Time Machine: 100 years ago this week in Pocomoke's newspaper; 1897, 1940, 2006, 1998, 1969.

 

May, 1897

The Morning Herald (Baltimore)

November, 1940

             

Salisbury Times

*December, 2006

Salisbury Daily Times

*January, 1998 

Somerset Herald

*July, 1969

Democratic Messenger

tkforppe@yahoo.com

           

                

Recollections from generations past (Mary Dryden- 1)

    

Mary Dryden (1902 - 1983)

TRANSCRIPT EXCERPTS FROM 1980 INTERVIEW

Interview Begins

INTERVIEWER: This is Vanessa Voss interviewing Mary Dryden

MARY: I am Mary Dryden, and this is Thursday April 15th, 1982.

INTERVIEWER: Could you give me your age and your maiden name?

MARY: I am 80 years old and my maiden name was Mary Parker.

INTERVIEWER: What were your parent’s names?

MARY: My father was Dr. John T. Parker and my mother, Maude deWaal

 Parker.

INTERVIEWER: Can you tell me your grandparents names and their maiden

 names?

MARY: Gabriel deWaal and Nancy Dukes deWaal, were my maternal

 grandparents, and my paternal grandparents were Charles and Amelia

 Parker.

INTERVIEWER: When you were a child what kind of chores and

 responsibilities did you have around the house?

MARY: Well I washed dishes sometimes and I helped my grandmother with

 the kitchen. I don’t remember doing much else.

INTERVIEWER: Did you have a job outside the home?

MARY: No.

INTERVIEWER: Where did you go to school?

MARY: Stockton Elementary and High School.

INTERVIEWER: All through high school?

MARY: Yes, I graduated in 1918 from Stockton High.

INTERVIEWER: What was the discipline like?

MARY: Very good, we had no problems.

INTERVIEWER: What kind of subjects did you take?

MARY: I had English, Latin, history, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, science.

INTERVIEWER: Do you remember any of the names of your teachers?

MARY: Oh yes. Our principal was Professor John S. Hill. He was a native of

 Snow Hill. Miss Lucille Taylor was my English teacher. Miss Mary Holland

 was my history and math teacher. Miss Anna Adkins was our manual trainer

 which corresponds to home ec. today.

INTERVIEWER: Where did you go to church?

MARY: Holy Cross Chapel Episcopal Church in Stockton.

INTERVIEWER: How long was it on Sunday? How long did it last?

MARY: The service?

INTERVIEWER: Mm-mm

MARY: Oh, about an hour.

INTERVIEWER: What did you do for recreation? Did you go ice skating?

MARY: Yes, we skated the mill pond. I was never very good.

INTERVIEWER: What kind of games did you play?

MARY: Well, we played Flinch, (audio not clear), and 7 Up. My daddy taught

 me  how to play 7 Up, which corresponds to fish nowadays. When I got older

 I  played 500. Then as bridge came along, I played bridge. I played some

 basketball. We passed the ball around, I guess you call that softball.

INTERVIEWER: Did you go swimming a lot?

MARY: No.

INTERVIEWER: How about dating?

MARY: Oh yes. I had some dates.

INTERVIEWER: Did you do a lot of dating?

MARY: I had some. We usually went to the car auctions.

INTERVIEWER: What were the rules in dating? The rules set by your parents.

MARY: I don’t remember that I had any rules really.

INTERVIEWER: What were some major events in the community?

MARY: Well we used to have an alumni banquet on Easter Monday for the

 high school. And there were organizations in two churches. There were two

 organizations, one was from our church called the Busy Bees and the

 Methodists were (audio not clear), and they met every so often for social

 functions.

INTERVIEWER: What types of businesses were around here?

MARY: There was a very thriving oyster business then. Two barrel factories

 because in the wintertime the oysters were shipped in barrels, and then in

 the summertime potatoes were shipped in barrels. In those days we had two

 passenger trains south and two passenger trains north, as well as several

 freight trains.

INTERVIEWER: What was the population? Was the town very big then?

MARY: No. I would say probably 300 people in those days.

INTERVIEWER: What was the law and order like?

MARY: Sheriff Payne was the magistrate in Stockton and we really didn’t have

 too much disorder.

INTERVIEWER: What type of transportation did you use?

MARY: Horse and buggy.

INTERVIEWER: There weren’t any steamboats around at all.

MARY: No. There were sail boats down at George Island Landing and oyster

 boats, but no, we didn’t have any steam.

(Continues next Saturday here at The Pocomoke Public Eye.)

Accomack County Schools Superintendent responds-

 

(Shore Daily News)

Accomack County Public Schools Superintendent has responded regarding a recent incident which the Virginia Schools Superintendent said went against State policies.

(View news story:)

Accomack Superintendent says she's committed to providing safe learning environment - Shore Daily News

Big picture- thumbs up in Worcester state school testing-

 

(View news article:)

State test scores reviewed for school board | News | oceancitytoday.com 

                               

Large donation received for new project at Pocomoke's Newtown Park.

 

(Oct. 4, 2024) A six-figure gift to Worcester County’s recreation department will pay tribute to a local family while breathing new life into a Pocomoke City public park.

(View news story:)

Donation to fund new playground at Pocomoke facility | News | oceancitytoday.com

New Crisfield mural unveiled-

 (WBOC)

CRISFIELD, MD. – A new mural celebrating the history and contributions of African American leaders in Crisfield was unveiled Thursday, drawing immediate attention from residents and visitors alike.

(View news story:)

Historical Mural Unveiled in Crisfield, Honoring Black Community Leaders | Latest News | wboc.com

Accomack County School Superintendent's handling of incident questioned.

 

(Shore Daily News:)

The Virginia Department of Education says Accomack County Public Schools Superintendent Rhonda Hall did not follow school protocol earlier this month when she failed to cooperate with local law enforcement and abide by state laws during a police investigation of a student’s alleged shooting threat.

(View news story:)

VDOE says Accomack Superintendent failed to cooperate with Sheriff's investigation - Shore Daily News

Funds for Worcester Sheriff's Dept. body cams-

 

(WMDT)

The Worcester County Sheriff’s Office is receiving federal and state grants that will cover $284,000 of the $411,000 price tag for its body-worn camera program.

(View news story:)

Worcester County Sheriff's Office getting federal and state grants for body cams - 47abc (wmdt.com)

Aid for the hurricane victims-

 

(View news story:)

The Eastern Shore Community is Rallying to Help People in North Carolina Impacted by Hurricane Helene | Latest News | wboc.com

(View Worcester County Government posting:)

https://www.facebook.com/worcestercountygovernment/

(At above link see posting: Now to Fri., Oct. 4 at noon, Worcester County Accepting Donations for Hurricane Helene Victims)

(More info- contact Eastern Shore Lanes, Pocomoke.  410-957-0775.)

(UPDATED)

 

Noisy times ahead.

 

(Shore Daily News)

By Linda Cicoira

Naval Air Station Patuxent River has advised it will conduct noise-generating night-time testing events at Pax River and Wallops Island between 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. from Oct. 3 to Nov. 15.

According to an announcement, pilots have been instructed to fly the lowest altitude portion of their flights before midnight, when possible, to lessen the disturbance of the missions. The flights will follow Federal Aviation Administration and Navy regulations and are subject to scheduling shifts based on several unspecified factors.

NAS Patuxent River says it takes precautions to lessen the impact of testing activities on the community. For more information, call 1-866-819-9028.

A change in the weather...man.

 WBOC Chief Meteorologist Dan Satterfield soon retiring.

Dan recently posted on his Facebook page:

"Just to let you know that I have a ton of off time to use by the end of October when I retire. 

So, starting next week, you will see me very little on the evening broadcasts. I will do the weekend morning weathercasts so my replacement John Conway can have a weekend.

After 44 years and 7 months it is time to call it a career. I am starting the slide into retirement. You will still see me from time to time after October when they need someone, and I will still be teaching at SU.

 I am leaving you in VERY good hands. John Conway does nothing but impress me. I wish I had his language ability! He is an exc. forecaster and a VERY good critical thinker who is very well travelled."

              John Conway

Future causeway bridge to NASA Wallops-

 (Shore Daily News)

By Linda Cicoira

Kokosing Construction Co., a multi-state operation, recently announced the start of its project to design and build a replacement causeway road and bridge at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.

According to contract details, the cost was estimated at $62,395,600 and has since been increased by 1 percent to $63,270,600 or by $875,000.

The bridge will go over Cat Creek and replace the existing structure, built in 1959-1960. The existing structure “is nearing the end of its service life,” the announcement on Instagram stated.

“Design partner, WSP USA, (an engineering firm), is incorporating durable materials to maximize service life and protect the structure from the aggressive coastal, and marine environment of the Virginia barrier islands,” the announcement continued. “We will utilize a top-down construction methodology to minimize the environmental impacts to adjacent tidal wetland areas.”

     The road is the only access to that portion of the NASA facility, making it critical to daily operations. Construction is expected to begin in early 2025 and be completed in early 2029.

I remember when the existing bridge was built. My uncle was an engineer for Bendix in the early days of NASA and helped develop the Echo series of inflatable target satellites. I still have some scraps left lover from their construction described as "mylar covered aluminum". It was extremely thin but very strong.

I can even remember when there was no bridge and staff and workers had to take a ferry to get to Wallops Island. The ferry landing is still there and can be found by taking Metompkin Road out of Assawoman, turning left on Pettit Road and another left on Pierce Taylor Road and following to the end. My father worked there at one time as a dump truck driver during the initial construction phase.

Your friend,
Slim

Country music festival fake tickets alert-

 

(From Ocean City Police Dept. info) 

The upcoming Country Calling Festival is sold out. If you are looking for last-minute resale tickets, do your homework first. The festival offers verified resale tickets on its website. Tickets sold near the festival grounds or on social media group pages risk being fake. One of the most giant red flags if it's a fake ticket is if the price is significantly less than the original ticket cost (over $100). 

If you believe you may have been scammed into purchasing a fake ticket or see anything suspicious regarding ticket sales near the festival grounds, please get in touch with the Ocean City Police Department at 410-723-6610. Anonymous tips can be left on our Tip Line at 410-520-5136, email us at crimetips@oceancitymd.gov