But Wait! There's More! Delegate McDermott's "Stop Digging" Piece Continued

Stop Digging! (Continued!)

by Delegate Mike McDermott

As Americans, we understand that people can make mistakes. As we grow up, we learn from our mistakes so that we do not stumble a second time. Wise people do not often make the same mistake twice.

There is an old proverb which states, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Governor O’Malley and Senator Mathias are not exceptions to this rule.

Eight years ago when these two men took office together, Maryland enjoyed a billion dollar surplus at the end of Republican Bob Ehrlich’s first term as governor. Our state played host to 11 Fortune 500 companies. We were #25 on the list of “Business Friendly States”, poultry operations were expanding, and the future of agriculture in Maryland looked bright. Our people were happy to live here and most had no thoughts of moving away.

Eight years with O’Malley and Mathias have shown the devastating effects of their big government economic policies and made it clear that they do not learn from their past or their mistakes. Their shared philosophy promoting government as the answer to any problem has turned our surplus into deficits. While every state experienced the recession, Maryland has struggled to regain its footing, and some of our counties are simply not recovering. It is a failure of policy, not our people.

Of those 11 Fortune 500 companies...only 1 remains in Maryland and that is McCormick Inc. Based on recent news accounts, even the folks who gave us “Old Bay” seasoning are soon to relocate to Pennsylvania. These companies have not gone out of business, they just cannot afford to operate in a state run by folks who do not know how to be “business friendly”.

Being known as a “Business Friendly” state should be our goal. O’Malley, and his apologists like Mathias, have moved us from #25 all the way down to #42. We are surrounded by businesses that have closed shop, companies that simply do not exist anymore, and large retailers that have boarded up and moved away. Business has a thin bottom line that liberal lawmakers have never understood. Every increase to the cost of doing business must be passed on to consumers who have less money to spend. Liberals apparently skipped their Economics 101 class to attend Advanced Hole Digging 301.

We lose market share on the shore if we are not building at least 30 new chicken houses a year. This administration has allowed us to go through an 18-month span where nothing was permitted to be built. The new requirements placed upon our farmers by this administration nearly demands an Engineering and Planning Degree just to fill out the forms. The same holds true for other business ventures, and, in a world where time is money, companies and entrepreneurs do not have the “time” to wait for Maryland.

That old adage and advice: “If you find yourself in a hole, the first rule is to stop digging”, is clearly not hanging in the office of the governor or the Maryland Senate. When these guys hit brick walls  with neon signs telling them, “NOT THIS WAY...GO BACK!”, they assume the rules of logic and economics simply did not apply to them...and they keep on digging. Four years ago we lost conservative seats in the Senate, and O’Malley never looked back. His bold agenda included:

• A new definition for marriage,
• The “Bathroom Bill” for transgender rights,
• The Gun Bill,
• Eliminating the Death Penalty,
• The Septic Bill,
• Watershed Improvement Plans,
• Nutrient Management,
• Taxpayer subsidized wind turbines,
• Income Tax increases,
• Sales Tax increases,
• Taxpayer subsidized  college tuition for Illegal Aliens,
• Common Core curriculum changes,
• 80 additional Tax and Fee Increases,

...and the dirt keeps flying out of the hole, and yet there’s more!

The Obama-O’Malley-Mathias Care implementation has given our taxpayers one of the biggest dirt clods of all! First they expand those who can get on the Medicaid rolls without a funding source which cost us untold millions. Then they create a State-run Health Care Exchange (bill sponsored by Jim Mathias) run by LT Governor Brown that soaks up hundreds of millions of your dollars and produces a sour lemon that had to be abandoned after multiple attempts to “correct the problem”. Then, the same senators that gave us this nightmare voted for us to pay another couple hundred million to acquire yet another system from another state...which is now having problems of its own! And for those who could not get through to sign up but simply say, “I tried but the phone was busy…”, Maryland Taxpayers will pay the full amount of any medical bills they incurred through April of this year. They could not even give us an estimate on the cost for this bill, they simply voted to give the governor a blank check!

Keep digging fellas...you’ll get there yet!

I believe Maryland is a state that can prosper. If we follow sound economic principles, believe in our people, and change our policies, in the near future we could be debating what to do with our surplus revenues. Here are some action items myself and other conservatives have proposed during the past two years:

• Cut Income Taxes. This is where small businesses pay the bulk of their taxes. This alone would spur our economy and put more discretionary dollars back in our families pocket books. Slash the rates or eliminate them over time and watch us grow!
• Cut Corporate Tax Rates by 50% and get ready for those Fortune 500 companies to see Maryland as their headquarters once again.
• Streamline bureaucracy and follow the recommendations in multiple studies done in the past 10-years that would promote Maryland as sporting a “Business Friendly Climate”.
• Lift the regulatory burden. Have an attitude as a state that our job is to “permit” not “deny”. State employees exist to help and assist our business community prosper, not to act as punitive tax collectors.
• Allow the first $50,000.00 in Retirement Income to be tax free and make us a state where people want to retire rather than flee in their latter years.
• Trust your people and do not trample their 2nd Amendment Rights. The right to protect and defend our families should be considered a “good and substantial reason” to wear and carry a firearm if one chooses to do so.
• Stop demanding more money for the Bay or more regulations on our farmers and families until the issues surrounding the Conowingo Dam are addressed and resolved.
• Base all decisions and regulations governing our farmers and watermen on sound science and not “best guess” political solutions.

Had these 8-steps been implemented as proposed by myself and others, our State revenues would have increased significantly, entrepreneurism would be flourishing, corporations would be expanding and migrating into our state, retirees would remain and continue to contribute to our economy while others looked to Maryland as a place to retire, crime would have continued to decrease and our streets would be safer, we would be well on our way to solving the real problem facing the Bay, and our watermen and farming families would be prosperous once again.

Opportunity is knocking loud in November. Be sure you answer the door!

Marylander, take back your state!

TIME MACHINE ... 1914, 1965, 1909, 1939, 1870, 1902

"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; is 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)

July, 1914

The Washington Post

FARMERS WILL GET MILLIONS

Stream of Gold Flowing Into Eastern Shore of Virginia.

Salisbury (Md.) Dispatch to Philadelphia North American.

A steady stream of gold is flowing into the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

Starting out with the first crops of the season, such as spinach, kale, and other greens, every crop that has been planted has yielded largely and prices have been the best for years.  One farmer had 8 acres of onions and cleared about $8,000. The white potato crop is the best known for years and the price has been high, starting at $6 a barrel. The present crop averages $3 a barrel.  The New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad has been taxed to its utmost to haul these potatoes, and as many as four trains an hour, averaging 50 cars to the train, pass through this city daily, bound north. Last Sunday over 600 carloads passed through. Many thousand barrels have been shipped by water also.   

Banking institutions in that section are simply bulging over with money from farmers and truckers (crops to be shipped).  In one institution in Accomac county over $500,000 was deposited in two days. It is estimated by produce men that farmers and truckers from Salisbury to Cape Charles will receive over $7,000,000 for their crops this year.

June, 1965

The Daily Mail (Hagerstown, Md.)

(Excerpts)

Pocomolke City Woman Wins State Golf Championship

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP)-  Mrs. Robert Mason of Pocomoke City has won the Maryland Woman's Golf Championship.

Mrs. Mason, the former Jane Schiller of Salisbury, won the title Saturday by defeating Mrs. Richard Canney, of Chantilly, Va.,  2 and 1 in the 18-hole final at the Argyle Country Club.

Mrs. Mason, who has been the Delmarva Peninsula women's champion for 10 years, was five over par for the 17 holes of the match, while Mrs. Canney was nine over par....

This was the third time the 26-year-old Mrs. Mason reached the finals but was her first victory.

July, 1909

The Washington Post

TEACHERS SUE FOR MORE PAY

School Board Claims To Be Without Funds for Enacted Increase.

Special to The Washington Post.

Snow Hill, Md., July 21.-  The teachers of Worcester County have retained council, who will sue for additional salary due them under certain conditions. There are about 60 teachers who are entitled to an increase for 1908 and 1909 under the act of the legislature of 1908, providing that white teachers with first-class certificates having taught for a period of three years in any of the public shools of Maryland should receive not less than $350 a year, and after a period of five years not less than $400.

The school board, while expressing a willingness to pay the amount, claims that a sum sufficient to meet the requirements has not been appropriated. In the levy for 1909 the county commissioners have appropriated $22,000, and this, the board declares, is not sufficient to meet the obligation.

November, 1939 (Time Machine archive)

(The Salisbury Times)

NEW SPEED SIGNS ERECTED IN STATE

Baltimore, Nov. 15-(AP)-  One third of the 6,000 signs that will apprise Maryland motorists of  the new speed limits that went into effect last June have been erected on the highways, Robert M. Reindollar, assistant chief engineer of the State Roads Commission said today.

Reindollar said all the black and white signs would be posted by the end of the month.  The markers are placed at one-mile intervals on the Washington boulevard and the Philadelphia Road and will be augmented by warning signs.

The new law raised the speed limit on dual highways from 45 to 55 miles an hour and set it at 50 M.P.H. for ordinary roads.

March, 1870

Urbana Union (Urbana, Ohio)

ELIKZABETH CORDERY, of Tyaskin District, Somerset County, Maryland, was born a mute, and was never known to utter a syllable, until Saturday of last week, on which day she was fifty years old. She had been confined lo a bed of sickness for some time, when, on the day mentioned, to the great surprise of her family and friends, she began talking fluently, and from then to the hour of her death, which occured on the following day, she prayed almost unceasingly, in an audible voice, and understandingly.  The lady had two sisters and a brother also mutes.

August, 1902

The Times (Washington, D.C.)

(Continuation of Tangier Island article from last week)

And so with the little canal running to the back yard of each house, and with each householder provided with one or more boats, the use of horses as beasts of burden or for purposes of pleasure seems to be fully supplied by the boats. But to the stranger the spectacle of a boat passing through what, at a distance, seems to be a fiat meadow is one which Is full of novelty and a constant source of amusement. 

The landing stage at which the steamers land passengers and freight for Tangier is fully a mile from the nearest point of the island, and here you will find, upon the arrival of the steamer, a motley collection of boats waiting, some of them for passengers, others are waiting for freight- for there are five stores on the Island; and others come from motives of curiosity, for there is no railroad station to interest the idle, and an old fashioned stage coach would probably cause as much excitement as a circus parade, with its gayley-decorated wagons, causes in rural communities.

But this is without doubt the haven of perpetual rest. Jealousy has never been awakened by the advent of a caved in pulled down Panama hat, the quiet has never been disturbed by rag time music, the hand organ with its accompanying monkey is but a tradition on this peaceful island; soda water except the bottled kind, is unknown, ice cream is served on Saturday nights, the real gala night of the island, and the children lull their dolls to sleep with the music of gospel hymns.

And yet I would not have anyone think that the people are not musical and that the children have no joys. To the contrary, nearly every home possesses an organ, and the children are the gladdest, happiest children I have ever seen, and while it is true they do not have the same kind of toys used by the children of the mainland, every boy has his crabbing net and his flat bottomed boat to pole about the shallow waters of the sound, and the triumphal return of a small boy along the main street with an edible crab in his net, closely followed by a crowd of admiring urchins of smaller growth is a common sight at Tangier.

(More of 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

Stop Digging! by Delegate Mike McDermott

 Stop Digging!

by Delegate Mike McDermott

As Americans, we understand that people can make mistakes. As we grow up, we learn from our mistakes so that we do not stumble a second time. Wise people do not often make the same mistake twice.

There is an old proverb which states, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Governor O’Malley and Senator Mathias are not exceptions to this rule.

Eight years ago when these two men took office together, Maryland enjoyed a billion dollar surplus at the end of Republican Bob Ehrlich’s first term as governor. Our state played host to 11 Fortune 500 companies. We were #25 on the list of “Business Friendly States”, poultry operations were expanding, and the future of agriculture in Maryland looked bright. Our people were happy to live here and most had no thoughts of moving away.

Eight years with O’Malley and Mathias have shown the devastating effects of their big government economic policies and made it clear that they do not learn from their past or their mistakes. Their shared philosophy promoting government as the answer to any problem has turned our surplus into deficits. While every state experienced the recession, Maryland has struggled to regain its footing, and some of our counties are simply not recovering. It is a failure of policy, not our people.

Of those 11 Fortune 500 companies...only 1 remains in Maryland and that is McCormick Inc. Based on recent news accounts, even the folks who gave us “Old Bay” seasoning are soon to relocate to Pennsylvania. These companies have not gone out of business, they just cannot afford to operate in a state run by folks who do not know how to be “business friendly”.

Being known as a “Business Friendly” state should be our goal. O’Malley, and his apologists like Mathias, have moved us from #25 all the way down to #42. We are surrounded by businesses that have closed shop, companies that simply do not exist anymore, and large retailers that have boarded up and moved away. Business has a thin bottom line that liberal lawmakers have never understood. Every increase to the cost of doing business must be passed on to consumers who have less money to spend. Liberals apparently skipped their Economics 101 class to attend Advanced Hole Digging 301.

 

TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview

1914.. A hundred years ago this summer- the Eastern Shore of Virginia's "Stream of Gold"; 1965.. Pocomolke City Woman Wins State Golf Championship; 1909.. Worcester County teachers threaten suit in pay dispute; 1939.. Signs for new Maryland speed limits being erected; 1870.. A strange tale about disabled Somerset County woman's remarkable 50th birthday; and more from an article of 112 years ago about Tangier Island and its residents.

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!

The Wright Place Now Banquet/Conference Center Ribbon Cutting Saturday, August 2nd, 12 p.m.

Contact:

Jennifer Rafter

Pocomoke Chamber of Commerce

410-957-1919

For Immediate Release

The Wright Place Now Banquet/Conference Center Ribbon Cutting Saturday, August 2^nd, 12 p.m.

Saturday, August 2^nd at noon, The Wright Place Now Banquet/Conference Center proudly welcomes you to attend a Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening at 2317 Stockton Road in Pocomoke City.

Join the Pocomoke Area Chamber of Commerce and City of Pocomoke officials in welcoming this new rental facility.  In addition to rental banquet and conference spaces, the Wright Place Now features fashion shopping.  Daily education classes are also offered.  Please call (757) 709-5078 for more information.  We look forward to seeing you at the Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening at 12 p.m. this Saturday, August 2^nd.  Light refreshments will be served.

The Pocomoke Public Eye welcomes our newest reporter

The Pocomoke Public Eye would like to welcome Donna Clarke as one of our new reporters!  Donna, we thank you for stepping up to the plate, and your willingness to help us out! - Travis

Here is the first of hopefully many articles she has written for The Pocomoke Public Eye.

International Quilting Promotion Draws visitors to Delmarva!

Jeanne Hill, from Wall Township NJ shopping for her Row to Row in the Pincushion, Pocomoke City

Patti Woodhurst on the left with customer,   Myrna Sunderland shopping from Joppa MD.  Behind them is the Row by Row display at Quilts by the Sea

Days are busy at 4 Delmarva Quilt shops this summer!  The “International Row by Row Experience” is drawing shoppers from places like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in fact, from all over the eastern states!  What is this “International” promotion called “Row by Row Experience”?    Founded by Janet Lutz of Syracuse NY, it involves over 1250 Independent quilt shops from 35 areas of the US and Ontario.  Quilt Shop owners have joined creative minds to “Sew a Season”, the theme of the 2 month summer shop hop.  Each participating store owner chose a season and designed a unique quilt pattern.    Starting on July 1, the patterns were posted on-line.  An interactive map allows shoppers to choose a route and drive to as many quilt shops as they like, collecting the free patterns.  Most shops have also chosen to have a very collectible 6” fabric “license Plate” produced.   These all have clever and catchy phrases on a background of the state’s license tag. 

As I visited the shops, I saw lots of enthusiastic quilters and shop owners.  The cute fabric license plates are selling out and being reordered at every store.  When I was in Dagsboro, DE at Serendipity Quilt Shop, there was a customer from Michigan.  In Trappe, at Quilt Vine, I saw other Maryland quilters shopping.   The Pincushion in Pocomoke City has had quilter-shoppers from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ontario and Australia!   The shopper from “down under”, a microbiologist on assignment in Annapolis MD, is also a quilter.  Her husband programmed his iPad for all the shops they planned to visit!    The Australian quilter stopped in Chincoteague at Quilts by the Sea, as well! 

As they drive through our Delmarva back roads and small towns, these out-of-town shoppers are finding local restaurants, visiting other merchants and having fun on the peninsula, many for the first time!

What are they doing with the patterns?   Part of the promotion involves a contest.  A quilter may collect 8 or more patterns and make a quilt.  Prizes are awarded for the first quilts done and turned in to a local shop.  A photo of the quilt’s maker and the quilt are posted on the Row by Row Experience Facebook pages.  Posting the pictures generates more excitement and more quilt enthusiasts are getting involved. Many are planning road trips to collect patterns and license plates.  Ellen B. a resident of Michigan is exploring new parts of her state, checking out book stores and local ice cream parlors, while on a quest to collect patterns.    Jane, also from Michigan, plans a road trip each weekend also, shopping and having lunch out.

Stopping for a pattern  and license plate at Candy Stiffler’s “Quilt Vine” in Trappe yields a Delmarva summer beach scene  and a license tag that reads, “Sew Pieceful” .   Driving east to Dagsboro, you can visit “Serendipity” to get their pattern, “Our Summer Friends are Stars”, designed by Barbara Hudson of Snow Hill.   Sharon Beyma, owner of Pocomoke’s “Pincushion”, designed her own row with fall leaves.  Finally, Patty Woodhurst of “Quilts by the Sea” created a pattern sporting a lighthouse, crabs and sand dunes!

And that’s why the quilt shop owners on Delmarva are meeting people like Jeanne Hill of Wall Township, NJ, who stopped in Sharon Beyma’s “Pincushion” on Market St., in Pocomoke on her way down the coast collecting kits, patterns and license plates.   Today while I was talking with Patty Woodhurst, owner of “Quilts By The Sea”, Myrna Sunderland of Joppa, Maryland dropped by to get a pattern. 

Independent quilt shops are making an impact on local economies this summer by attracting new customers.  In turn , the new customers are shopping, eating and stitching up a piece of Delmarva.   

The Great Pocomoke Fair Opens 5 p.m. Thursday!

See www.thegreatpocomokefair.org for more information

Backpack Giveaway at the Cellular Connection

TIME MACHINE EXTRA

Television's Pioneer Days On The Eastern Shore

Prior to local television arriving on the Eastern Shore, TV viewing was quite a novelty for those who owned a television set or who had friends or relatives whom they could visit to watch TV.

It didn't matter so much what the program was but whether reception was available. Those were the days prior to cable or satellite service and a VHF antenna on your rooftop was your TV's connection..maybe.. to a signal from Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, Norfolk, or sometimes Richmond.

Occasionally there would be a clear picture coming in on one or more of the available channels.  In these rather rare instances a telephone call might go out to those without a TV to come over and watch.  There was no certainty, however, that the picture would still be there when the visitors arrived.  

Sometimes reception was simply not viewable at all; at other times there was a viewable, although "snowy" picture but you couldn't count on it to last. Reception might fade during the last five or ten minutes of a program, leaving the viewer without a clue as to the program's ending.

Depending on the location of the originating signal the rooftop antenna would have to be adjusted to point toward the geographical location of the signal. I recall that my dad would go outside our home in Pocomoke and turn a hand crank, similar to an awning crank, to turn the direction of the antenna while he was watching from outside through the living room window to monitor the reception.  We would assist by communicating to him from inside.

We eventually graduated to a motorized antenna.  That was truly a luxury.  You simply turned a knob on a little box that sat on top of your TV to the direction you desired your antenna to point. 

Television was gaining popularity around the country, and on the lower eastern shore hopes for the availablity of a clear, dependable picture were raised with word in 1953 that Salisbury's WBOC (radio) was making plans to put a UHF television station on the air, and that came to fruition on July 15, 1954.  

Standard TV sets were equipped to receive the VHF channels 2 through 13.  The new UHF (Ultra High Frequency) technology was broadcast on channels 14 through 83.  The Salisbury station was operating on channel 16. So if you wanted to tune in you needed a UHF converter box as well as an antenna that could receive a UHF signal.  New TV's began to include the UHF channels in their sets.

For the eastern shore's new television station it was a learn-as-you-go experience as the new operation got underway.  Radio announcers found themselves in front of TV cameras.  Technical and other staff found themselves dealing for the first time with this new venture.. television.

Those who were around to view WBOC-TV in the 1950's and 60's might recall...

**The trio of Ralph Pennewell with weather, John B. Greenberger with news, and Ron Weber with sports ("Good evening sport.. you, too, mam") holding rein for many years. Weather, sponsored by Atlantic gasoline, lead off at 11P.M. with their musical jingle, "For business, for pleasure, in any kind of weather, Atlantic Keeps Your Car On The Go."  Ralph wore an Atlantic service station uniform for the weather presentation, drawing the weather fronts on a paper outline map of the U.S.

**During the early years Claire Beach, Nancy Allen, Carol Lee Anderson, Nancy Pigman (Weather Fashions, sponsored by Benjamin's ladies apparel store), and Ann Gladding were among those who presented the weather during the 7PM evening news.  In later years Kelly Rouse was a weather host for her sponsor- Wharton & Barnard auto supplies. Kelly went on to a long career in local television news.

**Club 16," a live production from the studio each weekday evening was hosted by staff announcer John Rahe.  

**Poultry auctioneer Carol Long, leading off his program with an auction chant, had a daily evening report on the day's activity at the Selbyville poultry auction exchange.

**George Hack initiated and hosted a weekly Saturday afternoon teen dance program live from the studio.
  
**At Christmas time the Jolly Jack show, sponsored by the White & Leonard store's "Jolly Jack's Toyland," was popular with the youngsters.

**For many years The "Miss 16" contest selected a 16-year-old young lady to represent the station for a year, along with winning a host of prizes.

** Phil Adams, Tom Maguire, and Jack Downing were familiar local TV faces to viewers.

The station's art director, Ed Parsons, hand-painted material used for commercial ads; it was long before the age of computer graphics. He designed the in-studio sets for local programs. At election time he'd prepare the visual materials needed for the presentation of election results.

The Polaroid camera was a staple of the news department for covering spot news events.  Some news events were filmed on 16mm black and white film and developed in the station's dark room. The newsroom staff of one fulltime member grew to three fulltimers by the mid-1960's (today's news staff numbers in the dozens).

Some commercials were broadcast live from the studio.  A classic recollection passed along from veteran employees recalled the demonstration of features of a new refrigerator.  Everything went well at rehearsal.  But when the announcer opened the refrigerator door during the live on-air broadcast, inside the refrigerator for all to see..... was a boot!  

And so goes just a glimpse of the early days of TV on the Eastern Shore. 

-tk

THE GREAT POCOMOKE FAIR

The live harness racing program for Saturday August 2nd 2014 is here!

MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT
Playing Thursday Night - July 31st
Blue Crab Crossing

 MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT
Playing Friday Night - August 1st
Audio Graffiti

The full daily schedule for the 2014 Great Pocomoke Fair is now online! Click here. 

 

Television's Pioneer Days On The Eastern Shore

Read about it this Tuesday on The Pocomoke Public Eye.. TV on the Eastern Shore from the years before the arrival of local television to the early era of local TV.  

TIME MACHINE ... 1975, 1901, 1970, 1895, 1940, 1902

(Reader-friendly viewing of news archive/historical archive material)

August, 1975
The Daily Mail (Hagerstown, Md.)

High school student newspaper abolished in article controversy

SNOW HILL, Md. (AP)-  The administration at Snow Hill High School has abolished the student newspaper which was the center of a controversy last spring over the right to publish student articles on sex education.

The paper's editor, Judy Porter, said she went to the principal last week to get a list of students enrolled in the journalism class which produced the paper.

Kelly H. Shumate, the principal, however, reportedly told her the newspaper class and two other journalism classes had been dropped from the fall schedule.

Shumate said that most of the students who worked on the paper, the Eagle, were assigned to the yearbook.

The Eagle's adviser last spring, Rebecca Dawson, a French teacher, was removed from the post which she held for five years after community officials complained about (articles and) an editorial in the paper calling for sex education to help stop teenage pregnancies.

Shumate said Tuesday that the faculty member appointed to replace Miss Dawson as the paper's adviser resigned and that he could not find another teacher to take over the post.

Miss Porter said she and a co-editor invited another faculty member to volunteer as the adviser, but Shumate said it was too late to put the journalism courses back into the schedule.  

He said the paper would be resumed next semester on a regular basis, although he said interested students could work on the paper during a 30-minute activity period as well as after school.

Shumate denied that the termination of the paper and the cancellation of the journalism classes stemmed from last spring's controversy.

Last April, the U.S. Appeals Court in Richmond, Va., ruled that the administration of Woodlawn Senior High School in Baltimore violated the constitutional right of students to freedom of expression when it suppressed a student newspaper article describing cheerleaders as "sex objects." 

July, 1901
The Washington Times (Washington, D.C.)

(Excerpts)

CRISFIELD, Md., July 22.-  Soft crabs have been scarce this summer and have been bringing in the Crisfield market $1 a dozen for the past ten days.  This scarcity of crabs does not seem to be of much disadvantage to the crabbers, because they are getting 4 cents a piece for them this season, where they got only 1 cent last season. Some of the best crabbers are making from $20 to $25 a week, and even boys are receiving exceptional wages.  The demand for crabs is steadily increasing, and to supply this demand the packers of crab meat continue operations winter and summer. 

About 2,000 boats are now engaged in crabbing in the waters of Somerset county. At least 6,000 persons in this section alone are employed in this industry.  Barrels of hard crabs, boxes of soft crabs, and cans of crab meat are shipped by the carload every day.

July, 1970
The Morning Herald (Hagerstown, Md.)

Worcester County Circuit Court Quashes "Berlin Airlift" Plans

SNOW HILL, Md. (AP)-  A Worcester County Circuit Court judge issued a permanent injunction Tuesday against the staging of the "Berlin Airlift" rock festival near Ocean City this Saturday.

The decision by judge Daniel T. Prettyman will be appealed to the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, according to Lance W. Billingsley, a lawyer for the festival promoters.

Prettyman's action made permanent a temporary order he issued last week.

Prettyman said the festival posed potential health and traffic problems and that the promoters failed to obtain permission from Worcester County zoning officials.

Promoters had planned to stage a one day, 12-hour rock festival at a 150- acre Berlin, Md., farm located along U.S. Route 50, about six miles west of Ocean City. 

Backers of the Berlin Airlift predicted some 30,000 to 50,000 persons would have attended the affair, for which 15 music groups had been booked.

February, 1895
The Washington Bee (Washington, D.C.)

WEDDED IN SPITE OF THEM

A Runaway Marriage to Which the Parents Offered Fruitless Opposition.

Pocomoke City, Md., Jan. 2-  The Parker Hotel was the scene of a romantic marriage yesterday. The contracting parties were Douglas L. Sommers and Miss Florence Lewis ofr Bloxom, Va. They came here to escape the wrathful ire of their objecting parents. The Rev. E. F. Tuttle was sent for, and performed the ceremony in the parlor of the Parkel Hotel. Mrs. Lewis, mother of the bride, arrived early yesterday morning in pursuit of her daughter, who she says is underaged. She caused a great deal of excitement over the girl's marriage, but Mr. and Mrs. Sommers left on a train for their home in the afternoon.

Footnote: As noted in previous articles, for many decades couples would come to the Virginia-Maryland state line near Pocomoke City to be married, where Maryland's age requirements for marriage were less restrictive then Virginia's.  At one time there were said to be three "marriage trees" at the site under which the marriage ceremonies were performed.

June, 1940 (Time Machine archive)
(The Salisbury Times)

SUNDAY SWIMMING FACES COURT TEST IN BALTIMORE

Baltimore, June 19-(AP)-  Another "Blue Law"- this time a question of swimming on Sunday mornings- was scheduled for airing in police court today.

It was described by Police Commissioner, Robert F. Stanton, as a "test case" which he hoped the courts will settle.

Police issued summonses both to bathers and managers and personnel of two semi-private swimming pools yesterday when bathers were permitted to plunge in before 2P.M.

The law forbids charging admission for profit, before that hour on Sunday.

A platoon of police "raided" the two pools shortly before noon.

Plainclothesmen who had preceeded them said they had been able to rent bathing suits.

(First installment from a feature page article on Tangier Island) 
TIME MACHINE ... August, 1902
The Times (Washington, D.C.)

DOWN on the Chesapeake Bay in that portion called Tangier is situated the quaint island of Tangier, an Island that is without a counterpart in this country. It is Holland without its dykes and windmills; it is Venice without its picturesque architecture; It Is the most unique summer resort in all America.

Tangier Island is situated 125 miles south of Baltimore with which city It has steamer connections twice a week. The island is about five miles long and three quarters of a mile in width, and contains a population of about 1,400, and derives its revenues from the fish, crabs, and oysters which abound in the waters of the bay and sound.

The peculiar features of this island are many and of varied interest, for to the visitor, everything seems strange and novel. There are no wagons for the reason that there are no horses to draw them, and no roads over which the wagons could be driven. The streets seem to resemble country lanes with the exception of the one street of the island known as King Street, which is only nine feet wide, and which follows the highest land of the island from the landing wharf at the south end to the bridge which connects the main part of the island to that portion of the island farther north known as Canaan.

But the absence of streets is not a detriment to this island community, for each building lot has its own private canal, by which the occupants float their flat bottomed boats out into the sound and bring from the larger boats out in the harbor their supplies of wood or other necessaries needed for the demands of housekeeping- for the island is without wood, and gardening is carried on to a very limited extent, for the islanders are fishermen, oystermen, and crabbers and agriculture is not depended on to any great extent, although the soil seems well adapted for gardening and corn raising; but the difficulties of tilling the ground seem to keep many from gardening and there seems to be plenty of ground which might be used for the raising of corn and potatoes if there were a disposition to forsake the water for the land.

(More from this article next Sunday)


TIME MACHINE EXTRA ... Television's Pioneer Days On The Eastern Shore.

It's this Tuesday 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!


"Somewhere over
the rainbow
Bluebirds fly..."

Flying on for JMMB

WHAT YEAR IS THIS OLD NEWTOWN BUSINESS REFERENCES?

?This is a photo that I took with my phone so of course it lacks a tremendous amount of clarity and detail that you would be able to see on the original and you can also see it has a crack in the glass that it's framed in. 

This belonged to my father that passed away nigh on 40 years now. It  was in the frame when I was a boy and has remained there since. It was packed away and my Wife recently came across it while organizing some storage. 

It is very detailed with names of streets and many properties ie: Hall & Bro Ship Yard, Marine Railway, Wn. J. S. Clarke S. S. Mill Marine Railway etc. Many of the properties are identified by the owner/occupant/business name. 

Each plot of land is laid out with property lines (most with names) and the plots are much larger than what we have to date, the subdividing had not begun yet. The whole block squared by Clarke, Cedar, Second and Laurel was only 2 plots of land then. 

In the upper left corner the inscription notes 

"NEWTOWN BUSINESS REFERENCES" 

"J. H. WHITE, Constable." 

"Dr. S. S. QUINN, Physician" 

"W. T. TULL, Dealer in foreign and Domestic Dry 

Goods, Groceries, Crockery, Hardware, Hats, Caps, 

Boots, Shoes, Drugs, Medicines, &c. Cheap for 

cash.

TWILLEY & BRO. (W. R. Twilley & S. J. Twilley)

Proprietors Livery, Sale and Exchange Stables.

Passengers conveyed to any part of the

Peninsula. Stables connected with the Clark House.

JAMES L. NOCK, Magistrate.    

TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview.

1975.. New school year brings new controversy regarding Snow Hill High School newspaper; 1901.. Soft crabs are scarce, price is as high as $1 a dozen in Crisfield; 1977.. Judge rules no to proposed Ocean City rock festival; 1895.. For another young Virginia couple it's off to Pocomoke City to seek marriage; 1940.. Maryland's "Blue Law" that prohibits Sunday morning swimming is challenged; and the first of several installments of an article from 112 years ago about Tangier Island and its residents.

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!

Don't Forget The Farmers & Flea Market Every Friday & Saturday at 7am Till

Free Concert In The Park Thursday August 7th

Pocomoke City invites you to our free Concert In Cypress Park on Thursday August 7th @ 6:30pm featuring the Eastern Shores best Jazz band: The Larks.[CLICK HERE]

Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy this free Concert with a beautiful view of the scenic Pocomoke River. Bleacher seating is also available. Refreshments will be available for purchase.

In the event of rain the concert will be held inside the MAR-VA Theater. 

For more information please visit downtownpocomoke.com or call 410-957-1333.

Don't Miss The 4th Friday Art Stroll TODAY!

2 Dead After Possible Tornado Touches Down on Va. Campground

WBOC-TV 16, Delmarvas News Leader, FOX 21 - 

 CAPE CHARLES, Va. (AP/WBOC)- A fierce storm packing powerul winds, softball-sized hail and rain toppled dozens of trees and flipped recreational vehicles at a campground Thursday, killing two people and injuring more than two dozen, officials said.
   
Those hurt were taken to hospitals with most of the injuries ranging from cuts to broken bones. At least one person was in critical condition.
   
The storm slammed into the Cherrystone Family Camping & RV Resort shortly before 9 p.m. EDT on Wednesday. The sprawling campground on the Chesapeake Bay has pools, mini-golf, cabins and several piers for fishing. About 1,300 people were there when the storm hit, according to the state Emergency Management Department.
   
"All hell broke loose," said Joe Colony, who has been coming to the campground for 30 years. "We got an emergency message on a cellphone and within 30 seconds, the thing hit and it blew down 40, 50 trees in the park."
   
Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller confirmed the deaths.
   
"It was a disaster. I don't ever want to do that again," said Colony, of Stevensville, Md.
   
The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning for the area that expired at 9 a.m. Thursday. A team was headed to the site to determine if a twister hit.
   
"It came in real quick," Eastville volunteer firefighter Brittney Eder told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "The sky turned jet black."
   
Eder said she left the campground before the full force of the storm hit.
   
Joe Micucci said he and his wife couldn't escape in their car because of hail the size of softballs, so they rode out the storm in their camper. He said he felt fortunate they weren't hurt.
   
"We saw at least five (campers) that were flipped over. One was completely gone and only had its wheels left," said Micucci, of Washington Township, New Jersey.
   
Micucci and others were evacuated from the campground to a nearby high school. He said he wasn't sure when he would be able to go back and survey the damage.
   
The 50-year-old campground is located on 300 acres in rural Northampton County, according to its website.
   
Peter Glagola, spokesman for Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital, said the hospital was treating more than two dozen patients as of Thursday afternoon, most of which were in fair condition with injuries ranging from cuts to broken bones.
   
Glagola said more patients were expected to be brought to the hospital, which is about 30 minutes north of the campground. One patient in critical condition was flown to VCU Medical Center in Richmond, he said.
   
Hospitals in Virginia Beach and Norfolk had been preparing for mass casualties but had received just three patients, one of which was taken to a nearby children's hospital, said Sentara Healthcare spokesman Dale Gauding
   
Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer 3rd Class David Weydert said crews also were responding to reports of boats overturned in the water in the area. Good Samaritans pulled at least three people from the water, he said, though their conditions were unknown.
dent.

SOURCE [WBOC.COM]

4ht Friday Art Stroll

Show your support for Pocomoke by being on camera July 25th!

The Maryland Office of Tourism Development will be filming Fourth Friday Downtown on July 25th from 5 pm to 8 pm. Let's give them a good crowd!

Hogan agrees to eighth candidates’ forum as Brown continues to duck debates

ANNAPOLIS – July 23, 2014 – Larry Hogan’s campaign announced that the gubernatorial candidate today has agreed to a fifth televised debate, this one to be co-hosted by NewsChannel 8, WTOP and POLITICO.  This is the eighth overall gubernatorial forum the Anne Arundel businessman has accepted and agreed to participate in.  As of today, Lt. Governor Brown had yet to confirm participation in any televised debates. 

Today’s announcement follows news that Anthony Brown would only agree to participate in the Maryland Association of Counties’ (MACO) candidates forum, with the condition that he not appear on the stage at the same time as Hogan, the GOP nominee.  The Hogan campaign reiterated that it had placed no restrictions on the format of the MACO or other forums and expressed its strong preference to have a moderated back-and-forth exchange between the candidates for governor. 

Larry Hogan said, "As Anthony Brown has ducked questions about his mismanagement of the Health Exchange or any other questions regarding his record, he is apparently continuing to hide in his communication bunker and is trying to duck any serious debates. The voters of Maryland deserve better.  After two terms of O’Malley-Brown, the voters need to hear directly from Brown on why he deserves another four years.  Brown wants a promotion, but he refuses to show up to the interview," Hogan said.  Hogan has accepted invitations from major news stations in both the Baltimore and DC media markets and on the Eastern Shore.  Including today accepting the NewsChannel 8/WTOP/POLITICO debate, Hogan has accepted invitations for candidate debates or forums from:

·         June 26 - Invite received for Maryland Municipal League (MML) Gubernatorial Candidates Forum

·         July 1 – Accepted invitation to MML candidates’ forum and issued statement calling for several TV debates around the state.

·         July 3 – Invite received and accepted for WBFF TV Gubernatorial Debate.

·         July 6 – Invite received and accepted for Maryland Association of Counties candidates’ forum.

·         July 8 – Invite received and accepted for WJZ-TV/Baltimore Sun gubernatorial debate

·         July 8 - Invite received and accepted for WBAL-TV/WBOC/WHAG/MPT – gubernatorial debate

·         Week of July 14 - Agreed to attend a debate to be hosted by WMDT-TV

·         July 14 - Accepted invitation to Maryland Fraternal Order of Police candidates’ forum

·         July 23 - Received and accepted invitation to NewsChannel8-WTOP-POLITICO Debate

#   #   #

 

For more information and interviews contact Adam Dubitsky (240)625-2683 adubitsky@hoganforgovernor.com or

Web: www.hoganforgovernor.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/Hogan4Governor

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChangeMaryland

"Drop Dead Juliet" at the MarVa Theater

Join the MarVa Theater and the Advanced Theater Academy students tomorrow at 5:00pm for the comical show "Drop Dead Juliet". Cost is $5 for adults - $3 for children. Certainly a show you won't want to miss. Come out and support the talent of our local students!

TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview

1975.. New school year brings new controversy regarding Snow Hill High School newspaper; 1901.. Soft crabs are scarce, price is as high as $1 a dozen in Crisfield; 1977.. Judge rules no to proposed Ocean City rock festival; 1895.. For another young Virginia couple it's off to Pocomoke City to seek marriage; 1940.. Maryland's "Blue Law" that prohibits Sunday morning swimming is challenged; and the first of several installments of an article from 112 years ago about Tangier Island and its residents.

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!