Sweet Home Chicago I was born and raised in the Chicago area the daughter of ballroom dancers who met at the Aragon Theater. My father, who grew up speaking German in his home, church, and place of work, performed a dance demo for Fred Astaire when he was in town looking to purchase a new…
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Baja Winter Kayak Expedition: Wind, Waves, and Lipstick
By Mary Fairchild Loreto Bay National Marine Park. Pictures on Mfairlady Flickr here. Our trip began in the little seaside fishing village of Loreto where we had breakfast together in a local restaurant with a local Chihuahua that sat near our table while I caught up on the local news in the “Gringo Gazette.” The waters around Loreto and the…
Jekyll and Cumberland Islands: Sea Kayak Surf Workshop With Geneva Kayak
By Mary Fairchild Stafford Beach, Cumberland Island. 11/02/12. Surfers on Amelia Island shared with me that there are consistent spots along the eastern seaboard that bring in solid waves for three out of the four seasons. Although I was hoping that Hurricane Sandy, which had already delivered swell from Florida to the Great Lakes(Sun Times story here), would keep things interesting,…
Cultural Ecology of the Atlantic Coast: Shell Middens and Ancient Tidal Forests
By Mary Fairchild (Dungeness ; Cumberland Island.) It was just a year ago that I had first stumbled across some ancient scattered shells by the Carnegie Ruins on Cumberland Island and couldn’t stop thinking about them… Cultural ecology is a map of relationships between living things and their group dynamics over time. The Dungeness Historic District on Cumberland Island(pictured) and the…
Kayaking With Altamaha Coastal Tours: Ancient Tidal Forests to Ocean Renewables
By Mary Fairchild (Rifle Cut) Buffalo Swamp Natural Area/Cathead Creek,a tributary of Georgia’s Altamaha River. Just as Egypt used slave labor, the channel pictured above(Rifle Cut) was dug out in the 1820s by slaves to shorten the water route to Darien: “Straight as a rifle shot through the cypress swamp and just as narrow.” “Mary, can you…
Old Copper Culture: A Visit With Pete Stark of Oconto’s Historical Society
By Mary Fairchild Pete Stark. This is a picture of Pete Stark with our family’s ancient Indian artifact–an authentic copper celt. Pete, Vice President of the Oconto Historical Society, is an expert on the Old Copper Culture. The Old Copper Culture refers to the items made by early inhabitants of the Great Lakes region. We…