The Worcester County Historical Society is planning its annual fall dinner for Sunday, November 13, at 1 p.m. at the Atlantic Hotel, Downtown Berlin.

This year’s speaker will be Gordon E. Katz, an award winning author, who will speak on The Henry Hotel. The hotel was built in 1895 as lodging for African Americans staying or working in Ocean City. The hotel was given its name when Charles Henry purchased it in 1926 and renamed it Henry’s Colored Hotel. He added such amenities as a restaurant and entertainment by well-known musicians such as Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and James Brown, all of whom stayed there.

Several years ago Katz published a book telling about the early history of Ocean City from 1875 to 1890. This book received two prestigious awards: an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History and the Tee O’Connor Professional Award from the Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council. He is presently working on a sequel to that publication, which continues the story of both Ocean City and the surrounding areas of Eastern Worcester County from 1890 through the storm of 1933 that created the inlet.

The menu for the Historical Society’s dinner will include a choice of Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, Leo’s Shrimp Salad or a Crab Cake with the trimmings on each order. The crab cake will be an additional $5.00. Lemon Lust will be included as the dessert.

Tickets are $40.00 (or $45.00 for the crab cake) per person and can be purchased by sending a check to Judi Menavich, 9 Drawbridge Road, Berlin MD 21811. The deadline for reservations to the dinner, which is open to the public, is Monday, November 7. Please indicate your dinner choice.

For more information call  410-632-1265 or email

historicalworcester@gmail.com.