In the 1940s into the early ’50s, people in Ocean City received the latest national news from the radio or from daily newspapers. Television was not a factor and cable news networks were far in the future.
Summer visitors relied on metropolitan papers such as The Baltimore Sun or News-American or The Washington Post or Star. Most local residents read the Salisbury Times to keep up with births, deaths, and social events on the lower Eastern Shore.
Newspapers could be found in stores but most were bought from newsboys who sold their wares along the Boardwalk. Many of Ocean City’s successful businessmen got a start selling papers when they were only 9 or 10 years old.
Today CNN and Fox News broadcast 24 hours a day and local TV features news, weather and sports. In Ocean City, weekly papers, such as The Dispatch, keep a strong focus on informing us of local happenings, special events and community news. It’s been a long time, however, since anyone has seen a kid selling newspapers on the Boardwalk.
To purchase one of Bunk Mann’s books, click over to www.vanishingoc.com.
Photo courtesy the Ocean City Life Saving Museum