Saturday, August 3, 2024

Recollections from generations past (Elmer A. Brittingham -4)

 



INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

Interviewer: What kind of school did you have?

Elmer: Well the country school was just the two rooms, but that was just the

 first 6 months. Then, in town, we went to was what called Pocomoke High

 School. Of course, I was in primary. I started there in the first grade. It was

 down on 4th and Walnut.


Interviewer: Was it real strict, school?

Elmer: You betcha. You towed the mark, or else.


Interviewer: What kind of activities did they have at the school? Like sports?

Elmer: Well, later on, well, we had annual field days. As long as I was in

 school we had annual field days that were placed in different towns each

 year: Berlin, Snow Hill, and Pocomoke, those 3 centers. Each school

 competed in games of dodgeball, of course baseball was run in a separate

 league, but on field day they had dashes and distance races and jumps and

 relay races.


Interviewer: These were between schools?

Elmer: Yeah and medals were awarded for first, second, third for the school

 making the most points. We trained 2 or 3 months for this field day, which

 was near the end of the spring, before the spring break.


Interviewer: Did you golf when you were young? Was there a golf course in

 Pocomoke?

Elmer: No, our golf course was built in 1939 or ’40. And it was the only course

 except at Cape Charles and at the Elk’s in Salisbury.


Interviewer: What kind of subjects did you have at school?

Elmer:  Well…you stayed in the 3rd or 2nd grade if you couldn’t pass, you

 stayed 2 or 3 years. It didn’t make any difference to the teachers. Until you

 learned.


Interviewer: What kind of subjects did you have?

Elmer: We started languages, Latin. And mathematics, such as algebra and so

 forth, in high school, in the 8th grade.


Interviewer: You didn’t start math until 8th grade?

Elmer: Algebra. We had regular math, commercial problems and different

 things. Of course, in grade school, you had long division. When you got up

 into high school, you had Math I and Math II, and you had general science.

 Then you had biology and chemistry and physics in the four year period. And

 trigonometry and solid geometry.


Interviewer: Did you have calculus?

Elmer: No, no calculus. It wasn’t taught in high school.


Interviewer: You said trigonometry and solid geometry?

Elmer: Solid geometry and trigonometry. In senior year, usually. But

 sometimes you could arrange, if your class schedule permitted, you could

 take it in the junior year. And the Latin started in high school, 8th grade. And

 then the second year you had Caesar and third year…I didn’t take the third

 and fourth year.


Interviewer: When did high school start, in the 8th grade?  7th grade was the

 last year in…  

Elmer: 7th grade was the last year in elementary


Interviewer: And you went through the 11th grade? Or 12th?

Elmer: 11th. There was no 12th grade.


Interviewer: What kind of teachers did you have?

Elmer: Most of our teachers were well qualified. One of the better teacher we

 had later went to State College, Dr. Thomas, Ida Belle Wilson Thomas, was

 probably the best teacher we had. And Dr. Fontaine, he had a doctorate of

 education ….(audio not clear)…Dr. Thomas later became one of

 the top instructors at Salisbury State College. Dr. Fontaine, who for many

 years was our principal and later became superintendent of schools, of high

 schools, of the state of Maryland, he….We were fortunate in French we had a

 woman French teacher who had been to France and studied for several years

 at a university there and of course she was an excellent teacher. We only had

 her one year and then we got a missionary out of Belgium or somewhere and

 his French sounded like German. French is a beautiful language when it’s

 spoken like French.


Interviewer: How long did you stay at school? Like when did you go in the

 morning? And when did you get out?

Elmer: 9-3:30, the best I remember, all the way through. We never changed

 that.


Interviewer: Even in high school, did you have recess or any kind of breaks?

Elmer: No, in the lower school we had a recess period, which we went out

 more to get air and tear around a little bit. In the high schools there were

 probably periods that if you didn’t have to study something, you could take

 it. Sports and things came after school.


Interviewer: Did they have fall sports? Like football?

Elmer: We played soccer. We had no football. Football wasn’t allowed in

 Maryland at that time, although, I think Salisbury started about the time I

 finished high school. We were very fortunate in soccer. We had a coach who

 had played in the Olympics out of England and he taught our soccer team to

 play quite well. We played, at least 2 of the 3 years that I played, we played

 the state championship.


Interviewer: So you went all the way to state?

Elmer: We didn’t win it, but we played for the state championship. We won the

 Eastern Shore.


Interviewer: Did you have winter sports? Like basketball?

Elmer: Basketball we did not have. We only had outdoor courts. That’s what

 the girls used to play on, but the men didn’t play it. There was baseball in the

 spring and soccer in the fall and track which we practiced somewhat, 2 or 3

 months before in the spring usually.


Interviewer: So you never had any basketball then?

Elmer: No, we never had any basketball courts.


Interviewer: So you didn’t play outside either?

Elmer: We did on the women’s courts. We just practiced. There was no league

 or anything.


Interviewer: So you just practiced? You never played other schools?

Elmer: Never had been. We played basketball at the armory; that’s where I

 played. I was company commander right after we moved in there, for about 3

 or 4 years. That was the first basketball court.


(Continues next Saturday here at The Pocomoke Public Eye)



Friday, August 2, 2024

TidalHealth radiation therapy news-

 


(View details from TidalHealth:)

TidalHealth earns radiation oncology accreditation | TidalHealth


Volunteers needed-

 


The Pocomoke City Police Department needs volunteers for National Night Out!

This Tuesday, August 6th, we need volunteers to help us maintain our bounce house and administer games and food.

If you're interested please contact our office and ask to speak with our administrative assistant, Kelly, at 410-957-1600 or email at kelly@cityofpocomoke.com

Beware when car shopping for your next "great deal."-

 

The Maryland Attorney General's office has filed charges against a car dealership (not on the Eastern Shore) for unfair or deceptive trade practices:

Deceptively charging consumers a fee equal to an extra 2% of the vehicle sales price that Respondents misleadingly call a "sales commission" and claim is "optional," when the fee is not a commission to a salesperson and consumers were unaware of their option to not pay the fee.

Deceptively charging consumers more for their vehicles than the advertised price, including for significant charges for already installed equipment and dealer markup.

Financing the sale of added products, such as their "...Assurance" and "...Protection Plan," in an unlawful manner.

Deceptively packing consumer vehicle sales transactions with unwanted equipment and products; and

Failing to disclose and itemize all goods and services that consumers are paying for when they purchase a new vehicle, and the cost of those services and products, as required under Maryland law.

Peach Festival Saturday in Berlin

 

                                                                                                                OC TODAY/DISPATCH PHOTO

The 16th annual Peach Festival is Saturday (8/3) from 10a.m. to 3p.m. on the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum lawn, 208 N. Main Street in Berlin.

Time Machine Preview

This Sunday here at The Pocomoke Public Eye- 


PLUS

1935  ..


2006  ..


1970  ..

(New Pocomoke Library opens)


1822  ..
                                        (Claimed to be in Worcester County)

1955  ..

Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Jackson Holliday is back and in a big way!

Former Delmarva Shorebird made his return to the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday and...

(WBAL-TV)

"...Holliday hit a 439-foot drive to right field that was so obviously gone he paused a bit before starting his trot. Holliday then waved to the crowd from the dugout."


(View news story:)

Jackson Holliday hits grand slam for first career home run (wbaltv.com)

AnnualThreshermen & Collectors Assoc. event-

 


Attendees will see a variety of steam engines, antique tractors, gas engines and antique cars in operation. PROVIDED

MARYLAND — Summertime means it is time for one of the area’s most popular events - the Eastern Shore Threshermen & Collectors Assoc., Inc.’s 64th annual Wheat Threshing, Steam & Gas Engine Show will be held Aug. 2-4. The showgrounds are located on Rt. 313 between Denton and Federalsburg, Maryland. The show features free admission and free parking. The show opens daily at 10 a.m. and runs throughout each day.

There will be steam engines, antique tractors, gas engines and antique cars in operation. Among the demonstrations will be wheat threshing, shingle sawing, full size sawmill, rock crushing and broom making. A daily parade of all equipment will be held at 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 4 p.m. on Sunday. Kids of all ages enjoy riding “Smokey Joe”, a miniature steam train which is a replica of the Civil War era “General” locomotive.

There will be something for everyone in the large flea market with over 125 dealers.

Friday evening will feature the classic country music sounds of Country Express and Flatland Drive will perform bluegrass music on Saturday evening. Both shows are sponsored by Towers Concrete. Sunday will feature music at 5 p.m. All shows are free. There will also be church services Sunday morning at 9 a.m.

Exhibitors of antique tractors and steam engines can test their driving skills in the tractor games where they will be competing for trophies. Games will be held Friday and Saturday following the parades at 5 p.m. A kid’s pedal pull will be held Sunday at 1 p.m.

There will be food with fried chicken dinners, crab cakes, hamburgers and hot dogs. Breakfast starts at 7 a.m. each day.

The show's opening ceremonies are held at 10:00 p.m. each day and activities run throughout the day until evening.

Exhibitors of all kinds of antique equipment are welcome. There is no charge to exhibit. All times are subject to weather conditions. The public is invited to come out and see how our grandparents farmed and old-timers can reminisce of the good old days. For more information call 410-673-2414, 410-754-8422 or visit us on Facebook. GPS address: 5806 Federalsburg Hwy., Federalsburg, MD.

Eastern Shore Threshermen & Collectors Association, Inc. is a non-profit organization.

For more information, contact: Brenda Stant 410-673-2414.


New cell phone policy for Accomack County Public School students-.

 



(WBOC)

(View news story:)

Accomack County Schools to Implement New, Stricter Cell Phone Policy | Latest News | wboc.com





    

Princess Anne Military Tribute Banners-

 

(Town of Princess Anne)
We are pleased to announce The Town of Princess Anne now has Hometown Hero banners to give a living tribute to recognize and honor those who have served or serving the country in the United States Armed Forces. If you live in the 21853 zip code and would like to see your loved one honored on Somerset Avenue please click the link below to purchase your banner. Banners will be going up as early as November for Veterans Day.  A special thank you to everyone who helped to bring this project to our community.

Princess Anne, MD (militarytributebanners.org)

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Monday, July 29, 2024

Local TV-

 

You won't be seeing reporter Kristina DeRobertis again on WBOC-TV but she won't be far away.  She'll be reporting and anchoring news on WRDE, the NBC affiliate based in Milton, De.  Both stations are owned by Draper Media. 

Another Pocomoke summertime music treat-

 IRIE TREE BAND

(Roots, Rock, and Reggae)

August 1

Weather peak-

Toasty, mostly clear.


Snow Hill puts our farmers in the spotlight-


Anonymous Anonymous said...

How old am I? Well, my family had a combine like the one pictured here.

Fortunately, my grandfather figured how to rig it to be pulled by a tractor instead of a team of mules. It did not have a grain tank to collect the corn, wheat or whatever; instead the grain came down a chute to a divider where the operator stood, holding a burlap bag on one side to be filled. When the bag was full a switch was thrown and the grain passed to the other side of the divider into another bag while the operator manually tied off the first bag and threw it down a tin slide to the ground.

After a full day harvesting it was not unusual to have 400 or 500 full bags of wheat on the ground, and we had to load them onto a wagon to take back to the barn before nightfall so it would not spoil. Of course barley and wheat were harvested in June or July so the temperatures were always a cozy 95 degrees or thereabouts. And to think we only had a bath once per week, usually on Saturday nights!

Your friend,
Slim



(Click link below to view more details:)

 Blessing of the Combines - Program