Talbot Yesterday.....

1973-1984
by Dickson Preston


Talbot Yesterday is the title of a series of local history articles written from 1973-1984 by the local author Dickson Preston. They appeared monthly (most of the time) in the Tidewater Times. The sub-titles of those articles are listed below in chronological order. The library has an almost complete set of Tidewater Times, which is available in the Maryland Room. If you have any questions please email the Maryland Room Curator.

1973
Talbot's Black Cat Fur Farm June
Glory, Tragedy on Old Wye Island July
Bear Hunts and Rattlesnake Suppers August
History of Miles River Bridge Holds Irony September
Bias in the News, 1862 Style October
Sex and the Single Girl November
Is it Just and Ring? No a Lovely Myth. December
1974
As Frederick Douglass Saw Us I January
As Frederick Douglass Saw Us II February
Killer Blizzard of 88 March
New Data Adds Age, Significance to Oxford Ferry April
There Were Five Out and the Bases Loaded May
Change of Skippers for Oxford Ferry June
Even Talbot was Shook by Change of King July
Savage Story Rrips Talbot County August
A Hoax September
Easton's Great Post Office Robbery October
Country Christmas 61 Years Ago December
1975
Highest Degree of Mirth and Entertainment in Shore's "Little Capitol" January
350 Years Old Oak is National Champion February
Buchanan was First to Land in Japan February
Matthew Tilghman Forgotten Patriot March
Easton Revolutionary Landmark Remains Unsung March
Railroad, Lemons, and Slavery were Big News April
Romance and a Rebuff for Charles Wilson Peale May
You Can't Beat Old Fashion Sugar Cream Pie Enough May
Ghosts June
A Feast to the Glorious Fourth July
Lafayette had to Pass Up Eastern Shore August
Dreadful Hurrycane September
Bob Smith Retiring October
Small Pox hits Talbot 1777 October
Perry Benson: Hero in Life, Neglected in Death November
Draft Dodging is Old as America December
Love is his Trademark December
1976
Rhubarb, Opium and Alchol were Standard CureAlls January
Newspaper History is strewn with Corpses February
A Lesson in Patriotism for Matthew Tilghman March
Trappe History will contain some Surprises April
When Easton Almost had a Lynching May
Matthew Tilghman to be Honored June 25 June
Easton, a Handsome Town.......A Fresh View July
Tribute to an Old Sea Dog August
One of the Greatest Untold Storys of Eastern Shore History September
T'was a Great Day when FDR dedicated the Choptank Bridge October
Nace's Day November
How a Talbot's Manship sassed the British November
Rich Neck "Chapel" dates from 1830's says Michael Bourne December
1977
Recollections of St. Michaels Train Wreck, Steamer Grounding February
Winter of "77" a Record Breaker March
Slave Trade was Big Business here April
Who Planted the Fire and Stink Bombs? May
The Mad Stewarts and their Fortress on the Miles June
Colonial Travel: A Series of Upleasant Encounters July
Life in a Northern Civil War Prison Camp August
Who Really wrote Tilghman's History of Talbot County September
First Amendment Openly Flouted October
Talbot Yesterday November
Does Will Leeds Ancient Chest date from 1650? December
1978
Odd and Delightful Names January
Forgive me Henry Dobson February
Mills March
Local Molinographers get to Work April
Bruff Spoon June
Did Frederick Douglass try to buy the Villa? July
If it wasn't Boss Tweed at the Villa, Who was it? August
The Brick Hotel September
Absolom Christopher Columbus Americus Vespucious Thompson October
1870 Election November
What was it like, a Century Ago? December
Where are they now? December
1979
The Civil War January
Place Names: They tell a Story February
Almost 300 Years Old (Oxford) March
"Commode" Inspires Memories of Easton Manufacturinig Firm April
Railroad May
Eastern Shore Life before the Bay Bridge June
The First Talbot County Courts July
Josiah Bailey August
Tench Tilghman's Famous Ride September
Hurricanes October
Mr. Bampfylde Moore Carew Part I November
The Further Adventures of Mr. Bampfylde Moore Carew Part II December
1980
Misleading Sign January
State Politicians Wanted Oxford to be County Seat February
Acadians Part I March
Acadians Part II April
The Horseless Carriage comes of Age May
The Year in which there was no Summer July
Sex and the Single Girl in the 1660's August
A Bigger Oak than the "Wye" September
Baseball on the Brain October
Thomas Carney, a Hero of the American Revolution November
Early Entertainment December
1981
Nevius Hardware January
Wye River February
The Steamboat Age Part I March
The Century of the Steamboat Part II April
Researching the Early William Claiborne Colony in Maryland May
Tidewater Times History June
Who is that Mom? July
One of Talbot's Finest Hours August
The Unsung Rachel Green September
1982
Noble Ashby! gallant Ashby! February
The Largest Oaks March
Admiral Franklin Buchanan and "the Rest" April
James Dixon, Citizen and Quaker May
The Easton Gazette June
Col. James C. Norris August
John Stevens - The Black Hero of St. Michaels September
Miles River Bridge October
Sharp's Island.....Gone and Forgotten November
Requiem for an Oak Tree December
1983
Tercentenaries for Oxford and Third Haven Meeting January
Incredible Tale of the Little Old Lady from Indiana February
How Trappe's Yokels got even with the City Slicker March
What Really Happened to those Guns "Swiped" by the Johnny Rebs? April
Easton Centennial of 1888 - A Grand Bash but the Wrong Year May
This Column's First Ten Years and How they went June
Spy who didn't like Corn on the Cob July
When was Talbot's Soil First Planted by White Settlers August
How Local Places got their Names September
Who Invented the Reaper October
Oxford Celebrates 1871 Style December
1984
The Robert Morris Nobody Knows About January
Monument to a Forgotten Saint February
Nicholas Hammond, the "Mr. Easton" of his day March
Was Edward Spencer Maryland's Greatest Writer April
The "Bank Holiday" of 1933 May
The Good Old Days of Beethoven, Bach and Booze June
The Chesapeake Bay Retriever - Our Gift to the Sporting World July
Damaged Wye Oak is still a Magnificient Tree August
We're Right at Home in Jolly Old England September
All About the Great Bear Hunt and the Lame Bob Eastman Murder October
A Hardy Hoax Crops up again. December