In Memory of Sam Vincent

I was very distressed today to learn of the death of my friend Sam Vincent as the result of a traffic accident. I have know Sam and his twin brother Carl for about 30 years now. We first met when was initiated into the Masonic lodge in Salisbury. Sam and Carl were officers of the lodge at the time and helped me through that first night of initiation. Sometime after that I came to learn that Sam, Carl and I were related although it was a distant. Though we were never close friends Sam always had a warm handshake and kind word when we met and often asked about my family.

Sam will be sorely missed by all who knew and worked with him. R.I.P. my friend. God be with you.

It's Hot Out There!

Recieved this from a friend in Crisfield. No truer words have been spoken!

Robin Williams as the American Flag

A friend of mine sent this to me and I found it quite enjoyable. The American Flag as never portrayed before and as only Robin Williams can do it.

Click here or on the title of this post for the presentation.http://www.coolestone.com/media/292/Robin_Williams_as_the_American_Flag/

Bingo Benefit sponsered by Salisbury Metro Lion Club

Salisbury Metro Lions will be sponsoring a Bingo Bash to benefit the sight and hearing impaired.

Event will be held July 29th 2010 @ the Salisbury Moose Lodge on Snow Hill Road.

Click on image to enlarge. Contact Phone numbers at bottom of poster for more information.

See You There!

School Memories

This week-end my wife and I took a ride to the west end of Wicomico County where I spent most of my childhood and all of my teen years. I stopped by the schoolhouse where I went to school from the third to the sixth grade in the early and mid sixties and and found that time has really taken it's toll on the building. The owner of the property, Mr. Schoffstall lives next door and he came over when he saw us taking photos and we had quite an enjoyable conversation. When he bought the property many years ago he began a renovation on the building in the hopes of turning it into his residence. However after some personal set-backs and difficulties the project went on hold for an extended period of time.

I noticed a few things that I was never aware of about the building too. For one thing I never knew the original siding was cedar scalloped shingles as can be seen in these photographs. At some point in time clapboard siding was put over the shingles. The weathering is so complete I was unable to tell what color the shingles or clapboard was painted but my guess is it was probably white. What I remember as a siding was white asbestos shingles which have long since been removed, thus the exposure and weathering of the wood. Many trees have been planted in what was the playground and quite a bit of brush has grown up close to the building. Two dormers were added to the front and rear of the building in the initial renovation attempt and the north side of the building there is also evidence of renovation and some replacement windows in place. Other than that the building remains much the same structurally. The inside has been partially gutted and little of a schoolhouse appearance remains.

I went thee in the third through the sixth grade in the sixties. The school had first and second grade as well but but my first & second grade was in Pittsville School. There were only 3 teachers for all six grades at Nanticoke! First and second grade was in the same room, as was third and fourth in another room on the ground floor. On the second floor was the fifth and sixth grade sharing a room and a 4th upstairs room was used for special events, PTA meetings, school productions and such.


Mrs. Camila Leitch taught first & second grade, Mrs. Jeannette Insley instructed third & fourth, and Mrs Mildred Insley kept the fifth & Sixth grade toeing the line. Mrs. Mildred Insley also served as the principal for the school and was responsible for disciplinary action when called for. Believe me---she could swing a wicked paddle!

There was one other adult working full time at the school. The cafeteria manager, Miss Alberta Roberts, prepared meals everyday for the 80 or so students that comprised the school population. There was no cafeteria per-se, rather the lunches were served sort of a buffet style in the main hallway on the first floor and the students returned to their classrooms and ate at their desks. Trays and plates were taken to a designated area after the meal was over and under the very watchful eye of Miss Roberts the plates were scraped clean and stacked neatly.

Occasionally when a substitute teacher was needed another local resident, Mrs. Jane Dayton, was the go-to person for the school. Mrs. Dayton is the only living teacher today and I am unsure about Mrs. Roberts.

This little trip brought back many memories and while in the area I visited other places as well. More posts will be forthcoming about them.

New Site to Enjoy

I recently started reading "Reflections on Delmarva's Past" blog and I have say I really enjoy. I sent the author, Mr. Mike Dixon, a note and asked if I could add his site to my link list. He graciously approved and has added a link to this site to his list.



"Reflections" is a site dedicated to the history of Delmarva and is well researched and written. I urge anyone with local history interest to visit and read his articles.



You can reach his site by clicking on the tile of this post or by going to the link list box on the left and click on "Reflections of Delmarva's Past"

Do You Remember Salisbury When?

There have been several good comments on this post so I brought it back to the top. Thanks to all for adding memories.

I borrowed this from " The Shores of Delmarva" blog.
I remember all of the things he mentions here.
Click on the title of this post to be taken to that site a see more about the shore.

Do you remember Salisbury when?

Do you remember?
Do you remember swimming in the park?
The Christmas parades on Main Street and the old swag lights that hung across Main Street and Route 13?
You knew Christmas was getting close when White & Leonard's opened its toy store on the second floor. Johnny's and Sammy's on Wednesday nights for chicken and dumplings and Gino's on Friday nights after Wi-Hi football games.Then there was "Party Line" on the radio with Bill Phillips, and the great dj of country music, CR Hook at WICO -- and of course there was Jolly Jack during the WBOC news with John B. Greenberger and Roland Twigg reminding us to "tell 'em RT sent you.".
The S & H Green Stamp store was down by Carroll's.
Use to get good prizes for collecting these stamps from grocery stores.
Giant used to be more than just groceries. You also got your groceries from the Colonial Store on South Salisbury Boulevard.
Remember the Wicomico Theater, the Boulevard Theater or the the Oaks Drive-In?
People would go to downtown Salisbury to Benjamin's or Hess Apparel or The Fashion Shop. Salespeople were friendly, mature and knowledgeable. And we actually dressed up for it.
Hungry? There was also the Saddle Club or either go downstairs to Reads Drugstore lunchroom on your way out the back door to the parking lot or sit at the lunch counter in Woolworths. Read's Drug Store was the only place to pass through when other stores closed at 5 p.m. on Saturdays on the way to the new parking lot. Woolworth's had the long counter upstairs.

Remember kids popping th balloons at the Woolworth's counter to see the discount?
McCrorys on Rt 13 also had a lunch counter but they had a deal where if you ordered a banana split you could pick a balloon to see how much you paid for it. They said there was a balloon with a penny.

As for the Benjamin family. They made sure that customers were treated with respect. That is what customer service was all about. Stores like that just don't exist anymore.
Does anyone remember how Watson's Smoke House stamped the date on a record when you bought it? Watson Smoke House was cool for not only 5 cent cigars but for the latest 45 record. An older gentleman by the name of Howard Riggins ran it, and was so very nice to kids. He would let you listen to recordings he had for sale, knowing we probably didn't have money to buy one. There was a soda fountain in the store, as well as a very hip magazine rack. We would often read it standing there. He never bothered u about reading and not buying, and whenever we had some money, we really would buy the magazine -- and even an album once in a while.Do you want fresh vegetables? Go to any farmers stand and buying whatever was fresh-picked that day, and putting the right money in a mason jar.

Remember Polar Bar ice cream?, It tasted like home made.

What I really miss about the old Salisbury is being able to go places without being accosted by thugs. And feeling safe . .. . and a sense of class in the businesses. Salisbury was one of the last small towns (at the time) where everything would be closed on Sundays. No shopping or anything. It was sorta like they forced you to take a deserved day off.

What is This?

Hint: The picture was taken in 1956

It is a 5 MB Hard Disk Drive for the IBM 305 RAMAC, the first IBM 'SUPER' computer released in September 1956.

This HDD weighed over a ton and stored an 'astonishing' (@ the time) 5 MB of data.

Do you appreciate being able to reach into your pocket & pull out your 8 GB memory stick now - or perhaps even your 3GS iPhone with 32 GB of memory?!?

Something to think about, huh?

(click on the title of this post to go to "Snopes" for more information on this photo)