ONLEY, Va. (Delmarva Now) -- An Eastern Shore man with an idea and a can of spray paint has drawn attention from Virginia’s governor.
After noticing a map of the state was missing its Eastern Shore in the newly renovated Onley McDonald’s, William Ennis took to completing the Commonwealth.
Thanks to his Facebook post, scores more have taken note since, including Gov. Ralph Northam, who stopped at the restaurant Wednesday to present owner and operator Tiffany Beach with a map of Virginia — including the Eastern Shore.
“Wherever I go in the Commonwealth, if there is a map and they don’t have the Eastern Shore, I let them know,” said Northam, a Shore native who grew up just miles from the Onley establishment.
“We thought it would be something fun to do,” said the governor, who inscribed with his signature, “To Willie + Tiffany, Thanks for remembering the Eastern Shore,” on the map.
Ennis first noticed the incomplete map in the McDonald’s entryway several weeks ago on his way to buy coffee.
“I just couldn’t believe it when I walked in there,” he said.
One photo and a popular Facebook post later, the Onley resident was hatching plans to put the Eastern Shore back on the map.
The son of local artist Mariam Riggs, Ennis grew up attending art shows and watching his mother paint in customers’ homes.
“I grew up at the foot of my mom’s art easel,” he said.
Waking up early one morning, he began designing a facsimile of Virginia’s Eastern Shore to complete the Commonwealth.
“I went to the printer, started looking for a good picture of the Eastern Shore and ended up making a good stencil,” Ennis said.
“I went to the garage, got some spray paint, and just said, ‘Alright, I’m just going to run in here during the lunch rush. That way no one’s going to stop me,’” he said.
Dozens of Facebook followers have shared his handiwork since and his work eventually landed on Northam’s desk.
“We came across an article about Willie Ennis where he had noticed that there wasn’t the Eastern Shore on the map of Virginia,” Northam said.
“We just were really impressed that Willie had made note of it,” he said.
In addition to being home to more than 40,000 Commonwealth residents, Virginia’s Eastern Shore houses the oldest continuous court records in the country.
But, because it is separated from Virginia’s mainland by the Chesapeake Bay, the 70-mile-long spit is frequently left off state maps.
During the 2016 presidential election, for example, a post on Republican candidate Ted Cruz’s Facebook page urged visitors to “Show your Virginia pride” with a state map sticker that excluded Virginia’s Eastern Shore, although the error was fixed hours after the original post.
Fellow presidential candidate Ben Carson's campaign sent out a tweet with a color-coded map that showed the Eastern Shore of Virginia as part of Maryland during the same election cycle.
“It’s not something that we’re proud of, but also not something that we have a lot of control over,” said Beach, owner and operator of McDonald’s restaurants across Delmarva.
According to Beach, the design in the Onley restaurant was conceived hundreds of miles away by Wisconsin-based Interior Systems, Inc.
Noting the error immediately upon entering the newly revamped restaurant on Lankford Highway, she and the contractor sent photos to the company pointing out the faux pas, Beach said.
“I was very upset,” she said. “They knew that they had to replace it as soon as possible.”
Workers removed the altered panels in the Onley restaurant “in hopes that the replacement will come soon,” she said, but Northam arrived first.
It’s not the first time Northam has worked to put his birthplace back on Virginia’s map.
In 2015, the then-lieutenant governor was in the Oliver Hill building in Capitol Square, in Richmond, when he noticed a map of Virginia outside the State Veterinarian’s office.
At six feet wide, the carved wooden outline of Virginia was adorned with bronze letters spelling “State Veterinarian,” but was missing the Eastern Shore.
Northam pointed out absent Accomack and Northampton counties to State Veterinarian Richard Wilkes, who literally took matters into his own hands.
Hand-carving an Eastern Shore addition to the map, he presented the piece to Northam, who invited members of the Virginia General Assembly to join in unveiling the completed Commonwealth.
Shore representatives Sen. Lynwood Lewis and Delegate Rob Bloxom Jr. gathered for the celebration.
“People feel a real sense of community around here,” Ennis said. “I think that’s something to keep strong and they should be recognized.”
“I’m proud to be on the Eastern Shore and glad that he came to visit us,” Beach said of the governor’s visit. “It’s great to see that he saw the importance of the map.”
As for the outcome of his artwork: “I’m just glad it went so well,” Ennis said.
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