The Historical Society of Kent County will present a talk for members by author and raconteur Jack Shaum at 2pm on Sunday, February 18, 2024 in the Emmanuel Church Parish Hall, 101 Cross Street, Chestertown.
Mr. Shaum’s books include Lost Chester River Steamboats and his most recent book, 122 Years on the Old Bay Line. This month’s presentation follows on his popular lectures at the Historical Society’s Bordley Center in 2022 and is entitled The Ship That Launched A Nation: The Three Lives of the Old Bay Line Steamer President Warfield.
According to Mr. Shaum, “There was a lot of interest in the career of this vessel when I gave my presentation on my book 122 Years On The Old Bay Line at the Bordley Center last year and I said I would create a program for presentation at the society.”
An award-winning news anchor and journalist who retired from radio station WBAL in 2002, Jack Shaum has nevertheless continued to work, writing for newspapers on the Eastern Shore and as editor-in-chief of the quarterly journal of the Steamship Historical Society of America.
The event is open to Historical Society members. Those who wish to join may do so at the event, or in advance on the Historical Society website at kentcountyhistory.org/about/. Please RSVP by emailing director@kentcountyhistory.org.
Archives Preservation Project
As usual, museum and shop in the Bordley History Center in Chestertown are closed for the post-holiday winter season. This year, the Historical Society’s professional archivist is making the most of the pause by using the space as a staging area for safely evaluating the items in the organization’s archival collections and take necessary steps to protect and preserve them. Lana Faber will perform treatments as needed, including mold removal for some items, and humidification to restore flexibility to documents that have become brittle over time.
These steps are part of the larger project of cataloging and digitizing all the documents and objects in the Historical Society’s archival and special collections. In the foreseeable future, these collections and the information they hold about Kent County will be permanently and securely saved in accordance with modern archival standards and practice. They will be entered in a searchable digital archive, so in the foreseeable future, it will be easier for researchers and historians–and the community at large–to view and study the society’s archived treasures.
People wishing to view an item in the collection may contact the Bordley History Center to make an archives research request by contacting the Historical Society at (410) 778-3499 or director@kentcountyhistory.org.