Next year will be the 50th anniversary, and the 40th consecutive celebration, of the first Chestertown Tea Party Festival, a popular, annual, and family-friendly event that brings thousands to nearby Kent County to commemorate our historical roots and to eat, drink, and be merry. On March 30, 1967 the BAY TIMES announced the planting of the seed:

On March 19, 1970, the BAY TIMES reported two major stories. The first was about two spring storms that ripped through Kent Island and Grasonville, creating “miniature tornadoes” that damaged property throughout the area. I’ll never forget it. We were in Mr. Jeffrie’s 5th grade class when the bad weather started. The power went out and one of my bigger classmates got so scared she hid under her desk, raising all four legs off the floor while she screamed and cried. After the storms passed and we were dismissed from school, we all walked down to see the trailer that overturned. A friend and classmate lived there with his family and it was one of the first times I remember realizing the awesome power of nature. The storm had blown his family home off its foundation and across the yard. The picture below shows an arrow pointing out where the trailer started and where it ended up.   On the walk home, we stopped at Bill’s Bargain Center for candy and played in the big flooded ditches along Grasonville’s Main Street.

The other big story was a major theft.

Okay, not a major theft. A stupid theft.

Some kids got caught stealing candy while meeting their parole officer to return items stolen in a previous caper. Of course, Judge Hackett Turner was the hanging judge of juvenile delinquents, so it’s likely the crime spree stopped there.

County schools were busy with talent shows, gymnastic exhibitions, and first aid training in March, 1972,and the 4H awarded prizes in a ‘speaking competition.”

And a week later, the VFW was where all the excitement was centered:

And of course, what would Easter week be without an American Legion Easter Egg Hunt…

…talk of secession…

…Or a bunch of streakers? Yep that was a thing once.

Happy Easter everybody!