This is Bobby Vaught with his fuel oil truck on Moss Street. Bobby always had a big smile and wave for everyone throughout Chesapeake City. I bought my oil from him. His daughter, Betty, sent this photo to me.

Hattie’s Inn, on Chesapeake City's North Side, a popular bar and restaurant in the 40s and early 50s, located near town on Biddle Street Extension. People are mostly members of the Van Den Heuvel family—Photo courtesy of Nancy and Harry Van Den Heuvel.

Jack and Dick Titter’s Texaco Station, Summer of 1950

First Photo: The building has been renovated and is now called the “Eagle’s Nest.” It is located on Rt. 213, across from Bohemia Manor High School. The Model A Ford at right next to the building belonged to Ellison Ireland, and the 1936 Ford next to it belonged to Helen Titter.

Second Photo: This is inside Titter’s Texaco station about 1951. The men, Left to Right, are Hawky Reynolds, Mr. Critchley, and Jack Titter. During that time My father used to take his car there for service.

Dolph Wharton’s Taverns with Dolph and Family

First Photo: This is Dolph Wharton’s first tavern. It was the second building from the corner of Basil Avenue and Randalia Road. Dolph  Wharton was a very successful local tavern owner and a generous man. He owned a good bit of land in the area and ended up donating the lot that the current VFW is located on. Second Photo: Here’s his more recent tavern that he had built after the over-head bridge was completed. It was located about where the post office is now on Route 213. Third Photo: This is Mr. Dolph Wharton posing with his wife, Bessie, and adopted son, Willard P. Heverin, who was killed serving our country in WW ll. I’ve been told that, in his youth, Dolph lost a leg in either a boating accident or a motorcycle accident. As a boy, I recall seeing him descend with effort from the steps of his first tavern.

Rio Theater with Poster and Ticket

First Photo: Here’s a close-up of the Rio Theater and Jumpin’ Jim’s barber shop. Second Photo: This is local businessman, Walter Cooling holding an advertising poster for the Rio Theater. Walter was kind enough to go outside so I could take a good picture. Third Photo: Here’s a program for the theater and below it is a ticket. Ester Luzetsky gave me the program and the ticket is courtesy of Tommy Vaughan.

 

Shine’s Service Station with Shine Crawford and Cassy

First Photo: Here’s a view of some notable buildings on George Street, circa 1955. In the foreground notice Jumpin’ Jim’s barber shop and the Rio Theater, and above that are Walt Coleman’s pool hall (now the Shipwatch Inn) and Sydney (Shine) Crawford’s service station. Can you recognize other buildings?

Second Photo: This is Shine Crawford with Cassy, posing in front of Shine’s icehouse, circa 1950.

Postell’s Newsstand, with Janet Pyle

First Photo: This building was owned by Mr. Lupher at one time, but when I was a boy it was a newsstand, soda shop, and small grocery store run by Luther Postell. “Postell’s Corner” was where we know-it-all teenage boys used to hand out whenever we could. The building is now the very popular, “Bohemia Café.”

Second Photo: Here’s an inside view of Postell’s, with pretty soda clerk, Janet Pyle, who, with me, graduated from Chesapeake City High School in 1954. I remember jumping up there on the stool to order a cherry coke or milkshake. I think the milkshake was about 15 cents then.

Foard's Hardware - Chesapeake City

Foard Bros. Hardware and Service Station, with Roy Foard

First Photo: This is Foard Brothers’ general store and gas station, circa 1930. Notice the gravity-fed gas pumps and the appliances in the store window. The men posing L to R are Thomas Foard, Clinton Foard, and Leroy Foard. One summer, when I was 14, I worked there, and I can remember my first day on the job when Mr. Roy Foard told me to “Get out there, boy, and sweep all that road area clean.” Well, I didn’t sweep to suit him so he came out and showed me the proper short-stroke method. That was 65 years ago and I still remember how to sweep. Clinton Foard, Roy’s brother, was my main boss. He contracted polio early in life, which confined him to a wheelchair. In the mornings, my job required me to push him down the street to the store and take his dinner to him in the evenings. This is now the site of Foard’s Funeral Home.

Second Photo: Here is Mr. Roy Foard, my first boss. He also owned a farm and I recall getting up hay for him. He is Bobby Foard’s grandfather. Bobby is the town’s funeral director.

George Street 1944

Approach to George Street from St. Augustine Rd., Chesapeake City – Circa 1944

 

This is approaching George Street from Saint Augustine Road. The house at far right was the residence of Jim and Margaret Mackey. Margaret played the organ for the Trinity Methodist Church and also taught piano lessons. I remember Jim when he worked for Walter Colling’s store on Bohemia Avenue. Shortly after this picture was taken, most of these houses on the east side of South George Street were razed in order to make room for the overhead bridge pillars. From left to right, these are the people who lived in the houses at one time: the Noland family (left side) and Capt. Neddy Cooling (right side), the Filigame family, empty lot where the first Methodist Church was located, Miss Mary Miller, the Lum Family, Albert Moore’s house (still there), Ninch Borger house, which burned down about twenty years ago and was rebuilt. John Sager told me that it was one of the oldest houses in town. Notice the welcome sign, which has been there as long as I can remember. It welcomes you to town but warns, “Slow Down!”

Second Street, Chesapeake City – Circa 1950

Here’s an east view of Second and George Streets, with the Bethel A.M.E. Church at bottom right, the Sewell house across the street, and just next to it is the one-room Colored schoolhouse. Farther up at top left is Shine Crawford’s service station. Left to right next to it is the Stubbles house, an unidentified building, Postell's store and newsstand on the corner, and across the street on the corner is Borger’s general store. In the early fifties, Postell’s corner was the favorite hangout of us teenage boys. Back then we knew everything about everything. How things changed when we got older.

Two Views of Old City Dock, AKA Rees’ Wharf

First Photo: This is looking east, just about where the bandstand is today in Pell Gardens. The vessel is the steam tug, Deland, and the building is Frank Conrey’s coal and wood store. The local beauties posing are Agnes Tatman Brown, Kathleen Deshane, and Dorothy Biggs. The picture is circa 1935 and was provided by Ray Stevens.

Second Photo: Here’s a circa 1955 view from the wharf at City Dock of Nichol’s Restaurant, with the inset of Anna Nichols, the restaurant’s owner. At right are the “Apartments.” I knew some of the peoples who lived there, including colorful local character, Grayson Stubbs. I remember seeing Grayson swimming next to the Gotham ferry as it charged towards the ferry slip. He was racing it in and sometimes, being an excellent swimmer, almost won. This picture is courtesy of Lee Collins via Loretta Biggs Carter.

Mewhiter’s Drug Store and Del Curry’s Eatery

First photo: Here’s Mewhiter’s early drug store on the corner of Bohemia Avenue and Second Street. The lady is Miriam Hamilton Watson and the man is unidentified. Please let me know if you recognize him.

Second photo: This is inside Delmar Curry’s tiny restaurant, circa 1930. It was located just next to Franklin Hall, towards the canal. I don’t remember Del or the building, but John Vaughn told me about him and his shop; John said that Del made very good oyster stew. In his youth Delmar worked on one of the Ericsson Line steamers.

Charles Tatman’s Store, Two Views

First photo: This is Tatman’s Self Service Market after a snow storm in the early fifties. I remember the store and the Tatman family very well. The store was located on the corner of Bohemia Avenue and Second Street, directly across from the American Store (now our town hall). This was also the site of Marins gift shop and, before that, the location of our post office, as well as many other establishments over the years. Note the initials, R.G.E, printed on the store front. Can anyone tell me what they stand for? Just to the right of the store was Dr. Smithers’ home and office. He was our town dentist.

Second photo: Here is the inside of Tatman’s market, with Charles behind the counter. I don’t know who the girl is. If anyone does, please let me know.

Early Bank with Fletch Nickerson

Here’s the National Bank building, constructed in 1903 with Port Deposit granite, where I got my first loan at 6% interest. You can see that the World War I memorial plaque had not been placed. The building would later become our Town Hall and is now a gift shop.

Here is popular banker, Fletch Nickerson, with his ever-present stogie. How many bankers today can enjoy that on-the-job pleasure? He made sure my father signed for me before he Okayed the loan.

Two Views Trinity Methodist Church, circa 1910

First photo: This is an early picture of the church that was completed in 1889. It, along with our early bank, was constructed of Port Deposit granite. The house at left was to become the home of Eel Ireland and his wife, Naomi.

Second photo: Here’s another view with Birdie Battersby’s former house just left of the church. In 1936 the house caught on fire and was extinguished by our fire department. Raymond Whiteoak told me this about the construction of the church: “My father, Clifford, said that my grandfather hauled all the building materials for the church with a team of horses and a wagon. Well, he would drop off the materials to the workers. Then he’d go and get whiskey and get them all drunk. It’s funny. Not many people know that their church was built by workers drinking my grandfather’s liquor.”

Two Early Churches

First photo: Here’s the early church that stood on the site of where the Trinity Methodist Church exists today on the corner of Bohemia Avenue and Third Streets. Certain school classes were held here, also. Notice the gas light and the hitching post.

Second photo: This is the Trinity Methodist Church in the early 1900s. The Blue Max can be seen in the distance, with a widow's walk that once was there. Eloise Davis, when I talked with her about the church, remembered that there was a grave yard in the lot. She said that when the building was being renovated she saw a girl walking down the street with a bone that had been uncovered during excavation.

Early Chesapeake City School

First photo: Here is the school that my father graduated from in 1925. It was located on Third Street, up close to the street in front of the present elementary school. Walter Cooling told me that one day he got tired of the boring classroom so he jumped out the window of the room at the far right there, and spent the rest of the day fishing in the canal.

Second Photo: This is the back of the old school. It was circa 1930 and was possibly being renovated at this time. The pretty scholars: at left is Francis Spear and next to her is Myrtle Foard. Myrtle was Roy Foard’s wife and the grandmother of Bobby Foard, our current funeral director.

Harriott Hotel

First photo: This is what the Bayard House (Hole in the Wall) looked like in the early 1900s. The building is the oldest one in town and was owned and operated by Bill Harriott with help from his son, Punch. At right is the dance hall with the overhead walkway. Legend has it that Bill hanged himself upstairs, and that sometimes on a dark night, if you listen closely, you can still hear him swaying back and forth. I’ve listened many times for the creaking sound but have not heard it yet. Have you?

Second photo: Yes, this is Bill Harriott, rowing his homemade boat made out of 3,000 newspapers. The photo is from a newspaper article about 1910. Notice the wooden, steam, tugboat moored on the other side. It is most likely the Wister, one of six such tugboats that worked the canal and bay at that time.

American Store Employees

American Store, April, 1946

Here’s a picture of employees posing in front of our American Store on Bohemia Avenue and Second Street. It’s the same building that is now our Town Hall. The people, L to R: Betty Jean Needles, Tillie Blendy, Kathleen DeShane, Olive Spear, Anna Merchant, Dorothy Downs, Wilber Needles (manager) Walter Bennett, Harry Potter, Hazel Hessey. Missing from photo: Frank Bristow and John Dwyer. Photo courtesy of Betty Jean Needles Watson.

Two Old American Stores

Inside Two Old American Stores

First photo: This is a picture of the inside of our first American Store in 1926. It was located across from the Bayard House, right on the corner of where the fountain is today in Pell Gardens. At left is Mark Alcorn and next to him is Lewis Collins, Sr. Mr. Collins would later open a fine grocery store on the North Side’s Biddle Street. We can thank Lewis Collins, Jr. for this very special photo.

Second photo: Here’s a circa 1945 picture of the inside of our American Store on Bohemia Avenue and Second Street. It’s the same building as what is now our Town Hall. I remember running around this store in the late forties. My mother took me and my brother in here when she bought her week’s groceries. At that time, more recently, the meat counter had been moved to the back of the store. The man in the middle is Frank Bristow (a “colorful” town character) and at his left is Nelly Reed.

Sawtelle’s Drug Store on Bohemia Avenue

Here’s a south view of Bohemia Avenue, with Sawtelle’s Pharmacy at left. At one time our post office was in this building. The house next to it was the residence and office of our dentist, Dr. Smithers. I never had the pleasure of being his patient, but an older resident told me that Doc Smithers once drilled his teeth by working a foot pedal. He had his practice when I was a young boy, and I remember him very well. He was a tall, slim man who used to take daily walks down East Second Street on his way past Borger’s Wharf, Stone Bridge, and Bethel Road. I recall his long strides, aided by his long, ever-present, walking stick.

Bohemia Avenue

North View of Bohemia Avenue, circa 1920

Photo 1: Here is Bohemia Avenue and Second Street, with the canal in the background. When I was a boy the Charles Tatman family lived in the upstairs apartment of the building at right. Mr. Tatman owned a grocery store on the ground floor. I remember his sons, Gary and Bruce, very well. At the time of this photo, however, the building housed the Laws and Laws pharmacy. Dr. Law’s son in law operated the drug store, and later Dr. Mewither and his wife had a pharmacy here before moving up across from Reed’s General Store on Bohemia Avenue. Towards the middle you can see Ralph Rees’ car agency, with the two gravity-fed gas pumps. The building later became the American Store and is now the town hall. The large building next to it was the Rees home and is now the Inn at the Canal. Franklin Hall can also be seen in the distance at right.

Photo 2: Respected Chesapeake City physician, Dr. Laws

South View of Bohemia Avenue, circa 1920

This is a circa 1920 view of Bohemia Avenue. At far right is a sign reading “MEAT,” indicating that the building is Hager’s Butcher Shop. Next to that is the Victorian Lady, which still stands in its stately beauty. The house next to it still stands and still has the same type of chimney. At left are some old cars, parked next to what is now the Inn at the Canal. In the 20s the building was owned by Ralph Rees, who had a car dealership near that location. Mr. Rees also sold gasoline there (note the dome of the gas pump just visible above the car). You can see, also, how different the street and sidewalks were in those times.

Chesapeake City's Butcher Shop

Henry Hager’s Butcher Shop, circa 1915

This is an early photo of Henry Hager’s butcher shop on Bohemia Avenue, with Henry leaning against the post. Older residents told me that Mr. Hager was a big man, and that he used to deliver meat to residents of the north and south sides of Chesapeake City. At left is where the building called the Victorian Lady was to be built; it was a Sears and Roebuck building and stands today across from the Back Creek General Store. The site of the building at right is now a vacant lot, but in the forties and fifties I remember a small building where Mr. and Mrs. Mewhiter had a very popular drug store.

This second picture is of Henry Hager in later years.

Queck’s Bakery (Today’s Taproom), circa 1925

 

First photo: This a view from Bohemia Avenue of Queck’s Bakery, located on the site of what is now the Taproom. The Quecks were related to Vaughans. My father told me about when he, John Sager, and other boys used to play marbles in the alley next to this bakery. What he remembered most was the tantalizing aroma of the baked goods emanating from the building. He also said that the boys were able to keep warm against the building when they played during the winter. Notice the hitching post.

Second photo: Here is bakery owner, Bill Queck, holding his horse, Lollypop. They’re probably on their way to deliver some baked goods to north and south Chesapeake City.

Showboat (James Adams’ Floating Theater), Bayard House - Circa 1920

Here’s an early photo of South Chesapeake City when the Showboat docked near the Harriott Hotel (Bayard House). You may have read the Edna Ferber’s novel entitled Showboat. Eloise Davis and John Sager, life-long town residents, told me that they attended some of the performances. Several other people talked about lurking on the dock and peering through the windows at the shows. Notice the ice house and the small building on the corner next to it. The latter became a grocery store managed by Lewis Collins, Sr. He later opened his long-standing store on the North Side. Notice, also, Franklin Hall just left of the Bayard House.

Old South Chesapeake City

View from the bridge of South Chesapeake City, circa 1951

This is a view of South Chesapeake City from the newly-erected over-head bridge. Let me know how many of these buildings you can find: Bayard House, Ralph Rees’ Granary (gone today), Nichols’ Restaurant (gone), Franklin Hall, Shipwatch Inn, Shine Crawford’s service station (gone), Jumping Jim’s barber shop (moved to North Side in 60s), Rio Theater (gone), Postell’s store, Borger’s store (gone), James Adams’ house on Mt. Nebo, the basin. Can you identify any others?

Chesapeake City Basin Area

The Chesapeake City Basin Area, circa 1958

 

Here’s an over-head view of the Basin area, with parts of north and south Chesapeake City. At bottom left is the fire house before it was doubled, with Lock Street extending past Schaefer’s at right. Note the Basin area before the Chesapeake Inn was built. At top left is the Back Creek stream running under the small stone bridge where as a kid I hooked school to fish all day for yellow neds, catfish and carp. This stream runs up to the back creek mill pond. John Sager said that he saw the mill in operation when he was a boy. Note City Dock at middle right. How different it is compared to the Pell Gardens of today.

Dockside Restaurant

Dockside Restaurant in 1984

This is the Dockside restaurant, located on the site of what is now the Chesapeake Inn. It was owned and operated by Frantz Kappel, who owned the Chesapeake Boat Company before establishing this. The building burned down sometime in the late eighties. Photo courtesy of Lewis Collins, Jr

The Chesapeake City Basin

The Basin: James Adams’ Home and Borger’s Wharf

Here’s a southeast view of the Chesapeake City Basin around 1940. At present (2015), it’s the site of the Chesapeake Inn. The area at right, just out of view, was Borger’s Wharf, where I docked my small boat. Sometime in the seventies the restaurant known as Dockside was established on the site. The owner was Franz Kappel, former owner of the Chesapeake Boat Company. At left is Mount Nebo, where James Adams build his house. Adams was the owner of the Showboat, also known as the Floating Theater. Notice how different the Basin was in the early forties. Walter Cooling told me that, before the Corps of Engineers widened and deepened the area, it was mostly marshland, with a stream (Back Creek) meandering through.