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Way Back Machine

Stories about the way things were on the Delmarva Peninsula–the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and Delaware.

Frederick Douglass Flies to Freedom FEATURED PHOTO SIZED
BOOK SAMPLE, Sept. 2025: Frederick Douglass Flies to Freedom, 1838 From the BooksMiscellanyTubman TravelsWay Back Machine

BOOK SAMPLE, Sept. 2025: Frederick Douglass Flies to Freedom, 1838

AUTHOR NOTE: Every month here I feature a free book excerpt to give folks a taste of the style and content of the books I've written about the Delmarva Peninsula. September is the month when the great Frederick Douglass escaped slavery, so I thought I would include that chapter on that turn of events from my book, Tubman Travels: 32 Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva. Each…
August 25, 2025
Matthew Roberts Escape FEATURED PHOTO SIZED
It Oughta Be a Movie: The Miraculous Flight to Freedom of Matthew Roberts, 1863 MiscellanyWay Back Machine

It Oughta Be a Movie: The Miraculous Flight to Freedom of Matthew Roberts, 1863

PRELIMINARY NOTE: After learning about the astounding story of Matthew Roberts, I decided to try my hand at sketching out a movie concept. The style here is a little different from what I usually do. Let me know what you think in the comments! Scene 1: Prologue, Miles River Neck Aerial view of Chesapeake Bay and shoreline landscapes, camera eventually swinging onto Miles River Neck…
August 22, 2025
The One Best Place WC Thurston Poet Featured Photo SIZED
Quote of the Day, 1938: “The Eastern Shore is a most delightful land; the one best place … to live and love and work.” Quote of the DayWay Back Machine

Quote of the Day, 1938: “The Eastern Shore is a most delightful land; the one best place … to live and love and work.”

In 1938 a beloved Salisbury book shop owner and poet named W.C. Thurston served as editor of a book titled The Eastern Shore in Song and Story: A Tribute from its Loyal Sons and Daughters to a Pleasant Peninsula. It's a compilation of essays about and samples from various writers and songwriters whose work sings the praises of our Eastern Shore. I haven't read the…
May 17, 2025
Boom Times Bridgeville Featured Photo
Delaware Quote of the Day: “Boom Times” Come to Bridgeville, 1905 Quote of the DayWay Back Machine

Delaware Quote of the Day: “Boom Times” Come to Bridgeville, 1905

In August of 1905 the Wilmington Morning News sent a reporter down to Sussex County to do a story about big happenings in little Bridgeville. That writer started his article talking about famous booms from recent decades--the various gold rushes out West and oil gushers down in Texas. How could a little crossroads town in the middle of Sussex nowhere compare? The boom which has…
May 8, 2025
Hardest Days Work Saxis Island from Almost an Island FEATURED PHOTO
EASTERN SHORE QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Hardest day’s work I ever did in my life …” Quote of the DayWay Back Machine

EASTERN SHORE QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Hardest day’s work I ever did in my life …”

Ellsworth Linton never forgot "the hardest day's work I ever did in my life." It came in the midst of the Great Depression, 1937. The buyboat J.C. Drewer pulled into Saxis Island one morning with 2,180 bushels of oysters that had been harvested from across the Chesapeake Bay in the James River. He and just one other worker spent that entire day shoveling oysters into…
April 21, 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
Deep Freeze and Hudson Seal Muskrat Featured Photo
The Deep Freeze of 1926: Muskrats to the Rescue! Way Back Machine

The Deep Freeze of 1926: Muskrats to the Rescue!

A deep freeze descended on the Chesapeake Bay early in 1926. Then that ice melted, and the big floes rode the waves, causing all kinds of havoc in the area of the Chesapeake Bay around Hooper Straits. Wilmington Evening Journal headline: ICE STORM WRECKS BIG OYSTER PLANTS The story is datelined Wingate, Md., which is in the lower southern reaches of Dorchester County. Property loss…
December 31, 2024
2024 Most Popular Stories Web Post Featured Photo
Envelope, Please! The 20 Most Popular Stories of 2024 The NewsroomWay Back Machine

Envelope, Please! The 20 Most Popular Stories of 2024

Hey, big thanks to all of who visited the Secrets website in 2024! Here, without further ado, are links to the 20 most popular stories as decided by readers. FYI, many of these stories appear in one or another of the five books I have written about travel, history, and culture on the Delmarva Peninsula. Here is where you can find more info about those…
December 30, 2024
Starving Time Holland Island Featured Photo scene is from Tilghman 1918
The Starving Time on Holland Island. Or Maybe Not? From the BooksWay Back Machine

The Starving Time on Holland Island. Or Maybe Not?

This is a free chapter excerpt from You Wouldn't Believe, my book of stories about days gone by on our peninsula. The subtitle is 44 Strange and Wondrous Delmarva Tales. You can find info on the book and buy it here. There are stories about booze, murder, madness, romance, adventure, and well, flying mayonnaise jars. This one is a wintry affair set on old Holland…
December 28, 2024