The Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council Grants

The Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council's
2nd Annual Heritage Awards

The Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council wishes to recognize exemplary individuals, organizations, exhibits, programs and products that contribute significantly to the community by interpreting, promoting, preserving, researching and /or supporting our historical legacy.

(Many nominees - difficult for our Awards Committee to determine winners in each category.)

We thank the Awards Committee members:
Delegate Page Elmore, Gugy Irving of Talbot County Historical Society, Glenn Irwin of OCDC and LESHC Board Member, Gerri Bell, LESHC Board Member and Sharon Scheuer, Executive Director, LESHC.

2006 Heritage Interpreter Award
Patricia Johnson Taylor - Edward H. Nabb Research Center

Patricia Johnson Taylor has been a volunteer at the Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture at Salisbury University for over 12 years, serving on their Board of Directors for much of that time. Mrs. Taylor's dedication to the accuracy of local history and research methods was honed in graduate work on local history. As a volunteer coordinator for the research facility she assists in research, coordination of volunteers and installation of Nabb Center displays, to mention only a few of her many responsibilities.

2006 Heritage Interpretation Award
Alice West Jackson - Homage to Strawberry Workers Paintings

Alice West Jackson has for years interpreted the agricultural history of our region. In "Homage to Strawberry Workers", her figurative large scale paintings capture activities at the Brittingham Plant Farms which operated in Wicomico County for over 50 years. The excellence of the paintings and their high contrast colors well tell the story of the traditional environment of the Eastern Shore strawberry industry.

2006 Heritage Tourism Program/Event Award
Julia A. Purnell Museum "Fiber Fest"

The Purnell Museum's unique Fiber Fest is highly deserving of recognition as an outstanding educational and entertaining program for residents and visitors alike. Through a carefully choreographed combination of displays, live demonstrations and "hands on" experiences, attendees at this annual fiber arts festival realize the important role of fibers in both animal and vegetable form and how they are transformed into practical clothing as well as decorative pieces such as tapestries.

2006 Best New Heritage Initiative Award
Worcester County Tourism "Berlin Audio Walking Tour"

With the elaborate research of architectural historian Paul Baker Touart and a donated local radio recording studio, technology has come to life in the form of an IPOD walking tour of Berlin which is available at the Globe Theater in historic downtown Berlin.

2006 Tee O'Connor Heritage Professional Award
Sylvia Bradley

Sylvia Bradley, a retired professor of history at Salisbury University, President of the West Side Historical Society is an accomplished author, historian and volunteer working tirelessly on the West Side Heritage Festival and for the West Side Heritage Museum and Gallery.

2006 Legacy Award
Earnest L. Jones, II and Earnest L. Jones, III

Earnest L. Jones II (known as "Buddy") (father) and Earnest L. Jones III (known as "Chippy") (son) are masters at boat building of traditional wooden work boats indigenous to the region. Coming from four generations of boat builders, the father and son team up to use their highly honed carpentry, mechanics and navigational skills to create and restore dead rises, scrapes, skiffs and even luxury yachts.

2006 Legacy Award
Wayne "Hon" Lawson

As an 11th generation waterman, Hon Lawson has performed nearly all aspects of work related to crab and oyster harvests in Crisfield. Lawson's long family history dates back to the 17th century, with records of their work on the Chesapeake Bay. He is also a great keeper of knowledge about life as a waterman which he frequently shares with locals and visitors to the region.

2006 Heritage Award
Azinith Williams

Azinith Williams is a community scholar and has documented, researched and collected history and heritage on the AFL-CIO Amalgamated Meatpackers and Butchers Workman Union on the Delmarva peninsula. The union was the first and only union to organize oyster shuckers, crab pickers and fisherman along the Atlantic Seaboard. She has created an invaluable "Heritage Collection" that includes oral history, anecdotes, archival photographs, documents and museum artifacts all to preserve this important local legacy.

2006 Heritage Award
Pemberton Hall Foundation

The Pemberton Hall Foundation, Inc. was formed in 1967 to save the 18th century Pemberton Hall from planned destruction. The Foundation has succeeded in completing a full, detailed and accurate restoration of this local, historically significant gem. It has also carried out exhaustive documentary, architectural, archeological and genealogical research and proves to be an educational resource to the region and beyond.