she completed one painting per day, capturing the changing seasons.
The couple now resides in Crisfield where
Debra can be seen riding her bicycle, supplies in tow, in search of the next great
scene. Debra shows her work at South
Street Gallery in Easton and participates in
the Somerset County Arts Council’s annual
June event, “Crisfield on Canvas.”
Back at home, as I savored a piece of cake
and admired our paintings, I took stock of
my new skills. And, I checked my calendar
in hope of returning soon for another plein-air session with Debra, and one of Linton’s
crab cakes, and maybe just one more slice
of Mary Ada’s Smith Island cake.
u Want Mary Ada’s Smith Island cake recipe
or Linton’s Seafood’s crab cake recipe? Visit
cbf.org/SomersetRecipes.
Loren Anne Barnett—CBF’s
Director of Creative Services
and Editor of Save the Bay
magazine—grew up on
Maryland’s Severn River.
Top left: The Captain Jason II sits ready to transport passengers to Smith Island from Crisfield’s ferry dock. Top right: Mary Ada Marshall proudly displays a
traditional Smith Island cake. Lower left: William Evans demonstrates how to mix the ingredients for a classic Maryland crab cake at Linton’s Seafood in
Crisfield. Lower right: Artist Debra Howard gives the author’s daughter Helen tips on color theory for painting a Crisfield marsh scape plein-air style.
LOREN ANNE BARNETT/CBF STAFF
Learn how to make a really good tradition-
al Eastern Shore crab cake.
For me, simple wins the prize for crab cakes.
William showed me how much egg, mustard, mayo, and seasoning to mix with the
crab meat before adding just enough crushed
saltines to make the mixture hold together.
As William continued, a golden-brown cake
appeared from the carry out kitchen. It was
heaven! So good that I returned a few days
later with my daughter Helen.
The Linton’s welcomed us like old friends,
and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the
cozy Crab House before heading to the
edge of some marshes to learn one more
new thing.
Waiting for us there was local artist Debra
Howard, the tailgate of her pick up truck
set up for a plein-air (on-location painting)
party. Debra was as knowledgeable and
communicative as she was interesting. A
native Floridian, Debra and her husband
lived on a sailboat for several years, before
she took a sabbatical as artist-in-residence
on nearby Tangier Island, Virginia. There
The Poultry Industry in Somerset County
With 14. 9 million broiler birds, Somerset
County now produces more chickens than
any county in Maryland. The dominance of
the poultry industry is evident by sight and
smell as you make your way to the maritime
areas around Tangier Sound.
Poultry integrators like Mountaire, Perdue,
and Tyson contract growers to raise integra-tor-owned chickens to market size.
Problematic are the millions of tons of
manure that become the responsibility of the
grower when integrators cart the broilers off
for processing. An increase in the number
and size of chicken houses has residents
and experts fearing increased pollution and
health hazards from contaminants on the
soil, in the air, and in ground water.
The concern is that more manure will mean
more pollution running off the land and into
the water. CBF and partners are working in
Maryland for a change in the way the poultry
industry supports growers. New rules aim to
put some of the responsibility for the manure
back on the integrators.
