Cooperative Living February 2020 - 33

BuildingCommunity | Story by George Stuteville, Contributing Writer
Getting a Charge
from Learning About
Harriet Tubman
O
n the first day of 2020, someone
plugged an electric car into the
Choptank Electric Cooperative
charging station at the Harriet Tubman
Underground Railroad Visitor Center in
Cambridge, Md.
As fresh electrons flowed into the battery
pack of the sleek Model S Tesla, the driver or a
passenger, someone, named only as " Nate, " left an online
message about the experience: " Nice to learn and charge
at the same time. "
Getting a charge out of learning about Harriet Tubman
will likely be repeated many times as the year unfolds.
That is thanks to a surge in electric vehicle sales and the
resurgence of interest in the life and legacy of the courageous
former slave and fierce abolitionist who guided hundreds
of slaves in the southern Maryland area to freedom on the
Underground Railroad.
The late 2019 release of the movie " Harriet " helped spark
the renewal of public fascination with Tubman, says Dana
Paterra, manager of the state park.
Black History Month is sure to bring even more traffic to the
park, the starting point for the 125-mile driving tour through
Maryland's Eastern Shore. Visitors start learning about Tubman
at the center, which features an
orientation film and life-size
bust of the heroic woman.
The driving tour highlights
35 historically significant sites
linked to Tubman and others.
They include places where
humans were bought and
sold to the antebellum
Underground Railroad stops
where freedom-seeking
slaves rested or hid.
STOPS ALONG THE WAY
One stop includes a school
established by free local
African Americans who were
determined to educate their
community's children.
Maryland laws did not bar
the education of blacks, but
local norms and slaveholders
often banned such schools.
co-opliving.com
Visitors to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor
Center can plug into history by charging their electric cars while
they watch films and learn about the railroad scenic byway.
Much of the trip meanders along rural routes that cut
through the remote swamps and woodlands that Tubman
traveled by foot, horse and small boats and rafts. Until just
over a year ago, the route would have been worrisome for some
EV motorists concerned about access to charging stations.
MIXING POWER AND HISTORY
Meanwhile, leaders at Choptank Electric Cooperative
wanted to blend their support of Tubman's historical
importance and the future of EV technology on the Eastern
Shore.
The co-op approached Paterra at the state park with a
proposal to build a charging station at the visitor center,
the first such installation at a Maryland state museum.
Paterra said she was immediately enthusiastic about the
possibility and assisted the co-op in navigating through
various levels of permits and regulations.
In December 2018, Choptank activated a Level 2 EV
charger in the center's parking lot and trained state employees
on its use.
The Level 2 station provides AC at 240 volts and is
available to any EV driver who has the ChargePoint network
or phone app.
At the dedication, former Choptank CEO Mike Wheatley
said the project would help " boost tourism and reduce range
anxiety. "
Mike Malandro, Choptank's president and CEO, has
continued the co-op's commitment to the region's history
and its future. He said the co-op is pleased with the support
for the charging station, which will grow as EVs continue
to enter the nation's road.
" Choptank Electric chose this location because tourists will
come from all over to visit this historical museum and learn
more about Harriet Tubman and her legacy, " Malandro says.
" We want to make chargers more accessible on the shore,
and this seemed like a good place to begin. We look forward
to continued infrastructure support for EVs in the years
ahead. " 
Find the latest pics and posts at facebook.com/cooperativeliving.
February 2020 | Cooperative Living | 31
PHOTO BY NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK - BETH PARNICZA
http://www.facebook.com/cooperativeliving http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living February 2020

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