TIME MACHINE ... 1922, 1832, 1939, 1936, 1902, 1980's.

"Friendliest Town On The Eastern Shore."  Our tradition runs deep.  Excerpt from a letter to the editor from a visitor to Newtown, (former name of Pocomoke City) published in the Baltimore Sun, April 28,1847.

This place (Newtown) is a pretty snug little village, containing about 500 clever and hospitable inhabitants; it has good wide streets, quite clear of that "eye sore," known mostly over the Peninsula by the name of "deep sand"; the houses, though built of frame, are generally built substantially and with some discretion and taste; there are two neat, new, and quite handsome frame churches in it; as for the merchants of the place, suffice it to state that they are very clever and hospitable.  F. Mezick, Esq., the landlord with whom I stopped, and his very obliging and jolly assistant, are richly deserving of a passing notice, for the good treatment and the extension of the many civilities to "the stranger."

(Reader-friendly viewing of news archives/historical archives material)


April, 1922

This coming week marks the anniversary of the disastrous Pocomoke City fire of April 17, 1922.

The pictures below of the fire's aftermath were taken by Pocomoke City resident Jake Mason. 

(Pictures courtesy of Choppy Layton)

                                         

                                                     (Excerpt from The Washington Times)

May, 1832
The Village Herald (Princess Anne)

Female Seminary.

MISS HAYNIE

HAS opened in Somerset County a Seminary for the Education of Young Ladies- English Grammar, History, Rhetorick, Arithmetick, Geography, Astronomy, Natural Philosophy, Chymistry, French, Music, and Plain and Ornamental Needlework, are taught at this Seminary.

TERMS.
Board and Tuition in all of the branches enumerated, except French and Music, $25 per quarter. Music $12 per quarter. French $4 per quarter.

Terms for day Scholars.
Tuition in all the English Branches $5 per quarter. Reading and Writing $4 per quarter. 

Bedding and Washing extra charges.

A deduction will be made for the vacation in August.

Olney, near Princess Anne.
May 8, 1832. 


1939- A typical monthly residential electric bill on the Eastern Shore of Virginia..

"In the 1930's the Hopkins Hardware Store owners also owned the generating plant and it was later sold to the Accomack-Northampton Electric Co-op."

(Image courtesy of Eastern Shore Public Library, Accomac)

June, 1936 (Time Machine archive)
(The Daily Mail- Hagerstown, Md.)

PRISONERS WILL COLLECT GARBAGE

SNOW HILL, Md., June 26. (AP)-  The city's prisoners at the county jail here became garbage collectors today.

Mayor John O. Byrd and city council did away with private contracts for collecting garbage and decided to let the prisoners do the work.  

State's Attorney Thomas F. Johnson and the Worcester County Commissioners approved the plan for working the city's prisoners.


May, 1902 (Time Machine archive)
(Ledger Enterprise- Pocomoke City) 

(Article referencing road improvements in some areas of the Eastern Shore)

"As yet Worcester County has not taken any steps in this direction, and the time has come when we must do something or our neighbors will have much better roads than we.  What better plan could be adopted by our county authorities than the building of a road from Pocomoke City to Snow Hill on scientific principles."  


1980's.. The latest in home video!

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers.. such as a big snow storm, a favorite school teacher, a local happening, something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about?  It can be just a line or two, or more if you wish. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!  



PPE remembers JMMB.