On a crisp, end-of-summer Sunday in Chesapeake Beach, history was recreated and revisited. Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa/Rod ‘N’ Reel Inc. provided the nostalgic venue—a band shell assembled at the water’s edge.
A group of musicians from Oklahoma who have dubbed their act “Hankerin’ 4 Hank” provided the music that caught the nation’s ear a few short years before the birth of rock and roll.
Gerald Donovan, co-owner of Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa, explained the band shell was a fixture in the bayside town over a century ago, when it was a popular resort linked to Washington, DC by railroad. The man who built the railroad, Russian immigrant Otto Mears, also built the original band shell. Mears was one of America’s foremost railroad builders, with the DC-to-Chesapeake Beach connection being one of his more modest ventures. Mears’ projects in the Midwest, particularly Colorado, have more nationally historic significance.
To Southern Maryland history buffs, however, the Chesapeake Beach Railroad provides a wild ride back to the days when the bay’s western shore was the Nation’s Capital’s prime getaway destination.
Likewise, Hank Williams could arguably be called America’s first rock star, as his live performances created a frenzy and, alas, he proved too fast to live and died young.
Jim Paul Blair recreates the original arrangements and style of Hank Williams. Even his clothes replicate those of the “Drifting Cowboy.”
Donovan, who calls the re-creation of the band shell “a dream come true,” indicated the quasi-temporary structure will be back up next summer for more outdoor shows.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
