News and Events







 

NEWS ARCHIVE
Selected Highlights from the Sotterley Times

Published four times yearly by the Sotterley Foundation, Inc., a subscription to Sotterley Times is one of the benefits accruing to our membership.

December 2007
December 2006
June 2006
March 2006
September 2005
September 2004
June 2004
March 2004
December 2003

December 2007

"Prince Among Slaves" to Air in February 2008

To be aired on February 7, 2008 at 10:30pm on WETA

And on February 13, 2008 at 11:00pm on MPT.

In July of 2006, a film crew from Spark Media, in association with Duke Media and the producers at Unity Productions Foundation, came to Sotterley Plantation and Historic St. Mary’s City to film scenes for a documentary titled "Prince Among Slaves". On December 1st at Howard University the documentary was debuted, and Michael Lane, Sotterley’s Executive Director, was in attendance. As the film unfolded, Michael recognized many familiar locations on Sotterley's grounds which had been woven into the storyline. Those who love Sotterley Plantation will also see its familiar and beloved locales when the film makes its television debut. (page 3)



Sotterley Signed Up for McKay’s Rewards Program

McKay’s Fine Foods and Pharmacy has announced their 2007/2008 Community Rewards Giveaway of $60,000 that runs from October 1, 2007 through April 2008. The Giveaway allows local non-profit groups the opportunity to earn a share of $60,000. Your Gold Card purchases will be credited to the non-profit group you designate. At the end of the program, McKay's will donate $60,000 to registered groups based on the percentage of Gold Card purchases credited to them. Sotterley has signed up for the new Giveaway, and we invite you to participate! Sotterley is registered in the program as: Sotterley Foundation. (This was done before our formal name change to Historic Sotterley, Inc.) If you currently have a McKay’s Gold Card, you may register on-line at www.mycommunityrewards.com, or you may visit any of the five McKay's locations and register at the customer service desk. If you don’t have a Gold Card, you can obtain one by visiting the customer service desk at any of their stores. (page 6)

December 2006

A New Entrance to Showcase our Grand Lady

A major new landscaping project will soon be taking place at Sotterley! After many years of talking, action is finally about to be taken to renew and replant the Sotterley entrance allee. The old silver maples are long past their prime. Mrs. Ingalls never liked them, but never got around to replacing them. Interested members over the years have considered all sorts of trees, including dogwoods, cedars, maples, oaks, and bald cypress. So many other areas of Sotterley were in such desperate need, however, that the allee remained on the back-burner. But now its time has come. (page 1 and 6)



MONEY MATTERS…….. Sotterley 302

Since its creation in 1961, The Sotterley Foundation has operated without an endowment and not one dollar of general operating support from the federal, state or county government. This truly amazes people and they continually ask how we are able to fund our wonderful events and programs and keep this important National Historic Landmark property open to the public year after year. (page 3)

June 2006

Sotterley Reaps the Benefits of Student Service

Service learning projects are partnerships with schools, students, parents and their communities. These projects are an important means by which students directly support worthwhile organizations or events while tying their service to their studies in the classroom. This spring, three different schools showed their support of this historic site by completing projects with enthusiasm and spirit which directly benefited Sotterley Plantation. (page 3)






History, Heritage and Hard Work

Preservation of an historic site is about more than buildings. The entire site, the buildings and the land hold memories, history, and the experiences of our forefathers. Sotterley encapsulates the family history of those who lived, loved, and worked here. It holds the history of this nation, the great State of Maryland, our local heritage, our cultures and much more. Preservation is not a simple exercise but is complex to say the very least. (page 1 and 5)

March 2006

Sotterley Enters the Classroom

Imagine experiencing life in the 18th and 19th centuries without leaving the classroom.  That is what students in the fourth and fifth grades at Green Holly Elementary School experienced on January 19th when Program Instructors from the Education Department took Sotterley Plantation's history on the road.  Instructors brought a wide variety of activities and a wealth of information to the school and let the students immerse themselves in the colonial lifestyle using hands-on lessons in history.  (page 1)


Teaming for Success

Corporate Sponsor BAE Systems recently teamed with Sotterley Plantation and the Leonardtown High School Art Department to the benefit of both organizations.  BAE Systems has long been a partner with Sotterley, and has demonstrated true dedication towards community involvement and education.  During 2005, a team from the Integrated Electronic Solutions unit in St. Mary's County began work on both the inside and the outside of the Educational Complex at Sotterley Plantation.  These restorative efforts impact Sotterley's programs and events throughout the year.  (page 5)

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September 2005

Esperanza Middle School Keeps History Alive

The 8th grade students from Esperanza Middle School during 2005 raised $2,000.00 for Sotterley Plantation as part of their student service learning project.  Funds will help to renovate the plantation home for use by future students as part of their Slavery to Freedom unit.  To date Esperanza has raised over $4,500.00 to aid in the restoration of Sotterley. (page 3)


RECOLLECTIONS OF SOTTERLEY

Lee Soderberg began volunteering at Sotterley Plantation in 1977.  Nearly thirty years ago, Sotterley was a different place and so were the times.  You could sit on the furniture, fresh flowers were allowed in the house, and fires burned in the fireplaces.  The stock of the Gift Shop were remarkably Sotterley, and homemade jams, dried herbs and rose petals from the gardens, and hand-printed recipes were sold.  Mrs. Ingalls was alive during these years, and always ran a tight ship.

Lee's memories of her years of service at Sotterley are warm, yet she has also witnessed the evolution of Sotterley toward being a stronger organization. We want to make sure that people do know the efforts that Lee and others have made and continue to make here at the Plantation. (page 6)

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September 2004


SOTTERLEY AND THE CIVIL WAR

Education Director, Marylin Arrigan, explores the conflicting Civil War roles of Sotterley’s owners and inhabitants in the era of America’s Civil War. She also reviews the general perspective of the area and the State amidst the inexorable war build up and conclusion. (see page 1)


RESTORING ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ROOMS

Thanks to very generous fund raising efforts of the van Heerden family, Esperanza Middle School, and our good friend Janet Rowland, restoration of the fine woodwork and finishes in the Mansion’s Drawing Room has started. John O’Rourke, Sotterley’s Restoration Manager, describes the painstaking work involved. (page 3)

RECOLLECTIONS OF SOTTERLEY

Jerry and Pat Birch have frequented Sotterley off and on over the past 35 years. In this article, Jerry shares some of his family's fond Sotterley experiences. (page 6)

 

June 2004

Restoration Efforts

In his latest article, Restoration Project Manager John O’Rourke says, “Although we all loosely refer to what we’re doing here as restoration, we have in fact made a very conscious decision that except, in specific cases where there is a clear reason, we would preserve not restore.” He explores this and other aspects of preservation and restoration at Sotterley. (Page 1)

The 2004 Quilt & Needlework Show

As a celebration of the arts of quilting and needleworking the 14th Annual Southern Maryland Quilt & Needlework Show, May 21-23, was outstanding. To quote one of the judges this was, “…a bad year to be in full pieced and full applique categories. Competition was stiff!” (Page 3)


Education: The Summer Center, the Junior Docent Program

Sotterley Plantation is again hosting the Summer Center for the Gifted and Talented. Plans for this year’s program are reviewed. Education Director Marylin Arrigan also highlights the Junior Docent Program. These students interpret and act out the scripted roles of selected historic Sotteley figures. (Page 5)

A Sotterley Remembrance

Chef William Taylor, The Dinner Designer and Sotterley volunteer since the 1970’s, supervised Sotterley’s dining arrangements for many years. This article gives us vignettes of events connected with Maryland’s 350th birthday celebration, in 1984, as they occurred at Sotterley. (Page 6)

 

 

March 2004

Education: Black History Month, 2004 Programs, Global Positioning and More

Education Director, Marylin Arrigan, reviews February's tribute to Mrs. Agnes Kane Callum at Sotterley's program, "The Other Half: Slavery and the Enslaved at Sotterley Plantation. The 2004 education programs are coming into full swing, including the partnership programs with St. Mary's County schools. The cotton, broom corn, and tobacco crops are in the planning stages as elements of student experiential education. Plans for a new unit using Global Positioning System technology are highlighted. (page 1)

Changing of the Guard

The Sotterley Board of Trustees and our membership are pleased to welcome R. Lorraine Fulton, Ed.D., who replaces Michael Whitson as President of the Sotterley Foundation Board. Her inaugural newsletter remarks appear in this issue. (page 2)

Money Matters

Sotterley Foundation preserves, researches and interprets the Plantation's many cultures and environments and serves as a public education resource. This article reviews the Foundation's funding sources and describes projects targeted for immediate funding. (page 4)

December 2003

Sotterley Foundation, Inc. Membership

The Sotterley Foundation, Inc. raises money for Sotterley Plantation maintenance, preservation, and operation; provides educational and interpretive programs; and facilitates events held on Plantation grounds. This issue of Sotterley Times publishes the Foundation's membership, December 1, 2003-2004, as one means of acknowledging member support for these essential activities. (see page 4)


A Brief Update and a Few Restoration Reflections by John O'Rourke

John O'Rourke, who directs Sotterley restoration efforts, provides a brief update of current activities along with engaging in some insightful speculation about building decisions of Sotterley's historic owners, including:

  • The New Roome, c. 1727, the only historical part of the house with a basement;
  • Questions about Richard Boulton and whether
    he designed and built the Mansion staircase and Parlor; and
  • The larger question of why Sotterley has survived three hundred years and counting. (see page 1)


Flagpole Dedication Ceremony

An October ceremony at Sotterley Plantation dedicated a flagpole replacing one that stood on the Plantation grounds decades earlier.

Spurred by the events of September 11, 2001, the Sotterley Garden Guild undertook restoration of the flagpole. Restoration expert John O'Rourke oversaw the choice of an appropriate tree from Sotterley's woods and its subsequent trimming and treatment. Flagpole dedication ceremony attendees saw the American flag raised, honoring our freedom and our Nation, with a Navy color guard. Herbert Satterlee's granddaughter, Sandra Ingalls van Heerden, provided a much-appreciated perspective. (see page 6)