Crabtowne History

Once upon a time, there was an Annapolitan who loved to ski. He loved people too. He was a debonaire man-about-town who went out of his way to find good times. He was Herb Zorn.

In 1970, Annapolis was still a cozy little town. Middleton's was a focal point and Herb used to meet many good friends there.

Herb's quest to find good times and good skiing took him to the Towson area where he affiliated with the Baltimore Ski Club. But travel to Towson became less and less desirable. Herb began to think. He brought those thoughts back to his friends at Middleton's and a club was born.

The nucleus of eight happy skiers, among them Darlene Harding, Charlie Leonard and Jane Lunney, met and delightfully pledged to work hard and bring in two or more members each and the Annapolis Ski Club was on its way. By September of 1971, there were 65 members. Herb was elected president, and his first official act was to change the name to Crabtowne Ski Club to give the club a more local flavor. Activities such as a sail day with a race back to Annapolis for crabs, a weekend sail party to Oxford and a bike hike were held. A Halloween party followed.

June 1972 brought the first appearance of the official logo on the membership invitation. A directory was first published and contained the names of 140 members as reported by Jane Lunney and Darlene Harding, Membership Chairmen. Space requirements forced a move of the meetings to the Yardarm (later known as Spiro's, Jason's, The Rocks, and now the Eastport Clipper). The official newsletter "Crabtowne Skier", rolled off the presses in November 1972. The rudimentary publication boasted of the fashion show on Nov. 16 and the Thanksgiving ski trip to none other than Killington, Vermont. Ron Naditch offered a trip to Vale scheduled for February. Membership fees were $5, which included free refreshments after every meeting, and guests fees were $1. The Baltimore Ski Club demonstrated their support of the new club by offering dual membership benefits.

December brought not only a Christmas carol hayride aboard Charlie & Erica Leitch's truck, but a new masthead for the newsletter which included the logo - the same masthead that appears on our newsletter today.

By February 1973, Bernie Suskie came on board as Ski Trip Chairman and many new activities appeared on the schedule: boat-bike trip to St. Michael's, ice skating and a tennis tournament. Joe Gross joined and wrote a glowing article in the Evening Capital on the club. Plans for the rental of a house at Elk Mountain began to surface.

Marmadukes became the new club home by April due to the overcrowding the increasing membership produced. Bill Helm, the new owner of Marmadukes's, was a club member by that time and he agreed to complete his renovation of the 2nd floor in time for the next Crabtowne meeting. A white water rafting trip appeared on the schedule and the trip compensation policy was announced. Membership now was at 170 happy skiers.

Crabtowne continued to grow and prosper over the next year. Under Herb's leadership, and with the help of many willing members, new activities were added for the enjoyment of all: dryland sail school, skating party and the script of a new play surfaced in the newsletter (could it be an embryonic Crabaret skit?). Martha Williamson, Secretary; Jim Stoops, Program Committee Chairman. And still more new activities: a swimming party and a crab feast.

By August 1974, the club was well on its feet. New officers took their place and the ski house became a reality. Theatre parties were held and underwater activities surfaced (submerged??).

Many years have now gone by since those first meetings at Middleton's. Many members and guests have enjoyed the efforts of all those who have put many hours of effort into the creation of good times and warm relationships. Many toes have been warmed by the fires of Crabtowne - good fun and good people - continue to prosper and continue to fill our needs.

Thanks Herb... and thanks, Crabtowne!

Author, Anonymous.