Portrait of an Island Part III: What the water brings

I just read your three part article and it made me cry. I have never been to Maryland but by was planning to for the Labor Day weekend this year. However, the quarantine may make it impossible. I’m the type of person who researches anything which truly interests me. The first reason I had to come to Deal Island was to attend the Skipjack Festival and meet for the first time, Dale Midkiff. I have been a fan of his since the 80’s. I began my research on places he would do comic cons at and this festival popped up. I saw where he had been raised in Chance, Maryland so that is where I began my exploration. Maryland was a complete mystery to me so I had to delve deep. My search led me to the discovery that Deal Island and Skipjacks And a rich history of sea captains and dredging for oysters. I looked for pictures which fired my imagination and made me daydream of seeing the church, the cemetery, the docks and to hear the voices of the Watermen early in the still dark early morning hours. Reaching out to the consumerism department I began planning to make the trip with my family. Somewhere along the way maybe through the captain who was nice enough to text me about the pictures I commented on; I fell in love with the skipjacks and their rise and fall to glory in history. Pictures of Houses and land returned to the bay broke my heart. Today I read your article about how The bay is reclaiming it’s land again and I truly feel the sadness of the residents. My home is a very small town too and it also is struggling to just keep what little it has as time marches on. The article you wrote touched my heart and I wanted you to know that I felt the love you poured into your writing. Maryland like my Virginia and the rest of the world waits with baited breath for things to return to normal. My deepest desire now is that I get to see the bay the way you portrayed it and the Skipjacks will have the sails unfurled and get to race.I hope and I get to meet the healthy residents of Deal Island on Labor Day weekend. Thanks for your wonderful piece on a important part of Maryland’s heritage. I pray this finds you well and safe. Sincerely, Mary Rhoton

Loved reading your 3 part series on Deal Island. I have wonderful memories of spending Easters and summer vacation there at my aunt and uncle's home across from the old bank on Deal Island Rd. which they owned at the time. This is a special community, I'm looking forward to returning to see my first skipjack races this labor day!