There will be a nationwide “Lights for Liberty” vigil Friday evening, July 12, protesting the U.S. concentration camps for migrant children. As part of the nationwide vigil, a Chestertown event is planned for 9 p.m. in Memorial Park, at the corner of Cross and High Streets. Please plan to arrive before 9 and bring a candle.

According to the Daily Kos website, as of Thursday Lights for Liberty has 544 events scheduled in all 50 states, with main events in El Paso, Texas, and Homestead Florida, both sites of migrant camps, and in San Diego, Cal. near the border crossing at Tijuana, Mexico, as well as New York City and Washington DC. There are also international events scheduled in Mexico, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and other countries.

The local vigil is sponsored by Soul Force Politics, which describes itself as “a social justice movement that envisions how our world would be different if politics were rooted in radical love.” Previously known as MizMaryand, Soul Force Politics is a non-profit educational organization created by former gubernatorial candidate Heather Mizeur and “dedicated to the cultivation, empowerment, and alignment of inner wisdom and external engagement as a catalyst for individual and community transformation.”

For more information, see the Soul Force Politics website.  

Pictured: Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals Mary Ellen Barbera, Andrea Ross, Esq, and Sharon Goldsmith of the Maryland Pro Bono Resource Center.

(Easton, MD) Andrea Ross, Esq., a volunteer attorney with Mid-Shore Pro Bono, received a 2019 Maryland Pro Bono Service award earlier this month at the annual Maryland State Bar Association meeting in Ocean City, Md.

Ross was presented with the 2019 Lee A. Caplan Award in recognition for her dedication and commitment to ensuring equal access to civil legal services through her work with Mid-Shore Pro Bono’s Economic Stability Project. Since relocating to the Eastern Shore in 2013 after practicing bankruptcy law in New York City, Ross has volunteered at monthly Debtor Assistance Clinics where low-income clients receive free half-hour bankruptcy consultations with a licensed attorney.

A resident of Kent County, Ross recognized the need to expand these services beyond Talbot County and was instrumental in creating a second location for Debtor Assistance Clinics in Chestertown. During her six years as a volunteer attorney, Ross has provided 433 hours of pro bono time to 535 clients.

“While only on the Eastern Shore for a short time, Andrea recognized the unique challenges low-income clients face in a rural community. The Eastern Shore’s large land area can be a barrier to a client getting to the legal services they need. Many lack transportation and most cannot afford to take off from work for the time required to travel to a clinic or meet with an attorney,” said Sandy Brown, Mid-Shore Pro Bono Executive Director. “In addition to providing our clients with compassionate and top-notch representation, Andrea has also been a partner and advocate in our efforts to bring civil legal services to all corners of the Eastern Shore.”

For Immediate Release
Contact: Megan Miller
757-871-0763
[email protected]

Checking out the classic cars at Cars on High — car photos by Jane Jewell, 2017

At the Chestertown Council meeting, March 18, the council approved a third year of Cars on High, a monthly gathering of vintage car enthusiasts. For the event, the 300-block of High Street is closed off from 6 to 8 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month from April to October, weather permitting. Collectible cars are parked on both sides of the street and around Fountain Park for the public to enjoy. Cars on High is sponsored by Main Street Chestertown.

John Slocum, the organizer of the event, told the council that the turnout for Cars on High has increased over the first couple of years, with 20 to 25 each month during the first year and 30 to 40 a month during the second year. Owners bring their cars from as far away as Washington, DC, and Wilmington, Delaware, he said.

John Slocum of Cars on High at the Chestertown Council meeting, March 18

Slocum also announced that he would like to present a car show, tentatively the afternoon of Sept. 14. He said he would ideally like to close off the 200- and 300-blocks of High Street, depending on response. He said the idea of the show came about partly because the Cars on High events are drawing about 50 percent new exhibitors each month, so there are far more interested car owners than the monthly turnout suggests.

He said he would like to offer five to eight judged categories, and invited council members to participate as judges, along with downtown business owners and other “local folks.” He said, “I think it would be good for downtown and good for business, as well.”He said the entry fees, minus the cost of trophies for the winning cars, would be donated to the Chestertown Garden Club and Main Street Chestertown. He added, “There are some spectacular cars here in town and in the surrounding area, which we’ve all been shocked when they show up – because where are they the rest of the time?” He mentioned one resident who has 25 Ferraris – “He brings two of them out every month.”

As part of the proposed show, Slocum asked the council to allow the show to park five or six cars on the Fountain Park grass. These would be invited cars of special interest, he said. There was some discussion of how the park grass would be affected by having cars parked on it. Slocum said many famous car shows have the cars displayed on golf courses. He said the condition of the park is such that a few cars parked there for an afternoon wouldn’t make much difference. He said he’d be willing to plant grass if the areas could be roped off long enough for it to grow.

Ingersoll said that with the farmers’ market running year round, it’s nearly impossible to find a time when nobody is using a given area of the park. He said he thought the idea of the car show was “a great idea if done properly.” Slocum said he would email the council a diagram of where the cars would park. The council unanimously approved the permit for Cars on High, and tentatively approved the car show, pending Slocum’s providing more detailed plans.

Cars on High for 2019 begins on April 18.

Ted Capel and his wife, Brenda, and daughter, Kimberly, with his ’34 Plymouth hot rod.

John Murray, president of the Chestertown Rotary Club (L) gives the club’s Dr. Paul Titsworth Service Award to Sumner Hall; President Larry Wilson accepts

At its regular luncheon meeting Tuesday, March 12, the Chestertown Rotary Club awarded Sumner Hall G.A.R. Post 25 the Dr. Paul Titsworth Service Award for 2019. The award is named for the former Washington College president who was one of the founding members of the Rotary Club in Chestertown.

The ceremonies were held in Sumner Hall, one of the last two remaining posts of the Grand Army of the Republic founded for and by black veterans of the Civil War. The Chestertown chapter of the G.A.R. was founded in 1882.  The hall, built in 1908, was named for Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner (1811-1874), a prominent opponent of slavery. It was an important social center for the local African American community for 60 years.

Sumner Hall

After the death of the last local black Civil War veterans in 1928, the building continued to serve as a gathering place, at one point hosting musical acts such as the Chick Webb band with a young Ella Fitzgerald on vocals, and the “all-girl” band, the Sweethearts of Rhythm.

The building fell into disrepair in the 1970s and deteriorated until the 1990s. It was scheduled for demolition until a group of preservationists entered into a campaign to restore it. The building was reopened in 2014 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Vic Sensenig, Washington College Chief of Staff

At the award ceremony, Rotary president John Murray introduced Vic Sensenig, Washington College chief of staff, who gave a brief summary of Titsworth’s career at the college and as a Rotary founder in 1926. Titsworth came to Washington College in 1923 and served as president for 10 years. He is credited with transforming the college from a small local school to a recognized regional institution, increasing enrollment and raising academic standards. Sensenig quoted from an address Titsworth gave at graduation in 1931, in which he exhorted the students to dedicate themselves to community service, which he characterized as “a fine art.”

Rotarian Garret Falcone then gave a history of the service award, which is in its second year. The initial award was given in 2018 to the Save Our Hospital committee. Falcone then read from the nomination for Sumner Hall’s award, noting that it has become a “showcase for African American history and arts.” He cited Sumner Hall’s partnership with local institutions including the college and the public schools, the Kent County Library and the Historical Society to educate the public on the important contributions of African Americans to the community.

The award was then presented to Sumner Hall president Larry Wilson and 2^nd vice president Barbara Foster. Wilson thanked everyone who attended the ceremony and invited them to return for other events and exhibits. He gave a brief history of the G.A.R. post, citing several of the founders and detailing its history of community service after the death of the Civil War veterans. He ended by quoting Sumner Hall’s mission, to preserve the building as “a place of remembrance,” to promote understanding of the African American experience, to honor the contributions of African American veterans, “to promote the pursuit of liberty for all, and to advocate for social justice.”

Titsworth, founding member and first president of Chestertown Rotarian CLub and President of Washington College from 1923-1933.

Foster described Sumner Hall as “a very special place,” with which she has been involved as a board member for five years. She recognized the courage of the founders for their effort to ensure that they and other veterans received the benefits they had been promised for their service. She also called attention to the hard work of restoring the building, returning it to the condition it was in during its heyday – recalling one older community member who looked at the restored building and said it was just the way he remembered it being when he had his wedding party there years ago.

She also recognized several of those who made special contributions, including Carolyn Brooks and Nina Johnson for helping forge a relationship with the Smithsonian Institution, Airlee Johnson for bringing the Legacy Day celebration to Sumner Hall, board treasurer Yvette Hynson, board members Dale Alexander, Larry Samuels, Ben Kohl of the Hedgelawn Foundation and Cheryl Hoopes, who is in charge of Sumner Hall’s participation in the Tea Party Festival this year.

In response to an audience question about upcoming events, Foster mentioned the appearance of saxophonist Jason Blythe and his band in the April 13 installation of the African American Roots concert series. She said the organization’s newsletter and email list are available to anyone and she invited Rotary members to sign up. She also gave a brief account of the other surviving African American G.A.R. post, in South Carolina.  The South Carolina G.A.R. building, though restored after fire damage, has no museum or artifacts and is only open by appointment or for rental events such as weddings and private parties.  Following the Civil War, there were hundreds of Grand Army of the Republic chapters across the country, some of which were integrated, others which were segregated by race.  The G.A.R. was equivalent in its place and importance in its day as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars have been in more recent times.

At the end of the meeting, Rotarian Beverley Birkmire encouraged attendees to talk to members about the Rotary Club’s activities and meetings, every Tuesday at noon.

Sumner Hall board member Carolyn Brooks shows the Rotary Service Award

Larry Wilson, President of Sumner Hall and US Navy veteran