Skip to main content
Category

Characters

One-of-a-kind people on the Delmarva Peninsula–the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and Delaware.

Hoopers Island Christmas 1920 FEATURED Image SIZED
WAY BACK MACHINE: A Hoopers Island Christmas in the 1920s CharactersQuote of the DayWay Back Machine

WAY BACK MACHINE: A Hoopers Island Christmas in the 1920s

The late Tom Flowers, who grew up on Hoopers Island during the 1920s and 1930s, ranks as a legendary figure in Dorchester County, Md. One of the many hats he wore in life was that of storyteller--he would make the rounds of local civic groups and events, sharing tales from days gone by. He collected some of his stories into a book, "Shore Folklore." Here…
December 1, 2025
Samuel Burris FEATURED PHOTO
Saved from the Auction Block: Underground Railroad Hero Samuel Burris CharactersWay Back Machine

Saved from the Auction Block: Underground Railroad Hero Samuel Burris

The story below is a draft that has not yet been published in a Secrets of the Eastern Shore book. If you are interested in the inspiring true-life stories of the heroes of Underground Railroad times on Delmarva, the book to get is Tubman Travels: 32 Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva.  OK, Here is that story about Delaware's Samuel Burris: There’s something wrong in the…
October 29, 2025
Lettie Callaway Hard Worker Featured Photo SIZED
Lettie Callaway’s rule for life: “Yes, siree, I don’t mind workin’!” CharactersWay Back Machine

Lettie Callaway’s rule for life: “Yes, siree, I don’t mind workin’!”

I was wandering around one of the historical society museums in Harrington, Del., when I came across a yellowed clipping from the Delaware State News, dated Jan. 2, 1972. The intriguing headline caught my eye. So did the infectious smile of an old woman in a photo. Here is the headline: Lettie Callaway, One Hard Worker From first word to last, the story by reporter…
March 31, 2025
Charles Tindley Playlist Featured Photo
Book Excerpt: The Musical Innovations of Charles Tindley CharactersFrom the BooksWay Back Machine

Book Excerpt: The Musical Innovations of Charles Tindley

This is an excerpt from my short-read e-book: "I Will Overcome: The Soul Stirring Life of Charles A. Tindley" ($2.99 at this link). Born into dire poverty during late slavery times on Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore, Tindley rose to incredible heights in life. As a minister, he built one of America's first "megachurches" with more than 10,000 members. As an activist, he fought the good…
May 27, 2024
From Frankford to the Front Lines and Back: World War II Hero Ernest Marvel CharactersWay Back Machine

From Frankford to the Front Lines and Back: World War II Hero Ernest Marvel

NOTE: This is a special guest post. Lucas Pineda Walls is my 13-year-old great nephew. In getting to know him I learned about his great interest in World War II—almost obsessive, actually. I asked him if he would be interested in telling the story of one of our Delmarva veterans from that greatest generation. This is a lightly edited version of the story that he…
July 20, 2023
John H Muiholland Featured Photo
This Milford, Del. Man Helped Ice Cream Parlors Take Off in the 1920s CharactersFrom the BooksWay Back Machine

This Milford, Del. Man Helped Ice Cream Parlors Take Off in the 1920s

This is a free excerpt from my book, You Wouldn't Believe! 44 Strange & Wondrous Delmarva Tales. That's right, the book has 43 other stories like this one. Info on the book here. The only folks who screamed for ice cream when that delicacy first came on the market were the filthy rich. The history of the ice cream parlors we know today dates back…
March 1, 2023
William Major Parker: The Pioneering Black Keeper at Killick Shoal Lighthouse CharactersWay Back Machine

William Major Parker: The Pioneering Black Keeper at Killick Shoal Lighthouse

Stories from the golden age of lighthouses in the 1800s tend to be white-men-only affairs for sad and obvious reasons—slavery, discrimination, and prejudice. But tantalizing exceptions to this rule are out there, including the remarkable story of William Major Parker and his career as a keeper on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. We’ll meet him in a moment. First, a smidgeon of scene-setting. The work…
February 25, 2023
Doris Todd Muskat Bikini Featured Photo SIZED
About that Girl in the Muskrat Bikini … CharactersWay Back Machine

About that Girl in the Muskrat Bikini …

A couple of years back the Preston (Md.) Historical Society put a photo of an old newspaper article up on social media. The story was from the Preston News & Farmer in 1939. Headline: "Sleep Walking Child ... Falls from Second Floor About 3 A.M." The gist of the story: "Little Doris Todd, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Todd, fell from the second-floor window of…
February 19, 2023
Robbins Davis Dawgs Featured Image Georgia Cambridge
How Bout Them Dawgs? The Crazy Connection Between Georgia Football and Cambridge, Md. CharactersWay Back Machine

How Bout Them Dawgs? The Crazy Connection Between Georgia Football and Cambridge, Md.

The 2022 college football season begins in earnest in the month I'm writing this, and the defending champion Georgia Bulldogs are once again ranked among the nation's top teams. I can sense the question forming in your mind: What in the world does this have to do with the Delmarva Peninsula? Executive summary: • Georgia's official nickname is "Bulldogs." • The team's rabid fan base…
August 27, 2022
Featured Photo Escape from Lewes Storm with Boat Sized
Rowing to Freedom: A Long & Stormy Escape from Lewes CharactersWay Back Machine

Rowing to Freedom: A Long & Stormy Escape from Lewes

Picture yourself standing on the Delaware coast, somewhere near Lewes. "A fierce gale was blowing" on that January morning in the mid-1800s. "The waves were running fearfully high." Three friends stand with you on that shoreline. Today was supposed to be the day you would make a shared and cherished dream come true. Everything was planned to perfection, except for this weather. The four men…
June 2, 2022