May 10, 2026
We recently attended a family wedding in Rock Point, MD. Rock Point is located about 60 miles north of Washington D.C. on Chesapeake Bay and near Annapolis. The groom’s family hosted the pre-wedding evening gathering at a marina in Rock Point. An announcement on the bulletin board indicated a BURNING OF THE SOCKS to be held the following afternoon.
I was very curious and learned from a local attending the event, it was a time for celebration primarily as winter was over. Additional information was found on the Internet indicating it is a custom around Annapolis and surrounding waterfront communities to mark the beginning of boating season.
During the cold months, sailors and boatyard workers wore heavy socks and winter gear while working on boats. Buring the socks symbolizes saying goodbye to winter and welcome to warmer weather, bare feet on boats and return of the sailing season.
A burning of the socks poem is often read during the celebration:
Old wool socks, so stained with grime,/ You served us well through wintertime./ Through icy winds and freezing docks,/ We trudged along in battered socks.
Let winter fade like drifting smoke,/ With laughter shared and toasts well spoke./ The boats return, the waters call—/ Fair winds and happy spring to all.
I really wanted to attend the celebration to observe the burning of the socks, but it was held at the same time as the wedding. I can only imagine the fire, smoke, and odor associated with the burning of old socks. I am thinking of starting an Iowa celebration of burning old unusable gloves and mittens on the vernal equinox.
In a past column I challenged you with a word used to celebrate during the Civil War. I can believe that it was spoken by the 32 Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey as they volunteered the call from President Lincoln to fight for the North.
Azor Mills, their teacher along with Isaac Brown, the assistant teacher at the early pioneer school went as a unit. Sadly, Isaac Brown, along with nine others, were casualties of the war.
Recently the current high school students who were practicing drilling and marching with their high school history teacher, Dena Boyd, shouted “HIZZAH” at the end of the drilling.
The 32 current students have researched and found information about the individual they will be portraying. They have also learned HIZZAH was a kind of cheer used during the Civil War era. It was a spirited word like hurrah or hooray and was used to celebrate victories, rally morale, or express enthusiasm.
The Schoolboy Soldiers trivia/learning question this week focuses on attire worn by the Union Civil War soldiers. What name was given to the most common Civil War hat? Additional credit for describing it.
Concluding this writing with HIZZAH for Burning of the Socks, and our current Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey project.
VIEW FROM MY WINDOW is shared by Mary Weaver of rural Rippey.
