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Chesapeake Requiem

Page 42

by Earl Swift


  Watts was about: My reference to the 1977 cable installation was informed by Mariner, God’s Island, and Don Harrison, “Underwater Cable to Supply Electricity to 2 Bay Islands,” Virginian-Pilot, April 29, 1977. Several islanders, among them Mark “Mooney” Crockett, told me about the gradual exposure of the junction box.

  When I return: The weird crab appeared on the Washington Post’s website on June 1, 2017. The story, as picked up by other papers, is available at http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4276610-crab-unlike-any-youve-ever-seen-has-been-pulled-chesapeake-bay (retrieved November 13, 2017). Incidentally, I saw the crab when I visited Ooker’s shanty on June 4, 2017. It died a few hours later. Ooker subsequently froze it.

  But aside from that: Carlene offered her prayer on June 4, 2017.

  Leon’s woes are compounded: Leon’s mishap on the water and the subsequent Situation Room session described here, including the CNN visit, occurred on June 5, 2017.

  The segment airs: The CNN report is preserved at Jennifer Gray, “Rising Seas May Wash Away This US Town,” CNN, June 9, 2017. Video, 5:00. http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2017/06/09/virginia-island-sea-washing-away-gray-lead-pkg.cnn (retrieved November 13, 2017).

  The islanders I speak with: I interviewed Barb Baechtel by telephone on August 25, 2017.

  We soon learn: The president’s call came on the afternoon of June 12, 2017. My reconstruction of the conversation is based on Ooker’s account of it to me on June 27, 2017, and numerous news reports—among them Carol Vaughn, “Trump Tells Tangier Island Mayor Not to Worry About Sea-Level Rise,” Daily Times (Salisbury, Md.), June 13, 2017, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/14/trump-tells-tangier-island-mayor-not-worry-sea-level-rise/394688001/; and Travis M. Andrews, “Trump Calls Mayor of Shrinking Chesapeake Island and Tells Him Not to Worry About It,” Washington Post, June 14, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/14/trump-calls-mayor-of-shrinking-chesapeake-island-and-tells-him-not-to-worry-about-it/?utm_term=.9f73153e673e.

  Foreign reporters descend: The monologue on Tangier aired on Friday, June 16, 2017. It’s available at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, “Trump Says ‘Not to Worry’ About Rising Sea Levels,” YouTube, June 17, 2017. Video, 2:11. https://youtu.be/o5AxKZF_xP8 (retrieved December 14, 2017).

  This does not go down: The CNN “town hall” aired on August 1, 2017. The segment featuring Ooker is preserved at “Mayor of Disappearing Island Faces Al Gore and Shuts Down Global Warming Claim,” YouTube, August 2, 2017. Video, 2:25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUfARQaVWsI (retrieved November 13, 2017). A longer excerpt can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjvLagal2Wk (retrieved January 5, 2018); Ooker’s segment begins at 1:35.

  Instead, he takes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjvLagal2Wk. Al Gore’s joke begins at 4:30.

  For the rest: The report is available at Channel 4 News, “America’s Climate Change Refugees Putting Their Faith in Donald Trump,” YouTube, August 11, 2017. Video, 7:14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lk0jYeVENo (retrieved November 13, 2017). It’s worth watching for its depiction of the Situation Room. Lonnie’s comment comes at about 5:40.

  Late afternoon, early autumn: My visit to Uppards with Carol Moore took place on October 5, 2017.

  Index

  The pagination of this digital edition does not match the print edition from which the index was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your ebook reader’s search tools.

  accent, 38, 58, 100

  Access Hollywood tape, 322

  Accomack County Circuit Court, 202

  Accomack County Public Schools, 74

  Aces, 67

  adoptions of Judith and Ooker Eskridge, 151–53

  aging, as topic of Situation Room discussion, 142

  alcohol use, 196–97, 198, 281, 283, 287

  Alona Rahab, 185, 190–92, 329–34, 337, 348, 349, 350–51, 373

  American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 196

  American Medical Association, 229

  American Revolution, 55

  Andrews Air Force Base, 372

  Anglo-Powhatan Wars, 55

  animal rescue, 97–98

  Ann Coulter (cat), 99, 224

  apathy, 295–96

  Army Corps of Engineers, U.S., 171, 221

  barge proposal and, 251–52

  breakwater proposal, 118–19, 253–54, 258

  climate change and, 20–22, 253–54, 256–59

  cost-benefit analysis, 253, 270

  jetty project, 39, 214, 217–19, 253, 259, 268, 270, 373

  North Channel excavation, 211–12

  proposal to save Tangier, 256–59, 262–74

  arrowheads, 53, 64, 125, 220

  Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962, 172

  Asian swimming crabs, 149

  Atlantic Fleet, 115

  Atlantic Flyway, 114

  August hurricane of 1879, 172–73

  Autry, Jean, 269

  Baechtel, Barb, 286, 368

  Baechtel, Rob, 368

  bailers, 343–45

  Baltimore Jewish Times, 280

  Barcat Skipper: Tales of a Tangier Island Waterman (Chowning), 189

  barge project, 251–53, 407n

  Battle of Baltimore, 62–63

  Bay View Inn, 154, 155–56

  Betty Jane, 86, 335, 336, 365

  Big Gut, 8, 47, 48, 68, 355

  bilge pumps, 343–45, 359

  birds and bird life, 31–33, 44, 47, 114, 256, 260–61, 314–15, 363–64

  Bishops Head, 118

  Black Dye, 36, 50, 203, 262, 290–91

  Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, 65, 114, 118

  blue crabs, 6, 26–28, 31, 148–50

  fishery and population, 148–50, 299, 316–17

  life cycle, 29, 79, 80–82, 149

  recent decline, 250–51

  Bonanza (TV series), 51

  Bonniwell, Sylvia, 286–87

  Book of Reports, 240–41

  bottlenose dolphins, 95–96

  Bowden, Jennifer, 146

  breakwaters, 21–22, 118–19, 120–21, 253–54, 258

  Brief History of Tangier Island, A (Swain), 169

  Brooks, Garth, 74

  Brown, Billy, 345, 346–47, 350–51, 355

  Bull, John, 85, 263–64, 270–71

  busters, 35, 101, 223, 224

  “by-catch,” 30

  Callinectes sapidus. See blue crabs

  camp meetings, 56–57, 68–70

  Canaan, 1–5, 18

  Moore’s discovery of graveyard, 3–4, 5, 6

  Cannon, George “Cook,” 111–21, 126, 239, 242, 281

  background of, 117–18

  crabbing licenses, 106–8

  Crisfield supply trip, 111–16, 118–21

  Situation Room discussions, 106–8, 234, 313, 322–23, 365

  Trump and election of 2016, 234, 313, 322–23, 367

  Cannon, Jody, 106

  Canton, 53, 60

  Canton Creek, 68

  Canton Road, 49

  Carpenter, Kenny, 355–56

  Carson, Ben, 312

  Carter, Jimmy, 214–15

  Castelli, Ken, 303

  cell phones, 25

  Cessna 172, 355–56

  Chandler, Jack, 213

  Charnock, Annette, 77, 88, 244, 246, 277

  background of, 90–91, 92

  Daley wedding, 90–91, 92

  death of Ed, 353, 354–55

  marriage to Ed, 91, 157, 337

  Charnock, Brock, 354

  Charnock, Charles “Puge,” 290

  Charnock, Christine, 136

  Charnock, Edward Vaughn “Eddie Jacks,” 157, 337, 340

  crabbing and crab, 79–80, 149–50, 290, 341–43

  Daley wedding, 91–92

  funeral of, 364

  lost at sea, 351–53, 358–59

  nickname of, 136–37

  sinking of boat, 345–48, 349–52

  taking on water, 343–45

 
Charnock, Henrietta, 91, 157

  Charnock, Jason, 337–38, 340

  crabbing, 337–38, 341–43

  distress call, 345, 351, 354–55

  rescue of, 351–52, 354–55

  sinking of boat, 345–48, 349–52

  taking on water, 343–45

  Charnock, John Wesley, 141, 238, 286, 287–91

  Charnock, Shirley, 155–56

  Charnock, Travis, 354

  Charnock, Vaughn, 91

  Chesapeake Bay

  geography, 12–13

  geological history, 63–66

  Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, 22, 252

  Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), 14, 116–18, 119, 121, 184–85, 219, 252, 299–301, 317

  Chesapeake blue crabs, 6, 26–28, 31, 148–50

  fishery and population, 148–50, 299, 316–17

  life cycle, 29, 79, 80–82, 149

  recent decline, 250–51

  Chesapeake House, 50–51, 148, 154, 184, 314, 339

  Chesapeake Islands Electric Cooperative, 295

  Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane of 1933, 172, 175–77, 318

  cholera, 123–24

  Chowning, Larry, 189

  Christian faith, 195–205, 237–46, 277–82, 296

  church split on island, 240–46

  Harper’s story, 227–28, 278–79

  history on island, 56–58, 68–70, 197–203

  marsh crosses, 194

  stewardship of bay and, 299–301

  Trump and election of 2016, 311–12, 321–23

  Virginia Conference and, 240–43

  water tower incident, 305–8

  Christmas cantata, 339

  Christ Our Pilot (Sallman), 335–36

  Church, J. W., 227–28, 278–79

  Church of England, 56

  church revival meetings, 281–82

  Civil War, 9, 104, 129, 259

  Claudine Sue, 335

  climate change, 16–17, 20–22, 254–59, 367, 370–72

  “Climate Change and the Evolution and Fate of the Tangier Islands of Chesapeake Bay, USA,” 20–22

  Clinton, Hillary, 235, 268, 313, 322

  Close, George “Buzzy,” 327–28

  CNN, 365–68, 370–72

  Coast Guard, U.S., 119, 167, 187

  sinking of Henrietta C., 348, 351, 352

  Coast Survey, U.S., 67, 112

  Cockburn, George, 61–62

  Colbert, Stephen, 369

  Coleridge, Samuel, 79

  College of William and Mary, 328

  Condi Rice (cat), 99

  Conner, Susan L., 237–74, 270–72

  Connorton, C. C. “Bud,” 198–99, 279

  Cooper, Anderson, 370–72

  Cooper, Caleb, 372

  Corps of Engineers, U.S. See Army

  Corps of Engineers, U.S.

  Costner, Kevin, 279–80

  Country Living (magazine), 154

  Courtney Thomas, 13–15, 115–16, 135, 230–32, 336

  Cow’s Hole, 113

  crabs. See also blue crabs

  fishery and population, 45, 148–50, 299, 316–17

  recent decline, 250–51

  reproduction and lifecycle, 29, 79–82, 149

  crabbing

  of Ed Charnock, 79–80, 149–50, 290, 341–43

  grading crabs, 133

  history of, 131–32, 170–71

  laws and regulations, 37, 45, 100–101, 105–8, 149

  licenses, 105–8, 185, 226, 316

  limits, 316–17

  of Lonnie Moore, 178, 179–84, 185–86, 190–92, 250

  of Ooker Eskridge, 10–12, 19, 26–32, 34–35, 82–88, 97–98, 99–101, 128, 139–41, 160, 224, 361–64, 368–69

  pricing, 34, 132–33, 135, 183, 361–62

  schedules, 41–43

  of Woodpecker Eskridge, 32–33, 140, 269, 339, 341, 368–69

  crab bisque, 154

  crab cakes, 26, 145, 148, 149–50

  crab claws, 28, 79–80

  crab dip, 146

  crabmeat, 31, 148–50

  crab traps, 10–12, 28–29, 85, 139–40, 332

  history of, 188–90

  crab vegetable soup, 145–46

  Creedle, L. Wade, Jr., 237

  Creedle, Nancy, 72, 73, 76, 237, 240, 245, 352–53

  Crippin, Narcissa, 69

  Crisfield, 13–15, 22–23, 26, 122–23

  Crockett, Allen Ray, 244, 335–36

  nicknames, 137

  Situation Room discussions, 105, 125, 137, 141–42, 161, 269, 296–97, 313

  tattoo, 141–42

  Crockett, Bobby, 38–39

  Crockett, Danielle, 166, 244, 364

  Crockett, Denny “Principal

  Denny,” 136, 219, 233, 238–39, 276, 285, 296

  Crockett, Denny “Twin Denny,” 136, 166, 364

  Crockett, Dewey, 173–74, 215, 237–38, 241, 244, 280, 281

  Crockett, Donna, 303

  Crockett, Dorsey, 166–67

  Crockett, Duane, 155, 173, 215–16, 239–40

  corps proposal to save Tangier and, 265, 266

  Daley wedding, 88–89

  funeral for Ed Charnock, 364

  preaching of, 58–59, 195–97, 265, 282, 283–84, 327–28

  Virginia Conference and, 242–43

  Crockett, Ed, 227, 278–79

  Crockett, Eldora, 165

  Crockett, Elmer, 137, 189–90, 297

  Crockett, Frankie “Tabby,” 136, 248

  Crockett, Glenna, 138, 154, 339

  Crockett, Hannah, 76

  Crockett, Hilda, 50–51, 184, 314, 339

  Crockett, James Donald “Donnie,”165–68, 364

  Crockett, Jean, 228, 241, 244, 281

  Crockett, John, 53–54, 56

  Crockett, Joseph, 54–55, 102, 228

  Crockett, Lisa, 145–46, 154, 301, 313

  Crockett, Mark “Mooney,” 137, 160–61, 314

  Crockett, Molly, 113

  Crockett, Strickland, 269

  Crockett, Thomas “Sugar Tom,” 54–55, 63, 64, 65, 66, 102–3, 104, 124, 169, 387–88n

  Crockett, William Asbury, 164, 210

  Crockett, William Henry Harrison, 164, 168–69

  “crossing over,” 44

  Cubaaiti, 319–20

  Cynthia Lou, 347

  Cyrus, Miley, 76

  Daley, Erica Parks, 88–92, 146

  Daley, JoAnne, 73, 74, 155, 165, 228–30

  Daley, Jordan Wesley, 73–74, 89

  Daley, Lance, 155, 229, 230

  wedding to Erica, 88–92

  Daley, Stephanie Crockett, 89

  Daley, Terry, Jr., 155, 229, 230

  Daley, Terry, Sr., 228–30

  Daley & Son Grocery, 35, 45, 155, 222, 228–30, 287, 314

  David B. Nichols Health Center, 298

  deadrises, 84

  Deal Island, 168–69

  deer flies, 15, 44, 96–97

  DEET, 44, 125

  Devil’s Elbow, 283–84

  dialect, 38, 58

  Dise, Dean, 347, 348–49

  Dize, Dot, 146

  dolphins, 95–96

  “doubler,” 81, 81n

  doublers, 80–81, 101, 362, 363

  Dow, Lorenzo, 56

  dredging, 21, 120, 171, 212, 258, 260–61, 263–64

  Dridge, Karin, 256–57

  drugs and drug use, 282–84, 286–91

  Eastern Shore, 13, 22, 53, 65, 114, 130

  Eastern Shore Railroad, 122

  eels, 315

  Eldora C., 165–68

  election of 2016, 234–35, 267–68, 310, 311–13, 321–23

  electricity, 188, 294–95, 297, 363

  Elisha and Naaman, 75

  Elizabethan English, 38

  Elizabeth Kelly, 342, 347

  Emmerich, Susan Drake, 299–301

  environmentalism, 299–301

  Ephesians, 89

  EPIRB (electronic position-indicating radio beacon), 348–49

 
erosion, 16–17, 19, 67–68, 113, 114, 120, 121, 187–88, 209–21, 253–54, 366, 370–71

  barge project, 251–53

  Eskridge, Allen Dale, 153

  Eskridge, Bhagya, 153

  Eskridge, Devi, 152–53, 157, 301

  Eskridge, Ira, 33, 134

  Eskridge, James “Woodpecker,” 97

  crabbing, 32–33, 140, 269, 339, 341, 368–69

  Washington Post picture, 364

  Eskridge, James Wyatt “Ooker,” 24, 358

  adoptions of, 151–53

  animal rescue and, 97–98

  background of, 17

  bird life and, 31–33, 314–15, 363–64

  childhood of, 33–34

  CNN interview, 365–68

  CNN town hall, 370–72

  courtship and marriage to Judith, 83–84

  crabbing, 10–12, 19, 26–32, 34–35, 82–88, 97–98, 99–101, 128, 139–41, 160, 224, 361–64, 368–69

  crab die-off, 250–51

  crabmeat supplies, 147, 148, 150, 157

  education of, 33–34

  erosion and sea-level rise, 17, 18–20, 30–31, 112, 370–72

  Kayes and, 301, 308

  mayoralty of, 17, 18–20, 30–31, 142–43, 264–66, 290

  oystering, 335–36

  sanitation issues, 125

  scraping, 293–94, 297–98

  search for Ed’s body, 355–56

  shedding tanks, 15, 34–35, 99–101, 132–35, 144, 249–50, 294

  Situation Room discussions, 36–39, 42, 137, 142–43, 204, 269

  Trump and, 321, 323, 367, 369–70

  Eskridge, Joseph, 151, 153, 304

  Eskridge, Judith Irene McMann, 32, 195, 250, 339

  adoptions of, 151–53

  at Fisherman’s Corner, 145–47, 151, 153–54, 157

  marriage to Ooker, 83–84

  Eskridge, Manjula, 153

  Eskridge, Mildred “Mish” Pruitt, 33

  Eskridge, Sreedevi, 151–53

  Eskridge, Warren, 33–34, 90, 153

  Eskridge, Will, 33, 68, 176

  Eskridge, William, 33–34, 49

  Estep, Tammy, 243

  Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 255

  Evans, Cameron, 178, 179–83, 186, 223–26

  Evans, Norwood, 264

  Evans, Otis, 313

  Facebook, 305–6, 367–68

  Facts and Fun: The Historical Outlines of Tangier Island (Crockett), 54–55, 63, 65, 66, 102–3, 104, 124, 169, 387–88n

  faith. See Christian faith

  Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 190

  Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 302

  feral cats, 44–45, 49

  ferry service, 304–5

  “fetch,” 13

  First Amendment, 196

  Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S., 260

  Fisherman’s Corner, 42, 51, 145–51, 153–54, 157

 

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