Saturday, October 30, 2021

Mark Belanger

The late Baltimore Orioles infielder Mark "The Blade" Belanger, recipient of eight Golden Gloves awards, is now being honored with a prestigious award from the Major League Baseball Association for his accomplishments there after his playing career ended. Belanger, a longtime smoker, died of lung cancer in the late 1990's.

View article:

Pittsfield's Mark Belanger posthumously awarded Curt Flood Award by Major League Baseball Players Association | Local News | berkshireeagle.com

Friday, October 29, 2021

State Of Emergency declared

Governor Hogan has declared a State Of Emergency for areas in Maryland including the lower Eastern Shore.

View WBOC news story:

Gov. Hogan Declares State Of Emergency For Eastern Shore Countie - WBOC TV

Halloween Costume Contest results

(City of Pocomoke Facebook)

Congratulations to the Winners of Pocomoke's Virtual Halloween Costume Contest! Thank you to all who participated. We had over 100 entries, but based on the number of "likes" the winners are-

1st place - Starbucks Barista & Coffee

2nd place - Twisted Clown

3rd place - Baby Yoda

Prizes sponsored by the Delmarva Discovery Museum & Marva Theater.

Pocomoke Public Eye note: See the Oct 9 Facebook post by Wulfhause Productions for pictures of all the entries.

Flooding on lower shore

(delmarvanow.com)

Time Machine Preview

This Sunday here at The Pocomoke Public Eye:

1919 .. Pocomoke City-

2007 .. Old Salisbury Mall-

1953 .. High School soccer title-

1940 .. School days in Newtown (future Pocomoke City) are recalled-

1971 .. Members of the Crisfield Fire Department's ladies auxiliary identified in group picture-

2003 .. Editorial-

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Maryland- North or South?

Is Maryland more of a Northern or Southern state?

It depends on who in Maryland you ask. But it might not matter so much where specifically they live.

From the rolling farmland of the marshy Eastern Shore to the edge of Appalachia, the Goucher Poll results released this week are similar. Between 60% and 70% of respondents surveyed in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, in the Baltimore metro area, and in the more rural reaches of Eastern, Western and Southern Maryland felt Maryland belonged to the North.

View the full Baltimore Sun article:

Is Maryland part of the North or South? In poll, a decisive answer to a once-divisive question. - Baltimore Sun

POCOMOKE PREPARES FOR ANNUAL PARADE

POCOMOKE CITY CHRISTMAS PARADE ASSOCIATION COMOKE CITY CHRISTMAS PARADE ASSOCIATION

On Monday night, November 29, 2021, Pocomoke City will be transformed into a “Winter Wonderland” as the town plays host to one of Delmarva’s largest nighttime Christmas parades.

Always held on the first Monday night after Thanksgiving, the Pocomoke parade has become an Eastern Shore tradition and will attract over 100 units from Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia along with thousands of spectators.

If you are interested in participating this year’s event, please go to pocomokechristmasparade.com to register. Applications are now being accepted for the 2021 parade. You will find the applications and rules for this year’s event. If you have any questions, you can contact Mike Shannon at 410-726-5777 and leave a message with your name, address and telephone number and type of entry.

Each year the parade features marching bands representing high and middle schools from seven counties in three states. Also featured will be beautifully decorated and lighted floats entered by schools, civic organizations, churches, and commercial enterprises.

Marching units, fire departments, equestrian units, and of course Santa Claus will round out the two-hour event, slated to kick-off at 7:00 p.m. sharp. The route will take the parade north on Market Street beginning at 14th Street and ending at the Pocomoke River Bridge. The judge’s stand is located in downtown Pocomoke City just in front of the Mini park.

Professional judges, including members of the National Judges Association (NJA), will score entries in many different categories. Awards will be awarded immediately following the event to the top entries in each category.

A special thanks to the community of Pocomoke City and surrounding areas for the support given to us to continue this great tradition that has been a part of the town for the past 49 years.

In the event of inclement weather, the parade will be postponed until Tuesday, November 30, at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

For your health-

(Updated)Pocomoke's Lady Warriors win Bayside Field Hockey Championship

(City of Pocomoke Facebook)

Pocomoke High School Field Hockey secured the BAYSIDE CHAMPIONSHIP!! Congrats Lady Warriors!!!

(WMDT)

Pocomoke comes out on top against Kent Island to claim Bayside Championship

View news story/video:

Pocomoke comes out on top against Kent Island to claim Bayside Championship - 47abc (wmdt.com)

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Mel Says

From Pocomoke to College - Part 1 - How my Weekly Call Home to Pocomoke Became the Comedy Hit of my Freshman Dorm

Sometime during the 1950s, direct distance dialing was introduced in parts of the United States. But not in Pocomoke. In fact, through the 1950s and early 1960s, Pocomoke did not have even direct local dialing. Most of the phones did not even have dials! Each household with a phone had either a 3 or 4 digit number. You picked up the phone - there was no dial tone - and waited for the local operator who came on and said "number please." You then told them the number, and they would connect you and ring that phone, if that number was busy, the operator would tell you that the line was busy. The operators in Pocomoke were located on the second floor of a building at the Northeast corner of Clarke Ave and Willow Street. I was only up there once or twice but remember them each sitting in front of a large switchboard with blinking lights and patch plugs to connect the calls.

Many people shared a phone line with their neighbors. These were called party lines. These phone numbers had a letter appended to the end of the number. Our phone number was 381-W. Sometimes you would pick up the phone to place a call only to hear that the next door neighbor was on the line. You had to hang up and wait until they were done with their call. At some point, my parents paid an extra fee and got a private line, and removed the letter from the end of our phone number.

All of this is a prelude explanation to the long distance phone call adventures of my freshman year of college, starting in the fall of 1963. My freshman dorm was located a couple of blocks from the White House at the Southwest corner of 19th and H Streets in Washington, D.C. In that era, it was, of course an all male dorm. There were students from across the country and foreign nations as well. At least a third were from the New York City metropolitan area. There were about 30 or 35 students on our floor (the 6th floor). While some students paid to get their own phone installed, most were content to use the pay phone located in an alcove at one end of the hall.

My parents and I established a routine whereby I would call them every Sunday evening around 8 PM. I would call collect (if you don't remember, that is when you would reverse the long distance charges so that the recipient of the call had to agree to pay - then the operator would connect you.)

City operators, were not used to calling places that did not have direct dialing. It was never easy.

My typical call home went something like this: (Op here will be short for operator)

[I would dial 0 for Operator]

Op: Operator

Me: Yes, I would like to make a long distance call, collect, to Pocomoke City Maryland

Op: And what is that number?

Me: The number is 381

[long pause]

Op: Yes, go ahead, I'm listening

Me: Listening for what?

Op: What's the rest of the number?

Me: That's it, that's the number

Op: That's the number?

Me: Yes 381

[long, long, pause]

Op: 381 is the phone number?

Me: 381 is the entire number

Op: And this is in Maryland? Area code 301 ?

Me; Yes this is in Maryland

[long pause]

Op: I'm routing your call

[long long pause]

Op: I have the operator in Pomonkey on the line

Me: Not Pomonkey, I said Pocomoke City

Op: [silence]

Me: [spelling] P-O-C-O-M-O-K-E

Op: One moment please

[long long pause]

Op: Where is that?

Me: I think you route the call through Salisbury

Op: North Carolina? (Honest, that actually happened once!)

Me: Salisbury Maryland - on the Eastern Shore

Op: Hang on please

Me: Yes, I'll wait

Sometimes the saga would take 5 or more minutes until the call was connected. It was different every week, but it was almost never easy. One week, my call - somehow - got routed to Rolla, Missouri, and another time to Panama City Florida. There were many different twists.

Now, picture hearing only my side of this conversation, like those old Bob Newhart comedy records.

Our dorm was often too hot and kids left the doors to their rooms open to get better air circulation. The second or third week of the year, someone overheard my attempt to place the call; he thought it was very funny and spread the word. Gradually, more and more of my dorm mates started gathering for my Sunday night call home.

By the end of October, I had a weekly audience of anywhere between 10 and 20 listen in as I placed this call. They were almost never disappointed. The city kids really loved this; to them it was like a real life episode of Andy of Mayberry.

The fun was short lived. By the end of my sophomore year, Pocomoke had dial phones and my parents had a normal 7 digit phone number. But I still chuckle when I think back to the tribulations of placing that weekly call.