| Vanishing Delmarva: Portraits of the Peninsula People |
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 The butler the baker and the fishnet maker ... once flourishing occupations on the Delmarva Peninsula, are falling victim to time. But 70 of these independent individuals are featured in Disappearing Delmarva: Portraits of the Peninsula People. |
| The hardbound volume, with 60 black and white photographs, captures lifestyles and professions that are endangered by progress but which are being preserved by those who treasure and represent the best of the region's past. |
| Along the back roads and back creeks of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia—in such hamlets as Felton, Blackbird, Taylor's Island, North East, Chincoteague and Sanford—colorful residents still work at trades passed down to them by grandparents and elders. |
| In their own words, in these pages, these hard working people of Delmarva share their proudest moments and their most satisfying memories. They also express their greatest fears about the region's life and culture that are sure to end when they are gone. |
| Meet author Ed Okonowicz and several of the people featured in the book at the Historical Society of Cecil County, where the first reception and book signing in the area will take place, beginning at 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 15, at the Old Library on Main Street in Elkton. |
| Also featured at the event will be World War 11 D-Day veterans Joe Lofthouse (Elkton) and Donnie Preston (North East), Pam Sargent and Bob McKnight of the Day Basket Company (North East), Phil Stanley and Debbie Stanley Storke of Stanley's Newsstand (Elkton), Edith Davis Nichols (North East) of the Davis Gift Shop and Otis Huff, the 'Hardware Man' (Newark, Del.). |
| Also invited is Wickes Wescott, boatman from the Gregg Neck Boat Yard (Galena), plus seafood shuckers and fish fryers from Rock Hall, Md. |
| Each of the people featured in chapters in the book has been invited to attend and sign autographs. |
| About the author |
| Ed Okonowicz is an editor in the Office of Public Relations at the University of Delaware. His articles has appeared in regional publications, and he is the author of the Spirits Between the Bays ghost/folklore series, which currently has five volumes. A member of the National Storytelling Association and Delaware Humanites Forum speakers bureau, he presents programs on regional folklore and culture throughout the mid-Atlantic area. |
| A native Delawarean, he now resides in Fair Hill, Maryland. with his wife, Kathleen, a watercolor artist and graphic designer. |
| Reviews |
| Ed Okonowicz reveals the true spirit of Delmarva--the people. Reading about the values of these dedicated and honest people reinforces the fact that Delmarva is special because of its people. From a scrapple maker and a chair caner to a ferryboat captain and a seafood shucker, you'll learn about these colorful characters who define Delmarva. For anyone who loves history with personality, Disappearing Delmarva is a wonderful experience. |
| --Ted Spiker, Editor, Delaware Today Magazine |
| This book is about people who have hung on over a lifetime to a cherished way of life while change boiled around them. It tells us to take stock today of what we cherish and not let change destroy it--like our beaches and open spaces, our farmlands and wetlands, our air and water. |
| --Russell W. Peterson, former Delaware Governor and |
| President Emeritus of the National Audubon Society |
| "Disappearing Delmarva captures the essence of ways of life that have made the Delmarva Peninsula a special place. In these pages, dozens of people tell unique stories of their dedication to crafts and to small scale business ventures that are being snuffed out in today's fast paced, high volume, impersonal economy. Ed Okonowicz's book will elicit feelings of nostalgia in many but, more importantly, it provides a permanent record of work and traditions that stand on the verge of extinction." |
| --Carol E. Hoffecker, Richards Professor of History, |
| University of Delaware |
| "As one of Baltimore's octogenarian artists remarked in the film, The Screen Painters, 'It's not the tradition that's dying, it's the artists who are dying...... The burden is on all of us to keep the traditions alive through memories as Okonowicz had done for us in his timely volume". |
| --Elaine Eff, Director, Cultural Conservation Program, |
| Maryland Historic Trust |
| Cost |
| The hardbound book, with 208 pages, will be available at $38, plus $1.90 tax. |
| For members, the cost is $34, plus $1.70 tax. |
| The event is open to the public. The program begins at 7 p.m., featuring remarks by the author and introduction of the special featured guests who are in the book. |
| For information, call (410) 398-1790 or e-mail us at history@cchistory.org |
| To order by mail go to the book store section of our web pages. |
