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Word Spreads About Gem on the Eastern Shore
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By Ann Cameron Siegal
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Maryland.com
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 | | Ann Cameron Siegal | | The front porch of the Atlantic Hotel is a popular meeting place for Berlin's residents and visitors alike. |
Fame hasn't spoiled Berlin Maryland, yet. However, its location - seven miles from Ocean City but decades away in atmosphere - is a magnet for retirees and second-home buyers, and that promises change. Berlin's role as Hale, Maryland in Paramount's movie "Runaway Bride" and as the horse-and-buggy community of Treegap in Disney's film adaptation of the children's novel, "Tuck Everlasting" made it a curiosity destination for travelers. However, while it's easy to find residents who had bit parts in one or both movies, to them Berlin is more than a picturesque setting sought by Hollywood producers.
In Berlin, shopkeepers still know neighborhood children by name and residents enjoy summer concerts in the square. Annual bathtub and pig races down Main Street give winners "bragging rights" for a year.
Berlin's 1920s hardware store still sells seed by the scoop, hunting gear, crab pots, or Radio Flyer wagons. Just down the block at the Shoe Box, Jesse Turner has been doing repairs and orthopedic-prescription work on shoes for 50 years, starting as a 19-year-old apprentice. At a nursery on the edge of town, customers arriving after business hours make their selections, then leave a note as to what they took, faithfully returning another day to pay.
Owners of the small independent shops downtown, routinely keep an eye on each other's stores, take in packages, and volunteer in the community. The 14-year-old family-run Globe Theater - a gallery, cafe and live music venue occupying a renovated 1917 movie house - won a Governor's Arts Award from the Maryland Citizens for the Arts Foundation in 2002 for its sponsorship of art and cultural events. Ten years ago, shopkeepers began an annual "Arts Night" where patrons could meet local artists and view their work.
One of the first exhibitors was Pat Henry, a local native who has been honing his talent since age 12. Five years ago, Henry, whose work concentrates on intimate and nostalgic images of the Eastern Shore, opened his own studio in town where he nurtures other local artists.
 | | Ann Cameron Siegal | | Local artist Pat Henry opened his own studio, The Henry Art Center, five years ago to give other local artists a place to display their work. |
"When I was growing up I wasn't really aware of what this area had to offer," said Henry, who has become one of Berlin's strongest cultural advocates. Because of the encouragment he received over the years to pursue his passion, Henry also volunteers for hands-on art projects in county schools to help awaken the "creative spirit" in children.
For Sue Hutchinson, a school bus driver and part-time Civil War re-enactor whose husband and son had bit parts in Tuck Everlasting, Berlin offers a sense of family beyond her many relatives who also live there. After her father died, she said, "By the time we got home (from the hospital) half of Berlin was in our kitchen."
Berlin -- accent on the first syllable, rhyming with "Merlin" - was incorporated in 1868, and is on a 1677 land grant once known the Burley Plantation. More than a century later, travelers would find respite at the Burley Inn, no longer in existence. Legend has it that the town's name evolved from people saying "Burley Inn" rapidly.
A historical timeline in the Calvin B. Taylor House museum, a 19th century structure saved from demolition by community fundraising, is a gem for local history buffs. Between 1885 and 1904, downtown Berlin suffered three serious fires. Since 1907, Berlin has had its own power generator. In 1910, Berlin boasted of having 12 automobiles. By the 1920's, Berlin was renowned for an orchard featuring Hale peaches. In 1939, seven children were "sentenced to church for taking candy from Santa Claus."
By the 1970s, Berlin seemed to have passed its peak. The smell from a local chicken plant was so strong that an "odor hotline" was established. When the odor drew major complaints, the rendering plant would close its doors to help minimize the stench. Empty storefronts and abandoned houses were common.
Then, 15 years ago, the Atlantic Hotel was restored to its 1895 Victorian grandeur, spurring others to fix up their properties. Five years later, Berlin got its own 62-bed hospital, saving residents the 20-mile trek to Salisbury. Today, houses in Berlin range from historic Federal and Victorian styles to modular homes, with plenty of unassuming ramblers and Cape Cods in between.
The employment market is in flux. The planned closing of the chicken plant by Tyson Foods Inc. this year was expected to put several hundred Berlin residents out of work. However, Robert G. Corbin Jr., executive director of the Lower Shore Workforce Alliance, said many of those workers have been relocated or hired by competitors. Those who haven't are being offered retraining through the alliance, with nursing and truck driving being the most sought after fields.
The town's biggest employers remain the hospital, which is expanding, and the schools. Beyond those, said Worcester County Attorney Edward H. Hammond Jr., most of Berlin's population have jobs that have something to do with Ocean City.
Active retirees seeking small-town living close to the coast and its recreational amenities are drawn to Berlin and neighboring Ocean Pines. Berlin Mayor Rex Hailey said that in the process, "They have created a need for more year-round employment."
Hailey also noted that more than 60 new housing units have been completed in Berlin in the last year, with more proposed by developers. "Development is being pushed by the economy. There's nowhere else to put your money," he said.
Hammond, whose own home has been in the family for four generations, said, "The trick is to preserve what we have. We need to get a handle on rampant growth. The perceived availability of sewer drives development." Whether or not to increase that capacity is one of the ongoing debates in the town.
Mulling over Berlin's future from the large front porch of her 1880 farmhouse, two doors from where her mom still lives and a block from where her grown daughter has a home, Sue Hutchinson said, "People always dream of a wonderful place to live "when we retire," but I can't see living anywhere else. I've got everything I need here."
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Comments from users:
| Sherry | Dallas | | Sherrym424 AT aol DOT com | |
I just wanted to say that the artist who does the sand sculphers on the Ocean City beach should be highly recognized. His work is beautiful. He should somehow preserve this and sell his work. Outstanding |
| | | Joan Polsky | Bishop, Maryland | | joan DOT polsky AT smhgroup DOT com | |
I grew up in Bishop, Md. and i visited Berlin quite often. That was many many years ago, but i still remember how much i loved it |
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