A drive through history (and okay, a small rant)

Well, not to bombard you, but I like to keep up..

Last week when my visiting nurse was here, she mentioned she was probably going to buy a lot and build, and it was on Colton Point Road, in the legendary “7^th”.   We talked a little bit about it and she said it “has an old church on it”, which of course caused MFO’s antennae to raise.  We kind of located it with the help of Google, and MFO opined that it might have been associated with All Saints Episcopal Church in Oakley.

We consulted a local history expert and he checked into it and found that the land was indeed acquired by the vestry of the All Saints (Episcopal) Church in Oakley, which is quite a few miles up the road.  Sure enough, after borrowing from that excellent resource: “I’m Goin’ Down County” by Kirk Ranzetta, we found a few more facts.  There it was reported that due to the influx of summer visitors and local watermen, that the church found it needed to establish a mission to minister to the residents of Colton Point, who lacked transportation to get to the main Church in Oakley.  Members of the vestry purchased the land in 1900 from a Mr. Robert Yates, and erected a Gothic Style Church adorned with a projecting tower.  Called St. Agnes Chapel of Ease, it was used as the main place of worship when the original Church in Oakley built in 1846 underwent repairs, and the congregation had to move the Chapel in 1906. Eventually maintaining two churches proved too costly, and the parish sold the property in 1962 to a Mr. John Choporis, a surname known to some county residents..   You never know what a conversation with your home health nurse will lead to..

So this morning we decided to kill time until “the Game” by taking a little road trip to check out the place.   It’s always fun to drive around the county, you never know what you will run across.   We started out on a rainy morning and soon discovered a local hawk embarrassing him/herself by eating worms from a lawn

  

Continued on through Leonardtown, down 234 and turned circuitous left at the new traffic circle in Clements, and headed into the 7^th on Rte. 242.

Always something interesting and picture worthy to see along the way

Turned left on Oakley Road and saw the All Saints church, oddly enough once again undergoing repairs

Despite the renovations it has a historical charm, kind of nice on the gray day.

Then continued on down through Avenue passing Holy Angels (Catholic) Church (where services were just concluding)

And eventually found the St. Agnes Chapel of Ease, or what remains.

Still standing after over a hundred years and change.  Love our county. 

On the way home, as we were going back through Leonardtown, I spied an odd cargo in the back of a pickup

Hey!!  what's that???!!  but there were those giveaway orange buckets

Only in SOMD do you stand to see (manual) Oyster Tongs going along the road.  Love our County,

So was a nice way to pass the time before the “game”..

And I was going to stop here, but damn it, I have to get in a small rant.

Rant begins NOW!

A few years ago we sort of stumbled on some pregame programming called the Puppy Bowl.   Cute little pups doing cute little puppy things, chasing, nipping, yapping, and so forth.  Who doesn’t love a puppy?

So we decided to tune in to Animal Planet this year and watch again.  What a disgusting display of gratuitous crap.  They actually had a “Sports Desk” like the networks have with three talking heads, who feigned to be serious and talked about the little dogs like they were people.  “Wags is a tenacious player; we look for him to try to end around…”  blah, blah blah.  Didn’t even crack a smile, just acted dead serious.   They introduced the Lineups from Team Ruff and Team Fluff with more silly descriptions.  “a fast competitor, looking to score touchdowns”.  Even more disgusting was The National Anthem, with bunny cheerleaders, dogs looking doped, and even a parrot pecking at a smart phone “Putting out Tweets”.

Oh, this year there were “Stands” cardboard cut outs, with silhouette flat profiles of “Fans” who were wiggled up and down (The fans are going nuts!)  As for the action “on the field” the pooches ran around aimlessly nipping, chasing, and every once in a while picked up a toy and happened to run to the end of the “field”, where the announcer shouted “touchdown”.  We were nauseated by this time and turned it off.  Embarrassing treatment of the animals and idiotic behavior by the humans.  The only good thing that might be gleaned is that most of the canines were rescue..

Never again. 

Well, almost time for the ultimate sporting event of the year.  And I ain’t going to

DFD

Go...... whoever!

Looking Back...

Well, here we are at the end of 2017.  It is common at this time of year to see articles on “The year in review”, or “The (gulp) Best of 2017” on and on.  It’s been a while since I’ve been able to post for some good and not so good reasons.  Got me to thinking about the Feeder’s year so I’ll cave in and join my journalistic brethren with a few highlights from the year gone by.  Conscientious readers might find their memories tickled a bit…

Spring Journey

We made an inland waterway trip from Charleston (Foodie Mecca) to Jacksonville:

seeing things like lovely historic Southern homes:

 And who has had an oyster scald at Hog Hammock, Sapelo Island, Georgia?

Or “gone Shrimpin’”?

Summer Journey

An extended MOMSTER road trip to the Midwest to see FOJTE in STL (see "best" below) and FOJTY in Kansas City (BBQ mecca)

(featured in latest Southern Living magazine)

Then to Holland, MI, to deliver MFO’s organized Morris “Mose” Moody’s WWI archive to Holland, Michigan

And then some from the Craig side (My mom’s) to Michigan State University in East Lansing (my home town!)

Which included a lovely dinner at the MSU Hospitality facility of Kellogg Center

Fall Fun

A lovely Thanksgiving dinner hosted and attended by good friends

where's mine?

Somewhere in here the “not so good” part kicks in.  will keep it short (as was my breathing) which eventually resulted in a week’s accommodations in John’s Hopkins palatial guest rooms

Where I got to get scanned, imaged, injected, measured, poked and prodded, but a diagnosis of Idiopathic Pulmonary Hypertension has been levied, and medications have greatly relieved my symptoms.  I also am now in 24/7 Oxygen, but that is livable and I’m learning to adjust (one of many to come).

But I was “sprung” in time to get back to the digs and was able (with the help of friends) 

to enjoy our Christmas tree and displays once again

FOJTE was able to break free and came and visited for a few days, wonderful to see them….  

and so sad to see them go

TY was obligated by his police officer schedule to stay in KC, but we talked by phone several times.  So it was the first Christmas at “home” for the Feeders in all the time we’ve been in Maryland.  Who knows what the sand in the top of the hourglass holds.

Okay enough of that… I hope you all had a wonderful holiday period with friends, families, and good memories of those who were here in years past.

And, I’ll use the word I generally despise and criticize, but it applies in this case.

The BEST meal (with a nod to KC BBQ) I had in 2017 was at

Everything fit, was in harmony beautiful setting, exemplary service

And exquisite food

Another case where two dimensional image doesn’t do the original justice..

And now that the holidays are behind us (save tonight and tomorrow), soon you will see a piece on one of my favorite whipping boys: “Chains”.

So if you’re going out tonight, act sensibly and make sure you are

DFD’d

 

Alarms Oysters, Chapels, and Travel

Well, kind of a "this and that" today.  No great dining experiences, although we can start out with a surprising dining experience.  MFO’s volunteer efforts are in large part devoted to the SMC Historical Society, where she meticulously preserves, photos, letters, and ledgers brought in by our county residents.   The Society, like everybody else is strapped for money (thank you, county!) and so they hold a dinner in spring and fall.  Last Friday (4/6) was the spring edition.  They try and select a “theme” that was part of our history for each event, such as Moonshine, Tobacco, and so forth.  This one was devoted to Oysters. 

As usual it was held at the Olde Breton Inn on Society Hill in Leonardtown.  In honor of the bivalves, they set up a shucking table

Where the little morsels were being (carefully) released from their shell by the gentleman

Having been around “shuckers” on this side of the Atlantic, and “openers” on the other side, I would say he poses no threat to competitions in either place.  I was not sure of the origin of the little guys, but many had a very elongated character which I found somewhat off-putting.

Also, they were a bit difficult to consume. I really don’t like to cut one in half, so ended up with folding it over like some do pizza.  A bit unnerving, although the flavor wasn’t bad, not terrific, I’ve had better. .  A local told me they were called “spots”. 

As most locals know, Eddy Bailey has held sway at Olde Breton Inn for years and years.  And, for years and years, the dinner is served as a buffet, and for years and years, it has been unswerving in the choices..  mashed potatoes (with gravy like material), some sort of cheesy potatoes, green beans with pimento and bacon bits, green salad, chicken cordon bleu (courtesy of some food service), fried oysters, and finally a carved steam ship round of beef, with choice of au jus or horseradish.  Most members of the Historical Society have been for years (and years), and that is what they expect and what they like.  I was shocked/surprised this year to find the cordon bleu hing was replaced by crab stuffed chicken!  Over my brief years of attendance, I have pretty much settled on ignoring most of the other stuff, concentrating on the oysters,  which are always good, and trying my luck with the beef.  Out of curiosity i did try the variation of the chicken

which can be seen on the right, with the beef tucked in behind it.  As I said, the oysters are always good and plentiful.  The chicken was a welcome change at least.

The program that evening consisted of a talk by Dr. Henry Miller (of Historic St. Mary’s City) about the history of human consumption of Oysters, going back thousands of years.  Then Captain Jack (Russell) a waterman who operated a Skipjack for years, and then matriculated to politics.  Told us about the history of the skipjacks and the “oyster wars” between Maryland and Virginia, and called on several of the retired oyster and watermen who were in attendance.  I love to hear them talk, some with such local accents that you have to struggle to understand them.   Then of course there were stories from them, a delightful evening. 

Docent report

The next day, I was scheduled for “Chapvol” duty, meaning I went down to Historic and manned the Reconstructed Brick Chapel of 1667 for a few hours, answering questions for patrons, and talking about the history of the Chapel, Lord Baltimore’s Colony, the discovery and reconstruction of the current Chapel, and so on..  As I have said before, interest ranges from casual to enthusiastic and part of the fun is to know when they’ve had enough.   Eye contact breaks, nodding and shuffling toward the door, signs like that give you clues as to when you say "Thank you for visiting the City today".

Anyway we have added a new exhibit to the interior of the Chapel, the famous “Lead Coffins”.    After being discovered in the early nineties, and eventually unearthed and opened, they spent time in the Smithsonian as part of the “Written in Bone” exhibit, and now are finally on display in their original location in the right transept fo the chapel.

6150

It is really a nice presentation with the recorded video talking about the discovery and research associated with the journey of the coffins.  Their presence kind of alters our/my usual patter.  Adapt.

Without repeating my whole Chapel Chatter (which forms our reports of visitation, numbers, questions, etc.) I will pass on one interesting thing.  A man somewhat younger than I (which applies to most people) and his daughter came in, and said they had never been in the chapel before and wanted to see the coffins.  So, I started to go into the Coffin speech and he said, “Oh yeah, I bet Henry was very excited”.    On their way out I said “how did you know Henry?”.   "Oh, I was in graduate school with him!"  Of course a short Michigan State discussion followed.   It’s always fun and illuminating to see who walks in the chapel doors..  If you haven’t seen the coffins, come on down!

Lastly, I found a couple of cartoons in the New Yorker which MFO receives weekly that kind of tickled my funny bone, especially this one

Been there, done that, and still live in constant fear..

And who hasn’t hung around wine stores enough to hear one of these

Oh, MFO and I are going to be taking a little (key word) trip to OK to attend the graduation of a great nephew.  Most of the “Otto” side of the clan will be gathering, and MFO wants to seem them.  So leaving Thursday, and returning Tuesday.   Please (insert name of favorite deity) no violent weather or quakes.  Thank you..

And, although it is in the Midwest (or does it qualify as “West”?)  we will be packing duds so we can

DFD of steak or ‘que

Sometimes you feel....

...like a blog and sometimes you don’t.  Aside from our luncheon at “Zee” the other day haven’t had any food experiences worth noting lately, and for once we haven’t traveled anywhere exciting either.

But, a couple of things over the weekend that were fun, plus maybe a few notes from one of my latest magazines might be worth your time.

Books

Every year the Friends of the (St. Mary’s County) Libraries (FOL) holds their book sale at the Fairgrounds wherein thousands (yes, thousands) of books are for sale that helps to support the libraries.  It was pushed back a month this year to avoid the seemingly unavoidable bad weather that seems to haunt the sale.  This year it will be the 22^nd through the 24^th of April.  As usual there will be a building full of fiction, non-fiction, children’s, and rare and unusual books.  For a couple of bucks you can get a full fledged hard cover book (usually) in pristine condition, or paperbacks for less.  Amazing values, which attract dealers from all over the eastern seaboard.

I pretty much yak about this every year, but it is worth your time and treasure if you can fit it in.  Although the sale is next weekend, activity began last weekend.   All year, people bring books to the back end of the Leonardtown Library which gradually fills up

We got there a little later than usual this year, and this represents about a third of what was there originally.

Volunteers with strong backs help load them into a couple of box trucks

And an armada of “friends” vehicles

Including the MOMSTER

Then take the short drive over to the Fairgrounds, where they are unloaded into the correct building,

This week will be spent in unboxing, and sorting the books into categories on the tables.  You normally can find the Feeder helping with the cookbooks.

Anyway, hope you can come out.  Friday is “members only” day, but you can join the FOL on the spot and get first crack at the books.  During the sale I hang out in the Non Fiction building.  On Sunday,  with help from volunteers from Lexington Park Rotary Club, ALL leftover books are loaded in Gaylords, put in trucks, and taken up to another Rotary Club in Parole who then distribute them to various schools, libraries, and charities, service people, etc.,  world wide.

So each year, the FOL starts with zero books and still fills up the Leonardtown libraries "back room"

Chapel

After spending part of the morning at the Library and Fairgrounds I detached and went down to Historic St. Mary’s City to fulfill the Docent Duty I signed up for, sitting at the Brick Chapel and telling the story to people that visit.  Always a crap shoot on numbers of visitors, and in the first few hours, this was typical of the patrons

However, a few two legged folks showed up.  By the way, the famous Lead Coffins are now on display back in their original location under the floor of the left (or right) transept.  Funny about church geography; it always kind of hinges on if you’re looking AT the altar, or ON the altar looking at the congregation.  Anyway, the coffins are on the side toward Route Five, which of course was not there in 1667!

MFO found a new piece of “Office Furniture” for me which I debuted Saturday

You might notice the chairs in the background inside the chapel

Which was set up for…. no not a service, but a concert by the St. Maries Musica choral group, which was scheduled for three.  So, along about one forty five or so, the performers began to show up, and eventually rehearsed, sort of giving a preview

The interior acoustics of the chapel are not suited to screaming kids, but they are lovely for such vocal groups, string quartets and the like..  I stayed and listened to most of the concert, but departed for the end after a long day.  By the way, there is ANOTHER concert this coming weekend, performed by Ping, the choral group from St. Mary’s College.  I believe that starts at one.

No Show’s and Factoids

I think I’ve mentioned that one of the little print magazines I get is Restaurant Hospitality which is kind of geared to the business side of running restaurants.  What millennials really want, how to increase menu interest, etc.  The editor usually throws out a question for the readership.  

This month he was talking about the issues of “no-shows”, a constant problem for the restaurants.  How many times have you sat waiting for “your” table, watching empty tables created by the thoughtless people who don’t cancel if they know they can’t make it.  That sort of thing leads naturally to “over booking” to cover their butts.  Editor recounted an experience at an (unnamed) restaurant in DC where he arrived with three friends for an 8:30 reservation, only to find that the place was a madhouse with apparently every (overbooked) group showing along with walk ins.   After waiting for an hour and a half in the bar, it appeared that they were no closer and left.  Then, at 11:30, he got a call from the hostess stating their table was ready.  So his question to the readership was: “how do you handle no-shows”.  Will let you know, and don’t do it!

the ‘toids:

-A little box on page 18 says look for beef prices to be dropping 10 – 17 percent this year for all primal cuts.

-Like everybody else in the world, they bestow “Editor’s Choice” awards.  They do, however, have some unusual categories, samples:

• Best Restaurant Name:  Sexy Tacos/Dirty Cash (Harlem, NYC)
• Most Creative Cocktail Menu:  Butchertown Grocery, Louisville.  Menu is based on lyrics of Tom Waits; “Stirring my Brandy with a nail”; “get behind the mule”.  A bit esoteric for me
• Ingredient of the Year:  Whole Roasted Cauliflower; kind of looks like a bloomin’ onion.  Several places, Domenica NOLA; Etch, Nashville
• Best Chef Tattoo: Mindy Segal (James Beard 2012 Pastry Chef award winner) of Chicago; whole back devoted to a reproduction of her grandmother’s china.  Picture included….
• Best use of Leftover Product:  Chef Franey of Monterey’s Restaurant 1833 makes his own ricotta cheese, resulting a lot of left over whey byproducts.  Fabricated the cocktail “No Whey” of that along with Remy Martin Cognac, lemon, and simple syrup. 
• Cleverest Blog Closing:   DFD

Okay, I made that one up..