Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1942-02-06
BOyhOOd RGCOlIGCtiOnS
The Five Churches OF POCOmOke
City
By EBEN HEARNE
CHAPTER TWO
St. Mary's P. E. Church


appropriate to quote the following
paragraph from Muray's History of
Newtown" published in 1885,
"In 1916, Nov. 18th, the St. Mary's
Protestant Episcopal Church in New
town was consecrated by Rt. Rev.
William Robinson Nottingham, Bish-
op of Maryland. The church was built
through the interchangeable labors of
the Rev. John Crosdale, d. D., who
from the day of it's conservation to
the day of his death was Rector"
This church is the one that l as a
hoy we'll remember. 1t would be inter
esting to know now what means of
transportation Bishop Wilmington
made use of to reach Newtown, nine
ty-six years ago, to officiate at the
dedication of st. Mary's Church. 1t
is left to conjecture. My guess is, as
there were only two ways or methods
to reach Newtown from Baltimore,
(by water and by private conveyance)
that he either embarked on a schoon
er at Baltimore, sailed down the Patap-
SEQ River, down the Chesapeake, up
the Pocomoke River to Newtown or
ne performed the long tedious jour
ney by carriage drive down the East
ern Shore road after crossing the Sus
euehanna River at Havre-de-Gra If
he had made the journey, the Bishop
could have boarded a steamboat at
Baltimore for White Haven, Wicomi-
CO County, Maryland and from that
village he could by carriage have
reached NeWtown.
In the early 1868, St. Mary's was
a beautiful regulation type frame rec
tangular building of pleasing and
ehurchly architectural design, sur
mounted by a graceful and we'll pro-
portioned spire in which hung a
sweet-toned bell. The church con-
tanned several very beautiful stained
glass memorial windows. Sad to re-
late this church was so seriously dam
aged by destructive fire several
y
to almost construct new building. A
new roof was built and the chancel
enlarged and the renovation of the in
terror brought about a complete
change !. in its appearance which
greatly added to its beauty. The beau
tiful memorial windows were demol-
ished by the fire, and had to be re-
placed entirely by new ones.
st. Mary's was the first Church in
Pocomoke City in which pipe organ
was installed; and, at that time with
the exception of violins and accorde-
Ons, do not suppose there were one
half dozen musical instruments in
town. 1 can think of only two homes
in 1860, where could be found pia-
no. There might have been two or
three instruments which were known
as melodeons. The four other chur-
ches in town did not introduce reed
or cabinet organs until the late 1860's.
The organist at st. Mary's during my
childhood was the late Mrs. Mary
Cannon Dryden. The pipe organ was
entitled to the admiration of the en-
tire community and to me as a small
town boy it was a most wonderful in
strument whose music 1 greatly en-
joyed.
With the exception of a violin, an
accordian, harmonica or Jews
I Tn hn
musical instrument I had ever heard.
From my earliest childhood l was
passionately fond of music, and |
could "carry or turn a tune" before
l could speak plainly. 1t was JOY
and a pleasure to me to listen to the
melodious tones of that pipe organ
whenever l had an opportunity to at
tend a service at st. Mary's. In those
far off days of boyhood little did 1
even dream that in the course of fiji
teen years, l would possess a suffi-
Gent knowledge of instrumental mu-
sic to enable me to become the organ
ist in my own church home, the Sa-
lem Methodist Church of Newtown.
Several years before the 1868 and
a long time before the Public School
System was banished in Maryland, st.
Mary's Church established private
school in building (now a part of
the Parish House, across Third St.,
from the Church. l recall the names
of several of the teachers who at diff
ferent times were teachers there. A
mong them were Mrs. Mary Cannon
Dryden, Miss Mary Crosdale, Rev.
William Wilkinson, Miss Clemintine
Mesick, Mrs. Mary Ellen Stevens
Handy, and Mrs. Annie Truman An
gelo.
| have the most pleasant memories
of the first Rector of st. Mary's, the