Event Blends History With Family Fun

For the younger set, there was a kiddie train that wound through the crowd, a balloon bounce and Reggie Rice, 25, "the Super Magic Man." Rice delighted children and their adult companions, making pencils disappear into his ear and producing fire out of his wallet.

"It's a family atmosphere. Everybody's come to have a good time and just chill, and learn," said retired teacher Eunice Butler of Solomons, a former resident of St. Mary's County.

A solemn moment came when wreaths were laid at the base of the monument by an honor guard representing the Patuxent River Naval Air Station and the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office. The wreaths honored Pvt. William H. Barnes and Sgt. James H. Harris, who served with the 38th U.S. Army Colored Troops during the Civil War.

"Out of over 200,000 black men who fought in the Civil War, two of them were from St. Mary's County, and they were former slaves," Mike Brown said.

Gospel choirs from local churches performed throughout the day.

"My wife, Ann, sings in the St. Peter's [Claver] Gospel Choir," said St. Mary's County Commissioner Daniel H. Raley (D-Great Mills). In addressing the crowd huddled under one of two huge tents, he said, "We're on a road where a man [and] a woman's color or religious beliefs doesn't matter. We've made a lot of progress."

As the evening light faded, audience members sprang from their seats to dance and sing along with the celebration's closing act, Shang. The Washington-based jazz vocalist seemed delighted by the response and fueled by the crowd's energy.

"Boy! You folks in St. Mary's County sure know how to party!" she said at the end of a song.