Remembering the Claiborne Ferry at 102 years old: A Chat with Londonderry’s Margaret Bryan

In this remarkable Spy interview, Londonderry resident Margaret Bryan, 102 years old, of Claiborne, Maryland, shares vivid memories from a century of life on the Eastern Shore. Born in 1923 and having just celebrated her 102nd birthday, Ms. Bryan recalls a time before the Bay Bridge, when ferries and steamboats connected communities, and Claiborne was a vital transportation hub. Her father managed the ferry line that once carried passengers and vehicles across the Chesapeake Bay, a lifeline between the shore and Annapolis. Raised in a one-room schoolhouse and later bused to St. Michaels, she offers a rare, firsthand perspective on rural life, early education, and community values in a bygone era.

With great warmth and clarity, Ms. Bryan reflects on the astonishing changes she’s witnessed—from radios to televisions, from steamboats to airplanes, and from typewriters to computers. Her stories include colorful anecdotes about wooden-sided school buses, floating theaters, and even an operator-assisted long-distance call that feels like an early version of today’s smart tech.

This video is approximately nine minutes in length. For information about Londonderry on the Tred Avon, please go here.