For Jeanne Yeager, one of the original leaders of the Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence, 40 years of service to women and their children suffering domestic violence seems like yesterday. The brainchild of a few brave women in Caroline County who were growing concerned about the increase of violence in area homes, the Mid-Shore began offering services to victims that no federal, state or local government could provide at the time.

Over the last four decades, the Mid-Shore’s portfolio grew from finding safe shelters for families in need but began to diversity by dramatically increasing its mental health care and support groups and, more recently, bringing in volunteer lawyers to help with divorce and child custody matters, the creation of food pantries in all five the counties, and improving internet-based programs to reach more families in need.

In the Spy’s ongoing series celebrating 20 years of grantmaking by the Women & Girls Fund, we talk to Jeanne about this unique program. We also ask WGF board member and attorney Karen Kaludis, one of those early pioneers in the field of domestic violence, to talk about her long-term relationship Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence.

This video is approximately 6 minutes in length. For information about the Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence please go here.  For the Women & Girls Fund please go here.

One way the Spy thought it could best honor the late (and very great) George Merrill, our Sunday morning columnist for the past eight years, was to check in with Wilson Wyatt a few weeks ago to discuss a suitable successor. Wilson is the publisher and driving force behind one the region’s great literary gems, the Delmarva Review, and it was his kind recommendation that led us to George in 2014. 

Laura Oliver

Back then, I was looking for a unique voice to anchor our Sunday edition. Eager to depart from our weekday pieces on politics and local matters, George’s spiritual, almost transcendental, subject matter was a perfect way for the Sunday edition of the Spy to challenge its readers with the unexpected musings from a creative writer rather than an opinion maker.

The Spy’s goal after George’ passing, which was shared by Wilson, was not to find someone who could replicate his themes or voice but to use this slower Sunday morning space to explore and celebrate writing itself. And on the top of his list was the author and writing teacher, Laura Oliver.

With that as background, the Spy is delighted to announce that Laura Oliver will be our Sunday columnist starting today.

Laura is an award-winning book editor and writing coach who has taught writing at the University of Maryland and St. John’s College. She is the author of The Story Within (Penguin Random House), named by “Poets and Writers Magazine” as one of the best writing books ever published. Oliver’s own fiction and essays are published in national newspapers, magazines, and top-tier literary reviews such as The Washington Post, Country Living Magazine, The Writer Magazine, The Sun Magazine, Baltimore Review and Glimmer Train.

A graduate of Washington College and with an MFA from Bennington College’s highly regarded writing program, Laura has called Annapolis her home for most of her adult life. I hope that the Spy’s readers will join me in welcoming her to her new virtual home every Sunday and enjoy her deeply engaging essays for many years to come.

Dave Wheelan
Publisher and Executive Editor