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A.M. Foley
 A.
M. Foley is an author and publisher who has produced four local
histories and numerous articles related to Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Her most recent nonfiction title is Having My Say: Conversations With Chesapeake Bay Waterman Wylie "Gator" Abbott.
Ann Foley, whose interviews with Wylie evolved into Having My Say, has written articles for The Washington Post, Stars and Stripes, and Bay Sailor Magazine. With her neighbor Freddie T. Waller, she wrote Elliott's Island: The Land That Time Forgot. Now in its fourth printing, Elliott's Island
pays tribute to the unique community she has called home for over
twenty-five years. In 2002, Ann produced and co-wrote with fellow Bloc
member Gloria Johnson two pictorial histories, Cambridge and Dorchester County, which became instant regional bestsellers.
Ann has
been a member of the Writers Bloc since early in its inception. She
served as secretary and treasurer for years and is currently the Bloc's
parliamentarian.
See below for details and reviews of her work. Personalized and autographed copies of any of her titles may be ordered from dogwdbooks@shorenet.net, or you can find them at independent and chain bookstores in the Chesapeake Bay area and on Amazon.com.
Having My Say:
Conversations With Chesapeake Bay Waterman Wylie "Gator" Abbott
Having My Say
takes the reader inside a life spent on the water and marshes of
Dorchester County, Maryland. Wylie Abbott has been called the area's
premier hunting guide and waterman, as well as one of its most engaging
characters. Articles about him appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Philadelphia Inquirer, among other periodicals. Having My Say
is his first-hand account, an unfiltered view of his childhood, growing
up Down Below in southern Dorchester in the 1940s, and his life as a
commercial fisherman and guide.
You may
not agree with all his opinions, but you'll enjoy sharing a rollicking
ride with Gator, the heart and soul of any get-together.
Available From:
Dogwood Ridge Books
2336 Elliott Island Road
Elliott Island, MD 21869
ISBN: 0-9672947-2-X
$18.95
This unique
book takes a reader inside the life of an Eastern Shore waterman and
reveals the personality behind the white boots, cap, and worn jeans. In
relating their conversations, A. M. Foley captures the essence of Wylie
Abbott, a Dorchester County man whose aspirations and trials in life
are shared by generations of watermen before and since.
Abbott was
one of the Shore's genuine personalities. From the glory of reigning as
World Champion Muskrat Skinner to the tedium of long days working on
the water, his story gives a heart to the image of watermen on the
Eastern Shore.
--Brice N. Stump
The Daily Times
Author of It Happened in Dorchester and
Unforgettable Treasures: People, Places and Culture of the Eastern Shore
"The Abbotts
and Robbins are real. Seemingly fictional compared to the reality shows
that fill our hours, stories of the lives of the Abbotts and the
Robbins are the reality that cannot be denied by any of us."
--Geoffrey M. Footner
Author of The Last Generation and Tidewater Triumph
...a real treasure...Even if you've never met Wylie Abbott, never seen a muskrat or an oyster tong, the stories in Having My Say are compelling.
--Gail Dean, Editor
Dorchester Star
...an
amazing man and a wonderful storyteller...the last of the breed. When
they pass, they'll take the old Shore with them, because we'll never
see their like again...It was just like sitting in Miss Nora's
listening to all those boys talking. I can't tell you how much I
enjoyed Having My Say...If anyone could spin a story, it was
Wylie, and the great thing was, he never had to veer too far from the
truth...Your book has become a treasured part of my Eastern Shore
Collection...I didn't want the book to end.
--Helen Chappell
Author of Oysterback Tales and A Whole World of Trouble
A masterpiece...
--George and Suzanne Hurley
Authors of Shipwrecks & Rescues
Here's the most interesting life of an Eastern Shore waterman I've ever read.
--John Goodspeed
The Star Democrat
I'm so glad
you have done this...preserving some of the Shore the way it was for so
many years and never will be again...I send you a pat on the shoulder
for a job well done!
--C.R. Hook
Radio personality and Entertainment Promoter
Compelling...
--Bobbie Christmas
Zebra Communications
Author of Write In Style
I finished
reading with a sense of loss...a great, rugged character. I have little
interest in hunting or fishing, yet for all of that your book held me
to the end...A kind of Everyman...reading his life reminded me of some
Breton watermen I know who live along the west coast of France. The
same rugged individuality, the same dislike of authority, the very same
'can-do' attitude. Resolute and strong men that I have long admired...
--Michael O'Donnell
Tipperary Historical Society, County Tipperary, Ireland
Elliott's Island
The Land That Time Forgot
This book
traces the 300-year history of settlement on the Island and the
genealogy of the inhabitants of Elliott's, Gray's and Langrall's
Islands. The authors record the charm, wit, faith, architecture, and
history of the Islanders.
Available From:
Dogwood Ridge Books
2336 Elliott Island Road
Elliott Island, MD 21869
$24.95 plus $2.75 shipping
Reviews
Wonderful book...beautifully written. I found myself turning pages without noticing I was doing so...
--Michael O'Donnell,
Co. Tipperary Historical Society
Republic of Ireland
What the
Island got out of this project was a golden goose--the first book ever
on the history of one of the county's most remote communities...Ghosts
of the past live again, as though time stood still.
--Brice Stump
The Daily Times
Salisbury, Maryland
I'm almost too excited to eat. This book brought the past back to life. It's wonderful.
--Captain C. Calvert Evans
Cambridge, Maryland
Elliott Island is at the end of a thread that weaves natural patterns into art, small talk into poetry, and joy into living.
--Geoffrey M. Footner
Author of The Last Generation and Tidewater Triumph
...superbly
written in the clear, concise style which won a Nobel Prize for Ernest
Hemingway...Every library from Maine to Florida should have a copy.
---P. J. Wingate
Author of Bandages of Soft Illusion and Before the Bridge.
Cambridge
 Cambridge,
Maryland, ideally located along the Choptank River, has been home port
to people of every description, from Native Americans, patriots, and
state governors to oyster pirates and their nemesis --- the Maryland
Oyster Navy. Today, Cambridge embraces the diverse cultures and rich
past evident in its historic homes and buildings and exhibited in its
museums. The city owes much to maritime and agricultural resources,
including oysters and crabs from the river and Bay, and crops from the
surrounding fields. The town's Colonial history, proximity to
Chesapeake Bay, and dauntless spirit lend a certain charm that is
distinctively Cambridge.
Images
and postcards culled from a variety of sources bring to life the vivid
and varied past of one of Maryland's earliest settlements. This unique
volume of vintage photos and memorabilia, with its well-researched
captions, will engage young and old alike. Highlighted in this photo
journal along with the oyster fleet, businesses, churches, and events
are the ordinary and extraordinary people who make this area special.
Visitors
and natives alike will pick up a nugget or two of history from Images
of America: Cambridge, in which authors and long-time Dorchester
residents Gloria Johnson-Mansfield and A. M. Foley celebrate the
history of their county seat.
Available From:
Dogwood Ridge Books
2336 Elliott Island Road
Elliott Island, MD 21869
Reviews
Vignettes of
Dorchester County history from old and forgotten photographs in
attics, albums and old books, were rediscovered...The Cambridge book
features many never-before-published photos of the community and its
residents.
--Brice Stump
The Daily Times
Six weeks after Images of America: Cambridge hit bookstore shelves last summer, it was gone.
--Jason Rhodes
The Banner
Authors
capture Cambridge's past in heirloom photos...The most interesting
juxtapositioning of present and past occurs on the book's final page.
One picture shows people in the waves of the Choptank at the Oakley
Beach Hotel. The other is an aerial view of the Hyatt Regency
Chesapeake Bay Folf Resort, Spa and Marina...
--Gail Dean
The Dorchester Star
Wonderful books![Cambridge and Images of America: Dorchester County]...an
excellent job on what initially must have been a daunting task....I
hope that in Maryland they have been given the praise that they well
deserve. Both certainly would serve as an excellent model for anybody
attempting a pictorial history...
--Michael O'Donnell
Co.Tipperary
Ireland
Dorchester County
 Dorchester
County's special blend of past and present, treasured by locals,
appeals to visitors from all walks of life. Presidents Franklin
Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Jimmy Carter, performers Annie Oakley;
Buffalo Bill Cody; and Ella Fitzgerald, and Pulitzer Prize-winning
authors James Michener and Richard Ben Cramer all enjoyed sojourning
here. Dorchester County is surrounded almost entirely by scenic waters:
the Choptank and Nanticoke Rivers, Hunting Creek, and Chesapeake Bay. A
cruise along these waterways offers long stretches of pristine marsh
and uplands to transport visitors to earlier days, when Native
Americans traveled these same waters in log canoes. Occasional glimpses
of historic homes evoke colonial times. Within these watery boundaries,
this largest of Maryland counties encompasses landscapes and activities
to gladden any heart. Railroad and history buffs, hunters,
birdwatchers, epicures, and visitors from more hectic locales all find
their heart's content in this land of pleasant living.
Images of
America: Dorchester County is a unique history for all to enjoy, filled
with priceless images of people, places, pastimes, and events.
Culled
from local archives, postcard collections, and cherished family albums,
these photographs will stir up fond memories of everyday Eastern Shore
life. Much of its uniqueness endures, but much that made the area
singular lives only in memory or in print. In this follow up to their
first book in the series, Images of America: Cambridge, the authors
strive from different perspectives to preserve a representative glimpse
of their county -- A.M. Foley from remote Elliott Island and Gloria
Johnson-Mansfield from the "high-lands" of Eldorado.
Available From:
Dogwood Ridge Books
2336 Elliott Island Road
Elliott Island, MD 21869
Reviews
......a
vibrant and sensitive survey...The reader will find poignant
images...Photos of people and places shed light on unique personalities
and thriving communities now gone.
--Mary Bargion
The Daily Times
I love the books! [Dorchester County and Images of America: Cambridge]
I just page through them and look and look and read and read. The
photos are great and many reallly brought back memories of growing up
down the Necks...The thing I love about photographs is how much they
tell me, as a writer, all the things words don't or can't capture.
Then I have your captions to remove the mysteries.
---Helen Chappell,
Author of Oysterback Tales
A Whole World of Trouble
Chesapeake Book of the Dead
Oysterback Spoken Here.
Surely this
is the perfect book to give your friends who were either born and
raised in Dorchester County or who've lived there...the photos, -
culled from numerous public archives and private collections - will
surely stir up fond memories of everyday Eastern Shore life...
--John Goodspeed
The Star Democrat
What a fine, fine book! I hated for it to end. Now I'm going to read Cambridge again.
--Ann Slattery
Washington, D. C.
...a supurb job of locating photos and their history...Dorchester County fills a long-standing void in county history.
--Brice Stump
Author of It Happened in Dorchester
Unforgettable Treasurers: People, Places and Culture of the Eastern Shore
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