Evolution of Generational Farming in SoMD

The World Is Your Oyster

Students AJ Ellis and Grace Dillingham walk us through history as they explore oyster aquaculture, sustainability, and consumption in the Chesapeake Bay. What is the future of this keystone species? Spike Meatyard of the Tall Timbers Marina, Jack Russell (a waterman in St. Mary’s County), and Everett Grube (an aquaculture apprentice) share what oystering may look like for the next generation of watermen.

Even’ Star Farm

What we eat is a major part of our culture and in Southern Maryland is integral to identity and the economy.  Student Jack Darrell interviews Brett Grohsgal, the owner of Even’ Star Farm in St. Mary’s County about organic farming and the transition from tobacco farming to new agriculture ventures in Southern Maryland.

The Golden Hotel

Once part of a large resort community in Southern Maryland for Black patrons, the Golden Hotel (later renamed The Graves Hotel) has been lost to time. Alma Jordan, her siblings, and Elfreda Mathis (interviewed by Delilah Parks) share their stories of growing up spending family vacations at the Golden Hotel.

Evolution of Generational Farming in SoMD

Student Kevin Glotfelty explores Black agriculture and how sharecropping has impacted generational involvement in farming in Southern Maryland.  Alvin Chase, grandson of Joe Thomas, a former sharecropper in St. Mary’s County, shares his family’s agricultural story alongside Larry Thomas (cousin to Alvin Chase) and Leandrea (daughter to Larry Thomas).

Little Vegas

In the 1960s Southern Maryland was the “Wild West” for gambling and eased the region into a stage of growth, bringing in more than 26 million dollars annually.  Student, Will Burke, uncovers why slot machines were phased out of the county and the political and financial implications of this decision.