The Oysterback Tales

Once you find yourself in Oysterback, you may never want to leave. Nothing beats Desiree Grinch's corn soup at the Blue Crab Tavern. There's never a wait at the Curl Up 'N'Dye Salon de Beaute. In season, you can buy your produce (as you pay your respects) at Dreedle's Funeral Parlor. There's bingo every Tuesday at the V.F.D. The Mosquito Festival is next week. And when the moon hangs over Widgeon Marsh as full and yellow as one of Miss Nettie's oyster fritters, you'll know you're in a place like no other. Since 1988, readers of the "Baltimore Sun" have delighted in regular visits to Oysterback - Helen Chappell's mythical town on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Chappell's stories capture the unique charm of rural life on the Shore, and her characters typify the folksy strength and eccentricity of the natives. "In Oysterback, " as the town's Captain Saloman observes, "we have characters we haven't even used yet". Meet Ferrus T. Buckett, the world's oldest waterman, and Helga Wallop, editor of the "Oysterback Bugeye" ("She's the town gossip anyway; she might as well get paid for it!"). Help the locals poke fun at Johnny Ray Insley, still smarting over the outcome of this year's Muskrat Skinning Contest. Scoff at J. Snidely Grubb's plans for the Widgeon-on-Oysterback Condominiums. And laugh about the "Midnight Waterman Escort Service," a pretty good idea (in these hard times) hatched one Girls' Night at the Blue Crab. Written with affection and good humour, "The Oysterback Tales" are a celebration of Maryland's Eastern Shore and the folk who live there. Like Chappell's whimsical drawings of Oysterback in all its metropolitan glory, her stories will cheer and charm.