TRANSCRIPT EXCERPTS FROM 1982 INTERVIEW
MARAH: When I first moved here, it was after my father died. We had lived in
Baltimore.
INTERVIEWER: Mhmm.
MARAH: And we moved here December of 1925.
INTERVIEWER: Okay. What was your father’s job?
MARAH: My father was Secretary-Treasurer of Maryland Biscuit Company in
Baltimore.
INTERVIEWER: And down here …
MARAH: Down here, my father and my mother were both reared in Pocomoke.
But he left here as a young man, went to work for the Mulliber Biscuit
Company in Boston and then went to Baltimore.
INTERVIEWER: Okay. Did you have any jobs when you were a teenager?
MARAH: My first job was at Lloyd and Lane’s Drugstore. And it is where—it
was where—about where the Citizens’ Eastern Shore National Bank is now.
INTERVIEWER: How about refrigeration?
MARAH: We had an icebox until I was out of high school. And every day, the
man would come and put ice in, or every other day.
INTERVIEWER: Uh-huh.
MARAH: And that was a chore. Had an ice brick, you had to empty the pan, saline …
INTERVIEWER: Uh-huh. I never quite understood that (laughs).
MARAH: We didn't have freezers. That day, it was just refrigeration, complete
refrigeration. And consequently, we didn’t keep as much in our icebox as you
do a refrigerator today.
INTERVIEWER: Mhmm. How about social events in your childhood?
MARAH: Most of the social events were events they had at church,
particularly before we moved down here. Then, when I was a teenager, we
had beach parties in the summertime and bonfires, and we went to dances at
Public Landing. We had a big pavilion, and the church EYCU had parties for
the young people. Once in a while, there was an event at the armory. After the
armory was built, they had beauty contests.
INTERVIEWER: Really?
MARAH: And they had long, elevated platforms out into the armory, so the
girls walked down the platform, just like they do at Miss America. And the
garden clubs had flower shows. And they had antique shows. But as far as
the young people getting together, like you do now, we didn’t. My particular
group when I was in high school, there were about two years, when I was a
junior and senior. There were about 12 of us, six girls and six boys. And we
didn’t go out during the week at night. We stayed home and studied. But
Friday nights, we took turns and went to each other’s house. Well, mostly the
girl’s house, though sometimes the boy’s. And we danced, and kissed,
refreshments, and just generally had a good time.
INTERVIEWER: Those beauty contests, were you in one?
MARAH: No.
INTERVIEWER: No?
MARAH: No.
INTERVIEWER: What were they, like, Miss Pocomoke or …
MARAH: Well, except, as I remember, they didn’t have as much of a talent
show as they do in Miss Pocomoke. But they had bathing suit competitions
…
INTERVIEWER: (Laughs)
MARAH: And evening gown competitions. And that made more of an
impression on me than anything else. (Chuckles.) They might have had
questions which they were asked, but I don’t remember too much.
Continues next Saturday here at The Pocomoke Public Eye.
