Port Deposit Fishing Report

In our quest to fish in every county in Maryland, my son, my nephew, and I headed to Port Deposit in Cecil County last weekend.

Our original plan was to go fishing in Harford County at Conowingo Dam, but we had a lot of rain in the few days leading up to the weekend, so we were greeted with this sign.  This is not a sign that my son wants to see.

And they weren't kidding.  Here's the pavilion where you can normally fish.  It tends to be a bit hazardous when there are waves breaking over the sidewalk.

Here's a tree that's mostly underwater.  The worst part is that there were fish jumping like crazy here.  But we couldn't get to them.



This is the water out in the middle of the river.  A wee bit rough.



This is Conowingo dam.  Not all of the locks are open, but enough to make a big mess downstream.



One of the best parts of being at Conowingo is getting to see all of the wildlife.  Here is a black cormorant.



I love this picture of a blue heron flying away from me.



I also saw some orioles, some turkey buzzards, and some ospreys.  Other birdwatchers were there and they said they saw bald eagles, but I wasn't able to find any.

Once I got my fill of natures and pictures, we headed across the dam, then down Route 222 and drove down the east side of the river to Port Deposit.  We stopped at Marina Park and found our spot.  This was our view looking south down the Susquehanna River.  The first bridge is the I-95 Tydings Memorial Bridge, then there is a train bridge, then the Route 40 Thomas J. Hatem bridge, then another railroad bridge.  Lots of bridges.

I snapped this picture of a blue heron flying away from this seagull.  After I took it I realized that he had a fish in his mouth.

We all caught a bunch of white perch, though none were that big.  I probably caught 4 or 5, my son perhaps caught 30 and likewise with my nephew.  We caught nothing else.  Just white perch.  Old Man Jenkins next to us caught a catfish and a small striped bass.

One of the reasons I only caught 4 or 5 fish is that I get easily bored with fishing, so I walk around and take pictures.  Here is the Gerry House where General Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette boarded once.  You may know just him as General Lafayette, one of George Washington's most trusted generals.  Living history!  Though I don't think Lafayette parked his Honda Accord in the alley.

Here is Joe's Grog House, which looks like a cool place to hang out.

The Port Deposit side of the river is very steep.  There is another street at the top of this hill with the terraced wall that has small waterfall running through it.

And what's a fishing trip without a reference to Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged?  This happened to be spray painted in the back of the Port Deposit Post Office.

Book Review: Maryland's First Black State Treasurer

This is the other book that I bought at the Carroll County Historical Society back in December. I quickly flipped through the book and learned that the first black State Treasurer in Maryland was actually from Carroll County. That was enough to convince me to buy the book.

Maryland's First Black State Treasurer was written by Timothy A. Dixon, the son of Richard N. Dixon, said treasurer. Richard Dixon was born in Westminster, Maryland and attended the Robert Moton school, one of Carroll County's schools for blacks. The black students from Carroll County were not integrated into the white schools until the late 1960's, which blows my mind. I was born in 1972, so this was only a few years before I was born. I think one's concept of history is framed by your present state, and I have always been in classes that were racially diverse.

After graduating from high school, Dixon went to Morgan State College (now University). After college, he was drafted and served time in Vietnam, just like many of our fathers. (My father was in college from 1967 - 1971 and got married right after he graduated, so he never got drafted)

After returning from military service, Dixon worked for a branch office of Merrill Lynch. It was soon thereafter that he was nominated to serve on the Carroll County Board of Education by Governor Marvin Mandel. In 1970 the newspaper read, "Westminster Negro Appointed to School Board." Reading this made me feel like I was in the middle of Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddles.

In 1978, Richard Dixon ran for State Delegate from Carroll County. As the writer points out, Carroll County at this time is about 3% African-American and mostly Republican. It was quite an accomplishment for Dixon as he was elected several times.

In 1996, Richard Dixon was appointed State Treasurer, becoming the first black (or African-American as we must say today) to hold this position. During those years he successfully updated the accounting systems used by the state, conducted a thorough audit of the state's financial records, renegotiated contracts to hold state assets, which included moving money into local banks and some minority-owned banks. The return on investment of the state's pension fund also was very successful during this time.

Treasurer Dixon retired in 2002 due to declining health, but he left behind an impeccable legacy. His name graces the front of many buildings, including the Richard N. Dixon building at the Carroll Hospital Center in Carroll County, and several buildings at Morgan State University.

From an informational viewpoint, this book was very good. However, this book is terribly written. The pages are constructed of disconnected thoughts. There are numerous reassertions of the same point over and over again. There are incorrect references throughout the book, such as to Disneyworld (Disney World). The book mentions a trip to Los Vegas. Where the hell is that? Dixon also made a trip to Van Coover (Vancouver) and Albacurci (Albuquerque). Later is says that he went to Disneyworld in California (Disney World is in Florida) and Disneyland in Florida (Disneyland is in California). Sure, these are trivial matters, but if you write a book it is so easy to use spellchecker to correct the misspellings. And how difficult is it to have someone proofread what you have written?

If you are truly interested in reading about the life of Richard N. Dixon, you can certainly read this book. But if you just have mild curiosity, I would recommend not reading this book. As my wife can attest, it was very frustrating reading a book written about as poorly as something written by a 5th grader.

Visit Carroll County Historical Society - But Call First!

This is getting to be a running theme with this blog. You'd think I'd learn my lesson. Either I'm forgetful or stupid. I'll go with forgetful.

On one of the last days of my vacation between Christmas and New Year's I decided to go visit the Carroll County Historical Society. I did visit their website. Based on the days of the week and their hours of operation, I figured they would be open.

I wasn't sure what to expect. The website indicates several houses that can be toured. They were all built during the late 1700's and the early 1800's. I love these kind of buildings. If I was rich I'd totally buy one and pretend to live there now and then. But then again, I'm not a lawyer.

I arrived and go in one of the buildings. A nice older lady greets me and says that the administrative office is open, but the other buildings are closed and the historical library is closed. I really would like to visit the historical library. I imagine there to be lots of pictures and books of all historical things in Carroll County. Boo...

She tells me the Shops At Cockey's is open. Doesn't sound like my thing. What? Oh, it's not that? So I go to the Shops At Cockey's. It's one of those places where local artisans sell their wares. There's plenty of ready-to-make recipes, jewelry, paintings, and other hand-made items. There are books in the rear of the store. And there is a quasi-museum on the left side.

A lady comes out to greet me. Obviously I'm the first customer of the day. Perhaps the first customer of the month. I tell her I'm there to take in the historic elements of the home and settle my curiosity. I then ask her if it's okay to take pictures. Oh-boy! She turns into a nervous Nelly. "Why do you want to take pictures? Are you with the press? You're not trying to get me in trouble are you?"

I'm taken back by the string of questions. I tell her that some historical places do not allow you to take pictures, while others allow you to take pictures of you turn off the flash. She seems somewhat satisfied. She then begs the question again, "Why do you want to take pictures?" "Because I like taking pictures???" She finally unconvincingly concedes and tells me it is fine, though her voice quivers. I was starting to think there were some top secret items there. Perhaps even some stolen goods. Why the hysteria and paranoia??? Are you with the Confederates???

So here are the top-secret pictures I got as an undercover media person trying to get an older lady in trouble. The theme of the quasi-museum changes and currently it is toys.

This item is an old grocery store. It is in a metal container with cardboard items replicating real-life items of the era.

This kid-powered dump truck was pretty interesting. I had a fire truck of similar style, though certainly not as old.


This doll carriage is from the 1870's. Very ornate. Imagine buying this in a store today. It would cost several hundred dollars - if not more! Wal-Mart wouldn't even carry it because there aren't enough distorted plastic materials made by underpaid communist Chinese slave laborers.

This building is the historic Westminster Sherman-Fisher-Shellman House constructed in 1807. It was closed for the week.


This is the Carroll County Historical Society's building. It is also known as the Kimmey House, which was constructed in 1800. John Adams was President then. For those of you not good at math, that was a long time ago.


The house on the right with the green shutters is the Cockey's Tavern. To my surprise, it's not a gay brothel.


This building is a law firm I believe. It's a really interesting building. If you open the picture check out the ornate details.


This here is an old brick house on Main Street. I think it's also occupied by one of them thar' lawyer types.


This is also a law firm. Thank goodness for law firms and their desire to maintain historic houses.

You're never going to guess this, but this house is occupied by a law firm. At first I was taken back by the mint green color, sort of reminded me of some ice cream I wanted to get at Hoffman's, but if you click on the picture and note the contrasting green and dark grays and blacks and whites, I'm sure you'll come to appreciate it like I do.


So the next time you plan to to to Westminster to tour the Carroll County Historical Society's buildings, call first. Ugh....

Civil War In Maryland

I love history, but must admit that most of my history reading has been concentrated on the Revolutionary War and World War II. I have only read a handful of books about the Civil War, including The Civil War in Maryland by Daniel Carroll Toomey, Killer Angels, the historical novel by Michael Shaara, The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, and Never Call Retreat, the historical fiction by Newt Gingrich.

And I think I have a unique perspective on the Civil War. I live in Maryland, which some consider the South (yeah, whatever!), while others consider it the North. I consider it the mid-Atlantic. Maryland was occupied by the Union during the Civil War, at least Baltimore and Washington, D.C. were. I went to college in South Carolina. And let me tell you, the Civil War is not over for many of them. And it is not called the Civil War (what's so civil about war, anyway?). They commonly refer to it as the War of Northern Aggression. And the war was not about slavery. It was about states' rights. Okay, if that's what you want to believe. It's a moot point because Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant, the United States won the war, and freed the slaves (at least in theory). This is why Republican President Abraham Lincoln is often considered one of the best Presidents ever. Yes, a Republican freed the slaves. Not a Democrat. The Democrats fought viciously to maintain slavery. Funny how that is, isn't it?

On Friday my wife informed me that there was going to be a Civil War Encampment reenactment in Westminster, Maryland. Maryland only saw one major batter during the Civil War - Antietam. There were, however, several skirmishes. And Maryland saw both the Union and the Confederacy columns rolling through prior to and after the Battle of Gettysburg. Many of these Confederate columns ran right through Carroll County. One of those columns was led by Major General J.E.B. Stuart of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

When General Stuart's column got to Westminster, he came under fire from a Delaware regiment led by Captain Charles Corbit. Stuart's column had about 5,000 soldiers. Corbit's regiment had about 90. The skirmish lasted about 2 hours and ran through the streets of downtown historical Westminster. Obviously, Corbit was outnumbered and eventually defeated.

Some have said that because Corbit held up the column for 2 hours, the Confederates were exhausted from the fighting and decided to rest a day before heading the rest of the way up to Gettysburg (about a 20 minute drive north of Westminster). This prevented them from being engaged in the first day of the battle. Had Stuart been there when the battle started, the Confederates may have been able to push the union off of Cemetery Ridge and defeated them, thus possibly ending the Civil War early and on their terms. Fortunately, fate fell into the Union's hands that day in June, 1863.

By the way, these pictures were taken in Sepia on my Nikon D40x. Do you like?