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Accomack County

The Day Pinky the Pony Bolted & Ran in Greenbackville
QUOTE OF THE DAY: The Day Pinky the Pony Bolted & Ran in Greenbackville, 1950s Quote of the Day

QUOTE OF THE DAY: The Day Pinky the Pony Bolted & Ran in Greenbackville, 1950s

  We had a pony named Pinky--Pinky the pony was from Texas, an’ they had used her to gather up goats off of Hog Island, or hogs off of Hog Island, or whatever they had there. I think it was goats. It could have been hogs. Anyway, Dad bought her. I think that’s where I got my love for horses. We had quite a many…
October 30, 2016
Downtown Chincoteague on the Eastern Shore of Virginia
The Throwback Joys of Chincoteague and Its Famous Ponies Road Trips

The Throwback Joys of Chincoteague and Its Famous Ponies

  I write about lots and lots of different places on Facebook and for the Secrets website, so I’m speaking from long experience when I say that there is one town in particular on the Eastern Shore that generates the most passionate and enthusiastic response from people. The winner, hands down, is Chincoteague, Virginia. What is the secret to the town’s success in winning over…
October 3, 2015
The Day an Elephant Marched Through the Marshlands of Saxis Way Back Machine

The Day an Elephant Marched Through the Marshlands of Saxis

Over the centuries, several enterprising characters have tried to turn remote little Saxis on the Eastern Shore of Virginia side of Pocomoke Sound into a tourist destination. One such dreamer was Lloyd Drewer. Back in the early years of the 20th century, he built bathing houses, organized fishing trips, and sponsored various fairs and festivals. His most memorable exploit dates to the late 1930s, when he…
September 12, 2015
The Timothy Hill House, before and after
How This Amazing Old House in Chincoteague Beat the Odds and Came Back to Life DestinationsWay Back Machine

How This Amazing Old House in Chincoteague Beat the Odds and Came Back to Life

  Why is it that one building manages to survive for centuries while all the others built at about the same time fall victim to the ravages of time? One of the experts who has spent some time with what is believed to be the oldest house in Chincoteague—it’s still standing after 200-plus years—chalked its survival up to a magical mix of being “well built, unusual,…
August 18, 2015
Chincoteague Pony Swim
Tracing the History of the Famous Pony-Penning Party in Chincoteague DestinationsWay Back Machine

Tracing the History of the Famous Pony-Penning Party in Chincoteague

Before I did a little research, I assumed that the Chincoteague’s big annual pony-penning festival became a big deal only after 1947, the year Marguerite Henry published “Misty of Chincoteague.” That story, of course, became a children’s classic and then a Hollywood movie. But it turns out that the story of pony-penning day actually dates back centuries, not decades. Local historians say that the earliest…
July 23, 2015
Black Elvis from the Eastern Shore of Virginia
Meet Black Elvis, the Pride of Itty Bitty Painter on Virginia’s Eastern Shore Characters

Meet Black Elvis, the Pride of Itty Bitty Painter on Virginia’s Eastern Shore

    From the interviews I've seen, it seems that Clarence Giddens is rather cagey on the subject of his age, so there is no nailing down a detailed time frame for the day quite a few years ago when he was at a cousin's house and Elvis Presley flashed across the television screen. About the only thing we can say for sure, time-wise, is that the image…
July 18, 2015
Misty Stormy Ash Wednesday Featured Photo
The True Tale of Misty, Stormy, and maybe the worst nor’easter of them all Way Back Machine

The True Tale of Misty, Stormy, and maybe the worst nor’easter of them all

A version of this story appears in my book Eastern Shore Road Trips #1: 27 One-Day Adventures on Delmarva. Info about the book is here. The deluge lasted three long days and stretched across five high tides right at the time of the full moon. More than 90 percent of Chincoteague Island flooded. The water ran six feet deep at times on Main Street in…
February 19, 2015
Peanut Sign at Stuckey's in Mappsville (JJP)
The Old-School Stuckey’s in Mappsville DestinationsWay Back Machine

The Old-School Stuckey’s in Mappsville

    There are the fake new Stuckey’s, and there are the genuine old-time Stuckey’s. The Stuckey’s in Mappsville, an itty bitty burg of 400-and-some souls on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, most definitely falls into the latter category. As far as I can tell, this is the only genuine Stuckey’s left in the Shore region. Walk through the door and you’ll feel like you’ve…
December 5, 2014