Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Gwynn's Island Homecoming Day, 1953 Part III


The photo above, taken from Gwynn's Island, is another repeat since Chesapeake Bay Woman is working on a project which precludes her from doing anything taking pictures.

Plus she has a couple of paying jobs, plus two kids playing spring sports, plus a myriad of non-paying jobs, plus is there anyway to clone myself to be three places at once? Except if it isn't too much trouble, please clone the version of me that is not sprouting gray hairs. Thank you.

The poem below dates back to 1953 when Gwynn's Island held its 5th Annual Homecoming Day. Like the one posted on Monday, this poem doesn't cite an author.

In other words, thanks to this project which is usurping every spare moment of her time, Chesapeake Bay Woman is copying stuff from old pamphlets and passing them off as blog posts.

"COME SEE US"

Here's a special invitation
To some special sort of friends
To come and visit with us
Let this be your journey's end.

On Gwynn's Island in the Chesapeake
Down on Old Virginia's soil--
Where you cannot stop to worry
On your troubles and your toil.

Where you'll find peace and contentment,
Far away from fuss and strife.
Where you really can indulge in
The simple form of life.

There's no 'phone to Wake you mornings,
Trains and trams are far away,
Only Nature's soothing voices
Break in on your peaceful day.

Chickadees and bluebirds singing--
Wild geese honking when they come--
How much better all these sounds are
Than a city's busy hum?

Won't you come and help us life them?
Help us enjoy them, too:
'Twould be selfish to keep all this--
There's enuf for us AND you.

So we ask you to "COME SEE US"
Stay until you want to go.
With such a special invitation
Have you the heart to answer "NO"?
----------------------

Isn't that nice?

Now for a few more of the advertisements, which to me are the best part. There's this one:

NEW MODERN MOTEL
Owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. H.B. Bunch,
Ordinary, VA
Rates--Single $4.00 and Double $5.00; on Rte. 17

or how about

If You Want to be Heeled and Your Sole Saved Come to
E.L. BILLUPS
Hudgins, VA.

Presumably, he ministered to shoes.

Does anyone out there remember a time when you could get a hotel room for $4.00? I remember when gas was under a dollar per gallon. That was the same year we had to ride the stegosaurus to school because the wheel, necessary for the proper functioning of a school bus, had not been invented yet.

6 comments:

Ann Marie said...

well I remember.. errr hmmm borrowing $5 from my daddy's piggy bank and having enough money to buy a pack of smokes AND ride around all night.... now you are going to pick a pack of smokes or make it to the court house.. once.

nativedevil said...

I remember gas at .69 a gallon-I think it was about .89 when I started driving. Don't think I'd want to stay at a $4 hotel today-although I do remember the phrase "five dollar woman"LOL
An older fellow at one of my first churches used to tell of going to Charlottesville on Saturday night to go to the movies. He took a bus, paid his admission, got a drink and popcorn, all for twenty five cents!

Mental P Mama said...

LOL@ stegosaurus.

Daryl said...

I remember when the NYC bus and subway were 25 cents ... its now $2.25... and for a while there was no free tranfer from subway to bus or bus to subway or bus to bus .. now there is .. again ...

GAH what an exciting comment ...

WV calcom .. I guess cal is com

Diane said...

I remember gas at .37 a gallon in Alaska. But that was when we lived 30 miles out of town on a gravel road with no bridges and 3 creeks to drive through before the drive up the mountain to get home.

WV= singend (We would sing at the end of each trip!)

abb said...

I remember when cigarettes were less than a dollar a pack. Not that I had personal experience with buying any.

Ohhh - GREAT wv: catiness

I expect no catiness at this year's VABF! K??