Do you believe in ghosts? Almost every place has its tales of eerie figures from the past, and the Eastern Shore, rich in history, is especially fertile territory for ghost hunting. Growing up in Chestertown, I had a close friend whose father was president of Washington College — which meant they lived in the Hynson-Ringgold house on Water Street. Not long after they moved in, I heard the story of the ghost on the stairwell. The central room on the first floor of the house — which dates from 1743 — has an elaborate staircase, with two branches leading up halfway, then curving in and joining to make a single flight the rest of the way. The story, as I heard it, is that if someone goes up the wrong way, a female ghost will appear and tell them to go back down and take the other branch. I will say that I visited the house any number of times, including a few overnight stays with my friend, and never encountered the ghost. Neither, as far as I know, did my friend or any of the other members of the family. It seems unlikely that we never went up the wrong way. Another story: the sister of a friend, who lived near the Episcopal church in Church Hill, said that their house was located on the former site of the church’s graveyard. And, according to the sister, at certain times, the house would be filled with the marching ghosts of Revolutionary-era soldiers, presumably from the graveyard. To the best of my knowledge, no battles — Revolutionary or otherwise — took place in that part of Queen Anne’s County. However, Maryland supplied troops to many battles elsewhere. So the ghosts could be of soldiers who died elsewhere, or veterans who returned home to be buried in the churchyard. Again, I never saw these ghosts. But the story is as credible as any of the myriad other ghost stories told around the country — depending on how much you trust the teller. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, their stories are in many ways an entertaining way to relate to our past, to the people who once lived in our communities. Who might those marching soldiers be, and where might they have seen battle? This is the territory of historians, of course. So it shouldn’t be surprising that a significant number of books from history-oriented publishers are actually collections of ghost stories from particular regions. There are any number of books about Eastern Shore ghosts, many of them focused on a particular county. Mindy Burgoyne of Somerset County has written several books, covering pretty much the whole Shore. Ed Oconowicz's Haunted Maryland covers the whole state, with a generous helping on the Eastern Shore. And there are two for Kent County, one by D.S. Daniels and the other by Albert Gorsuch . That’s just a sampling. Your local public library undoubtedly has a good selection. Also check out the Eastern Shore Regional Library system’s online catalog to see what they have. If you’re looking for a more active ghost experience, there are several companies offering ghost tours of different parts of the state. Burgoyne’s Chesapeake Ghost Tours covers several counties, with a full schedule of tour s. For tours in other parts of Maryland, the Maryland Office of Tourism’s site has a comprehensive list. Whether you enjoy scary stories, or are looking for an offbeat way to learn about local history, the ghosts of the Eastern Shore are at your service. Just be careful not to go up the stairs the wrong way — you never know who you might meet! Peter Heck is a Chestertown-based writer and editor, who spent 10 years at the Kent County News and three more with the Chestertown Spy. He is the author of 10 novels and co-author of four plays, a book reviewer for Asimov’s and Kirkus Reviews, and an incorrigible guitarist. 

In November, Americans will go to the polls and decide the leadership of this country for the next two to six years. Some candidates run unopposed and a few others win by sizable margins or even a landslide. But most elections, especially at the national level, are close with just a few percentage points separating the winner from the runner-up. This is why — whether any individual voter believes it or not — every vote counts. Let’s look at the presidential race. The fact is that one of two men, Joe Biden or Donald Trump, the Democrat or the Republican — barring some unforeseen event — will be the next president of the United States. Other names may be on the ballot but they will not win. However, they can be spoilers, reducing the margin of victory, creating controversy and chaos, or drawing enough votes to cause some candidates to lose a race they otherwise might have won. This is especially true in the presidential race, due to the winner-take-all system of the electoral college in most states. The same is true for elections to the Senate and the House. The choice, realistically, is between the candidates of the two major political parties — the Democrats and the Republicans. There are, of course, other parties, minor parties such as the Green Party and the Libertarian Party . There are also Independents, candidates who are not affiliated with any political party. The percentage of votes that these minor players get is always very small, just a few percentage points of the total vote, generally less than 5% of all votes cast. However, that fraction is often more than the difference between the two major party candidates. Even if you don’t particularly care for either Biden or Trump, nonetheless, one of them will be the next president. Which do you prefer? You can either vote for one of the two candidates who will become president or you can vote for an independent, a third party candidate, or a write-in. Or you can not vote at all — just stay home. But all those decisions are essentially choosing to throw your vote away. In the 2020 election, about 66% of eligible voters went to the polls . Approximately 34% stayed home. That’s enough votes to swing any election. Just under 3 million of the 158 million voters in 2020 cast their ballots for third party or independent candidates or voted for write-in candidates . Some cast protest or joke ballots, writing in their own names or Abraham Lincoln or Donald Duck. Sadly, most of those votes were basically “thrown away” because those candidates never had any realistic chance of winning. Reasons for voting for a minority party candidate or not voting are many. And those reasons may feel correct or righteous. “I want to send a message. Because climate change is my main concern, I plan to vote for the Green Party.” Or “I’m voting for the Libertarian candidate because I like their policies on government regulation.” Or perhaps “I’m not voting because they’re all corrupt, and my one vote won’t make a difference.” But it does make a difference. Many elections, especially in small districts, are decided by just a few votes. Some are tied and winners have been chosen by a coin flip or by drawing straws. In 2017, a tie between the Democratic and the Republican candidates for a seat in the Virginia state legislature was decided by drawing names from a bowl . The Republican’s name was drawn, giving the Republicans a 51-49 majority. Had the Democrat’s name been drawn, the legislature would have been tied at 50 each. Just one vote determined which party controlled the Virginia legislature. In Maryland, polls show the race for the Senate seat between Democrat Angela Alsobrooks and Republican Larry Hogan are very close, within two percentage points and well within the margin of error. Whichever one wins will affect control of the Senate. Whether Democrats or Republicans control the Senate will have a great effect on many issues, including reproductive rights, immigration policy, taxes, and foreign policy, especially regarding the two on-going wars in Ukraine and Gaza. There are significant differences between the policies of the two major parties on all of these issues. No matter who you vote for — or if you don’t vote at all — the next president is still going to be either Biden or Trump. Alsobrooks or Hogan will be the senator from Maryland. The House and the Senate will be under either Democratic or Republican control. Don’t throw your vote away. Vote. And vote as if your vote matters. It does. Jane Jewell is a writer, editor, photographer, and teacher. She has worked in news, publishing, and as the director of a national writer's group. She lives in Chestertown with her husband Peter Heck, a ginger cat named Riley, and a lot of books. 

In mid-May Common Sense published an article with a schedule of the fun and festivities here on the Eastern Shore during May and June. The fun will continue during July, August, and September, beginning, of course, with Independence Day. Many of the colorful fireworks displays below are part of larger Independence Day celebrations; check the event websites for more information. Cecil County — July 3 in Elkton at Meadow Park and in North East at North East Town Park; July 5 at Chesapeake City, over the canal Dorchester County — July 4 in Cambridge at Great Marsh Park Kent County — July 3 fireworks in Rock Hall at the harbor, July 4 parade and festival; July 4 in Chestertown at Wilmer Park waterfront and at Great Oak, outside Chestertown Queen Anne’s County — July 4 in Chester at Chesapeake Heritage and Visitors Center, fireworks and Independence Day celebration Somerset County – July 6 in Crisfield at City Dock Talbot County – July 4 in Easton at Easton Parkway and St Michaels Road; July 5 in Oxford; July 6 in St Michaels at CBMM Wicomico County — Fireworks Extravaganza July 4 in Salisbury at Bennett Shipyard Worcester County — July 3 in Berlin at Heron Park; July 4, music and fireworks in Ocean City at downtown beach and Northside Park; July 5 in Snow Hill at Sturgis Park The Village of Allen, in Wicomico County, is the location for the Lions Club Independence Day celebration on July 4. The parade will form at Friendship Church at 2 pm and end at the Allen Community Hall where there will be food and fun activities. Other July events include the First Saturday Guided Walk at Adkins Arboretum in Caroline County on July 6 from 10-11am. Also in Caroline County on July 18 from 5-7pm is Third Thursday in Downtown Denton.

A song from Hamilton says it all: “Immigrants. We Get the Job Done.” Maybe there are many other jobs immigrants can do. Let’s think outside the box. Perhaps a new paradigm is called for. Recently I drove through north central Florida. This sparsely inhabited, flat, scruffy landscape reaches for miles and looks depressing. We should cheer it up. As John Winthrop imagined for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, this land could be “as a city upon a hill.” It is not far from major airports and highways and has a pleasing climate. What a perfect location for a new mega-city! An archetype for the world! America is great again! I can see it now. Envision this — a new metropolis initially established by the federal government, built and then staffed by immigrants, in partnership with Amazon, Walmart, and other labor-intensive national and international businesses that cannot fulfill the continual need for skilled and unskilled workers. The source of funds for such an enormous project? Think of the vast, inestimable amount of money now spent on U.S.-Mexico border patrols, enforcement, infrastructure, technology, emergency medical and social services, attorneys, busing immigrants to New York! Instead of this DEstructive, dream-killing policy being implemented every day by the U.S. government, imagine a CONstructive (pun intended) project where everyone wins. Build a new city, bring those immigrants, grant them legal authorization to work, and employ them. Imagine! It would be cheaper than the wall! Of course, the Republican governor of Florida and his supporters in the Florida statehouse will be overjoyed to see this city arise. An increase in population will add to Florida’s representation in Congress, and possibly even add an electoral vote. And since, as non-citizens, they will be ineligible to vote, they pose no threat to the established order in the state. In 2023, 2.5 million people were turned away from the U.S.-Mexico border — 2.5 million people wanting to work. In 2022 it was over two million people, and authorities fully expect that this number to hold steady or to increase in 2024. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “about 50% of the labor market’s extraordinary recent growth came from foreign-born workers between January 2023 and January 2024.” Catherine Rampell writes on this topic for t he Washington Post . She points out that one reason immigrants are more likely to work than native-born people is that they tend to be considerably younger. Their arrival can offset that alarming, expected decrease in workers due to our aging population. She quotes a Congressional Budget Office forecast that, from 2023 to 2034, the U.S. GDP will be $7 trillion higher than it otherwise would have been without immigrants. “Immigration is one of America’s great sources of power and prosperity,” according to economist Paul Krugman. Why do we not welcome these people? It’s just Common Sense. Editors’ Note: Just in case some readers didn’t have their coffee yet and weren’t completely awake before they read this, yes, this article is intended as satire — a spoof, a tongue-in-cheek look at the immigration issue. Hope you enjoyed it. Muriel Cole lives in Chestertown where she enthusiastically works to solve problems, large and small, and to make the world a better place for all of us. She has a great sense of humor. 

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