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In a Chesapeake Bay Magazine article focusing on the state of Maryland’s maritime schools, the Calhoon MEBA Engineering School (MEBA), which is located between St. Michaels and Easton, off St. Michaels Road, was featured as a one of several merchant marine training facilities in Maryland.
The Calhoon MEBA Engineering School was founded in Baltimore by the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association (the oldest maritime and second oldest union in the country) in 1966 to meet the critical shortage of qualified marine engineers needed during the Vietnam War. At the time, the school took high school graduates through two years of intense study, including six months of sea time.
In the mid 1970’s, the MEBA Engineering school purchased 656 acres outside of Easton from the defunct Kirkland Hall Junior College and relocated the school to its current location.
With the downturn in shipping in the 1980’s, the institution restructured and, to this day, provides continuing educational and upgrading opportunities for licensed MEBA officers. From 2001 – 2005, a new conference center, cafeteria, state-of-the-art bridge simulator, and the 10-acre Merchant Marine Memorial were constructed.
Talbot County is proud to be the home of the Calhoon MEBA Engineering School and a destination for training the men and women who facilitate commerce around the world.