TIME MACHINE ... 1966, Circa 1900, 1905, 1941, 2008

   

(Reader-friendly viewing of newspaper archives material)　
December, 1966
(The Daily Times- Salisbury)

THOMPSONS FORM A TEAM TO FOIL POCOMOKE CROOKS

By ORLANDO V. WOOTEN Of The Times Staff

POCOMOKE CITY- Take the name Thompson from the roster of the Pocomoke City Police Department and you'd cut the well- known force almost in half.

Three town officers, one of them chief Richard O. Thompson, and the other two brothers William and Leroy Thompson, have been members of the seven-man department four years.

Chief Dick Thompson said he is only distantly related to the other two men, and that it is just coincidence that three-sevenths of his department bears that name.

Then, there's a Maryland State police officer, Trooper Dick E. Thompson of Ocean City. He is a brother of Leroy and William.

All four Thompsons grew up together in Pocomoke, and played as boys in each others home. They went fishing and hunting together and went to the same schools.

All three city policemen are graduates of the course for city police at the State Police Academy in Pikesville. All three are members of the Pocomoke City Volunteer Fire Department. And all three attend Salem Methodist Church of Pocomoke City.

All three spell bad news to lawbreakers in Pocomoke City because the Thompsons think and act together as a team in police work.

A recent example to a typical "Thompson job," was the capturing of two thieves at a breaking and entering at the American Legion home last summer. The chief received a tip that the home was being entered, and quickly summoned the two others at 2 a.m.. In the dead of night officer Leroy entered the back door at the same time the Chief and Bill went in the front door with drawn guns.

They could hear the hammers breaking open equipment, the chief said. The three officers, with cocked pistols, pounced on two startled men at the same instant they were breaking open coin boxes with sledge hammers and crowbars.

Chief Thompson said if the timing had not been so good, or if they had not had drawn guns, those sledge hammers might have come down on an officer's head.

The older of the two intruders is now serving time, and the younger drew a suspended sentence and is on parole.

The Thompsons are strictly professional in their approach to criminals, and firmly believe they should be adequately punished for their wrong doings. The chief said that a lot of their breaking and enterings come from the same few local no-goods, and the only way to protect the public from these burglars is to give proper jail sentences.

Chief Thompson's favorite companion is his handsome German shepherd dog, Max. Usually found curled up in a chair, half asleep, Max will spring to instant attention at the presence of an intruder, and has training in attack and criminal control work with the chief.

Max will hold a suspect at bay while his master makes a search for weapons. Max is the chief's constant companion on his weekend camping trips to Melbourne Landing camping area. Chief Thompson is a deer hunter, and has the distinction of killing the first deer in Worcester County with a bow and arrow.

Run with efficiency and discipline, the Pocomoke City Police Department is one of the few on the shore which has not had difficulty in attracting men. Because of the high morale, they have always had more applications for jobs then they could fill.
　
Circa 1900 (Time Machine archive)
(The Democratic Messenger- Snow Hill)

(1969 One Hundredth Anniversary Edition)

WINTER ON THE RIVER

Around the turn of the century the temperatures were lower in winter than during the last few decades. Consequently, there was more and thicker ice on the river. Skating was a great sport. The young people would have skating parties with huge wood fires on the river bank and skate far into the night. Several people have been known to skate to Pocomoke City, a distance of sixteen miles. Snow Hill and Pocomoke City harvested river ice each winter and stored it in houses built for the purpose. The ice was packed in sawdust providing a supply to last all summer.
　

July, 1941
(Daily Mail- Hagerstown, Md.)

Ask Shiners To Aid In Aluminum Drive

SNOW HILL, Md., July 19 (AP)- And now operators of illicit liquor stills are being asked to aid in the nation-wide aluminum collection campaign.

Sheriff J. William Hall said he personally called upon several suspected still operators and asked them to "dismantle their reported liquor plants of all aluminum parts in order to help national defense."

Cookers, boilers and some coils of stills are made of aluminum.　


July, 1905
(Peninsula Enterprise- Accomac Court House)

(Ad)

Watches, Clocks, and Jewelry Repaired on Short Notice.

I Have For Sale Watches, Clocks, Jewelry, Spectacles, Eye Glasses, and Silverware in many styles and at lowest prices.

WM. SARTORIUS

Pocomoke City, Md.

Will be at Accomac C.H. every court day.

Footnote:
An 1896 Ad stated: "The cheapest place to get your Spectacles and Eyeglasses is at Wm. Sartorious. Eyes tested free of charge."

Longtime Pocomoke City residents will remember Dr. Norman Sartorius Sr., and his son Dr. Norman Sartorius Jr., each of whom practiced medicine in Pocomoke for many years. Wondering if William Sartorius may have been the father of Dr. Sartorius Sr? -tk

　
April, 2008
(The Capital- Annapolis)

Official Dessert

An unusual multi layered cake served on Maryland's Eastern Shore has become the state's official dessert.

After being handed two nine-layer yellow cakes with chocolate frosting, Gov. Martin O'Malley signed into law a bill making the Smith Island cake Maryland's official dessert.- Associated Press
　

(All-time snow records)
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/akq/wx_events/winter/all-time1.htm
　
　
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!