"Friendliest Town On The Eastern Shore." Our tradition runs deep. Excerpt from a letter to the editor from a visitor to Newtown, (former name of Pocomoke City) published in the Baltimore Sun, April 28,1847.
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)
This week 60 years ago..
(Excerpt)
Footnote: Admission was $1 for adults, 50-cents for children. Parking was 25-cents.
September, 1976
The Daily Times (Salisbury)
(Excerpts)
Thousands Swarm To Mall To See Mickey
Mickey Mouse was nearly mobbed Wednesday night by an enthusiastic crowd of thousands who came with children in tow to the Salisbury Mall to get a glimpse of the Walt Disney World resident.
The mammoth crowd was in attendance to view part of a promotional gimmick designed to draw attention to the grand opening of the Salisbury Mall's new eastern wing. And while the plan was to accommodate whatever numbers showed up Wednesday night by giving each child a chance to shake hands with Mickey and to receive from him an eight by six-inch plastic cartoon poster — it just didn't quite work out that way.
Mickey and two other Disney World characters were forced to leave early when it became apparent that the huge crowd was not about to conform to planned procedure.
"Originally we were going to have Mickey stay up here on this platform on the east side of the new mall and have children and their parents come from one direction and leave in another. But it obviously didn't work that way," said Special Deputy Sheriff John Stephens.
Deputy Stephens was making his remarks to a reporter as he tried to hold back a pressing mass of humanity from swaming over a plywood platform which was already overrun with children and parents trying to touch their Disneyland hero.
As it became obvious that very few of the thousands of parents would be able to take their children up to the platform some members of the crowd began shouting demands that deputies and state troopers surrender their posts on the platform and begin distributing the small posters which had been billed as "free fan cards."
But the policemen were too busy trying to keep hordes of children from grabbing handfuls of the placards and disappearing with them into the crowd.
One mother stood on the edge of the stand, holding a curly headed child of two to three years of age and began to cry when it became apparent to her that not only was there no chance of her child seeing Mickey Mouse, but- there was also no way for the two of them to escape from the ever swelling crowd coming into the mall.
Seconds later her child also began crying. Her sobs were lost among the loud shouting and the constant pagings of the mall's speaker system which was busy announcing descriptions of children who had been separated from their parents.
When it became obvious that Mickey and his Mouseketeers were leaving the platform, much of the crowd refused to give way for him until he left under the escort of two uniformed policemen.
As the crowd struggled to get a glimpse of Mickey inside the mall, outside the parking lot turned into a busy thoroughfare, with at least one fender bender accident resulting from the large volume of cars.
1855.. Gold Mine in Worcester County?
(The Sun, Baltimore)
October, 1960 (Time Machine archive)
Although no formal announcement had been made, news was circulating around Pocomoke City that a major downtown business, Montgomery Ward, would be closing. Local management would not comment but a Montgomery Ward district manager said the closing of the Pocomoke store was possible. A published report stated the 25 employees would be offered positions in other Montgomery Ward stores.
Footnote: Montgomery Ward's two story department store was located on Clarke Avenue in the Veasey Building across the street from the Pocomoke City Municipal Building. J.C. Penney occupied the front of the building facing Market Street. Due to the economic downturn following the closing of the Chincoteague Naval Air Base, Montgomery Ward and Penney's eventually closed their doors in Pocomoke City. Other business interests anticipated the cost of renovating the 1922 building would be prohibitive. The City acquired the Veasey Building in 1975 for demolition.
1917.. Um, Um, Good!
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