TIME MACHINE.. 1845, 1946, 1931.

"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)


1845..  A writer's view of the lower Eastern Shore.

April, 1946 (Time Machine archive)

School news reported by students in the "PHS Speak's" column in Pocomoke's Worcester Democrat newspaper included items about a month long competition among home room classes for cleanest rooms...the annual Commercial Day program under the direction of Miss Mary Emily Matthews...an Easter Party being planned by Miss Pearl Bratten's 5th and 6th grade classes...a victory garden project under the direction of Mrs. Wilson...a fried chicken dinner for faculty and Chef Club members, directed by Miss Mable Jones...the organization of an Aviation Club to make model airplanes and collect information about important flights, under the direction of Mrs. Mae Taylor...and the organization of a Camera Club under the direction of Mrs. Cutright. 

1931.. Look what's new.

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .


When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

The Return Of WBOC Radio

Something old is new again.

When the company that owned WBOC television and radio sold the stations in 1980 WBOC radio..on the air for 40 years at that time.. was purchased by a separate owner.

 A new radio era is now underway for WBOC with the launching of its 102.5 FM station from the very studio that was once home to radio personalities such as Lanny Layton, Geoge Hack, Tom Maguire, and Ralph Pennewell . 

Complimenting the music and live local DJ's will be the resources of the WBOC-TV news and progamming departments. 




(WBOC photo.)

Meeting Scheduled

         CITIZENS FOR A BETTER POCOMOKE 

COME OUT AND JOIN US FOR THE FIRST COMMUNITY

 

MEETING OF THE 2016 NEW YEAR

THERE WILL BE A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT MADE BY

 PRESIDENT RONNIE WHITE

JANUARY 11, 2016, 7:00pm SHARP

   NEW MACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCH

SIXTH AND YOUNG STREETS

POCOMOKE CITY, MARYLAND

 

** Try to be prompt and bring a friend 

UPCOMING POCOMOKE EVENTS

Friday, January 8

7:00pm

 Movie at the MAR-VA Theater

Saturday, January 9

7:00pm

 Movie at the MAR-VA Theater

Friday, January 15

6:00pm

 Night at the Museum

Saturday, February 6

5:30pm

 Wine Making Workshop

Friday, February 12

6:30pm

 Valentine Cabaret

Limited seats available for the Valentine Cabaret. Call early for tickets 410-957-4230 or visit marvatheater.com .  For details on any of the avove events visit: http://www.cityofpocomoke.com/calendar.html

NEW YEAR'S DAY 100 YEARS AGO..

JANUARY 1, 1916

The Monroe News-Star, Monroe, La.

TIME MACHINE ... New Year's.

"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)


1884.. The railroad becoming a reality in Worcester County took a big step forward on New Year's day when ground was broken for the railroad bridge at Pocomoke City.

1905.. On New Year's day patients were to be transferred to the new $90,000 Peninsula General Hospital building.

1941.. Town Tavern in Pocomoke City had Slim Marshall's Orchestra for informal New Year's Eve dancing; 75-cents per person admission.

1964.. The Carousel Hotel in Ocean City had a Gala New Year's Eve party including party favors, buffet, bottle of champagne, breakfast, and an oceanfront room for $42.00 a couple.

1966.. Choppy Layton and Wayne Powell were masters of ceremonies at a New Year's Eve "Chop Hop" at the Pocomoke armory, with music by the Midnight Walkers.

1966.. The New Years Eve party at Twin Towers south of Pocomoke City featured dinner for two, cocktail, music by Greg Sterling, breakfast, and motel room for $25.00 a couple. 


January, 1903..

                                                             

The Topeka Daily Capital (Topeka, Kansas)

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .

When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview

Local notes on New Year's Eve/New Year's Day from years past, and Thomas Edison's predictions for the new year 1903.

It's this Sunday right here at The Pocomoke Public Eye!

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .


When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

TIME MACHINE ... Christmas.

"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)

December 24, 1897 (Time Machine archive)
Woodland Daily Democrat (Woodland, California) 

              

December 25, 1924 (Time Machine archive)

The Lubbock Morning Avalanche (Lubbock, Texas)

(Excerpts) 

Childhood's Christmas Memories

"Backward, turn backward, Oh Time in your flight, Make me a child again just for tonight."

How many of us tonight are wishing that old poem might come true just once more in our lives?  Of all the days in our childhood, none stand out so vividly in our memory as those mysterious Christmas times.  There is something about our Christmas memories that reach the heart of every one of us who were so fortunate as to grow up in a happy home.  We did not say a big, luxuriant home, but a HAPPY HOME.  A home where sympathy and LOVE, and a family understanding of one another's hearts fills the atmosphere of the whole home.  A home where each member of the family believes in and rejoices with every other member of the family in their ambitions and their hopes and their accomplishments.  That's the kind of home we mean when we say a happy home.  It may be a humble little cottage or it may be a mansion.  It is the spirit in the house and not the shell in which we live that makes happy homes. And it so happens that most of our happy homes are humble homes because we have so many more humble homes in America than any other kind.

What are your first memories of Christmas?  Can you bring them back through the long years and tell them over again to the children?  There is nothing children love to hear so well as Christmas stories of their own fathers and mothers. "What did Santa Claus bring you when you were a little boy Daddy?"  "And what did he bring to mother?"  "Did he travel then just as he does NOW?  And what kind of toys did little girls and little boys send for in those days?"  

It is the unusual, the impossible, and the mysterious belief that it will happen that puts the thrill of expectancy into the heart of the little child at Christmas time.  It is their faith in the spirit of Santa Claus that is so beautiful.

But if the memories of Christmas time in the old home far away are among our most treasured memories of childhood, what is our greatest privilege at Christmas time now?  Is it not storing up other Christmas memories in the lives of our children to be recalled a generation from now when we are no more and other little ones yet unborn are begging for Christmas stories of long ago?  This is one of our greatest opportunities and privileges for Christmas, 1924.  Creating Christmas stories and Christmas memories to be retold by the generations of fathers and mothers in 1950, 1975, and even up to 2000 after the first Christmas story was ever produced.

...fill the childish hearts and childish minds around you with those Christmas memories you would be proud and happy to have them carry through their lives and tell over and over at the Christmas tides of the future to the little heads nestled near their hearts.

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .

When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview.

Journeying back to the Christmas' of 1897 and 1924.

It's this Sunday right here at The Pocomoke Public Eye! 


Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .


When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

TIME MACHINE.. Old Christmas Catalogs

"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)

Thumb through the pages of Christmas catalogs from the 1930's through the 1980's! Here's your link:

http://www.wishbookweb.com/



1885.. Letter From Santa

(Peninsula Enterprise)

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .



When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview.

View pages from dozens of Christmas Catalogs from the 1930's through the 1980's! 

It's this Sunday right here at The Pocomoke Public Eye!

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .

When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

Pocomoke CC Award Nominations..

Please take a moment and consider nominating a person for one of the Pocomoke Area Chamber of Commerce’s three awards recognized yearly at our Annual Dinner. This year the event will be held on Saturday, January 23, 2016. The three award categories are Business Person of the Year, Community at Heart Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nominations are due at the Chamber office no later than Monday, January 4, 2016.

Download nomination forms at www.pocomoke.com .

Pocomoke Holiday Event!

TIME MACHINE ... 1895, 1896, 1904, 1917, 1950's/60's.

"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)

December, 1895..

December, 1896..

December, 1904..

                                                                                           

(Above ads published in The Peninsula Enterprise)

December, 1917 (Time Machine archive)

In a 1967 "Scratch Pad" column Salisbury Times Editor Dick Moore related a letter received from Mrs. George E. Bonaville of Accomac who recalled a stormy Christmas Eve trip by boat to visit relatives in Chincoteague in 1917. "We went three days and stayed three weeks."  The freight and mail boats at Franklin City were frozen in, and finally some people walked over the ice to the mainland.  The column also mentioned a note from Scott Brewington who remembered driving his Model T on the frozen Wicomico River, the date not recalled.



1950's & 1960's (Time Machine archive) 

During the Chrstmas season the Coffman-Fisher clothing store at the northwest corner of Second and Market Streets in Pocomoke City set up a large toy department on an upper level of their store.  Chidren of that era may still recall climbing the flight of stairs above the balcony level of the store to visit the once a year large display of toys.  In Salisbury, "Jolly Jack's" toy department at the R. E. Powell clothing store was a favorite visit for the kids.


Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .

When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview.

In Pocomoke City it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas.. in  1895, 1896, 1904, 1950's/60's; And, the weather outside was frightful for a 1917 Christmas Eve trip to Chincoteague.
.
It's this Sunday right here at The Pocomoke Public Eye! 


Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .


When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

Pocomoke Christmas Event..

                                           

TIME MACHINE ... 1914, 1954, 1956, 2004, 1890.

"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)

March, 1914 (Time Machine archive)
(The Evening Times- Cumberland, Md.)

PLAN TO BUILD CHURCH BY MAIL

Bricks Will Be Sent To Site By Parcel Post

MATERIAL TO BE DONATED

President Wilson And Members Of Congress Asked to Send One Brick Each- 

Name Of Donor On Each Brick.

Baltimore, March 23-  Congressman David J. Lewis, father of the American Parcel Post system, in his most roseate dreams never contemplated the coming of the time when so bulky a package as a brick church could be sent through the mails.

Yet a project is on foot to do this very thing.  The mails will be burdened with the church brick by brick, however, and the thousands of them required to erect the edifice will each be stamped and addressed to "Methodist Church, Wenona, Somerset County, Md."

The Representative from Western Maryland will be asked to be among the senders of the first bricks.  President Wilson also will be requested to mail a brick or two. 

The congregation of Wenona Church desires to rebuild the edifice, which was destroyed by fire March 1 during a terrific wind storm.  Wenona, by the way, is on Deals Island, Chesapeake Bay, where the oyster is the chief subject of conversation and the chief source of income.  It is 26 miles from Princess Anne, the county seat.

It took years of effort for the congregation to build the first church, which was a frame structure.  No insurance was paid after the fire, for the blaze started from an exploding gasoline lamp, and this absolved the insurance company from financial obligation.  The accident was felt throughout the whole community, for the nearest place of worship of another Methodist congregation is miles away.  The Wenona church had 800 men, women and children in its flock. 

For the last two or three weeks the communicants have been discussing ways and means, and finally some of them hit upon the unique plan of "building the new church by parcel post."  The idea "took" immediately, and Denwood W. White, treasurer of the congregation, indorsed the project and now it is a well-defined campaign.  

No effort will be made to have all the bricks of a uniform size, shape, weight, or color.  Any variety will do, from the white enameled kind that they use to build mantels to the heavy paving brick.

An interesting thing will be the memorial feature of the undertaking.  The sender of each brick is requested to write his or her name on the surface.  This side will be turned inward and the edifice, when completed, will be a mammoth roster of donors.

The contributors will doubtless be persons from all over the country, although Marylanders are expected to be the first to send bricks.  And among the "foreigners" looked upon as possible patrons are the various Representatives and Senators who supported the Lewis bill.

In the meantime Postmaster Vetra, of Wenona, is making arrangements to store the bricks upon their arrival until a sufficient number have accumulated to make possible the beginning of building operations.  The bricks will go to Princess Anne, and must be carried by rural route all the way to Wenona. 

Footnote: Anyone know what became of this project?  My search didn't turn up any further info.- tk


April, 1954 (Time Machine archive)

Daniel Shaw was elected Pocomoke City mayor.  He was former president of the city council and unopposed to succeed Mayor Crady Matthews.  Clayton Lambertson, a former Pocomoke mayor and councilman in the 1940's, was unopposed for one council seat that was on the ballot.


November, 1956..

(Above items from Salisbury Times television and radio listings.) 

December, 2004
The Somerset Herald (Princess Anne)

(Excerpt)

CRISFIELD - Consultants are within days of unveiling the latest findings of a Crisfield ferry feasibility study, a report that is expected to name potential
terminal sites and boat operators, members of a ferry review committee said.

Early December is the completion target for the release of second-phase findings of the study that could decide whether the committee moves forward with a proposal to establish a ferry link between Crisfield and Reedville, Va.


1890..

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .


When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

Under 21 Liquor Compliance In Somerset County..

ALCOHOL COMPLIANCE CHECKS CONDUCTED IN SOMERSET COUNTY

November 26, 2015

(Somerset County, MD) On Wednesday, November 25, 2015, Troopers from the Maryland State Police and Officers from the Princess Anne Police Department conducted a collaborative effort and performed numerous alcohol compliance checks at retail establishments in Somerset County.

Law enforcement officers throughout Somerset County ensured that various retail establishments which hold a Somerset County Liquor License are denying sales of alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of 21 years old.

A total of 19 retail establishments were checked.  The following retail establishments complied with the provisions of the law and denied the sale of alcoholic beverage to minors:

• Arby’s General Store, Wenona, Maryland
• Brew Thru, Crisfield, Maryland
• Big Willey’s, Crisfield, Maryland
• Caesar’s Pizza Palace, Princess Anne, Maryland
• Eden Quick Stop, Eden, Maryland
• Junior’s Stop and Shop, Princess Anne, Maryland
• Kash and Karry, Princess Anne, Maryland
• Lucky’s Last Chance, Chance, Maryland
• Oscar’s Bar and Grill, Princess Anne, Maryland
• Peaky’s Restaurant, Princess Anne, Maryland
• Goose Creek, Princess Anne, Maryland
• Somer’s Cove Market, Crisfield, Maryland
• Spike’s Pub and Subs, Crisfield, Maryland
• Dash Inn, Westover, Maryland
• Goose Creek, Westover, Maryland

The following retail establishments were not in compliance with the provisions of the law and sold alcoholic beverages to a minor:

• Somerset County Liquor Dispensary, Princess Anne, Maryland
• Crisfield Oceanic, Crisfield, Maryland
• Shore Stop, Crisfield, Maryland
• King’s Creek Market, Princess Anne, Maryland

In an effort to keep our teenagers safe during this upcoming holiday season, Troopers and Officers will continue with unannounced compliance checks to ensure that alcoholic beverages stay out of the hands of minors.  Historically, the holiday season sees an increase in alcohol related collisions; many of these collisions involve serious bodily injury.  This collaborative effort between law enforcement partners will continue throughout the holiday season.

Support for this program is provided by the Somerset County Local Management Board, Inc.

TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview.

1914.. Plan seeks donated bricks by mail to build Somerset County church; 1954.. Pocomoke City has a new mayor; 1956.. Local TV and radio program listings; 2004.. Crisfield ferry to western shore?;  1890.. (Ad) "Brain Salt" remedy.

It's this Sunday right here at The Pocomoke Public Eye!

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .

When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

TIME MACHINE ... Thanksgiving 1893, 1898, 1907, 1908, 1944.

 "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)


November, 1893..

(Onancock)

November, 1898..

November, 1907..

December, 1908..

(Above items from The Peninsula Enterprise)

November, 1944..

November, 1944..

(Above two items from The Salisbury Times)

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .


When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

New Radio Station On Air..

A new Eastern Shore radio station signed on the air Friday at 102.5 FM. The former WOLC frequency is now home to WBOC-FM marking WBOC's return to radio broadcasting and complementing its' television, web, and interactive services.

TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview

Thanksgiving.. 1893, 1898, 1907, 1908, 1944.

It's this Sunday right here at The Pocomoke Public Eye!

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .


When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

Pocomoke City Holiday Event!

Mayor Morrison will light the town’s Christmas tree while guests roast s’mores by the bonfire. Visit with Mr. & Mrs. Claus, make a Christmas ornament, decorate Christmas cookies or go for a horse drawn carriage ride. Local organizations will offer refreshments free to the public. Adults can enjoy a wine tasting from Layton’s Chance Winery.

Live holiday entertainment by the Dance Loft, PES Choir, PHS Choir, Brittany Lewis & Frank Henry.

A wreath silent auction will be held to benefit the Costen House Museum as well as a chili cook-off to benefit the Sturgis One Room School. Winners will be announced onstage at 8pm. Registration forms available on downtownpocomoke.com

Please bring a canned good, nonperishable food item or paper product for the Samaritan Shelter’s food drive.

TIME MACHINE ... 1914, 1882, 1939, 1975, 1977.

"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)


June, 1914..

The News, Frederick, Md. 

November, 1882
(Peninsula Enterprise- Accomac) 

Our Apprentice Boys.

ONANCOCK, Va., Nov. 18.

Editor of THE ENTERPRISE:

So few of our boys learn a trade at present, that I have thought it a matter which might well be made a subject of special mention in your paper, and comment upon the reasons therefor. It was not wont to be so. Indeed, many now living remember when it was the custom for at least one boy in every family, and frequently all the boys, to be put out as apprentices to learn some trade or business. It seems strange that a custom productive of so much good should be in our midst abandoned, that it is specially pertinent to inquire why it is so? The reason, as conceived to be, is that some false notion of propriety or economy has crept in upon us unawares. Or else this radical social change must be put down among the many sad calamities entailed upon us by the late civil war. It is a fact, that most the mechanics in Accomac County to-day have never served their time under any really skilled workman; but from pure ingenuity and good common sense have taught themselves almost all they know. It is equally true that America to-day, according to population, has fewer skilled artisans than any other first-class nation, and it is due to the premises that so few boys serve their trade. The evil is wide-spread and inherent. It is as much the fault of parents as boys. There are not a few parents, even in this county, who would consider it a family disgrace for one of their boys to be indentured to a trade; but it is no disgrace for that boy, twelve years old, to demoralize himself by the use of liquor, tobacco and by lounging around the street, and contract habits that would wreck any kind of humanity. Better by far that that boy be bound to some good mechanic to learn a trade, and what is just as valuable — habits of industry.

Is it not a fact that people who cannot pay their debts are often too high toned to labor? Why, if a man could see at once from the Atlantic shore to the Mississippi River, he would behold so many twelve year old boys, wearing long coats, tall hats, high collars, fancy neckties, subdued mustaches — driving fine teams — out courting — that he would be disgusted. It takes our boys to play the man. But the boy is not all to blame. The mothers and fathers now-a-days are as much in fault. If their boys are not full-fledge men — well shaved and dressed and out courting at twelve years — they begin to put them down as the black sheep of the neighborhood, and doubt their chances of future success. It delights the heart of many parents to see their boy hang around home — a professional dandy. I recognize a host of parents on the Shore who wish their boys to be a lawyer, a doctor, a dentist, a teacher or a preacher. They attach a special would-be honor to these professions and lose sight entirely of the true worth of their boy. Many a smart boy has been made a professional fool and aped through life, who should have been a mechanical genius, lived a life of usefulness and died with the laurel of triumph entwined on his brow. Parents should love, merit, and develop true worth to the exclusion of pride, pomp or show. Let us rehearse some names of a few American apprentice boys. I hope the patrons of THE ENTERPRISE will give one thought to the prominence of the men. That shoemaker, Roger Sherman, worked out his time and stayed at his bench until he was twenty-two years old. Cabinetmaker, Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, stood to his post until his health failed him. He was one of the true apprentice boys. When only ten years old, Andrew Johnson was bound out and served seven years at the tailor's trade. Every American knows something of Elihu Burnett, the learned blacksmith. President Grant and Jewell, Governor of Connecticut, were tanners. Vice-President Wilson was a shoemaker by trade. Benjamin Franklin was bound to his brother to learn the printing business. Vice-President Colfax was a printer by trade. It is very evident that what every profession, business or trade the acquisition of which doesn't imperatively demand time, labor, skill and patience, is not worth possessing. He who would wish to be independent is so far as a profitable trade will acquire, must make up his mind to serve his time. Honest toil is surely honorable, and he who has a good trade and is neither ashamed or afraid to follow it is truly the independent man.

Yours truly,

DON.


October, 1939
The Daily News Record (Harrisonburg, Va.)

$50,000 Blaze At Onancock, Va.

ONANCOCK, Oct. 18 (UP)—Three stores were razed today in a $50,000 fire that threatened the entire business district of this lower Eastern Shore town. 

Nine fire companies in a 60- mile area responded to the alarm and brought the flames under control in two hours after high winds died down. Firemen from as far south as Cape Charles and as far north as Princess Anne. Md., aided in fighting the blaze.

A recently remodeled brick building housing a grocery and two other grocery stores were raised.  Stocks of all three were destroyed. Flying embers ignited buildings on either side of the groceries, but damage to them was minor. It was not learned how the fire started.


January, 1975

"The Sting" with Paul Newman and Robert Redford was playing for six nights at the Marva Theatre in Pocomoke.  Admission: Adults $1.50, Children 75-cents.



March, 1977.. 

The Daily Times (Salisbury)

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .

When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.

TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview.

1914.. Somerset/Worcester road controversy; 1882.. Why aren't young men learning a trade these days?; 1939.. Nine fire companies respond to Onancock fire; 1975.. Checking what's playing at the Marva; 1977.. (Ad) The New Towne Inn, Pocomoke City. 

It's this Sunday right here at The Pocomoke Public Eye! 


Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .


When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.