The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1936-10-30
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UNUSUAL FACTS

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A few years ago Henry Edward
Warner said, "a good Hobby is the
difference between slavery and liv-
ing" 1t must be for he is hobby
rider and Maryland's Number One
Unusual Facts man. He digs deep
and remembers long. Running a
close second is Jack Culver and his
Jack Pots" Unusual Facts column
in the Snow Hill Democratic Messen-
ger.
Every news story and conserva-
tion must relate some Unusual Fact
if it is to retain interest. A good re-
porter is a keen observer picking up
and running down every thread hop
ing to find the unusual at the end.
But not all Unusual Facts hobby rid
ders are newspapermen. There are
hundreds of people on the peninsula
with good Unusual Facts to tell. ALL
they need is good listener or an
audience. At least one P.T.A. is
planning Unusual Facts as a regular
program feature.
Scrapbooks are preserving wealth
of interesting items for school child
rem. All local histories are simply
collections of unusual facts. Only
the unusual stands out.
Several authors are now working
on the peninsula writing books of
fiction built around Unusual Facts
local traditions. Perhaps one of
them is the struggle and failure of
Americas first factory. 1t was
salt factory built at Kiptapeake, near
Cape Charles about 1927.
If you will look at a map of Mary
land you will find Chestertown, Gen.
treville, Easton and Cambridge locat-
ed on straight line, due north and
south. Here are the only four con-
Meeting counties in the United States
whose county seats are on the same
meridian, the 18th.
Shadows of Henry George and
Enoch Arden, famous single tax adj
vocates, are seen at Gilpins Point on
the Choptank between Denton and
Preston, where the Conclave of Eco
nomic Rents has established a settle
ment.
Likewise, Washington, D. G. Is
north of the Mason-Dixon Line and
Baltimore is west of it. The line
was started in 1853 at Fenwick Is
land on the Atlantic Ocean and was
run due west for thirty nine miles to
the turn near Mardella. If this
course is continued across the map
it will show Washington some thirty
five miles north of the line as it
crosses Virginia. After running the
thirty-nine mile westerly course the
line turns north by west two degrees
and runs to the tangent stone be-
tween Elkton and Newark, Del. This
makes fredericksburg, Elkton and Bal
timore west of the Mason-Dixon line.
A we'll preserved five mile marker
with the VIM. Penn Coat of arms on
the eastern side and that Of Lord
Baltimore on the western side can be
seen on the Maryland Delaware
Boundary half mile from Bethel
Church near fredericksburg.
Fifteen miles south of Cambridge,
oxen are almost as common as hors-
es. In thirty minutes from modern
Cambridge you can step back hum
dred years or more to quaintness
not found elsewhere on the peninsu-
la. Horses do not have the stamina
required for swamp logging. A.
room papered with stock certificates
issued in the promotion of peninsula
oil wells, muskrat marshes, rabbit
ranches, and terrapin towns would
no doubt bring a food Of Unusual
Facts.
Give your unusual facts to your
school or local paper edition or put
them in your scrapbook for future
reference. The American Magazine,
Readers Digest, and the Hobbies
Magazine are filed with unusual
facts. Unusual Facts make history!
BOOKS: Everyday Mysteries-Ab-
bot; Curious Lore of Precious Stones
-Kunz; Modern Alladdins and Their
Magic-Rush; Believe It or Not
Ripley; U. s. Information Service
Washington, D. c.
Next week: Trees.