Meet Your Neighbor: Dave Gendell

Magazines

You might not know Dave, but I bet you know SpinSheet. Or maybe PropTalk? Back in '95, Dave—then only in his mid-twenties—and Mary Iliff Ewenson started Spinsheet. Dave wrote the magazine at his kitchen table. Mary ran around town and sold ads.

A few years later, Dave and Mary launched PropTalk under the SpinSheet brand. Dave sold his half of the business to Mary a few years back. She continues to run the company which now has 8 full-time staff and dozens of contributors.

Next Chapter

After disembarking from SpinSheet, Dave got a corporate job in marketing and advertising. But on nights, weekends, and (before COVID) work flights, Dave writes.

His most recent project was the reason for our meeting: the only book dedicated 100% to the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse.

How did the Thomas Point book come to pass?

"I always have writing projects happening, ever since I was a kid. So I've got multiple projects, almost all historic non-fiction, almost all based in Annapolis, Chesapeake Bay stories. I've got them spanning multiple topics. Some are pretty far along, some are still in the notes phase.

I have one big project focused on 1942 Eastport. It's been my Moby Dick. Been working on it for 15 years. I woke up one morning last summer (2019) and was like this thing is not making me happy. Not sparking joy.

I literally just closed it and put it aside. I went out at Thomas Point a lot fishing. It's a great place to fish. There's a whole chapter in the book about fishing there. And I was like, nobody's ever done a book on this.

The idea that there was a fixed piece of earth, one bit, the lighthouse, on a linear timeline that had a definite beginning, chugged forward, and continues into the future... That was really attractive from a writer's perspective.

So I started peeling back the layers on it and it turns out there's a heck of a lot of stories underneath it and it's more than one timeline. You know the first keeper was a guy that was wounded in the civil war at Antietam. Another keeper went missing. There was an African American keeper out there in 1975–76 on its hundredth anniversary. There's story after story that just came up and I realized it wasn't as simple as one bit of Earth."

How long did you work on it?

"The first publisher I contacted bid on it. I queried them a year ago in September (2019). It was originally going to come out in July but COVID delayed it."

To connect the dots, Dave had his epiphany while fishing at the lighthouse in Summer 2019 and delivered the book to the publisher in January 2020.

Quick Questions & Quotes

Sailing or Powerboating?

"Everybody always wants to encourage the rivalry between the two and stir that up. But me and most of my friends, people I still hang out with, we love both. We care about being on the water. I believe in match the tool for the job. So I watch the weather pretty close and if it's a sailing day... go sailing. And if it's a powerboat day... go powerboating"

What's Your Boat Called?

"Juice. Because we had two little kids. The little kids, all they talked about was juice, juice, juice... So that's the sailboat."

At this point, Dave's ownership partner in Juice happened to drive by our curbside table. You have to love a small town.

Every Penny

"People joke that boat stands for break out another thousand. Every dollar... almost every dollar I've ever spent on a boat has been worth it."

Match the Tool for the Job

"If you have a budget, divide it in half and buy two smaller boats then match the tool for the job. I don't want to be out fishing when it's windy and I don't want to be out sailing when there's no wind."

Get the Book

Dave's book: Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse: A Chesapeake Bay Icon is available for purchase now.

Editor's note: this story uses affiliate links. If you purchase Dave's book through this article, the Naptown Scoop may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.