CAMP Profile

I first met Maggie Shaw and Andrea Andrus a few years ago as I looked to get more lesbians involved with the annual LOVE Benefit. I asked Steve Elkins and Murray Archibald to suggest those I might speak with to get ideas of how to make the event more inclusive. Maggie and Andrea, among others, were two of their first suggestions. They are two of the most interesting, sweet, and charming of our Rehoboth Beach residents. I sat down with them one morning to talk about love, civic involvement, and, of course, Rehoboth Beach.

Mark: How did you first meet?

Maggie: We met over five years ago at a small cocktail party. We were most comfortable being friends at first. Our relationship together was a byproduct of our friendship. Andrea was having major surgery and couldn’t climb stairs. My new condo was more accessible. Since I am a nurse I offered to help her through it by staying with me. Andrea became “the girl who came to visit who never left.”

Mark: Which of you used the “L” word first?

Andrea: Do you mean love or lesbian? Using the word love was pretty mutual after the friendship evolved into an intimate relationship. We both knew that we were soul mates. We now begin every day by saying, “Good morning, I love you, and I’m sorry.” Then we laugh because we know we have covered all our bases. Every day is special.

Mark: Have you met each other’s family?

Maggie: This question makes me think of biological family as opposed to family by design. We have met each other’s biological families, which are small. We have been sensitive to any issues they may have with our gay lifestyle but haven’t hidden our relationship. Our families have been very accepting of each of us as individuals. Together we have recreated our family, which consists of some of our relatives and our friends.

Mark: How long have you been visiting Rehoboth?

Andrea: I visited for the first time over five years ago. Maggie’s family has been coming here since the forties. In fact she thinks she was probably conceived here.

Mark: Do you believe that the Rehoboth Beach lesbian community is growing?

Maggie: Since the forties? I think so! I started coming here without my family in the early seventies. There were lesbians, but they were somewhat invisible. Because they didn’t own homes or businesses and there were no specific bars or coffee shops for women. Now the lesbian business owners probably equal that of gay men. There is a visible presence particularly in the last five years. Now there is a strong community presence.

Mark: You are a past president of the Rehoboth Beach Film Society. Tell us about that.

Andrea: I started out as a volunteer. I called the film society office and said that I would like to become involved. My first project was to plan and execute the opening and closing night celebrations. They were a success. I was asked to join the board and then became president, because of experience with other boards. I believe in independent films and exposing people to cultural and artistic entertainment. I think it’s incredible that a place like Rehoboth has such a successful film festival and other year round activities. I think it’s exciting and it’s something to support. I was the first openly lesbian President of the Board, so it was a good mix of people both straight and gay. We were all working together to achieve a strong sense of community.

Mark: Tell us about your involvement with the Women’s Project of CAMP Rehoboth.

Maggie: It was a cold day in the basement of Epworth Church where in a CAMP planning meeting the need for a women’s project was born. A committee emerged and I became the Chair for the Women’s Project. Since then we have put on two hugely successful conferences focusing on women’s health, finance, and legal issues. Governor Minner was our keynote speaker at the second conference. Our attendance doubled from the first. Currently we’re working on the third, scheduled to be held in April of 2003.

Mark: You petitioned the city to have Canal Street paved. What was the experience like?

Maggie: Change is hard even in a small town. Canal Street was one of two remaining unpaved streets in Rehoboth Beach. Unpaved it was quaint, but because of health issues related to the dust and dirt it became a necessity to pursue its paving. The City Manager, Greg Ferrese, was extremely helpful in guiding me through the process as cumbersome as it seemed at the time. After petitions were signed and neighbors agreed to pay a portion of the cost, the rest became history. Now the 96-year-old woman who lives two doors down can sit on her porch comfortably.

Mark: Do you have a Rehoboth Beach “little known pleasure?”

Andrea: One of my favorite places to go is the small footbridge over Silver Lake in Country Club. It’s near what we call “Skeeter Park” in memory of our dog who recently passed away. The turtle bridge was the last place we took Skeeter before she died. Both animals and people love to go there. It’s wonderful to see small children there admiring nature.

Mark: You both have lived in larger cities and chose to move to Rehoboth to live full time. Why?

Maggie: For me it’s a place to slow down and find my creative passion again as an artist of sorts.

Andrea: I’ve lived in Boston, Chicago, New York, and the Washington, DC area. Even though I love the energy of a large city, I equally love the calming energy of this beach town. I came here on sabbatical after my surgery in 1998. I liked it so much that I stayed.