The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-09-15
On; SECOND THOUGHT
BIZ JAy !. HOUSE.
tEren Phiiaoslph,s Psblis Lsdsss)


N&&D8XER8
Early saturday afternoon Adeialda
turssed TO ths lett at Eikton. Nd, and
dropped out of the world. Our In
tent was to peuetrate, as Tar az was
practicable, within the limited time
East Shore. do not now renern-
Der why the Eastern Shore is fameus-
Perhaps, ] never knew. It may be
that Il Is for it's cookery, Its ancestral
estates, ats beautiful women I1 SAL
do know IS that thru tho woof ana
warp OF much of our history and
historical fiction there runs q silver
thread. And that silver thread ts
dedicated to the Eastern Shore. It
seemed 10 me, aszI pcndered, that
nearly every writing man whom ! hnd
followed thru the masses OF htstoE-
icaI fact or fiction had grown mellow
and fragrant when he touched upon q,
so. since I seemed never TO have
known a person who had actually
visited 1t. And So we turned to the
left at Elkton and were gwalloWed up
by . countryside as remote as Wyom-
Ing and as accessible rs Atlantic City.
There is a beaten track all the way
there may be two or three. But,
at any rate, from one END OF the
Eastern Shore to the other runs fine
4
crete. And Il, IL In perfect condition
as far as Chestertown. which was for
US the extreme point of penetration.
| The only poor roads on the route are
| between Philadeiphia and Chester in
/ the state of Pennsylvania. From
Elton on IT is an uqjmpeded high
way. policed only by state laws and
local regulation. There were times
| whenN>we were out Of sight of traffic
of any description. II was not I'M
4 usual to sc along for a couple of miles
without meeting motorcar or being
passed by a. Henry. wish ! might
say the Eastern shore is .uninfested
by the latter. a community without
ing paradise. But that would, not be
true. There are a good many Henrys.
| most of which were loaded with
colored folk. My offhand judgment
! is that the record for crowding the
greatest number of persons in q
Henry car is being broken daily by
colored owners along the Eastern
Shore. But the coiored man seldom
gets the publicity he earns and moth
ing is being said about it.. noticed
one thing: He was scrupuiously care
full to share the road on equal terms
with oncoming motor vehicles. and
that is more than can be said for
Henry drivers elsewhere
I have spoken of its remoteness.
The Eastern Shore Is as rural as any
country have seen. We saw neither
trolley car nor billboard and only one
railroad. I doubt DIT is much of a
railroad, when IL comes to that. but
.. it must be so classified. what we
did see was a slightly rolling farming
country which bore none of the marks
of our complex civilization. We left
the last tearoom behind us at Newark,
the last odor of coal smoke at Elkton-
The country has not the marcelied
! appearance of New England, New
York and Pennsylvania. II Is the
custom of the Southern landowner to
he wants TO use 1t again. It has not
the opulent appearance OF the richer
portions of the Middle West. But
the size of the farms amazed me.
The contrast was. of course. sharper
because had recently had the
opportunity to observe the Joke farm
ing of New England ct its height-
But II my eye for area is not rusty
from disuse. farms of four or five
hundred acres are not uncommon.
! And 1t is wheat and corn farming
. that pattern of husbandry from which
the world gets Its impetus. Great
stacks of straw marked where wheat
had been. / saw as good corn as T
! have seen In Iowa and Illinois. X
, AT Betterton where we spent the
night and a part of Sunday, / dis
covered an unknown genius OF whom
: wish to sing. did not learn her
! name-only her color was revealed
Z to me. But she is second cook at the
Hotel Chesapeake. and her obscure art
is expressed in her legerdemain with
panfish. She knows how to cook
them and does it. There may be
others. but for some unknown reason
they are degrading the talent Cod
gave them. Personally have known
but two such. One Is the colored
lady at Betterton. the other was the
helpmeet of one who ran roadhouse
outside of Canton. o. The latter no
longer practices her art. Her hus-
! band thought he could run after
Ohio went rdry." 1t was an error OF
judgment and the <roadhouse IL
J closed. Meanwhile one touched with
the fire of genius potters about hum