Recollections from generations past (Elmer A. Brittingham -7)

 

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

Interviewer: What was the population in town?

Elmer: Well, we were never too big.

Interviewer: Was it bigger than today?

Elmer: In 1970, I believe, we had about 4000. But, probably when I moved in

 town, in 1913, well, 1912, end of ’12, there was probably 1000 people in town.

Interviewer: What about….we saw pictures of Market Street. It used to…down

 where Drug Fair is now, it was out in the woods then. You were getting out

 there.

Elmer: Yeah, it was farm out there.

Interviewer: It was a lot smaller then, Market Street.

Elmer: Oh, yes. It went about to…the end of the town limits for many years

 was at 6th Street. Not 6th Street. 7th Street.

Interviewer: So, we would be out of town now?

Elmer: Oh, yeah. That’s right. It was all farm. Few houses. No Cedar Street at

 all.

Interviewer: Did they have many streets in town? Is it mostly just like it is

 now?

Elmer: Well, the basic streets were the same. Except for the streets to the

 river.

Interviewer: What about where the library is now? There used to be a big

 house there, wasn’t there?

Elmer: 3 of them.

Interviewer: 3 of them?

Elmer: Where the library block is, there were 3 houses. The Vesey house was

 in the center. That was Eugene Vesey. And miss Ada Bullin was on this end.

 And the Hudson home was on the old (audio not clear). Frank Hudson later

 bought it. Downtown they had big trees and fairly narrow streets, but they

 didn’t need them so wide. They’d have carriages parked on each side and

 still room to go through.

Interviewer: What about the churches downtown?

Elmer: They’re much the same as they are now. The Methodist was quite

 small. There was just that first building, and it didn’t go all the way back like

 it does now. And the Presbyterian is the same. And the other Methodist

 church and the Baptist which has been enlarged some. But those were the 4

 churches.

Interviewer: Where the old bridge is now, coming over the Pocomoke (River),

 if you are coming into Pocomoke, to the left, there is a parking lot there now,

 right? Across from that dealership there. What kind of building was there at

 one time?

Elmer: Peninsula Produce Exchange. That employed a lot of people. That’s

 where my father worked. He was out…this was the main, downtown office.

 They had their warehouses and the place where they stored their potatoes on

 Clark Avenue. Over by the iron railroad bridge, where Mason Canning sign is.

 And the other store…then they used part of that exchange for a post office

 for many years. And when I went to work, that’s where the post office was.

 On the base floor.

Interviewer: Was the Post Office then moved to where it is now?

Elmer: No, it was where the parking lot is now, across from the Dollar store.

 That was the Post Office. No, it was in the Peninsula building. It was a large

 building, but it only covered a stretch of about 50 foot wide and 150 foot

 deep. And that was the post office for many, many years.

Continues next Saturday here at The Pocomoke Public Eye.