An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland
Shops and galleries opened their doors wide for Chestertown’s July First Friday. For some venues it was the first day open since the pandemic began. Art galleries, from River Arts to Tish Fine Art Plus and Artists Gallery were crowded with guests celebrating the Fourth of July weekend.
We couldn’t get everyone in on our walkabout, but here’s a glimpse of some smiling faces.
This video is approximately two minutes long.
For any Kent or Queen Anne’s County family who has lost a loved one, but was fortunate to have Compass hospice support at the end of that person’s life, there should be a certain degree of gratitude for Mildred Barnette.
While most of those who use Compass’s hospice care may not have a clue who Mildred is, they owe her a lot for her vision as the founding director of Compass Hospice for the loving, compassionate care of grandparents, parents, spouses, or children at their end of life.
Fortunately, one anonymous donor did know of Mildred Barnette’s remarkable contributions to the Mid-Shore community and quietly worked with current director Heather Guerieri to provide the leadership gift for the new wing of the Compass Centreville facility. And while the Compass board respects the privacy of this generous philanthropist, the staff and volunteers can’t hide how thrilled they are with the major $5 million addition.
The addition of five new patient bedrooms, family rooms, children’s space, and a commercial kitchen, are indeed major improvements but they are also essential to Compass’s commitment to Kent and Queen Anne’s community. While most of the Compass patients can use the organization’s services at home, Shore Regional Health Chestertown hospital, or in the soon-to-be-built facility in Caroline County, the Centreville home base is now able to take on far more of the region’s most serious of cases.
The Spy sat down with Heather a few weeks ago for a quick tour of the new wing and how the Barnette Center is a perfect way to honor Mildred’s important legacy of hospice care for the entire Mid-Shore.
This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more information about Compass please go here.
As the Mid-Shore community begins a weekend of celebration of Juneteenth, the national commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, it seemed like the appropriate time to focus on the controversial “Talbot Boys” Confederate memorial that sits on the Talbot County Courthouse lawn. While the arguments for maintaining or moving the statue are now increasingly well-known to Spy readers, for the first time, we have reached out to the two organizations who have either taken the lead in preserving it where it stands now (Preserve Talbot History) or moving it (Move the Monument Coalition) to a less controversial location to provide short summaries of each group’s position.
We conclude today with Preserve Talbot History’s President David Montgomery. In his interview with the Spy, David talks about the misinterpretations those seeking to move the Talbot Boys have on the statue and a false reading of Eastern Shore history. He also talks about his organization’s proposal to build a memorial to commemorate soldiers from the Union side of the Civil War. David also responses to the recent lawsuit by the NAACP/ACLU against the Talbot County Council and how the community should embrace its full history as part of its tourism industry. Finally, he speaks about his group’s desire to see a county-wide referendum on the future of the Talbot Boys.
On Wednesday, the Spy published our interview with Move the Monument Coalition leaders Ridgely Ochs and Jess Taylor. You can view that video here.
This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about the Preserve Talbot History organization please go here.
Here’s a whirlwind tour of some of Saturday’s events in Chestertown.
One bittersweet moment was at Create gallery, planned for closure at the end of June. But on Saturday, discounted sales were brisk, and many stopped by for wine and cake to express their gratitude for the gallery and the members of the cooperative artists’ venture who kept it going.
As one of it’s founders Bob Ortiz said, “You have to celebrate a closing as well as an opening” to honor the accomplishment of any endeavor. For five years the gallery showcased local and international artists.
“We will continue exhibiting some members of the group at Hegland Glass and Bob Ortiz will offer space to others, so we’ll still be around,” says Patti Hegland, another founding member of the gallery.
With artists and easels on every corner participating in the RiverArts Plein-Air “Paint the Town Plus” celebration and a RiverArts tent of art for sale in Fountain Park, the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser for Kent County Food Pantry, and a busy Saturday Market—the day was just beginning.
The Town was truly open for business and celebration again, complete with a ribbon cutting for the Town’s new mobile stage and special recognition of A & E District Coordinator Kay MacIntosh followed by a block party fronting the Best Kept Soul band with their Motown and Soul.
Not to forget that al fresco dining is back for Saturdays, and judging from the crowd in front of the Kitchen at the Imperial Restaurant, the summer looks promising for people yearning to get back into life after the pandemic.
This video is approximately three minutes in length.
Artist Fredy Granillo discusses the outdoor mural he is currently painting inside of Robert Ortiz Studios at 207 S. Cross Street in Chestertown, MD. The public is invited to see the painting process during next few weeks. When completed the mural will be 10 ft tall by 9 ft wide and be mounted outdoors at Bob’s Studio.
It might tell you something about Andrey Perez that he’s a hard interview to get. With a full school schedule, sports, and a part-time job at the new Chick-fil-A in Cambridge, the only time he could fit in a Zoom call was during his lunch break at work.
It is one of many hints of how motivated Andrey is to move ahead in this world. The son of first-generation Americans, the Sts. Peter and Paul High School student started to lay out a plan for his future after taking a personal finance course and discovering his interest in the medical field down the road. And included in that plan was, of course, higher education.
And that’s when Andrey turned to the Mid-Shore Scholars program.
With the help of this unique organization’s support and mentoring, the Andrey Perez’s of the world can navigate the complex elements of college admissions, including the college selection process, filling out forms, or even finding the money needed to even apply to a school.
In Andrey’s case, he will be the second Mid-Shore Scholar since the program started a few years ago. While almost twenty-five students are now in the pipeline to follow him in the years to come, the volunteers and staff are collectively holding their breath as he awaits hearing from the school of his choice; Washington College.
Not only has Andrey applied, but he recently was nominated to apply to the school’s prestigious Washington Scholars program, which provides its award-winners a free ride for four years on both tuition and housing.
The Spy checked with Andrey and Mid-Shore Scholars director Vivian Landau a few days ago to hear more about his aspirations and the great benefits that come with participating in such a successful preparatory support program.
With fingers crossed, Andrey will hear soon from WC while his Mid-Shore community awaits the news with double-crosses theirs.
This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more information about the Mid-Shore Scholars please go here.
The second Chestertown Unites Against Racism mural went up on College Avenue on Saturday, September 19.
The community effort, led by the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice and attended by community leadership and clergy, marks the final town-approved mural.
“We Can’t Breathe-Chestertown Unites Against Racism,” along with the High Street “Black Lives Matter” mural are symbols marking a 16-month action plan to address racial inequity in Chestertown. The resolution was passed unanimously by the Chestertown Town Council during their September 8 meeting.
Painted in shifts by community volunteers, the mural was completed by late afternoon and stands as bold community acknowledgment of the town’s history of racism, and a promise to unite the community through legislative reform, education, and unification events.
This video is approximately one minute in length. For more information about the town resolutions go here. A special thanks to Pat Trams for images, video by Rebecca Heriz-Smith, and aerial image by Sam Shoge.
With many thanks to drone photographer Bryan Paul, the Spy is eager to share a different perspective on the Black Lives Matters mural on High Street in downtown Chestertown.
Nothing can be more dramatic or moving than to see art from 500 feet above. With the help of Bryan’s excellent equipment, not only can Kent County residents know the power of words in a setting like High Street, but these images broadcast to the world a town in harmony with the conviction that, yes, Black Lives Matter in Chestertown, Maryland.
This video is approximately two minutes in length.
The Spy received the sad news this morning that Chestertown’s former long-serving mayor, Margo Bailey, died yesterday. We’ll be sharing with our readers soon about how the community plans to celebrate all of her contributions to the town.
But in the meantime, we wanted to share an interview the Chestertown Spy did with Margo in 2012. Very few words can capture more of Mayor Bailey’s spirit, directness, and vision than her own as she describes her hopes and aspirations for Chestertown’s future.
With more than a half a century of volunteerism and leadership, it is striking to hear her voice and realize that so much for what she wished for Chestertown as come to be a reality. From a revitalized downtown with the help of Washington College, the completion of the Chestertown Marina, and countless other ways, Margo Bailey led the way for so much that makes this town so unique.
This video is approximately eight minutes in length.
In the field of conservation, rarely is there a feeling of “mission accomplished.” Even after decades of advocacy, reform, and new policies, the state of the environment remains in constant threat as climate change and rising sea levels continue to impact delicate ecosystems like our own Chesapeake Bay.
Nonetheless, progress is still being made in both small and large ways to protect the region’s natural assets, and one example has been the efforts made on the Rhode and West Rivers on the outskirts of Annapolis.
For almost a decade, Jeff Holland led many of those strategies in his role as Riverkeeper to both rivers. With the encouragement of Bob Gallagher, the founder of West/Rhode Riverkeeper, which has recently transitioned into the Arundel Rivers Federation, Holland took on this new role of river protection and advocacy after years serving as executive director the Annapolis Maritime Museum.
In his Zoom interview with the Annapolis Spy, Holland reflects on his work and the future of Maryland’s natural resources as it continues to face new challenges.
