Ocean City, Maryland, Blog

2010 Summer Employment

2010-03-03T12:44:00.004-05:00

The annual Ocean City Job Fair is Saturday, March 6, 2010. For a full report on the job fair and employment opportunities, go to Maryland On My Mind.

July 4 Weekend

2009-07-02T23:18:00.001-04:00

For a Fourth of July update, see Maryland On My Mind. Thanks.

The Season in OC: More Work, Less Blogging

2009-05-12T23:00:00.007-04:00

Ocean City is off to a fast start this spring. April weekends were busy, thanks to nice weather and crowd-pleasing events. The final weekend of April, offering a glimpse of summery weather to come, was especially busy. City Hall reports more people visited Ocean City in April 2009 than in any previous April, since they started keeping records.

Springfest, this past weekend, was a great success. The weather forecast had been a little dicey, but the actual weather far outperformed the forecast. Sunny most of the day, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. What rain we had came at night.

Coming up is Cruisin' Ocean City, beginning Thursday and running through Sunday. It's a weekend for people who love beautiful cars. Thousands of cars will be on display throughout town: custom classics, hot rods, street machines, muscle cars.

The warming weather and the quickening pace means "The Season" is here. For folks who live in Ocean City, it's a busy time. The busier the better. Bottom line: I will have little, if any, time to write posts for the Ocean City, Maryland, Blog. I haven't disappeared, I'm just working. Check out Maryland On My Mind for notes and pictures from the beach.

Enjoy your summer! Don't forget sunscreen for your skin, a hat for your head, and flip-flops for your feet.

It's Springfest in Ocean City

2009-05-08T05:16:00.005-04:00

Friday Afternoon, 2:45 p.m. The sun is shining brightly in Ocean City. We expect a high of 75 degrees this afternoon. I doubt it will go below 65 tonight. Temperatures in the low- to mid- 70s on Saturday.

Springfest is here, and Ocean City is ready to rock and roll.

Springfest began yesterday (Thursday), and runs through Sunday at the Inlet Parking Lot. Arts and crafts for sale, food, and big-name entertainment. Admission to Springfest is free; there is an admission charge for the headline acts in the Springfest Entertainment Tent. All this and the Beach and Boardwalk, too. Admission to the Ocean City beach and boardwalk is priceless (in other words, free). Always has been, always will be.

You can park for free at the Park-and-Ride lot in West Ocean City, and ride the shuttle to Springfest for $1.

Highway workers beat their Memorial Day weekend deadline for completing work on the Route 50 bridge into Ocean City, with time to spare. The repaved bridge was fully reopened to traffic on Thursday afternoon (about the same time the sun broke through the clouds), just in time for Springfest. During construction this past winter, traffic was limited to one lane in each direction. What a luxury it is to breeze across the smooth new concrete, two wide lanes in each direction, lane markers freshly painted.

The Boardwalk trams are running for Springfest. The cost is $3 one way to the Inlet Lot. Of course, the famous Ocean City bus system is running, 24-7. Ride all day for $2. Park your car and take a vacation from driving!

Melvin's Steak House is open at Philadelphia Avenue and First Street!

The new, improved official Ocean City Web site is set to debut on Monday, May 11. Check it out at http://ococean.com.

Don't forget, Sunday is Mother's day. Ocean City restaurants are ready to celebrate Mother's Day, from brunch to dinner.

Explore the Web at AlphaInventions.

Signs of Spring in Ocean City: The Month of May

2009-04-30T23:50:00.007-04:00

The last weekend of April, with unusual high temps in the low 80s, felt like the beginning of the season, to me. The Ocean City, Maryland, Boardwalk was bustling with people, and sunbathers enjoyed the beach.

Now May is here. In the 1970s, I worked seven days a week, from May 1 through Sept. 30. That's 150 straight days. This year, I return to the Ocean City workforce, but hopefully no more than five or six days a week.

This first weekend of May features a couple of interesting activities on Saturday.

The Beach Clean Up, sponsored by the Ocean City Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, with assists from other community organizations, begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2, on the beach at 37th Street. Trash bags will be provided. Students can earn community service credits!
The White Marline Festival is Saturday afternoon, 12 noon to 3 p.m., on the Somerset Street Plaza. (That's in the historic downtown part of Ocean City.) A highlight will be the Crab Soup Cook-Off. Admission to the festival is free, but tickets are $12 to sample the soups. It's all sponsored by the Ocean City Downtown Association.

Looking ahead, May will be a busy month in Ocean City.

May 7 to 10 is Springfest! Activities all weekend at the Inlet Parking Lot, south end of the island. Big-name entertainment at night! The Hubcaps on Thursday, Randy Travis on Friday, The Association and Gary Puckett on Saturday, all at 8 p.m. in the Springfest Entertainment Tent. Admission to Springfest is free, but tickets are required for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday night shows. On Sunday afternoon, there will be a free concert by the Zim Zemarel Orchestra at 3 p.m.
May 14 to 17 is Crusin' Ocean City, also called Cruisers Weekend. Wonderful cars to see all over town.
May 22 to 25 is Memorial Day Weekend! Yep, it's almost here.

Signs of Spring in Ocean City: First 80-degree Weekend

2009-04-24T10:35:00.012-04:00

Spring weather: Very warm is the prediction for the last weekend of April throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states.

Ocean City, Maryland, is no exception. We're at the beginning of a beautiful spring weekend, a weekend warm and sunny enough for the beach. It's true! Temperatures in Ocean City will be in the low 80s both Saturday and Sunday!

Going on in Ocean City this weekend:

Maryland International Kite Exposition. Along the beach and boardwalk form North Division Street to 6th Street. (Light southwest breezes predicted, 5 to 10 mph, all weekend.)

Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition and Festival at the Ocean City Convention Center at 4oth Street.

Bring sunscreen! Bring sunglasses. Bring your shorts and short-sleeved shirts. Bring your swimsuit if you want to sunbathe on the beach. Also, bring a light jacket. It will be very warm during the day, but you probably will want a sweater or light jacket when going out to dinner or walking the Boardwalk in the evening.

Regular gas is back down to $1.89 a gallon.

April Perfection

2009-04-18T13:29:00.003-04:00

What is so rare as a week in April with perfectly scheduled weather?

Midweek, we had the April showers (two solid days of drenching rain in many parts of Maryland). The farmers needed that rain. Then, perfect timing: clearing on Thursday, and nothing but sunshine on Friday and Saturday.

Here in Ocean City, Maryland, the Boardwalk was surprisingly bustling when I walked to work mid-afternoon Friday. It was warm but still quite breezy. Kites galore in the wind above 5th Street. The temperature fell quickly in the evening.

Today, Saturday, is a perfect April day on the Boardwalk and the beach. Highs in the low 70s, and the wind has quieted to 10 to 15 mph. It's nice enough for shirtsleeves on the Boardwalk; warm enough for more than a few people to soak in the sunshine on the beach.

Today is Boston Marathon day! In Ocean City, we had a 5K run and a half-marathon. The mini-marathon started bright and early at the Inlet -- north on the Boardwalk, to North Division Street, west across the Route 50 bridge, then south on Route 611 to Assateague.

Most of the well-know Ocean City restaurants and hotels are open for business.

The Day After The Storm

2009-04-16T10:45:00.005-04:00

The day after a storm is always beautiful.

The only similarity between today (Thursday) and yesterday (Wednesday) is that it's still windy. The downpour? Gone. The clouds? Gone. The temperature? Improving. The sun is shining brightly, the blue sky goes on forever, and it's quiet! We're savoring the remaining midweek days of the off-season, sunny days of peace and quiet. (And busy preparation.)

Right now I'd better go do some laundry, and some ironing. Tomorrow is Friday, and that's a work day.

The next couple of days: Friday, sunny and 64; Saturday, sunny and 70! Last time I looked, regular gas was $1.95 a gallon. I predict a nice, medium-busy weekend on the Boardwalk.

Got Spring Fever?

2009-04-15T13:04:00.004-04:00

Rain, rain, go away. It's been dreary and rainy, rainy and dreary, not to mention cold, the past few days. At least it's washed the pollen out of the air. Parts of Maryland had been needing rain. This week should help with that, but the farmers say they will need a few more good, soaking rains this spring to avert drought in the summer.

We are going to have a WINDY, rainy, cold night in Ocean City tonight. A miserable night. I plan to stay inside and read, or maybe blog.

But the good news: We expect the clouds to part and the sun to shine on Thursday. And then warming!

For Friday, the Ocean City, Maryland, forecast is sunny, with temperatures in the mid-60s. A lot of folks might come down with spring fever Friday afternoon. The main symptom is a sudden, irresistible urge to get in the car, forget about work, and drive away. On a sunny Friday afternoon in springtime, the car seems to turn automatically toward the beach.

Saturday is predicted to be sunny in Ocean City, with temperatures pushing 70. Pretty nice for April!

Historic Ocean City Churches: St. Mary's Star of the Sea

2009-04-11T13:07:00.006-04:00

It's Easter weekend in Ocean City, Maryland, an appropriate time to feature pictures of Ocean City's very first church.

Bishop Thomas A. Becker of the Wilmington Diocese purchased three lots on the barrier island in 1875, the year the resort was founded with the opening of the Atlantic Hotel. (The small lots sold for $100 each in 1875.)

Ocean City's first church, St. Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic Church, was built two years later, in 1877. At the time it was one of only three nonresidential buildings on the mostly barren island. A rectory was built next door in 1905. The St. Mary's Star of the Sea history page provides a detailed history of St. Mary's Star of the Sea and its pastors.

St. Mary's Star of the Sea, probably the oldest remaining building in Ocean City today, is in historic downtown Ocean City, at the corner of Baltimore Avenue and Talbot Street. The small, historic church is lightly used these days. Mass is still celebrated in the church on at 7 a.m. Sundays year round. Weekday morning Masses are held at the church during the off-season months.

Many more weekend Masses, and weekday Mass during the season, are celebrated at St. Mary's sister church, the much newer and larger Holy Savior Catholic Church, at 17th Street and Philadelphia Avenue. Complete information on Mass schedules and other church activities is available at the Web site St. Mary's Star of the Sea-Holy Savior Parish.

Historic Ocean City Churches: St. Paul's by the Sea

2009-04-08T21:14:00.010-04:00

For Holy Week and the Easter season, we continue a series of photos on the three oldest congregations in Ocean City, Maryland. (First Presbyterian Church was featured last week, in time for its 100th anniversary.)

St. Paul's by the Sea dates back even farther. St. Paul's is, in fact, one of the two oldest churches in Ocean City. The St. Paul's building is the first to be designated a U.S. historic landmark in Ocean City.

The first Episcopal parish in the resort was formed in 1878 as a summer mission of St. Paul's in Berlin. The first congregation held Episcopal services at Congress Hall, located on the site of the present inlet. The first church was build nearby in 1881.

The present, historic, church building was constructed beginning in 1900 at Third Street and Baltimore Avenue, and the first service in the church was held July 7, 1901. A rectory was built next to the church on Third Street in 1913. The present rectory building (which today houses church offices) was constructed on Baltimore Avenue in 1923. And St. Paul's was reorganized as an independent parish in 1924. A modern parish hall occupies the Third Street site of the original rectory.

You can enlarge the pictures by clicking on them.

Palm Sunday in Ocean City, Part 5: Sunbathing and Skateboarding

2009-04-05T21:51:00.007-04:00

Sunday afternoon was the first time this year, far as I know, that was warm enough for sunbathing in Ocean City, Maryland.

Small groups of people were scattered up and down the beach. By 1 p.m., it was so warm that adventurous folks were sunbathing in swimsuits. When you lie flat on the sand, you don't feel the breeze, so you're warmer than if you're standing up.

The vast majority of people were content ride bikes or stroll the Boardwalk, where many shops were open, rather than venture onto the beach.

Bicycling is allowed on the Boardwalk all day through April. On May 1, bicycling on the boards will restricted to mornings, but biking will be extended one extra hour this year. In recent years, bikes have been prohibited on the Boardwalk after 10 a.m. The Mayor and Council decided to extend the biking time to 11 a.m. this summer, seven days a week. To make room for bikes, the starting time for the Boardwalk tram will be pushed back from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.

I didn't see anyone swimming. One toe is all you need to tell you the water is too cold.

Of course, it's always warm enough for skateboarding. About a dozen young people were practicing their skills at the Ocean Bowl Skate Park, at 3rd Street and St. Louis Avenue. Can you believe it? A woman asked me last night if there are things for her young teenagers to do in Ocean City -- and I forgot to tell her about the skateboard park! There is a charge to use the park, by the day or the season; helmets are required; and a parent is needed to give permission, the first time a youth signs up to use the skateboard park.

Palm Sunday in Ocean City, Part 4: Cheering at the Convention Center

2009-04-05T17:55:00.004-04:00

The parking lot at the Ocean City Convention Center was completely full this afternoon, and so was the big Municipal Lot on the south side of the Convention Center. The American Cheer and Dance Academy's Reach the Beach international competition is in its final day.

A large group of cheerleaders was having an impromptu celebration in front of Rita's Ices, on the north side of the Convention Center. Maybe their team won something, or maybe they were simply celebrating being alive on a beautiful Palm Sunday in Ocean City, Maryland.

As you can see by the decorated SUV above, events at the Convention Center attract large groups of people from far and wide, like Long Island, N.Y. The events are an economic boost for Ocean City, and a pleasant weekend of discovery for the visitors. If not for the cheer and dance internationals, those nice folks from Long Island might never have found Ocean City. We're happy they visited, and they are welcome to return for a summer vacation, or any old time.

Palm Sunday in Ocean City, Part 3: Business

2009-04-05T16:50:00.005-04:00

As Spring progresses in Ocean City, Maryland, it gets more difficult every week to keep track of which businesses are open, and which are still closed. With the nice weekend weather we've been having this spring, restaurants and hotels and stores are reopening almost daily.

The picture above of Anthony's is a case in point. They'll be opening tomorrow, Monday. Anthony's, popular for its hand-carved roast beef, has been in business on Philadelphia Avenue since 1954. It's a small drive-in restaurant right out of 1950s Americana. I hope it never changes.

I remember Anthony's from a trip to Ocean City during a college break before Easter in 1968. One student's family had recently purchased a brand-new condo on 47th Street, which was close to the northern edge of town. You could drive all the way to Delaware and not pass anything except sand dunes and Bobby Baker's Carousel (with the Wiretap Lounge).

We stopped at Anthony's, which was closed for the winter, so a friend could use the phone booth on the corner to call her parents.

(It's hard to believe, but college students didn't have cell phones in 1968; I doubt that the term "cell phone" had been thought of. If you were away from home and needed to make a phone call, you stepped into a "phone booth." This was not an inconvenience, because phone booths were everywhere. A phone booth was a quaint and civilized luxury that allowed you to make a call in privacy, if you wanted to close the door, and also protected you from the rain. At one time, it was considered humorous to see how many students could squeeze into a phone booth. You can still see examples of phone booths in ancient "Superman" TV shows. But that era of civilization and comedy is long gone. The phone company did away with the booths and simply attached "pay phones" to poles and the sides of buildings. No more privacy, no more shelter from the rain. No more Superman. Now everyone has a cell phone, and the pay phone has become an endangered species. But I digress.)

So my friend calls her parents, leaving the phone-booth door open so that the rest of us could stand outside and eavesdrop. I distinctly remember her telling her parents that Ocean City was a "ghost town" that spring.

Easter 1968 is long ago and far away from Easter 2009. Ocean City is definitely not a ghost town this Palm Sunday weekend. Plenty of businesses are open. Traffic is almost heavy on the Coastal Highway, and the Boardwalk is busy. Anthony's is still doing business at the same corner. It still has a couple of picnic tables out front.

Palm Sunday in Ocean City, Part 2: A Tree Blooms at City Hall

2009-04-05T14:58:00.007-04:00

All manner of trees and wildflowers are blooming in Ocean City and West Ocean City. I snapped a photo of this beautiful tree outside City Hall about noon today, Palm Sunday.

Could someone please identify the tree? It's not a dogwood tree, is it? I can tell the difference between a bird and a tree, or between a bumblebee and a flower, but I'm usually stumped when it comes to an actual name.

I understand we have some attractive cherry blossom trees at the Northside Park, but I haven't had a chance to see them for myself. I can remember when there was hardly a tree, or even a blade of green grass, in Ocean City, except for lots of wild grass and other plants on the dunes north of the developed part of town. Then most of the dunes were obliterated during the building booms of the 1970s.

But Ocean City has done a lot of planting in the past 30 years. Engineers decided that the best way to protect the town from storms was a healthy system of dunes. So the dunes were reestablished and grasses planted, and now we have a nice dune line starting at 27th Street and going north. And we have trees and other plantings lining the highways in many places, and sometimes in the new, improved, median strips.

Palm Sunday in Ocean City, Part 1: Boardwalk

2009-04-05T13:34:00.004-04:00

You remember what I said about jackets and windbreakers yesterday? Please disregard that advice. But the advice about sunglasses and/or hats with visors is still operable. And, umm, better add sunscreen to the list of necessities.

Right now, early Sunday afternoon, LOTS of people are on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, and many are wearing short-sleeve shirts, shorts, some flip-flops. A minority have on light jackets or sweatshirts, but after walking a few blocks, you end up carrying the sweatshirt or tying it around your waist.

Specifics: The gusty wind died down Saturday evening, and some people were walking comfortably on the Boardwalk at midnight. The temperature isn't varying much. It was 58 degrees at midnight, and 58 degrees when I drove to church at 9:50 a.m. Palm Sunday. By noon, it was 63, an hour and a half later, 66. I imagine we'll hit 70 before the afternoon is out. A light breeze out of the southwest, barely noticeable. Gas is $1.95 a gallon for regular.

Yes, people are sunbathing on the Ocean City beach this afternoon. Most are wearing shirts and pants, but some swimsuits have appeared. There will be some sunburned shoulders in Ocean City before the day is out. No, the ocean is not warm enough for swimming, but many of the hotels have indoor pools. I have some pictures to post later today.

Sunny and Seasonable in Ocean City for Palm Sunday

2009-04-04T13:53:00.005-04:00

Many people from around Maryland are enjoying a sunny Palm Sunday weekend in Ocean City, Maryland.

After an unpromising start with rain and clouds everywhere Friday morning, the clouds cleared by mid-day Friday, bringing bright sunshine and temperatures in the low- to mid-60s -- right around the average for this time of year. The sun and the 60s are expected to continue in Ocean City through Saturday and Sunday. About half the stores on the Boardwalk are open, and plenty of restaurants and hotels are open to choose from.

The the weather is breezy, winds about 20 mph, with gusts up to 30 and occasionally even 40. One young woman on the Boardwalk yesterday with a baby stroller told me it was a beautiful afternoon, but the wind made it feel chilly. The breeze is usually stronger on the Boardwalk than it is even two or three blocks inland, and it's noticeably brisker on the Boardwalk than across the bay in West Ocean City.

The bright sunshine will make it feel warm or even hot in your car if you have the windows up, but on the Boardwalk you'll want a light jacket, or a sweater and windbreaker, and maybe sunglasses and a hat with a visor for the sun.

Here's a Boardwalk walking tip: When you first get onto the boardwalk, notice whether the breeze is coming from the north or the south. Then start walking into the breeze. That way, when you're ready to turn around, you'll have the wind at your back while you walk back. You can definitely feel the difference between walking into the wind or with the wind behind you.

Historic Ocean City Churches: First Presbyterian

2009-04-02T23:04:00.006-04:00

Palm Sunday, Holy Week and the Easter season, is an appropriate time to begin a series of posts and photos on some of Ocean City's historic churches.

We'll start with the First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City, because the church is celebrating it's 100th anniversary on Saturday, Apr. 4. The Presbyterian community in Ocean City dates to 1892, when a Sunday school was organized. Around the turn of the century, a chapel was built at the corner of North Division Street and Baltimore Avenue. It was the Ocean City Mission Chapel, under the direction of the Buckingham Presbyterian Church in Berlin.

The First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City was officially organized 100 years ago, in 1909, and the congregation continued to hold services at the small downtown church for many years. Eventually, the congregation needed more space for parking. In 1955, a site for a new church was purchased at 13th Street and Philadelphia Ave., which was in the sand dunes north of Ocean City at the time.

The big modern Presbyterian Church was opened at 13th Street in 1963, and the congregation, both year-round residents and summer visitors, has been worshiping at that location ever since. The church's Web site is http://ocpresbyterian.org/index.php?id=home

Palm Sunday Weekend in the 60s

2009-04-02T21:52:00.005-04:00

Is this already Palm Sunday weekend? Seems like Lent started only yesterday. Spring is moving right along.

The American Cheer and Dance Academy's Reach the Beach All Star and College Internationals will be at the Ocean City Convention Center all weekend. The partner stunts competition will take place Friday evening, beginning at 6 p.m. Doors open 4 p.m. Friday admission for fans is $6 for adults, and $3 for children and senior citizens.

Team competitions will be Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 8 a.m. both days. Doors open at 7 a.m.; Saturday and Sunday fan admission is $18 for adults, $12 for children and senior citizens, and children age 4 and under free.

Here in Ocean City, Maryland, we're looking at daytime high temperatures in the low 60s all weekend. There's a 50 percent chance of rain and thundershowers on Friday. The forecast is for all sunshine on Saturday, and mixed clouds and sunshine on Sunday.

Ocean City Ferris Wheel by Ted Gurtner

2009-04-01T21:18:00.006-04:00

Photo COPYRIGHT by Ted Gurtner. No reproduction without the express consent of the photographer.

Here's a picture that captures the spirit of Ocean City, Maryland. This photograph, courtesy of Ted Gurtner of Ocean Pines, has the ocean water running up on the sand, and a few people out walking. I think it must be early evening, judging by the fisherman and the nearly empty beach. There is a lifeguard stand, but no lifeguard. In the background, quietly dominating the scene, stands the majestic Ferris wheel.

At first glance, the picture looks like an ordinary digital photograph. But take a closer look. (You can click on the picture to see a much larger version.) Ted enhanced the photo with a watercolor effect to create an unusually vivid portrait of the beach.

Enlargements of Ted's art (suitable for framing) are available for sale. He can be reached at 443-856-8264 or e-mail: ztag88@yahoo.com

Dough Roller Rises From The Ashes

2009-03-29T19:14:00.007-04:00

Against all odds, the Ocean City Boardwalk looked almost summery for a few hours Sunday afternoon. We had rain, heavy at times, during the past two nights, but no rain during the day! How do you explain that?

In early afternoon Sunday, the sunshine was bright, the sky a clear blue with no clouds, and lots of people were strolling the Boardwalk and enjoying temperatures in the low 60s.

The new Dough Roller Restaurant on the Boardwalk at South Division Street opened for business this weekend. The old restaurant at that corner was destroyed by fire last March 30. What a feat of timing! A beautiful, spacious restaurant constructed and opened in a few days short of a year! The building is a great example of modern resort architecture. It is a handsome addition to the Boardwalk, and nicely compliments the traditional look in the older part of Ocean City.

I bought a big slice of pizza at the walk-up window, and relaxed on a bench to watch the passers-by. The pizza was awesome.

You might say this spot on the Boardwalk brings together a critical mass of fun. Trimper Rides (not yet open) is on South Division Street, behind the Dough Roller. In front, across the Boardwalk, is a Dumser's ice cream stand, and then the Inlet Parking Lot, the beach and the ocean. Day-trippers could park in the lot and enjoy an entire day and evening right there in the vicinity of South Division Street.

Watercolor Beach Art by Ted Gurtner

2009-03-28T22:18:00.010-04:00

Photos COPYRIGHT by Ted Gurtner. No reproductions without the express consent of the photographer.

Here are three slightly different takes on a colorful Ocean City beach scene, courtesy of Ted Gurtner of Ocean Pines. The pictures look like ordinary digital photographs, but take a closer look. (You can click on any of the pictures to see a much larger version.)

Ted enhanced the photos with a watercolor effect to create beautiful pictures of the Ocean City beach, with vivid colors. Ted has enlargements of his art (suitable for framing) available for sale. He can be reached at 443-856-8264 or e-mail: ztag88@yahoo.com

The horizontal picture at the top is artfully bracketed by the posts of the sand fence on the beach, and people give life and action to the scene. The two vertical pictures show a second, multi-colored beach umbrella, and the picture at right adds a seagull with an impressive wingspan. Notice a subtle difference in the coloring of the two vertical pictures. The picture at left appears to have more realistic blues in the sky and the ocean. In the picture at the right, the sky has an almost purple tint and the sand and the fence have just a touch of red.

An Improving Weekend in Ocean City

2009-03-28T15:55:00.003-04:00

Saturday is looking up in Ocean City, after a not-so-promising start. We had heavy rain during the night, ending around dawn. The storm left us shrouded in a thick fog, with mild temperatures.

The fog didn't deter people from walking the Boardwalk. I think people enjoy experiencing an aspect of ocean weather that they don't often see in summer. Around noon, the fog began to dissipate, and the sun has been poking in and out of the cloud cover ever since. By mid-afternoon, we're nearly up to 60 degrees.

Also about noon, an AARP volunteer at the Ocean City Library entered my dismal financial data into a laptop computer. Like magic, my income taxes were done, both federal and state, and on their way to the IRS via Internet. Tax returns filed two weeks early! A first for me. Now all I have to do is find the money to pay the tax bill.

I browsed the stacks and borrowed The Warlord's Son from the library. It's a thriller by Dan Fesperman, who was a fearless foreign correspondent at The Baltimore Sun, when The Sun still had foreign correspondents. The Warlord's Son is set in present-day Afghanistan. I look forward to starting it tonight. To reward myself for getting the taxes done, if not paid for, I stopped for a hot turkey-and-cheese sub at one of the Dough Roller Restaurant on the Coastal Highway. The sub had an immediate therapeutic effect on my spirits.

Conditions for the rest of the weekend remain a little unsettled. Thunder and lightening are expected this evening, and during the night. The rain should clear by Sunday morning. We'll have to wait and see if Sunday brings sun or clouds, but the temperature is expected to be in the upper 60s.

Gasoline spiked up to $1.99 a gallon for regular at some stations this week, while other stations held out at $1.89, a 10-cent price spread. But today, the price seems to have stabilized at $1.97 a gallon. I guess all the stations have now received a tanker filled with the new, improved, higher-priced gas.

OC Blog -- Our Mission

2009-03-25T16:58:00.010-04:00

The Ocean City, Maryland, Blog conducted a little experiment in covering Ocean City Mayor and Council meetings this past winter. It was fun and educational, but the experiment is over.

With the season about to start, I simply won't have time to keep up with the news generated by a busy Mayor and Council. Two weekly newspapers do a pretty good job of that. No need for me to duplicate their efforts. For news, I recommend the Maryland Coast Dispatch and Ocean City Today.

I will comment on the news from time to time. But I'll be editorializing, giving my opinion, or trying to sort things out. I might get more involved when there's a big story, for instance a hurricane or a mayoral election, but those things don't happen every year, thank goodness.

So if the Ocean City, Maryland, Blog is not primarily a source of news, what is it?

The Ocean City Blog is one person's take on life and the rhythm of the seasons in Ocean City, Maryland. And we list helpful links to hotels, restaurants, local government and media.

I want to thank several excellent photographers who have volunteered to share some of their best work in the Ocean City Blog. I had not expected to have so much excellent art! I use my own poor photos to illustrate posts, but the quality photos of accomplished photographers tell the story of Ocean City with vivid clarity.

The Ocean City, Maryland, Blog reminds folks that they're always welcome here. To those who live elsewhere in Maryland, we say: "If you leave right now, you can be in Ocean City in three hours."

Baseball, Undefeated Ocean City High School Team, 1937

2009-03-21T21:27:00.006-04:00

Here is a team photo of the extraordinary, undefeated Ocean City High School baseball team, which did not lose a game in 1937. Below the photo is a list of the players from the back of the picture.

Thanks to Bob Conner, whose father played first base on the Ocean City team, for making the photo available.

The roster included several young men who would go on to be leaders in Ocean City. Harry Kelly, an outfielder, became mayor of Ocean City. Alfred Harmon, also an outfielder, served for 13 years as fire chief of the Ocean City Volunteer Fire Department, and was for many years manager of Edwards 5 & 10 on the Boardwalk. (By coincidence, 1937 was the first year in Ocean City for the Edwards store.)

How good was this undefeated team? Two of the players, outfielder John Sacca, and first-baseman Bob Conner Sr., had one-day tryouts with the Philadelphia Phillies.

For a better look at the players, you can click on the picture to make it larger. In the background of the picture, the Ocean City School is visible. The same building is now City Hall.

Baseball, Perfect Game, OC vs. Bishopville, 1940

2009-03-21T21:23:00.003-04:00

This is the scorecard for a 1940 softball game in which an Ocean City team came out on the losing end of a perfect game against Bishopville .

Assateague Island Wild Horses

2009-03-20T19:40:00.007-04:00

Here are two of the best photographs I have ever seen of the wild horses (or wild ponies) on Assateague Island. The horses are very friendly, but they are still wild. Don't get too close!

Assateague's wild horses are said to be descended from horses that swam ashore from a shipwreck hundreds of years ago. The pictures were taken by Mary Lou Lindsay, a member of the Ocean Pines Photography Club.

If you've never visited Maryland's Atlantic Ocean barrier islands, you're in for a treat. This is a great place to rest and recreate, enjoy the beach, take pictures, go fishing, boating, or read a book.

You can find accommodations in Ocean City, Maryland, the barrier island resort which is only a few minutes drive from Assateague Island. Your choices in Ocean City range from luxury oceanfront hotels to affordable family hotels and motels. Best to make a hotel reservation in advance, especially if you're coming between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend. Ocean City also has a great selection of restaurants in all price ranges, and a three-mile-long boardwalk.

Photos COPYRIGHT by Mary Lou Lindsay.

Ocean Pines Wildlife

2009-03-20T19:22:00.006-04:00

Thanks to Mary Lou Lindsay, a member of the Ocean Pines Photography Club, for these wonderful photographs. Birds of all kinds are among the many pleasures of living where the water meets the land.

In Ocean Pines and West Ocean City, you never know what kind of bird you might see strolling down the street, or perching on a fencepost.

Photos COPYRIGHT BY MARY LOU LINDSAY.

It's Spring In Maryland

2009-03-20T19:06:00.004-04:00

It's official. Spring has arrived, right on schedule and just when we need it.

Here in Ocean City, Maryland, we're expecting another sunny weekend. Temperatures will fall to the 30s tonight, and the forecast calls for highs of 49 on Saturday and 56 on Sunday. It should be a great weekend for walking the Ocean City Boardwalk, where more businesses reopen with every weekend.

This weekend, we'll have the Home, Condo & Garden Show and Art & Craft Fair, at the Convention Center.

We might see the yellow forsythia bloom before the end of the week, somewhere in Maryland.

Last Day of Winter

2009-03-19T19:08:00.010-04:00

The temperature was 65 degrees at noon on the last full day of winter, with bright sunshine. A cool front was moving through, and by 3:30 p.m. it was 57 and overcast.

I took a few pictures at the south end of the Ocean City, Maryland, Boardwalk, while the sun was out. Top, workmen put a ride together at Trimper Rides; right, the arch at Somerset Plaza; left, the U.S. Life Saving Station, seen from the south.

Green Energy in Ocean City

2009-03-19T17:00:00.005-04:00

Everyone is talking about green energy these days. It is an important part of President Barack Obama's economic recovery program.

But developing and implementing new technology is rarely easy. Even when the basic research has been done and the technology is available, the devil is still in the details.

In Ocean City, Maryland, the Mayor and Council have been working for months on a proposed zoning amendment to provide for small wind energy systems in residential zones. A small wind energy system, to be mounted on the roof of the house, or possibly on a 40-foot-high pole, would generate electricity to meet some or all or the power needs in the house. It would involve a significant initial investment in the wind energy turbine, but it would save money on the electric bill every month.

The discussion has raised as many questions as it has answered. A zoning amendment was passed by the Council, and then vetoed by Mayor Rick Meehan as being too restrictive. A revised amendment, which would make small wind energy systems a conditional use in residential areas, is pending.

The conditional use status means that every request to put a wind energy system in a residential area will require approval by the Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission and the Mayor and Council. It's a safeguard to allow the council to review the first few proposals and decide if the wind energy system seems reasonable on specific residential lots. If the approvals become routine, the zoning ordinance could be amended again to streamline the process.

Thanks to Council President Joseph Mitrecic for providing an address for the American Wind Energy Association Web site, which contains a wealth of information about wind energy.

Ocean City Library Celebrates One Year

2009-03-16T16:52:00.008-04:00

The new Ocean City Library will celebrate its first anniversary with an open house on Thursday, March 19, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Worcester County library system.

The new library building, a modern interpretation of the "stick style" architecture popular in Ocean City during the early 1900s, is located on the Coastal Highway at 100th Street in North Ocean City, across from High-rise Row. The address is 10003 Coastal Highway. Inside you'll find a striking two-story atrium with exposed steel beams and lots of natural lighting.
The anniversary celebration will begin with a screening of Casablanca, the classic 1942 film starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart. The movie will begin at 4 p.m. in the meeting room on the mezzanine level. A children's movie will be shown at the same time in the juvenile section of the library.

Following the movie, there will be music and a fruit and dessert buffet, starting a little after 6 p.m. on the ground floor of the library. The music will be provided by the soprano, Margaret Brown, accompanied on the piano by Ellsworth Wheatley.

Ocean City's modern library is no longer small-town. The $6.1 million building offers a large collection of books, videos, and an Ocean City history room. Desktop computers with access to the Web are available for the public to use at no charge. If you bring your laptop computer, you can connect to wireless Internet anywhere in the building, on the porch, and even in the parking lot.

Has the new library been open for a year, already? Yes, March 19th will be one year to the day. Don't go looking for the old small-town library at 14th Street that served Ocean City for many years. Even the 14th Street building is gone.

Other branches of the Worcester County Library are in Berlin, Snow Hill, Pocomoke, and Ocean Pines.

Winter Work on the Boardwalk

2009-03-16T16:30:00.009-04:00

It's not hard to keep busy in Ocean City, Maryland, during the winter months. For example, town workers have been repairing the boardwalk at several points, and even rebuilding short stretches. (While work is in progress, a plywood lane is open for pedestrians to get by.)

I think most of the Boardwalk repairs are just about finished. The big photo at top shows the new boards on a wide stretch of the Boardwalk.

Then we have three photos taken during the winter, while work was in progress. These give you a look at the supporting structure under the top level of boards. With all those wood beams and concrete, the Boardwalk is plenty sturdy, strong enough to hold a firetruck, I understand.

Grand Day For A Parade in Ocean City

2009-03-14T13:10:00.007-04:00

It turned out to be a grand day for the St. Patrick's Day parade in Ocean City, Maryland. No rain, only slightly overcast, and seasonably cool but not freezing. People of all ages lined the sidewalks along the Coastal Highway at noon to enjoy the marching bands and floats. (The parade backed up traffic for 12 blocks on southbound Coastal Highway above 60th Street, but only for a little while.)

The festivities continue today (Saturday) with an outdoor Irish Festival at 45th Street, going on until 4 p.m. And, not related to St. Patrick's Day, there'll be a free concert by 500 handbell ringers at the Convention Center at 4:30 p.m.

Saturday night, there will be Irish music and beer at restaurants and bars all over town. Please don't celebrate by getting hammered. St. Patrick wouldn't approve. He really wouldn't. Above all, don't drink and drive. The handy Ocean City bus system is running 24 hours a day, and plenty of cabs are about.

BTW, gas is $1.83 a gallon for regular in Ocean City. A couple of days ago, I was in Columbia on the Western Shore, and paid $1.99 to fill up.

Big March Weekend, Coming Right Up!

2009-03-11T17:23:00.005-04:00

People from all over will be enjoying the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Irish Festival in Ocean City, Maryland, this weekend. But two other (very different) events also will be taking place, at the Convention Center.

The American Guild of English Handbell Ringers will provide an awesome concert with 500 handbell ringers at the Convention Center (40th Street and the Bay) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon, March 14. If you've never heard handbells, you owe it to yourself to attend. Handbells make beautiful music! And, have you heard the old saying: "The best things in life are free?" It's true. The handbell concert is free and open to the public. Enjoy.
The Ocean City Custom Hot Rod and Custom Car Show will also be at the Convention Center, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The show is inside the Convention Center. And some of the best things are not free. I understand there is an admission charge for the Hot Rod and Custom Car Show, but I don't know what it is. No time to do research.
Oh, right! You wanted to know about the parade. Maryland's second-largest St. Patrick's Day Parade will step off promptly at 12 noon on Saturday starting at 60th Street and marching south to 45th Street, where an Irish Festival of food, drink and music will already be in session, having started at 11 a.m. Are the best things in life free? For sure, both the parade and the Irish Festival are free! And never mind that the official St. Patrick's Day isn't until March 17. If we can celebrate presidents' birthdays on Mondays, we can celebrate St. Patrick's Day on a Saturday.

This is the first big weekend of Spring (even though Spring doesn't officially begin until March 20), so call your favorite hotel to make a reservation.

Signs of Spring on a Sunday Afternoon

2009-03-09T19:34:00.008-04:00

Signs of Spring in Ocean City, Maryland, on a very nice Sunday afternoon in March: Top, the Kite Loft message board; next, sand sculpture of Jesus Christ on the beach in front of the Plim Plaza Hotel; convertible weather, a classic VW Bug parked two spaces from the Boardwalk; and football on the beach. The snow fences will be history in a few weeks.

Today, Monday, the temperature was 70 in West Ocean City, 66 degrees on the Coastal Highway, and sunny with a breeze.

Ocean City on the Cusp of Spring

2009-03-06T17:33:00.005-05:00

The pace of preparations for the season is accelerating, as spring approaches in Ocean City, Maryland. You can hear the sound of hammers and paint brushes up and down the Boardwalk. (Well, you have to listen very closely to hear the paint brushes.) The photo above is one example, showing workers putting the finishing touches on the exterior of the new Dough Roller restaurant on the Boardwalk at South Division Street

Only in March could we have a week like this one in Maryland, and in Ocean City.

On Monday, snow blanketed Oakland in the west (almost West Virginia) and Ocean City in the east (almost the Atlantic Ocean), and everything in between. How often do we have snow everyplace in Maryland, on the same day?

Monday night in Ocean City, it was 25 degrees with snow and ice everywhere. The streets were quiet and empty. Even the Mayor and Council meeting was quiet and lasted less than an hour! Not much news there anyway, unless you count the report from Comcast that your Cable TV bill is going up an average of 4.5 percent. Does the cost of Cable TV going up even qualify as news? Is anybody surprised? It will be news when the Cable TV bill goes down!

Friday, the temperature is 55 degrees in West Ocean City at noon, 58 degrees on the Coastal Highway at 5 p.m., and sunny. What a difference five days makes. What a difference 30 degrees makes.

Saturday, the temperature will surely top 60 degrees here in Ocean City, Maryland, and it might approach 70 on Sunday. Remember, technically it's still winter.

The annual Ocean City Job Fair is Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Convention Center. At last count, 55 employers were signed up, with many, many job openings to offer.

Regular gas is $1.83 per gallon.

Cheer and Dance at the Beach

2009-02-28T13:15:00.005-05:00

I just drove past the Ocean City, Maryland, Convention Center, and the parking lots are full. I mean full like a car in every parking space! Maybe we do need that parking deck.

It's the American Cheer and Dance Academy's Reach the Beach Cheer and Dance National Competitions. (Glad I don't have to say that on the radio.) I had no idea that cheering and dancing is such a big deal! They draw a nice crowd. Parking lots at the Dough Roller and Dumsers are full, too.

We needed this at the end of a week of bleak economic news -- a reminder that Ocean City's economy is resilient in the face of recession. The financial wizards on CNBC are busy talking about class warfare, can you believe it? Hyperbole! Put a lid on it, guys, we're all in this together. What we need right now is more cheerleading!

For the record, the temperature on Coastal Highway at mid-day is 42 degrees. It's cloudy, but it's not raining. Gasoline is $1.79 a gallon for regular.

The American Cheer and Dance Academy has a FULL schedule. Events continue tonight until 11 p.m. The competitions continue Sunday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is $18 for adults, $12 for children, children age 4 and under, free.

Don't forget, next Saturday is the big Ocean City Job Fair at the Convention Center. The Saturday after that is the St. Patrick's parade.

Ocean City Boardwalk Traditions: Wockenfuss Candies

2009-02-27T17:34:00.005-05:00

After all this serious talk about the Convention Center and the economy, I personally could use something a little lighter. Time to return to our series on Boardwalk traditions.

Ocean City, Maryland, has had a sweet tooth from the beginning. Wockenfuss Candies, in business since 1915, is a good example. Wockenfuss has at least two stores on the Boardwalk, and one in the White Marlin Mall in West Ocean City.

There were few restaurants in Ocean City in the earliest days, because almost every hotel featured its own dining room. And after dinner, I guess folks went out for a stroll on the Boardwalk. It's no surprise that ice cream shops and candy stores were among the earliest businesses, and they are still thriving today.

Come to think of it, what could be more recession-proof that ice cream and candy?

Mayor and Council on the Convention Center

2009-02-27T16:30:00.005-05:00

Here is a selection of comments by Ocean City council members during the council's work session on improvement of the Convention Center. I've used some quotations, but mostly paraphrasing. The comments are in chronological order (more or less).

Council Member Mary Knight: Ocean City has 35,000 property owners, but only about 2,400 of them live here. Many condo owners use their second home in Ocean City only during the summer. Some have said they would be here more during the winter if there were something to do. A performing arts center would give condo owners a reason to visit the resort during the winter.

Many condominium owners are members of the baby-boomer generation, which will generate a wave of retirement over the next decade. One of the prime considerations people have in choosing a retirement location is availability of the arts.

"I'm hoping that this project will convert some of those 34,000 people to want to live here full-time."

Council Member Joseph Hall: "Yes, the food tax will pay the town's portion of construction . . . but it will increase the town's cost for the operating deficit.

Improvements to the Convention Center would increase the town's property tax, because it would cost more to staff and operate the facility, and Ocean City shares the operating deficit 50-50 with the Maryland Stadium Authority. "You'll be on tap for 50 percent of the operating loss for now and forever." In addition, once Convention Center bonds are paid off in 10 years, the Stadium Authority will no longer pay half of the operating deficit. Ocean city will pay the entire operating deficit.

"Have you evaluated the net gain? . . . Is it going to bring more money into your pocketbook, or is it just going to make you work harder?"

More than half the resort's businesses are open only during the season, Mr. Hall said, so they would not benefit from any increased business during the winter. "A good weekend doesn't justify me opening my business. I give it back the rest of the month." "A couple of more good weekends" during the off-season is not going to "put you in the black."

Joseph Hall said that although he would not vote for it, the improvement plan on the table is "the best plan that's been put forward so far."

City Engineer Terry McGean: The improvements to the Convention Center would add $167,000 annually to the operating deficit, but would generate an estimated $372,000 in new tax revenue. "The additional tax provided by the facility itself would cover the operating deficit."

Council Member Lloyd Martin: Ocean City has to look out for year-round residents. If restaurants can't afford to stay open during the winter, residents will have to go out of town just to eat dinner. On the other hand, the improvements to the Convention Center will "drive everybody to Ocean City."

Mayor Rick Meehan: "We are reinventing ourselves and we are trying to move forward." He noted that the town will be paying off the 1996 bonds for the Convention Center next month, and paying them off early. "Everything we've done has paid."

Ocean City is going forward with the full support of the Maryland Stadium Authority, and the Stadium Authority voted to support Convention Center improvements because it will be an economic benefit to the entire state, as well as to Ocean City.

"Residents are going to rediscover the Convention Center."

When someone asked if the Convention Center could sell stock to private stockholders, Mayor Meehan replied, "The citizens of Ocean City are our stockholders."

Ocean City Business Owners: Do It Now

2009-02-26T18:21:00.008-05:00

(Note: Tomorrow I'll try to add a post with comments by Ocean City Council members.)

Here are some comments by Ocean City business owners, urging approval of improvements to the Ocean City Convention Center, at the Mayor and Council work session earlier this week. I'll use quotes where I have their exact words, and paraphrase the rest. The comments are listed in chronological order, more or less.

Leighton Moore (Seacrets night club). A fixed-seat "performing arts" auditorium is "vital" to attract current "name" entertainment to the resort. Virginia Beach has several such venues. The private sector can't do it because of the high cost and the need for a large parcel of land. Currently residents of the Ocean City area have to go to Salisbury or Baltimore to see name entertainment.

He said there is no reason for delay. "I don't see any doom and gloom on the horizon for Ocean City."

"Why not have the vote today?" he urged the council. "The funding, as I see it, is already there."

Mr. Moore proceeded to suggest that not only would the town's 1 percent food tax cover the cost of the proposed improvements, the council could cut the food tax in half to .5 percent and still pay off the improvements in 10 years. (City Hall staff confirmed that a .5 percent tax would be sufficient.)

Adam Showell (Castle In The Sand Hotel). "I would encourage you to do it now rather than later." Interest rates are very low now, but could go higher in two years. Local contractors would benefit from the work.

Hotels in Ocean City are under economic pressure, and recent increases in the Maryland state sales tax and room tax make visitors pay more. Cutting the food tax would help a little. Revenue at his hotel was down 6 percent last season, and occupancy was down even more. As a result, he is rolling rates back to 2006 levels.

"It's good to build during a recession," Mr. Showell stated. Interest rates are low, and Ocean City would be ready with the improved convention center when the economy improves.

Palmer Gillis. He noted he is not a restaurant or hotel owner and offers a "different perspective." A venue for the performing arts and visual arts would improve the "quality of life" in Ocean City. The 1,200-seat auditorium would be "an extension of the amenities" in the resort for both visitors and residents. The arts are among the top three factors in economic development. "You understand the connection, the arts and tourism."

William A. Gibbs (Dough Roller restaurants). "I think we need to do this right away. We're hurting." The convention center is very important to provide customers for year-round businesses.

John Fager (Fager's Island restaurant). "This performing arts center is way overdue." The back of the Convention Center (facing the bay) offers one of the best views in Ocean City, and it should be utilized. He urged the council to keep Ocean City moving up, moving forward, keep making the resort better. You have to keep improving or you die, he said.

And one more comment, from the convention point of view:

Frank Underwood (Maryland State Firemen's Association, 35,000 members). The firefighters' convention each June is Ocean City's largest convention. Improvements to the Convention Center would add to the value of the firefighter's convention. He was particularly concerned about sufficient space for the firefighters' memorial service.

"We do not want to leave Ocean City," he said, adding that Baltimore has offered to build a "wave pool" to get the firefighters' convention.

"If You Build It, They Will Come"

2009-02-25T17:27:00.005-05:00

Even in the best of times, it takes a strong faith to make a decision to invest money in Ocean City during the winter months.

Specifically, it demands the optimism and faith portrayed in the movie, Field of Dreams, about the farmer who builds a baseball park in his cornfield. He went forward with his dream based on confidence that, "If you build it, they will come."

In February, when the ocean is beautiful but the beach is empty, it requires strong faith to go forward. Can you imagine the wild optimism of the people who decided to build the Atlantic Hotel on a barren barrier island in 1875? What could they have been thinking?

They must have had a good instinct for what is now called "market research." The first year might have been a little slow, but before long, there were many hotels and a boardwalk.

Improvements to the Convention Center will likely prove to be just as successful in years to come.

Convention Center Improvements in Perspective

2009-02-25T16:57:00.004-05:00

The Ocean City Convention Center project approved by the Mayor and Council this week sounds ambitious, but it is a relatively moderate step forward.

Ocean City officials had already decided earlier this year that a major 60,000-square-foot expansion of the Convention Center, including construction of a parking garage, is not feasible under present economic conditions. The action approved this week calls for significant improvements using the existing building footprint, but is not the major expansion that some people believe is needed to attract more and bigger conventions.

The new 20,000 square-foot ballroom will be added to the bay side of the building by enlarging the existing bayfront deck. The new ballroom, which would offer breathtaking views of the bay, is projected to increase attendee days at the Convention Center by 14 percent to 19 percent over the historical three-year average, according the Crossroads Consulting.

The west side of the existing ballroom will be converted to create the new 1,200-seat auditorium, which many believe is a much-needed venue for shows and entertainment. The last renovation of the Convention Center was in the mid-1990s. The current improvements to the rear and interior of the building would not preclude major expansion and a parking deck in the future.

The costs are estimated at $8.2 million for the bayfront ballroom, $1.6 million for the auditorium, and $600,000 to improve the heating system, for a total cost of $10.4 million.

Ocean City would fund the improvements in partnership with the Maryland Stadium Authority. Ocean City's share would be $5.7 million, financed with bonds to be paid off over a 10-year period using revenues from the food tax, which is to be cut from 1 percent to .5 percent. Officials noted that this is an opportune time for bond financing because interest rates are low.

The Maryland Stadium Authority would pay $4.1 million, pending approval of the state Board of Public Works. The other $600,000, to improve efficiency of the heating system, would come from a federal energy grant or an economic stimulus grant.

Council OKs Convention Center Project as Economic Stimulus

2009-02-24T18:35:00.012-05:00

BREAKING NEWS TUESDAY -- The Mayor and Council decided to go forward with improvements that will increase the appeal of the Ocean City Convention Center for existing conventions and trade shows, bring in new and different attractions, and support the viability of shoulder season and year-round businesses in the resort.

The Council voted to expand the Convention Center's existing bayfront deck and enclose it to create a new, high-end, 20,000-square-foot ballroom for large trade shows and conventions; and to convert existing space in the Convention Center to make a new 1,200-seat auditorium for shows and entertainment.

Economy at Center of Debate

The council action was not quick and easy, but in the end it was decisive. The council was hesitant to go forward with improvements during the present recession.The council requested clarification on costs of improvements several weeks ago, and City Engineer Terry McGean provided three detailed alternatives on Tuesday.

Councilman Jim Hall moved to postpone the decision for a year to give the economy time to improve. That motion sparked a spirited, but mostly one-sided discussion. Some of Ocean City's most prominent business owners turned the economic argument around. Business leaders and council members said the tough economic times make the Convention Center improvements an urgent priority. "I think this is our economic stimulus," Councilman Doug Cymek said.

"Option C (delay) is the psychology of being negative," said Councilwoman Mary Knight, who made the motion to go forward. "Option A (the ballroom and auditorium option) is the psychology of being positive."

In the end, the 5-2 vote to OK Convention Center improvements was framed as a vote of confidence in Ocean City's future. And it came with a surprise feature, a tax cut. The decision cuts the town's food tax in half, from 1 percent to one-half percent.

Mayor and Business Leaders Back Project

The Council's action was strongly endorsed by Mayor Rick Meehan, with enthusiastic support from business leaders and the Maryland State Firemen's Association, which hosts the resort's largest annual convention. The city engineer also recommended the improvement option.

"We are reinventing ourselves and we are trying to move forward," Mayor Meehan said. "I think Ocean City needs to be on the cutting edge."

Voting to OK the project were Council Members Mary Knight, Doug Cymek, Lloyd Martin, Council President Joseph Mitrecic, and Jim Hall, who withdrew his motion for delay. Jim Hall said the ability of the town to pay for the project and cut the food tax was the decisive factor for him.

Voting against were Council Members Joseph Hall and Margaret Pillas. Joseph Hall was the only voice in strong opposition during the discussion.

OC in Partnership with Maryland

The Convention Center improvements are also endorsed by the Maryland Stadium Authority, with a promise of $4.1 million in state funding for the project. The state money requires approval from the Board of Public Works. Total cost of the new ballroom and auditorium is estimated at $10.4 million, with Ocean City's $5.7 million share to be funded by the reduced food tax.

The positive economic impact of the improvements on Ocean City is projected at $23.6 million or more annually, according to Crossroads Consulting Services. The project will take 20 to 24 months to design and construct.

Ocean City, Maryland, Jobs -- Job Fair

2009-02-23T17:19:00.008-05:00

Ocean City's big annual Job Fair will be Saturday, March 7, at the Convention Center, 40th Street and the Coastal Highway. Come in person from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 60 employers will be waiting to talk with you.

Thousands of seasonal jobs are available. That's not an exaggeration. The greatest concentration of job opportunities is in the Hospitality Industry -- restaurants and hotels. Many retail jobs are available in stores along the Boardwalk and other parts of town. Businesses of every sort, from banks to medical offices, also need employees.

In recent years, Ocean City businesses have had difficulty finding enough workers, so European college students have been coming here to work during the season. In 2009, with the worldwide recession, I imagine more people than ever will be seeking jobs in Ocean City.

Come to the Job Fair prepared. Dress nicely. Bring copies of your resume and/or application filled out. It wouldn't be a bad idea to bring your driver's license and social security card. Know the exact starting and stopping dates you will be available to work. If you can start in May or early June, that might be a plus. Or if you can continue working into September or even October, that could be a plus.

Do not underestimate the importance of smiling and being polite. Employers are looking for serious, motivated workers who are also willing to be pleasant and polite to customers and guests. A smile and a "Yes sir," or "Yes ma'am," could land you a job.

One advantage of working in Ocean City is that you don't need a car. We have an excellent 24-hour bus system, and you can ride all day for $2. Almost everyone can get to work by bus or bicycle.

For more information, and to register in advance and fill out an application in advance, go to http://jobfair.oceancity.org. More information to come.

What Is "The Educator" Reading?

2009-02-23T15:37:00.003-05:00

First time I saw the new sculpture of Principal Herman H. Sorin reading to his daughter at the Ocean City Library, I wondered, "What story are they reading?"

Well, it's not a story, it's a poem, "Children Learn What they Live," by Dorothy Law Nolte. Kimberly Ann Phillips, granddaughter of Herman and Eunice Sorin, read the poem to the crowd gathered for the dedication of the sculpture, "The Educator," at the library last week. Here it is:

Children Learn What They Live

By Dorothy Law Nolte

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.

If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.

If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.

If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.

If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.

If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.

If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.

If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.

If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.

If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.

If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

"The Educator" Dedicated at Ocean City Library

2009-02-22T14:18:00.005-05:00

If you haven't already visited Ocean City's new library at 1003 Coastal Highway, here's one more reason to do so.

A life-size bronze sculpture, "The Educator," honoring Principal Herman H. Sorin, was unveiled and dedicated at the Ocean City Library on Friday. The sculpture shows Mr. Sorin sitting on a bench and reading to his young daughter (Janice Sorin Wainwright). It was commissioned by Mrs. Eunice Q. Sorin in honor of her husband and daughter, and Mrs. Sorin selected the Ocean City Library as the appropriate home for the artwork. The sculpture is near the main entrance inside the library, directly across from the librarians' checkout desk.

Herman H. Sorin was principal of Whaleyville Elementary School, 1952-1954; Ocean City Elementary School, 1954-1958; and Buckingham Elementary School, 1958-1971.
The sculptor is Michael D. Jernigan of Tallahassee, Fla., and the work was cast at Turner Sculpture in Onley, Va. (Mr. Jernigan told a standing-room-only audience at the library Friday that it is OK to touch the bronze statue.)

The sculpture is pictured above, and at right, Andrea Schlottman, Ocean City Library branch manager, admires the new artwork. Much more on the new library to come in future posts.

St. Patrick's Day Parade & Irish Festival in Ocean City

2009-02-20T16:12:00.004-05:00

The 2009 St. Patrick's Day Parade and Irish Festival in Ocean City, Maryland, got the green light from the Mayor and City Council this week.

Ocean City's 29th Annual St. Patty's Day Parade, second largest St. Patrick's parade in Maryland, will be Saturday, March 14, stepping off at noon.

The marching bands, floats, and other participants will begin at 61st Street and march south along Coastal Highway to the reviewing stand at the 45th Street Shopping Center.

An Irish Festival of live entertainment, dancers, face painting, Irish apparel, and food and drink, will take place at the 45th Street Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. the same Saturday. Admission to the Irish Festival is free, and music will be provided by the Off the Boat Band featuring James Gallagher.

The St. Patrick's Day Parade and Irish Festival in Ocean City are sponsored by the 300-member Delmarva Irish-American Club. Pete and Susan Copenhaver will be grand marshals for the parade.

Many of Ocean City's hotels, restaurants, and shops will be open for the St. Patrick's weekend, and most of the rest will open by Easter.

Pro Beach Volleyball Is Coming to Ocean City

2009-02-18T17:24:00.007-05:00

Professional beach volleyball is coming to Ocean City, Maryland, to coincide with Beachfest 2009 in June.

The Mayor and City Council gave an enthusiastic OK on Tuesday night to the Association of Volleyball Professionals tournament, which will take place on the sand at Dorchester and Somerset Streets. The weekend AVP stop on the pro beach volleyball tour is moving from Wildwood, N.J., to Ocean City, Md.

The volleyball tournament will take place Thursday through Sunday, June 18-21. It is expected to attract a minimum of 5,000 spectators, and have an economic impact of $1.7 million to $1.9 million on Ocean City.

The tournament finals on the beach will be televised by ESPN, generating additional publicity for the resort. The volleyball event will be cross-promoted with Beachfest 2009 activities, already scheduled for the same weekend. Beachfest, highlighting outdoor activities including surfing and skateboarding, will take place at other locations in Ocean City, including on the beach in front of the Castle In The Sand, and at the Convention Center.

It is possible that Ocean City could become an annual stop on the AVP volleyball tour.

With pro volleyball, surfing and skateboarding, the third weekend in June is shaping up as a BIG weekend in Ocean City.

Trimper Rides -- Great Photos

2009-02-17T13:16:00.012-05:00

Thanks to David Baus, a professional photographer in Maryland, for sharing these wonderful photographs of Trimper Rides with Ocean City, Maryland Blog. (Click on any photo to enlarge it.)

The beautifully restored horses and the lady in blue are from the historic Trimper Rides carousel at the south end of the Ocean City, Maryland, Boardwalk.

The top photo is a breath-taking shot of the roller coaster. Photos Copyright by David Baus. davidbaus@bausphotography.com

Route 50 Bridge -- One Lane Each Way

2009-02-16T20:07:00.005-05:00

Work started today on the second phase of resurfacing the Route 50 bridge connecting the barrier island (Downtown Ocean City, Maryland), to West Ocean City and the mainland.

Bridge traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction during the work. The State Highway Administration intends to have the project finished before the Memorial Day Weekend.

Consider taking an alternate route to the Route 90 bridge, which will bring you into Ocean City at 62nd Street. If you're driving a big truck, you should definitely use the Route 90 bridge while they're working on the downtown bridge.

The SHA resurfaced two lanes on the Route 50 bridge last spring, and is doing the other two lanes this spring. New sidewalks, too!

Please drive gently!

Rep. Kratovil Votes Yes On Economic Stimulus

2009-02-16T12:42:00.003-05:00

Rep. Frank Kratovil, the Eastern Shore's new Democratic congressman, voted yes to pass the economic stimulus package. Nine of Maryland's ten members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives voted for the economic bill. Nine-to-one gives me confidence that they are on the right track. See Maryland On My Mind for more.

No Boardwalk Fun Until March 13th?

2009-02-15T23:05:00.009-05:00

Just another February weekend in Ocean City. Valentine's Day. Boat Show. Sunshine and temperature outperforming expectations.

Sign on the Boardwalk: "The Fun Begins March 13, 2009." That would be the weekend before St. Patrick's Day, March 17.

You mean we were supposed to wait?

If there was an embargo on fun until March, several thousand people violated it this weekend. You got that right. Thousands of people were having fun in the sun on the Boardwalk on Saturday and Sunday. (Not dozens, not hundreds, thousands. I am not exaggerating.) Not to mention the people having fun at the Boat Show in the Convention Center.
Another sign on the Boardwalk hit the mark: "2009 Grand Opening This Saturday and Sunday. Fly On In" at the Kite Loft. (Click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.) Sure enough, much of the Boardwalk was open. Fishers Popcorn had a line of customers. Thrasher's had a long line. I have pictures to prove it.

I should have tried for a picture of the rambunctious German Shepherd, fetching a tennis ball on the beach. This dog was beside himself. Time after time, he chased the ball down at full speed, scooped it from the sand without slowing, and proudly raced back to its owner. Unleashed exuberance! You cannot capture that kind of pure, animal joy with a camera, let alone words.

Who do you think is having more fun? A banker on Wall Street with a million-dollar bonus? Or a dog on the beach with a mouthful of sand?

Much Interest in 100 Top Salaries; What About The Bottom 100?

2009-02-15T18:15:00.004-05:00

There has been much attention in Ocean City, these past few weeks, focused on the salaries of the 100 highest-paid employees in town government. It seems appropriate that this list has been released, because voters and taxpayers need reliable information. (The list is printed in the Feb. 13 issue of Ocean City Today, on page 24A.)

It would also be enlightening to know the salaries of the 100 lowest-paid employees in town government. Not seasonal employees, and not trainees (people with less than one year on the job). I'm curious about the 100 lowest-paid year-round workers with at least a year on the job. Or even the lowest 200.

Whatever those at the bottom are making, however adequate or inadequate, fair or unfair, one thing is sure. It won't be going up anytime soon.

Ocean City, Maryland, Jobs -- Beach Patrol

2009-02-14T13:10:00.004-05:00

The Ocean City Beach Patrol is conducting testing to hire athletic, ambitious and responsible men and women for well-paying full-time employment for the 2009 season in Ocean City, Maryland.

The OCBP, with a staff of more than 180 Surf Rescue Technicians (SRT), is dedicated to ocean rescue and beach safety on the 10.5 miles of ocean beach at Ocean City, Maryland.

The first testing date is Sunday, Feb. 22, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Salisbury University, Maggs Pool, in Salisbury on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Applicants for this test must be age 17 or older. For applicants age 17, a legal guardian must be present during the entire testing.

Preregistration is not required for testing, but it is helpful. To preregister, contact the Ocean City Beach Patrol by e-mail ocbp@ococean.com or telephone, 410-289-7556. Acceptable proof of age will be required.

Ocean/Surf Rescue is significantly more challenging and rewarding that pool or lake guarding. No prior experience or certifications are needed to apply. Rookies who are accepted for employment will receive full, paid training in all aspects of the job at the nine-day Surf Rescue Academy, followed by three weeks of supervised on-the-job probation.

The vigorous physical testing includes swimming, running, and the ability to move an unconscious person weighing 150 pounds. The swimming portion of the testing on Feb. 22 will be at the indoor pool. The running portions of the testing will be outdoors. For full information, including suggestions on how to prepare for the testing, see the OCBP Website at http://www.ococean.com/ocbp and click on the JOBS link.

Surf Rescue Technicians work a 43.5 hour week with days off. Pay during training is $13.25; pay after completion of probation is $14.42. According to the OCBP, a rookie SRT entering the training academy in May and working a normal schedule through the end of September has an earnings potential of about $11,000 for the season.

The OCBP Website will post information on future SRT testing dates and locations. However, it is best to apply as soon as possible, because testing will be suspended after all the positions have been filled. Good luck to all!

Ahoy! Boat Show Weekend

2009-02-13T16:55:00.003-05:00

The Optimists' annual Seaside Boat Show is this weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, at the Convention Center in Ocean City, Maryland.

A wet weather system (snow and/or rain) is going to spare most of Maryland, sliding on by to the south, Frank Roylance reports on his Maryland Weather blog. So it looks like we'll be having a mostly dry, partly sunny, partly cloudy weekend. No guarantees. Your mileage may vary. Speaking of mileage, gas is up to $1.79 or $1.81 for a gallon of regular, depending. Depending on what? I don't know.

The temperature hit 53 in Ocean City today (Friday), with gusty winds. Highs in the neighborhood of 48 degrees are predicted for both Saturday and Sunday.

Reminder: Saturday, Feb. 14, is Valentine's Day, all day long.

Winter Painting In Ocean City

2009-02-12T17:31:00.007-05:00

Lifeguard stands, freshly painted bright white, are ready and waiting for the summer swimming season.

People do a lot of painting in Ocean City, Maryland, during the winter. We'll paint anything that stands still. My brother spent one long winter scraping and painting all the metal lockers inside Showell's Bathhouse.

I spent many days one winter, more than 30 years ago, standing on a high stepladder and painting discolored parts of the ceiling inside the Boardwalk 5&10. (I think it was an 18-foot stepladder. Maybe it was only 12 feet. Whatever, I did not stand on the top step, or even the next-to-the-top step.)

The ceiling was old-fashioned and fancy, pressed tin, painted a cream color. It was so high that I couldn't reach the ceiling, even standing on the giant stepladder. I had a big paintbrush taped to the end of a long mop handle. Thus equipped, I climbed the stepladder and painted the ceiling. (I am not making any of this up.)

Fortunately, I didn't have to paint the entire ceiling that way, only a relatively small damaged part. The best thing about working high on a ladder in the winter is that heat rises. The store was slightly heated, enough to take the chill off in late spring and early fall. In winter, it could be freezing cold at floor level. But up on a high ladder, it was much warmer.

Another winter, I spent a lot of time on my knees, scraping gray paint off the floor. Layer upon layer of gray paint, applied year after year. Here's what I learned: Painting a ceiling is more fun than scraping a floor. But I would prefer to paint a lifeguard stand.

McBride's "Song Yet Sung" -- The Beach Book For 2009

2009-02-11T16:42:00.010-05:00

One of the most-read books on the beach this summer, I predict, will be Song Yet Sung, by James McBride, best known as author of The Color of Water.

The Maryland Humanities Council has selected Song Yet Sung to be the "One Maryland, One Book" for 2009. I think many Marylanders will be reading the book while vacationing in Ocean City this summer, in preparation for discussion groups to be held all over the state in the fall.

Song Yet Sung is "an intricate and gripping tale of escaped slaves, free blacks, and slave catchers," and the setting for the story is none other than Maryland's Eastern Shore. The book promises to be a good read, and educational, as well.

Something else you might be seeing around Ocean City this summer is the new Kindle 2. A lot of us thought there was no way to improve on the perfectly simple technology of the printed book. But many people believe that Amazon may have done just that with the amazing Kindle 2.

You can download any of 230,000 titles to the Kindle 2 and start reading in 60 seconds. You can get new best-sellers for less than half the cost of the hardback. Newspapers, magazines, and blogs, too! Amazing.

It holds 1,500 books, and you can hold it in one hand. Imagine taking your 1,500 favorite books to the beach with you! Amazon is taking orders for the Kindle 2 now. Kindles ordered this week will be shipped later in February. (See the Kindle 2 ad in the sidebar at right).

Town Moves To Trim Number of Seasonal Police Officers

2009-02-10T18:51:00.005-05:00

Years ago, Ocean City, Maryland, had a small-town police force of 50 to 60 officers during the winter, augmented by a larger group -- as many as 150 -- of seasonal police officers during the summer.

Over the past 20 years or so, the year-round Ocean City Police Department has nearly doubled, according to City Council President Joseph Mitrecic. As a result, most town officials agree, the need for seasonal officers has declined.

The Mayor and Council took a first step on Tuesday to "right-size" the Police Department by reducing the number of seasonal officers. Under state law, Ocean City is mandated to hire a minimum of 100 seasonal officers. With the deadline for proposing legislation fast approaching, the City Council voted Tuesday to ask the Maryland General Assembly to reduce the minimum number of seasonal police from 100 to 70.

The Ocean City Police Department presently has 135 year-round employees -- 107 sworn police officers and 28 civilian employees -- according to Police Chief Bernadette DiPino. In addition, 59 experienced seasonal officers will be returning this year.

Chief DiPino expressed some reservations about whether 70 seasonal officers is the right minimum to propose. She said seasonal officers are "vital" to the Police Department, and cautioned that requesting a change could raise statewide issues that might put the entire seasonal officer program at risk. Chief DiPino also warned that the reduction from 100 to 70 might draw questions from the Maryland Police Training Commission.

"Times have changed," Mayor Rick Meehan said. "The number 70 is a minimum number" of seasonal police the town could hire, the mayor emphasized several times. "If we need more, we can hire more," he assured the police chief.

The town has to review at least 140 applicants in order to hire 100 seasonal officers, Mayor Meehan said. By reducing the number, the department can concentrate on recruiting "the cream of the crop," he said.

The department has been training two classes of new seasonal officers, one graduating in May and the other graduating the second week of June. By reducing the number of seasonal officers hired, Mayor Meehan suggested, the town could also save money on training by reducing the number of classes from two to one. The one class would graduate in May.

An added benefit, the mayor said, is that Ocean City would have the maximum number of police trained and on the street during the early part of the season, when the need is greatest. (In early June, large numbers of young people visit the resort to celebrate high school graduation.)

Chief DiPino told the council that she would prefer to do a Police Department staff study to determine the best number to request of the state. But the mayor and council members felt under pressure to move quickly because of the state deadline on legislative requests.

Said Councilman Jim Hall: "I put our Police Department super-second to none." He supported reducing the number of seasonal officers in order to get the "cream of the crop" and "to get the payroll under control."

"We have never denied the Police or Fire Departments something they really needed," Mr. Hall added.

Downtown OC, Old & New -- Victorian Lady

2009-02-09T19:24:00.004-05:00

In downtown Ocean City, Maryland, you can see the evolution of beach resort architecture over more than a century. Times change, tastes change, styles change. This post and the three below show only a few of the eye-catching buildings, old and new, in downtown Ocean City.

It seems appropriate to start with this Victorian lady, "The Taylor House" built in 1905 at the corner of Baltimore Avenue and Talbot Street. The second and third floors are rented as apartments. There must be some interesting rooms, with plenty of windows and light, inside those rounded walls. Looks like a great setting for a Gothic novel.

Maybe Ocean City could have a contest in which visitors would suggest alternative color combinations for this landmark house.

Downtown OC, Old & New -- Classic Motel and Cottage

2009-02-09T18:58:00.006-05:00

Variety! Here are two different commercial buildings, across from each other on 2nd Street. Both are classics with nostalgic charm. They both look like "Summer at the beach!"

The Sea Breeze, at left, is a classic American motel from the 1950s and 1960s era. FYI, this motel is for sale. I kind of hope the buyers will continue to operate it as the Sea Breeze, but it would also make a nice site for new townhouses like the ones shown in the post below.

The small, two-level cottage, at right, is a classic beach house from the early part of the 20th century. Notice it has porches front and back. There used to be a "Sub Station" on the ground level in front, facing the street. That commercial space is now for rent. Truth to tell, this cottage doesn't look as cute from the front as it does in this photo from the side. But the front could be easily remedied.

Two classics. I imagine that complete information on either of these properties could be had for the price of a phone call to your Realtor.

Downtown OC, Old & New -- Townhouses

2009-02-09T18:41:00.006-05:00

New townhouses like these on the north side of 1st Street near Philadelphia Avenue are a great addition to downtown Ocean City, Maryland, in my opinion. These townhouses have four levels, but the overall effect is of moderate size and tasteful design, in keeping with the surrounding neighborhood.

Notice the front porches on every level. Porches, front, back, sides, everywhere, are a signature of beach architecture, whether traditional or modern. The porches here are wide, but they could be a little deeper, the better to accommodate rocking chairs and other outdoor furniture. And notice what you don't notice. No garage in front. These townhouses come complete with garages, but the garages are located at the back of the house, where they belong.

Downtown OC, Old & New -- Dumser's Ice Cream

2009-02-09T18:27:00.006-05:00

The Dumser's Ice Cream Factory near the Inlet proves that modern commercial buildings can be esthetically pleasing. Dumser's has many locations in Ocean City, Maryland. This one is on Philadelphia Avenue between Wicomico and Worcester Streets. It looks to me like a classic modern design that will stand the test of time.

Vitamin B and Vitamin D In Ocean City

2009-02-08T12:21:00.005-05:00

People need their vitamins, especially in winter. That must be why there are so many people on the Boardwalk this weekend. The top photo shows the Boardwalk on Saturday.

It feels more like May than February this weekend in Ocean City, Maryland. Bright sunshine, blue sky, light breeze. The high temperature was right around 50 degrees on Saturday. Today, Sunday, is positively balmy. At noon, it's 67 degrees in West Ocean City, and 69 on the Coastal Highway.

All those people are walking the boards this weekend because people need vitamins. That's my theory. You get Vitamin D from sunshine, right. Can you get Vitamin B from walking on the Boardwalk? Another of my favorite vitamins is Vitamin S. Salt and sugar. But that's another story.

The second photo at top is workers finishing the roof on the new Avalon Inn on Saturday.

February Weekend In OC

2009-02-06T17:17:00.005-05:00

We were in a winter deep freeze during the middle of the week, but once again, we're looking at a nice weekend in Ocean City, Maryland.

The high today (Friday) was 41 degrees. It was sunny outside today, and the forecast is for sunshine all weekend. A high temperature of 53 degrees is predicted on Saturday, and on Sunday, it's supposed to go all the way up to 58 degrees! It's still winter, but it might not feel like it on Sunday. Great weather for walking or jogging on the Boardwalk. You can bring your dog; dogs are allowed on the Boardwalk this time of year.

Gas prices, which were in the $1.40s before Christmas, have broken back above $1.70 a gallon. Regular is going for $1.71 a gallon in West Ocean City, and $1.73 on Coastal Highway.

Only 800 Slot Machines Bid At Ocean Downs Racetrack

2009-02-05T19:09:00.005-05:00

Maryland voters approved 2,500 slot machines in the general vicinity of Route 50 and Route 589, just west of Ocean City, Maryland. And local jurisdictions and neighborhoods have been squabbling furiously about who would get the impact fees associated with those slots.

But William M. Rickman Jr. plans to have only 800 machines at his Ocean Downs racecourse on Route 589.

Mr. Rickman is the only bidder for the Maryland slots casino license in Worcester County. He paid the $4.5 million fee required for that number of machines this week. Mr. Rickman, a developer who lives in Montgomery County, also owns the Delaware Park racetrack and casino.

If Maryland accepts the bid, Mr. Rickman would be required to invest at least $25.1 million in construction and improvements at Ocean Downs.

The 800 slots requested at Ocean Downs was not as disappointing as the bidding at three other sites in Maryland. Entrepreneurs asked for only 500 slot machines in Baltimore, far short of the 3,750 authorized in November's referendum, and only 500 in Cecil County, which was authorized for 2,500.

Companies seeking the slot-machine licenses at Laurel Park racetrack in Anne Arundel County, and at Rocky Gap in Western Maryland, apparently failed to pay the required fees. As a result, it is highly unlikely that their bids will be considered, even if they pay the fees late.

The one bright spot in the week's slot-machine action was the surprise bid by The Cordish Companies of Baltimore for 4,750 slots at Arundel Mills mall, just up the Baltimore-Washington Parkway from Laurel Park. Magna Entertainment, owner of the Pimlico and Laurel racetracks, apparently failed to submit a legal bid and pay the required fee.

Boat Show & Valentine's Day In Ocean City

2009-02-05T11:47:00.010-05:00

(Photo courtesy of Ocean City Department of Tourism) -- The first big holiday weekend of the year is in sight. Coming up in eight days or less is the 26th Annual Seaside Boat Show at the Ocean City Convention Center. Plus Valentine's Day! And President's Day!

The Seaside Boat Show, featuring 350 boats and 150 exhibitors, will be Friday, Feb. 13, through Sunday, Feb. 15, in Ocean City, Maryland.

Don't forget, Saturday, Feb. 14, is Valentine's Day! Monday, Feb. 16, is President's Day. We could use a long, romantic weekend, right about now.

You could go skiing on President's Day weekend, but you might break your neck. The Boat Show is much safer. It's indoors and warm. Oceanfront hotels with nice, indoor swimming pools are nearby. (Also, downhill skiing conditions are not so good this winter at Snow Hill. There's no snow, and the ski lift is missing.)

Seaside Boat Show details: The boat show is at the Ocean City Convention Center, bayside at 40th Street. Admission is $8 for adults and only $1 for children. Bring the whole family. The Boat Show is sponsored by the Ocean City/Berlin Optimist Club. Proceeds help fund Optimist Club youth programs in the community.

I understand that boat industry exhibitors from all over will be showing their newest and most popular models, and offering special Boat Show prices. Somebody will win a Sweetwater pontoon boat, donated by North Bay Marina.

You could buy your sweetheart a boat for Valentine's Day! Then go out for dinner at a nice restaurant Saturday night. That would just about make up for the time you forgot her birthday!

Recession Hits Ocean City Town Workers -- Pay Increases Frozen

2009-02-02T22:14:00.009-05:00

Leaders in Ocean City, Maryland, are moving quickly to respond to the U.S. recession, which threatens to continue through 2009.

The Mayor and City Council made perhaps the most difficult decision Monday night, enacting a freeze on all salary increases for the town government's general workforce. The freeze covers about 600 workers, but does not include Police Department salaries, which come under a contract with the Fraternal Order of Police. A town hiring freeze is already in effect.

Only last week, City Manager Dennis Dare had telegraphed that he might ask city workers to forgo their annual three percent cost-of-living adjustments. But it was only a suggestion.

Monday night, Dare recommended that step and merit pay increases for city workers should be frozen as well, along with cost-of-living adjustments.

Dare added a note of regret: City workers deserve their raises, he said, because they improve their skills with experience year by year.

But he told the City Council: "In this recession that we're in, that's not something that we're going to be able to afford this year."

The council, which has made clear that it wants an austerity budget, did not hesitate to accept Dare's recommendation. The six members at the meeting voted unanimously to approve the salary freeze for the 2010 budget.

The freeze will mean a budget savings of about $800,000 total, Dare said after the meeting, approximately $400,000 for step and merit increases, and $400,000 for cost-of-living increases. The city manager did not rule out the possibility of seeking additional salary savings in the police budget.

Pay increases were not the only freeze enacted Monday night. The council also voted unanimously to freeze town water and wastewater rates for fiscal year 2010. A study will be conducted during 2010 on the rate structure for 2011 and future years.

When the town began its campaign to trim government spending last fall, its first action was to suspend most hiring. Since then, 26 positions have become vacant, but only two have been filled, Dare reported at a council work session last week. He noted that the Public Works Department is down by six employees, and needs help from part-time workers at times.

The Police Department also has a freeze on hiring, Police Chief Bernadette DiPino reported last week. And the Police Department is testing reducing the command staff from four captains to three.

In addition to the hiring freeze, Dare outlined last week a laundry list of cost-cutting steps the town has taken since October. The town has:

Eliminated a planned renovation of the median strip on Coastal Highway between 74th Street and 85th Street.
Reduced the season for operating boardwalk trams and park-and-ride buses.
Reduced the frequency of trash collections during the winter months.
Terminated the contract for washing city vehicles.
Changed cell phone plans.

In addition, the town has curtailed training and travel for employees; cut the Labor Day concerts from two to one; reduced golf course maintenance; tightened up on postage and Federal Express spending; and it is looking closely at energy use in all city facilities.

"We've been through just about all the cuts," Dare told the council last week. With those austerity measures, Ocean City has realized about $2.5 million savings in the current fiscal year.

During February, Dare said, he will be concentrating on seeking savings in the budget to be enacted in the spring. "We will go through every dollar with every department head," he said.

Topping Off The Avalon Inn

2009-02-02T21:40:00.007-05:00

A roofer attached to a harness and safety line (top two photos) works at the peak of the roof on the new Avalon Inn on Monday afternoon.

At the rate construction is proceeding, the building will be completely under roof in another day or two. The third photo shows the front of the building, which is under construction on Baltimore Avenue at 1st Street. The inn promises to be a handsome addition to downtown Ocean City.

Frank Kratovil Against Economic Stimulus?

2009-02-02T12:50:00.004-05:00

What?! Rep. Frank Kratovil, the Eastern Shore's new Democratic congressman, voted against President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package? What was he thinking?

Earth to Rep. Kratovil: Have you heard, we're in a recession here? Are you trying to make it a depression?

Hey, Ocean City's Fire Station No. 4 expansion project will be "shovel-ready" any day now. If you bring the shovels over, it'll be shovel-ready by the time you get here.

Zero to 1,000 in One Month

2009-02-02T12:20:00.002-05:00

Someone checked into the Ocean City, Maryland, Blog, during their lunch hour today, Monday. That person was the 1,000th visitor since the blog debuted on New Year's Day with the Penguin Swim pictures.

Our goal is to double the number of hits every month for the rest of the year.

Another Stunning Winter Weekend in OC

2009-02-01T12:16:00.003-05:00

Oh, what a beautiful weekend! Timing is everything. Earlier in the week, it was wintry and rainy, even snowy. But the sun came out on Thursday.

The word at City Hall is that the number of visitors has been down about 10 percent this winter, based on water use and room taxes and such. Maybe so, but you couldn't tell it on this weekend, the last Saturday in January and the first Sunday in February.

Both Saturday and Sunday have been nothing but bright sunshine in Ocean City. Yesterday, the parking lot at Dumser's in North Ocean City was full at 1 in the afternoon. Do you suppose all those people were eating lunch, or having a late breakfast? Doesn't matter, it's a free country.

The temperature was already 50 degrees at 10 a.m. this morning (Sunday). I know exactly what time it was because I was running late for church. And then I had to slow down because there was a State Trooper waiting at the bridge. I don't suppose being late for church is a good excuse for speeding.

The parking lot at church was full, just like at Dumser's. I had to park on the street, which was also full, but that's what I get for being late.

By noon, it's 56 degrees. People are enjoying the sun and getting some exercise on the boardwalk. It might hit 60.

And today is Super Bowl Sunday! Football, parties, commercials! When the Super Bowl is over, it means that pitchers and catchers will be reporting for spring training any day now.

The Big Story In Ocean City: It's The Economy

2009-02-01T00:19:00.011-05:00

The BIG STORY, in this Winter of 2009, is the same in Ocean City as it is everyplace. It's The Economy.

It will be the same in the Spring, most people agree, and maybe all year. Wall Street is still looking for The Bottom. Nearly every newspaper and TV news station tells the same story: "It's going to get worse before it gets better." Naturally, this raises apprehension in Ocean City, as it does all across America.

In Ocean City, the apprehension is particularly focused, because of the seasonal nature of the local economy.

Real estate values are down in Ocean City, as they are elsewhere. Major construction is slowing and will soon come to a standstill. City Manager Dennis Dare said as much at a public meeting last week: "We don't have any large projects pending." Only repairs and small additions; everyone had already guessed as much.

The good news is that construction continues on the new Avalon Inn (pictured at top), on Baltimore Avenue at First Street. They've been working all fall and winter and appear to be making good progress.

And progress continues on the Miramar (third and fourth pictures) at the site of the former Santa Maria Motel. The Miramar is to feature a Marriott Hotel, the return of The Captain's Table restaurant, and luxury condos. It stretches from the Boardwalk to Baltimore Avenue at 15th Street. The Miramar, originally scheduled to open in 2008, is now scheduled for this year.

The construction slowdown is an obvious symptom of the present recession. It's like the Biblical seven wet years and seven dry years. People are anxious about credit and unemployment. In Ocean City, people are anxious about what the 2009 season will bring.

The Economy will continue to be the big story for some time. This blog will follow it every step of the way. We'll try to put it in historical perspective when we can, and try to point out the bright spots when we see them.

July 4th Fireworks Shows Must Go On

2009-01-30T06:25:00.007-05:00

Ocean City's Fourth-of-July fireworks shows will go on in 2009, recession or no recession.

Despite a cost increase, the fireworks survived the scrutiny of the Mayor and City Council at a work session this week.

The council voted to extend the town's fireworks contract with Zambelli International for three years, but not without a brief disagreement over whether to put the contract up for competitive bidding.

Zambelli will continue to provide two firework displays, one at each end of town, on the evening of Independence Day, July 4, the holiday celebrating the birth of the nation. Coincidentally, July 4 also marks the birthday of Ocean City, which opened as a resort with the dedication of the Atlantic Hotel on July 4, 1875.

The cost of the fireworks displays, which had remained unchanged for several years, will go up $7,000 in 2009, to $62,500, and then remain at the same level in 2010 and 2011.

Zambelli attributed the higher price to a 10 to 15 percent increase in the cost of fireworks imported from China, with another 20 to 25 percent increase expected in 2009.

The company provides 18-minute fireworks shows, one at the south end of town, and the other at Northside Park. "Our visitors seem to be very, very satisfied with the shows they see," Councilman Jim Hall said.

"Zambelli fireworks are on time and brilliant," said John Sullivan, the town's special events director. In view of the company's "incredible track record" for safety and security, Sullivan recommended against seeking competitive bids from other companies at this time.

Councilman Joseph Hall argued in favor of competitive bidding after 12 years with the same company. Mr. Hall said the city should ask companies to submit two bids, one for 18-minute fireworks displays, and another for 15-minute displays.

But Councilman Jim Hall moved to accept the contract offer, saying, "This is very cheap for what we get." The contract passed on a 5-2 vote, with Council members Joseph Hall and Margaret Pillas holding out for competitive bidding.

If you're making plans, the Ocean City Fourth-of-July fireworks will be on . . . let's see . . . on July 4 this year! In the event of bad weather, the backup date is July 5.

Fire Station Design Moves Ahead Without Bids

2009-01-29T18:34:00.015-05:00

A majority of the City Council agreed this week to get a fire station construction project "shovel-ready," in anticipation of President Obama's economic stimulus package.

The renovation and expansion of Fire Station No. 4 (pictured above) at 130th Street would be the first major firehouse project north of 15th Street in 30 years, Fire Chief Chris Larmore told the Mayor and Council. Firehouse expansion was put on hold in 2002, but became a "priority" in 2008. The goal is to build an additional ground-level bay for more firetrucks, and a second-floor dormitory-style living quarters for firefighters and paramedics.

The north end of Ocean City has grown in the past 30 years, Chief Larmore noted, but the firehouse infrastructure has not. Larmore and City Engineer Terry McGean asked the council to allocate $54,000 to pay Design Atlantic for Phase 1 and 2 design work on the project. Phase 1 will determine whether the best approach is to add on to the existing 130th Street structure, or to tear it down and start fresh.

City leaders had not expected to be able to start construction on Station No. 4 for several years. But many national politicians and business leaders want to target economic stimulus funds to "shovel-ready" infrastructure projects that can create jobs quickly to get the economy moving. The design work would make the fire station shovel-ready, if and when federal or state funds become available.

With the "shovel-ready" talk injecting a note of urgency, the council awarded the design contract to Design Atlantic on a 4-3 vote, with disagreement among council members over the need for competitive bidding.

To bid or not to bid has become a stumbling block on nearly every contracting decision as the Mayor and Council put town spending under a microscope.

Competitive bidding for large construction projects is a hallmark of good government. Put the job up for bids, and award the contract to the low bidder. It's the taxpayers' dollars, after all, and the taxpayers don't like wasting money.

But in practice -- in contracts ranging from Army mess halls in Iraq, to the Ocean City fireworks display -- competitive bidding is not always the best decision. In small and routine contracts, governments often skip competitive bidding for speed and efficiency.

Several Ocean City council members strongly support competitive bidding for almost every contract, and Fire Station No. 4 is a case in point.

Most everyone agrees that fire station expansion is needed. That was not the issue. Several council members pressed the city engineer to prepare a "request for proposals" on the design contract. They didn't accept the recommendation of the city engineer and fire chief that the contract should go to Design Atlantic based on the company's past work for the city, plus the firm's experience with firehouses.

Mr. McGean took a strong stand against competitive bidding in this instance. It has been Ocean City's policy not to request bids for architectural and engineering design services, he said. Design services are only five to seven percent of the total cost of a construction project. Accepting a low bid for design can result in problems during construction, he warned. Chief Larmore added, "$54,000 is really light for this project."

Council members Jim Hall, Joseph Hall, and Margaret Pillas were not persuaded, and voted against awarding the contract without bidding. If not for the urgency about getting "shovel-ready," one or two additional council members might have sided with them.

Step 1 is to evaluate the existing fire station and determine the best approach for construction. Step 2 is to take the design to the point where an accurate cost estimate can be made. The $54,000 will come from $12,000 left over from an earlier firehouse study, plus part of the $90,000 saved by finishing the Northside Park concession stand under budget.

Step 3 in design would be preparing bid documents for construction. Step 3 is expected to cost in the $40,000 to $80,000 range, depending on the results of Steps 1 and 2. "Given that the total cost of this project will likely be in the range of $2 million, the quoted design fees are reasonable," the city engineer said in a memo.

City Council Deadly Serious About Cutting Spending

2009-01-27T22:38:00.014-05:00

Ocean City leaders, both elected and appointed, are on a mission to cut the costs of government. Their attention has been focused by the deepening national economic crisis, and by concerns about the coming season in the resort.

The Mayor and City Council met with staff all Tuesday afternoon, as a wintry mix of snow and ice pelted the resort outside, to review cost savings already accomplished, and to consider the way forward to more stringent cuts in the new budget.

A majority on the City Council began to establish a line beyond which they will not cut, except as a last resort.

The council will not leave workers waiting for the bus in the middle of night in the winter. The council voted 4-3 to keep three buses running all night during the winter. Cutting from three buses to two at night would have saved $750 a week. Council members stressed the importance of many restaurant, cleaning, and security employees who work at night but might not own cars.
The council may proceed slowly, but it will not thwart all progress on public safety improvements. It gave the go-ahead for design work on expansion of Fire Station No. 4 at at 130th Street.
Council members will not risk tampering with successful programs that are closely associated with the resort's image or safety, in this case the Fourth of July fireworks display. Security and safety were issues in the 5-2 vote to extend the fireworks contract to a respected company that has held it for many years, rather than putting the contract up for bid. The contract includes a cost increase of $7,000, the first increase in four years.

But the City Council made crystal clear that it will scrutinize every budget item in every department. The town has already put a freeze on hiring. And city officials appear likely to ask the 600 town employees to forgo a three percent cost-of-living increase that the workers would normally receive.

At the same time, the City Council will strongly, strongly resist raising fees and taxes.

The council OK'd increasing two minor permit fees that had not been raised in 20 years. One fee is the per-day fee for using a commercial vehicle, such as a pickup truck or a sign crane, on the boardwalk. (The permit is issued without fee in some emergencies, such as an approaching storm.) The second fee is the construction-staging fee to close a street for construction work.

But the council postponed decisions on proposed increases in the business-license fee, and in parking fees at meters and at the inlet parking lot. The city manager indicated that water and sewer rates will probably go unchanged this year.

City Manager Dennis Dare and Police Chief Bernadette DiPino each gave detailed reports on cost savings already implemented, and additional ideas for savings. And two council members pressed Dare for more information on city fees; and for more data on compensation, benefits and expenses for the 100 highest paid city employees.

More on the budget and the business outlook for the 2009 season will be reported here in posts tomorrow or later in the week.

Also, I will try to pull together some of the city officials' perspectives on the budget.

Snow and Budget Angst in Ocean City

2009-01-27T10:08:00.007-05:00

It's snowing hard in Ocean City this Tuesday morning. Side streets in West OC already covered at 10:15 a.m.

Temperatures in the interior of the Eastern Shore are below freezing. Here on the coast, the temp is hovering perhaps one shiver above freezing. It might snow all day.

This afternoon, the Ocean City Council meets at 1 p.m. for a work session on the budget. The budget promises to be a contentious exercise in this winter of economic uncertainty. One councilman has been stirring the pot with some unusual letters to the editor in the Maryland Coast Dispatch.

Watch this space for an update on the snow and the budget this evening.

Wild Winter Weekend in OC: Heron

2009-01-26T19:59:00.011-05:00

This long-legged bird was out for a stroll in West Ocean City on Sunday afternoon. I wasn't able to get close enough for good pictures. The bird prefers to walk, but it certainly can fly well, and that's what it did when I got closer than it liked. The bird has an impressive wingspan, but it didn't fly very high. It skimmed across the wetlands and landed at the edge of the bay, well out of camera range.

The same bird, or one just like him, turned up later Sunday afternoon standing in a storm-water drainage ditch at the side of a road. By then the light had faded, and I couldn't get a picture.

Today, the bird, tentatively identified as a gray heron, or maybe a blue heron, has taken up residence at the roadside ditch. I think there is something in the water that he (or she) likes to eat.

The top three pictures were taken today, and they are not very good, in part because it was so overcast. The pictures were enhanced using iPhoto to make the heron more visible. His coloring and the gray winter light make him blend right into the background. He casts a reflection in the water that is almost as sharp as the pictures. I made the green and red tint artificially bright, to help him stand out from the grass. The red also helps to bring out the beak.

This seems to be a solitary creature. It is not easily frightened. I suspect it has few natural enemies. A barking dog doesn't bother it much, and neither does a car or truck. You can drive right up to it in a car, which it probably sees as a harmless lumbering animal. But it is shy and won't let a human being walk very near. I hope it sticks around for better pictures on a sunny day.

Wild Winter Weekend in OC: Seagulls

2009-01-26T19:28:00.008-05:00

It was cold, and mostly sunny and dry Saturday and Sunday, great January weather that brought quite a few bundled-up walkers onto the Ocean City Boardwalk.

I spotted a big long-legged bird, probably a heron, taking a stroll in West Ocean City (see the post above), and this gull at right walking at North Division Street.

In the two photos directly above, two folks were feeding seagulls on the beach Sunday and attracted quite a flock. Some of the gulls became downright aggressive during the feeding frenzy.

Today, Monday, was gray and overcast, and we had a few lonely snowflakes in the morning. Looks like we're in for very wintry weather across Maryland for the next few days. Most likely a "wintry mix" of snow and rain, and maybe some ice, in the Worcester County part of the state.

More Plim Plaza Pictures

2009-01-25T19:01:00.009-05:00

Above, a view of the front porch and the tower at the Plim Plaza Hotel. One of two ferocious lions (right) standing guard at the foot of the stairs to the Victorian open-air bar (below) on a concrete deck above a parking level behind the hotel.

Ocean City Boardwalk Traditions: Plim Plaza Hotel

2009-01-25T12:41:00.006-05:00

The Plim Plaza Hotel (originally the Plimhimmon Hotel) has been a landmark on the Ocean City, Maryland, Boardwalk since 1893. The hotel, located at 2nd Street, is the most beautiful building on the Boardwalk, in my opinion.

In a resort that showcases the evolution of vacation buildings from the late 19th century through the present, the Plim Plaza exemplifies the hospitality and architecture of a more civil and stylish era.

Today, storefronts line the valuable Boardwalk frontage of the remaining old hotels and the newer hotels and condo buildings. Fewer than a handful of old hotels still feature a graceful veranda. In a few months, when the hotels have reopened and the sunlight is better, I'll post some pictures of the remaining hotel verandas and their rocking chairs.

The Plimhimmon was founded in 1893 by Rosalie Tilghman Shreve and named after her family's Talbot County estate. Mary Corddry tells the life story of Mrs. Shreve in some detail in City on the Sand: Ocean City, Maryland, and the People Who Built It.

The original hotel with its additions burned in 1962. It was rebuilt following the style of the original, including its signature tower. City on the Sand also has a neat account of how the young Harrison brothers, Hale Harrison and John Harrison, later bought the hotel and renamed it the Plim Plaza.

OC Jobs Coming Soon

2009-01-24T15:45:00.003-05:00

Coming soon: Full information on the annual Ocean City Job Fair for seasonal employment in the resort.

Watch this space.

Ocean City Boardwalk Traditions: Thrasher's

2009-01-23T12:38:00.004-05:00

No matter where you're from in Maryland, chances are you'll run into someone you know -- maybe somebody you went to high school with -- while waiting in line at Thrasher's French fries in Ocean City, Maryland. I think the original Thrasher's has always had a line in the summer, ever since it opened in 1929.

Thrasher's fries are uniquely delicious. Isn't the secret something about frying them in peanut oil? You eat Thrasher's fries with vinegar and salt. Ketchup is available, but Thrasher's fans prefer vinegar.

The original Thrasher's is at the south end of the Boardwalk, near the entrance to the amusement pier. It is one of the few businesses located on the east side of the Boardwalk. For many years, Thrasher's has also had a stand on the boards at 8th Street. This afternoon, I spotted a small Thrasher's tucked into a row of stores at 2nd Street. And I believe there's at least one more around 12th Street. (What? You think I can keep track of every business on the Ocean City boardwalk?)

On a recent visit to Rehoboth Beach, Del., I was surprised to see two Thrasher's stands, practically across the street from each other, on Rehoboth Avenue, just off their boardwalk.

Ocean City Boardwalk Traditions: Kohr Bros.

2009-01-18T22:31:00.005-05:00

It's a Sunday in January, a dark night in Ocean City, Maryland, except for the thin film of new white snow on my car. After a couple of days of COLD cold, in the 20s, now it's only normal cold, 31 degrees. With snow showers. Forecast: maybe rain and snow showers tomorrow, maybe not. Possible accumulation, one inch.

So I'm thinking, FROZEN CUSTARD. It's a good time for another installment in our series on tradition along the Boardwalk.

Kohr Bros., Frozen Custard, Since 1919. Did they have refrigeration in 1919? How did they keep the frozen custard frozen? I can't say. My parents weren't even born until the following year, 1920.

Recapping the traditions: We've got hotels, starting with the Atlantic; we've got candy, Dolle's; rides and amusements, Trimper's; and now it's 1919 and we have frozen custard. I think we can say that Ocean City is well on it's way to becoming America's Best Family Resort.

Ocean City Love Story

2009-01-18T15:14:00.003-05:00

Amazing! I stumbled upon this Ocean City love story in the blogosphere today.

Ocean City Boardwalk Traditions: Trimper Rides

2009-01-17T13:26:00.012-05:00

Three things are essential to Ocean City: The Atlantic Ocean, the beach, and Trimper Rides.

Mary Corddry tells the story of how Daniel B. Trimper of Baltimore made a daring "all-or-nothing investment," buying two blocks in an Ocean City that hardly existed, except on paper and sand, and moving with his wife, Margaret, and their 10 children to the beach. Ms. Corddry's wonderful book, "City on the Sand: Ocean City, Maryland, and the People Who Built It," includes a detailed account of the founding and progress of Trimper Rides. See "The Trimpers And The Longest Running Ride," beginning on page 37.

Mr. Trimper and his brother established a small amusement park, originally called Luna Park. Electricity had not yet come to the resort. Mr. Trimper's first merry-go-round was powered by men turning cranks. Soon, Mr. Trimper brought electricity to Ocean City, using generators powered by steam engines. Luna Park became a summer attraction as an amusement park with lights!

Trimper Rides has been a landmark at the south end of the Ocean City Boardwalk for more than a century, and the Trimper family has been prominent in Ocean City business and politics. The historic amusement park includes the oldest continuously operating carousel in the U.S., according to Ms. Corddry. Trimper Rides remains a festive and bustling must-see attraction in Ocean City. It is now operated by the fifth generation of the Trimper family.

Ocean City, Maryland, Blog will have more pictures of Trimper Rides, including the historic carousel, when the amusement rides open for the 2009 season.

Ocean City Boardwalk Traditions: Atlantic Hotel

2009-01-15T22:14:00.008-05:00

The establishment of Ocean City as a resort town is generally dated to the opening of The Atlantic Hotel, the town's first grand hotel, in 1875. The pictures above show the present Atlantic Hotel, which was constructed after the 1925 fire.

The top picture shows the south (Wicomico Street) side of the hotel with its classic neon sign on the southeast corner of the building. The picture was taken from the parking lot behind the hotel. The second picture is a view of the front of the hotel behind the modern facade of brick storefronts lining the boardwalk. At right is an Ocean City landmark plaque on the north side of the building, on Somerset Street. (You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

Tradition has it, according to George and Suzanne Hurley in "Ocean City, A Pictorial History," that the first oceanfront cottage to host paying guests in the area of present-day Ocean City was built in 1869 by Isaac Coffin. The guests at Mr. Coffin's Rhode Island Inn were mainly fishermen who cast for fish in the surf. They traveled by stagecoach or wagon, and were ferried to the barrier island by a small boat.

A second boarding house was built nearby by James Massey in 1872. The exact locations of these first two inns are uncertain, according to the Hurleys. Sources place the Coffin inn in the area of the present inlet, and the Masey inn possibly at Wicomico Street and Baltimore Avenue.

In the summer of 1872, a group of businessmen from the Eastern Shore, Baltimore and Philadelphia visited the beach to select a site for the resort, and in 1874, a railroad line was extended from Berlin to the mainland side of the Sinepuxent Bay, setting the stage for the first major development.

Construction began on the Atlantic Hotel in 1874, and the hotel was dedicated and opened for business on July 4, 1875. The Atlantic was a four-story structure, built high off the sand and stretching back a block from the beach. It advertised 400 rooms. By 1876, the railroad had been extended across the bay to the barrier island on a trestle bridge, according to the Hurleys.

The original Atlantic Hotel was destroyed in the fire of 1925 and the present structure was built the following year.

George and Suzanne Hurley's history of Ocean City preserves an invaluable collection of early photographs, which the authors compiled with contributions from many of the resort's families. Ocean City, Maryland, A Pictorial History, was published by Donning Company/Publishers of Virginia Beach, VA, in 1979 and had its third printing in 1991. It is currently out of print, but used copies may be available from Amazon.com and other sources. The Worcester County Library has copies of "Ocean City, Maryland, A Pictorial History" available for borrowing.

Ocean City In The Spring, 1972

2009-01-14T19:59:00.004-05:00

I came to Ocean City, Maryland, on a gray afternoon in early May. My possessions fit inside a Ford Pinto. It was 1972. The town was quiet and empty.

The three-story house at 5th Street and Baltimore Avenue was deserted, and the front door unlocked. I walked in and found that the electricity was on. It was a summer house sided with white shingles, big and sparely furnished. Running water, hot and cold. A small sign said Gordy Hall.

I had no plans, no skills, no evident talent, no money and hardly any sense. Of course I considered myself well-prepared. The room had been rented and a job lined up, after all. Working seven days a week did not faze me.

The cool Ocean City, Md., afternoon turned into a cold night. Not only the house was empty, but the street as well. My Pinto was the only vehicle parked on 5th Street from Baltimore Avenue to the Boardwalk. No television and no telephone. No heat! I settled down to read.

By and by, the landlord appeared, a rough but friendly old man, and practical. He got right to the essentials. It was cold, he observed, and we should burn some wood in the fireplace. He offered me a beer and we pulled two chairs close to the fire. Right away, I knew Ocean City was going to be all right. . .

My landlord was a retired FBI agent, Paul Ernest, and he preferred to be called Mr. E, or Paul. He and his wife leased the place and ran it as a rooming house for young men. The first floor rented by the week to families. The Ernests and their daughter lived on the second floor. The third-floor rooms they rented to eight or nine college boys, lifeguards and such. The Ernests ran the house as if their roomers were relatives. The only rule: No girls allowed on the third floor.

On the corner across 5th Street was a larger house, four stories, with dark weathered siding, Berkley Hall. The first floor was the home of Mrs. Strohecker, a prominent Ocean City businesswoman, and a member of the Showell family. The second, third and fourth floors were a rooming house for young women, many of them waitresses at Phillips Crab House. Their uniform: white shirt, white shorts, tanned legs. Berkley Hall had a long list of rules, most prominently: No boys allowed past the lobby.

Mr. and Mrs. E ran a rooming house, not a boarding house. Meals were not part of the bargain. Mrs. E was your idea of a perfect grandmother. She allowed us to keep beer in her refrigerator. She maintained order with a smile and a kind word. It never occurred to anyone to misbehave in her presence.

Roomers on both sides of 5th Street worked long hours and spent any free daylight hours on the beach. I hardly remember where or how we ate. From early May to late September, the only amenity at the the boys’ rooming house was a spacious porch with rocking chairs. The only air conditioning came through screened windows; it must have been hot on the third floor, but I don't recall the heat.

Evenings were spent rocking on the porch, talking and sipping cold beer, watching the comings and goings of our neighbors across the way. . . .

Both of those sturdy houses at 5th Street and Baltimore Avenue have long since been demolished. The Tidelands Hotel at the Boardwalk and 5th has expanded down the south side of 5th Street to Baltimore Avenue, and around the corner.

A Comfort Inn sign and landscaping now occupies the lot where Berkley Hall stood on the north corner of 5th and Baltimore.

Ocean City In The Fall, 2008

2009-01-14T19:44:00.004-05:00

The first time I came to live in Ocean City, Maryland, it was May 1972.

I stayed for four seasons on the Boardwalk, and three winters. At the end of the 1975 season, after inventory was finished, I moved on.

I return to Ocean City 33 years later, in October 2008.

In 1972, I was young and needed to work. I did work, seven days a week on the boardwalk. Four summers, May 1 to Sept. 30, 150 straight days, (and five days a week in the winters). No matter how long or hard I worked, there were always others working longer or harder. (Later on, some clever consultant conceived the chimera that everyone should “work smarter, not harder.”)

The Ocean City boardwalk may seem an unlikely place to learn lessons of value. Not true. I worked for people who had lived and worked through the Great Depression, World War II, and many seasons in the five & dime business. They shared their wisdom freely by word and example.

In 2008, I feel old and need a rest. I’m not finished working, but I’m done with seven-days-a-week. I look forward to work in the Spring of 2009 with curiosity and anticipation.

Ocean City. May and October, Spring and Fall. Sometimes life surprises us with pleasing symmetry. October, BTW, is one of the fairest months of all at the beach.

AlphaInventions Helps Starving Bloggers Everywhere

2009-01-13T18:30:00.006-05:00

It is the mission of your Ocean City, Maryland, Blog to focus ferociously, obsessively, on the life and times of Ocean City, Maryland. (By my definition, Ocean City goes as far south as Assateague Island, as far north as Fenwick Island, as far west as Berlin, and as far east as the Atlantic Ocean.)

On rare occasions, perhaps once a year in the dead of winter, I will comment on a related subject of interest. This is the related-subject post for 2009. It is about the Blogosphere.

The Blogsphere did not even exist a decade ago, but now there millions of compulsive bloggers, writing billions of posts. Competition for eyeballs is intense in the Blogosphere, to the point that untold numbers of starving bloggers are pining away for want of readers, or as we say in the Blogosphere, HITS. Hits are like heroin that feeds the blogging addiction. And if hits are like heroin, then COMMENTS are like crack cocaine. Bloggers thrive on feedback from readers via comments.

Many a blogging fool suffers from the delusion that he or she might MONETIZE a humble blog, that is, generate a small income from some form of shameless commercialization, such as selling products or carrying advertising.

Fortunately for the unknown blogger, there is a unique Web Site in the Blogosphere. It is called AlphaInventions. Like magic, AlphaInventions directs wayward eyeballs to blogs like yours and mine. To experience this phemomena, all you have to do is click here --AlphaInventions-- and go directly to the source.

You will see that the AlphaInventions site gives the viewer brief glimpses of many different blogs. You'll see each blog for only a few seconds. When you spot a blog that attracts your interest, you can go directly to that blog and read more. When you find a blog you like on AlphaInventions, please remember to bookmark that blog so you'll be able to find it again. For practice, you can bookmark Ocean City, Maryland, Blog right now. Obviously, you'll also want to bookmark AlphaInventions (http://alphainventions.com/) because it is so useful.

Now here is the really cool part. AlphaInventions will add your very own blog to the cycle of blogs it is previewing for the Blogosphere audience! For free!

Do Not Be Afraid. "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." And so on. AlphaInventions is a helpful agent that will direct actual hits to your blog. All you have to do is go to the bar at the top of the AlphaInventions screen and type in your complete blog url. Be patient. Click the "Add blog" button, wait a second, then click it again. A drop-down dialogue box will ask if you want your blog to be shown on AlphaInventions. Click yes. A second dialogue box will ask the same question again, just to be sure. Click yes again. That's all. Now AlphaInventions will add your blog to the cycle of blogs it is showing.

Sadly, your blog will not stay in the AlphaInventions cycle forever. After a while, another blog will bump you out. But never fear, you can return to AlphaInventions and insert your blog again, whenever you want. Good luck. I wish you many happy hits courtesy of AlphaInventions.

Tomorrow, Ocean City, Maryland, Blog will return to its exclusive focus on Ocean City.

How Many Years to Become A Tradition on the Boardwalk?

2009-01-12T11:39:00.008-05:00

We discussed this building at 6th Street and the Boardwalk at some length in the Jan. 7 post, "Layers of Ocean City History in a Boardwalk Building" (to see that story, scroll down three posts).

Today, I'm thinking about the T-Shirt Factory sign, pictured above, that stands in front of this building today. "An Ocean City Tradition Since 1986."

A tradition since 1986? Hmmm. In the history of the Ocean City Boardwalk, 1986 is fairly recent. At least it sounds recent to me. Let's see: 1986 to 2009. That's 23 years. But wait! There are people who were born after 1986 who are old enough to vote, buy booze, and sign legal contracts! There are people born after 1986 who have bachelor's degrees from Harvard and the University of Maryland. Some have master's degrees. (Is there anyone born in 1986 who has already piled it higher and deeper?)

Upon consideration, I am prepared to concede that 1986 is long enough to qualify as a tradition on the Boardwalk.

The first post in my series of pictures featuring long-standing businesses on the Boardwalk was Dolle's Candyland, established in 1910 (scroll down four posts). I now realized that I have pictures of two other businesses with even longer traditions on the Boardwalk than Dolle's.

Those establishments would be the Atlantic Hotel, which opened in 1875, and Trimper's Rides, which dates to 1891. Now that is tradition!

So as far as I am concerned, we have established the parameters for business tradition on the Ocean City Boardwalk. Any business from 1875 to 1986 has seniority enough to be a tradition. Businesses started in 1987 or later are a work in progress.

Heavy-duty Support for the Boardwalk

2009-01-11T22:05:00.006-05:00

Work continues on a section of the boardwalk in front of the Kite Loft and the Comfort Inn, between 5th and 6th Streets.

The top picture, taken Jan. 9, shows the work looking north. A wide lane covered with plywood is open to allow walkers and bikers past the work site. But the plywood lane has recently moved from the east side of the boardwalk to the west side, as work progresses.

The picture at right, taken today, Jan. 11, shows how the boardwalk is supported with concrete and wood beams.

The weekend turned out to be better than the weather forecast. An unseasonably warm, sunny day on Saturday, with no rain until late in the afternoon. Sunday was sunny but colder.

A Great Winter Day On The Boardwalk

2009-01-09T15:11:00.005-05:00

What a glorious winter Friday in Ocean City, Maryland! Bright sunshine, blue skies, afternoon temperature about 42, light wind. The surf is light and the ocean looks almost glassy.

Comfortable weather, for January. I took the picture of the clock at North Division Street to show what a pretty day it is, and now I realize that it shows a wide-open expanse of boardwalk. Although the picture doesn't show it, the weather brought people out to walk, and several stores were open.

I wish I could guarantee that Saturday and Sunday will be exactly the same. But no one can guarantee the weather. According to the Weather Channel, the Ocean City forecast is for even warmer temperatures on Saturday, to the high 40s, but overcast with a 50 percent chance of showers. For Sunday, the forecast if for a high of 40 and morning showers.

I read the above forecast as at least a 50 percent chance that it won't rain Saturday, and a high probability that Sunday morning rain will give way to a nice afternoon. Hey, this is very pleasant January forecast, compared to the cold and snow they're getting in the Great Planes and the Midwest. Very cold air is supposed to move down from Canada next week, bringing more snow of course, but I think the Eastern Shore will feel only the chilly edges of that system. Am I an optimist or what?

BTW, can anyone explain to me why the price of gasoline is going up again, after falling in November and December? The price here is up to $1.59 for regular, and I understand the price is trending higher most everywhere. CNBC reports tankers filled with oil waiting offshore. One commentator suggested that the U.S. should take this opportunity to fill the national oil reserve, because prices will likely go higher in the future.

Coming up next, Ocean City Blog will speculate on the outlook for the Jan. 17-20 long weekend, and we'll also get back to our series of pictures about boardwalk tradition and long-standing businesses.

Layers of Ocean City History in a Boardwalk Building

2009-01-07T21:53:00.008-05:00

Looking at history is like going back through layers of time. If you examined practically any older building in Ocean City, inside or out, you would find evidence of the passing of time in layers.

When the wind blows away the modern siding added in recent years, you get a glimpse of the layers in a building's history. The photo above shows a three-story building (a store on the boardwalk, and two floors of large apartments above.) You can click on the picture to make it larger and see it close up.

The original siding was classic wood shingles painted bright white. At some point, someone painted this post at the front of the store fire-engine red, probably thinking to attract pedestrians' eyes to the store. I'm reasonably sure that the entire building was never painted red. (I don't even want to think about it.)

Similarly, the interiors of many Ocean City hotels and homes have undergone repeated renovations. Some of the interior walls show layer after layer of paint, wallpaper, and paneling.

The first-floor store in this building, located at 6th Street, also has seen its share of changes. Back in the 1940s, it was Dr. Townsend's Drugstore, complete with soda fountain.

Sometime after World War II, the owners of Edwards 5 & 10 leased the space from Dr. Townsend and transformed it from drugstore to dime store. In those days, all drugstores and 5 & 10s had a soda fountain or lunch counter. McDonald's didn't exist.

Edwards had tried lunch counters at other locations, and found them to be not very profitable. Edwards was ahead of the times in retailing. The first thing they did was remove the soda fountain stools. They laid plywood on top of the soda fountain that first spring, Mr. Alfred Harmon, manager of Edwards, told me, and used the new counter space to display merchandise.

After that first season, they removed the soda fountain and built a permanent 5 & 10 style counter. Meanwhile, most drugstores and 5 & 10s continued to muddle along with unprofitable or marginal soda fountains and lunch counters through the 1960s and well into the 1970s.

Edwards operated the 6th Street store under the name Boardwalk 5 & 10 for about two decades. When I worked there in the 1970s, it still had the original bare wood floors, and the outside was still painted white. The store's counters and shelves were stocked with an amazing variety of fast-moving merchandise. In fact, toward the end of their run, 5 & 10 cent stores began to call themselves "variety stores."

The Boardwalk 5 & 10 was crowded with customers from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week from Memorial Day to Labor Day. By the 1970s, window air-conditioners were installed in three high windows along the 6th Street side. No soda fountain, but we had a big Coke machine out front, which I refilled several times a day during the summer.

Eventually, the Edwards owners reached retirement age, and sold their business. In the late 1980s this store became a T-Shirt Factory.

One of these years, the building will be razed, as so many of Ocean City's older buildings have, and a modern hotel or condos will be built on the site. Hopefully, that won't happen any time soon.

Ocean City Boardwalk Traditions: Dolle's Candyland

2009-01-06T12:45:00.010-05:00

History and tradition are respected in Ocean City, Maryland, particularly in the historic downtown area and along the boardwalk. Quite a few businesses proudly announce the year they were established on their signs.

Today, Ocean City Blog begins an occasional series of photographs highlighting some of the boardwalk businesses and buildings with the longest history. I take requests, so if there's a business or building you'd like to see, please send me an e-mail at oceancitymdbjh@yahoo.com. These business-tradition photos will be interspersed with posts on other Ocean City subjects over a period of weeks. In the spring, I'll post photos of some of Ocean City's most historic churches.

Dolle's Candyland, above, is the first picture in the series. Dolle's claims the earliest year of establishment I could find on a boardwalk store sign. The top sign proclaims "Ocean City's Original Since 1910." And the sign next to the door adds, "Fine candies since 1910." Can you imagine how much salt water taffy Dolle's has sold since 1910?

Ocean City Boardwalk, A Close-up Look at the Engineering

2009-01-05T23:38:00.012-05:00

The boardwalk (above) can look pretty empty on a weekday in the off-season. But that makes repairs a little easier.

Here we have two close-ups of the boardwalk underpinnings that only an engineer could fully appreciate. The top picture is looking at the work from the north, and the bottom picture is a view from the south. I understand the boardwalk is constructed to be able to support the weight of a firetruck.

You'll be able to pick out the repair site after it's finished because the new boards will be unweathered, compared tot he older bords around them.

Ocean City Boardwalk, Major Maintenance

2009-01-05T23:21:00.006-05:00

The Ocean City boardwalk is not a maintenance-free structure. The boards get wear and tear from millions of footsteps, and from exposure to the elements 24/365. Regular maintenance is needed, but you certainly don't want to do it during the summer. The winter quiet gives workers a welcome opportunity to do some major repairs. Notice that they've covered a lane on the left side with plywood so that winter walkers can stroll past. This work site is in front of the Kite Loft between 5th and 6th Streets.

Looking Ahead to the 2009 Season in Ocean City, MD

2009-01-02T16:53:00.009-05:00

January is here. Time to start getting ready for the 2009 season. (Past time, really. When I worked on the boardwalk, we started getting ready for the next season in October! But my winter chores are a story for another day.)

The following message caught my eye in a full-page house ad in last week's Ocean City Today newspaper:

"Party Like It's 1999!
The 21st Century stinks so far, so we're going back to the good old days!
Re-introducing our 1999 rate card.
We're cutting rates for everyone, from now through March."

Which begs the questions on everyone's mind: What more can go wrong with the economy between now and Memorial Day?

One year in the 1970s, we faced a daunting economic situation. Inflation was raging, the economy was faltering, and on top of everything, people had to wait in line at the gas stations to fill up. Ms. Doris Ensminger, president of the Edwards 5&10 stores, had some wise words that spring: "People will still need their vacations."

And she ventured that Ocean City's proximity to Baltimore and Washington would be a business advantage. In fact, Ocean City mounted an advertising campaign that famously featured the bumper sticker: "Half a Tank of Gas to Ocean City, Md." And Mayor Harry Kelley promised vacationers that if they came to Ocean City, they would be able to fill up to get home!

Some things have changed in the past 30 years, and some things remain the same. People still need their vacations, probably more than ever. But families have more entertainment at home! Back in the day, folks didn't have cable TV, movies on DVD, Internet surfing, and addictive computer games. Heck, lots of people didn't even have air conditioning! Families were stuck in the hot city all summer with nothing to do.

So folks came to Ocean City to enjoy the ocean breeze, escape the heat, and have some family fun. Summer vacations were often two weeks long! These days, people feel lucky if they can get away from work for one week. And it might be feasible for families to entertain themselves in air-conditioned comfort at home, when money is tight.

At least the price of gas is coming down, and we don't have to worry about gas lines this summer. On the other hand, if the price of jet fuel remains low, people will have the option of flying off to other resorts. Competition is everywhere.

The law of supply and demand is in effect. The supply of vacation destinations is great. So it's only natural that businesses like Ocean City Today would consider reducing their prices, at least for a little while. I believe some hotels are also considering price rollbacks. Maybe not to 1999, but say, to 2006. In this economic climate, not many businesses can afford to be complacent about their customers.

No one can predict the future. But clearly, businesses in Ocean City and competing resorts will be making adjustments to keep their customers coming back. And businesses in Ocean City definitely have shown resilience and determination during past economic hard times.

Edwards 5&10, after all, opened on the Ocean City boardwalk during the Great Depression.

New Year's Penguin Swim in Ocean City, The End

2009-01-01T20:38:00.005-05:00

SOME SERIOUS FUN IN THE SURF: The 15th Annual Penguin Swim in Ocean City, Maryland, to benefit Atlantic General Hospital. That's the last picture.

For the record, the temperature was 36 degrees, the water temperature was in the 42-48 range. You could buy gas along the Coastal Highway on the first day of 2009 for $1.45 a gallon, and in West Ocean City for $1.47 a gallon.

New Year's Penguin Swim in Ocean City, Collage

2009-01-01T20:08:00.011-05:00

You can click on these small pictures to see them full size. Above top left, a golden retriever seems ready to go first; top right, spectators watch from the balcony of the Princess Royale. Then participants on the beach before the event, with a police boat in the background; more fun in the surf; and last, the crowd moves up close to watch the folks in the water, with high-rise row in the background.