AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi
On Saturday, April 25, the Friends of The Rising Sun Inn held another of its popular teas in the dining room of the historic farmhouse in Crownsville built in 1753. Billed “Spilling the Tea” with author Mary K. Tilghman, the event was something of a twist on the organization’s traditional teas.
We found the author looking every bit the proper lady one might expect to find as a character in one of her historical fiction or modern romance novels. Wearing a stylish dress and jacket, Tilghman added interest by topping off her ensemble with a pale pink “fascinator”. She could be heard explaining to sisters Brigid and Gina Truitt and friend Cindy Myers exactly what a fascinator was.
Having served as a farmhouse, a tavern, a post office, stagecoach stop, public meeting place, and tax collector’s stop over its 273-year history, The Rising Sun Inn had fallen into a state of disrepair by the 20th century. Richard “Bo” Williams, the final private owner of the property, gifted it to the Anne Arundel Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1916 on condition that it be preserved and maintained as a historical site or museum. The women took out a loan of $5,000 to start the restoration (equivalent to about $150,000 today) and had to figure out a way to pay for it. So, through the 1920’s, ’30’s and ’40’s, they operated a Tea Room until the onset of World War II.
Aware that “having tea at The Rising Sun Inn” in Crownsville had been a favored pastime for three decades, The Friends of Rising Sun Inn decided to bring the formal teas back in recent years.
Addressing the guests as Saturday’s event began, Friends Treasurer and NSDAR Regent Kris Jenkins noted that the service was slightly different from the Inn’s traditional teas.
“Our trays look a little different today as we’re serving a simpler ‘Elevensies’ tea with tea and sweets,” she said. “We’re trying to serve some of the things Mary will be discussing from her latest book ‘Love Letters & Gingerbread, An Annapolis Christmas’ like sweet rolls, fruit cake, German stollen, and tea cakes.”
Jenkins later revealed that the Friends had been looking for a different approach to teas. They had done numerous Tea and Tours and Tea and Trivia events over the years before hitting on the idea of combining a Tavern Talk and book signing and doing “Spilling the Tea” with authors.
“It would be similar to ‘spilling the beans’ with the writers revealing some of the methods they use for creating characters, plots or settings for their books,” she said. “As Mary K. Tilghman has been here before when two of her other books were released, we thought she would be ideal for our first “Spilling The Tea” event.
As tea got underway, we spoke to a few of the guests including mother and daughter duo Lauren and Nancy Strong.
Lauren noted that they were attending a tea at The Rising Sun Inn for the first time and enjoying themselves very much. Nancy added that they planned to come back soon for one of the docent-led tours of the house and grounds.
Before moving on to other guests, I stopped by a table set up for a book signing that contained a number of books written by Tilghman including “Divided Loyalties”, “Inn by the Lake”, “Fearless Summer”, “Step Into the Sunlight”, “Born on the Opposite Side of the Boardwalk”, “The Last Gift”, and her latest, “Love Letters & Gingerbread, An Annapolis Christmas”.
At a table near the front of the dining room, I found Mary Dushel, Leona Puglia, Adele Balefeld and Rachel Sullivan in lively conversation. Mary Dushel told us she and Mary Tilghman went to school together at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn.
Bearing in mind that the United States is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, I took a moment to speak with docent Sharon Beard who is also a docent at the Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis. She and I agreed that the Severn Cross Roads area of Crownsville has preserved quite a bit of its history dating back to the 1700’s. In addition to The Rising Sun Inn, there is Historic Baldwin Hall and the schoolhouse behind it, the Baldwin family home Bunker Hill, the Anne Arundel County Free School dating back to 1723 and St. Paul’s Anglican Chapel built in 1861 with a cemetery that is much older.
Before long, it was time for author Mary K. Tilghman to take the podium and begin “Spilling The Tea” about her career as an author. A graduate of University of Maryland, Baltimore County, with a Masters degree in English, Tilghman has been a reporter and editor of local newspapers, a freelance magazine writer, a travel writer, and travel blogger. As previously mentioned, she’s written six novels – a few of which she would read passages from while spilling the tea.
Tilghman’s talk would give a glimpse into the processes involved in writing books that are based on history. She noted that before you can begin writing a novel, you need to come up with a setting for the story. For historical fiction works, for example, she would rely on communities or towns she was already familiar with. Her research would include visiting homes or buildings that still exist and are preserved as they were in the past.
“I needed to come up with names for the characters in each book, starting with my first novel which involved five characters, the author said before reading a passage introducing them. “Names were important and, in some cases, I borrowed the names of family members.”
To further illustrate her point, she read passages authored by Charles Dickens referencing the naming of orphan Oliver Twist in the book by the same title. She added that her favorite Dickens character name was Uriah Heap from the Dicken’s novel “David Copperfield”.
“Curious about how modern-day writers came up with names for their characters, I asked some of my author friends,” Tilghman said.
“Their answers were wide-ranging and sometimes surprising. Some authors chose not to use the names of people they knew. Others admit to picking names from obituaries. One writer adopted a name she overheard while standing in line at her bank. Another writer famously asked for name suggestions on TikTok and said she got 78,000 views.”
Generally, the names Tilghman chooses are people she knows, first seeking their approval. If they are public figures, however, their names are already widely known, and she doesn’t feel a need to ask. She pointed out that names do have to match the era in which a book is set.
The novelist ended her talk by asking the audience for name suggestions. One suggestion was the name Beulah which seems to have fallen out of use in the distant past.
Before leaving The Rising Sun Inn, we caught up again with Kris Jenkins who was taking delivery of plants native to Maryland that would have been on the grounds surrounding the farmhouse as it appeared during the colonial era.
Jenkins assured us that the Inn has many events planned in conjunction with America’s 250th Anniversary including a Liberty Tree dedication ceremony and reception to be attended by four DAR chapters and an array of public officials on June 3. For tea aficionados, another Victorian BirthdayTea will be held on May 16. To follow upcoming events, visit The Rising Sun Inn Crownsville, Maryland – Home.
Spring Local FUN FESTIVAL this Saturday, May 2 at Park Plaza
The Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce invites the public to join them for the annual Spring Local FUN FESTIVAL this Saturday, May 2 at Park Plaza from 11 till 2:30 pm. A total of 71 businesses and community organizations will be represented as vendors. Health & Wellness, Food, Entertainment, Shopping, Music and more. For more information, visit Home – Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce
The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!
and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.
