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February 9, 2026

Centreville Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Centreville

7 Ed Notes Archives

Radcliffe Creek School relaunches wooden boatbuilding program

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Boatbuilders Joe Smith and John Henderson pose with students in Radcliffe Creek School’s boat building program behind the wooden skiff they constructed.
From left to right: Anya Orr ’27, Grady Glenn ’27, Morgan Joiner ’27, Volunteer Joe Smith, Luke Winger ’27, Greyson House ’25, Volunteer Tom Smith, Finn Thompson ’27, Ryland Kay ’26, Volunteer John Henderson and Lemar Lowrance ‘26

Radcliffe Creek School’s (RCS) makerspace has been brought back to life, along with the School’s longtime tradition of teaching its students the art of wooden boatbuilding, thanks to grant support from area foundations. The space, which sat empty for years following challenges from the pandemic, is once again abuzz with the sounds of saws and sanders as community boatbuilders teach woodworking skills to RCS students, leading them through the process of building a wooden skiff.

RCS Student Morgan Joiner ’27 attaches the foredeck to the deck beam under the direction of Boatbuilders Joe Smith and John Henderson
(From left to right: Finn Thompson ’27, Volunteer Joe Smith, Volunteer John Henderson, Morgan Joiner ’27, Anya Orr ’27 and Greyson House ’25)

A grant from the Samuel and Margaret Gorn Foundation, dedicating a new STEM Workshop within the space, as well as funding from the Dock Street Foundation to support the boatbuilding program, has made it possible for Radcliffe Creek to begin offering a new course, “STEM to Stern: Boatbuilding 101” to a group of sixth, seventh and eighth graders during a weekly after-school program. Two community volunteers—Joe Smith and John Henderson—are bringing decades of wooden boatbuilding experience, along with a passion for teaching STEM concepts, such as physics and arithmetic, to their teaching role.

Boatbuilder John Henderson explained, “As an educational experience or a lifetime fascination, wooden boatbuilding combines learning about the properties of wood, gaining facility with tools, and applying math and science to understand and predict performance. Along the way, we acquire an appreciation for accuracy, the perseverance to work through the details, and the ability to overcome inevitable frustrations.”

Using a boat design from the Alexandria Seaport Foundation, students are cutting pieces from wood and assembling them, along with materials from Chesapeake Light Craft, as they learn to build, paint and finish a twelve-foot wooden skiff. The project is expected to last three months. Boatbuilder Joe Smith remarked, “By the time the boat is finished, students will have visited a lumber mill to see how trees become boards, cut wood to dimensions shown on drawings, drilled pilot holes for the screws that hold the boat together, spread epoxy adhesive to make the boat strong and watertight, painted the whole boat and added varnished seats and rub rails to make the boat beautiful. Students have already learned to use both hand tools and power tools, and they are ready to take on their own projects.”

After the boat is completed in the spring, the School plans to name and christen the boat before ceremoniously launching it into the water with the students who built it. In the near future, RCS plans to auction off the finished vessel to fund additional projects in the revitalized space. Head of School Peter Thayer added, “We are grateful to the Samuel and Margaret Gorn Foundation and the Dock Street Foundation for making this project possible. Hands-on, immersive programs like this one bring math and engineering concepts to life in a practical way that makes learning exciting for students.”

To learn more about the immersive, individualized education program offered at Radcliffe Creek School, visit www.radcliffecreekschool.org or call 410-778-8150.

 

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Victory Gardens – Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow By Nancy Taylor Robson

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“Covid really brought it up again,” says Master Gardener Eileen Clements.

A way to feed yourself – and maybe share extra lettuce, a few Gadzukes squash, Cherokee Purple tomatoes or Aji Limon hot peppers with your neighbors or friends. Victory Gardens – or their current iteration – can offer a sense of control in a time of uncertainty.

“A garden is a place of hope,” Clements says.

She’s right. Even more, a garden can offer help for that most basic of needs: Food. Covid lockdown increased the number of gardeners exponentially. Suddenly food production, distribution and availability weren’t taken for granted. Seed companies sold out, garden centers were besieged, and even apartment dwellers had a pot of lettuce or herbs sitting on a balcony or sunny windowsill.  We didn’t call them victory gardens, but the small sense of triumph they offered in a world that had gone pear-shaped was therapeutic.

Victory Gardens have a long history. Introduced to the American public in 1917 when we entered WWI, they were a way for civilians to help win the war by growing food for the troops.

A startling percentage of recruits were rejected due to malnutrition, and the adage: An army marches on its stomach is not apocryphal. Destruction of food production and subsequent starvation have long been tactics of war.

“Farms were getting battered and blown up, and we cared enough to send food and help our allies,” Clements notes.

During the Depression, they were termed ‘thrift gardens’ without the patriotic overtones, but with WWII came rationing, and Victory Gardens were once again a way to supplement both military and civilian. Vegetable gardens sprouted up on every available piece of soil. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a Victory Garden on the White House lawn in 1943.

“Victory Gardens became a source of civic pride and a way to show patriotism,” says Clements.

“I understand where the name ‘victory garden’ comes from,” says Master Gardener Shane Brill. “And I appreciate the tradition of people uniting against a common adversary.” But he says it might be time to rename them. “Maybe Resilience Garden,” he says. “Gardens can be a source of empowerment and resilience in local communities.”

Michelle Obama planting The White House Victory Garden

Former First Lady Michelle Obama planted a vegetable garden at the White House to encourage better nutrition, especially among children. Post-White House, the Obamas are building The Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden at the Obama Presidential Center.

Though the White House was a special case, gardens – especially community gardens in pockets that would otherwise lie derelict – are almost sacrosanct to many. During the 1992 Rodney King riots, South Central Los Angeles was sacked, but the community gardens there were left untouched. Closer to home, Baltimore’s tucked-away community gardens in edgy neighborhoods are also places of special protection. A kind of victory over discouragement and frustration.

Part of the victory is simply encouraging people to reconnect with the “primal-ness” of gardening. “I do a lot of work in nutrition,” says Brill, director of Washington College’s campus garden who teaches courses in culinary wellness, fermentation, and ecological design. “Sunlight and movement are such powerful levers for our wellbeing. I think food is our most intimate connection to the natural world, and the garden is our gateway to that.”

“There’s something about knowing what it takes to produce food,” adds Master Gardener Barbara Flook. Flook, whose parents had a big vegetable garden, planted her own as soon as she had her first house. “Also, when you grow your own food, you think wasting it is a sin.”

Like Flook, Master Gardener Sara Bedwell was the child of farmers and gardeners, but got into growing food more seriously as a paid intern at Wye Manor’s gardens in 2014. She then went on to work as the vegetable gardener at Camp Pecometh’s 2-acre chef’s garden.

“When I left Wye Manor, the horticulturist there gave me The New Vegetable Grower’s Handbook by Frank Tozer,” she remembers. “It’s the one book I’ve kept, and it’s got my little notes in it.“

Always hungry for more knowledge, Bedwell had wanted the education the Master Gardener program offers but couldn’t coordinate the course timing with her work schedule – until Covid when the course went all-online. She saw her opportunity.

“I had wanted to expand my knowledge, and I like volunteering,” she says. “For me, it was being able to learn new things and then be able to spread that knowledge to the community.”

Bedwell, who works two jobs, is also in the process of clearing two acres  in large part to grow food Meanwhile, she grows in buckets ‘cause she’s gotta eat.

“I can be picky,” she says. “Lettuce from the store doesn’t taste as good as what I grow.” “I do not like store-bought tomatoes at all, but if I grow them, I like them.”

Picking your own basil, tomatoes, squash, and more is also both economical and satisfying. Once Bedwell has the plantable acreage she anticipates, there will be plenty to eat, preserve, and share with friends, neighbors and perhaps the local Food Bank.

“The whole idea of a victory garden, even if you’re growing something for yourself and have too much, you pass it on,” Clements notes.

Whatever we call it – victory, thrift, community, or resilience – a garden embodies hope.

 

Artist: Eileen Clements

PAR -Plant a Row for the hungry

https://community.gardencomm.org/c/about-par/

Resources:

Boswell, Victor R. (1943) Victory Gardens. USDA Miscellaneous Publication No. 483.

Collection of the National Agricultural Library.

“Victory Gardens on the World War II Home Front.” National Park Service. www.nps.gov

“Victory Garden at the National Museum of American History.” Smithsonian Institute. www.gardens.si.edu

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ShoreRivers offers hands-on experience

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ShoreRivers is offering a wide variety of expeditions inviting people to get out into their communities and explore their local waterways through things like farm tours, kayak paddles, hands-on activities, and more. For dates and individual event descriptions, visit shorerivers.org/events.

ShoreRivers is inviting the public to get out in their communities and explore their local waterways this year through a series of expeditions around the region.

On the schedule are:

  • A walking tour of Chestertown centered on environmental justice on Wednesday, April 30
    ●      A book reading and beach exploration for children with Mermaid Tasha on Saturday, May 10
    ●      A spring paddle on the headwaters of the Choptank River with Riverkeeper Matt Pluta on Wednesday, May 14
    ●      A day for families to learn about monarch butterflies and river-friendly plants at a local nursery on Saturday, June 14
    ●      A guided farm tour showcasing conservation practices with wildlife artist Jonathan Shaw on Wednesday, July 9
    ●      An up-close look at osprey behavior during a riverboat cruise on Tuesday, July 15
    ●      A paddle to explore the American lotus blooms with Sassafras Riverkeeper Zack Kelleher on Thursday, July 31
    ●      A morning paddle and tour of a native plant nursery with Miles-Wye Rivekeeper Ben Ford on Thursday, September 4
    ●      A fall paddle on Tuckahoe Creek with your Choptank Riverkeeper on Thursday, September 25
    ●      A kayak exploration of the Chester River with Riverkeeper Annie Richards on Tuesday, September 30

These expeditions are small group experiences, carefully curated to offer a unique and meaningful connection between our community and our watershed. From paddles to tours of restoration sites, to hands-on adventures, there’s something for everyone to enjoy!

“We know that access to our waterways fuels environmental stewardship,” says ShoreRivers’ Membership Manager Courtney Leigh. “It’s our hope that participants in these annual expeditions — in addition to taking in the natural beauty of our rivers, learning from partners who share our vision of thriving communities, and engaging with vibrant team members who lead the charge for clean waterways — will also develop a stronger connection to the bays, rivers, and creeks we all cherish on the Eastern Shore.”

To register, and for individual event details, visit shorerivers.org/events. More expeditions will be added throughout the year.

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Spring Patient Volunteer Training at Compass

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Compass will be offering their two day training session for any individuals interested in becoming a patient care volunteer.

The training session is scheduled for 9am to 5pm on the Thursdays of May 8th and 15th. The training will be held at our Barnette Center’s Conference room located at 255 Comet Dr. Centreville, MD 27677.

Volunteers provide company for patients, relieve the primary caregiver for a short period of time, assist with administration duties, and/or grief services. We are always looking for Veterans to assist with our We Honor Veterans program.

“Most often, patient volunteers give companionship to patients by reading, playing cards, or just watching television with them. They also give caregivers a chance to have a much­ needed break to tend to other responsibilities.” said Jessica Sheubrooks, Volunteer Manager at Compass. Volunteers provide the added support that our patients and families need during what can be an overwhelming time.

Topics taught during the training will include an overview of hospice, the process of dying, spiritual care and its place in hospice care, the stages of grief, effective communication techniques, family dynamics, stress management and self-care for caregivers.

Compass relies on more than 200 volunteers of all ages to support its mission, and these individuals volunteer their time in a variety of ways. In addition to patient care volunteers, Compass is currently seeking volunteers for Compass Closet (formerly Estate Treasures), their upscale retail shop whose proceeds help cover uncompensated patient care. Whatever your motivation to volunteer, there is a place for you at Compass.

To register or find out more information about becoming a volunteer for Compass, contact Jessica Sheubrooks at 443-262-4772 or [email protected]. Please register no later than May 1st.

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Radcliffe Creek School Awarded Grant to Create STEM Workshop

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Screenshot

 The Samuel and Margaret Gorn Foundation recently awarded a grant to Radcliffe Creek School (RCS) to revitalize the School’s makerspace by creating a new STEM workshop within it. The $35,771 grant will create the dedicated space—named “The Samuel and Margaret Gorn STEM Workshop”—and fund a new climate control system, room renovations, as well as furnishings to bring RCS’ makerspace, which had closed due to challenges that arose during the pandemic, back to life.

“Radcliffe Creek’s makerspace has traditionally been at the heart of the immersive learning experience we offer,” Head of School, Peter Thayer, explained, “Multisensory instruction is a key component at RCS, and this generous gift will provide our students with an exciting opportunity to learn STEM concepts in physics and arithmetic in a practical, hands-on way. We are grateful to the Samuel and Margaret Gorn Foundation for their support of this impactful project.”

This award will also make it possible for RCS to purchase the tools and materials needed to create a woodshop and bring the School’s traditional boat building program back to life. For many years, a longtime faculty member offered a wooden boatbuilding program where students learned to build and repair traditional vessels, such as wooden skiffs and log canoes. This year, two volunteers from the community, bringing decades of wooden boatbuilding experience, have begun leading the new boatbuilding course, “STEM to Stern: Boatbuilding 101.” Offered this spring to a group of sixth, seventh and eighth graders, the weekly after school program works with students to build a 12-foot wooden skiff.

Dr. Susan Grant, president of the Gorn Foundation, remarked, “The board and I are genuinely excited to support RCS’s mission to provide the opportunity for hands-on instruction that fosters and enhances learning for their students.”

After the skiff is completed this spring, the School will offer the new STEM workshop for faculty to utilize for future enrichment classes and creative woodworking projects, such as building bird houses and bat boxes to support wildlife on the school’s 11-acre wooded campus.

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Will Orange Crush be the State cocktail? By Lisa J. Gotto

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Photo by Arden Haley

Cold to the lips and refreshing to the palate, there’s nothing quite like the sweet, juicy taste of the Orange Crush cocktail — the seasonal beverage staple as enigmatic with summers on the Eastern Shore as a bucket of fresh crabs readied for cracking.

And this summer we will no doubt be hoisting these fresh-squeezed, icy libations with greater gusto than ever if the Maryland legislature gets full support to make the vodka-based Orange Crush our official State cocktail.

But what is this you say about our neighbor and Atlantic shore sharer Delaware and its official state cocktail, which happens to be the Orange Crush?

Yes, this is a juicy tale indeed, as Maryland Delegate to the Assembly, Wayne Hartman of District 38C in Worchester and Wicomico Counties, tells it.

“In August of last year, the State of Delaware decided to take credit for the Orange Crush and declare it as their official state cocktail,” explains Hartman, who co-sponsored HB 1001 with Maryland Senator Stephen S. Hersey.

Maryland Delegate to the Assembly Wayne Hartman

“This proclamation stems from the drink’s similar popularity in Delaware, and because of a bar in Dewey Beach claiming to have ‘perfected’ the cocktail. While imitation is the best form of flattery, credit for this nationally known drink should go to Maryland.”

The lip-smacking roots of the Orange Crush goes back decades to its origination in 1995 in a West Ocean City bar called the Harborside Bar & Grill, and its co-founders, Chris Wall and Lloyd Whitehead. And since that inception, Hartman says, many have tried to rebrand and redefine the Orange Crush as their own, but Hartman stresses that only the Harborside Bar & Grill has the true bragging rights to say, “Often Imitated, Never Duplicated”.

In fact, the rivalry for Orange Crush supremacy has spilled over to the District, reportedly going viral between senators Chris Coons of Delaware and Ben Cardin of Maryland as they participated in a good-natured Orange Crush making competition prior to last summer’s recess. We are happy to report that Team Maryland bested the concoction put forth by “The First State”.

In addition to bragging rights, the official designation brings with it the potential to  help boost tourism dollars in the State, as it serves up a prime menu item for promotion.

“The Orange Crush is not just a drink but part of the Maryland experience,” says Maryland Tourism Coalition’s Executive Director, Ruth Toomey.

The designation, she adds, will undoubtedly drive more tourism and strengthen the state’s economy. With the current 9% alcohol tax on each beverage served, passing HB 1001 would create a perfect opportunity for celebratory events across bars and restaurants, boosting both food and beverage sales.

“By designating the Orange Crush as the official cocktail, we can also stimulate new campaigns with liquor stores and distributors, spotlighting key ingredients like orange vodka.”

While the Orange Crush originated in Ocean City, the popularity of its juicy, icy goodness grew rapidly and has since been known to be promoted in various counties throughout the state, including Queen Anne’s with its annual Crabs N’ Crushes campaign that guides visitors to the places where crabs are noted to be delectably pared with this refreshing counterpart.

So, what crab dish best floats the boat for taste with this illustrious bill’s sponsor?

“Delegate Hartman likes to pair an Orange Crush with a Maryland Crab Cake,” says Hartman staffer, Will Smith.

The quest to make the Orange Crush the official state cocktail is currently awaiting a vote in the State Senate after unanimously passing in the House with a 137-0 vote.

Lead photo by Lisa Gotto

Lisa Gotto is a recent resident to Chestertown, who is greatly enjoying learning more about the area, its people, and what makes living here so special. She hopes to continue doing that through her work with the Spy and her role as owner of Tea Leaves Media, LLC,  a communications and content generation company. Since acquiring her B.A. In Communications & Journalism from Shippensburg University of PA, Lisa has been writing and editing for decades for numerous media outlets including The Morning Call and Lehigh Valley Style in Easton, Pennsylvania, and What’s Up? Media in Annapolis. 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

MassoniArt showcases collaborative Hostetler and Crocetta installation

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What do you get when you combine Susan Hostetler’s sculpted birds, Jacqui Crocetta’s ocean paintings, and Carla Massoni’s commitment to showcasing the creative process? A collaborative installation that celebrates the fragility, beauty and interdependence of migratory birds and the ocean!

“After telling Carla about our idea for a collaborative installation, she immediately suggested we present the work at MassoniArt. We were thrilled for the opportunity to work with Carla! It’s unusual for commercial galleries to support experimental work, but Carla is committed to advocating for the protection of the natural world.” — Susan Hostetler and Jacqui Crocetta

This installation explores the profound connection between the ocean and migrating birds—a symbiotic relationship that underscores the delicate balance of our planet’s ecosystems.

Jacqui Crocetta’s socially engaged practice has aimed to bring attention to both the human condition as well as the environmental crisis, while celebrating resilience and the capacity for healing. “The mindset of interconnectedness is the foundation of my work.”

The ocean is vital to life on Earth, and migratory seabirds are essential to the health of the environment and marine ecosystems. The dynamic arrangement of Susan Hostetler’s sculpted birds and Jacqui’s ocean paintings aims to celebrate the fragility, beauty, and interdependence of migratory birds and the ocean, while advocating for their protection.

Collectors and artists are encouraged stop by on Friday, March 28,  for a peek at the installation process 11-4. The Artist Talk on Saturday, March 29, may be of particular interest to artists interested in learning more about the collaborative process of this exhibition.

During the exhibition we will be playing with the theme of ‘water and sky’ and will feature additional work that showcases this theme.

Hours during the exhibition are Thursday – Friday, 11am – 4pm, Saturday, 10am – 5 pm and Sunday 11-2. Private appointments may be scheduled at any time by contacting either Carla Massoni (410-708-4512) or Kate Ballantine (410-310-0796) in advance.

Crocetta + Hostetler

Between the Sky and Sea

Jacqui Crocetta & Susan Hostetler

March 29 – April 27, 2025

Installation – Friday, March 28

Open House and Artist Talk – Saturday, March 29

First Friday – Friday, April 4

 

Upcoming Exhibitions:

Marcy Dunn Ramsey – Annual Exhibition
May 2025

Marc Castelli – Summer Exhibition

June 2025

For additional information please visit www.massoniart.com.

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Trump Administration slashes Dept of Ed. workforce threatening support for vulnerable students By Evelyn Lucado

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Editor’s Note:

At The Chestertown Spy, we believe in the power of the written word to bear witness, to provoke thought, and to strengthen the bridge between generations. In this spirit, we are proud to introduce a new series of contributions from student journalists at Washington College—voices that carry the urgency and clarity of youth in uncertain times. Their experiences, reflections, and reportage are vital to understanding how national policies ripple through small communities, classrooms, and lives. Our first article is by WC student Evelyn Lucado.

***

On March 1, the United States Federal Department of Education announced that they will reduce their workforce by nearly half following months of assurances from the Trump administration regarding efforts to downsize or potentially eliminate the Dept. of Ed., according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Although President Donald Trump lacks the authority to dismantle the Dept. of Ed. without congressional consent, the ongoing efforts to minimize the Dept. of Ed. and remove “woke ideologies” from the school system showcase not a concern for federal spending, but yet another attack from the Trump administration’s ongoing culture war.

President Trump claims that the American education system is instilling America’s children with “leftist propaganda.” However, a “patriotic education,” as President Trump promises in his Agenda 47, plan is little more than a promise for indoctrination in a different form.

Despite President Trump’s claims of indoctrination, the Dept. of Ed. does not determine what curriculum is taught to students. Instead, according to prior Elm coverage, the Dept. of Ed. is responsible for distributing federal funds, enforcing Title IX policies, managing student loan programs, and enforcing protections of disabled students, leaving curriculum decisions to the states.

“The abolition of the [Dept. of Ed.] will be felt most immediately by schools that serve students living in poverty who currently receive additional funding through programs like Title 1, and by students with disabilities and English language learners,” Chair of the WC Education department and Associate Professor Dr. Sara Clarke-De Reza said. “Across the country, any equalizing force that the federal [Dept. of Ed.] has in leveling the playing field for education state to state will be gone.”

President Trump’s focus on minimizing the Dept. of Ed. and threats to revoke federal funding over DEI distract from the existing problems educators face today.

“There was a nationwide teacher shortage even before the current administration took office. This shortage is due in part to the high demands placed on teachers and the relatively low amount of pay and support they receive for the work,” Dr. Clarke-De Reza said.

President Trump’s promises to minimize the Dept. of Ed., abolish teacher tenure, cut back on the number of school administrators, and remove “radical ideologies” that do not conform with his definition of a “patriotic education,” as promised in Agenda 47, would do little more than heighten the scrutiny and challenges faced by our educators today.

While the Dept. of Ed. claims that their staff cuts will not affect programs under their scope, such claims are doubtful when faced with the sheer volume of services and federal funds left with no concrete direction, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Those who argue that the Dept. of Ed. is an inefficient use of federal funding ignore the crucial role it plays in the lives of students across the country.

“I don’t think that people who are calling to abolish the department and reduce costs truly understand what a wide range of essential functions the [Dept. of Ed.] serves, and how many of them are aimed at improving and protecting the experiences of the most underserved and socially vulnerable students in our nation,” Dr. Clarke-De Reza said.

 

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