Betty's Critters - & History Views

This is my own synopsis of the first "big" fire:   On September 5th, 1920, a fire started in the ice cream parlor owned by L. N. Doughty, at what is now 4102 Main Street.  He had paid a 15-year-old boy $10 to start the fire.  Doughty was charged twice by the Grand Jury, but was never convicted due to insufficient evidence.  The boy confessed when confronted.  The boy stated he had started the fire in a specific place; but the fires inspector said the fire started elsewhere in the business.  The young man was also charged and acquitted by a jury.   The fire was first spotted and and the locals alerted at 1 a.m. Main Street, about 1915 There was a "stiff northwest wind" blowing. The buildings on both sides of the ice cream parlor caught fire.  The island's volunteer fire brigade arrived, but the fire engine would not function. Firemen from the U. S. Coast Guard Stations at Assateague, Wallops and Pope's Islands arrived to help fight the fi...

  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...