News Release

Annapolis Maritime Museum / 723 Second St / Annapolis, MD 21403
Contacts: Jeff Holland / 410 295-0104 / director@amaritime.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Feb. 5, 2008

Oyster Recovery on the Chesapeake Bay topic of Museum’s Maritime Seminar on March 6

Stephan Abel, Executive Director of the Oyster Recovery Project, will discuss his organization’s efforts to restore oysters on the Chesapeake Bay on Thursday, March 6, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Annapolis Maritime Museum’s Barge House. This will be the seventh in the Museum’s weekly 2008 Maritime Seminar Series covering a range of fascinating topics to commemorate our unique maritime heritage.

Since 2000, the Oyster Recovery Partnership has planted over 1 billion disease-free oysters and rehabilitated or created 60 large oyster bars. Stephan Abel will review the non-profit organization’s strategies to work with federal and state agencies, scientists, watermen and conservation organizations to restore the native oyster population so vital to the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

Stephan Abel has been the Executive Director of the Oyster Recovery Partnership since 2007. Prior to joining the Partnership, he was the Executive Director in the Office of Communications and Marketing at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. He enjoyed a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy, has held management positions at Sallie Mae and Careerbuilder, and earned a B.S. from Villanova University and a M.B.A. from George Washington University. A lifelong sailor on the Chesapeake Bay, he is married with two children and resides in Annapolis.

Enrollment fees for Museum members are $12 per seminar. For non-members, fees are $15 per seminar. To enroll, call the Museum at 410-295-0104. The Barge House is located at 723 Second Street in the Eastport neighborhood of Annapolis, MD 21403.

Upcoming Seminars:

March 13 - Shuckin’ and Tongin’: A Day’s Work at McNasby’s
By Sharie Valerio

As part of an oral history project for the Museum, Remember Inc. is collecting interviews with people who worked at McNasby Oyster Company. Their colorful memories are transformed into theatrical presentations. Two first person narratives debuted in the Grand ole Osprey presentation in December, 2007. Combining details gathered from different historical sources, Artistic Director Sharie Valerio will bring this special time and place to life.

March 20 - Voices of the Bay
By Michael Buckley, with photographs by David Harp

Michael Buckley is a 14-year veteran of radio and is host and producer of the multi-cultural music program called the “Sunday Brunch” on WRNR-FM of Annapolis. Over the past seven years, he has documented the lives of more than 250 people of this region through a series of audio interviews. For than fifty of these are now featured in the book Voices of the Chesapeake Bay, recently published by Geared Up Productions of Edgewater, MD. The interviews are illustrated with portraits by renowned Chesapeake photographer David Harp. Michael Buckley will discuss the Voices of the Chesapeake Bay and show slides of David Harp’s photography to introduce the audience to some of the Chesapeake’s most fascinating people. A book signing will follow the discussion.    

March 27 - Carr’s Beach Legacy
By Vince Leggett 

What is now the gated community of Chesapeake Harbour was once known as Carr’s Beach, the premier African-American waterfront resort. In a time of segregation, this was a haven for Black families from throughout the region who flocked there to enjoy the Bay, the fishing, the attractions, but most of all, the music by such greats as Ray Charles, James Brown, Lionel Hampton, the Shirelles and Little Richard. Vince Leggett, founder of Blacks on the Chesapeake Foundation, shares this legacy through photographs and film.

April 3 - Chesapeake Sailing Craft
By William Fox

Author and Naval Architect William Fox presents a rare photographic record of sailing craft from log canoes to four-masted schooners, showing the vessels in all phases of their activities on the Bay, including loading and unloading cargoes; under sail and in port; in shipyards; details of rigging, fittings, and decks; interior views; as powerboats; and abandoned hulks. The photographs were taken between 1925 and 1975 by Robert Burgess, curator of the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia, and published by Cornell Maritime Press in 1975. The recently re-released edition, edited by William Fox, brings alive the author's photographs and recollections for a new generation of readers.

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