NEWSLETTER

Fall 2012

Eastern Shore of Virginia Barrier Islands Center

Academy Award Nominee james spione presents... ...a new Barrier Islands Center documentary about the heritage of duck hunting and carving on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

The Barrier Islands Center is pleased to announce the premiere of the new BIC documentary - Friday, October 19th. There are two scheduled screenings that night - 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Cost: $10 - R.S.V.P. required.

Heart of the Community, Soul of a Culture

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The film...made by the same filmmaker/director of Our Island Home, features celebrated carvers and hunting guides from the area discussing the history of waterfowl traditions and how the heritage is being passed down to younger generations. The film features celebrated Virginia carvers from the area, including Cigar Daisey, Grayson Chesser, Mark McNair, P.G. Ross, and Carleton Cork McGee, as well as noted author/historian Curtis Badger.
Mr. Spione will discuss the making of the movie at the premiere. The film will be part of a permanent exhibit at the museum. Copies of the new documentary will be available in the museum gift store before Christmas. Pre-orders will be taken.

The director...Jim Spione has been a director, producer, writer, and editor of both documentary and fiction films for more than 20 years. His most recent documentary, "Incident in New Baghdad," was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short in 2012. LISTEN! to Our Eastern Shore Radio Vignettes
Every Wednesday and Sunday, WHRO and WHRV public radio stations air 90-second vignettes exploring the history and culture of Virginias Eastern Shore. The vignettes were produced in partnership with the Barrier Islands Center and WHRO. Listeners can also visit whro.org to hear archived podcasts of Our Eastern Shore. WHRO FM (90.3) Wednesdays at 3 p.m. Sundays at 9 a.m. WHRV FM (89.5) Wednesdays at 6:33 a.m. Sundays at 8:34 a.m. This project was funded in part by Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, in collaboration with WHRO and the Barrier Islands Center.

Thank you!
Art + Music = Fun for the Community
Thanks to everyone who came out for a fun-filled day of music, art and friends on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. We had a wonderful time celebrating the talent of Eastern Shore artists and musicians from around the great Commonwealth. Photos of the day are available on our website, barrierislandscenter.com. Special Thanks The event would not have been a success without the efforts of so many, including some 30 volunteers from Broadwater Academy, Exmore Rotary, BIC members, and BIC board. FM Lighting and Sound delivered excellent sound for the day of music. Great food and drink was provided by Chatham Vineyards, Eastern Shore Coastal Roasting Company, Holly Grove Vineyards, Debbie Kozak and Crew, Machipongo Trading Company. Thank you to Andy Buchholz of Eastern Shore Signs. And, finally, a big thank you to Eastern Shore Nursery, Hermitage Nurseries, Tankard Nurseries and Wescoat Nurseries. Funds raised go directly to the Barrier Islands Centers work helping the community as a history preserver, gathering place, and creative educator. We hope you will join us again on May 25, 2013, for another day of art, music, friends and fun!

My First Fieldtrip
Update by Sally Dickinson, Educational Director

I am pleased to report about the successful, multi-faceted cultural program for Pre-K students in Northampton County initiated in 2011 by the Barrier Islands Center and supported through PNC Foundations Grow Up Great award. A priority of the Barrier Islands Center is to expand our mission of educating our youngest about the unique coastal history of the Eastern Shore through innovative and engaging hands-on art, music, and history lessons. Description of My First Field Trip: The Barrier Islands Center offered an educationallyrich program involving art, music, and local history for children. Student groups from Northampton County Public Schools visited the Barrier Islands Center one morning each month for 4 months to enhance their cultural literacy by learning about the areas coastal heritage through a developmentally-appropriate, multi-faceted program. Students learned about barrier islands all over the world, in addition to the plant, marine, and animal life on and around our local islands. They also created framed artwork featuring birds, sea life, and other aspects of life on the barrier islands. The children enjoyed music classes, entitled, Sing and Play, taught by instructor Martha Giles. In the program, children experienced songs and flannel board song-stories, movement to music, bells, glockenspiels, lyres, and traditional hammered dulcimer music with a water theme - telling of our lakes, rivers, and oceans. Children joined in by experimenting the joyful music-making with unusual instruments from across the seas. How many children were reached? Beginning in September of 2011, the BIC started My First Field Trip with 2 Pre-K classes (total of 36 students) from Northampton County Public Schools. The feedback was so encouraging that we added two more classes (40 students) for the January-May session. For the 2011-2012 school year, the BIC raised and spent $5,874.38 on students from Northampton County and will do the same and even more for this upcoming school year. In April and May we had 83 children from Telemon Corporation and Broadwater Academy come to the BIC for a similar enrichment activity. Finally, this summer we offered the same program to 77 children in the Northampton County Migrant Head Start summer program. The children were divided into 4 groups by age and came over four days in July. We used some of the grant money to buy each child a recorder to take home to extend the music lessons they learned at the Barrier Islands Center. Thanks to PNCs Grow Up Great award, we were able to secure another grant from Gwathmey Foundation to expand this pilot program. With the generous support from Gwathmey Foundation, we are now able to offer the quality educational experience of My First Field Trip to all six Northampton County Pre-K classes for the 2012-2013 school year. We will also extend the opportunity to Accomack County Public Schools.

Whats been going on around the BIC...

Food, Glorious Food! Camp

Art and Music on the Farm

Broadwater Academy Kindergarten Pirate Camp

Time Travelers Camp

Broadwater Academy Kindergarten Migrant Head Start Summer Program

It began with a gift and continues with a challenge.

Last December we were thrilled to report that the Barrier Islands Center was named recipient of a $1 million Batten Endowment grant made possible by Mrs. Jane Batten and administered by the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. Since day one, supporters of the Barrier Islands Center realized that to sustain the Center, we would need a restricted endowment fund where only interest from the fund can be spent, not the principal that anchors it. Members of the board of directors initiated a campaign in January 2011 to create an endowment for the Centers educational programs, community outreach, and capital funds for completion of renovations to the historic property. As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we are pleased to report that we have raised over $2.3 million in gifts and pledges toward our campaign goal of $2.6 million. In addition to Mrs. Battens extraordinary $1 million endowment gift, she has also made a $500,000 challenge to match dollar for dollar every new endowment gift up to $500,000. We have currently raised over $286,000 towards this match, but we have another $214,000 to go. If you have already helped us meet the challenge, thank you! If you have not yet invested, now is a great time to help us meet our goal. Thanks so much for considering a gift to the Campaign, which will be matched 1:1 by Mrs. Battens $500,000 Endowment Challenge. For more information about our Campaign and our Endowment Challenge, please contact Laura Vaughan or Patty Kellam at 757-678-5550 or barrierislandscenter@live.com. Your support at any level is greatly appreciated!
My gift of $ December 31, 2016.) to the BIC will be paid over a period of years. (All payments are due by semi-annual, (year).

Enclosed is my initial payment of $ or quarterly installments of $ Please send me pledge payment reminders. Name (as you wish it to appear on the list): Address: Zip: Phone: Email: Check enclosed, payable to the Barrier Islands Center

. Balance will be paid in annual, beginning the _______ (month) of

City:

State:

Please charge my credit card: Visa/MC/Discover Card # Exp. Date Billing Zip: Signature: My/my spouses company will match the gift. Name of company: I have included the Barrier Islands Center in my estate plans. Barrier Islands Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All gifts are tax deductible as provided by the law. P.O. Box 206 Machipongo, VA 23405

Dogs on the Farm

Basic Obedience: Learn the fundamentals of companion obedience and how to communicate with your best friend. Your dog will learn mouth manners (take it, leave it, get it, drop it), control behaviors (sit, down, stay) and safety behaviors (wait, recall). Well also work on polite leash walking and more, and add games and tricks to keep your dog engaged and learning. No prerequisite - this is where your dogs education starts! Class starts Sunday, Oct. 7, noon. 6 weeks. $110. Intermediate Obedience: Build your relationship with your dog through leash work, including heeling, and pace and direction changes. Further develop a reliable recall with long-line work, and perfect stays with duration, movement and distraction. We add useful door manners and tricks to further challenge the dogs. Practice at home is required, as this is a fast-paced class. Prerequisite: Basic Obedience or permission of instructor. Class starts Sunday, Oct. 7, 1:30 p.m. 6 weeks. $110 Introduction to K9 Nose Work : The next fun activity for dogs is here on the Eastern Shore! Nose Work is a new activity and sport, based on detection dog training techniques. Help your dog recover his ability to follow scent to its source. Any dog can do it, regardless of training and social skills. Dogs are crated between runs, and work one at a time on boxes to develop consistent hunt drive and confidence. If youve taken this class before but are feeling a little out of practice, join us to get ready for instruction to Odor (to be taught in January). No prerequisite. Class starts Sunday, Oct. 14, 3 p.m. 6 weeks. $110

Come Learn With Us...

Boat Safety Course taught by the US Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 12-02 Saturday, Nov. 3rd and Saturday, Nov. 10th 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Preregister on Nov. 3rd at 8:30 a.m.) This class will teach safe boating skills to help lay the groundwork for years of boating fun. The course is designed for the average boater and will cover topics such as the various types and features of boats, trailering, safe fueling and basic maintenance, the rules of navigation and finding your way on the water, loading, operating, anchoring and docking your boat; state and federal legal requirements and how to handle boating emergencies. Participants will take the test at the end of the class to satisfy the new law that all recreational boats who operate a vessel having a 10 hp motor or more have to take and pass a safe boating class. Virginia is phasing in the law over a few years, and by 2016 all boaters will have to meet the requirement.

Cost: FREE

Ecology + Art = Exhibit Showcases Area Art Teachers Talents

Art Schwartzchild, site director for University of Virginia Anheuser Busch Coastal Research Center, and visiting artist Alice McEnerney Cook, organized a three-day class for art teachers this past April. The for-credit class provided local and regional art teachers the opportunity to learn and practice the techniques used in plein air painting, along with an introduction to the ecology and environmental issues impacting salt marshes. The teachers came to the Barrier Islands Center for a lesson in the history behind what they were painting. As an extension of the workshop, the art teachers will exhibit their seaside plein air paintings at the Barrier islands Center on Thursday, September 20th in a show entitled, Ecological Reflections. Dr. Schwartzchild will speak at 5:00 p.m. at the former Northampton Middle School Auditorium about the basic ecology of the local salt marshes and tidal creeks. A reception will immediately follow next door at the Barrier Islands Center. Artist-in-residence Alice McEnerney Cooks paintings will be for sale. Please RSVP.

Ecological Reflections
Lecture and Exhibit Opening Thursday, September 20th 5:00 p.m. at Northampton Middle School Art Opening to immediately follow at the BIC

The Little Things in Life small oil paintings by Carole Bggemann Peirson
Local artist Carole Bggemann Peirson will be showing small studio paintings depicting still life, as well as plein-air (outdoor) paintings of the Eastern Shore landscape done on location. The opening wine and cheese reception will be on Saturday, November 10th at 4pm and the exhibit will be up until November 30. Cost: FREE

Save the Dates!

Oyster Roast Saturday, Feb. 23rd Tickets go on sale to BIC members first in early January. Art & Music on the Farm Saturday, May 25th

Adult 3-Part Carving Class with P.G. Ross

Participants will carve an oyster catcher bird under the guidance of carver P.G. Ross. The first class will take place aboard the MV Oyster Catcher located at Oyster Harbor. Class size is limited to 4 adults.

Cost: $120
Saturday, Sept. 29th 10 a.m. until Noon Sunday, Sept. 30th 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2nd 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.

MV Oyster Catcher

Barrier Islands Center

Barrier Islands Center

Singing the News: American Broadsides and Ballads presented by Dr. Gregg Kimball from the Library of Virginia. Friday, November 16th at

10:30 a.m.
Before mass circulation newspapers and the internet, news often circulated among common people through printed and performed songs. Popular ballads told of notorious crimes, heartbreaking disasters, and important political happenings. These tunes documented both famous international events and local tragedies. The sinking of the Titanic spawned hundreds of songs, while the Carter Familys plaintive Cyclone of Rye Cove memorialized the children killed by a tornado at a Scott County schoolhouse. Some songs simply stated the facts of the event and let the audience draw its own conclusions; others clearly aimed to teach a moral lesson. Many songs were no less salacious than much of our current news, describing violence, sexual improprieties, and general bad behavior. Gregg Kimball, director of Public Services and Outreach at the Library of Virginia, will explain the history of the songs and perform versions of the early ballads. He will also bring and play early period recordings.

Barrier Islands Center Coffee Hour Lecture Series

Weather and Mother Nature: Are Old Folktales True? Fay Crossley will explore the folklore surrounding weather. He will retrace where the old wives tales come from and whether they are good indicators of coming weather events or just idle talk. Attendees will be asked about any weather tales they can add to the collection.

Friday, Sept. 21st at 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Fay Crossley joined the Navy in 1959 and spent 22 years as a weather observer, weather spy, and flight forecaster. He had assignments on three carriers: the Ticonderoga, Ranger, and Enterprise. His out-of-country assignments included Japan and Diego Garcia island, with several assignments on both coasts. In 1987, he accepted a job with NOAAs National Weather Service, with assignments in MD, NC, NY, UT, and VA. He was the Data Acquisition Program Manager for much of his career and retired from the National Weather Service in 2006.

Cost for both lectures: FREE

BIC Baby Boys!

Wyatt

Discover the Art of Book Illustrators

Abrakadoodle art classes for children (ages 5-12) Wednesdays, Sept. 19th-Oct. 24th, 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. Students will create their own illustrations as they explore some of the worlds most beloved and respected author/illustrators, including Eric Carle, Dr. Seuss and Leo Lionni.

Henry

Cost: $75

New!
All aboard the MV Oyster Catcher!

Mark

Childrens Carving Class with P.G. Ross

Saturday, Sept. 29th 2:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. (ages 8-14)

Christmas with a Twist

Childrens Christmas Workshop (ages 4-12) on Sunday, December 2nd from 2:00-4:00 p.m. In a new bend this year, children will decorate a surprise! (Hint: Has a nautical theme and they are located on some of Virginias Barrier Islands.)

Students will carve their own oyster catcher bird aboard the MV Oyster Catcher boat located in Oyster Harbor. What a setting to gain inspiration as students carve and paint their birds! Class size limited to 5 students.

Cost: $40

Cost: $25

Dates to Remember
Wednesdays, Sept. 19th through Oct. 24th 3:45 p.m. until 4:45 p.m. Discover the Art of Book Illustrators (ages 5-12) *** Thursday, September 20th 5:00 p.m. at Northampton Middle School Art Opening Immediately following at BIC Ecological Reflections *** Friday, Sept. 21st at 10:30 a.m. Weather and Mother Nature: Are Old Folktales True? *** Saturday, Sept. 29th - 2:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Childrens Carving Class *** Saturday, Sept. 29th (3-day class) see details for dates and times Adult Carving Class *** Sundays, Oct. 7th through Nov. 11th - 12:00 p.m. Basic Obedience Dog Class *** Sundays, Oct. 7th through Nov. 11th - 1:30 p.m. Intermediate Obedience Dog Class *** Sundays, Oct. 14th through Nov. 18th - 3:00 p.m. Introduction to K9 Nose Work Dog Class *** Friday, October 19th - 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Premiere of the NEW Barrier Islands Center documentary *** Saturdays, Nov. 3rd and Nov. 10th - 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. (preregister on Nov. 3rd at 8:30 a.m.) Boat Safety Course *** Saturday, November 10th at 4:00 p.m. The Little Things in Life; small oil paintings by Carole Bggemann Peirson *** Friday, Nov. 16th at 10:30 a.m. Singing the News: American Broadsides and Ballads *** Sunday, December 2nd - 2:00 until 4:00 p.m. Christmas with a Twist

Two Feuds and Emancipation At Last

(Part Five of a Series) by Jerry Doughty
At the end of 1863, the well-intentioned Brigadier General Henry H. Lockwood was transferred from the military command of the Eastern Shore. His replacement was the notorious political general Benjamin F. Butler. Although Lockwood had been carefully chosen by his superiors to make a good impression on our citizenry, Eastern Shore citizens suspect he was happy to be rid of the frustrations we caused him. Major General Butler badly wanted the Eastern Shore and ruled us from Fortress Monroe in Hampton. He is not known to have paid us a social call. That honor went to Lieutenant Colonel Frank J. White. Gossip stated that while in residence at Cessford in Eastville, White enjoyed the use of an expensive billiard table and drank imported fine wines. Generals on both sides who were promoted for political reasons were usually a disaster. They were men with strong political Brigadier General Henry H. Lockwood connections who wanted to play soldier with little or no military training. Butler was one of the worst. To be fair, it should be noted that General Butler did try to alleviate the plight of freed slaves and prisoners of war. He falsely claimed to have conquered New Orleans; he enriched himself and his family by devious means, and had a penchant for huge showy projects involving vast amounts of blasting powder. This last was his undoing, and after his disastrous failure to destroy Fort Fisher guarding Wilmington, North Carolina, President Lincoln relieved him of his command. This news certainly delighted the Union-backed governor of Virginia, Francis H. Pierpont. The two men simply despised one another and their long-running feud continued well after the end of the war. Butler claimed that Pierpont and other loyal Virginians were sneaks and cowards. Pierpont countered that Butler was the most profound scoundrel in America. ****** Most old Eastern Shore families owned slaves or rented slave labor from those who did. Despite the exemption of Accomack and Northampton Counties in President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation (1862), slaves surely thought they would be freed with the Union occupation. However, unless their owners fled the peninsula to serve the Confederacy, they were driven away from the Union camps and, as in one case reported in The Regimental Flag, were politely returned to the owner. The Regimental Flag was a newspaper published by the Second Delaware Volunteers of the United States Army for a few weeks in early 1862 at the newspaper office in Drummondtown (Accomac). It included local gossip, advertisements, puzzles, goofy stories for the Union troops, and satire at the expense of the F.F.V.s (First Families of Virginia) who crossed the Bay to aid the southern cause. The article about the return of a slave boy is of such crude nature that it cannot be printed in this publication. The Yankees, however, thought it was hilarious.

Benjamin F. Butler

In April 1864, Governor Pierpont ordered that the slaves be freed. This emancipation would be confirmed by the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865. A few owners forgot to tell the slaves the good news. But what about the free African-American residents who had never been slaves? They had been on the Eastern Shore since the 1600s and included, at that time, the highly-respected Anthony Johnson. Fear of slave revolts caused southern legislatures to place increasingly harsh restrictions on free men of color. They could not live in a town, had to carry a pass when traveling, and were subjected to a degrading registration. Sometimes the restrictions were ignored. Free blacks owned bakeries, barbershops and even the large church in Richmond which the Confederate government rented for public meetings! In Northampton and Accomack Counties, the Freedmens Bureau took charge of the newly freed slaves providing them with necessities and education.

Francis H. Pierpont

General Butlers surrogate on the Eastern Shore was Lieutenant Colonel Frank J. White. White assumed that the free black population should be brought under his personal supervision and that of the Freedmens Bureau. The free blacks were outraged. They had waited over two hundred years to be considered full citizens. White ordered that all unemployed African Americans over the age of fourteen be put to work. Strikes against Whites authority were organized by Griffin Collins, listed in the 1860 census as a waggoner, that is, a transporter of goods. He had prospered in the business. The Union officer could not understand Collins behavior. Mr. Collins simply wanted the dignity and respect due to any American citizen. ****** There is an oft told poignant story that has become part of American folklore. It seems that on a very hot day, an elderly slave with his mule was plowing when he noticed the approach of a tall awkward man wearing a stovepipe hat on the dusty road adjacent to the field. The stranger paused at the fence and politely asked for a drink of cool water. The old slave obliged with a dipper of well water. The tall man gratefully drank it and thanked him for his kindness. Then the stranger with the tall hat said, Sir, your work is over. You are now free to go. This story was told in many places in the South and, although it could not possibly be true, former slaves accepted it as an article of faith that Abraham Lincoln had personally come to them bringing freedom.
Our last article involves activities at Willis Wharf and on the Barrier Islands. Credits and suggested readings will be included.

Thank you
United States Coast Guard Auxillary for painting the BIC buoy and installing solar panel to power the light on top!
Before After

PTSTD STD Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Permit #206 Machipongo, VA

Barrier Islands Center PO Box 206 Machipongo, VA 23405

The Hog Sheep Island Sheep in a Twisted Christmas Tail

by Andrew Barbour and Louise Orlando Illustrations by Cameron Waff

Coming in December! The Barrier Islands Center proudly announces the debut of a children's book on Hog Island Sheep. Sale begins in December at the Barrier Islands Center gift store. What a perfect Christmas gift! Pre-orders will be taken this fall.