Betty's Critters - & History Views

   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...

    The Ash Wednesday Storm smacked the islands of Assateague and Chincoteague with a vengeance, ruining homes, livelihoods, and dreams. It killed the plans of another Ocean City-like resort on the northern end of Assateague; 48 houses out of 100s planned had been built, only 10 survived.    On 12 March 1962, The Daily Register  of Red Bank, New Jersey had an article on page 11 that read:  145 Ponies Die  -  Chincoteague Toll  -  Chincoteague, Va. (AP) -  The most famous Chincoteague pony of them all foaled a filly even as a count showed 145 ponies died in last week's savage coastal storm.    Misty, the storied 16-year-old pony who was evacuated from this ravaged island when the floods struck, gave birth to a third offspring at Pocomoke City, Md., yesterday. [She was removed after the flooding subsided, on Friday, 9 March.]    But that was about the only bright news to reach pony-owners and fanciers on Chincotea...

  Pony Penning in 1961 took place on  July 26, 27 and 28th.  The swim was on the 26th; the Auction on Thursday; and the Swim Back on the 18th.   That was also the year that 20th-Century Fox released the movie "Misty" with Pam Smith, David Ladd, Arthur O'Connor and Anne Seymour. (I still wince when the actors try to say Chincoteague!) Shooting a scene from the "Misty" movie in October 1960. Anyway, in the days before Pony Penning 1961, the newspapers reported that at least 175 ponies would be brought in, and there were two different average prices quoted: that each pony is usually sold for between "$70 and $180" or "$80 and $200." The morning after the Pony Swim, newspapers reported three crowd sizes on the shore for the swim - 18,000; 30,000; and 50,000 people. It stated there was only one "incident" during the swim - that a pony had become entangled with an anchor rope and the rope was cut, allowing the pony to swim safely to...

   On Monday, 15 July 1946, The Daily Times  newspaper of Salisbury, Maryland reported  on page 5:  "Chincoteague Carnival Begins Two-Week Run  -  Chincoteague, July 15.  -  The Chincoteague Firemen's Carnival, one of the Delmarva Peninsula's outstanding events with Pony Penning Day on the 25th as its climax, opened here today.     Oldtimers who have looked over the famous herds of wild ponies in their grazing grounds on Assateague Island predict one of the largest round-ups of the sturdy little animals in the long history of the event.    Although Pony Penning Day is the most important of the year for most Chincoteague residents, the firemen plan a series of nightly entertainments for every night of the carnival's two week run.  Among these features are aerial acts and pony races under lights."   ***     In the Tuesday, 16 July, edition of the same newspaper, there is an advertisement on page...

   On 11 July 1925, The Worcester Democrat and the Ledger-Enterprise  newspaper of Pocomoke City, Maryland carried this item on page 2, under the heading of  'State and Peninsula News':   "Citizens of Chincoteague are making big preparations for a Firemen's Carnival to be held there from Thursday, July 23, closing night, August 1st.  Posters advertising the occasion are being distributed not only on the Eastern Shore of Virginia but in Delaware and on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.    In connection with this affair the annual Pony Penning takes place this year on Thursday July 30th.  This has always been a big occasion on Chincoteague and will be this year also.  Special attractions are being secured for the carnival and all who attend are assured a good time.    This carnival is being held to raise funds for the purchase of a motor fire engine equipment and chemical engine.  Chincoteague has been in need of suitable ...

    The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company (CVFC) was "given birth" in May 1924 by a group of 14 intrepid men; but they were not allowed to take over the fire-fighting equipment of the Chincoteague Fire Brigade until a Town Council decree on 11 June 1925.  That same decree gave the new CVFC permission to stage a carnival to raise money for fire-fighting equipment once a year.    Therefore, the Pony Penning after the second big fire on the island happened without a carnival, or with any funds being raised by the CVFC.  On Saturday, July 26, 1924, The Daily Times  of Salisbury, Maryland, ran on page 1 the following:   "Chincoteague Pony Penning Next Week  -  Annual Event Attracts Many From Wicomico And Other Sho' Counties  -  The annual pony penning on Chincoteague, an event which is largely attended by people from Wicomico County and other sections of the Peninsula, will take place next Wednesday, July 30th.    T...

  The Democratic Advocate , printed in Westminster, Maryland, of 15 July 1921 stated: "The Annual Pony-Penning will take place on Assateague Beach July 26, and on Chincoteague the following day."    In "Once Upon An Island " by Kirk Mariner, the author states on page 104: "...that [pony penning] scheduled for 1921 did not take place because Field refused to allow the owners to cross his land and round up their herds..."      And The Democratic Messenger , of Snow Hill, Maryland, in the edition of 30 July 1921, stated:  "Mssrs. Sewell T. Riley, Purnell West and Lloyd Pusey attended the Pony Penning at Chincoteague Island on Wednesday."  Construction of the causeway and bridges in 1922 Most mentions of Chincoteague and the ponies in the newspapers in 1922 were with regard to the "soon to be completed" causeway from the mainland, via a series of bridges, to the island. The delicious seafood and pony penning were almost alwa...