, and, of course, peppermints they’d supply while giving you “the eye”, silently sending the ironclad message to sit back and be on your best behavior.

A Renee crafting doll wearing Tubman sweatshirt

This pioneering self-proclaimed “artivist” has contributed to enriching the local cultural landscape in other meaningful ways.

As founder and program director of nonprofit community cultural arts organization, Alpha Genesis Community Development Corporation (www.alphagenesisdc.org), Holmes played a pivotal role partnering with the Arts Center to lay the groundwork for local artist Michael Rosato’s Harriet Tubman Mural in downtown Cambridge.

The Philadelphia native’s 15-year Air Force career afforded Holmes two tours of duty in Italy, which profoundly inspired her concept of art as a vital form of living history, a driving force throughout her life. Unlike the dry textbooks she dreaded during college art history classes, viewing masterful works in person made a powerful impact.

Originally, her décor business A. Renee Designs LLC offered novel flourishes to architectural accents and finishes. At Liv Again Gallery, whose Art Bar became an intellectual and artistic salon of sorts, Holmes, along with co-owner Jermaine Anderson, showcased and sold chic refurbished home furnishings. The two also led workshops helping others master the craft of repurposing personal pieces.

In what she regards as a “natural creative progression” from her A. Renee Design work, Holmes describes her distinctive doll line as embodying “the spirit of our mothers and grandmothers, sisters and aunts, daughters and goddaughters. They “let us know we do not walk this journey alone…each doll reflects a life well-traveled and well-lived, is handmade and individually ‘dressed’, no two are alike,” Holmes noted.

The story behind the dolls’ evolution is rooted in Holmes’ own formative years.

Since sewing her first apron in junior high home economics class, using fabric as a visible, tactile means of telling a story has been a revelation for Holmes.

A. Renee at Library of Congress

Growing up in Philadelphia, in a pastor’s family of limited means (but unlimited love), Holmes’ rose above her yearning for pricey designer label jeans by successfully stitching her own distinctive wardrobe. As a middle child bookended by two standout siblings, sewing her own clothing also helped her weave a distinctive identity within the family tapestry. Fashioning with fabric helped her find a “voice”; discovering an artistic haven within helped provide emotional sanctuary as well as creative outlet.

Holmes had a front row seat to style personified thanks to her mother, Mary, aka “the first lady” of the Baptist church where her dad preached each Sunday. With a closet stocked full of 40 to 50 hats, her mom never wore an outfit more than two or three times, she affectionately recalled.

Holmes’ Aunt Daisy, Mary’s sister, kept in touch with young Adrian throughout her 30-year career as a missionary in Africa’s Ivory Coast, sending eagerly awaited airmail letters adorned with exotic stamps, and packages containing swatches of fabric, bringing that distant land of service enticingly within reach of her niece’s fertile imagination.

At each stage of life, her creative gifts found a rewarding outlet. Seeking meaningful and affordable Christmas presents, she fashioned angel dolls out of raffia, which became cherished holiday décor for recipients. Holmes’ sister, a social worker remaining in Philly, enjoyed drumming up sales for Holmes’ heavenly creations on the side, prodding her to keep fulfilling the demand.

Eventually her supply of raffia and remaining angels dwindled, but requests for the figurines continued. Over the years she pondered how to resume production, without success. Then, in 2011, her beloved mother passed away at the age of 72 (“a very young 72,” according to Holmes), a life changing event which would inspire a second act of sorts.

Adamant that her mom’s funeral be a celebration of her life and spirit, rather than a sorrow filled ceremony dominated by “doom and gloom,” Holmes lovingly built a display of Mary Green’s many hats, modeled by nieces and other family members during an impromptu processional, vividly capturing her essence in ways words alone could not express, paying it forward for the next generation.

Holmes poignantly remembered admiring her mother’s fashionable wardrobe all her life. Sharing the same size, she envisioned wearing the clothing one day. But after inheriting and trying several pieces on, she realized that it wasn’t the attire she been drawn to, but the way it had showcased her mom’s proud, elegant persona.

Grieving while dutifully sorting through the boxes of clothing, jewelry, and accessories in the wake of her mom’s passing, Holmes heard within herself a calling to creatively transform the inert pieces into a doll honoring her mother’s spirit. Of course, she fashioned a hat, and added other adornments. Most of all, she worked tirelessly to perfect the definitively regal self-assured stance emblazoned into her memory.

After commemorating her mom, Holmes later created a doll inspired by her late Aunt Daisy, the Ivory Coast missionary, a breast cancer victim.

Aside from these two role models, she also had two “original sister dolls” to hone her fashion creation skills on–daughters Chaniece and Misha, born 18 months apart.

“I made everything for them, and had so much fun dressing them, until they got to kindergarten or first grade.” Holmes recalled. At that point, the girls voiced opposition to wearing the charming but more vintage fashioned costumes. “There was this one Easter dress—with pinafores, and pearls, and it was all poofy– I loved it! But, when we got to church, they wouldn’t even take their coats off!” Holmes recalled with a laugh.

Respecting their wishes, Holmes instead channeled her creative flair into each custom ordered doll, imparting to every mini masterpiece not only the highest standard of workmanship but the greatest reverence.

“I did one order for a young lady, who brought me a bag full of her mom’s stuff, telling me that she was glam, she was glitzy.” Inspired, Holmes added a tiny silvery purse into the doll’s hand to complete her outfit. “Oh, my gosh, I cannot believe it, you got my mom to a T!” the grateful client cried.

Currently on her plate is a project honoring her cousin’s ex-husband who passed suddenly at the age of 51, leaving 7 children behind. Her cousin’s special request: that a beautiful African garment he wore for ceremonial occasions be incorporated into a doll for each youngster.

“Getting those memories out of the attic and the closet, to where you can see them every day, and they can make you smile, I think that brings me the most joy,” she stated. Translating inspirational lives into works of art, for Holmes, provides a meaningful intersection where history is brought to life, on a highly personal level, reaching out to posterity.

“While there are many negative narratives in history, the essence of who you are, made up of so many threads, can change it. In my own life, I had the opportunity to be mentored and loved by Mary Green, Daisy Whaley, and Chaniece and Misha Holmes, culminating, too, in all the amazing women in my church that wore hats, and jewelry, and purses, and gloves. They all deposited something so beautiful in my life, and I get to honor that,” Holmes stated.

For more information, call 410-220-6010 or visit https://Iammysisterdolls.com, A.Renee Designs LLC@IAMMYSISTERDOLLS on Facebook and Iammysisterdolls on Instagram.

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.

Filed Under: Spy Highlights, Spy Top Story

Easton’s Nancy Andrew and the Talbot Family Network by Val Cavalheri

February 17, 2021 by Val Cavalheri

Talbot Family Network (TFN) recently announced the hire of Nancy Andrew as their new executive director. The purpose of the organization is to identify and develop support systems for Talbot County children and families. As part of her responsibilities, Andrew will administer and monitor the allocation of money sent to each county for child and family services from the Governor’s Office for Children. TFN also maintains a resource directory for the community–HealthyTalbot.org. 

But this new job doesn’t mean Andrew is new to the world of community service. You might even say it was in her blood. Her father, the late Herb ‘Herby’ Andrew, was on numerous community and nonprofit boards, besides spending four terms on the Talbot County Council and serving as Chairman of Talbot Bank. Her mom Della was a school teacher, 4-H leader, and for many years, ran the Easton Day Care Center (now Critchlow Adkins). 

With her family’s experience as a background, it’s not surprising that Andrew has spent over 15 years leading other community-based nonprofit organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity Choptank and Talbot Mentors. “I’ve been on the receiving end of state funds before, through Talbot Mentors, for instance,” said Andrew, “but this is more on the administration end. I think sometimes organizations like Talbot Family Network that don’t provide direct services can be a little hard and a little more challenging for the public to appreciate.”

What Andrew does realize in the short time that she’s been involved are the various ways her organization can assist with some of the problems in the community. “Child poverty is an issue for Talbot County, and we need to make sure that families, particularly those with young children, are food secure,” she says. “Another program deals with improving school graduation rates. It is not a huge problem, but it’s a data point where we can move the needle. And our partnering with the school system is an example of doing that.”

Identifying programs for TFN is another process Andrew is involved with. “We look at the data, and then every couple of years, we do a larger community survey. We might have community listening sessions. We might talk to incarcerated parents at our local jail. We try to get to all sectors of the community, focusing on children and families to find out what the needs are. Based on those needs, we see if there are existing programs, and we continue to fund those. And then there are times where there isn’t a program, and we might put out a request for proposals to invite somebody to create a program.” There will also be times, Andrew says, where they may have to discontinue funding a program if the state’s priorities change; something she is aware will be hard to navigate.

There is much that excites Andrew about this new opportunity. One, in particular, involves exploring how different issues, i.e., childhood hunger, poverty, etc., impact people of different races. “We’ve been working to address issues of racial equity in our community for several years. One way has been by investing in some training opportunities,” says Andrew. 

In addition to creating workshops and having resources available, TFN also sponsors a facilitated monthly conversation on race, open to anyone in the community who wants to come in and dialogue with their neighbors and other community members about race. “That’s a significant space for us to keep going, keep open because certainly my experience growing up here is race has not been something that was easily talked about. It’s sort of like money. People aren’t sure: Is it polite? Who can I talk to about it, who can’t I? So that’s an important piece of what we’ve been doing.”

This focus on training is something that Andrew is keeping high on her list of priorities as she learns her job: “In preparation for our reallocation with the state, we do site visits with the programs that we fund. These were done virtually, but also a little more extensively this year, since I was new. Because we have some training money, we’re also looking around for additional training partners. There are many resources out there for racial equity training, but it’s a very busy space. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been trying to make sure that we’re not just reoffering the same thing. Some workshops you want to keep offering because there are still people in the community who haven’t had the opportunity to go through them. But as more and more people go through the introduction programs, you need that second or third tier to keep them going in the process.”

Even as she gets comfortable with her new job, Andrew is finishing up a short-term contract–through March, with Talbot County coordinating some of the county’s response to COVID-19. She is also currently attending grad school, getting her Masters in Social Work—not because she aspires to be a clinician, but because she hopes it will help her better understand how to change public policy.  

With little free time, Andrew has had to cut back on some of the things she enjoys. This includes being part of an improv group she joined three years ago, something which she acknowledges as important even on her LinkedIn page, describing herself as an “ardent storyteller …with a passion for public speaking. Yes, and I love improv.” 

Daniel Brown, who heads up Reflex Improv, where Andrew is part of a troupe, says, “From the start, she completely embodied the two most important elements for improv to work well: ‘Yes-And,’ which to me means ‘I’ve heard you and I’m going to honor what you’ve contributed by adding my own piece’ as well as ‘Got Your Back,’ which means ‘I’m going to make you look great!’ I think both of these improv skills came naturally for her because those two qualities were already a part of who she is as a person.”

Which circles back to her upbringing and her parents, who lived by the sayings that Andrew now embraces, one of which she quoted: ‘For those to whom much is given, much is required.’  Andrew explains, “I’ve never wanted for food. I never felt unsafe, and I’m fortunate that I’ve had people around me who supported and encouraged me, especially as a young person. I’m aware that not everyone has that same experience. It really means a lot to me to be part of my community. I feel a real responsibility that I can make a difference in people’s individual lives.”

For more information about the Talbot Family Network, visit HealthyTalbot.org or call 410-770-6870.

Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.

Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.

 

Filed Under: Spy Highlights

The Afterglow of Ruth Starr Rose with Jeffrey Moaney

February 15, 2021 by Dave Wheelan

In the performance and art exhibition world, the marking of success can sometimes be measured by how much afterglow is felt by the audience long after leaving the venue. And afterglow here meaning that some walk away from viewing art, watching a movie, or hearing a concert with an indelible sensation of impact well after closing time.

Ruth Starr Rose

Days, sometimes even weeks later, the consumer of art can still experience a glow after seeing Van Gogh’s Starry Night, Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, or hearing Beethoven’s 9th in live performance. But how about when that sensation can last years?

This might be the case with many who attended the Ruth Starr Rose exhibition in Easton five years ago. And one of those who still feels that afterglow is Unionville native Jeffrey Moaney.

Now a design executive working in Baltimore, Jeffrey is part of the Moaney clan, many of whom were subjects of Rose’s work, so there is naturally an understandable bias at play. Still, as he told the Spy when we met a few weeks ago at the new Water’s Edge Museum, where the artist’s work will be permanently on display, it represented to him sometime far more significant than a family album.

We sat down with Jeffrey in front of a full wall of ancestor portraits to share his lasting impressions of the Mid-Shore exhibition, which Dr. Barbara Paca curated and was sponsored by Eddie and Sylvia Brown and the Dock Street Foundation, who funded the tour in Easton.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more information about the Water’s Edge Museum please go here. 

 

Filed Under: Spy Highlights, Spy Top Story

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