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 archive/historical archive material)
2011
(Courtesy UMES 125th Anniversary archive page)
When rock-n-roll music was in its infancy, Maryland State College students would tune their radios north to a Salisbury AM station in the late 1950s to hear the Big Nyack spin chart-topping platters à la Wolfman Jack.
The Wolfman became a pop music and cultural icon, and “Nyack,” as it turns out, did A-OK, too.
Lower Delmarva's DJ was Maryland State student Roger Brown, who went on to renown in professional football, where he’s in that sport’s unofficial nickname hall-of-fame as a member of the “Fearsome Foursome.”
Before Brown, a 300-pound defensive lineman with the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams, terrorized legendary quarterbacks Johnny Unitas and Bart Starr on the gridiron, he was something of an airways entrepreneur.
The industrial arts major grew up in the Village of Nyack 20 miles north of New York City, where the new-fangled sound on radio during the “Happy Days” era enthralled him.
Before there was WESM, the National Public Radio affiliate on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore campus, an unauthorized radio broadcast emanated from Princess Anne. And Brown had a hand in it.
Brown and several enterprising classmates built their own transmitter using scavenged parts from a broken-down Rock-Ola juke box and bought new equipment from a fledgling mail-order outfit called RadioShack.
“I like to tell people now I majored in communications because that’s really what I did” as a college student, he said.
Brown estimates the signal could be heard within a mile radius of campus.
It wasn't on the air long. Nervous that the federal government might object to the institution being the host site of an unlicensed broadcast operation, college officials shut it down.
That didn’t discourage Brown, however. He found other outlets for his interest in music.
Using a pseudonym incorporating the name of his hometown, the Big Nyack latched on as a disc jockey at WICO AM, and then moved to a new station, WJDY, that played popular songs of the era.
When Brown arrived at Maryland State as a freshman in 1956, he remembers the school had about 250 students.
A favorite off-campus hangout was a juke joint called the Moon Glow, where he entertained patrons by spinning records. He also said he played clubs just up the road in Salisbury.
“It was a way to make a little spending money back then,” Brown said. “It sure was fun.”
Brown would go on to a stellar career as a professional athlete after graduating in 1960. A six-time Pro Bowl selection, he retired following the 1969 season and became a successful restaurateur.
One of UMES’ most visible and popular alumni, Brown is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
-- BILL ROBINSON
Circa 1890's
"The Pocomoke River" by Charles C. Kensey (1967)
(Excerpt)
THE BANKS
During my boyhood (late 1800's) there were three sand banks on the river within three miles of Snow Hill, known as First and Second Sand Banks, the third one down river was known s the Sugar Loaf due to its conical shape. The Banks were often used by swimming parties as places to have lunches while on trips down the river. At present (late 1960's) these Banks have almost disappeared beneath the surface of the water.
(From recollections of Charles C. Kensey who was born in Snow Hill in 1884, grew up along the banks of the Pocomoke River and was associated with the river during his adult life.)
October, 1922
Chincoteague's first bridge..
(Excerpt) (The Washington Times, Washington, D.C.)
June, 1994 (Time Machine archive)
Christine Sigrist of Pocomoke City, a senior at Mt. St. Mary's College, was presented with the Art Club Of Frederick award for her "Best In Show" art presentation at the college's annual Student Art Exhibition. "Still Life With eye," in charcoal, was her winning entry.
January, 1963
The cost was 80-cents for the Wednesday luncheon special at The Coach And Dining Room located in Salisbury's Wicomico Hotel. The special included fresh vegetable soup, navy bean soup, or chilled juice; golden brown chicken croquettes with supreme sauce, cinnamon apple wedges, hot rolls and butter, coffee or tea. The all-you-can eat dinner every Saturday night was $2.50, featuring roast leg of beef.
May, 1913..
(Virginia Gazette, Willamsburg, Va.)
Listen to a record recorded in 1913:
(Library Of Congress) http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/3473
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.
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