The poet Folger McKinsey was born in Elkton, Md. in 1866 and got his start as a journalist and writer in the Eastern’s Shore’s Cecil County. Later, he became a newspaperman for the Baltimore Sun. There, he eventually became “staff poet”–yup, the Sun did have have such a position.
At Christmastime in 1919, McKinsey published a poem titled “The Hills of Pine.” Most of it is set in Western Maryland, actually, but there is one gorgeous stanza that speaks to an Eastern Shore Christmas. Here goes:
“And always down the Eastern Shore
Those plains of pine, in lands of lore,
Those groves of quiet peace and rest
Set like a jewel on Talbot’s breast
These, too, I see in visions filled
With memories of Christmas hours
When childhood’s heart and soul were thrilled
With dreams of nature’s magic powers,
Through which the tree glowed warm and bright
Set by the flickering chimney light.”
The photo up top here here is “Sunrise at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge” by Jill Jasuta Photography. You can lots of her work at this link.
–posted by Jim Duffy for Whimbrel Creations LLC/Secrets of the Eastern Shore in December 2025.
