This year’s Kent Island Day, an annual family-friendly event organized by the Kent Island Heritage Society to celebrate the historical and cultural significance of one of our country’s earliest permanent communities, is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 18, with opening ceremonies in downtown Stevensville kicking off the festivities at 10:15 a.m. 

Settled in 1631 by William Claiborne, a well-connected Virginian, the people of what he named the Isle of Kent have witnessed a lot of history firsthand. Before Claiborne, native populations had inhabited the island, the largest in the Chesapeake Bay, for thousands of years. Over a very short time, however, as the newcomers broadened their geographical control, the presence of the original locals diminished to the point of extinction.     

Within a few years, despite obstacles and setbacks, Claiborne’s encampment grew into a thriving Jamestown outpost of over a hundred inhabitants. They cultivated tobacco, built boats, and made wooden barrels for commerce and trade. There are still families living on Kent Island that carry the surnames of these first-generation pioneers.

As Claiborne’s community expanded outside his Kent Fort palisades, the family of George Calvert, the first Baron of Baltimore, was granted a charter for the new colony of Maryland, which included Claiborne’s island. An extended and complicated feud was ignited after the Marylanders sailed up the Chesapeake in 1634 and claimed the Isle of Kent for their own.

Claiborne eventually lost the fight but he did not give up easily.

The first real town on the Eastern Shore was called Broad Creek and existed about where the subdivision of Kent Island’s Bay City is today. Located directly across the bay from Annapolis, Broad Creek operated a ferry route and boasted the primary components of a colonial village: a tavern, a courthouse, a jail, and a church. The church, a branch of the Anglican Christ Church, has worshipped in a series of locations over the centuries, was an outgrowth of the spiritual foundations Claiborne instituted from the beginning, and is now the longest active congregation in our state. 

For a couple of weeks during the War of 1812, British forces occupied and plundered Kent Island, launching mostly unsuccessful attacks on the nearby towns of Queenstown and St. Michaels in Talbot County.

By the mid-19^th century, as Broad Creek faded into history and the steamboat and railroad era took hold, a robust seafood industry established itself on Kent Island and the Eastern Shore. The towns of Chester, Dominion, and the newly created village of Stevensville became the island’s primary residential and commercial areas. In 1986, Stevensville’s town center was added to the National Register of Historic Places and, in 2013, was designated an official Maryland Arts and Entertainment District.

The “Oyster Wars” that took place from the end of the Civil War through the mid-20^th century did not leave Kent Island unscathed. Nearby, fighting between watermen and law enforcement over “Chesapeake Gold” made national headlines. The first commander of Maryland’s Oyster Navy, the precursor of our modern Natural Resources Police, was a Kent Islander named Hunter Davidson.

In 1917, Kent Islanders, led by state senator James Kirwan, banded together to defeat the federal government’s plans to relocate all residents of the island and build a weapon testing site here.

And, of course, the first Bay Bridge was completed in 1952, changing the island, and the rest of the Shore in ways that had, for the most part, stayed the same for generations prior.

In 1975, as islanders were preparing to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the founding of Claiborne’s colony, the Kent Island Heritage Society was formed for the purpose of “discovering, identifying, restoring, and preserving” Kent Island’s history and heritage. The organization’s members have worked hard ever since to “facilitate an appreciation of Kent Island’s place in the history of Maryland and of our nation.”

In 1977, Acting Governor Blair Lee signed a proclamation acknowledging Kent Island as the first permanent settlement within Maryland and declaring the third weekend in May as Kent Island Days.

Following this year’s opening ceremonies, the traditional parade begins at Kent Island Elementary School at 10:30 a.m. and will work its way through town to Church Street. Jack Broderick, Kent Island Heritage Society President and Kent Island Day Parade Chair, says organizers are particularly excited about this year’s parade as the plan is to feature “a great hometown mix of old cars, boats, and farm equipment, historic costumes, color guards, reenactors, scout troops, local clubs and civic groups, horses, fire engines, as well as elected officials and political candidates.” Because one of the society’s primary goals is to encourage an interest in local history in younger generations, Broderick is “thrilled” to be able to include marching bands from both of the island’s middle schools. This year’s Grand Marshall will be longtime society member Carole Frederick and the former Bay Times-Record Observer writer Doug Bishop will announce.    

Throughout the daylong event, Stevensville will be teeming with activity. There will be vendors of every type, historical exhibitions, cultural displays, living history participants, craft demonstrations, activities for children, a mini farmer’s market, food and beverage sales, and entertainment. Local authors and artists will be on site, including Dale Hall with her recently released book of photographs and prose, KENT ISLAND WATERSCAPES.

Kent Island Day will also provide visitors an opportunity to explore the Heritage Society’s various historic sites including Stevensville’s Cray House (c.1809) and the recently refurbished train station, as well as the old bank and post office. The Kirwan House Museum, a meticulously curated recreation of a traditional home and general store of the early 20^th century on Dominion Road in Chester, will also be open to the public on that day.

Stacy Bernstein, Kent Island Day’s Event Administrative Coordinator, says that this year’s celebration will have something for everybody because it’s important to “acknowledge and take pride in our shared past as that history connects us through time and encourages us to continue to nurture those connections.”

Jack Broderick concurs. He says, “Kent Island Day offers an informative and entertaining day of fun and friendship for the whole family to honor the heritage of Kent Island.”

For more information about this year’s Kent Island Day and the Kent Island Heritage Society, visit kentislandheritagesociety.org. Anyone interested in participating in Kent Island Day as a vendor, volunteer, or sponsor can contact Stacy Bernstein at 443-985-5681 or [email protected] or Jack Broderick at 410-829-7760 or [email protected]

There’s a local, long established, and nationally recognized youth group that needs help moving into the modern era of their sport.

The Queen Anne’s County 4-H Marksmanship Club has been active for over fifty years and operates under the mission statement to teach young people the basic skills and responsible handling of firearms while promoting disciplined, goal oriented teambuilding and providing members exposure to the upper levels of competition as well as potential educational and professional opportunities. Shooting in three position matches – standing, kneeling and prone – using small bore rifles and precision air rifles with participants ranging from eight years old to eighteen, the squad has repeatedly distinguished themselves in contests from the Chesapeake region to the USA Junior Olympics in Colorado Springs, Colorado and beyond.

According to Coach Fred MacKenzie, who took over from his brother Lou after Lou was selected for a coaching position at the United States Naval Academy, the Queen Anne’s team consists of talented athletes, involved parents, dedicated leadership, and a supportive home base, most everything needed to outfit a winning unit, but without the funds to update to the scoring technology used in current top-tier tournaments, the Marksmanship Club may not be able to continue to provide its members the opportunity to compete at the elite standards they’ve always worked toward.

The bottom line is this: The sport has gone electronic and the future isn’t cheap.

While competitors still utilize traditional firearms and ammunition with some upgrades and modifications, high quality advanced targeting systems that measure accuracy, velocity, and even detect cross shots from neighboring athletes are now the norm. These systems increase safety and training efficiency, show results instantly, and minimizes inaccuracies in judging.

They also cost about $6,000 per firing lane and the QA team needs to provide targets for at least twenty lanes to stay in the game.

For a club that’s still using paper targets and hasn’t upgraded its equipment in about a quarter century yet has had numerous members ascend to the top of the sport, the inability to modernize will soon exclude the local shooters from high level competition and could portend the limits of the team’s future.

It’s a downward spiral: Nobody wants to shoot on outdated paper targets anymore. Other teams stop coming here to compete. Fewer matches means fewer opportunities and less community interest. Less support equals a lower likelihood of continuing the successes the club has enjoyed in the past.

One recent club member who expanded upon her local marksmanship accomplishments is Morgan Phillips. After high school, Phillips studied at West Virginia University, where she helped lead her team to national victories as one of the best shooters in the school’s history. Named the NCAA Championships Top Performer in 2017, she then continued her studies at the University of Memphis, earning her master’s degree in sport and leisure management. After spending a season as an assistant coach for that school’s rifle program she was promoted to head coach in 2022. This year she was named the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association Head Coach of the Year and Great America Rifle Conference Coach of the Year.

Another standout past member is Coach MacKenzie’s son Mason, a 2019 graduate of Queen Anne’s County High School. Mason MacKenzie was a two-time Air Rifle National Champion, won the bronze medal at the 2015 Junior Olympics, and was a Maryland state champion in each of his last five seasons. This past May he realized a lifelong goal of graduating from the Naval Academy, where he’d been recruited by their team and competed under the leadership of his uncle. Since graduation, Mason has moved to Pensacola, Florida to begin training as a naval aviator.

Mason says when he was coming up through the club, he started shooting at the age of seven, there was an excitement about being part of the team and its achievements. He looked up to earlier members like Nash Richardson, who also went on to compete for the Naval Academy, and Nash’s sister, Mekenna. “These were accomplished but humble competitors that I was honored to stand aside,” he says. “I loved being part of our team, part of 4H, part of what that organization stands for. Participating in the county fair was always a highlight of the year. The marksmanship group gave me access to so many important experiences, provided endless opportunities to make friends from all over the county, and introduced me to so many caring, responsible mentors.

“We used to send seven or eight members to the Junior Olympics every year,” he says. “Now we’re lucky if it’s one. It’s a shame. The team is deserving and accomplished, but a lack of public awareness has hurt. There’s such a rich history there but I’m afraid that without community support it would be almost impossible to continue. It has always been expensive to be competitive. Equipment is expensive, travel is expensive, and that’s before you even talk about upgrading to the more modern targeting systems. People sometimes don’t see it as a sport because it’s not as popular and not as obviously physical as other team activities. It’s not a lost cause though because with the right backing, Queen Anne’s has the potential to help bring this club back to national prominence.”

Mason’s dad, Coach MacKenzie, has always tried to keep costs low to provide opportunity for as many members as possible but in these times of high costs and tight budgets, the Marksmanship Club is now looking for financial assistance from the community at large. To find out how you can help provide support for the continuation of the team’s longstanding success, reach out to Coach MacKenzie at qamarksmanship@gmail or 410-490-9379. More information is also available through the club’s Facebook page.

Brent Lewis is a native Chesapeake Bay Eastern Shoreman. He has published two nonfiction books about the region, “Remembering Kent Island: Stories from the Chesapeake” and a “History of the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department.” His most recent book, “Stardust By The Bushel: Hollywood On The Chesapeake Bay’s Eastern Shore”won a 2023 Independent Publishers award. His first novel, Bloody Point 1976, won an Honorable Mention Award at the 2015 Hollywood Book Festival. He and his wife Peggy live in Centreville, Maryland.

Over the decades, a vast number of superb teachers and administrators have served the public school students and families of Queen Anne’s County.

Mrs. Madelyn Hollis is among the finest.

Mrs. Hollis, ‘Matt’ to her friends, was born to Willie and Lillie Matthews on March 30, 1927. She grew up on tenant farms in Accomack County on Virginia’s rural Eastern Shore with four sisters and three brothers. Her parents raised their children to value faith, education, and hard work. At an early age she learned to pick “cucumbers, tomatoes, string beans, you name it. If something grew down there and people ate it, I picked it.” She also earned money for herself and her family by shucking oysters and working the line at the canning factories where food companies packaged local produce.

In the days of segregation, African Americans were lucky to have any access at all to education and in the time and place of Mrs. Hollis’s youth, neither their taxes nor their community at large covered the costs. Students, or their families, paid out-of-pocket to ride the school bus and for the use of hand-me-down books.

Those times were often hard and almost always unfair, but the young, self-described “country girl” craved knowledge, and bolstered by her mother’s encouragement to “make a name for myself and to do something worthwhile,” saw education as a path toward a productive life. She graduated high school at sixteen and a year later entered Delaware State College in Dover where she studied chemistry and education.

Discovering that Maryland paid teachers better than Virginia, when she graduated college in 1948, the young scholar applied to every county in our state. Only a couple responded, one of which was Queen Anne’s, who told her there were no positions available at the time. Instead, she took a job at a one-room “negro” schoolhouse in Metompkin, VA. where she taught fifty-four children in grades one through seven. Her annual salary was $1,500. Officials bumped that up by ninety-five dollars because as the school’s sole employee, she was also, technically, the principal.

Three years later, Queen Anne’s interviewed her for a job teaching math and science at Kennard, the county’s first and only high school for African Americans. Opening in 1936 and named for Lucretia Kennard, a visionary “Supervisor of Colored Schools” who advocated for Black students to have access to more than a rudimentary childhood education, the community had realized the construction of Kennard High School primarily through many small, most likely hard-earned, private donations. A few months after the arrival of the young teacher from the lower Shore, a new Kennard opened. This more modern brick building is the present location of Centreville’s Kennard Elementary School.

It was 1951. Her starting pay would be $2,500 per year.

She spent the next fifteen years there, teaching from a cramped and crowded classroom that sometimes was so full she instructed from the doorway. Because his staff had difficulty finding lodging, Kennard principal Larrie Jones obtained what became known as “the teacherage” a boarding house on Holton Street that housed half a dozen female teachers.

In 1966, Miss Matthews married Centreville native Randolph Hollis, a widower who worked at the local Acme grocery store. Hollis had a young, adopted daughter, Mary Ann, who would go on to give her parents a grandson named Lance.

This was the same year that the county school system, under the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Harry C. Rhodes, integrated and combined Kennard with the three county high schools for white students into one centrally located institution, Queen Anne’s County High School. The newly wed Mrs. Hollis helped make the transition run as smoothly as possible. “It was an adjustment for everyone because it was new,” she remembers, “but I soon realized students were students no matter their race or where they were from.”

As a teacher, Mrs. Hollis never sat much. She liked to walk around her classroom. It helped her keep an eye on her students’ behavior and make sure everyone understood the lessons she taught. Inattentiveness on the part of her pupils might earn them a pinch on the ear. At one point she started collecting notes she confiscated. She says the clandestine communiques were rarely scandalous, just mild school gossip, weekend plans, “everything but math.” She calls this file “What Students Are Doing While You Think You’re Teaching.”

After another fifteen years, including time spent as chairperson of the math department, Mrs. Hollis retired in 1981. Having prided herself on learning all 100 of her annual students by name in the first two weeks of the school year, she felt it was nearing her time to call it a career the day that she called one of her students by the wrong name.

In 1985 she was appointed to the county Board of Education, the first black woman to serve in that position. One of her goals was to recruit more minority teachers. She spent ten years on the board, two as president. She was also an engaged partner in successful efforts to transform the original 1936 Kennard school building into a community center and noted historic landmark.

In 2022, former colleagues, students, and the community in general united to celebrate Mrs. Hollis’s 95th birthday. The event was held in the Kennard African American Cultural Center, her first home as a Queen Annes County teacher, just down the hallway from her old classroom, now restored and named in her honor.  Poems were read, songs were sung, gifts were presented, and refreshments were served to the large turnout of well-wishers who attended.

Thinking about her long career, Mrs. Hollis says that she only ever wanted the best for her students. “I was a good disciplinarian,” she says. “I had to work hard. I didn’t have it easy, and it always bothered me to see kids waste time, but to watch a child’s eyes light up when they’ve come to understand something after struggling with it has been one of my greatest joys. It makes me feel good to know I’ve been a positive part of so many lives.

“And if nothing else,” she chuckles, “I know that to graduate, they all had to get past me.”

Brent Lewis is a native Chesapeake Bay Eastern Shoreman. He has published two nonfiction books about the region, “Remembering Kent Island: Stories from the Chesapeake” and a “History of the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department.” His most recent book, “Stardust By The Bushel: Hollywood On The Chesapeake Bay’s Eastern Shore”won a 2023 Independent Publishers award. His first novel, Bloody Point 1976, won an Honorable Mention Award at the 2015 Hollywood Book Festival. He and his wife Peggy live in Centreville, Maryland.