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)
June, 1857
The Sun (Baltimore)
AFFAIRS IN WORCESTER COUNTY.- We copy the following from the Snow Hill Shield:
Money Digging.- It is rumored that the people residing on the beach in the vicinity of Phoenix Island are reaping a gold harvest in the way of digging up gold and silver out of the sand. It is supposed to have been deposited on the beach from the wreck of a Dutch galliot, lost on "Dead Man's Shoals" nearly a century ago, and which is said to have drifted on Phoenix Island. The galliot, besides a very valuable cargo of merchandise, had over a million of dollars on board at the time of her loss.
Footnote: Has anyone heard of Phoenix Island? Could it have been what we know as Assateague Island?
June, 1957
The Salisbury Times
Teachers Pay To Be Debated In Snow Hill
SNOW HILL - A large crowd is expected to attend an open meeting tomorrow on the question of salary increases for Worcester County school teachers.
The meeting is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Snow Hill High School.
Members of the county's PTA instigated the meeting to air what they feel are the problems incurred by a low teacher wage scale.
It will be up to the county commissioners to make a decision on whether or not an increase will be granted. As a guide they will have a comparison of salaries now being paid in counties throughout the state.
Generally, the PTA thinks an increase of between $200 and $400 will be necessary. Present salary schedules for teachers with a bachelor's degree range from $3,300 to $4,800 over a period of 16 years.
August, 1902..
The Evening Times (Washington, D.C.)
1865 (Time Machine archive)
Before the time of Ocean City, Green Run Beach on Assateague Island was a vacation destination for lower Eastern Shore residents as well as visitors from other states along the eastern seaboard. Its Ocean House Hotel began attracting visitors in 1865. The Ocean House was noted for its local seafood menu and featured live music in a large dance hall, a bowling alley, and a bar for the gentlemen. After making their way to Snow Hill, visitors were taken by horse drawn hacks to Public Landing where the sailing sloop "Fairfield" helped complete their journey to Green Run Beach about 20 miles south of where Ocean City came into existence in the mid 1870's.
1957-58..
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Ahhh, salaries....I remember in high school Bill Buchanan talking about how he wanted to be a teacher because the starting salary was so good. It was $7,500 per year!
ReplyDeleteAlso, did you know Pocomoke had a City Manager before Russ Blake? It was John Yankus, a graduate of West Point and a veteran of the Army Corps of Engineers. He earned the princely sum of $5,000. He later went on to become the first Worcester County Administrator and earned $7,500 per year at that job.
Your friend,
Slim
Phoenix Island is present day Fenwick Island. It was never properly named "Phoenix" but the locals just pronounced it that way. Sort of like the way residents of Smith and Tangier Islands still have a distinct dialect.
ReplyDeleteYour friend,
Slim
Thanks for the information on Phoenix Island, Slim. Even GOOGLE couldn't help with this one. I figured you might know.
ReplyDeleteI would love to share your local memories with our Pocomoke Public Eye viewers. Just send them to me (tkforppe@yahoo.com) at your convenience and it will be a privilege to post them.
Dear tk for PPE:
ReplyDeleteThank you for the compliment. Unfortunately I am of advanced age and suffer from a severe case of the dreaded CRS (Can't Remember Sh**). Occasionally memories can be extracted from my shriveled frontal cortex after a shock from Maker's Mark or Knob Creek, otherwise I am quite senile. If you care to invest in a case or two of my medication heaven knows what memories might spew forth.
Your friend,
Slim
ReplyDeleteDear Slim-
Understood, because I'm a member of the CRS fraternity as well. But my offer still stands. I'll take even the five-percent you have left. Better than nothing. Should our PPE budget ever increase above $0.00 I'll consider the investment you mention.
tk
I remember when I applied for a job at a local business and the owner was trying to impress me with how well he paid his employees. He said, "Some of out top employees even make almost $2.00 per hour!" It was also customary that employees worked 40 hours Monday through Friday and an additional 4 hours on Saturday morning. We got paid every two weeks and my take-home pay was $147 for two weeks work, less than $300 per month.
ReplyDeleteYour friend,
Slim
Phoenix Island is mentioned in this book. There is a Dead Man's Shoals just to the north near the Delaware Bay.
ReplyDeletehttps://books.google.com/books?id=ttn82hcr6nUC&pg=PA348&lpg=PA348&dq=phoenix+island+delaware&source=bl&ots=4fCwnKLHSO&sig=av1kbcc2rQcRWjepS7yXMKCAuNc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAmoVChMIqNzo9LW5yAIVix8eCh1WUQaE#v=onepage&q=phoenix%20island%20delaware&f=false