The Monthly Newsletter of the St. Mary's County Historical Society DECEMBER 2023
|
The View From the Loggia
It's almost Christmas! As I sit here in chilly Tudor Hall, my mind turns to the things we did together this year and looks forward to 2024 with hopeful optimism. And while I think it is appropriate to give you, our members and friends, an accounting of the year gone (going) by, I'll leave that for another time.
Right now, all I want to do is to wish you and yours a most Merry Christmas (or the happiest holiday, if you prefer) and a joyous and Historical Society-filled 2024!
The Story of the St. Inigoes Mission 1634 - 1994
To whet your interest a little, mark your calendar for February 22nd when we kick-off 2024 with a special Historically Speaking.
 Shortly after he left St. Peter Claver Church in St. Inigoes, Fr. Michael Francis Walsh wrote a book about the history of the St. Inigoes Mission, a book that has lain dormant until now.
Since August, the Historical Society has worked with Fr. Walsh to update and edit the book in an effort to bring it to light. The February Historically Speaking will be the launch of the book.
Anthropologist Dr. Laura Masur of the Catholic University of America said of the book in a pre-publication review:
"The text is dense and full of detail. But like [Edwin] Beitzell’s much-referenced volume ["The Jesuit Missions of St. Mary's County"], this detail is also a strength, because through it emerges the powerful and largely untold (at least in traditional histories) stories of the Black Catholics whose devotion to family, community, and God is an important legacy of the St. Inigoes Mission during the late 19th and 20th centuries."
More details about the book and the event will follow soon.
Be Sure to Visit Our Website During the Holidays
Tudor Hall may be closed but the Historical Society never really closes. The holidays are a good time to peruse some of the offerings you can find there - from the late Pete Himmelheber's A Trip to Radnor Forge to the exhibit and oral histories of the Lexington Park Flattops.
Archivist Elizabeth Mathews-Kern and Webmaster Tim Benson have worked overtime to bring these and other goodies to life. Spend time with us this Season!
|