On July 7, 1960, development of Smith Island, located off the Eastern Shore’s lower tip, as a resort moved a step closer with the organization of the Smith Island Beach Authority. Richard F. Hall Jr., an Accomac lawyer and owner of Smith Island and adjoining Myrtle Island, was elected chairman of the authority. Other members are E. Polk Kellam, partner in Kellam Distributing Co., Belle Haven, vice chairman; Thomas H. Willcox, Norfolk lawyer and member of the firm of Willcox, Cooke, Savage, and Lawrence, secretary; C.A. Turner, Eastville lawyer; and William E. Walker II, vice president of J.C. Walker Bros., oyster packers of Willis Wharf.
On July 7, 1960, the Peninsula Enterprise reported that three Accomack County 4-H members were honored with membership in the Virginia Chapter of All Stars at the State 4-H Short Course at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. They are Martha Wessells, Barbara A. Young, and Harvey R. Savage, all of Parksley.
On July 7, 1959, the peak agricultural harvest employment was reached on the Eastern Shore, according to the Virginia State Employment Service, Exmore office. On that day, approximately 15,701 workers were engaged in agricultural harvest on the Eastern Shore.
On July 7, 1955, the Peninsula Enterprise newspaper reported that Jerry Miles, a 17-year-old graduate of Parksley High School, had signed with the Baltimore Orioles. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Miles, the six-foot-five, 195-pound pitcher was scouted by Pep Phillips, of Parksley, and after a tryout in Salisbury, Md., he signed on the dotted line for a substantial undisclosed bonus.
On July 7, 1955, the U.S. Congress eliminated Parramore Island from a plan that would have made the seaside island into a target for bombing by jet airplane squadroms from the Oceana Naval Air Station in Hampton Roads.
On July 7, 1949, David A. Acree, a 26-year-old Virginia Fisheries Commission deputy, was charged in a Virginia warrant with the murder of a Maryland waterman and released on $10,000 bail. Warrants from Virginia and Maryland had been issued the previous day for the fatal shooting of Earl L. Nelson Sr., a Crisfield crabber.
On July 7, 1948, it was announced that Jack Tarr will be the sales manager of the Chinco Car Sales, Chincoteague, which has secured a franchise for “The Playboy Car” in Accomack County.
On July 7, 1947, a dinner meeting of the oil dealers of the Eastern Shore was held at Shickshinny restaurant in Belle Haven and The Eastern Shore Oil Distributors Association was formed.
On July 7, 1947, the Northampton High School Future Farmers of America’s Poultry Judging Team won the highest honors in the state at the FFA Convention in Blacksburg. The members were Bobby Hopkins, Edward Bender, and Pat Boole.
On July 7, 1938, the Cameo Theatre in Exmore, under construction since the previous fall, opened to the public with a showing of “Stage Door,” featuring Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers. The name “Cameo” was selected by a committee of judgges out of about 300 entries.
