Sometimes referred to as the "Mayor of Cape St. Claire," Beau works tirelessly to improve the community. Beau's contributions to CSC through the CSC Improvement Association are evident everywhere, including an impactful beach restoration. His love of CSC is routed in childhood friendships, memories of time spent on the water, and now, finding the love of his life. I spoke with Beau at a picnic table at the Main Beach.
Beau Breeden and his fiancé April Davidson Bly.
A young Beau at Main Beach during the Strawberry Festival in 1980.
Lacrosse with Dad at Graul's Field, late 80s.
Beau at children's Halloween Party, club house 1978, in the sailor suit.
Transcript of conversation:
Beau:
I'll tell the quick story of meeting April here. April moved here in August, September of 2020. It was November 17th. She made a post on Facebook and said, hey, can anybody take me out for a sunset or sunrise boat ride to get a picture for a photography contract? Her neighbor, {}, tags me and says,
Beau, quote unquote, the mayor. He's busy, but maybe his boat's still in the water. It was interesting. It was 2020. You know, the world was a little bit different then. And I said, I might be free. It depends on what the governor says tomorrow, because that was a Wednesday, on Thursday. And Governor Hogan then shut down things for preparation for Thanksgiving the following week. And so things closed back down. The events I was supposed to go to on that Saturday were canceled. So I was open. We met like six o 'clock down at Deep Creek on my boat. She brought coffee. We went out to sunrise right here at the Baltimore Lighthouse and took pictures that morning. We had a nice conversation, a few laughs and met back up for the sunset that day. There was no sun that time. You know, we shared a meal on the boat and it was another month before we went on our first date. But I just, I just think it's a nice story about community helping. And it just so turned out that it's been great for us.
My name is Beau Breeden. I've been a Cape resident for about 40 years. I'm a local business owner and also a local volunteer on many boards.
Kara: Now I don't know if you talk this way, but Beau posts in third person.
Beau: Beau does.
Kara: I'm glad you answered in third person. Tell me why.
Beau: If we're going to do it for real, Beau's talked in third person since he was a child. Occasionally, it was just a trick with mom and dad.
You throw it out there, my parents, great people, highly educated. It got on their nerves a little bit. And it's sort of a sore point over the years, though. I think I've made it into enough of a joke. I think it helps establish that life sometimes is, you know, crazy. And sometimes you just need some levity. Often that's when I use it. Or if I'm trying to remove personal emotion and I'm just trying to tell a story.
So I've used it from that standpoint. I realize that they can come off very narcissistic in times. You know, some people say that, but that's okay.
Kara: I don't think it does. I love it. It totally cracks me up when I read something that's in third person from you. So feel free to do this interview in third person.
Beau:I will try here and there. Yeah, absolutely.
Kara: And also feel free to drink water in between because it is hella hot. Okay, so tell me about your favorite thing about living in Cape St. Claire.
Beau: I love Cape St. Claire as a community. I grew up as a Navy kid. I'm born in San Diego, came here. I met a core group of Finns at 10 months old or so in a babysitter's club co -op here in Cape St. Claire. My mom still has some of the best friends. And those seven to 10 kids that we met, we still all know each other. And we moved away for about six years and came back. And we came back to the same house.
The same friends were in the same driveway and there was just community from day one. And having lived in San Diego, Mississippi, Virginia and England before I was age eight and back school switching, I just always felt this was home. I think by 12 is the longest I've ever lived anywhere. And we went from there and I just, some of those same guys were, you know, have been friends. We've been to each other's weddings, divorces, different things like that, and hope to have some of them back at the wedding this upcoming fall.
Kara: Congratulations to you both. Thank you. It's so exciting. You have a lot going on.
Beau: We do. We do have a lot going on right now.
Kara: It's amazing. You are from a Navy family. You moved around a lot as a kid. Yep. Settled back, like you said. OK, so maybe that's why, but tell me in your own words why you decided to settle here as an adult. You could have gone anywhere, right?
Beau: Could have. You're right. We have strong ties to the area between I was very committed to church for years.
Growing up in St. Margaret's Church, living here, friends, again, the broadening community in general. At the same time, I went off to school. Come back here, I have fond memories of playing on the main beach, playing at Lake Claire, crabbing every day, going boating with friends, a few that lived on the water, jumping on boats and going out to dobbins and different places as a teenager. And ideally, I wanted that for myself as an adult, and I wanted that for a family I may or may not raise in the future. I've really never, after about 12, thought I'd live anywhere else. This is the place I picked up the house I wanted that I now own. I picked it out when I was 12 and said I'd buy it one day. There were two in Cape I selected around that age and I bought one when I was 30. And I've been there since and I'm rehabbing it now.
Kara: Did you really? Yeah. Okay, so what was it about the house? Like you're 12, what attracted you to it?
Beau: It was next door to my best friend's house. Okay, of course. That's number one. His parents who lived elsewhere in the Cape, built that house on a wooded lot that backed up to the high school. And I thought that was cool that there was woods behind the high school and you had this, this lot's also an acre. So it's much bigger than you're used to playing in as a kid or cut through it to get to the woods of the high school. It was a big, long ranch ride for some reason like ranchers. And as I've aged, it certainly makes sense. Just with injuries and all, it makes it a lot easier to get around.
Kara: What's your favorite thing to do in the Cape? I mean, there's so much to do here being a waterfront community. Do you have any favorite activities?
Beau: sitting at the beach. As much as I don't always get to the beach for pleasure, I enjoy sitting on the wall here at Main Beach and just staring at the water. I enjoy going down to Lake Claire when no one's down there and sitting at the picnic table. But otherwise, probably boating, jumping on my boat at Deep Creek. And I love just getting into the Little Magothy and putting around and fishing and occasionally catching a fish. That's so fun. So, but, you know, occasionally grabbing, but it's mostly
just being at the water's edge is what I enjoy the most.
Kara: And you barbecue? I do. Tell me more about that.
Beau: So got into barbecue through catering in college as a job. We always did the large parties at church. My mom was the fellowship coordinator. And so my dad would be at the grill, so I'd be at the grill. And over time, that led to me just running the grill, and dad would be upstairs making the lemonade and helping mom as we did events.
So I learned that at a younger age. I enjoy it. And then being a catering manager, often at school there, the events were hamburgers, hot dogs, things like that. And then I created a barbecue sauce in my freshman year.
Kara What's it called?
Beau: B -O -B -Q.
Kara: Of course.
And so I had barbecue grilling sauces for a while. And I would make this sauce and we'd have big parties with BeauMania back at UMBC and we had some rather large parties. And people would come and I ended up over the years, I bottled the sauce at one point and had it in some stores from 2007 to 2011. But times changed and whatnot. But always just a love of that. And I really got into the smoking of meats, a little bit of competition, barbecue. But mostly I just call myself a backyard aficionado.
Kara: You're often referred to as the unofficial mayor of Cape St. Claire. So tell me what a day in the life of Beau is like, because sometimes I'll see you're posting like, I'm at the beach and it's 10 p What's your day like?
Beau: I'm someone who doesn't sleep a lot. OK. I think that's the first part is I'm someone who also believes there's one hundred and sixty eight hours in a week to get things done. Good or bad, you know, sometimes you don't use them all efficiently.
but I don't really consider there's a work day and a work off day. Like it's not my mentality. Typical day, I'm going to my business where we're seeing clients, we're helping people with their future goals and wants and needs basically. I run a heavy schedule, a lot of meetings, a lot of evening meetings, volunteer wise, between the different boards that I'm president of or vice president of at this point in time.
Kara: How many boards are you on right now?
Beau: down to three officially.
Kara: Wow, it's still a lot.
Beau: So there's Cape St. Claire Improvement Association, the Broadneck Council of Communities, and the Eastern District Police Community Relations Council. Right. Right. So those, I'm president of two, vice president of one, and have been in some role on each board for the last 12 years, roughly. There's always a meeting, I think my neighbor always says, you're always running off to a meeting. Right. So there's lots of lots of meetings. But I think, you know, I'm somebody who's going to work hard and play hard and I want to stop off and have a drink down in the Cantina or down in Della Note. Sometimes I refer to my office, number three. You can find me with my laptop there often typing away emails, having my dinner, things like that in the past. So nowadays my days are different because I stop in, hang out with the kids or we go boating in the evenings. This time of year try to catch the sunset cruises because that's the best time to be on the bay in my opinion. Got out Sunday night for a nice night one. I'm not sure there's any typical day. I just think they kind of run long.
Kara: Sure. Well, you know what's interesting is like you call it all work, but volunteerism is important to you. Tell me why.
Beau:I want to place both the good and bad of it on my mother. She is somebody who tirelessly has volunteered, obviously, as long as I've known her, but from childhood where she was a Girl Scout and got the highest award to running my sister's Girl Scout troop here in Cape St. Claire and being the not just the community leader but the region leader as a volunteer. Very active at St. Margaret's Church my entire life still to this day. She's heading up the you know with another member heading up the archives committee over there as a reference librarian. She's got a special skill set for things like that and she's really documenting the history of the Broadneck peninsula and St. Margaret's Church.
My dad, he was big, you know, he was in the Navy, maybe not around as much during the week during his career, but has always volunteered, was always there for sports, was always there as our acolyte master for church. So, you know, growing up being on the altar and all, he did that for 40 years, you know? So I sort of have this thing that I want to leave it better than when I found it. And, you know, there's no timeframe to that, but I sort of figure why not help if I can.
Kara: No, I love that. I think that's great. You've mentioned a few of these things, but what are some of your favorite Cape St. Claire traditions that we have here?
Beau: I'm going to go with Strawberry Festival. I mean, that's I have a picture of myself standing right there on the hill from 1980 in an amazing Spider -Man t -shirt, sweet, holding some snacks. Occasionally put that one on Facebook around Strawberry Festival time. So I think my first Strawberry Festival was 1979. I think we missed the one in 78 when we moved here.
As you got older, coming down, they were much different than they are today. Before I really went to them, they were two and three day events. Nowadays, just the big one day. But the Strawberry Festival is definitely one. It's like homecoming for the area, right? And even while I often get stuck at a tent answering questions, still everybody stops by and says hi. I enjoy that tradition, the parade. Other traditions, I'm not sure they're quite as defined. One that I've enjoyed more recently is the little Magothy River concert that they'll do. So, you know, I don't know when it's happening this year, but it sort of just pops up and you end up, if you know, you know, but that's one that I've enjoyed over time. I think it's more traditions of, man, you got your buddies and your pals and you can ride your bikes down to the park and hang out. And there's some freedom, I think, that maybe doesn't exist in other places that we feel either safe because it's an enclosed area. You know, you're not on a major highway or off of a major highway, but. Those sort of things, I think, is what makes it different to grow up here in Cape.
Kara: It does kind of feel like the 70s and 80s, especially Halloween. The first time we took William to Hampton, I was so excited. I was like, where's my pillowcase? I mean, this was the best. It was so great.
Beau: That's a good one, because where I live in Cape, we have more of like a closed loop, and it's 60 or 70 kids. Everybody on the loop will come around. But I knew Hampton was a madhouse. It's an impressive gathering of people.
And I know there's a lot to get dropped off from other areas that get dropped off and, you know, but it seems to be just a great tradition that just kind of has morphed over the years because growing up, it wasn't like that. OK. So Hampton didn't have sidewalks when I was growing up. They didn't show up until the late 90s. Got it. You know, so it was just a white line on the street that designated the difference between the parking area and the walking area. And you kind of walked inside the white line and in theory you were safe.
That's how it worked. And so there was none of this, like everybody gathered at one spot. All of Cape participated. And I just remember you'd walk what I always call like the central blocks there between Hampton and Southview. You'd walk that center area just back and forth, back and forth and just fill up on candy.
Kara: What is something that you wish people knew about Cape St. Claire that they might not, whether they live here or not?
Beau: people still associate Cape St. Claire with much of what maybe the 80s or the early 90s brought attention for. And I don't believe that's who we are today. I honestly, every area has its challenges, but I'd probably ride through them with most of these people all the time. I just feel like it's a great community. I think there's great events. I think that people, you know, do a lot for the kids here that you don't see in other communities. I think our size makes us special.
Kara: Yeah, isn't that true?
Beau: 2300 plus homes and nearly 8 ,000 people. If you know, I always say this, if we were in any other county, we'd be a city on our own. You know, that's what city sizes are. Eight thousand, ten thousand people and you'd have a elected township and a public works department and cost would be higher and things like that. So you might have some more local control, but that's, you know, I think it's easier to deal with at the county level. So I think you get all the nuisances of a small town without having to manage all of the aspects of a small town. What a great way to put that. So in talking about, you know, what Cape used to be like when you were a kid versus now, is there anything that you miss? I mean, there's been change, but is there anything you miss from those days? I don't miss the metal slide at the park here. It burns your butt as you went down it at any point in time. I do miss the merry -go -round that used to be here. The ones you could like spin around. Those were the best. That was always the best.
But that's, I think just nobody has those anymore. So I'm pretty sure that's an insurance thing. I think, you know, here with the Chesapeake Bay, as we sit here and look at it, there's just been changes to go crabbing anymore. Sometimes you catch some, sometimes you don't. I don't remember missing, like I remember going down, catching your lunch very easily and coming home many days with my buddy, Matt, and steaming up some crabs, you know, here, mom.
12 crabs for lunch and we sit down and eat. I don't crab at the dock anymore, you know, often. I just go out on the boat, but I just don't see that as easy as it used to be. Those would be things like I miss, but you know, there's some BMX bike trails we used to have in here that Cape was always well known for in the area. Where? Well, what's now called Atlantis. you're kidding. And then also, you know, it's called 80 Acres for a reason, right? And then also, and most of that was built by the time I was...
of age and moved back here, but there's, you know, infill lots, lots that exist and still are getting built today. But there were at the corner of LaTrobe, that dog leg down there by Ridgeway, there are a series of homes that are, look newer, built in the 90s. They were great trails and jumps in there. Across from the Serene Ravine, a couple of houses there didn't exist, and there were some deep ravines where the water runs through and you could play in there. So you had different spots throughout the community. So there's things like that you lose with building.and growth and all those things. But I don't think, you know, they weren't so crucial to the fabric of the community. But I think if you sat around with a bunch of 45 year old, 50 year old guys, we all remember playing in there. absolutely.
Kara: So what about the beaches? I mean, how different does it look now from when you were a kid?
Beau:Well, after the recent projects, a little bit a little bit closer. Yeah, definitely different. Definitely a loss. I think anybody that was here.
In the 70s, 80s, or 90s, we remember a much more wide and robust beach all the way down. The depth to it, you know, we have nicer walkways now, nicer walls and things like that. But it was definitely wider. Lake Claire is probably the one that's the bigger difference. What most people don't realize, and I always tell the regulators as a point of reference, or anybody that's down there to listen to one of my chats, if you look at the fishing pier, and you go out about six or seven poles into the water, there's a sign that says fishing pier.
Well, that's where the sand was in 1989 when they built the pier. And you used to be able to walk to the house on River Bay all the way across on sand. wow. And there was only a small Watoozie of a stream that kind of wiggled through from the lake to the Deep Creek Magothy River. that's crazy. So now it's opened up, obviously. But that's the erosion. I mean, there are 100 plus feet of sand just gone. And, you know, unfortunately, times were different. Things were different. No one thought to capture that sand and put it back down the other end again or build a wall to hold it up like we've now, you know, now done. But it took a point of almost losing everything to get to that level basically of progress to change it. And there's still projects and works, you know. I think the one that most people don't know about around here would be, so a lot of people call Little Beach, could be confused as Fairwinds Beach, right? Or Lake Claire, because there is a lake there that is Lake Claire.
But the other little beach is the one on Little Magothy where we have a park which had a real beach back then. It did. And there's poles out there. And there was a swim net that would go around it. And there was a floating dock with a slide on it. And your swim lessons would be there. And you'd swim out to it. And you would get on the dock as a reward and slide down and you played there. And that was just part of growing up here in Cape. Again, I think anybody who probably grew up here through the 70s, 80s, early 90s is going to remember that.
That's a beach that we're working on. And I say we as a volunteer for the board here, but it's one of those things that would be lovely to restore. It'd be more of a better kayak launch spot, you know, probably not getting a real beach back there based on time, but you could do some things to enhance it, I think. And there's drawings and plans in the works. So. that's super exciting.
Kara: Well, you know, you might have answered this question already, but I was going to ask you to tell me about a project too that you're especially proud of.
So is there anything in addition to the beach work that you want to mention?
Beau: I think in general, the improving of the aesthetics. Yeah. OK. If this is 2024, if we went back to 2014, this walking path into the beach wasn't here. The wall isn't here. When you walk through the gate in 2014, the first thing you saw was a dumpster and a light pole. And that was your approach to the Chesapeake Bay and probably the best view on the Bay in my opinion.
And Scott Dembowski at the time was at Parks. He was also president. One of our focuses was the Cape St. Clair Improvement to be the Improvement Association. And our focus was putting some money back in the community that was a little worn. I think it's a nice way to say it. We had functional things. Mary and her team, great with the clubhouse and the upgrades over a series year. We paid for everything in cash flow through budgeting and you know.
I know this isn't about Cape St. Claire Improvement Association, but that's pretty cool, I think, to stand in there and have a nice facility to walk down the beach and see the flag and the wall. And at night, there's nice lights, subtle lights, looking out to the bay, things like that. I'd also say almost all the piers have been replaced and all done just through cash flow. It may not be a project, but being that I'm a finance guy, business guy,
I think planning all those things and paying for it as you go, I think that's sort of like the win. that's so smart.
Kara: So I actually wrote these questions a few weeks back. These questions have new relevance. Let's say that. So I want to talk a little bit about social media because you are often the voice of reason in posts or we purposely tag you if we have a question because we know you'll know the answer or you'll generously provide a resource for somebody.
Kara: Tell me your thoughts on social media as it relates to a community like this. Is it helpful or is it a hindrance?
Beau:I think it's both. I think the honest answer is it's both. I think it can be extremely helpful to provide simple information, help people. I think it can obviously, we all live in a world that has its difficulties and differences and people voice them.
I tend not to voice often anymore. I tend to just provide the basics. I think it's just a personal policy. Being a business owner, being elected volunteer, they just don't need to get into the phrase online, right? There's appropriate, usually venues and places and legal things that you have to consider with all those things. I do think it's a great source for real information though, like county processes, like it's easy to link it.
I have a pretty good memory. I remember faces, people, names, and where stuff is located on the internet without having to Google it. my gosh. So I'm often just able to click and put it there. my gosh. I'm somebody who spends a lot of time reading at night codes and law and just for my own fun. I know that doesn't sound like fun, but that's the part when I can't sleep I read law. So. I love it. Local codes, Maryland codes, how do you get a permit it through faster, right? Like, so, you know, what are all the rules and regs? That's what I do for fun. But you always come in with the good resources, whether it's like riparian rights or like, can I build a shed or can I park my car? I mean, you have like all the legal knowledge is boom. I learned a lot on riparian rights the last 10 years, helping the community through permitting on our beach projects. Some of it I wanted to learn some of it you just end up learning.
The struggles that I had, you know, we had in getting permits, no fault of our own, but there's just processes that you just can't believe take that long, but that's what it is. And I think it was probably naive to much of that before I started researching it.
Kara: Okay, so another little funny question, but serious, what's your stance on golf carts?
Beau:My personal stance in the world of electric vehicles is that If we're going to be pushing that direction, they should consider, and they being the county and the state, is having more and more friendly electrical vehicle options at that level in safe roads of 25 miles an hour. Weird part is there's a little state law that says if it's 25 miles an hour, which everything in interim county is at minimum unless you're a separate jurisdiction like Annapolis, there's the LSVs that allow you to
Your vehicle has to be LSV approved to get a tag. And there's some nuances you have to go through with the golf cart. It's not to say the golf cart can't be an LSV. It's just most aren't sold that way. So do I think it's unwise for a bunch of 12 and 16 year olds driving around without licenses? Yes. Do I think a responsible adult who drives down the beach with their bogey board on top or their sub board on top or takes the kids like, you know, I think that's a harmless no foul.
Obviously, in an accident with a larger vehicle, it's going to be problematic. The speed at which most travel, hopefully people can avoid. I don't think there's any one great answer on it. Yeah.
Kara: I feel the same way. It's like when they come by, I feel like I'm on vacation. I'm like, it's a beach community, right? It's like I love them so much. And I especially love when they're electric, but the kids is what bothers me.
Beau:I drive both a Ford F -150 and I have a golf cart.
You know, I also have solar on my roof and other things. Yeah. So if it's about local running it quick from one friend's house to the next, firing up the truck doesn't always make the most sense. Right. You know, just jump in the golf cart. But I think a diverse policy on it is probably the right way for it. You know, but I'm not in favor of young kids driving around or any of those things. I don't let ours do it and won't until they have licenses, you know.
Kara: OK, so two last questions. Is there a person in the Cape who has past or with us that you wish you could meet?
Beau:I would take it just slightly out of Cape and go more Broadneck Peninsula.
Kara: Yeah, go for it.
Beau: And having read a lot of the archives that's available online at St. Margaret's Church, to have seen it then, I had the advantage, I guess, growing up here in the 80s when you still had the generation or two before that are slowly, you know.
they were at church and would tell me stories and I was active and my dad was in the Brotherhood of St. Andrew. There are some families that lived in Arnold that just, you know, still own a little bit of land, but not as much as they used to. What it was like to come down here in the 20s and the, you know, so I'm not just, I'm not talking 300 years ago, I'm talking even just a hundred years ago as what we consider modern, the modern world and the change of the industrial revolution to now and just the difference of how it was and how you commuted. I'm not a
big horse rider, but I think it'd been pretty cool to ride some of the trails that those in particular gentlemen would talk about riding back then when there was a fox hunt club to maybe see some of that stories I heard that kind of gave me some fascination of it as a kid, like all of it, you know, and there's other important historical things that happened here. I don't know if there's one person. Shoot, I'd definitely like to bring back a few that passed too early, friends, you know, growing up with and things like that. But that'd be that'd be different.
I think the Stinchcombs to be a great example up there at the Goshen home. (WHIRRING NOISE) Somebody blowing up the raft. Yep.
Kara: To tie it all up in a bow, what's your dream future for Cape St. Claire as a community? Like pie in the sky, money's no object. Put it all out there.
Beau: I think at the end of the day, I just, I want Cape to just be a great place that people can live.
be able to enjoy the resources, in particular the Bay. I'd like the character to stay the same. I think it's eclectic homes, eclectic people of a wide variety of income classes. I think that's what makes it special. There's something to be said that there's still some cottages and maybe they're Air BnBs now or maybe they're not. And people live in them year round. And then there's, you know, multimillion dollar homes sitting along River Bay facing the Bay. You can see it all and it functions.
and most people go to school together and most people graduate, you know, grow up here, graduate together and many come back and I would hope that it stays like that in the long term. I hope it keeps its feel. Whether you call it small town America, your little piece of America, I usually call it paradise. Like I can't imagine living day by day and being somewhere else and so I think most days when I come back, I think it's, I tell April's kids like, we're back in Cape St. Claire.
I just love being here. That's really, I think it like, and I hope other people do too.
Kara
The Cape St. Claire podcast is produced by me, Kara McGuirk- Allison. Theme song performed by Mike Lyxx, me and William Allison. To see photos of Beau as a kid in the Cape and take a peek at upcoming episodes, go to capesaintclairepodcast.com. Please tell your friends and neighbors about us because we all love living in Cape St. Claire.
I'll tell the quick story of meeting April here. April moved here in August, September of 2020. It was November 17th. She made a post on Facebook and said, hey, can anybody take me out for a sunset or sunrise boat ride to get a picture for a photography contract? Her neighbor, {}, tags me and says,
Beau, quote unquote, the mayor. He's busy, but maybe his boat's still in the water. It was interesting. It was 2020. You know, the world was a little bit different then. And I said, I might be free. It depends on what the governor says tomorrow, because that was a Wednesday, on Thursday. And Governor Hogan then shut down things for preparation for Thanksgiving the following week. And so things closed back down. The events I was supposed to go to on that Saturday were canceled. So I was open. We met like six o 'clock down at Deep Creek on my boat. She brought coffee. We went out to sunrise right here at the Baltimore Lighthouse and took pictures that morning. We had a nice conversation, a few laughs and met back up for the sunset that day. There was no sun that time. You know, we shared a meal on the boat and it was another month before we went on our first date. But I just, I just think it's a nice story about community helping. And it just so turned out that it's been great for us.
My name is Beau Breeden. I've been a Cape resident for about 40 years. I'm a local business owner and also a local volunteer on many boards.
Kara: Now I don't know if you talk this way, but Beau posts in third person.
Beau: Beau does.
Kara: I'm glad you answered in third person. Tell me why.
Beau: If we're going to do it for real, Beau's talked in third person since he was a child. Occasionally, it was just a trick with mom and dad.
You throw it out there, my parents, great people, highly educated. It got on their nerves a little bit. And it's sort of a sore point over the years, though. I think I've made it into enough of a joke. I think it helps establish that life sometimes is, you know, crazy. And sometimes you just need some levity. Often that's when I use it. Or if I'm trying to remove personal emotion and I'm just trying to tell a story.
So I've used it from that standpoint. I realize that they can come off very narcissistic in times. You know, some people say that, but that's okay.
Kara: I don't think it does. I love it. It totally cracks me up when I read something that's in third person from you. So feel free to do this interview in third person.
Beau:I will try here and there. Yeah, absolutely.
Kara: And also feel free to drink water in between because it is hella hot. Okay, so tell me about your favorite thing about living in Cape St. Claire.
Beau: I love Cape St. Claire as a community. I grew up as a Navy kid. I'm born in San Diego, came here. I met a core group of Finns at 10 months old or so in a babysitter's club co -op here in Cape St. Claire. My mom still has some of the best friends. And those seven to 10 kids that we met, we still all know each other. And we moved away for about six years and came back. And we came back to the same house.
The same friends were in the same driveway and there was just community from day one. And having lived in San Diego, Mississippi, Virginia and England before I was age eight and back school switching, I just always felt this was home. I think by 12 is the longest I've ever lived anywhere. And we went from there and I just, some of those same guys were, you know, have been friends. We've been to each other's weddings, divorces, different things like that, and hope to have some of them back at the wedding this upcoming fall.
Kara: Congratulations to you both. Thank you. It's so exciting. You have a lot going on.
Beau: We do. We do have a lot going on right now.
Kara: It's amazing. You are from a Navy family. You moved around a lot as a kid. Yep. Settled back, like you said. OK, so maybe that's why, but tell me in your own words why you decided to settle here as an adult. You could have gone anywhere, right?
Beau: Could have. You're right. We have strong ties to the area between I was very committed to church for years.
Growing up in St. Margaret's Church, living here, friends, again, the broadening community in general. At the same time, I went off to school. Come back here, I have fond memories of playing on the main beach, playing at Lake Claire, crabbing every day, going boating with friends, a few that lived on the water, jumping on boats and going out to dobbins and different places as a teenager. And ideally, I wanted that for myself as an adult, and I wanted that for a family I may or may not raise in the future. I've really never, after about 12, thought I'd live anywhere else. This is the place I picked up the house I wanted that I now own. I picked it out when I was 12 and said I'd buy it one day. There were two in Cape I selected around that age and I bought one when I was 30. And I've been there since and I'm rehabbing it now.
Kara: Did you really? Yeah. Okay, so what was it about the house? Like you're 12, what attracted you to it?
Beau: It was next door to my best friend's house. Okay, of course. That's number one. His parents who lived elsewhere in the Cape, built that house on a wooded lot that backed up to the high school. And I thought that was cool that there was woods behind the high school and you had this, this lot's also an acre. So it's much bigger than you're used to playing in as a kid or cut through it to get to the woods of the high school. It was a big, long ranch ride for some reason like ranchers. And as I've aged, it certainly makes sense. Just with injuries and all, it makes it a lot easier to get around.
Kara: What's your favorite thing to do in the Cape? I mean, there's so much to do here being a waterfront community. Do you have any favorite activities?
Beau: sitting at the beach. As much as I don't always get to the beach for pleasure, I enjoy sitting on the wall here at Main Beach and just staring at the water. I enjoy going down to Lake Claire when no one's down there and sitting at the picnic table. But otherwise, probably boating, jumping on my boat at Deep Creek. And I love just getting into the Little Magothy and putting around and fishing and occasionally catching a fish. That's so fun. So, but, you know, occasionally grabbing, but it's mostly
just being at the water's edge is what I enjoy the most.
Kara: And you barbecue? I do. Tell me more about that.
Beau: So got into barbecue through catering in college as a job. We always did the large parties at church. My mom was the fellowship coordinator. And so my dad would be at the grill, so I'd be at the grill. And over time, that led to me just running the grill, and dad would be upstairs making the lemonade and helping mom as we did events.
So I learned that at a younger age. I enjoy it. And then being a catering manager, often at school there, the events were hamburgers, hot dogs, things like that. And then I created a barbecue sauce in my freshman year.
Kara What's it called?
Beau: B -O -B -Q.
Kara: Of course.
And so I had barbecue grilling sauces for a while. And I would make this sauce and we'd have big parties with BeauMania back at UMBC and we had some rather large parties. And people would come and I ended up over the years, I bottled the sauce at one point and had it in some stores from 2007 to 2011. But times changed and whatnot. But always just a love of that. And I really got into the smoking of meats, a little bit of competition, barbecue. But mostly I just call myself a backyard aficionado.
Kara: You're often referred to as the unofficial mayor of Cape St. Claire. So tell me what a day in the life of Beau is like, because sometimes I'll see you're posting like, I'm at the beach and it's 10 p What's your day like?
Beau: I'm someone who doesn't sleep a lot. OK. I think that's the first part is I'm someone who also believes there's one hundred and sixty eight hours in a week to get things done. Good or bad, you know, sometimes you don't use them all efficiently.
but I don't really consider there's a work day and a work off day. Like it's not my mentality. Typical day, I'm going to my business where we're seeing clients, we're helping people with their future goals and wants and needs basically. I run a heavy schedule, a lot of meetings, a lot of evening meetings, volunteer wise, between the different boards that I'm president of or vice president of at this point in time.
Kara: How many boards are you on right now?
Beau: down to three officially.
Kara: Wow, it's still a lot.
Beau: So there's Cape St. Claire Improvement Association, the Broadneck Council of Communities, and the Eastern District Police Community Relations Council. Right. Right. So those, I'm president of two, vice president of one, and have been in some role on each board for the last 12 years, roughly. There's always a meeting, I think my neighbor always says, you're always running off to a meeting. Right. So there's lots of lots of meetings. But I think, you know, I'm somebody who's going to work hard and play hard and I want to stop off and have a drink down in the Cantina or down in Della Note. Sometimes I refer to my office, number three. You can find me with my laptop there often typing away emails, having my dinner, things like that in the past. So nowadays my days are different because I stop in, hang out with the kids or we go boating in the evenings. This time of year try to catch the sunset cruises because that's the best time to be on the bay in my opinion. Got out Sunday night for a nice night one. I'm not sure there's any typical day. I just think they kind of run long.
Kara: Sure. Well, you know what's interesting is like you call it all work, but volunteerism is important to you. Tell me why.
Beau:I want to place both the good and bad of it on my mother. She is somebody who tirelessly has volunteered, obviously, as long as I've known her, but from childhood where she was a Girl Scout and got the highest award to running my sister's Girl Scout troop here in Cape St. Claire and being the not just the community leader but the region leader as a volunteer. Very active at St. Margaret's Church my entire life still to this day. She's heading up the you know with another member heading up the archives committee over there as a reference librarian. She's got a special skill set for things like that and she's really documenting the history of the Broadneck peninsula and St. Margaret's Church.
My dad, he was big, you know, he was in the Navy, maybe not around as much during the week during his career, but has always volunteered, was always there for sports, was always there as our acolyte master for church. So, you know, growing up being on the altar and all, he did that for 40 years, you know? So I sort of have this thing that I want to leave it better than when I found it. And, you know, there's no timeframe to that, but I sort of figure why not help if I can.
Kara: No, I love that. I think that's great. You've mentioned a few of these things, but what are some of your favorite Cape St. Claire traditions that we have here?
Beau: I'm going to go with Strawberry Festival. I mean, that's I have a picture of myself standing right there on the hill from 1980 in an amazing Spider -Man t -shirt, sweet, holding some snacks. Occasionally put that one on Facebook around Strawberry Festival time. So I think my first Strawberry Festival was 1979. I think we missed the one in 78 when we moved here.
As you got older, coming down, they were much different than they are today. Before I really went to them, they were two and three day events. Nowadays, just the big one day. But the Strawberry Festival is definitely one. It's like homecoming for the area, right? And even while I often get stuck at a tent answering questions, still everybody stops by and says hi. I enjoy that tradition, the parade. Other traditions, I'm not sure they're quite as defined. One that I've enjoyed more recently is the little Magothy River concert that they'll do. So, you know, I don't know when it's happening this year, but it sort of just pops up and you end up, if you know, you know, but that's one that I've enjoyed over time. I think it's more traditions of, man, you got your buddies and your pals and you can ride your bikes down to the park and hang out. And there's some freedom, I think, that maybe doesn't exist in other places that we feel either safe because it's an enclosed area. You know, you're not on a major highway or off of a major highway, but. Those sort of things, I think, is what makes it different to grow up here in Cape.
Kara: It does kind of feel like the 70s and 80s, especially Halloween. The first time we took William to Hampton, I was so excited. I was like, where's my pillowcase? I mean, this was the best. It was so great.
Beau: That's a good one, because where I live in Cape, we have more of like a closed loop, and it's 60 or 70 kids. Everybody on the loop will come around. But I knew Hampton was a madhouse. It's an impressive gathering of people.
And I know there's a lot to get dropped off from other areas that get dropped off and, you know, but it seems to be just a great tradition that just kind of has morphed over the years because growing up, it wasn't like that. OK. So Hampton didn't have sidewalks when I was growing up. They didn't show up until the late 90s. Got it. You know, so it was just a white line on the street that designated the difference between the parking area and the walking area. And you kind of walked inside the white line and in theory you were safe.
That's how it worked. And so there was none of this, like everybody gathered at one spot. All of Cape participated. And I just remember you'd walk what I always call like the central blocks there between Hampton and Southview. You'd walk that center area just back and forth, back and forth and just fill up on candy.
Kara: What is something that you wish people knew about Cape St. Claire that they might not, whether they live here or not?
Beau: people still associate Cape St. Claire with much of what maybe the 80s or the early 90s brought attention for. And I don't believe that's who we are today. I honestly, every area has its challenges, but I'd probably ride through them with most of these people all the time. I just feel like it's a great community. I think there's great events. I think that people, you know, do a lot for the kids here that you don't see in other communities. I think our size makes us special.
Kara: Yeah, isn't that true?
Beau: 2300 plus homes and nearly 8 ,000 people. If you know, I always say this, if we were in any other county, we'd be a city on our own. You know, that's what city sizes are. Eight thousand, ten thousand people and you'd have a elected township and a public works department and cost would be higher and things like that. So you might have some more local control, but that's, you know, I think it's easier to deal with at the county level. So I think you get all the nuisances of a small town without having to manage all of the aspects of a small town. What a great way to put that. So in talking about, you know, what Cape used to be like when you were a kid versus now, is there anything that you miss? I mean, there's been change, but is there anything you miss from those days? I don't miss the metal slide at the park here. It burns your butt as you went down it at any point in time. I do miss the merry -go -round that used to be here. The ones you could like spin around. Those were the best. That was always the best.
But that's, I think just nobody has those anymore. So I'm pretty sure that's an insurance thing. I think, you know, here with the Chesapeake Bay, as we sit here and look at it, there's just been changes to go crabbing anymore. Sometimes you catch some, sometimes you don't. I don't remember missing, like I remember going down, catching your lunch very easily and coming home many days with my buddy, Matt, and steaming up some crabs, you know, here, mom.
12 crabs for lunch and we sit down and eat. I don't crab at the dock anymore, you know, often. I just go out on the boat, but I just don't see that as easy as it used to be. Those would be things like I miss, but you know, there's some BMX bike trails we used to have in here that Cape was always well known for in the area. Where? Well, what's now called Atlantis. you're kidding. And then also, you know, it's called 80 Acres for a reason, right? And then also, and most of that was built by the time I was...
of age and moved back here, but there's, you know, infill lots, lots that exist and still are getting built today. But there were at the corner of LaTrobe, that dog leg down there by Ridgeway, there are a series of homes that are, look newer, built in the 90s. They were great trails and jumps in there. Across from the Serene Ravine, a couple of houses there didn't exist, and there were some deep ravines where the water runs through and you could play in there. So you had different spots throughout the community. So there's things like that you lose with building.and growth and all those things. But I don't think, you know, they weren't so crucial to the fabric of the community. But I think if you sat around with a bunch of 45 year old, 50 year old guys, we all remember playing in there. absolutely.
Kara: So what about the beaches? I mean, how different does it look now from when you were a kid?
Beau:Well, after the recent projects, a little bit a little bit closer. Yeah, definitely different. Definitely a loss. I think anybody that was here.
In the 70s, 80s, or 90s, we remember a much more wide and robust beach all the way down. The depth to it, you know, we have nicer walkways now, nicer walls and things like that. But it was definitely wider. Lake Claire is probably the one that's the bigger difference. What most people don't realize, and I always tell the regulators as a point of reference, or anybody that's down there to listen to one of my chats, if you look at the fishing pier, and you go out about six or seven poles into the water, there's a sign that says fishing pier.
Well, that's where the sand was in 1989 when they built the pier. And you used to be able to walk to the house on River Bay all the way across on sand. wow. And there was only a small Watoozie of a stream that kind of wiggled through from the lake to the Deep Creek Magothy River. that's crazy. So now it's opened up, obviously. But that's the erosion. I mean, there are 100 plus feet of sand just gone. And, you know, unfortunately, times were different. Things were different. No one thought to capture that sand and put it back down the other end again or build a wall to hold it up like we've now, you know, now done. But it took a point of almost losing everything to get to that level basically of progress to change it. And there's still projects and works, you know. I think the one that most people don't know about around here would be, so a lot of people call Little Beach, could be confused as Fairwinds Beach, right? Or Lake Claire, because there is a lake there that is Lake Claire.
But the other little beach is the one on Little Magothy where we have a park which had a real beach back then. It did. And there's poles out there. And there was a swim net that would go around it. And there was a floating dock with a slide on it. And your swim lessons would be there. And you'd swim out to it. And you would get on the dock as a reward and slide down and you played there. And that was just part of growing up here in Cape. Again, I think anybody who probably grew up here through the 70s, 80s, early 90s is going to remember that.
That's a beach that we're working on. And I say we as a volunteer for the board here, but it's one of those things that would be lovely to restore. It'd be more of a better kayak launch spot, you know, probably not getting a real beach back there based on time, but you could do some things to enhance it, I think. And there's drawings and plans in the works. So. that's super exciting.
Kara: Well, you know, you might have answered this question already, but I was going to ask you to tell me about a project too that you're especially proud of.
So is there anything in addition to the beach work that you want to mention?
Beau: I think in general, the improving of the aesthetics. Yeah. OK. If this is 2024, if we went back to 2014, this walking path into the beach wasn't here. The wall isn't here. When you walk through the gate in 2014, the first thing you saw was a dumpster and a light pole. And that was your approach to the Chesapeake Bay and probably the best view on the Bay in my opinion.
And Scott Dembowski at the time was at Parks. He was also president. One of our focuses was the Cape St. Clair Improvement to be the Improvement Association. And our focus was putting some money back in the community that was a little worn. I think it's a nice way to say it. We had functional things. Mary and her team, great with the clubhouse and the upgrades over a series year. We paid for everything in cash flow through budgeting and you know.
I know this isn't about Cape St. Claire Improvement Association, but that's pretty cool, I think, to stand in there and have a nice facility to walk down the beach and see the flag and the wall. And at night, there's nice lights, subtle lights, looking out to the bay, things like that. I'd also say almost all the piers have been replaced and all done just through cash flow. It may not be a project, but being that I'm a finance guy, business guy,
I think planning all those things and paying for it as you go, I think that's sort of like the win. that's so smart.
Kara: So I actually wrote these questions a few weeks back. These questions have new relevance. Let's say that. So I want to talk a little bit about social media because you are often the voice of reason in posts or we purposely tag you if we have a question because we know you'll know the answer or you'll generously provide a resource for somebody.
Kara: Tell me your thoughts on social media as it relates to a community like this. Is it helpful or is it a hindrance?
Beau:I think it's both. I think the honest answer is it's both. I think it can be extremely helpful to provide simple information, help people. I think it can obviously, we all live in a world that has its difficulties and differences and people voice them.
I tend not to voice often anymore. I tend to just provide the basics. I think it's just a personal policy. Being a business owner, being elected volunteer, they just don't need to get into the phrase online, right? There's appropriate, usually venues and places and legal things that you have to consider with all those things. I do think it's a great source for real information though, like county processes, like it's easy to link it.
I have a pretty good memory. I remember faces, people, names, and where stuff is located on the internet without having to Google it. my gosh. So I'm often just able to click and put it there. my gosh. I'm somebody who spends a lot of time reading at night codes and law and just for my own fun. I know that doesn't sound like fun, but that's the part when I can't sleep I read law. So. I love it. Local codes, Maryland codes, how do you get a permit it through faster, right? Like, so, you know, what are all the rules and regs? That's what I do for fun. But you always come in with the good resources, whether it's like riparian rights or like, can I build a shed or can I park my car? I mean, you have like all the legal knowledge is boom. I learned a lot on riparian rights the last 10 years, helping the community through permitting on our beach projects. Some of it I wanted to learn some of it you just end up learning.
The struggles that I had, you know, we had in getting permits, no fault of our own, but there's just processes that you just can't believe take that long, but that's what it is. And I think it was probably naive to much of that before I started researching it.
Kara: Okay, so another little funny question, but serious, what's your stance on golf carts?
Beau:My personal stance in the world of electric vehicles is that If we're going to be pushing that direction, they should consider, and they being the county and the state, is having more and more friendly electrical vehicle options at that level in safe roads of 25 miles an hour. Weird part is there's a little state law that says if it's 25 miles an hour, which everything in interim county is at minimum unless you're a separate jurisdiction like Annapolis, there's the LSVs that allow you to
Your vehicle has to be LSV approved to get a tag. And there's some nuances you have to go through with the golf cart. It's not to say the golf cart can't be an LSV. It's just most aren't sold that way. So do I think it's unwise for a bunch of 12 and 16 year olds driving around without licenses? Yes. Do I think a responsible adult who drives down the beach with their bogey board on top or their sub board on top or takes the kids like, you know, I think that's a harmless no foul.
Obviously, in an accident with a larger vehicle, it's going to be problematic. The speed at which most travel, hopefully people can avoid. I don't think there's any one great answer on it. Yeah.
Kara: I feel the same way. It's like when they come by, I feel like I'm on vacation. I'm like, it's a beach community, right? It's like I love them so much. And I especially love when they're electric, but the kids is what bothers me.
Beau:I drive both a Ford F -150 and I have a golf cart.
You know, I also have solar on my roof and other things. Yeah. So if it's about local running it quick from one friend's house to the next, firing up the truck doesn't always make the most sense. Right. You know, just jump in the golf cart. But I think a diverse policy on it is probably the right way for it. You know, but I'm not in favor of young kids driving around or any of those things. I don't let ours do it and won't until they have licenses, you know.
Kara: OK, so two last questions. Is there a person in the Cape who has past or with us that you wish you could meet?
Beau:I would take it just slightly out of Cape and go more Broadneck Peninsula.
Kara: Yeah, go for it.
Beau: And having read a lot of the archives that's available online at St. Margaret's Church, to have seen it then, I had the advantage, I guess, growing up here in the 80s when you still had the generation or two before that are slowly, you know.
they were at church and would tell me stories and I was active and my dad was in the Brotherhood of St. Andrew. There are some families that lived in Arnold that just, you know, still own a little bit of land, but not as much as they used to. What it was like to come down here in the 20s and the, you know, so I'm not just, I'm not talking 300 years ago, I'm talking even just a hundred years ago as what we consider modern, the modern world and the change of the industrial revolution to now and just the difference of how it was and how you commuted. I'm not a
big horse rider, but I think it'd been pretty cool to ride some of the trails that those in particular gentlemen would talk about riding back then when there was a fox hunt club to maybe see some of that stories I heard that kind of gave me some fascination of it as a kid, like all of it, you know, and there's other important historical things that happened here. I don't know if there's one person. Shoot, I'd definitely like to bring back a few that passed too early, friends, you know, growing up with and things like that. But that'd be that'd be different.
I think the Stinchcombs to be a great example up there at the Goshen home. (WHIRRING NOISE) Somebody blowing up the raft. Yep.
Kara: To tie it all up in a bow, what's your dream future for Cape St. Claire as a community? Like pie in the sky, money's no object. Put it all out there.
Beau: I think at the end of the day, I just, I want Cape to just be a great place that people can live.
be able to enjoy the resources, in particular the Bay. I'd like the character to stay the same. I think it's eclectic homes, eclectic people of a wide variety of income classes. I think that's what makes it special. There's something to be said that there's still some cottages and maybe they're Air BnBs now or maybe they're not. And people live in them year round. And then there's, you know, multimillion dollar homes sitting along River Bay facing the Bay. You can see it all and it functions.
and most people go to school together and most people graduate, you know, grow up here, graduate together and many come back and I would hope that it stays like that in the long term. I hope it keeps its feel. Whether you call it small town America, your little piece of America, I usually call it paradise. Like I can't imagine living day by day and being somewhere else and so I think most days when I come back, I think it's, I tell April's kids like, we're back in Cape St. Claire.
I just love being here. That's really, I think it like, and I hope other people do too.
Kara
The Cape St. Claire podcast is produced by me, Kara McGuirk- Allison. Theme song performed by Mike Lyxx, me and William Allison. To see photos of Beau as a kid in the Cape and take a peek at upcoming episodes, go to capesaintclairepodcast.com. Please tell your friends and neighbors about us because we all love living in Cape St. Claire.