Sunday, April 27, 2014

TIME MACHINE... 1922, 1953, 1995, 1827, 1927, 1878


(Reader-friendly viewing of newspaper archives material)

April, 1922
Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.)

FROST BLACKENS EASTERN SHORE'S BIG POTATO FIELDS

Great Territory of Growing Vines Nipped by Cold Wave.
(By Associated Press)

CAPE CHARLES, VA., April 24,.- A Killing frost, with ice, covered the entire peninsula from Delaware through Maryland, and down to the lower end of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, in Accomac and Northampton Counties Saturday and Sunday nights, with resultant damages to crops in all sections.

Through the Eastern Shore of Virginia in Northampton and Accomac Counties, potato fields are today black with frost-killed potatoes. Farmers of this section are hard hit, especially after last year's short crop.

Before Saturday night the potato fields in this section were pictures of well-advanced vines. Today they look as if a fire had swept over them.

November, 1953
Evening Capital (Annapolis)

Pocomoke City Fire Causes $100,000 Worth Of Damage

POCOMOKE CITY, Md. (AP) —Fire caused an estimated $100,000 damage, including the loss of a warehouse and fertilizer factory at the William B. Tilghman Co. here Saturday.

John L. Morris of Salisbury, secretary-treasurer of the firm, said 2,000 tons of fertilizer, processed and raw, was included in the loss.

The blaze broke out shortly after the plant closed down for the weekend.

Firemen from six towns helped prevent the flames from spreading to a garage and company offices about 125 feet from the main buildings.

Origin of the blaze was not determined immediately. The company has home offices in Salisbury.

November, 1995
Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, Texas)

(Excerpts)

Satellite-aided farming spreads

Information helps apply chemicals more efficiently during season

By AXEL KOLUNG Knight-Ridder Newspapers

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - When William Anderson harvests his soybean crop, he receives more from heaven than sunshine, rain and God's blessings.

He also picks up signals from 24 satellites orbiting at 10,900 miles from the Earth. They help him determine how much fertilizer and pesticides will be needed during the next growing season in each section of his fields.

Anderson, 57, of Maryland's Eastern Shore is one of a small but expanding number of farmers nationwide who are using satellites maintained by the Defense Department to decide how to apply chemicals more efficiently.

A start-up package with the display monitor, sensor and antenna costs between $5,000 and $7,000 to purchase, he said. For an initial soil sampling, businesses charge another $5,000 to $7,000 for each 1,000 acres. The farmers are not charged any fees for using the system. Farmers who use the equipment use about 20 percent less fertilizers and pesticides, recovering their investment over time, Olson (Ron Olson, president of Top-Soil Testing Service) said.

Anderson, who grows soybeans and corn on about 2,000 acres, said he purchased the equipment when others were still laughing about it.

"The commercial pesticide license requires a lot of record keeping, to the point where it is beyond the realm of a farmer."

"I would need one person just to keep up the records, like what pesticides I sprayed where and what direction the wind came from and so on. The GPS system records all that automatically," he said.
 
August, 1827
(Gettysburg Republican Compiler- Gettysburg, Pa.)

Singular organic relic.- Capt. Belle of the schooner Three Sisters, of Folly landing, Accomac county, Virginia, has brought from the neighborhood a very curious skull with tusks and teeth resembling ivory- It is in a complete state of petrification, and weighs fourteen pounds. It was found by Mr. Cropper on the sea shore, and it is a matter of uncertainty whether it was washed up by the surf, or disinterred by the waves. The latter is probably the fact. The specimen has been referred to the order of cetascous animals which are herbivorous, or feed upon vegetables, such as the Manati, the Dugong, and the Rytine of zoologists (newspaper's spelling).  But Dr. Mitchell, who received the specimen from the finder, through Mr. H.P. Haven, is inclined to consider it as having belonged to some antediluvian creature, who no longer exists in a living state, but, like many others, become extinct in the course of ages. By him, Mr. Cropper has been exhorted to make search for other parts of the skeleton.

January, 1927 (Time Machine archive)

The Eastern Shore Gas And Electric Company announced that Vienna had been selected as the site for construction of a modern steam turbine generating station. Salisbury, Cambridge, Pocomoke City, and Seaford had also been considered.

March, 1878
(The Denton Journal- Denton, Md.)

The Snow Hill (Md.) Messenger says a number of gentlemen in that town have formed an anti-swearing association. The fine for each oath used by a member is five cents, and the money is to be divided equally once a year. A praiseworthy association, truly.

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!


 

 

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