Sunday, September 1, 2013

TIME MACHINE ... 1941, 1923, 1889, 1977, 1900, 1938 


(Reader-friendly viewing of newspaper archives material) 




ACROSS THE USA
 
August, 1941
(The Salisbury Times)

LABOR DAY GAS SUPPLY

Washington, Aug. 25.-(AP)- Tanks of 100,000 filling stations in the east will be filled this Saturday and Sunday to make sure that Labor Day motorists need not be stranded because of the gasoline shortage.

In making this announcement Saturday, Ralph K. Davies, acting Defense Petroleum Coordinator, also disclosed that a quota system had been devised to divide the dwindling eastern stocks equitably during the rest of August. 

Gasoline suppliers will estimate how much is due each of their retail outlets for the remainder of the month. Effective today ay they will divide the number of gallons due each outlet into five equal daily quotas. These will be delivered daily if possible and if not, every other day. The station operator will figure out how much to sell each customer by dividing his quota by the average number of vehicles he serves.

Davies office issued a statement yesterday saying that motorists "ought to be prudent" in planning Labor Day trips and "if they can be satisfied with a short trip so much the better."



 
August, 1923
(The Frederick News- Frederick, Md.)

MARYLAND GAS PRICES FORCED DOWN

Reflection Of "Gas Price War" In The Mid And Central Western States

By The Associated Press

Baltimore, Aug. 14- The gas war in the west was reflected here when the local branch of The Standard Oil Company tonight  announced effective tomorrow a cut in one cent a gallon in wholesale and retail prices of gasoline in this state. Officials of Sherwood Brothers and other companies handling blended products also announced one cent cuts.

Standard gasoline will now sell for 22 cents, benzol for 25-cents, while the blend prices will vary with the brand, Sherwood being 27 cents.


 
November, 1889
(Petersburg Pike County Democrat- Petersburg, Ind.)

Levin P. Hall and his sister, society people of Somerset County, Md., who were convicted on October 9 of incendiarism, were both sentenced, on the 9th, to ten years in the penitentiary. Miss Hall was sentenced while she was lying in her bed sick, the judge going to the jail for the purpose.

Footnote: Other newspaper sources reported that the sentence was the shortest that could be given for arson, and that they were convicted of burning the storehouse of Cox & Miles in Fairmount. 


 
January, 1977

Pocomoke City residents were remembering the life of R. Harlan Robertson, Sr., prominent civic and business leader in the community, who passed away at age 99. In 1906 he and his brother Clarence founded Pocomoke Foundry And Machine Works, later known as Robertson Brothers. He served in the Maryland legislature as a Worcester County Delegate and later served on the Pocomoke town council from 1924-1938, and served for nearly two decades on the Worcester County Welfare Board. He was a longtime president of Citizens National Bank. Numerous memberships included the Pocomoke City Rotary Club where he was a former president. 


 
(Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan campaigns in
towns on the Eastern Shore and in Delaware.)

October, 1900
(Newark Daily Advocate- Newark, Ohio)

Salisbury, Md., Oct. 24.- The Democrats here gave their candidate a rousing ovation. A procession one mile in length marched from the depot to Firemen's park. Enthusiasm ran high. The crowd numbered 8,000. In his speech Bryan said that when a president forgets that he is a hired man he is not fit for the place. He asked his hearers to judge the political situation from a common sense view. While Bryan began speaking rain began to fall again. Few of the crowd left on account of the rain. At Hurlock four hundred turned out to hear Mr. Bryan.

Footnote: In Worcester County Bryan spoke in Berlin. 

 
 
March, 1938
(The Titusville Herald- Titusville, Pa.)

'Fat Man' Drops Dead, Pinning Attendant

POCOMOKE CITY, Md. March 8-(AP)- Granville L. Hall, five feet, seven inches tall and weighing 642 pounds, dropped dead today, pinning one of his attendants under his body.

A special coffin will be built for the 45-year-old man who had traveled with circuses throughout the East. A wall of his room will be torn out to move the body.

  
Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers.. such as a big snow storm, a favorite school teacher, a local happening, something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? It can be just a line or two, or more if you wish. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

After Mr. Robertson's funeral I remember the late Raymond Dryden commenting, "There was hardly anybody at his funeral because he was 99 and outlived most of his friends!"

Granville Hall was also known as "Oolie" and was used as a synonym for being overweight. I remember my father saying many times, "If you keep eating like that you're gonna be as big as Oolie Hall."

Your friend,
Slim