Crossing The Chesapeake

 

Before 1952,  the only way to cross the Chesapeake Bay - west to east and back - was to fly over or take a boat.  For my family crossing was by boat, a ferry boat.  When people hear 'boat' and the Chesapeake, they mostly think, 'Chesapeake Bay Skipjack'; those god-send, one mast, V shaped bottom, sleek boats, used for oystering.

 Our crossings, though, lacked much of any 'romanticized' character. The ferry we took 'cross-the-Bay, was a big hulky, diesel powered thing; it was, to this then eight year old, a real wonder.  I remember thinking, 'Wow this thing can carry cars, pick-up trucks, and buses.  Wonder it don't sink.  

My little story resumes here..............  Remember, this is a tale about crossings.

 One year we're on our way, 'down-home' - crossing the Bay (our parents would take all nine of us children, to the family home on Deal Island; after school closed, to get us out of the hot Summer city).  

This time, the bus rolled onto the ferry - no problem.

 Ferry workers would then scoot under the bus, dragging heavy chains. They would wrap the chains around the bus's axles, front and back.  The idea, obviously, was to fix the bus to the ferry; 'chain it down, so it wouldn't, couldn't move'. 

Pardon me, but I'll pick up my story later.  For now, just bring your Bible.  It's, 'Bible By The Bay'.