Saturday, August 24, 2024

Recollections from generations past (Elmer A. Brittingham -7)

 


INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

Interviewer: What was the population in town?

Elmer: Well, we were never too big.


Interviewer: Was it bigger than today?

Elmer: In 1970, I believe, we had about 4000. But, probably when I moved in

 town, in 1913, well, 1912, end of ’12, there was probably 1000 people in town.


Interviewer: What about….we saw pictures of Market Street. It used to…down

 where Drug Fair is now, it was out in the woods then. You were getting out

 there.

Elmer: Yeah, it was farm out there.


Interviewer: It was a lot smaller then, Market Street.

Elmer: Oh, yes. It went about to…the end of the town limits for many years

 was at 6th Street. Not 6th Street. 7th Street.


Interviewer: So, we would be out of town now?

Elmer: Oh, yeah. That’s right. It was all farm. Few houses. No Cedar Street at

 all.


Interviewer: Did they have many streets in town? Is it mostly just like it is

 now?

Elmer: Well, the basic streets were the same. Except for the streets to the

 river.


Interviewer: What about where the library is now? There used to be a big

 house there, wasn’t there?

Elmer: 3 of them.

Interviewer: 3 of them?

Elmer: Where the library block is, there were 3 houses. The Vesey house was

 in the center. That was Eugene Vesey. And miss Ada Bullin was on this end.

 And the Hudson home was on the old (audio not clear). Frank Hudson later

 bought it. Downtown they had big trees and fairly narrow streets, but they

 didn’t need them so wide. They’d have carriages parked on each side and

 still room to go through.


Interviewer: What about the churches downtown?

Elmer: They’re much the same as they are now. The Methodist was quite

 small. There was just that first building, and it didn’t go all the way back like

 it does now. And the Presbyterian is the same. And the other Methodist

 church and the Baptist which has been enlarged some. But those were the 4

 churches.


Interviewer: Where the old bridge is now, coming over the Pocomoke (River),

 if you are coming into Pocomoke, to the left, there is a parking lot there now,

 right? Across from that dealership there. What kind of building was there at

 one time?

Elmer: Peninsula Produce Exchange. That employed a lot of people. That’s

 where my father worked. He was out…this was the main, downtown office.

 They had their warehouses and the place where they stored their potatoes on

 Clark Avenue. Over by the iron railroad bridge, where Mason Canning sign is.

 And the other store…then they used part of that exchange for a post office

 for many years. And when I went to work, that’s where the post office was.

 On the base floor.


Interviewer: Was the Post Office then moved to where it is now?

Elmer: No, it was where the parking lot is now, across from the Dollar store.

 That was the Post Office. No, it was in the Peninsula building. It was a large

 building, but it only covered a stretch of about 50 foot wide and 150 foot

 deep. And that was the post office for many, many years.


Continues next Saturday here at The Pocomoke Public Eye.



Pocomoke's 4th Friday on wheels-

 (Pictures courtesy Wulfhause Productions)









(View more 4th Friday pictures:)

https://www.facebook.com/WulfhauseProductions/

Friday, August 23, 2024

Somerset rabies reported-

 


(WBOC)

WESTOVER, MD- A raccoon found near Princess Anne, MD has tested positive for rabies.

(View news story:)

Rabid Raccoon Found in Somerset County | Latest News | wboc.com


Time Machine Preview

This week here at The Pocomoke Public Eye: 

PLUS
1963  ..
(Ice buildup seen from Chincoteague Causeway)


1886  ..

1930  ..

(ad will list dozens of items and prices)

2011  ..
  


Thursday, August 22, 2024

Ouch! 23+ may be affected by P3 relocation from Wallops.

 (Shore Daily News)


Supervisor Jeff Parks stated that this action may affect more than just the 23 employees and that he suspects other support operations will also be affected as well.

(View news story:)

NASA to move P3 Aircraft to Langley - Shore Daily News

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Pocomoke radio-


 THEN ...

NOW ...


Thanks to PPE reader Jerry Barbierri (AKA Jerry Nichols on  WDMV) for keeping us informed about Pocomoke radio and forwarding the following website info.  



ABOUT SUNNY 106.5 FM AND 540 WDMV AM

Our Story

540 AM WDMV came on the air August 1st of 1955. 540 AM was Pocomoke's local radio station and served the community well.  On August 18, 2022, WDMV (WGOP) was destroyed by a fire caused by a faulty electrical wire in the attic of the studio building. Fifty firefighters took three hours to put out the blaze. The building was not insured and has been declared a total loss, to make matters worse the County ordered the 500FT radio tower located on Dun Swamp Road  to be removed over safety concerns. The station returned to the air on July 4th with very limited power on both 540 AM and 106.5 FM. The station is rebuilding and will soon increase power to cover a much larger area on both AM and FM. We thank the local community for supporting Pocomoke's first radio station, 540 WDMV! We are looking to build a new tower and install state of the art equipment to serve the public.

Our Team

Our team is made up of experienced professionals who are passionate about music and radio. We work hard every day to bring you the best content and keep you entertained.


Anonymous

When 540 AM came on the air it was initially WDVM. It was not changed to WDMV until several years later. I seem to remember the change was about 1961 or thereabouts.


Your friend,
Slim


Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Under consideration in Pocomoke City-

 



AGENDA ITEMS MIGHT NOT BE CONSIDERED IN SEQUENCE. THIS AGENDA 
IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE TO INCLUDE THE ADDITION OR DELETION OF
ITEMS, INCLUDING EXECUTIVE CLOSED SESSION.





Monday, August 19, 2024

Support our local farmers and enjoy!

 






Berlin Farmers Market

Every Sunday
9AM to 1PM
Downtown Berlin
Now through September
Rain or Shine 

Manokin Park
Spring & Summer



CHINCOTEAGUE
9am - 1pm
           

Tourist foot passenger ferries along the bay?

 



Plan would move tourists without their cars along and across the bay.  

(View news article:)

Consortium of counties champions ferry system to bolster tourism - Maryland Matters

 


Anonymous

Who comes up with these ideas? Probably the same ones who thought the City should own a restaurant on the riverfront.


Sunday, August 18, 2024

Time Machine: 100 years ago this week in Pocomoke's newspaper; 1955, 1921, 1916, 2011, 2005.

 







(Some of the teachers listed in the article below, i.e. Annie Ross, Pearl Bratton, Violet Chesser, Zella M. Crockett, and possibly others, will be remembered by PPE readers who were in school in the 1940's and 1950's.) 








January, 1955

Peninsula Enterprise


May, 1921

Democratic Messenger


September, 1916

The Moving Picture World



*February, 2011



Salisbury Daily Times


*July, 2005





Salisbury Daily Times


tkforppe@yahoo.com