The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department will hold what is sometimes called the oldest Wild West show in the East on July 29 with the auction on July 30. The roundup, which goes back over a century has been run since 1925 by the Volunteer Fire Department as a way of raising money to provide fire protection to the community.

The wild ponies, believed to be descendants of horses from a Spanish galleon that wrecked off Assateague Island in the 17th Century or descendants of horses owned by colonial settlers who allowed them to graze on the island.

The event was made famous by the children's novel, "Misty of Chincoteague," written by Marguerite Henry in 1947 and made into a movie in 1960.

Assateague Island is a barrier island divided between Maryland and Virginia. You can visit Assateague Island State Park in Maryland or Assateague Island National Park that covers boths states.

Over the years, The Sun has covered the swim from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island and our photographers have taken many wonderful photos of this event.

To read more about Assateague Island and the Chincoteague ponies see links below.

Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce

Assateague Island

Assateague Island National Seashore

Assateague Island State Park

Posted by Paul McCardell at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

The game this Friday between AC Milan and Chelsea at M&T Bank Stadium made me think of another game in another stadium with one of the greatest soccer players of all time. The stadium was Memorial Stadium the player Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele.

The game was played May 30,1973 in front of 24,680 fans, the largest soccer crowd in Baltimore's history. Pele didn't disappoint. He scored 3 goals leading the Brazilian team, Santos, to a 6-4 victory over the Baltimore Bays. Santos played the Bays again in Baltimore on June 19,1973, beating the Bays 4-0.

Soccer has been played in Baltimore for more than 100 hundred years, brought to town by its many immigrants. The story goes that large groups of Englishmen, Scotsmen, Irishmen and Germans came over to rebuild Baltimore after the great Baltimore Fire in 1904. Some of these men were former professional soccer players. The English organized the Sons of St.George Soccer Club which was based Colgate Creek. Soon more teams followed, organized by the Greeks, Italians and many other ethnic groups.

Baltimore had more than 100 teams in 14 leagues at its peak in the early 1930s. The city would draw international competion on May 15,1946 when the Liverpool Reds played the Baltimore Americans, the champions of the American Soccer League. The game was played at the stadium, where Baltimore lost 9-0. Chelsea played in Baltimore May 21,1954 at Westport Stadium against the Baltimore Rockets of the American Soccer League. Chelsea won 7-1.

I hope you enjoy the photographs and that they spark some memory or comment.

Posted by Paul McCardell at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

The Ocean City boardwalk is a place to stroll and take in the sights, sounds and smells of Ocean City. The boardwalk is 2.5 miles from the inlet to 27th Street.

I enjoy the sea air, the sound of crashing waves, the smell of caramel corn and french fries and vinegar. I enjoy the crowds of people walking by, the sight of kites lofting in the air, the amusement rides, the colored lights and the sound of a train passing by. I even enjoy reading the t-shirts as I pass them by.

Here's a link to some history about the boardwalk.

I hope you enjoy your stroll down the boardwalk in pictures and feel free to send a comment or idea for a future post.

Posted by Paul McCardell at 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The July 4th holiday reminded me of our country's Bicentennial Year celebration back in 1976 and of the tall ships that visited to Baltimore. The visit by these seven tall sailing ships and several smaller craft proved to be the biggest tourist attraction in Baltimore's history. Between July 10 and July 18 the harbor area was a sea of timbers and humanity.

Operation Sail, or OpSail for short, inaugurated public use of the new promenade and athletic field on southern side of the Inner Harbor and helped reawken Baltimore to its potential. This drew many people not just from the Baltimore metropolitan area but from Washington, DC, Virgina and states to the north.

The tall ships were very majestic and brought you back to an earlier time in our history when Baltimore's harbor was filled with all kinds of masted ships. OpSail also brought crews from all over the world who mixed well with Baltimore's many different ethnic groups and who also could spread the word about Baltimore after they left.

We are lucky to have the USS Constellation, The Pride of Baltimore II, Lady Maryland and other nautical treasures. Tall ships and other vessels still visit our city each year thanks to Sail Baltimore.

The Suns' photographers chronicled this event with many shots of the ships, crews and crowds they attracted.

I hope you enjoy the photos and feel free to send me comments and ideas for future posts.

Posted by Paul McCardell at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)