Peninsula Enterprise, April 30, 1887

Prohibition Anniversary on Chincoteague.

Moral -- Alcohol

The long talked of celebration of the first anniversary of the adoption of local option on Chincoteague came off on Saturday. To say it was a success is putting it mildly. A literary and musical entertainment was given on Friday night, and though the clouds were heavy and the rain poured in torrents a nice audience gathered at Temperance Hall to greet Wm. Warner, Mr. Snyder and wife and Miss Warner, all of Camden, N. J. The literary effort of Mrs. Snyder was highly appreciated by our people and the music of the trio was loudly applauded, especially the solos of the little nine year old Mamie, while the wit and humor of "this same Warner" brought down the house in convulsions of laughter and applause. Letters of regrets at their inability to be present were received from Revs. Wharton, Hundley, Street and Ward, of the Baptist church, and Mowbray, Wilson, Todd and Walton, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Saturday morning, afternoon and night to crowded houses, rousing temperance speeches were put in by Revs. A. D. Davis, S. U. Grimsley, R. I. Watkins and Wm. Warner. Temperance stock ran high, and the enthusiasm of the people was evinced by the storms of applause that greeted each speaker. The people of Chincoteague are thoroughly alive on this great moral issue, and with this question in the hands of the voters of our Island, the doom of the legalized liquor traffic is forever sealed. Financially the anniversary was a complete success. No collection, no boring anybody for funds, and yet we raised more cash than we needed to defray expenses. Sunday the 24th was observed by all the churches as temperance day. Rev. S. U. Grimsley and R. I. Watkins lectured in the morning at Union Baptist church and Rev. A. D. Davis at Temperance Hall; in the afternoon Rev. Davis and Mr. Warner at Goodwill M. E. Church and at night the celebration wound up with a rousing temperance mass-meeting at Rev. Mr. Grimsley church, speeches and song holding the vast audience until eleven o'clock, when the doxology was sung, closing with the benediction, the first anniversary of the great local option victory of Chincoteague.

JONIDAB.

Chincoteague, April 25, '87

Untitled

Moral -- Alcohol

EDITOR ENTERPRISE: -- Please allow a visitor to the Local Option celebration on Chincoteague Island, advertised in the papers to come off at Temperance Hall on that Island, on Saturday, April 23d. to give to the readers of your valuable paper his impressions as to the same. Arriving at Franklin City, the terminus of the D. M. & Va., R.R., on last Saturday afternoon in time to take passage on the steamer Widgeon for the island, we were soon on our way and in a short time after leaving Franklin City landed safely on Chincoteague. We at once started off to see the "sights," but judge of our disappointment, not to say sorrow, at not seeing a single flag flying to the breeze, nor did we hear the merry sound of a single instrument, making sweet music to cheer our lonely hearts. But our disappointments heretofore were trivial, compared with what followed, for we soon were brought to realize that the celebration had produced little, if any enthusiasm among the people of the Island outside of a very few. Being simply a visitor on the occasion we could not be expected to ascertain the exact number of persons in attendance at the Hall on Saturday afternoon, but from the best information obtainable from all sources, we come to the conclusion that there were about 300 persons present who had gone there to listen to promised addresses from prominent Virginians, who, it is said, had been invited to be present on that occasion and to others of less note who had been "imported" to entertain those who are ever so willing to "lick the hand that had but so recently smote the people of Virginia." The eminent Virginia orators failed to put in their appearance consequently the "foreigners" had things their own way. The festival held in Temperance Hall in aid of the "great celebration" on Saturday night was tolerably well attended.

There were meetings held in Temperance Hall and in the Baptist churches on Sunday morning and on Sunday evening in the Old Baptist Church, Rev. Mr. Grimsley, pastor, at which place there was a very large gathering of people, members of the different churches and others, who met together for the purpose of holding an "old fashioned experience meeting," and they seemed to have a very good time among themselves. Presiding Elder Davis, Rev. and Mrs. Snyder of Philadelphia, the M. E. Church minister stationed on the Island, brother Grimsley, pastor of the old Baptist church and Warner, of New Jersey -- known on the Island as "Clown," "Long Shor man," and other aliases were all present and had each their say in turn.

The M. E. minister in his remarks, dwelt upon facts, was conservative in all he said, thereby winning many friends among the two elements of people in attendance.

Remarks of Warner, the "clown," about "A life long Democrat and Temperance Man," who, it seems had at sometime or other written something about him (Warner) and it had got into the newspapers, was very freely condemned by nearly every person who heard him, both local optionist and anti-local optionist. From what we saw and heard we are forced to the conclusion that the imported speakers and leaders in the celebration were far from being satisfied with the results -- and it is the opinion of many that the affair will greatly encourage the enemies of local option. Fanatics and extremists are a drawback to any good cause as was clearly proven last Saturday.

VISITOR.

April, 17, '87.

Untitled

Infrastructure -- Public - Government : School administration

MR. EDITOR. -- In my district (Metompkin [District]), there seems among the people, right much dissatisfaction because of the fact that our public schools have been run only six months, the session just ended, while the schools in some of the other districts of the county have, or will probably run eight months. There seems to be a disposition among many of the people to blame something or somebody for this state of affairs, and whether they have a just cause or not to do so, I am unable to say. Perhaps a public statement of the school affairs of the district that led to such a condition in our schools, would serve as an opportunity in which our district school officers might exonerate themselves from whatever blame the people may imagine is attributable to their management of the great trust reposed in their hands and at the same time give the general public an insight in our school affairs, otherwise not easily attainable. The writer has no disposition to blame either or any of our officials in the absence of correct knowledge, as to the cause of the facts referred to, and feels sure that a candid and fair statement of the school affairs of this district will show that they have managed them as well as the connecting circumstances would permit.

I am yours for information.

IGNORAMUS.

April 25, 1887.

Farmers' and Truckers' Association.

Farmers -- Farmers' organizations

MR. EDITOR -- The farmers of this section of the county met as advertised, in this place on Saturday of last week, and affected permanent organization known as the Farmers' and Truckers' Association of Accomac Parish. Wm. H. Bull was elected president, Capt. W. A. Street, secretary, N. W. Nock, treasurer, and Julius G. Matthews, corresponding secretary. N. W. Nock was appointed by the chairman to prepare an address, or to read a selection appropriate to the occasion on next meeting day. Capt. Street, John P. Barnes and N. W. Nock, were appointed a committee to prepare a constitution, &c., for the guidance of the association. The occasion was made interesting by the address of Capt. East of the Accomac Association of Truckers and Fruit growers, who gave us many points on fruit culture and the propagation of new varieties of fruit. The address and the assistance rendered by him in effecting an organization were highly appreciated. Capt. Street also made a short address in which he pointedly set forth the disadvantages under which farmers now labor from want of concerted action on their part, and showed the folly of farmers fighting single handed the huge monopolies with which they now have to contend. He made a strong plea also in favor of the Association as a social institution, and educator and as a place where the farmers could see and know each other, where ideas upon farming and kindred subjects could be exchanged and where all could be beneficiaries of experiments conducted by the members of the Association, in farming, fruit growing, &c. The Association seems to be in earnest, and if farmers throughout the Eastern Shore will unite for concert of action in all matters effecting their common interests they will occupy a more commanding position than at present and so far as they are concerned, the necessity for Inter-State Commerce Bills will, to a considerable extent be done away with. Divided as they now are and have been for ages past, it seems possible that they should sink deeper in the "slough of despond" than now. In union, in concert of action for specific purpose, who can dream of the possibilities awaiting the toiler amidst the clods in the future. After some remarks from other members, the association adjourned to meet at same place in the afternoon of the first Saturday in May. Farmers in the neighborhood and from a distance are invited to be present.

Yours,

FARMER.

SEA SIDE, VA., April 19, 1886.