A trip through the Chesapeake Bay area in Maryland to learn about the fascinating history and coastal maritime traditions including excursions to Tangier and Smith Islands.

1. Road Scholar -Marine Heritage
For one week, I took a Road Scholar class
about the colorful Chesapeake Bay and its
isolated islands while learning about its
cultural heritage, fascinating history and
coastal maritime traditions with the Crisfield
Heritage Foundation.
I learned firsthand about the bay’s active
seafood industry, visited seafood processing
sites and experience daily life in the small
fishing town of Crisfield. I savored local
meals in a variety of restaurants featuring a
variety of seafood including crab, oysters
and fish.
Classes were held at the museum
overlooking one of the Chesapeake’s largest
marinas. Here I learned about the harvest of
the bay and how seafood such as oysters
and crabs are processed and shipped
worldwide.
I enjoyed cooking demonstrations and heard
historians and watermen describe their
cultural heritage
Lastly I enjoyed exciting boat excursions to
distant Tangier Island and Smith Island.

2. Where is Crisfield?

3. Captain Tyler’s Motel
A Lovely room with a queen
size bed, couch and
oversize chair with an ugly
floral pattern, a microwave,
refrigerator, flat screen TV
and a large Jacuzzi.

4. The Cove Motel
Captain Tyler’s Motel recently bought and renovated this
restaurant and converted the upper level into a motel. This is
where I actually stayed as indicated by the pictures on the
previous slide.

5. Our Tour
Leader
Charles A. Petrocci has
traveled and worked in more
than 35 countries and has
written over 900 articles and
reports.
He currently serves as a
maritime cultural heritage
researcher and consultant for
numerous reputable
universities, museums, and
non-profit
organizations/foundations.
Mr. Petrocci's lectures focus
on coastal maritime history,
fisheries, and the heritage of
the Atlantic Coast.
Charlie is also an onboard
expert for American Cruise
Line.

6. J Millard Tawes Historical Museum
The J. Millard Tawes Historical Museum is the central hub for Crisfield’s
Historic District. The Museum is in Somers Cove Marina, adjacent to
the area that was patented in 1663 as “Emmesox” by an original
settler, Benjamin Somers.
Here there are displays and exhibits that introduce and further
educate you to the heritage of Crisfield and surrounding areas. The
museum shares the story of Chesapeake life starting with the first
humans to inhabit the area over 10,000 years ago to the era of when
Crisfield was the seafood capitol of the world.

7. Kim
Lawson
Kim Lawson was
elected Mayor of
Crisfield with a total
of 284 votes.
He is a businessman
and retired as a
registered nurse; has
also served two
consecutive terms as
a council member,
including his current
term, and a term in
the 1990s.
He spoke to us about
the history of
Crisfield.

8. Inside Tawes Museum

9. Crabs
Oysters
Watermen

10. Walking Around Crisfield

12. Traveling to Tangiers Island Virginia

13. Tangier Island
Passing smaller islands with
expensive summer houses on them
we arrive at Tangiers Island.
Tangier, dubbed the “soft crab
capital” of the nation, is a unique
island located in the middle of the
Chesapeake Bay. If you would like to
see an unspoiled fishing village with
quaint, narrow streets, then take a
step back in time and visit Tangier
Island today!

14. Crab Pots and Crabs on Tangier

15. First Stop Lunch – Crab Cakes & Veggies

17. Inside Tangier History Museum

18. The
Wallaces of
Tangier
I was quite fortunate to
meet Mr. Wallace – The
grandson of Dollie and
Sydney. We spoke for a
long time about his
ancestors who are
buried here, as he
tended to their graves.
He told me that many
places on the island are
named after his family.
e.g. Wallace Road,
Crockett & Wallace
Store, J.E. Wallace & Co.
Store, The Wallacedale
Theater, The Sydney
Wallace House, and
several others.

19. David Nichols
Health Center
Next to Local Cemetery

20. Tangier Combined School Tangier Combined School is a public
school located in Tangier, VA. The new
school building was built in 1998. It has
65 students in grades K-12 with a student-
teacher ratio of 6 to 1. According to state
test scores, 75% of students are at least
proficient in math and 75% in reading. All
of the students and staff of their school
live on the island, and pupil/teacher ratio
is small. Last year, a senior class of 7
students (2 girls and 5 boys) graduated
from Tangier Combined.
Like other schools in the US this school
also has its problems. On March 27, 2018
a teen who police say made threats to
shoot up the school on Tangier Island had
been arrested, according to Accomack
County Sheriff Todd Godwin. Police did
not identify the 14-year-old because the
suspect is a minor.

21. Swain Memorial
United Methodist
Church
Built in 1899,it is easily
recognized as the focal point
and center of the Tangier's
religious activity. The Hiram
Benson Education Building,
erected in 1963 is named for a
"pillar" of the Methodist
Sunday school.
Traditional Methodist class
meetings are still held weekly
and may be the last such
gatherings of any Methodist
community in America.

23. Windows of The Swain Church

24. Osprey Nesting
Osprey typically lay eggs in April or
May. The female incubates them for
about a month, all the while fiercely
protecting the nest with her mate.
The nests are most often used year
after year and can become up to 10
feet high as more nesting materials
are added each breeding season.
Though the US Coast Guard prevents
them growing very high.

25. Station Crisfield is a multi-
mission unit. Their primary
mission is Search and Rescue
(SAR). Their other missions
include Recreational Boating
Safety, General Maritime Law
Enforcement, and Marine
Environmental Protection.

26. Coast
Guard
Station
Auxiliary members
conduct safety patrols
on local waterways,
assist in Search and
Rescue, teach boating
safety classes, conduct
free vessel safety
checks for the public,
provide boating safety
literature to dealers,
help protect the
marine environment,
as well as many other
activities related to
recreational boating
safety.

27. Coast Guard Boats

28. Chef Kathy Berenzoski
Making Crabcakes
She is the chef & owner of the
Waterman’s Inn where our group had
breakfast each morning.
Crab Cake Recipe
• 1lb lump crabmeat
• 1⁄2cup breadcrumbs
• 2eggs
• 1⁄4cup mayonnaise (do not use dressing)
• 1teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• 1⁄4teaspoon pepper
• 2tablespoonsWorcestershire sauce
• 1teaspoon dry mustard
• Mix together eggs, mayo, OLD BAY, pepper,
worcestershire sauce, and mustard, until
creamy.
• Add bread crumbs, mixing evenly.
• Add in the crab meat, being sure to mix
evenly.
• Shape into cakes.
• Makes 6 large or 9 medium crabcakes.
• Saute in pan with a little oil for about 5
minutes on each side.
• You can also broil them until brown. This may
require you to flip them, depending on your
pan.
• Serve with tartar sauce and lemon.
• Tip: Try a crabcake sandwich. I use a Martin's
Brand potato roll topped with tartar sauce
and crisp lettuce.

29. Coming Into Smith’s Island, MD

31. Start Off With Crab
Cakes & Clam Fritters
and Finish With
Smith’s Island Cake

33. Local Motel

34. Ewell Methodist Church

35. A Quaint Local Guide
Capt. Tim Marshall, Smith
Island’s unofficial natural
historian. He’s passionate
about arrowheads, spears,
Indian necklaces and artifacts;
he has an impressive museum
full of his finds.
Marshall takes visitors out to
hunt for sea glass and
arrowheads, and he knows just
where and when to look for
treasures.
http://articles.baltimoresun.co
m/2005-06-
17/news/0506170199_1_smit
h-island-chesapeake-edge

36. Spear Heads
Long Guns
Multi Shot Gun

37. Mr. Cox’s
Crab Shanty
Before
Restoration
Back at The
Crisfield Cultural
Heritage
Museum

39. Captain Eddie Somers
Giving a Talk about Crab Shanties
Captain Eddie Somers, originally from
Smith Island, and now of Crisfield, Md.
was the Captain of the Maryland buoy
tender and icebreaker J. Millard
Tawes for 28 years. Somers is now the
current volunteer President of Smith
Island United. Smith island community
has existed for over 400 years and Smith
Island United accepts it as their
responsibility to ensure that the island,
its people, and its culture are around 400
years from now.
Captain Somers serves the Crisfield
Heritage Museum and the Road Scholar
program by showcasing the true
character, knowledge, and integrity of
Chesapeake Bay watermen to Crisfield’s
locals and guests alike

40. Inside A Shanty

41. Tim Howard – Crisfield Tour
Tim was born in Crisfield and
comes from a family that has
been involved in the seafood
industry for decades. Currently,
he is the curator of the Crisfield
Heritage Foundation’s Historical
Museum. He holds a degree in
history and has been
instrumental in designing various
museum exhibits and
programing.
He lead us on a walking and a bus
tour of Crisfield as well as a
behind the scenes tour and
lecture of the museum.

42. Large Pile of Oyster ShellsFirst Baptist Church

43. The Immanuel Methodist Church
The Immanuel Methodist Church was founded in 1857 and
first met at Lovey Somers' School on Somerset Avenue in
Crisfield, MD. The first actual church was built in 1880 on Pine
Street. In 1911, the current structure was built on Main Street.

44. The Immanuel Methodist Church

45. The Ward Brothers, Lemuel T.
Ward (1897–1984)
and Steven W. Ward (1895–
1976), were two brothers
from Crisfield, Maryland, who
became famous for their
wooden wildfowl carvings,
commonly called decoys.
Originally barbers by trade,
they began carving small
decoys from cedar blocks in
their barbershop during slow
times and to help make extra
money during the winter
months.
Their decoys are highly prized
by collectors and often sell
for tens of thousands of
dollars. They adopted the
moniker 'Wildfowl
Counterfeiters in Wood' as
the motto for their carving
operation.
The Ward Brothers
Wildlife Counterfeiters in Wood

46. Inside The Ward Brothers Shop

47. Governor Millard Tawes Library
Boyhood home of John Millard Tawes, entrepreneur, banker, Democrat,
Comptroller, Treasurer, and 54th Governor of Maryland. The home has been
restored and serves as a museum, displaying the Governor’s family and political
memorabilia. The collection includes old photos, furniture and books from Mr.
Tawes’s Library. The Crisfield Heritage Foundation uses this facility for its
Executive offices and the Road Scholars last nights dinner.