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Miscellany

MiscellanyTubman TravelsWay Back Machine

Young Harriet Tubman Finds Her Strength, With a Little Help from Her Father

This is an excerpt from my book, Tubman Travels: 32 Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva. A smidgeon of background: This story begins while an adolescent Harriet Tubman—her name in her younger days was Minty—is in the midst of a long recovery after suffering a near-fatal head injury when hit in the head by a hardware-store metal weight flung by a plantation overseer. Early in 2021,…
May 31, 2021
MiscellanyQuote of the DayWay Back Machine

Life & Times in Old-Fashioned Country Stores, 1918 (with lots of photos!)

I was looking up something else in the February 23, 1918 edition of the Denton (Md.) Journal when I got distracted by the wonderful little essay below. It’s about the many roles that general stores and their shopkeepers filled in the communities of Delmarva around that time. There was no headline on the piece. Nor was there a byline. Old newspapers can be weird like…
March 1, 2021
MiscellanyQuote of the DayWay Back Machine

Harvest Time in the 1850s: The Key to Success Was … wait … Whiskey on the Job?

The Delmarva Peninsula "Quote of the Day" is a regular feature around here. What I do is share funny, enlightening, or otherwise interesting tidbits that I come across while reading up on the history and culture of our communities. This one comes from the 1976 book Trappe: The Story of an Old-Fashioned Town by Dickson Preston. Trappe is located just up from the Choptank River…
October 30, 2020
MiscellanyQuote of the DayWay Back Machine

Saxis on a Saturday Night! Scene from the Eastern Shore of Virginia, 1928

Saxis is a remote, real-deal watermen community on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. I visited there while working on my book, Eastern Shore Road Trips #1: 27 One-Day Adventures on Delmarva. It's a quiet place nowadays, with one fun restaurant, one tiki bar, and a local history museum being the main attractions for visitors outside of the waterfront, the marshland scenery, and the local people.…
August 2, 2020
Good Times & Fun EventsMiscellanyMonth of Fundays Newsletter

Month of Fundays June 2020: Stories, Fun, and More on the Delmarva Peninsula

The June 2020 MONTH OF FUNDAYS is chock full of stories, videos and other fun little tidbits about the history and culture of the Delmarva Peninsula. Plus, fun ideas for adventuring along the backroads! Click here to see the June 2020 edition. Here’s hoping it brings a little happiness into these crazy days. Thank you for reading!
June 3, 2020
MiscellanyThe Newsroom

Talks & Presentations: Introducing Your Group to the Landscape & People of Delmarva

Jim Duffy is a writer and storyteller who lives on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The author of several popular “Secrets of the Eastern Shore” books about travel, history, and culture on the Delmarva Peninsula, he is an engaging speaker who has delivered scores of talks to civic groups and business gatherings, delighting audiences with funny, fascinating, and moving tales from days gone by on the Eastern…
December 27, 2019
MiscellanyQuote of the DayWay Back Machine

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Steamboats, Steers, & Slapstick on the Choptank River

A couple of months back I had a great time reading Trappe: The Story of an Old-Fashioned Town by the historian Dickson Preston. Trappe is in Talbot County, Md., across the Choptank River from Cambridge. Preston spends some pages in there discussing the steamboats that used to ride up and down the Choptank, including the Avalon and the Joppa. The section at hand here begins…
November 21, 2019
MiscellanyThe Newsroom

A New Book of Delmarva Road Trips!

In a brand-new book, Cambridge-based author Jim Duffy spills more "Secrets of the Eastern" while wandering the towns, backroads, beaches, and waterways of the Delmarva Peninsula in hopes of inspiring readers to get out and follow in his footsteps. The book is titled Eastern Shore Road Trips 2: 26 MORE One-Day Adventures on Delmarva. “That’s really my goal here,” says Duffy, the co-founder of Secrets…
August 3, 2019
Miscellany

Where to Buy Eastern Shore Road Trips #2 in Stores

Here are the stores that are carrying Eastern Shore Road Trips 2: 26 MORE One Day Adventures on Delmarva. Always best to call in advance before making a special trip! LOWER EASTERN SHORE OF MARYLAND Ward Museum, Salisbury Delmarva Discovery Museum, Pocomoke City Pam’s Hallmark (South Salisbury Boulevard), Salisbury Pam’s Hallmark, West Ocean City Down Under Books, the Ocean City boardwalk MIDDLE EASTERN SHORE OF MARYLAND…
August 3, 2019
Miscellany

Eastern Shore Road Trips #2: Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS Eastern Shore Road Trips #2: 26 MORE One-Day Adventures on Delmarva TOWNS 1 St. Michaels, Md. 2 Onancock, Va. 3 Laurel & Seaford, Del. 4 Elkton & North East, Md. 5 Accomac, Va. 6 Snow Hill, Md. 7 Wilmington, Del. Riverwalk 8 Eastville & Savage Neck, Va. ISLANDS 9 Kent Island, Md. 10 Smith Island, Md. & Tangier Island, Va. 11 Hoopers…
June 23, 2019