Sunday, November 30, 2014

TIME MACHINE ... 1947, 1977, 1913, 1910, 1774, 1903.

"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)

August, 1947
The Cumberland News (Cumberland, Md.)

10 Fined For Operating "Slots" In Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, Md., July 31 (AP)-  Ten persons, including the daughter of a city councilman, were fined $50 and costs each yesterday for operating slot machines in this lively summer resort.

Magistrate James B. Robins imposed the fines after all the defendants pleaded guilty.

And while the brief hearings were held in the magistrate's office here, the Salisbury Times published a story quoting mayor Daniel Trimper:

"If there are any slot machines here I don't know where they are. I don't go into night clubs and places like that."

All ten defendants were named in warrants sworn by Worcester County Sheriff Arthur W. Duer after he and a flying squad raided the resort boardwalk Monday night.

February, 1977
Marylander And Herald (Princess Anne)

(Excerpts)

A Bit Of The Past

Established in 1767 under the name of Somerset Academy, the school today, known as Washington High School, is presently awaiting its new location on Route 13. This will be the fifth location for the school system. A magnificent structure it will house many students from throughout the County, and as they anxiously await their new home, they can look back and recall the history associated with it and the names of those who played a major part in its earliest days, Luther Martin, Phillip Breckenridge, Ephraim Bravard.

Recalling this history of the Washington Academy, I became anxious to learn more of the "forgotten tunnel" that seemingly has been overlooked.

Many of you today traveled the pathway to the tunnel which housed its own "electric bulbs." It provided the "short-cut" as you went to school, carrying your school books and "munching an apple," and must bring back many fine memories.

The tunnel stretched from Beechwood Street, under the railroad track and over to the third Washington Academy, then known as the Washington High School, and now the location of the auction block.

Today there is no evidence the tunnel, as we shall call it, or walkway, if you prefer, ever existed.

November, 1913
Marylander And Herald (Princess Anne)

(Excerpts)

MAIL CARRIER USES AUTO

Mr. Edward Teas, who is the rural delivery carrier for the U.S. mail on the Deal's Island route, uses his automobile very frequently in his delivery of the mail.

Mr. Teas says after the winter sets in he will not be able to use his machine much because of the bad condition the road usually gets in, and will have to fall back upon his team.

The automobile, eventually, will become the most satisfactory mode of a carrier, not only for the rural delivery man, but for the farmer as well.

In some sections of Virginia farmers own their automobile with which they convey their farm products to market. A woman, living in Fredericksburg, motors into that city every morning with a load of milk and country produce.

Times are changing and the antipathy with which the majority of farmers have looked upon the automobile, is rapidly passing away, and it will not be surprising if not before long several of the enterprising tillers of the soil, in the vicinity of Princess Anne, will be using the automobile, or the autotruck, to carry their farm products or heavy loads. 

March, 1774

Acquiring an acre of land was authorized at Sandy Hill (renamed Stockton in 1870) for the purpose of constructing a church, "Chapel Of Ease."  A tax of 45,000 pounds of tobacco was to be imposed on area citizens, with the Sheriff to receive 5% for collecting the levy.

November, 1910 (Time Machine archive)
(Gettysburg Times- Gettysburg, Pa.)

CARRIE A SUFFRAGETTE

Saloon Smasher Can Find No Good In Political Parties

Delmar, Del., Nov. 7.-  Carrie Nation drifted into Delmar and rented the opera house Sunday evening before but few persons knew she was here.

Her lecture was attended by a large audience who heard how she smashed saloons, and her views on cigarettes.  Mrs. Nation announced herself to be a suffragette.  She denounced both the Democratic and Republican parties as crooks and grafters. Theodore Roosevelt was referred to as a man who mixed in with everything except cigarettes and whiskey.

Mrs. Nation has been on the Eastern Shore for about a week in different towns, but has attacked one place she considered a "hole."  At Parksley she entered the local billiard and pool parlor with the cry "This is a hole," and started to smash things in general, but was taken bodily out before much damage had been done.



Footnote: (Source: PBS- The American Experience)   Standing at nearly 6 feet tall and weighing 180 pounds, Carry Amelia Moore Nation, Carrie Nation, as she came to be known, cut an imposing figure. Wielding a hatchet, she was downright frightful. In 1900, the target of Nation's wrath was alcoholic drink. Nation, who described herself as "a bulldog running along at the feet of Jesus, barking at what he doesn't like," felt divinely ordained to forcefully promote temperance. A brief marriage to an alcoholic in the late 1800's fueled Nation's disdain for alcohol. Kiowa, Kansas was the setting of Nation's first outburst of destruction in the name of temperance in 1900. Between 1900 and 1910 she was arrested some 30 times after leading her followers in the destruction of one water hole after another with cries of "Smash, ladies, smash!" Prize-fighter John L. Sullivan was reported to have run and hid when Nation burst into his New York City saloon. Self-righteous and formidable, Nation mocked her opponents as "rum-soaked, whiskey-swilled, saturn-faced rummies." 

While Carrie Nation was certainly among their most colorful members, the members of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, founded in 1874, left more in their wake than strewn glass. Once the largest women's organization in the country, the WCTU concerned itself with issues ranging from health and hygiene, prison reform, and world peace. 


(A visitor to Chincoteague writes his observations)

August, 1903
The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Va.)

PART 7 (continued from last week)

Mr Whealton says that Chincoteague was first granted to John Jennifer in 1670. The grant was allowed to lapse, and once or twice after that people who received grants of the island allowed them to lapse also. On the 29th of April, 1692, the island was granted to William Kendall and John Robbins by Lieutenant Governor Robinson on condition of their paying the passage of thirty-five emigrants from England to Virginia. Robins took the south end of the island, consisting of 2,765 acres, and Kendall the north end, 2,725 acres.

Robins and Kendall lived on the mainland and put stock on the island, sending over negroes and whites to care for them. Mr. Whealton thinks the ponies on the island at present are descendants of the horses which Robins and Kendall put here over two centuries ago. The long main and tail and fetlock he thinks due to exposure, and and the small size due to interbreeding. There is a theory that the ponies are descended from horses that escaped from a South American ship which was washed ashore here two hundred years ago. Mr. Whealton's seems much more plausible. I have neglected to mention that there are no commons on this island. All the land is held by deed or will, but the owners do not fence the grazing land, and the ponies run together, the drove often having forty or fifty owners.

A number of Quakers bought  500 acres on the north end of the island about 1800, but in 1828 they sold to Mr. Whealton's father and settled in Delaware, having become greatly dissatisfied with slavery as it existed in Virginia. Delaware slaves could not be sold outside that state.

The population of Chincoteague in 1840 was 540. Mr. Whealton does not remember the numbers for 1850; the census was taken in 1860 but the war came on and he never saw the returns. By the census of 1870 there were 1,100 people on the island. 
.
"I saw the flrst oysters planted in the United States and maybe in the world," said Mr. Whealton. "In 1838 two steamers loaded here with oysters for Philadelphia. The weather got so foggy the boats couldn't get out and after waiting several days the oysters were placed in shallow water rlght here in front of the town. When the owners took them up the next fall the oysters were so fat that all of us began planting, seeing that the oysters were so much better by being moved. Now oysters are planted everywhere."

So Chincoteague has the distinction of having given the world the most important fact concerning the oyster that has ever been discovered. 

Chincoteague does not know much of the war between the States. There was very little war so far as she was concerned. When the question of the adoption or rejection of the ordinance of secession was submitted to the people in 1861, there were only two votes for secession cast in the island.

(This concludes our excerpts of the article which we've posted during the past couple of months. The writer of the article was signed as Walter Edward Harris. There's still more to this article from 1903 and if you'd like to read it you may access the article in its entirety at this address:

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038615/1903-08-09/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1836&sort=date&rows=50&words=Assateague&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=18&state=&date2=1922&proxtext=Assateague&y=9&x=18&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=7

There's also a separate article devoted to pony penning on the same newspaper page.) -tk


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!



"Somewhere Over The
Rainbow Bluebirds
fly.."

Flying On For JMMB.
Her Pocomoke Public
Eye postings (April,
2008 to June, 2014)
kept us informed. 

Would you consider helping The Pocomoke Public Eye as a contributor of current local items of interest?  Please contact pcitypubliceye@gmail.com

Friday, November 28, 2014

TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview.

1947.. Ten people charged with operating slot machines in Ocean City; 1977.. Recalling a tunnel short-cut to school in Princess Anne; 1913.. Help for delivering Deal Island mail- it's an automolbile!; 1910.. Carrie Nation, nationally known for her vigorous campaign against alcohol, stomps through the Eastern Shore;  1774.. Tobacco levy on citizens will pay for new Worcester County church; and a final portion of the observations written by a visitor to Chincoteague in 1903.

Although you may not find all of these items in a history book, they are a part of our local history and you can read more about it this Sunday right here at The Pocomoke Public Eye!  

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!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

'FOOD FOR THOUGHT' ON THANKSGIVING, 2014..

November, 1882

The Denton Journal (Denton, Md.)

Thanksgiving Day

The following Thanksgiving proclamation has been issued by President Arthur:

  "In conformity with a custom, the annual observance of which is justly held in honor by this people, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States, do hereby set apart Thursday, the 30th day of November, a national day of thanksgiving.  The blessings demanding our gratitude are numerous and varied. For the peace and amity which subsist between the public and all the nations of the world; for the increasing friendship between the different sections of the land; for liberty, justice and constitutional government; for the devotion of our people to our free institutions and their cheerful obedience to mild laws; for the constantly increasing strength of the republic while extending its privileges to fellow-men who come to us (legally); for improved means of internal communication and the increased facilities of intercourse with other nations; for the general prevailing health of the year; for the prosperity of all our industries, the liberal return for the mechanic's toil, affording a market for the abundant harvests of the husbandman, for the preservation of the national faith and credit; for wise and generous provision to effect the intellectual and moral education of our youth; for the influence for the conscience of a restraining and transforming religion, and for the joys of home; for these, and many other blessings, we should give thanks.

  Wherefore, I do recommend that the day above designated be observed throughout the country as a day of national thanksgiving and prayer, and that the people ceasing from their daily labors and meeting in accordance with several forms of worship, draw near to the throne of Almighty God, offering to him praise and gratitude for the manifold goodness which he has vouchsafed to us, and praying that His blessings and His mercies may continue.  And I further recommend that the day thus appointed be made a special occasion for deeds of kindness and charity to the suffering and the needy, so all who dwell within the land may rejoice and be glad in this season of national thanksgiving."


Sunday, November 23, 2014

TIME MACHINE ... 1963, 1962, 1892, 1891, 1944, 1903.

"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 archive/historical archive material)


August, 1963
The Daily Mail (Hagerstown, Md.)

Tawes Still Uncommitted On Future Of Assateague Island

SNOW HILL, Md. (AP)-  Gov. Tawes, still publicly uncommitted on the future of Assateague Island, says he's giving the problem close consideration.

That was about as far as the governor would go last night in indicating his views on the sand island after a second hearing on how it should be developed.

About 200 persons jammed the Worcester County Courthouse Thursday night to hear the case argued before the Board Of Public Works.   

Tawes and Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein, board members, heard 19 speakers, 16 of them expressing a preference for private development of the island, to a U.S. Interior Department proposal for federal development.

Goldstein has expressed an opinion favoring the federal plan for making the sparsely settled island into a national seashore park.

State Sen. John L. Sanford, D-Worcester, made an apparent reference to this in addressing the board Thursday night when he said he felt like a lawyer facing three judges- one of whom had already made up his mind about the case.

Sanford urged Goldstein to reconsider his stand.

Dels. Mark Pilchard and Russel O. Hickman, D-Worcester, also opposed the Interior Dept. plan advanced by Secretary Stewart L. Udall.

Pilchard urged the board to "do some soul searching before recommending federal development" and Hickman called Udall's plan the "most brazen socialistic scheme ever forced down the throats of Worcester Countians."

September, 1962 (Time Machine archive)

Pocomoke area residents were in shock on learning of the death of Dr. C. Stanford Hamilton.  The Pocomoke City physician, who was in his mid 30's, died in a violent single vehicle crash on Route 50 west of Salisbury when the car in which he was a passenger left the roadway and struck an abutment.  Two others, including Salisbury physician William Fisher Jr., were also killed and Donald Ramsey of near Pocomoke was critically injured.  The four were returning from Baltimore where they had attended a Baltimore Colts game.  

Footnote: Dr. Hamilton came to Pocomoke in 1955 when Dr. Lewis Llewelyn left to practice elsewhere.  Dr. Hamilton's daughter Linda, who was six years old at the time of his death, is Hollywood actress Linda Hamilton. In later years Dr. Llewelyn's son Doug was host of the original "People's Court" TV program.

August, 1892
Juniata Sentinel And Republican (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.)

A Maryland newspaper says:-  Down in Somerset county Maryland, the other day. The farmers have been in the habit of working on the roads, not when the roads needed it, but when it suited the convenience of the farmers. To destroy the absurd custom, a Maryland law authorizes the road supervisors to summon the farmers to work when work needed to be done. Supervisor McDorman tried this plan, but the farmers refused to obey his summons. He called the Sheriff, who tried to arrest the sluggards, who hit the deputy on the head and otherwise despitefully abused him. Forty farmers then gathered around the Sheriff and his deputy and drove them out of the community.

May, 1891
The Richmond Dispatch (Richmond, Va.)

ONANCOCK GALA-DAY

A GRAND CELEBRATION OF ITS BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIES

Procession, Banquet, and Fire-Works in Progress, An Attractive Programme and Fine Prizes.

(Correspondence of The Richmond Dispatch.)

ONANCOCK, May 23.-  Next Tuesday will be a big day in Onancock. Extensive preparations are making to celebrate the occasion in a becoming manner. In the afternoon several hundred mounted men, all masked and clad in gay costumes, will ride through the streets of the town, following will come floats representing the business houses and industries of the town, and at night there will be a sumptuous banquet and a musical concert at the Town Hall. The celebration will close with a grand display of fireworks. The Onancock Brass Band will furnish music for the occasion. It is confidently expected that this will far surpass anything of the kind ever witnessed on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.  

November, 1944
The Salisbury Times

(Ad)

THANKSGIVING At The WILLIAM PENN HOTEL In The Center Of Salisbury.

DINNER MENU

Cream Of Chicken Soup or Tomato-Grapefruit Juice

ROAST TURKEY with Fixings.. $1.25

Celery Hearts and Olives..Pickle Chips.. Cranbury Sauce..Candied Sweet Potatoes..Peas..Turnips..Corn..Cole Slaw..Mashed Potatoes..Ice Cream And Cake. 

Come. Let Us Join Together In Thanksgiving.

DINNER SERVED 12 NOON TIL 8P.M.

WM.PENN HOTEL & GRILL

North Division Street, Salisbury, Md.


(A visitor to Chincoteague writes his observations)

August, 1903
The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Va.)

PART 6 (continued from last week)

It was deeply interesting to hear John A. M. Whealton, who was born on the island seventy-three years ago, tell of his struggles to obtain education enough to enable him to get along in the world. If I could convey to the reader's eye a true picture of the old gentleman, and could reproduce his language as he told me of his life, I am sure the recital would be as interesting at second hand as it was to me.

 "When I was six years old I went to work with the women helping my father pick up oysters," he said. "The women folks worked in that day and time. I never went to school but three months in my life. But I saw that a man had to have some education if he was going to get along in the world. I studied my speller at home and worked all the sums in Pike's arithmetic until I got to the single rule of three. That was so tough I sent to Philadelphia and got another arithmetic-Bennett's-and in that I worked until I got so I could understand fractions, and could work out percentage and fellowship. Then I got Mitchell's geography and atlas, and it didn't take me so very long to learn the names of all the countries and the States and capitals and rivers. I read Goldsmith's history of England and a history of the United States. I have always liked history, and have read histories of old Greece and Rome." 

Mr. Whealton's language is, as a rule, that of an educated man, though he occasionally drops into the careless speech of the waterman. "I belong to the universal church of God," said the old man solemnly when I asked him regarding his church preferences. "I do not go to church often. But I read the Bible and God is good. 

Mr. Whealton's wife, two years his senior, is still living. He is in very comfortable circumstances, though in 1867 he saw all his property swept away through his having to pay a security debt. He is the authority on all matters pertaining to the history of Chincoteague.

"The old people in Chicoteague used to have the habit of handing down traditions like the indians," said Mr. Whealton, "and I used to love to listen to them."

 He has a most remarkable memory. Frequently he gives the year, the day of the week, and the month of an event, and will then remark in an interjectory way:

"I remember the wind was blowing nor'west," or "nor'east," as the case might be.

(A final portion from this article next Sunday.)


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!




"Somewhere Over The
Rainbow Bluebirds
fly.."
Flying On For JMMB.
Her Pocomoke Public
Eye postings (April,
2008 to June, 2014)
kept us informed. 


Thursday, November 20, 2014

TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview

1963.. The Governor is undecided, Worcester officials oppose it; what's the issue?; 1962..  Pocomoke City physician dies in auto accident; 1892.. Somerset County farmers snub state roadwork law; 1891.. Onancock holding a grand celebration; 1944.. Thanksgiving Dinner at a popular Salisbury restaurant; and more of the observations written by a visitor to Chincoteague in 1903. 

Although you may not find all of these items in a history book, they are a part of our local history and you can read more about it this Sunday right here at The Pocomoke Public Eye!  

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!

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

NOT GUILTY

 I-N-N-O-C-E-N-T

The Judge said that I am "argumentative" and I agreed, in fact I said "yes your honor I am 'VERY' argumentative. When you go to court and you are a defendant isn't it your or your attorneys job to argue? 

I told the judge that I removed the tags and why I removed the tags and that I didn't think that it was anyone's business why I removed "MY" tags from 'MY' car, in 'MY' yard etc. etc. and he agreed. 

The judge also caught Morgan in a lie (somewhat) and you could tell that did not go over well.

Oh well, anyway the judge agreed with me that I "had a reasonable expatiation of privacy",     

The verdict of me VS Morgan and PCPD. NOT GUILTY!


PLEASE Register Today!

PLEASE
Register Today! 
for the November
General Membership Luncheon

TOMORROW
Wednesday,
November 19
$12.00

Location:
Don's Seafood & Chicken House
1344 Ocean Hwy
Pocomoke City, MD
21851
12 - 1 PM

Featured Speakers:
Mary Brad Lambertson
Branch Executive Director
Lower Shore YMCA
Pocomoke 

and 

Dr. Jerry Wilson,
Superintendent
Worcester County
Public Schools
A Follow-Up:
Progress & Programs

Register at

Monday, November 17, 2014


"USS Pocomoke" received two battle stars for World War II Service: 
 
 


We see her here, 3 February 1943, location unknown. Note that her maintenance deck is crowded with single engine fighters.

Worcester County took pride in lending the name of its only river to a ship commissioned as the "USS Pocomoke," 18 July 1941, with John D. Price in command. It had a length of 492', a beam of 69' 6", and a draft of 21' 2". During the Second World War, both the American Navy built a number of seaplane tenders to supplement their aircraft carrier fleets. 


the Sweepers who kept the decks clean
 

The tenders allowed the aircraft, generally for long-range reconnaissance patrols, to be rapidly deployed to new bases because their runways did not have to be constructed, and support facilities were mobile much like supply ships for submarines or destroyers.
 

Relief from military tedium and war-time anxiety

During World War II, the "USS Pocomoke" was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

Bougainville operation

Supporting air actions, 27 October 1943 to 1 May 1944 Western Caroline Islands operation

Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 14 October 1944

Marianas operation, Capture and occupation of Saipan, 17 June to 10 August 1944 


Christmas at sea
 

The photos taken aboard the "USS Pocomoke" come from the collection of Anthony Martiliano, who served on the ship. Here is the link: http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/41/4109c.htm I do not know if anyone from Worcester County was ever part of the crew though I am sure it would have been mentioned in our Worcester newspapers of the period. I add this particular post as part of our observance of Veterans' Day and our salute to those who gave up part of their lives so that we could keep ALL of ours.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

TIME MACHINE... 1997, 1886, 1944, 1920, 1840, 1903.

"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 newspaper archives material)

August, 1997
The Capital (Annapolis, Md)

Salisbury dorms are now wired for Net

Salisbury (AP)-  Students at Salisbury State University will have 24-hours access to electronic mail and the Internet in their drom rooms this fall, thanks to a crew of two dozen students that wired 1,735 rooms this summer.

The $1.2 project will improve communication with professors and shorten the line outside the campus' eight computer labs, said senior Wade Laye, who was among the students who signed up to do the wiring at $7.50 an hour.

"Tension goes up and students get frustrated because everyone waits until the last minute to start their papers," Mr. Laye said.

Campus housing officials estimated last year that 40 percent of students have a personal computer, but they only had an Internet connection if they signed up with a private  provider for about $20 a month.

Salisbury State's network connection will cost $30 for the whole Fall semester. Students still must provide the hardware.

Salisbury state trimmed the cost of the project by using student labor under the supervision of PrimeNet of Baltimore.

The original project estimate was $1.6 million.

November, 1866
Evening Star (Washington, D.C.) 

THE FATAL AFFRAY AT SNOW HILL.- The Snow Hili (Md.) Shield gives the particulars of the affray between two respectable citizens in that town on the evening of the 9th instant, which resulted in the death of Mr. Littleton J.
Richardson, at the hands of Mr. Jas. K. Purnell. The Shield says "the affray took place in the saloon of Mr. J. B. Kies, corner of Market and Pearl streets, shortly after the closing of the polls. It seems that some angry words had some minutes previously passed between the parties, (not of a political character, for each had voted the same ticket,) which was renewed upon a second meeting, a scuffle ensured, and  while Mr. Purnell was down upon the floor, and Mr. Richardson standing over him, the latter was shot by the former through the lungs, which proved fatal in about ten minutes.  Mr. Purnell gave himself up, and an investigation was had before Squire Russell, when he was released on $5,000 bail to answer a court, E. K. Wilson and Geo. W. Covington, Esqs., entering in one-half the amount, and the principal himself in the other. Mr. Richardson leaves a distressed wife and eight children (three of them small) to mourn him. He has two daughters married."

June, 1944 (Time Machine archive)

A Pocomoke area road construction project was one of twelve in Maryland for which Governor Herbert R. O'conor requested priority consideration from the federal government.  The project would involve relocation and rebuilding nine miles of a 24 foot lane of an ultimate dual highway on Route 13 from Pocomoke to the Virginia line.  The cost would be $665,000.  The governor's plea to the Facilities Review Board of the War Production Board stressed the urgency of the twelve projects from a safety and traffic requirements standpoint.

April, 1920
Marylander And Herald (Princess Anne)

"MIRACLE MAN" COMING

Firemen To Have Great Picture On April 26th With Vaudeville

(Excerpts)

"The Miracle Man," the greatest picture ever produced by motion picturedom, which has been causing such a great sensation in New York and elsewhere, will be shown on April 26th at the Auditorium, Princess Anne. The picture was to have been shown on April 9th, but owing to the great demand for it all over the country the date had to be postponed until the 26th.

This wonderful picture story is now being shown in the big cities for prices ranging from 75-cents to $2.50, and the price here will be 50-cents.  The firemen wanted to give the people of our town the best that money could buy, and they feel secure that they have obtained the par excellence of what the country affords.

In addition to the picture there will be five vaudeville acts by the youngsters, which should keep those happy who do not like pictures. The proceeds of the entertainment will be used to start a fund to buy an automobile fire engine of the latest improved type.




October, 1840
The Sun (Baltimore)

CAN ANY OF THE YANKEES BEAT THIS?-  The Worcester (Md.) Banner states that a pumpkin has been raised in that county, which measured seven and a half feet in circumference. Would not that make a lot of pies for thanksgiving day?


(A visitor to Chincoteague writes his observations)

August, 1903
The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Va.)

PART 5 (continued from last week)

Swlmmlng appears to be almost natural. Everybody is as much at home in the water as on land. One of the first sights I saw when I came over from Wishart's Point in the launch that carries the mail was a dozen boys, from six to ten years old, sporting in the water near the wharf, clad in bright colored trunks of the scantiest character.

Living is expensive in Chincoteague, despite the fact that every variety of sea food is right at hand. But flour and meal, meat of every character, poultry and eggs, groceries, of course, and all fuel, have to be brought from the outside. A leadlng man here told me he believed it was possible to clear a thousand dollars a year raising eggs and poultry on the island. Very few are raised. Ducks and geese are seen much more frequently than chickens. I was struck with the small number of dogs.

Everybody knows everybody else on Chlncoteague. Perhaps not more than 5 per cent of the inhabitants were born off the island. There are said to be factions and more or less dissension among the people, but none of this was apparent to me. There was a jollity, freedom of speech and manner, and propensity to "skylark" among the men, young and old, that is not found generally. I saw a man in front of the hotel this morning knock a pipe out of the mouth of a friend with whom he had been talking and then run to escape punishment.

Chincoteaguers work hard in the oyster season. I have not seen many men at work since I have been here, and it has always been easy to find a group of six or a dozen men who are ready to talk indefinitely. And to me it is about the best talking I have heard in a long time. The quaint language,  the rich flavor of the sea in all conversation, the sailor like directness of speech, are all wonderfully pleasing, and make it hard for one to tear himself away and work. "Peculiosity" and "phenomity" are two words I have added to my vocabulary since I came to Chincoteague.

The Chincoteague people have not had the school advantages which many of them desire, yet in recent years the sons of several men have gone to college from this island, and there were Chlncoteague boys in two or three Virginia colleges last year.

(More from this article next Sunday.)

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!



"Somewhere Over The
Rainbow Bluebirds
fly.."

Flying On For JMMB.
Her Pocomoke Public
Eye postings (April,
2008 to June, 2014) 
kept us informed.




Saturday, November 15, 2014

Every Sunday On The Pocomoke Public Eye..

<1800<1850<Time<1900<1950<Machine<2000<<

It's reader-friendly viewing of newspaper archive and historical archive material, primarily of local interest. 

This week we share items from  1997, 1886, 1944, 1920, 1840, and 1903.

Check back tomorrow, 11/16, right here!

Friday, November 14, 2014

MARYLAND ON PACE FOR ANOTHER LOW IN TRAFFIC FATALITIES



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Gayle Waters

Phone Number: (410) 957-1600

MARYLAND ON PACE FOR ANOTHER LOW IN TRAFFIC FATALITIES

Enforcement of DUI and seat belt laws key to reducing highway deaths.


[Pocomoke City, Maryland]  In 2013, Maryland had a 50-year low in traffic fatalities as highway deaths fell almost nine percent from 2012. As 2014 draws to a close, highway safety and law enforcement partners are optimistic for another decrease in traffic fatalities but say it rests largely in the hands of those traveling our roadways.

Ultimately, our drivers must do the right things,” stated Chief Kelvin Sewell. “If people choose to go out and drink, we strongly recommend that they have a designated driver or get a cab home. And of course, we want everyone using a seat belt in every seat, every time they get in a vehicle.”

From 2009 to 2013 in Maryland, 856 people were killed in impaired-related crashes, accounting for a third of all traffic fatalities across the state. In addition, almost 600 people died in crashes where they were not wearing a seat belt.

Our law enforcement partners are out there strictly enforcing our laws, particularly when it comes to impaired driving and seat belts,” said MVA Administrator and the Governor’s Representative for Highway Safety, Milt Chaffee. “We are committed to our goal of moving Toward Zero Deaths on Maryland’s roads and a driver making the right choices means that we can stop needless and preventable tragedies from occurring.”

More than 23,000 people were arrested for DUI in Maryland last year and there were tens of thousands of seat belt citations issued. Penalties for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol are severe, including thousands of dollars in fines and fees, not to mention the increased risk of crashes associated with impaired driving. Drivers also face fines of $83 for failing to wear a seat belt, a law that is enforceable in both the front and back seats.

Our first step is to try and educate people about making the right choices but when that fails, we make arrests and issue seat belt citations to deter people from breaking the law again,” stated Chief Kelvin Sewell. Each time someone gets behind the wheel after drinking or using drugs, it is a potential tragedy waiting to happen. Each time they drive or ride unbelted, they increase their risk of death in a crash by as much as 45 percent. Ultimately, it’s up to everyone to do their part by always driving sober and buckling up.”

# # #
Note: Maryland's Toward Zero Deaths campaign focuses on preventing impaired driving, aggressive driving, and distracted driving, while also promoting seat belt use.  For more information on the Toward Zero Deaths campaign, please visit www.towardzerodeathsmd.com.

POCOMOKE PREPARES FOR ANNUAL PARADE




POCOMOKE CITY CHRISTMAS PARADE ASSOCIATION

P.O. Box 807

Pocomoke City, Maryland 21851

(410) 957-0802

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  Mike Shannon (410) 726-5777

POCOMOKE PREPARES FOR ANNUAL PARADE


            On Monday night, December 1, 2014, 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.

We have our web site up and running. This is where you will find the applications and rules for this year’s event. If you are interested in participating this year you should go to pocomokechristmasparade.com to register. 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.

            Clowns, 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.
           
            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 recent support given to us to continue this great tradition that has been a part of the town of over 40 years. 

In the event of inclement weather, the parade will be postponed until Tuesday, December 2, at 7:00 p.m.

-30-


Governor-elect Hogan to attend National Governors Association seminar in Colorado this weekend

Office of the Governor-elect
PRESS RELEASE


For Immediate Release:
November 13, 2014
Contact: Hannah Marr
hmarr@hoganforgovernor.com

O: (443) 221-4450 M: (443) 935-3684
                                              

Governor-elect Hogan to attend National Governors Association seminar in Colorado this weekend

ANNAPOLIS, MD – November 13, 2014 – Maryland governor-elect Larry Hogan will attend the National Governors Association Seminar for New Governors this weekend in Westminster, Colorado. The seminar will include governors and governors-elect from around the country.

"My team and I are excited to travel to Colorado this weekend for the Seminar for New Governors," said Governor-elect Hogan. "I am looking forward to learning as much as possible in order to make our transition as smooth as possible, and meeting with other newly elected governors from across the country."

Over the weekend, the governor-elect will attend presentations on assembling a cabinet, recruiting and staffing, budgeting, and more.

#   #   #

For more information or to request an interview, contact Hannah Marr at hmarr@hoganforgovernor.com (443) 935-3684

Web: www.hoganforgovernor.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/Hogan4Governor
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChangeMaryland

Authority: Hogan-Rutherford Committee to Change Maryland, John C. Wobensmith, Treasurer.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Houses that have Vanished; By Bob Jones

Houses that have Vanished -- the Hickman Home, Greenbackville Road:
The "Hickman Home," built 1736, was undoubtedly Mattapony's finest dwelling for the two centuries it lasted. The north gable, the only part standing a decade ago, was still impressive by its towering height. Even 35 years ago, the house was sufficiently intact to make restoration feasible. Now, it will clearly never rise again. Here's hoping that this modest narrative will serve to keep its history from vanishing entirely into the chasm of Time.
I encourage readers to master the colonial meaning of the word "Mattapony." I remind you that during our first few decades (1660-1742), Worcester and Wicomico were lumped into old Somerset County, which, in turn, was divided into about nine districts that were known as "hundreds." Had I lived in thoses times, my will would have started, "I, Bob Jones, of Mattapony Hundred, do hereby . . . " Mattapony was essentially southern Worcester County, that is everything south of Ayres Lane and Castle Hill Road. North of that boundary was another "Hundred" known as Bogerternorton (Snow Hill, Berlin, and the future Ocean City). What we know as the Eighth Election District is basically old Mattapony.
The main gateway was located on the Pocomoke River, not far from Beth Eden Church Road and Route #113. Fittingly, it was referred to as Mattapony Landing. See below photo of the church that stood nearby.
For the first 100 years after settlement, most of the houses built were quite small, often only one room and a loft -- see photo in Comments. The only grand home in southern Worcester County was "Beverly" built on the Pocomoke River in c1774. In the northern part of the County, grand colonial homes would include "Genesar" (c1730) and "Radcliffe Hall" (c1750) the main dwelling on a large working plantation of 2,200 acres.
The "Hickman Farm" was originally part of a tract called "Transylvania," patented in 1676 to William Walton for 800 acres. It is located on the south side of Greenbackville Road, which runs from George Island Landing Road, at Portersville, to the town on Greenbackville. The house was set far back in the field, the lane some four tenths of a mile. I have not visited the ruins in several years -- today, there may only be rubble.
When the first settlers arrived from Accomack Co. to our area, the first land claimed was along Worcester's Chincoteague Bay and the Pocomoke River. One of the earliest land grants, for example, was effected just the previous year (1675) when Lord Baltimore granted Mt. Ephraim (2000 acres) near Public Landing, which lies outside Mattapony. So, "Transylvania" may well have been the first land grant in Mattapony Hundred.
In Part II, I will tell you about the Hickman family who lived there and give a description of the house. Below, in Comments, there are six photos to go with this account. --RFJ