Latest SlackWater looks at So. Md. in the '60s, '70s

THIS ‘N' THAT

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

"All the SlackWaters are great … but, I think this is definitely going to be one of the most moving SlackWaters," said Julia King, associate professor of anthropology and project director, on Monday afternoon.

King noted that while past SlackWaters have focused on topics like oysters or growing tobacco, the latest volume encompasses a whole era, not so distant, and highlights "interesting, painful and exciting parts of our past," she said.

The journal, titled "The Instant City," explores the social, political and economic impact of the 1960s and ‘70s on the region through stories, interviews, photographs and artwork contributed by people from the community who lived through that formative era of rapid growth. The volume touches on the Civil Rights movement, women's rights, Vietnam, the space race, a growing environmental awareness, counterculture and rock and roll music.

"The literal and figurative conversation the magazine embodies is comprised of so many voices, often imbued with the deeply felt fervor of the dreams and changes they may recall, mourn or venerate as progress," said Zachary Pajak, editor of this volume of SlackWater and a senior English major at SMCM, in a statement. "Oral history narratives told by Southern Marylanders Emma Hall and Fred Talbert, as well as a poem by St. Mary's College professor emeritus and former Maryland Poet Laureate Michael S. Glaser, for instance, tell of the pains and triumphs of overcoming segregation, of staying hopeful and strong in the pursuit of dreams and equality. Stories by Vietnam veterans Frank Maio and the late J. Abell Longmore Jr. tell, respectively, of the horrors of war and the difficulties of re-acclimating to Southern Maryland after the return home."

Among the stories appearing in the volume is that of Fred Talbert. Talbert, died in 2004, worked at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station and was also a civil rights activist who worked to ensure that restaurants, hospitals and theaters were open to African-Americans, as required by Maryland's Open Accommodations Law and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. At the time these laws were rarely enforced in the area, and African-Americans were prohibited from entering such establishments through the front door. 

"Black people went around in the emergency department to get admitted to St. Mary's Hospital," Talbert said in an interview in 1991, reprinted in this volume of SlackWater. "Then, when you went to visit somebody, you had to go up the fire escape on the outside." When the hospital wanted to construct a new wing, African-Americans from across the region came together and made a donation to the hospital — on the condition that they would be permitted to enter the hospital through the front entrance like everyone else. "The black people, you know, they paid their share of it. So they put the new wing on," Talbert said. 

Another article in the journal recounts the 1968 legal battle between St. Mary's County residents and Steuart Petroleum, in "what The Enterprise at the time called one of the most bitterly fought controversies St. Mary's County has ever seen." The petroleum company sought to build a major refinery on Piney Point, on the Potomac River, and promised to bring in more jobs and tax benefits to the region. Citizens worried about the ecological impact of the refinery, particularly the consequences of unchecked industrialization on the local fisheries.  According to the article, co-written by Kirk Davis and King, director of the SlackWater Center, "Citizen outrage — fueled by the tenacious reporting of The Enterprise — forced Steuart to back off and, in late 1969, the company withdrew its application to the Department of the Interior."

Pajak, who took on the role of editor for his senior thesis project at the College, echoed King's description of the latest "SlackWater" as particularly moving. "Several lifelong residents of Southern Maryland who we asked to look over the stories told us that this is the first SlackWater to make them cry," he said. 

SlackWater is a publication of the SlackWater Center, created in 1998 by then-professor of English Andrea Hammer. The center brings together students, faculty and community members to explore some of the major issues facing the Southern Maryland community today at the dawn of the 21st century. The center maintains a large oral history archive and actively trains students in community research.

The latest issue of SlackWater will be available for purchase starting Thursday at the college bookstore.

COSMIC, students to offer take on West Side Story'

COSMIC Symphony, the community's orchestra, will close out its 2008-2009 season with two performances of its "Made in America" season finale.

Members of the audience are encouraged to arrive early to browse a preconcert, gallery-style art exhibit that will display Calvert and St. Mary's County students' interpretations of the Bernstein classic, "West Side Story," followed by the symphony and song of Tony and Maria and their modern-day romantic tale.

Soprano Robyn Martinez as Maria and tenor Philip Bender as Tony will perform selections from the musical. The concert will also include the world premiere of modern composer Sean Hickey's "Cello Concerto," featuring cellist Dmitry Kouzov.

Performances will be Saturday, May 16, at 7 p.m. at Great Mills High School and Sunday, May 17, at 4 p.m. at Huntingtown High School. Tickets are available at Educate and Celebrate in Prince Frederick, Sacchetti's Music in Huntingtown, Maertens' Fine Jewelry and Gifts in Lusby, Allegro Music in California, ITT-MWR at Patuxent River Naval Air Station and online at www.cosmicmusic.org. Call Lynn at 301-373-5277.

Service to participate in annual National Day of Prayer

First Saints Community Church will hold a prayer service for the National Day of Prayer at its St. Paul's Campus in Leonardtown (next to St. Mary's Hospital) this Thursday, May 7, at 7 p.m. In addition to prayers with varying focuses, the service will include historical readings linked to scripture, as well as patriotic and Christian-based musical selections. Nursery care will be available for children 4 and younger.

scraton@somdnews.com