MENU

Sections

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Editors and Writers
    • Join our Mailing List
    • Letters to Editor Policy
    • Advertising & Underwriting
    • Code of Ethics
    • Privacy
    • Talbot Spy Terms of Use
  • Art and Design
  • Culture and Local Life
  • Public Affairs
    • Ecosystem
    • Education
    • Health
    • Senior Life
  • Community Opinion
  • Sign up for Free Subscription
  • Donate to the Talbot Spy
  • Cambridge Spy
  • Chestertown Spy

More

  • Support the Spy
  • About Spy Community Media
  • Advertising with the Spy
  • Subscribe
May 31, 2023

Talbot Spy

Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Editors and Writers
    • Join our Mailing List
    • Letters to Editor Policy
    • Advertising & Underwriting
    • Code of Ethics
    • Privacy
    • Talbot Spy Terms of Use
  • Art and Design
  • Culture and Local Life
  • Public Affairs
    • Ecosystem
    • Education
    • Health
    • Senior Life
  • Community Opinion
  • Sign up for Free Subscription
  • Donate to the Talbot Spy
  • Cambridge Spy
  • Chestertown Spy
Arts Design with Jenn Martella Spy Highlights

Design with Jenn Martella: “Rock of Ages”-The Palmer House, circa 1668

May 18, 2023 by Jennifer Martella 1 Comment

 


Over the past six and a half years of writing House of the Week articles, I have discovered many historic houses but this one is unique in its being the oldest house in Chestertown, if not the state of Maryland. What is known about this property is that its use as a single family residence began in 1668 and has been continuous for three-hundred twenty-five years when the house became vacant. 

Captain John Palmer is believed to be the original owner of the house, christened “Rock of Ages” by a Kent County historian. The name refers to the large pieces of stone Captain Palmer carried in his wooden ship on voyages from England to his property that was located at the head of a cove that once existed off the Chester River. The stones were not only cargo but also ballast for stabilizing Captain Palmer’s wooden ship. Many other connections to Captain Palmer were found over the years.

A silver platter that was engraved with the image of the house and the name “Rock of Ages” was found on the U.S.S. Maryland. Investigations resulted in the discovery that Palmer family descendants had presented it to the Captain of the battleship. 

The house has undergone several renovations over its life. When repairs were needed for the living room fireplace, the original firebox was revealed that was modified in the 1880’s for a Latrobe stove that used coal for fuel. A previous owner, Chief Samuel E. Cooper, found an old ship’s clock that had been hidden under the attic flooring. The clock was inscribed with Captain Palmer’s name and the date of 1668. 

I have driven down so many times along High Street but this story and half house with attic dormers is hidden by trees along the sidewalk. The day of my tour I had time to appreciate the very pleasing proportions of the three bay front façade. The front door is detailed with half glass and half wood panels and is centered between two 6/6 double hung windows with true wood shutters and shutter dogs, with three dormer windows above. The three -bay front porch has turned columns arranged to create a larger middle bay on axis with the front door. The original brick steps have been demolished so a new owner could add wood steps to match the porch flooring or new brick steps to match the original brick steps. The textures of the large stone pieces, with a water table projection along the front façade, the uppermost part of the chimneys’ brick at each gable end of the house, the black wood shutters and the exposed wood rafters of the front porch’s hipped roof create a very harmonious façade.

At the rear of the house is the kitchen that completes the “L” floor plan. This room and the adjacent open porch were added later. The kitchen is clad in wood lap siding and the porch is open with turned columns to match the columns on the front porch. From the porch one exterior door opens into the stair hall and the other opens into the kitchen.

Since the house has been vacant for twenty-seven years, the house will require a gutting to the studs renovation The “L” shaped first floor plan has a center stair hall between the living room on the right and the dining room on the left. Since the exterior walls are thick masonry, the sills of the windows are deep and inviting for potted plants or a perfect spot for the family cat to bask in the sun. 

Both the living and dining rooms have identical dimensions and fireplaces at the side walls. The dining room fireplace will need to be restored.

Behind the dining room is the large kitchen and open side porch. 

If I were renovating the house, I would remove the porch roof and extend the kitchen roof over the porch for simplicity and better drainage. The porch could be screened or the wall between the kitchen and porch could be removed to add this space to the kitchen for a sunny family room with wrap-around windows overlooking the yard. 

I would leave the original built-in cabinet between the door to the dining room and the corner of the kitchen as it adds historical context and character to the space. The unit could have upper glass fronted doors to display china and glassware for the dining room. 

The stairs to the second floor lead to a bath at the front of the house and bedrooms over both the living and dining rooms. The bath is shared by both bedrooms and has a vintage clawfoot tub and lavatory. 

In each bedroom, the collar beam is set lower than the header height of the dormer windows. Raising the collar beam would solve this problem, add needed headroom and enable more sunlight to penetrate into each room. 

The deep rear yard extends to a row of eight contiguous carriage houses, built during the time when transportation was by horse and carriage. The building opens onto the rear street. There is also another anachronism of a wood clad privy, complete with a toilet(!) that should be demolished to open up the yard for longer vistas from the house. The rear yard has both shade from the large tree and space to develop the rear yard into a verdant oasis. The sunny space by the open porch would be the perfect space for a kitchen garden.

Great in-town location, deep lot with potential for a gardener to create an urban oasis, a cottage that needs a complete rehab with the reward of cozy spaces with deep windowsills, fireplaces, many original details such as the paneled doors, radiator heats and spacious second floor bedrooms. The best reward would be the satisfaction of being the steward who enables this historic house to proudly reclaim her place in Chestertown’s residential streetscape for future generations to admire. 

For more information about this property, contact Mary Fielding, who helped sponsor this article, at Coldwell Banker Chesapeake Real Estate Company, at 410-778-0330 (o), 410-708-4852 (c) or mfielding@cbchesapeake.com. For more pictures and pricing, visit www.cbchesapeake.com , “Equal Housing Opportunity”.  Photography by Patty Hill, www.pattyhillphotography.com, 410- 441-4719

Historic photograph from the publication “Chestertown, Maryland, An Inventory of Historic Sites, based upon an historic site survey conducted by Robert Neill, Michael Bourne and Kathleen B. White, with additional survey information by Marsha Fritz, Robert J.H. Janson-La Palme, and Peter Newlin.

Jennifer Martella is an architect with Bohl Architects’ Annapolis office and a referral agent for Meredith Fine Properties. Jennifer is an integral part of Bohl Architects’ design team for projects she brings to the firm. She is also the writer of  Bohl’s website’s  bi-monthly blog “Tango Funhouse” where she highlights the firm’s vision and other fun aspects of life by design. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Design with Jenn Martella, Spy Highlights

Some of Talbot Mentors’ Young Scholars take a Look at Washington College

May 15, 2023 by James Dissette

Students from the Talbot Mentors Scholars Program, accompanied by one mentee and a guest student, recently embarked on a day-long tour of Washington College. The purpose of the tour was to provide them with a glimpse of academic and campus life beyond high school.

This tour was organized as part of an ongoing partnership between Talbot Mentors and Washington College, aimed at exposing young scholars to various academic pathways. Another component of the partnership is a tutoring program wherein Washington College students provide academic support to Talbot Mentor students in the areas of language arts and math.

The tour was led by Pat Nugent, the Director of Civic Engagement at Washington College, along with Kentavius Jones, the Director of the Talbot Mentor Program, and Dr. Allyson DeMaagd, the College Success Manager. The students had the opportunity to explore different academic centers, including The Writing Center, O’Neill Literary House and Press, as well as the dormitories and other campus facilities. The day concluded with lunch at the college dining hall.

For the past 25 years, Talbot Mentors has been committed to addressing barriers to success for Talbot County students through nurturing mentoring relationships. In 2020, they introduced the Scholars Program (formerly known as Mid-Shore Scholars) as a key initiative. This program holds significant importance within the organization, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that 100% of their scholars gain admission to college, remain enrolled, and successfully graduate.

The meeting took place at the Rose O’Neill Literary House, where author and Assistant Director Roy Kesey introduced the students to “the writers’ life” and explained why the Lit House cultural hub was a valuable experience for aspiring writers and artists.

Next, the group had a meeting with Rachel Rodriguez, the Director of the Writing Center, who explained how college students could benefit from the assistance of peer writing consultants for any writing project they undertake.

The Spy interviewed Dr. Allyson DeMaagd, attended part of Rachel Rodriguez’s introduction to the Writing Center, and interviewed scholar Jose Norris.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. To find out more about Talbot Mentors, go here.

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Top Story, Spy Highlights

From and Fuller: Trump Sexual Assault Verdict and CNN Town Meeting

May 11, 2023 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 the conviction by a jury of former president Donald Trump of the sexual assault of journalist E. Jean Carroll. Al and Craig also discuss Mr. Trump’s appearance on a CNN Town Hall broadcast Wednesday night where he continued to claim the 2020 presidential election was rigged.

This video podcast is approximately 18 minutes in length.

To listen to the audio podcast version, please use this link:

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. He is the author of “New Democrats and the Return to Power.”

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.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Highlights, From and Fuller

Gordon Lightfoot and the Melancholy Language of Waters

May 6, 2023 by Dennis Forney

In Orillia, a Canadian city in the province of Ontario, a unique monument stands on a point of land surrounded by the fresh waters of expansive Lake Simcoe. The monument celebrates the songs of Gordon Lightfoot, the famed native troubadour of that city who died this week at 84.

The statue is surrounded by a wreath of maple leaves, many of which are etched with scenes from Lightfoot’s more famous songs. Below, a larger and separate leaf sculpture memorializes Lightfoot’s song Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The sculpture was created by Timothy Schmalz

In the center of a wreath of maple leaves, the bearded and sandaled Lightfoot statue sits cross-legged, cradling a six-string guitar.  It’s not hard to imagine that this quintessential romantic hippie is singing one of his trademark melancholy songs: Sundown maybe, Rainy Day People, Song for a Winter’s Night or his classic If You Could Read My Mind.

“I don’t know where we went wrong but the feeling’s gone and I just can’t get it back.”

The girl he was singing to, of course, is no longer part of the scene.

“I walk away like a movie star who’s been burned in a three-way script.”

Many of us have shared these emotions at one time or another, and Lightfoot, like many successful artists, spent a folk-singing career tapping into those common bonds. In doing so, the singer/songwriter helped create the soundtrack for the lives of millions of baby boomers who came of age in the 1970s and 1980s.

Becky and I hiked a fine trail along the shore of Lake Simcoe to visit the monument late last summer.  We were cruising on the Trent-Severn Waterway which passes through the expansive lake before eventually emptying into the 30,000 islands of Georgian Bay. Gordon’s a favorite on my phone’s playlist so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see how his hometown had honored him. Nice that the honor came while his fame was firmly established and he was still performing.

Georgian Bay is west of Lake Simcoe.  North of and an offshoot of Lake Huron, it is part of the Great Lakes system shared by Canada and the US.

The lakes are known for their powerful winter storms, one of which spelled the doom of the coal freighter Edmund Fitzgerald, and all 29 members of its crew, in a sudden Lake Superior gale in November of 1975. Lightfoot ensured the lasting memory of that tragic event in his hauntingly beautiful ballad Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

We coastal dwellers, who watch the weather so closely, are fortunate to understand the language of boats running ahead of fair winds, and boats running toward protected harbors from threatening storms and winds. We are fortunate also that Lightfoot shared his singing and songwriting talent, and familiarity with the language of the waters, in many songs including one about Georgian Bay’s Christian Island.

Lightfoot’s poetry, in the song by the same name, captures the natural human longing and appreciation for safety and security, especially in the nervousness of uncertain times and places:

“She’s a good old boat and she’ll stay afloat
Through the toughest gale and keep smilin’,
But for one more day she would like to stay
In the lee of Christian Island.”

Dennis Forney has been a publisher, journalist and columnist on the Delmarva Peninsula since 1972.  He writes from his home on Grace Creek in Bozman.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Highlights

From and Fuller: Debt Ceiling Dance, Cardin Decision, and Easton’s New Mayor

May 4, 2023 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 discuss the increasingly intense debt ceiling negotiations between President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Maryland Senator Ben Cardin’s decision not to seek reelection in 2024. Craig also comments in the election of Megan Cook as Easton’s woman mayor.

This video podcast is approximately 20 minutes in length.

To listen to the audio podcast version, please use this link:


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. He is the author of “New Democrats and the Return to Power.”

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.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: From and Fuller, Spy Highlights

On Design with Jenn Martella: The Gold Standard, circa 1866

May 3, 2023 by Jennifer Martella

 

My two favorites of the six houses I have called home have both been Craftsman styled houses. When I learned one of my favorite Craftsman style houses on Goldsborough St was for sale, I was thrilled to feature it today. I have long admired the house’s compact massing, deep eaves with bracket projections, color palette of exposed reddish brick foundation and chimneys, golden yellow lap siding, white trim, large windows, black shutters and the front gable dormer at the roof with a triple window. The entry sequence began with my walking up three steps from the Town sidewalk onto a concrete walkway ending at four more wooden steps to the recessed front porch that projects slightly beyond the one-story part of the front façade.

As I walked around the side of the house, I realized the one-story portion of the house must have originally been a wrap-around porch but the area had at some time been infilled with conditioned space. The house is currently divided into four units, with one apartment and one commercial unit on the main floor and two other apartments on the second floor.

The commercial space faces the off-street parking area next to the deep back yard and one of the second floor apartments has its own private entrance at the other side of the building. Outdoor rooms include the main floor apartment’s screened porch overlooking the side and rear yards and an open porch with a metal awning for one of the second floor apartments that also overlooks the side and rear yards. 

I passed through the original multi-paned front door flanked by sidelights and entered a vestibule then through double doors into the foyer with the original staircase. When I saw the windows at the side of the foyer, I realized those windows did indeed open to an original wrap-around porch since the siding was left intact inside the commercial space. 

The majestic staircase with its original details of both the dark wood cap and newel post and treads stained to match the beautiful hardwood floors must have created a gracious entrance when the building was a single-family house. As I walked through the main floor that had sustained little alteration, I saw how the building could easily revert to a single family residence. French doors lead off the foyer into a room with a fireplace that is part of the commercial space but originally might have been a library off the wrap-around porch. To me, seeing the original radiator heat is a plus and when combined with high velocity AC provides total thermal comfort.

The main floor apartment is quite spacious since it contains the original living and dining rooms, as well as two additional sitting areas. One is part of the original wrap-around porch and is open to the living room.

The living room backs up to the dining room and also has a fireplace. All of the fireplaces have the original mantels and firebox surround.

 

The other sitting area is off the side wall of the dining room. Behind the dining room is a spacious bedroom, bath and walk-in closet with a stack W/D. 

There are two entry doors to this apartment; one off the front sitting room and one off the foyer. The latter door opens into a hall between the dining room and the bedroom with a storage unit for coats and totes.

Opposite the hall is a breakfast area with floor to ceiling built-in cabinetry that I suspect was originally a butler pantry. 

 Changing the short length of the galley kitchen’s upper cabinets to open shelves or replacing the cabinets with 12” deep units would make the narrow galley kitchen feel more spacious. 

At the end of the kitchen is the screened porch overlooking the rear yard. Ending my tour of the main floor apartment, I was eager to see the other two units. The foyer stairs lead to the second floor apartment at the front of the house. This unit contains a living room, eat-in kitchen, bedroom and bath.

Another set of stairs leads to the attic space with dormer windows with its delightful interior architecture from the exposed roof rafters, knee walls and dormer windows. 

The other second floor apartment is located at the rear of the building and has its own direct entrance at the side of the building. Its cozy outdoor room off the kitchen is covered by a metal awning that creates a perfect dining spot for two. 

Great architecture, large windows for abundant sunlight and original details that makes this well maintained property unique. Amenities include off-street parking, a deep rear yard and outdoor rooms of the brick terrace and open porch. It would be a fabulous single family home with the second floor rear apartment a rental unit. 

For more information about this property, contact Meg Moran, GRI, with Long and Foster Real Estate-Christies International Real Estate at 410-770-3600 (o), 410-310-2209 (c), a sponsor for On Design with Jenn Martella or megmoran007@gmail.com. For more photographs and pricing visit www.megmoran.com , “Equal Housing Opportunity.” 

Photography by Eve Fishell, Chesapeake Pro Photo LLC, 443-786-8025, www.chesapeakeprophoto.com, eve@chesprophoto.com

Jennifer Martella is an architect with Bohl Architects’ Annapolis office and a referral agent for Meredith Fine Properties. Jennifer is an integral part of Bohl Architects’ design team for projects she brings to the firm. She is also the writer of  Bohl’s website’s  bi-monthly blog “Tango Funhouse” where she highlights the firm’s vision and other fun aspects of life by design. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Highlights

From Grief to Love: The Inspiring Story of a Foster Parent’s Journey

May 1, 2023 by Henley Moore

Jessica Lewis from Dorchester County is a great example of the unexpected joy that comes with fostering a child with love. Her journey began in 1996 when she and her husband got married and had their first child, who unfortunately passed away. Amidst their grief, they thought of how they could help other kids who were in need of parents. That’s when they enquired about foster care.

The first year of their journey was interesting, as they had to attend classes physically for nine weeks, a couple of times a week, to learn how to parent children from difficult backgrounds or who have had challenges or traumas. They received their certificate in February and got their first call in March about the first baby that needed to be placed.

Jessica recalls how excited she was when she got the call while at work. The call was basically to ask if they could take an infant boy at 4 o’clock that afternoon. She said yes without knowing the baby’s name, history or background. Looking back, she now knows that she should have asked more questions at the time. However, sometimes you just don’t have a lot of information, and all you know is that there’s a need, and you’re available to help.When the baby arrived, he was 16 weeks old, a beautiful baby whose outcome was uncertain. They were told that they didn’t know if the baby would be reunified with his parents or if a family member would step forward. There was no permanent plan at that time. But they ended up adopting the baby, and he is now their 14-year-old son.

She estimates that they’ve helped about two dozen children and encourages anyone who has an interest in fostering to contact the department and take the opportunity to learn about the classes.

Jessica’s story is a testament to the power of love and how it can transform the lives of children in need. It’s a call to action for anyone who has a heart for fostering to take that leap of faith and give children the love and care they deserve.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. To find out about becoming a foster parent please contact Dorchester County Dept of Social Services here, Kent County Social Services here, or Talbot County Department of Services here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Top Story, Spy Highlights

Grace Creek Almanac: Whitman and Lilacs, Watermen and Locust Blooms

April 29, 2023 by Dennis Forney

Locusts are in full bloom along the entrance to the Tilghman Island Inn. For watermen, blooming locusts signal the beginning of the new crabbing season’s first shed.


When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d,
And the great star early droop’d in the western sky in the night,
I mourn’d, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.
Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring,
Lilac blooming perennial and drooping star in the west,
And thought of him I love.

– Walt Whitman 

This rainy weekend coincides with the full blooming of locust trees throughout the tidewater Chesapeake region. For watermen, finishing up the first month of the 2023 crabbing season, the blooming locusts signal the first shed of the almost monthly phenomenon that will continue until late fall when the crustaceans return to their muddy beds for winter hibernation.

With water temperatures reaching into the low 60s throughout the Bay and its tributaries, crabs are amping up their activity.  Readying for their first shed, they will need all the energy they can get from their bottom foraging. It’s no easy task for a crab to grow a new shell inside its existing shell and then back out of its old shell. When it completes that shed, and pumps its new shell full of water to retain its shape as it hardens, the new crab will become approximately 30 percent larger than its old self.

But to get to that stage, the crab will have to survive its most vulnerable soft stage when it becomes the target of every creature that inhabits the waterways. Humans, blue catfish and skates, rockfish and herons all relish a meal of soft crabs.

Water temperature, periods of light and dark, and the next full moon arriving May 5th all figure into the season’s first crab shed.

For centuries, the scent and sight of blooming locust trees have pleasantly brought shedding crabs to mind.

Smell is our most reminiscent sense.

Nineteenth century poet Walt Whitman associated the heady scent of mid-April’s blooming lilacs with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in April 1865. The two stanzas of poetry at the beginning of this column are the opening lines of the long elegy – When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloom’d – that he wrote to his fallen hero.

Sadness and gladness are not always distant cousins. Ironically, they can reside together compatibly in places of beauty that please our eyes and our noses. Add ears too. To remind us, The Grateful Dead recorded a fine song many years back titled Touch of Gray. They sang its kernel line several times: “Every silver lining has a touch of gray.”

Dennis Forney, Chestertown native and Delmarva Peninsula journalist since 1972, writes from his home on Grace Creek in Bozman. Photo by the author.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Highlights

From and Fuller: Tucker Carlson Exit Stage Right and Biden Announcement

April 27, 2023 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 discuss the abrupt departure of Tucker Carlson from Fox News and its political impact on the 2024 election. Al and Craig also discuss the much-anticipated announcement by Joe Biden that he and Kamala Harris will be running for reelection.

This video podcast is approximately eighteen minutes in length.

To listen to the audio podcast version, please use this link:

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. He is the author of “New Democrats and the Return to Power.”

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.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Highlights, From and Fuller

Spy Art Review: Shadows, Female Figuration, and Teen Curators by Steve Parks

April 27, 2023 by Steve Parks

We’ve all heard about cursing the darkness. But here, in one of the Academy Art Museum’s (AAM)latest exhibitions, we view images and read the text In Praise of Shadows – that is, in praise of darkness to varying degrees. The first we encounter in AAM’s Lederer Gallery is Japanese artist Utagawa Kunisoda’s mid-19th century color woodblock print titled “Scene from a Kabuki Play.” The text accompanying this and other artworks, which are far more contemporary than “Kabuki,” presents a narrative dialogue about what we see before us. Japanese author Jun’ichiro Tanizaki recalls his childhood introduction to kabuki as an exaggerated theatrical form that survives best in dim lighting that veils its lack of subtlety. The next woodcut, “Tenderness,” by Kiyoshi Saito (1968), suggests a shadow play of hands performed by parents to entertain their child with an elongated figure of a hen – warm and harmless.                            

Alison Saar’s “Rise”

As the art in “Shadows” strays further from the Japanese source material, the dialogue changes, too. Prolific African-American printmaker Dox Thrash’s 1939 mezzo print “Charlot” deploys ink throughout his haunting portrait by way of reverse facial features – somewhat like a photo negative – created through gradations of relative light amid the dark for a surprise bump-in-the-night effect.

Louise Nevelson, the American sculptor who died in 1986, once said that the color black makes any material look “more distinguished.” Maybe she was thinking of tuxedos. Her “End of Day” painted-black wood structure juxtaposing angular shelving with curved objects implies a puzzle of pieces that don’t fit. Go figure.

Kate Breakey’s “Five Figs”

While Australian artist Kate Breakey’s nine charming images are not accompanied by textual commentary, it may be because her photographic technique speaks, as the saying goes, more eloquently than a thousand words. From her “Shetland Islands” to her “Lunar Eclipse,” Breakey’s magical photo on art glass with gold-leaf effects brings a shimmering glow to each scene she captures. Even the “Reclining Nude” (from behind) seems imbued with pixie dust. Her “Lone Tree, Midlands, UK” cries out for company while her “Two Trees, Kew Gardens” appear to embrace one another like a couple that inhabits a forest all their own. And whether they are five birds or seven finches, the arboreal inhabitants of Breakey’s winged casts pose regally, as does the lone hummingbird in perfect nectar-beak profile. 

I would say Kate Breakey’s show-stealers – including the succulent “Five Figs” still life – are worth the price of admission, except that it’s free at AAM. 

Photography reigns in the gallery across the hall as Will Wilson presents portraits of representatives of many Native American nations – Cherokee, Apache, Navajo, Ogala, and Hopi- augmented by autobiographical details for each person he photographed from 2013-2018. All images are large black-and-white archival prints that look candid though most if not all, are likely posed. They are displayed here by way of the Art Bridges Collection, available to small- to mid-range museums.

LaToya Hobbs’ “Stargazer (Thea)

Kottie Gaydos’ “Untitled Cairns,” created just this year, occupies the space in the center of the Healey Gallery floor. They represent the fragility of the human body through porcelain vessels dipped in an emulsion. I expect we’d all be vulnerable if immersed in a painterly emulsion, but her point is well taken. We’re more vulnerable than we admit.

*** 

LaToya Hobbs, a Baltimore-based painter and printmaker, presents a small survey of her woodcut portraits of Black women – 13 of them in the two small galleries just off the courtyard entrance to the museum. These works, according to her artist’s statement, “use figurative imagery to facilitate an ongoing dialogue about the Black female body in the hope of showcasing a more balanced perception of our womanhood – one that dismantles prevailing stereotypes. Through portraiture,” she adds, “I explore themes of beauty, spirituality, motherhood, and sisterhood.” 

To that end, the first image we encounter is “Lunar Blessing,” a 2017 black-and-white figurative study of a reclining woman who, judging from the radiant beams emanating in all directions from her aura, is deep in dreams. The next print is a Hobbs self-portrait. Is the artist observing the sleeping subject to her right? Keeping them company in the first gallery is a smiling “Angelia,” imbued in a green-on-chartreuse swirl in this 2011 portrait,” while “Stargazer (Thea)” from 2022 presents a face of wonder at the sky above.

Entering the second gallery, “Sharbreon’s Joy” (2019) catches your eye, if not your ear, with her bespectacled laughter, while in contrast, next to her, “Herera Woman,” a 2015 linocut, frowns in stern disapproval. “Delita Study #1,” from 2019, shares her portrait space with two male face masks that have her attention. “Crowned” (2021) describes the effect of a young woman’s fabric headdress pushing her hair up into an elaborate bun. Most of these highly individualized portraits are of women looking askance. They are not peering into our eyes. But “Rose” (2019) is an exception. It struck me that she was about to challenge me in a staring contest. As I am forced to blink, and she is not, Rose wins.

***

During the winter just behind us, teen interns who participated in Academy Art’s program went through the museum’s permanent collection to serve as curators of “(Dis)Connection,” now on exhibit in the upstairs hallway gallery. Each artwork selected by the 13 teen-terns is accompanied by text that explains why the piece appealed to them. Here’s a sampler:

* Of Will Barnet’s “Cat and Canary” screenprint – reminding me of Warner Bros.’s Sylvester and Tweety Bird, Kate Lorentz writes: “There is a strange understanding the two animals have with one another, a connection between two very different creatures – not to mention predator and prey.”

* Of Alison Saar’s “Rise” linocut on letterpress, Ed Tilghman comments: “ ‘Rise’ is a prime example of her mission as it was created during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. . . . [The Black woman’s] stoic expression, bold lines, and use of red pulls me in to recognize the serious issue of racial injustice.”

* Of Judy Chicago’s “In Praise of Prairie Dogs,’’ an 11-color lithograph, Leslie Monter Casio observes: “This piece resonates with me as it pushes me to consider the connection that humans have with nature and how we are inextricably linked. Far too often . . .we are ignorant of the consciousness of animals; we are much more similar to them than we think.”

* Of Clarence Holbrook Carter’s “Jane Reed and Doris Hunt,” a 1950 lithograph depicting two women walking along or crossing a railroad track, Sophia Principe shares this: “The print makes me feel as if I were present in the scene, walking with the mysterious figures after a long day. I can almost feel the wind chilling my face.”

* Of Sam Robinson’s “7 AM, 90 [Degrees]” 2004 oil on canvas, Aviyah Durante relates emotion: “This picture invokes darker feelings of frustration in me. . . . We can infer that Robinson was not only trying to showcase his own story with this piece but the meaningful connections that one has with home.”

These thoughts and much more helps connect us with the art that teens selected for “(Dis)Connection.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                        “In Praise of Shadows: Jun’ichiro Tanizaki and Modern & Contemporary Art” and “(Dis)Connection: Selections from the Permanent Collection by AAM’s Teen Interns,” through July 16, and“LaToya Hobbs: Woodcuts” through July 23, all at Academy Art Museum, 106 South St., Easton; academyart.org

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

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Top Story, Spy Highlights

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Copyright © 2023

Affiliated News

  • The Chestertown Spy
  • The Talbot Spy

Sections

  • Arts
  • Culture
  • Ecosystem
  • Education
  • Mid-Shore Health
  • Culture and Local Life
  • Shore Recovery
  • Spy Senior Nation

Spy Community Media

  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Advertising & Underwriting

Copyright © 2023 · Spy Community Media Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in