Worcester County Public Schools
January 10, 2025
Dear Worcester County Public Schools (WCPS) community:
This letter is to inform you of a recent cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool, the software vendor which provides our Student Information System (SIS).
(View Superintendent Lou Taylor's letter:)
PowerSchool Announces Cybersecurity Incident, WCPS Impacted | WORCESTER COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
TRANSCRIPT EXCERPTS FROM 1982 INTERVIEW
(Continued from last week)
INTERVIEWER: …. Transportation. Did you all have cars? Everybody? Or …
MARAH: Yes, when I was a child, the first car that I remember we had in
Baltimore, was an Overland.
INTERVIEWER: (Laughs.)
MARAH: Loosely related to the Studebaker family.
INTERVIEWER: Uh-huh.
MARAH: When we moved down here. ‘Course, my father had died, he was
only 42. When we first moved down here, my Uncle Walbur, he came up in his
car, which I think was a Studebaker. But it was an open, what you would call
a touring car. And in the wintertime, you put curtains where we now have
windows.
INTERVIEWER: (Laughs.)
MARAH: You snapped the curtains up. And I remember coming from
Baltimore that real cold Christmas, and we had hot water bottles to keep our
feet warm. (Both laugh.) And it was cold. No car heaters.
INTERVIEWER: I don’t think my generation can even fathom …
MARAH: No, you can’t. You really can’t visualize that, I’m sure.
INTERVIEWER: How ’bout the train, did you ride the train?
MARAH: Yes, when I was in high school, rode the train. Then after high school
from here to Philadelphia. Then changed to go to Pittsburgh where my sister
was living. And we rode the train to Baltimore.
INTERVIEWER: How ’bout steamboats?
MARAH: In my mother’s day, there were steamboats on the river … And they
used to go to Baltimore from Pocomoke. When I graduated from high school
and I went to Towson to school, there was a steamer that left from Crisfield,
from Crisfield to Baltimore. And we went ... to Towson by that steamer.
Someone took us to Crisfield. It was probably Dr. Giddens because I lived
with his sister.
INTERVIEWER: Mhmm.
MARAH: Bob Giddens, his father.
INTERVIEWER: His father, right, he was the dentist.
MARAH: And I know the night that we were on, you had cabins, and you spent
the night going from Crisfield to Baltimore.
INTERVIEWER: (Laughs.)
MARAH: And that particular night, there was a small fire on the boat. It did
soon extinguish.
INTERVIEWER: I can imagine what it was like to be on when the boat was on fire, ugh. How about your first car, did you …
MARAH: It had roll-up windows, it wasn’t a snap-on ride.
INTERVIEWER: (Laughs) What year was it that you got this?
MARAH: That would be about 1933.
INTERVIEWER: Did many girls get cars, or did they …
MARAH: No, really, that was not my car, that was a family car. No, I didn’t have
a car of my own until, well, when I married, we first had a car.
INTERVIEWER: Right. Okay. Public Landing? How often did you go?
MARAH: Not too often, maybe two or three times during the summer for
picnics. We had several families that went on picnics together during the
summer. Dr. Sartorius, who’s now at Hartley Hall.
INTERVIEWER: Hartley Hall.
MARAH: Well, his son Norman.
INTERVIEWER: Mhmm.
MARAH: Was in my class in high school, and Bill the year ahead. And Rick
was a year older, and our families were close because our fathers and
mothers were close, and we always had picnics either at Public Landing or in
Ocean City. And then the Sunday school had their picnics at Public Landing.
And there was lots of fried chicken and salad and rolls …
INTERVIEWER: How ‘bout swimming?
MARAH: Swimming, for the ones who could swim …
INTERVIEWER: Uh-huh. It wasn’t like it is now.
MARAH: No.
INTERVIEWER: In the pictures, the women were all covered up with umbrellas.
MARAH: Right, right.
INTERVIEWER: Nobody would think of going to the beach with umbrellas now.
MARAH: Right. My first bathing suit when I was about nine years old had
sleeves to the elbows.
(Both laugh.)
INTERVIEWER: Okay. Did you ever go to Red Hill?
MARAH: Red Hill was (clears throat) a picnic area before Public Landing. And
I went several times, but I was very small, so I don’t remember much about it.
But at the time, churches had picnics down there too. But due to the harsh
terrain, it’s quite a long trip during the day.
INTERVIEWER: Did you ever go to Assateague?
MARAH: No.
INTERVIEWER: Maryland? (referring to Maryland's portion of Assateague?)
MARAH: No. It was not open … to the public.
(Continues next Saturday here at The Pocomoke Public Eye.)
WBOC is providing an extensive list of public activities/functions (in alphabetical order) that are impacted by the weather.
(View listings:)
Pocomoke City Police Dept
Attention Pocomoke City residents; the following is a joined incident update from the Pocomoke City Police Department and the Worcester County Sheriff's Office:
On January 9, 2025, at approximately 11:20 P.M. The Pocomoke City Police Department responded to a call of shots fired at a residence on Maple Street in Pocomoke City, MD. Detectives from the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation were called to assist. The residence was struck multiple times, but thankfully, no one inside was injured.
This incident is believed to be connected to the shooting that occurred on Linden Avenue in Pocomoke City on January 5, 2024.
📞 If you have any information about this incident, please contact the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation at 410-632-2076.
🌐 Submit Tips Anonymously
Citizens can also provide information anonymously through the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office App, available for free on the iOS or Android App Store.
Your help is vital to keeping our community safe! 🙏
Pocomoke City Volunteer Fire Company
After months of planning, the 2025 Cash Bash is coming soon (Saturday, March 22, 1-6pm)!
Online ticket sales have started with in person sales beginning soon.
We have decided to make some changes to the event this year allowing us to give away more CASH! Instead of a boat, we will now be giving away $10,000 cash as the grand prize! In addition to $250 cash every fifteen minutes.
We will have live music, raffles, and great food!
You MUST BE 21 YEARS OR OLDER TO PURCHASE TICKETS AND ATTEND THE EVENT!
To become a sponsor or if you have questions, contact Tyler 443-523-5830 or tfairman@pocomokefire.com
Authorities in Phoenix are investigating the death of former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz (2009-2016).
(View news story:)
Body of Brian Matusz, former Baltimore Orioles pitcher, found at Phoenix home - Yahoo Sports
Press Release on January 5th Pocomoke shooting incident is available for viewing on the Pocomoke Police or Worcester County Sheriff's office Facebook pages.
https://www.facebook.com/p/Pocomoke-City-Police-Dept-100076911507861/
(WBOC)
PRINCESS ANNE, MD - The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office has provided new details on reports of suspicious activity near a propane facility south of Princess Anne on Friday.
(View Tuesday updated news story:)
Worcester County Sheriff's Office
🚨 Safety Reminder: Black Ice Alert 🚨
Melting snow + freezing temperatures = dangerous black ice.
❄️ Be extra cautious on bridges and overpasses – they freeze first!
🚗 If you must go out:
• Spotting Black Ice: Look for shiny, smooth patches on the road, especially in shaded areas, bridges, and overpasses.
• Reduce Speed: Drive slower than usual when temperatures are near or below freezing.
• Increase your stopping distance: snow and ice take longer to stop.
• No Sudden Moves: Avoid hard braking or sharp turns—keep your movements smooth and pump your brakes.
• Leave extra distance between vehicles: Stay especially far away from snow plows.
• Stay Alert: Give extra attention during early morning and evening hours when black ice is most common.
When weather is in the news there's prone to be many sources of misinformation such as word of mouth, be it in person or on some social media outlets.
Check reliable sources such as news & weather media or their online pages.
The link below is to the National Weather Service forecast for Pocomoke and the lower Eastern Shore.
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=38.0722&lon=-75.5638
TRANSCRIPT EXCERPTS FROM 1982 INTERVIEW
(Continued from last week)
INTERVIEWER: Did you go to Ocean City very often, I mean, or was that just
for, like …
MARAH: No, not very often.
INTERVIEWER: How about swimming, did you go swimming?
MARAH: We didn’t have any place around here we could go swimming,
except the ocean. The river was not fit for swimming, and we did not have
swimming pools. And consequently, most of the ones my age except the
boys who lived around the water like probably Andy, or who, you know, were
a little bit braver,
INTERVIEWER: Mhmm.
MARAH: The girls didn’t learn to swim very much. I taught myself later, after I
was even out of Towson. And I can swim as long as I can hold my breath.
INTERVIEWER: (Laughs.)
MARAH: That’s not very far (laughs).
INTERVIEWER: Did you only date boys from Pocomoke, or did you venture
out to Snow Hill and …
MARAH: No, in high school, it was just Pocomoke.
INTERVIEWER: Were there any big hangouts downtown or anywhere?
MARAH: Clarke’s Drugstore. Which is where the pharmacy is now.
INTERVIEWER: Uh-huh.
MARAH: Was really the only hangout. And when we’d go there, they had a
fountain, a soda fountain. And in fact, when I was in high school, every
afternoon, the girls dressed up and walked downtown to buy a loaf of bread
or quart of milk or some little thing. But we walked downtown and … There
really wasn’t much to do, we read a lot, but we did have, at one time, we did
have a tennis court on the high school property. It was not a very good one.
And we played a little tennis, that was it. We played badminton in each
others’ yards, but we didn’t have courses in tennis like they do in school
now.
INTERVIEWER: Where did you go to church, if you went?
MARAH: I went to church at First Baptist Church.
INTERVIEWER: Okay, yeah, that’s …
MARAH: In Pocomoke.
INTERVIEWER: Pocomoke, right.
MARAH: I had joined the church in Baltimore, First Baptist Church in
Baltimore at the same time my father joined. He had been a Methodist.
INTERVIEWER: Mhmm.
MARAH: And we joined together one Easter. And then when we came here, we
confirmed the membership.
INTERVIEWER: How did you go to Sunday school and then church, then?
MARAH: Well, Sunday school was in the morning, and church, and EYCU in
the afternoon. Well, late-afternoon. Like young people’s games, you know.
INTERVIEWER: Mhmm.
MARAH: And then church at night.
INTERVIEWER: (Laughs) Oh, so all Sunday was devoted to church.
MARAH: All Sunday was devoted to church.
INTERVIEWER: All right. What about the population in Pocomoke in 1920?
MARAH: I am not very good at remembering figures. But I will say this: We
knew everyone we met on the street. There were no strangers. You’d go
down the street, and everyone you saw, you knew personally. I’m not sure
about population at the time.
INTERVIEWER: How about a class structure? Was there any, like, very rich,
poor, was there very much difference between those two?
MARAH: There probably was, but I was not aware of it at the time. Now, I knew
the ones in my class who had much more money than I had.
INTERVIEWER: Right.
MARAH: And I knew the ones who didn’t have as much, but I think ... There
was no distinction as far as class. Possibly, we chose our friends from the
class we were actually in, not realizing it, really.
INTERVIEWER: So it was unspoken.
MARAH: Unspoken really. But, I don’t think, as far as my class in high school,
no one was looked down on. Three years ago, we had our 50th reunion. And
almost the whole class was there except three who had died and one in
California who could not come, and one in Pennsylvania who could not
come. And it was really nice because we had not had any reunion.
INTERVIEWER: None?
MARAH: None.
INTERVIEWER: And you managed to go to 50?
MARAH: We managed to go to 50, and had a really good time.
INTERVIEWER: Wow. I’m sure. How ‘bout law and order in Pocomoke? Did
you have a police force, or … ?
MARAH: I remember one policeman, Mr. Strallon. An older man, or at that time
he seemed older to me. He also directed the band. We had a town band, and
he directed the band at that time.
INTERVIEWER: Was it high school students in the band, or the whole
community?
MARAH: No, when I was in high school, I don’t think we had a high school
band. Like the one that Mr. Fullout was in.
INTERVIEWER: Right, I heard …
MARAH: When my father was a young man, they had quite a town band.
INTERVIEWER: I’ve seen pictures.
MARAH: And I’ve seen pictures. He had a bandwagon and played the
trombone.
INTERVIEWER: How about hanging? Did you ever go to a hanging?
MARAH: No, never did.
INTERVIEWER: Wow.
MARAH: There was a tree on Snow Hill, the road between Snow Hill and
Berlin. They called it the hanging tree. But no, I never did, no.
INTERVIEWER: I know I wouldn’t’ve gone to a hanging ….
Continues next Saturday here at The Pocomoke Public Eye.
