Mark Your Calendar

The "green thing"

 A young cashier suggested to the much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags are not good for the environment. 

The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days." 

The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

 The older lady said that she was right -- our generation didn't have the "green thing" in its day. The older lady went on to explain: 

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. 

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things. Most memorable besides household garbage bags was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribbles. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags. 

We walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

Back then we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts. Wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

Back then we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana In the kitchen. We blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. 

 Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blade in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost more than what a whole house did before the "green thing."

We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint. 

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the "green thing" back then?

TIME MACHINE: 1940, 1937, 1994, 1891.

April, 1940

  Worcester Democrat

August, 1937

The Denton Journal

March, 1994

The News Journal (Wilmington)

May, 1891

The Peninsula Enterprise

1969..  

1978..  Happy Days, Little House On The Prairie, and The Rockford Files are favorites on TV. 

The Time Machine is a weekly feature I've enjoyed researching and compiling on The Pocomoke Public Eye since 2011.  I have fond memories of growing up in Pocomoke City and welcome reader contributions we can share about things you've read, remember, or were told relating to our Pocomoke/Eastern shore area...a sentence, a paragraph, or more all fine. Just email it.

County Fair Coming Up

(See article:)
https://mdcoastdispatch.com/2019/09/05/worcester-county-fair-set-for-next-weekend-in-snow-hill/

Time Machine Preview

This Sunday here at The Pocomoke Public Eye..

1940.. Hotel/restaurant on the water leaving Pocomoke. 

1937.. Is a modern Eastern Shore highway on the horizon or is it just political talk again?

1994.. Looking at strides Pocomoke has made to conserve energy but work remains.

1891.. A grand masquerade horseback parade is part of "Big Day" plans in Onancock.

TIME MACHINE: 1922, 1943, 1898, 2007.

August, 1922

Worcester Democrat

Footnote: After its life as The Hargis Department Store the building was shared by J.C. Penney and Montgomery Ward for many years.

January, 1943

The News Journal (Wilmington)

May, 1898

New York Daily Herald

April, 2007

 

 Daily Times (Salisbury)

1961..  (Route 13 bypass opens) 

1973..  There's a Triple Crown winner.. it's Secretariat!

The Time Machine is a weekly feature I've enjoyed researching and compiling on The Pocomoke Public Eye since 2011.  I have fond memories of growing up in Pocomoke City and welcome reader contributions we can share about things you've read, remember, or were told relating to our Pocomoke/Eastern shore area...a sentence, a paragraph, or more all fine. Just email it.

Local Travel Note

The 10-week project to replace the old bridge on Dividing Creek Road has been completed and the new bridge is now open to traffic.

Vaping illnesses reported on Virginia shore.

(shoredailynews.com)

ACCOMACK COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT CONFIRMS THREE CASES OF VAPING ILLNESS

Aug 30, 2019

ACCOMACK COUNTY, Va—The Accomack County Health Department has confirmed three cases of severe lung illnesses associated with vaping.

Dr. Richard Williams, acting Health Director at the Accomack County Health Department says there’s not enough evidence that shows vaping is a better alternative to smoking cigarettes.

“I don’t think the evidence is strong enough to recommend vaping as a smoking alternative, at this point,” says Dr. Williams.

The health department says the cause of these illnesses is not clear at this time. Health experts say anything you inhale into your lungs, can be potentially dangerous.

The health department says if you have any respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath and pain after vaping, then you should go to your nearest hospital.

Time Machine Preview

This Sunday here at The Pocomoke Public Eye..

1922.. 

1943.. Worcester County sheriff names eight new deputy sheriffs, most will work without a salary.

1898..  Severest hail storm in memory hits Somerset County.

2007..  Pocomoke City woman organizes donation of more than a thousand toys to seriously ill children.

National Folk Festival Returns To The Eastern Shore

Info here:
https://nationalfolkfestival.com/?utm_source=Salisbury&utm_campaign=a055ff8cb4-sby-mc%20weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_48b606ed7c-a055ff8cb4-359976609&mc_cid=a055ff8cb4&mc_eid=884ce5b26e

High Score For Worcester County Public Schools!

worcesterk12.org

Niche reported that Worcester County Public Schools  is the third best school district in Maryland behind only Howard and Montgomery Counties. Below is a list of the fifteen best-ranked school districts in Maryland.

1. Howard County Public Schools
2. Montgomery County Public Schools
3. Worcester County Public Schools
4. Carroll County Public Schools
5. Frederick County Public Schools
6. Calvert County Public Schools
7. Harford County Public Schools
8. Queen Anne’s County Public Schools
9. Washington County Public Schools
10. St. Mary’s County Public Schools
11. Baltimore County Public Schools
12. Anne Arundel County Public Schools
13. Talbot County Public Schools
14. Charles County Public Schools
15. Caroline County Public Schools

Niche provided each school district with a report card based on gathering data and reviews, rigorous analysis and user insights. WCPS earned an overall grade of A based on the ten areas evaluated.  

In addition to the overall rankings, Worcester County Public Schools was the top ranking school district for Best Places to Teach in Maryland. 


There was an enthusiastic "We Are Worcester Opening Kick-Off" this week for school faculty and staff. See article:
https://mdcoastdispatch.com/2019/08/27/worcester-county-holds-festive-opening-kick-off-for-school-year/

TIME MACHINE: 2006, 1877, 1948, 1935, 1919.

(Note: Last week's postings featured a story about a visit by a Pocomoke church youth group to Juarez, Mexico in August, 2006 to help the poor there. The following month a group from another church traveled to Peru to help.)

September, 2006

 The Daily Times (Salisbury)

March, 1877

Baltimore Sun

August, 1948

  The Democratic Messenger

February, 1935

Worcester Democrat

May, 1919

The Morning News (Wilmington)

1963.. The U.S. Postal Service implements a "Zoning Improvement Plan" to become known as ZIP Codes.

1975..  The beginning of an unsolved mystery.. ex-teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa disappears.

The Time Machine is a weekly feature I've enjoyed researching and compiling on The Pocomoke Public Eye since 2011.  I have fond memories of growing up in Pocomoke City and welcome reader contributions we can share about things you've read, remember, or were told relating to our Pocomoke/Eastern shore area...a sentence, a paragraph, or more all fine. Just email it.