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May 28, 2023

Talbot Spy

Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community

News News Notes

Maryland Day Celebration with The Dan Meyer Choir

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The Dan Meyer Choir is Baltimore’s most original community choir, performing all original compositions and arrangements. They have performed for Artscape, the Star-Spangled Spectacular and many other events.

Most recently they sold out Baltimore’s Creative Alliance with an uproarious Presidents Day performance of The Love Songs of the Presidents: original settings of love poetry by former US Presidents.

This summer the Dan Meyer Choir will be making history as the first choir to provide live music for a community water ballet performance when they take to the stage with Baltimore’s Fluid Movement.

Dan Meyer Choir

Choral music creates a unique bond between people and we hope that celebrating Maryland Day with music from all across the state will bring joy and friendship among fellow Marylanders on both sides of the Bay.

The event will be held Saturday, March 25th at 2pm outside in the Gardens at the Talbot Historical Society, 25 S. Washington Street, Easton, Maryland.  PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR AS SEATING IS NOT PROVIDED.

If bad weather is forecasted, please check our Facebook page for an update on the event and where it will be held.

Please call 410-822-0773 or email kaylaw@talbothistory.org with questions or additional information.

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Talbot Historical Society Presents A Date with History Lecture Series

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“History of the Plimhimmon Estate” with Robert Shannahan, local historian

The legendary Plimhimmon Estate in Oxford has been closely associated with the family of Colonel Tench Tilghman, George Washington’s aide-de-camp, during the Revolutionary War. The estate dates back to the early 17th century as a 600 acre land grant from Lord Baltimore to Henry Morgan in 1659. Local Historian, Bob Shannahan, will present an interesting retrospective of the times and history of this estate.

March 29th, 2023 at 1 pm located at 25 S. Washington Street, Easton, Maryland.

Reservations are required and the cost is FREE for THS members and $5 for non-members.

If you have any questions or wish to sign-up please contact the Talbot Historical Society at 410-822-0773 or email kaylaw@talbothistory.org

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Collector’s Day: Native American Artifacts

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It’s not every day that centuries old Native American artifacts are offered for public display but that’s exactly what is happening at the Talbot Historical Society on March 25th from 10am-4pm.

Two rooms of THS will be filled with amazing artifact collections together with their owners/finders. It is an opportunity to view local collections up close with the enduring remnants of Native American culture in our region. The stone tools date from 500 to over 10,000 years ago. Many Talbot County collections will be displayed for the first time! This event also gives participants the opportunity to learn about the objects that they have questions about with several experts including Terry Crannell. Mr. Crannell has been curator of Dorchester County Historical Society’s Native American department for 16 years, past president of the Mid-Shore Chapter of the Archaeological Society of Maryland and founder of the Mid-Shore Archaeology Club. We encourage you to bring in your artifacts and the team will make every effort to identify, date and offer their insight.

Saturday March 25th, 2023 from 10am to 4pm. Location: 25 S. Washington Street, Easton, Maryland

FREE for THS members and $5 for non-members. If you have any questions please contact the Talbot Historical Society at 410-822-0773 or email kaylaw@talbothistory.org.

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Date with History Lecture Series with Photographer and Author Jeff McGuiness

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Frederick Douglass was born in Talbot County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and lived there for eleven years enslaved during the first twenty years of his life. His Talbot experience, eloquently documented in his three best-selling autobiographies, became the most powerful slave narrative in American literature. One of the most popular speakers of his time, he traveled constantly advocating for abolition, emancipation and civil rights. His Talbot narrative was his oratory’s driving force.

For five years, Jeff McGuiness worked on a photographic essay of the places in Talbot County where Frederick Douglass lived, worked, and suffered before making his triumphal return later in life. His photobook, Bear Me Into Freedom: The Talbot County of Frederick Douglass, was published by the St. Michaels Museum in October of 2022.

Jeff McGuiness is a photographer and writer fascinated by history, politics, art, and photography. He lives in St. Michaels on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. For the past five years, he has worked on a photographic essay of the place where Frederick Douglass was born and lived for eleven years enslaved—Talbot County, Maryland. His photobook, published in November of 2022 by the St. Michaels Museum, is entitled Bear Me Into Freedom: The Talbot County of Frederick Douglass. We are pleased to have Jeff speak during Black History Month and share his journey in producing this stunning photobook.

Join us for the Talbot Historical Society’s “A Date with History” lecture series featuring Jeff McGuiness
February 1, 2023 at 1 pm
Location: 25 S. Washington Street Easton, MD 21601
Reservations are required and the cost is FREE for THS members and $5 for non-members.
If you have any questions or wish to sign-up please contact the Talbot Historical Society at 410-822-0773 or email kaylaw@talbothistory.org

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“A Date with History” Lecture Series Presents: Catching Shadow

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Photo by Anne Nielsen

Award-winning photographer Anne Nielsen will share her journey and process for creating her stunning black and white photographs of 21st century Native Americans living on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The photographs are now on display at the Talbot Historical Society in an exhibit entitled “Catching Shadows.”Joining Anne will be members from Native American tribes from the Eastern Shore.

The Talbot Historical Society’s “A Date with History” lecture series presents photographer Anne Nielsen along with members of Native American Tribes of the Eastern Shore. Anne will discuss the process for creating the moving photographs now on display at the Talbot Historical Society and tribe members will discuss Native American life in the 21st Century.

Anne describes the process as follows, “These images are enlarged copies of portraits made with the 19th century wet plate process.A wet plate camera is basically a wooden box. Attached to this box is a brass lens that focuses the daylight so that it falls on a glass plate. There is no shutter or light meter so the exposure time is an educated guess.”

Anne graduated with a BA degree in Art History and began working in New York city where she established her own photography studio. She has recently moved back to Maryland’s Eastern Shore where she continues her photographic work.

The Talbot Historical Society’s “A Date with History” lecture series featuring Anne Nielsen
January 28, 2023 at 1 pm
Location: Waterfowl Building, 40 S. Harrison St, Easton, MD 21601
A reception will follow at the Talbot Historical Society, 25 S. Washington Street, Easton, MD 21601

Reservations are required and the cost is FREE for THS members and $5 for non-members.

If you have any questions or wish to sign-up please contact the Talbot Historical Society at 410-822-0773 or email kaylaw@talbothistory.org

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Talbot Historical Society Announces Major Donation from Carolyn Miller

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Richard C. Trippe, President of the Talbot Historical Society, announces a major donation from Carolyn Miller, former Vice President of the Society. The funds are designated for the restoration of the Society’s two historic properties on West Street, Joseph’s Cottage and the residence at 18 West Street.

Carolyn mentioned her long term commitment to the Society, stating “I feel passionate about restoring the West Street properties as they are such a key part of the campus.” Rich Trippe commented on the importance of the restoration process to bringing the campus up to standard, saying “Carolyn’s funds will enable us to fully restore the two buildings. It is a dream come true.”

The mission of the Society is to preserve, communicate and celebrate the rich heritage of Talbot County by educating residents and visitors alike.

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Poplar Island: An International Model of Innovative Reuse

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Kristina Motley

Learn about Poplar Island’s unique story and continuing habitat successes at this talk given by Kristina Motley, Senior Environmental Specialist, from Maryland Environmental Service. Poplar Island is an environmental restoration project located in the Chesapeake Bay in Talbot County, Maryland. The beneficial use project, started in the 1990’s, relies on dredged material collected from the approach channels to the Baltimore Harbor to restore lost remote island habitat within the Chesapeake Bay. The project partnership between Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Maryland Environmental Service has been in place for over 20 years and has seen the restoration of almost 400 acres of wetland habitat. Upland habitat and additional wetland habitat are planned and the island is slated to be completed in the 2040’s. Over 400 different species of wildlife have been documented and over 30 different birds have been confirmed as nesting onsite.

The Talbot Historical Society’s “A Date with History” lecture series about Poplar Island, November 9th, 2022 at 1 pm. Location: The Denton Extended Museum and Hill Research Center, located at 25 S. Washington Street, Easton, Maryland. Reservations are required and the cost is FREE for THS members and $5 for non-members. If you have any questions or wish to sign-up please contact the Talbot Historical Society at 410-822-0773 or email kaylaw@talbothistory.org

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Talbot Historical Society Lecture Series Featuring Prof. Michael Olmert

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The Talbot Historical Society will have “A Date with History” lecture series featuring Prof. Michael Olmert. October 13th at 1 pm at THS: The Denton Extended Museum and Hill Research Center, located at 25 S. Washington Street, Easton, Maryland.

Reservations are required and the cost is FREE for THS members and $5 for non-members. Please RSVP by October 12th.

Prof. Michael Olmert

Professor Olmert will be speaking on “Ink, Paint, Bricks: Intention & Ambiguity in Art”.

This illustrated talk will cover Easton’s own Neall house (1804-10), Scottish painter Henry Raeburn’s “The Skating Minister” (1795), and an 1819 poem by John Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn” (1819). The talk will be based on Olmert’s forthcoming book, which is to do with intention, interpretation, and meaning in writing, painting, and buildings. The book will have ten chapters, each covering one building, one book or poem, and one painting.

Prof. Olmert has been teaching Shakespeare and drama at the University of Maryland English Department for 36 years. He spoke at THS last September on “The Invention of Colonial Williamsburg.” He also wrote The Smithsonian Book of Books (1992), Milton’s Teeth & Ovid’s Umbrella (1996), and Kitchens, Smokehouses, & Privies (2009). His TV writing has won three Primetime Emmys. He’s written 80 television documentaries, as well as 4 books, 7 plays, 3 feature films, an IMAX film, and 200 articles, essays, and reviews. In 2005, he was inducted into the University of Maryland Alumni Hall of Fame.

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“A Date with History” Lecture Series Presents: The Bay From Above, 75 Years of Change

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Aerial Photographer Hunter H. Harris, using a dual projection system, will present a series of dramatic oblique aerial photographs showing changes in the local landscape over the past 75 years. These oblique aerial photographs chronicle, in a very unique way, the history of the area including the towns, the rivers and their watersheds. “Many of the changes that I discovered while creating this series were not what I expected! These aerials really show us how we have changed our landscape forever from an unusual viewpoint”.

This lecture is presented in conjunction with “The Bay from Above” Exhibit at the Talbot Historical Society. The exhibit is on loan from the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and presents mid 1900s aerial photographs of the Chesapeake Bay by photographer H. Robins Hollyday and compares them with aerial photographic images of the exact same locations taken by our presenter, Hunter Harris.

Hunter Harris

Hunter H. Harris is a 5th generation Eastern Shore native who has spent well over 12,000 hours flying all kinds of aircraft all over the US. He is commercially licensed by the FAA to fly every “category” of aircraft that exist. This includes Airplanes: single and multiengine land or sea, Helicopters, Gliders (sailplanes) and Lighter-than-Air – Airships (blimps).

Hunter was born in Chestertown and raised in Kent County on Bloomingneck Farm along the Chesapeake Bay. Having the opportunity to grow up along the water helped fuel a genuine respect and appreciation for being near the Bay.  He now resides in Talbot County.

The Talbot Historical Society’s “A Date with History” lecture series featuring Hunter Harris

September 21, 2022 at 1 pm

Location: The Denton Extended Museum and Hill Research Center, located at 25 S. Washington Street, Easton, Maryland. Reservations are required and the cost is FREE for THS members and $5 for non-members.

If you have any questions or wish to sign-up please contact the Talbot Historical Society at 410-822-0773 or email kaylaw@talbothistory.org.

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Talbot Historical Society Opens New African American Exhibit

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The Talbot Historical Society (THS) celebrated the grand opening of the new “Voices of the African American Experience Exhibit” on Saturday, October 2, 2021.

The exhibit captures, preserves, and elevates facets of the rich history of the African American population at work, play, worship, home and school in Talbot County. It recognizes the pivotal roles African American churches have played in helping to shape that history, especially in the face of racial oppression, obstruction, and other challenges.  The exhibit focuses on the timeframe of the 1970s and earlier and gives voice to the African American experience primarily through the lens of eleven early African American churches in the county, established during the 1800s and still functioning today: namely, Asbury United Methodist Church, Easton; Bethel A.M.E. Church, Easton; New Queen Esther A.M.E. Church, Ivytown; New St. John’s United Methodist Church, Wittman; Scotts United Methodist Church, Trappe; St. Luke United Methodist Church, Bellevue; St. Matthew United Methodist Church, Longwoods; St. Stephen’s A.M.E. Church, Unionville; Union Baptist Church, Easton; Union United Methodist Church, St. Michaels; and Waters United Methodist Church, Oxford.

Public at the opening of the new museum space.

The opening for the exhibit featured a live performance of the “Evolution of Gospel Music” created by Leroy and Richard Potter.  Performance participants included soloist Lane Morgan, soloist Chris Barnett, the Friends for Christgospel singing group, and praise dancer Raven Gill.

The exhibit was a project of the THS Board of Directors African American Advisory Committee, chaired by Dr. L. Bradley Baker.  The lead researcher and archivist for the exhibit was Dr. Willie G. Woods.  Other committee members included Cathy Hill, Larry Denton, Bob Shannahan, Elinor Cecil, THS General Manager Peggy Morey, and early-on Michael Cone.

Input from a host of community members was received, with primary contributions from Naomi Thomas, Leola Brown, Carlene Phoenix, Marcia Potter, Pamela Clay, Jo Ann Asparagus Murray, Harriette Lowery, Rev. Nancy Dennis, Walter Black, Blanche Jenkins, Richard Potter, Teresa Greene, Shirlee Chase, Albert Brooks, Colonel William De Shields, Edsel Turner, Jacqueline Greene, Sandra Butler, Ezola Webb, Paula Bell, Stephanie Chester, Eric Dashiell, Jennifer Reed, Jim Dawson, Charlene DeShields, Gladys Giddings, Mary Taylor-Acree, Vernette Palmer, and Elizabeth Stephens. The exhibit display was designed by Assemble Company’s Patrick Rogan.

The “Voices of the African American Experience Exhibit” will be a permanent exhibit housed in the Mary Jenkins House Talbot County Museum on the campus of the Talbot Historical Society on Washington Street in Easton. The exhibit is dynamic, with the opportunity for additional community input during a designated timeframe. The new museum room will be open for public viewing Wednesdays through Fridays 10:00 am – 3:00 pm and Saturdays 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.

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