Pony Penning 65 Years Ago: 1956

   Just for the heck of it, I decided to look into the 1956 Pony Penning; it was the first I attended.  I was born on 9 June that year, and Mom took me to see the Pony Swim and Penning.  Our family was stationed at Oceana NAS, but Mom spent the week with her father on Peterson Street.  Pony Penning was on Wednesday, 25 July; the Auction on the 26th; and the return Swim on the 27th of July.  My older sister, then 6 1/2, stayed with Pop-Pop on Peterson Street, but the call of the ponies lured Mom, as they always had.  I was in her arms for the Swim, and then she carried me back to the Carnival Grounds.  Getting there, she had to use the restroom.  She saw Walt Clark, whom she went to school with, sitting on his horse, and asked him to hold me while she visited the facilities.  So the first time I was ever on a horse was at the CVFC Carnival Grounds, in the arms of Walt Clark.  I wasn't told that until I was 30.

   Anyway, in looking for information regarding the 1956 Pony Penning, I found a couple of interesting items.  Twentieth Century Fox made the movie "Misty" in October 1960, and it was released in 1961.  Did you know that RKO originally had permission to film the movie?  Here's a short article from The Daily Times of Salisbury, Maryland from Saturday, 14 July 1956, on page 14:  "RKO Postpones Plans To Film 'Misty'  -  Chincoteague  -  The plans of RKO studios to film the story, "Misty of Chincoteague," written by Margaret [sic] Henry, have been postponed.  

   Mayor Robert N. Reed received a letter recently from Ralph Dietrich of Hollywood, Calif., saying the preparations for filming the picture would have to be put off for another year.

   Scenes were to have been filmed of the famous wild ponies swimming from Assateague Island next Wednesday.  Other scenes of the firemen's carnival events and pony-penning were to be made the following day."

   RKO Studios had been purchased by Howard Hughes in 1948.  In 1955 the General Tire and Rubber Company bought the studios, but the ceased any and all productions in 1957.  They essentially dissolved in 1959.   ***

  On Wednesday, July 25th, The Daily Times had on the front page:  "Chincoteague Firemen Drive Ponies Across To Mainland  -  Chincoteague  -  Chincoteague volunteer firemen turned cowboys for today, flushing wild ponies from their marshy grazing lands on Assateague Island.

   Crowds from all over poured into Chincoteague to be on hand at the annual round-up and pony penning.

   An estimated 300 to 400 ponies were herded down through grass and thicket for the swim across the channel to Chincoteague.  The drive was set before noon, awaiting low tide.

  Between 75 to 125 colts will be auctioned off tomorrow.  They are expected to bring from $100 to $150.

  The round-up and pony penning are the high marks of the annual firemen's carnival.

  Traffic rolled into Chincoteague all night long, crowding accommodations to overflowing.   Many visitors were forced to return to the mainland for rooms.

  Since early dawn, between 15 to 20 firemen, led by Fire Chief Wilbert Wimbrow, were herding up the ponies.

  On Friday, the mares and stallions that are the brood stock  of the herd will be driven back across the channel to Assateague."   ***

   That Wednesday night, off Nantucket, the east-bound MS Stockholm (of the American Swedish Line) struck the top-heavy SS Andrea Doria, an Italian passenger liner, on it's way to New York City.  The Andrea Doria began a huge list to starboard almost immediately, which rendered half of her lifeboats useless.  Luckily, the bow of the Andrea Doria stayed afloat until 10:09 am on Thursday, when she sank, bow-first; that time allowed for a huge rescue effort, and only 51 passengers died that night and in the aftermath.  Most of America was riveted to that news story for the next week.    ***

   On Thursday, 26 July, under the headline of "Oceans Liners Crash" on the front page of The Daily Times can be found the story:  "Virginia Pony Sales Begin  -  15,000 Visit Island to See Herd Swim  -  Chincoteague  -  Mobs of people were around the pony pens today to buy the pony foals as sales started in Chincoteague's annual pony penning celebration.

   The price range was from $75 to $150 for some 60 or more foals.  They ranged from a few weeks to six months in age.  

   An estimated crowd of at least 15,000 jammed the island yesterday to watch the herd of wild ponies swim over from Assateague Island.  The herd had been rounded up Tuesday and held overnight in an area where they could not escape.

   Yesterday they were brought to the edge of the water that separates Chincoteague Island Assateague.  After resting for about an hour they were driven overboard at noon.  Mares, stallions and the little foals swam the narrow stretch of water of about 300 yards in less than a half hour.

   The mob of people quickly closed in on the ponies as they came out of the water on the Chincoteague side.

       Firemen Ride Horses

   About 20 Chincoteague volunteer firemen were on horseback for the roundup.  After forcing the herd overboard, they loaded their mounts on a barge and trailed the wild herd across the water.  Then the mounted firemen drove the ponies through the streets to the carnival grounds, 1 1/2 miles away.

   Lined up on each side of the waterway where the ponies swam were two rows of pleasure boats anchored side by side, nearly touching each other.  These were loaded with people watching the swim.

   Marines from the Chincoteague Naval Air Station, Virginia State Police, and local policemen had to contend with an island packed with cars bumper to bumper.  Traffic did not flow free again until 3 p.m.

   After the foals are sold today, the mares and stallions will be forced to swim their way back to Assateague tomorrow at 11 a.m.

   Pony Penning, an annual event, has been held in conjunction with the Chincoteague volunteer firemen's carnival for the past 31 years.  The ponies are owned by the firemen.  The carnival  opened July 14 and will conclude Monday night.

   There is an old story that the ponies were aboard a Spanish vessel early in the 16th century.  It was wrecked off the coast of Assateague.  Some of the ponies escaped drowning and reached the shore.

   Less than fifty years ago the ponies were solid colors of bays, blacks and sorrels.

      History Is Told

   Pony Penning was first held on the southern end of the island.  Only the men came to the penning.  The women prepared the food but were not allowed to join the fun.  Visitors came to the island by boat.  The food was free for all, so were the kegs of home-made whiskey, so the story goes.  

   The men who owned the ponies bet their ponies against the money of the mainland men during races.   There were no saddles and riders used a whicket or rope for bridles.  Most of the riders were ex-slaves.  The ex-slaves also did the branding and the roping of the ponies."    ***

   Friday, July 27, found The Daily Press of Newport News running a story about Pony Penning on page 8:  "At Chincoteague Virginian Cowboys Vie On Wild Ponies  -  Chincoteague, July 26  (AP)  -  Would-be bronc-busters and amateur cowboys today pitted their skills against the small, shaggy Assateague Island ponies in Chincoteague's annual pony penning.

   The ponies score many of the victories.

   The wild pony rides followed an auction of more than 200 of the choice colts to buyers who came from as far away as Iowa.  Prices ranged from $100 to $150.

   James Harmon, 30, topped ten competitors in the wild pony riding exhibition.  He stayed aboard his mount for about six minutes.

   The crowd milled around the pen to catch a glimpse of "Lightning," a black stallion who had roamed Assateague, avoiding the roundup for five years.  This year, he was caught.

   The ponies had been rounded up at Beebe's Ranch at the tip of this island early today and driven down Chincoteague's streets to the auction grounds.  The animals were driven across Assateague 

Channel yesterday from their home on the marshes and kept at the ranch over night to rest. 

   Tomorrow, the stallions and mares of the brood herd will be driven back across the channel to stay until next year.

   The pony penning is an annual fund-raising event of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department carnival whose members turn cowboy once a year for the show.

   Carnival officials estimate 30,000 persons were on hand for the event - a record crowd.  They lined the shore and crowded into boats yesterday to watch the ponies swim the Atlantic waters of the channel.

   The buyers of the ponies today got their choice of legends about the origin of the animals.  One story has it they were descended from Spanish horses which swam ashore from a wrecked galleon in the 16th century.  Another legend says the ponies were put on the island under a 17th century Colonial law requiring horses to be confined."    ***

   This advertisement also caught my eye -  A 414 acre farm  with 1.5 miles of shoreline, including a nice sand beach on beautiful Chincoteague Bay.  Only $60,000.  Pay $20,000 down and easy payments on the rest...  

   My last surprise in looking at the summer of 1956 was to find a pictorial page in The Chicago Tribune on 10 August 1956 about the Kane County Fair in Illinois.  Did you know that in 1956 Misty the Chincoteague pony was used to campaign for Dwight David Eisenhower in his run for the Presidency of the United States?  I did not know that fact.