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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.

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
CharactersWay Back Machine

HEROES OF DELMARVA: 5 Things About Col. Tench Tilghman, Revolutionary Star

Tench Tilghman served in the Revolutionary War as a top aide to George Washington, who praised the Talbot County, Md. native generously for his advice, loyalty, and trustworthiness. After the British surrendered at Yorktown, Washington assigned to Tilghman the task of making a mad dash to the nation’s capital in Philadelphia to deliver official word of the triumph. (1) That Weird First Name The tench…
October 24, 2020
From the BooksWay Back Machine

The Day Seaford, Delaware Went ‘Almost Hysterical with Joy,’ 1938

This is an excerpt from Eastern Shore Road Trips #2: 26 MORE One-Day Adventures on Delmarva. Each chapter in the book includes not just modern-day travel destinations, but historical snippets that give a sense for the history and culture of the place at hand. The peach boom that had lifted the fortunes of so many Delaware farmers and businesses for so long came to a…
September 30, 2020
CharactersDelmarva WisdomWay Back Machine

Conversation in the Fields: How Warner Mifflin Became an Early Champion of Freedom in Slavery Times

There is a fascinating scene from colonial times to put in your mind’s eye the next time you are headed toward Greenbackville, Va. That pretty little waterfront town sits just below the Maryland border. Getting there involves traveling along State Line Road, where you’ll pass Captain’s Cove, a big modern housing development with a golf course, a marina, and lots of other amenities. In the…
September 30, 2020
Way Back Machine

In 1960, the ‘Labor Day Riot’ Had a Mob of 2,500 Angry Teens Marching the Streets of Ocean City, Md.

The incident that set off the Labor Day Riot in Ocean City, Md. back in 1960 seems a trifling affair. Late in the evening of Sat., Sept. 4, the owner of a boardwalk arcade and a young man from Baltimore got into a spat. The arcade owner, George J. Galkas, thought the young man was crossing the line out of teenage fun and into delinquency.…
September 6, 2020
Quote of the DayWay Back Machine

A Day in the Life of a Child in Chopank, Md., early 1900s

I am not sure which individual is responsible for the memory I'm sharing here, as my source material was the work not of a single author, but of a committee of volunteers. Back in 1976, the Choptank Bicentennial Committee put together a little booklet to mark 200 years of American independence by celebrating life in their own little town, which lies on the river of…
September 1, 2020
Quote of the DayWay Back Machine

“Like a Visit to Another World:” Remembering Childhood Steamboat Trips on the Choptank River in Times Gone By

Sometimes, the best-laid productivity plans in a day go awry. I ventured into the Maryland Room of the Talbot County Free Library in Easton, Md. one day to research a very specific topic within a tight time window. Alas, I stumbled upon a little pamphlet titled "Memories of Choptank" while thumbing through a shelf. The title is a reference not to the river, but to…
August 29, 2020
DestinationsWay Back Machine

“Men Going Places & Building Things:” The Steamboat Glory Days of Little Choptank, Md.

If you visit the town of Choptank today, you'll encounter a quiet little town of 120 or so souls set on a glorious bit of waterfront scenery in Caroline County, Md. Located a few miles below Preston, Choptank stands a little way above where the Choptank River takes a big bend to the west at the mouth of Hunting Creek. It's a pleasant place for…
August 28, 2020