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)
GOD BLESS AMERICA - History Of A Song
(Text from various on-line resources)
Frank Sinatra considered Kate Smith the best singer of her time, and said that when he and a million other guys first heard her sing "God Bless America" on the radio, they all pretended to have dust in their eyes as they wiped away a tear or two.
This video starts out with Kate Smith coming into the radio studio with the orchestra and an audience.. She introduces the new song for the very first time, and starts singing. After the first couple verses, with her voice in the background still singing, scenes are shown from the 1940 movie, "You're In The Army Now." At the 4:20 mark of the video you see a young actor in the movie, sitting in an office, reading a paper; it's Ronald Reagan.
Here's the first public singing of "Gold Bless America." How wonderful the radio program was filmed.
http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/kate_smith.html
Here's the story behind the first public showing of the song. The time was 1940. America was still in a terrible economic depression. Hitler was taking over Europe and Americans were afraid we'd have to go to war. It was a time of hardship and worry for most Americans. This was the era just before TV, when radio shows were HUGE, and American families sat around their radios in the evenings, listening to their favorite entertainers, and no entertainer of that era was bigger than Kate Smith.Kate was also large; plus size, as we now say, and the popular phrase still used today is in deference to her, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings." Kate Smith might not have made it big in the age of TV, but with her voice coming over the radio, she was the biggest star of her time.Kate was also patriotic. It hurt her to see Americans so depressed and afraid of what the next day would bring. She had hope for America, and faith in her fellow Americans. She wanted to do something to cheer them up, so she went to the famous American song-writer, Irving Berlin (who also wrote "White Christmas") and asked him to write a song that would make Americans feel good again about their country. When she described what she was looking for, he said he had just the song for her.He went to his files and found a song that he had written, but never published, 22 years before - way back in 1917. He gave it to her and she worked on it with her studio orchestra. She and Irving Berlin were not sure how the song would be received by the public, but both agreed they would not take any profits from God Bless America. Any profits would go to the Boy Scouts of America. Over the years, the Boy Scouts have received millions of dollars in royalties from this song.
To this day, God Bless America stirs our patriotic feelings and pride in our country. Back in 1940, when Kate Smith went looking for a song to raise the spirits of her fellow Americans, I doubt whether she realized just how successful the results would be for her fellow Americans during those years of hardship and worry..... And for many generations of Americans to follow.
May, 1932 (Time Machine archive)
(The Cumberland Evening Times)
Snow Hill- Unveiling of a monument to the men of Worcester County who died in the World War and dedication of the new draw bridge across the Pocomoke River will mark the Memorial Day ceremonies here next Monday. Delegations from patriotic and military organizations will march to the new bridge at the junction of Washington Street and the Snow Hill-Salisbury Highway where the dedication exercises will take place. A musical program will conclude the program.
1943.. Appeal to housewives in war effort.
June, 1953 (Time Machine archive)
(Daily News Record- Harrisonburg, Va.)
2 Eastern Shore Men Discover Treasure of Considerable Sum
HALLWOOD, Va., June 18 (AP)- Two Eastern Shore men disclosed today they had unearthed a canvas bag containing "a considerable sum" in old American and foreign coins near this Accomack County community.
They said they found the bag of coins- it took both men to lift the load- partly uncovered in a ditch beside a road construction project on State Road 779, between Hallwood and Bloxom.
Linwood Poulson, 35, of Hallwood, and Wilson Bundick, 37, of Accomac, said the discovery was made after they went to the area seeking souvenirs as a result of reports that a large number of old coins had been found scattered in the area on June 7.
The bag was showing through fresh earth hauled to the road construction site from nearby farms and presumably had been in one of the truck loads of dirt dumped on a new roadbed. Rains over the weekend apparently had washed away some of the earth, leaving a portion of the bag showing.
"Actually, we don't know how much the money's worth, because we're not sure of their value to collectors," Bundick told a reporter today.
He displayed one of the coins found in the bag, an American silver dollar dated 1803, and said it was valued at $5 in collector's catalogues.
"One year later, when the government minted only 750 of the coins, it would be worth $2,500.
"We may have some 1804 silver dollars; we haven't checked them all yet."
The coins were dated from 1739 to 1842.
The name of a sea captain was embroidered on the canvas bag but Bundick and Poulson declined to reveal the identity "for fear of a long legal battle," with persons who might claim to be descendants of the captain.
Bundick and Poulson did say it was a foreign name, however.
Some of the coins were held out by the two men for show pieces, but both said the bulk of the money was placed in a bank for safekeeping. They declined to identify the bank.
The two men admitted they were unable to sleep Sunday night after finding the money, and Poulson said he was under such a strain the next day he had to be treated by a physician.
Poulson and Bundick haven't decided what they'll do with the money, but they'll probably take their families- each is married and has two children- on a vacation trip.
Their decision to make a search of souvenirs was prompted by the luck of residents of the area in finding old coins near the road project June 7, after word got out that gold and silver coins had been found along the road.
On that occasion one individual reportedly picked up something like $25 in 10, 25, and 50 cent pieces dating from 1835 to 1900.
But Poulson and Bundick figure their find of American, French, Italian, English, Spanish, Mexican, Peruvian and Bolivian coins will run at least into five figures.
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!
PPE remembers JMMB.
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