CBMM’s Speaker Series returns in 2023 with five winter events, starting with “Deadly Gamble: The Wreck of Schooner Levin J. Marvel” on Jan. 12 in Van Lennep Auditorium. (Photo by Sharon Thorpe)

ST. MICHAELS, Md., Dec. 12, 2022 – The new year brings the return of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s Speaker Series, with five events on the upcoming schedule highlighting unique human experiences in the Chesapeake Bay region.

The winter programming, hosted in CBMM’s Van Lennep Auditorium, includes three local authors sharing their historical expertise as well as a pair of events that explore the Bay’s foodways and culinary traditions with support from the Upper Shore Folklife Center. Each talk will offer insight into how the events of the past influence our lives today.

The suggested cost per session is $8 per person, with both in-person and virtual options. To sign up, or for more information, visit bit.ly/CBMMSpeakerSeries.

The winter series kicks off on Jan. 12, 2023, at 5:30pm with “Deadly Gamble: The Wreck of Schooner Levin J. Marvel.”

Author of a recently published book on the Bay’s deadliest shipwreck, Kathy Bergren Smith will present a tale that is part sea story, part courtroom drama, detailing the harrowing wreck of the Chesapeake ram schooner Levin J. Marvel amid Hurricane Connie in the Bay near North Beach, Md., in August 1955 as well as the ensuing legal and legislative fallout.

In “From the Ground Up: An Archaeologist’s Perspective on Native Chesapeake Foods” on Feb. 1 at 3pm, local archaeologist, TimeChef, and food historian Henry Ward will share a culinary exploration of recipes that celebrate indigenous foods and native cuisine of the Chesapeake region.

Joining two of his passions, Ward will discuss how his archaeological investigations shaped his perspective on these food items and inspired the development and preparation of the recipes.

On Feb. 16 at 5:30pm, CBMM will honor the 205th birthday of Frederick Douglass with a program pairing excerpts of Douglass’ writing and speeches with images from St. Michaels resident Jeff McGuiness’ book, “Bear Me Into Freedom: The Talbot County of Frederick Douglass.”

The book, published last fall, offers a photo essay tracing the places central to Douglass’ early life as an enslaved person on the Eastern Shore of Maryland before he escaped to freedom and became a national leader in the fight to abolish slavery.

The series continues March 8 at 3:30pm with “Hurricane Agnes – Fifty Years After Catastrophe.”

In this talk rescheduled from the fall, Gary Letcher, author of “Bold Forecast: The Hurricane Agnes Deluge,” will recount the story of the 1972 storm that brought the most rain and wreaked the worst damage in U.S. history up to its time, while making an impact on the Bay that is still felt 50 years later, in a compelling narrative brings home the power of nature – and the power of ordinary people in the face of epic catastrophe. Letcher’s book is available for pre-purchase for $17 through the registration portal.

The final event on the schedule, “Old Line Plate: Uncovering the Stories Behind Maryland’s Historic Recipes,” comes a week later on March 15 at 5:30pm.

Kara Harris, author of the Old Line Plate blog, will dig into the state’s culinary past by examining the kind of cookbooks that have raised money for churches and charities, while also documenting regional food traditions, over generations. The recipes inside these books can tell the story of a meal, a cook, and even a community, and in this talk, Harris will explore the stories of the lives lived between the meals, and the culinary legacies left behind.

Find more information about all of CBMM’s upcoming events at cbmm.org/events.