Pony Penning Week 2019 - Updated Activities Schedule

Pony Penning Week is fast approaching, and a lot of people are getting excited.  The week (actually 9 nights and 7 days) of activities, can actually start being counted on Friday night, July 19th, with the evening opening of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company's Carnival, and ends with the closing of the Carnival on Saturday night/Sunday morning of July 27th.
   On Saturday, the 20th of July, there is a slight change this year:  the round-up of the herds in the Southern compartment used to begin in the afternoon; this year it is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. (This has already brought some complaints from people who will be in transit that morning - but there is plenty to see and do the entire week.)  There are currently three groups in the south - Riptide's herd, the Don Leonard Stud II's herd, and the group of yearlings that are the 2018 Buy Back ponies.  Once the ponies are rounded up, they can be viewed at the main corrals on Beach Road on Assateague Island in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.  The Carnival is open Saturday night.

(2013)

   Sunday morning, the herds in the Northern compartment will be rounded up and gathered together.  I believe that the bus seats have all been sold out, so if you wish to see the herds in the northern holding corral, you will need to hike 2.5 miles north up the Service Road off  of the Wildlife Loop.  This is not a road open to personal vehicles.  You will have to walk there, and walk back.  Take lots of water for hydration and lots of insect repellent, if you choose to walk.
   Monday morning, 22 July, at dawn, the Saltwater Cowboys will move the northern herds east across Assateague to the Atlantic surf.  There, the ponies will be herded south along the beach to the CNWR/Assateague National Seashore parking lot, and then west along Beach Road to the main corrals, where the southern herds are gathered.

(2011)

   Monday afternoon and Tuesday, the herds will be in the main corrals.  The veterinarians on call, with their vet technicians, will check each and every pony for fitness.  The foals' blood will be drawn for Coggins' testing (so new owners can transport the babies across state lines later in the week).  The vets will decided which ponies are too young, too old, or in such condition as to warrant a trailer ride to the Chincoteague  Carnival Grounds instead of swimming.  (Unci, an older mare with a swayback due to a genetic condition, is usually trailered over, along with very pregnant mares, or those with cuts, scrapes, or other things indicating transport versus swimming.)  This is a great time and place to take photos - however, the board fencing can make photography difficult.  If you have a step-stool or a short ladder, you might wish to take it along for good photos with fencing in the view.

(Riptide & Ajax)

   Wednesday morning, 24 July, is the actual Pony Swim Day.  I have heard that it will occur between 8:30 and 10:30 that morning - but the time is always subject to change.  The ponies swim when the US Coast Guard declares the tide running between the islands is "slack" - when it is not moving north or south, when it can carry the ponies away.  The time of slack tide can be influenced by local storms. Some people are at the swim area by 5 a.m., others arrive later.  It is very hot and humid beside the Assateague Channel, and there are quite a few cases of heat exhaustion each year in the crowds along the Channel.  Please take plenty of water to hydrate everyone in your party... 
   The Swim itself takes about 3 minutes from the time a pony enters the water from Assateague until it stands on solid ground on Chincoteague.  The first foal to reach Chincoteague is declared King or Queen Neptune (depending on gender) and is raffled off in a drawing.  Tickets are being sold now, and will be sold up until an hour before the actual drawing.
   Once all ponies are ashore on Chincoteague, and King or Queen Neptune has been marked, the ponies are given a 45 to 60 minute rest period.  Then the Saltwater Cowboys herd them along Beebe Road and the north on Main Street to the Carnival Grounds - the Pony Penning Parade on Main Street.  The Pony Committee of the CVFC will decide the choices of sexes for replacement breeding stock needed on the island due to deaths and illnesses. The Pony Committee members, along with the vets, will have been looking at the foals and evaluating bloodlines, conformation and coloring, and they will choose the foals to be designated as Buy Backs on those criteria.  The Carnival will open about 90 minutes after the ponies are in the pens on Main Street, and will stay open until 11.

   The Pony Auction begins at 8 o'clock on Thursday, 25 July, with foals being sold to the highest bidder.  Payment to the CVFC in the amount of the winning bid, must be paid in cash, with Travelers' Checks, or through a Visa or Mastercard payment.  No other types of payment are accepted.  Most foals will travel to new (hopefully, "forever") homes, but the designated Buy Backs stay on the islands.  If you purchase a designated Buy Back pony, you receive a tax write-off for the amount of purchase, as you are essentially giving your money to the CVFC for the naming of the foal.  The CVFC will maintain the foal throughout it's life and will be able to sell any foals that pony produces as it grows older.
   If you purchase a pony to take home with you, you will receive a sales receipt,  a veterinary report, and a care booklet, plus other donated "goodies" (these change from year to year).  You are expected to provide approved transportation from the Carnival Grounds by noon on Saturday, 27 July.  If the foal you purchase is too young to separate from it's mother, you must return in October for the Fall Round-Up and have transportation for your foal at that time.   The Carnival will be open Thursday afternoon and evening.

   On Friday, 26 July, the ponies living in the southern compartment will make the return swim from Chincoteague back to Assateague on the morning's slack tide.  The expected swim time for Friday is announced Thursday night at the Carnival.   Ponies from the north end will be trailered back to Assateague during the day.  The Carnival is open Friday night.

   The Carnival will be open the evening of Saturday the 27th of July, and drawings for all of the raffles will occur just before closing.   
   And Chincoteague can settle back into it's usual summertime routine once again.
 

Fifty-four Chincoteague Pony Foals So Far.... And Pony Penning Week Information

The annual Pony Penning on Assateague and Chincoteague Islands in Virginia will happen during the week of July 20th through the 27th this year.  The Chincoteague Firemen's Carnival will be open  every night except Sunday; and will be open on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.  On Saturday, the 20th of July, the Saltwater Cowboys of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company (who is the owner of the ponies on Assateague Island in Virginia) will round up the herds located in the southern compartment of the island and take them to the main holding corrals along Beach Road.
  On Sunday, the Cowboys will round up the herds in the northern compartment, and deliver them to the north holding corral, about 2 miles north of the Wildlife Drive Loop, on the service road. Monday morning, at dawn, the ponies will be herded across the island to the Atlantic ocean beach, and walked down the beach, next to the surf, to the main parking lot and on down the Beach Road to the southern holding corrals.  On Tuesday, all of the ponies will be checked by the veterinarians.  Foals will have blood drawn for their Coggins tests so they can be transported out of state.  Any pony deemed too old, too pregnant, too young, too ill, or with any other mitigating problem, will be taken by trailer to the Carnival Grounds on Chincoteague.  (Unci, an older mare with congenital lordosis - causing a swayback - is routinely trailered over.)
   Wednesday morning, at slack tide, the ponies deemed fit by the veterinarians will swim the Assateague Channel between the two islands.  The crossing is about 1/8 of a mile, and the tide will not be running in either direction.  The swim usually takes less than 3 minutes, and the ponies are closely monitored by the US Coast Guard, the veterinarians, and members of the CVFC.  After resting from the swim, the ponies are herded along Beebe Road and then north on Main Street to the Carnival Grounds, where pasture, hay and water troughs await them.
   On Thursday morning, at 8 o'clock, the auction of the foals born up until that moment, are sold to the highest bidder.  Most will be leaving the island for the rest of their lives.  A few will be designated as "Buy Back" foals; these foals will not leave the two islands.  A person or group may bid on and purchase a Buy Back baby; they will have the right to name the foal and have their photo taken with it - but the foal will live out it's life on Assateague (with 3 days on Chincoteague each year) and all of that pony's progeny will belong to the CVFC for selling in future years.  (I purchased a pony in 2015; she had her first foal this year and the filly will be sold on Thursday, 25 July.)  If the foal is too young to be taken from it's mother, the new owner must return for the Fall Round-Up and pick up that foal.  Any foals born after Pony Penning are usually sold at the Fall Round-Up; this past year the foals were sold by a silent auction mail-in bidding system.
   On Friday morning, or early afternoon, again at slack tide, the southern herds are taken back to the Channel to swim back to Assateague.  Originally all the ponies of both the north and south compartments would make the return swim.  Since the CVFC, the National Park Service and the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge do not want any pony fatalities caused by crossing Beach Road, the northern herds are now trailered back to the northern end of Assateague (in Virginia) and released.
   *****   We have had fifty-four foals born so far, with only one fatality.  Kimball's Rainbow Delight was seen with a foal at her side on 19 May.  They were seen from a distance, and a photo was taken.  To me, the foal looked to be chestnut, but a few other people think it was palomino.  The foal hasn't been seen since that day, and Rainbow Delight was at the third equine pythiosis (aka "Swamp Cancer") vaccination without a baby.  So we seem to have lost it to unknown causes.
   Of the 53 foals living, there are 23 fillies and 30 colts.  There are 10 bay babies, 3 buckskin babies, 5 chestnut babies, 3 palomino babies, and there are 5 babies that other folks believe will be black.  I think there are definitely 2 black babies - but I'm not sure how the other 3 will shed out, once they lose their baby fur.  They might be black, a dark bay or brown, or possibly a dark, smoky buckskin... only time will prove the real coloration.  There are also multiple pinto babies - 1 buckskin pinto, 1 black pinto, 5 palomino pintos (one of them a perlino/cream with blue eyes), 9 chestnut pintos and 12 bay pintos.  DSC Photography has classified one of the bay pintos as a chestnut pinto, but the end of the foals' tail is black, not chestnut, so it is technically a bay.)
  How many more babies will be born before Pony Penning?  How many during and after?  Again, we can only wait and see...

Captain Barry's Back Back Cruises - Chincoteague Island, Virginia

I grew up spending summers on Chincoteague Island, and I also lived there for several years in two and three year lengths of time.  I know what it's like to live there year round and to watch the visitors fade away and then come back like a flooding tide.  I know a lot of the island's history and the history of many families on both Assateague and Chincoteague.  I know about the ponies and wildlife on Assateague.  I can identify most fish in the area, and am knowledgeable about the shellfish industry there.  But I took a cruise with Captain Barry Frishman of Captain Barry's Back Back Cruises, and was astounded at all the thing I didn't know.  Captain Barry gave me an education in one tour - and I learn more each time I go out with him; and, believe me, that's pretty humbling for the granddaughter of a Chincoteague waterman.

   Captain Barry conducts a hands-on cruise.  You learn how to do things, like setting the anchor and how to seine net with partners.  You wander the tumps and hummocks in the Chincoteague Channel and Chincoteague Bay and learn to identify the different small fish, jelly fish, birds, crabs, clams and oysters found on the land and marshes and in the water.  He teaches you how to handle crabs without doing damage to them, and shows you how to identify females and you get to see their egg cases.  He shows you the smallest oysters that just tiny specks, shows you growing ones, and then (usually) opens one or two and offers you a fresh saltwater oyster right on the shell.  Sometimes you'll deploy a drag net and take it up at the end of the trip to view and discuss what you've netted.  He teaches you, in an easy-going way, the importance of the ecosystems of the marshes and why everyone should care about the state of of oceans and waterways.  You may be spotting bird nests of sea gulls, ospreys, and ducks; or you might stop and do some shell collecting....

   Captain Barry is a former tug boat captain, and he also ran a "hands-on aquarium," with his wife and family, in the old Landmark Plaza on north Main Street.  He is a volunteer with the Red Cross, and he and his wife travel to other countries during the off-season to do relief work after natural disasters.  He has been taking people out on eco-tours for over 25 years now, and is highly recommended by all.  His usual tours last for two hours (and he does have a restroom facility on board); his mooring spot is at 6262 Marlin Street, beside The Ropewalk.  He also does a Sunset Cruise (for adults only).

Other reviews have said:
  The ultimate high energy adventure cruise with hands-on, feet-wet, mind-on experiences.  "An interactive experience that differs from all others."
  Forbes Magazine describes Captain Barry as, "a whirlwind of energy and an encyclopedia of Chincoteague wildlife. He keeps the tours limited to six, so he can 'crawl around on his hands and knees' with every passenger."

Reservations are required.  The contact number is (757) 336-6508.  Captain Barry's website may be viewed at   https://captainbarry.net/   -  along with a video...

   You'll enjoy it!!  You can be as hands-on as you like, or just sit in a chair on deck and observe everything, and everyone else.

Returning from a sunset cruise...

Captain Joshua L Chandler "of Chincoteague" - Genealogy Digging

My Mom was born and raised on Chincoteague Island, and her maternal forebears go back to the first Whealton family to settle on Mosquito Creek and then move on to the island.  Mom married a US Navy man, and we traveled the Navy bases until Dad retired, when I was five.  We never visited his family in Kansas and Missouri - we only spent time away from our house on Chincoteague and Assateague.
  One of the first things I remember is driving onto the island, turning north onto Main Street and driving past Peterson Street, where the family home was, and going straight to the turntable at the very end of North Main so that we, as a family, could pay our respects to Captain Chandler by placing a penny apiece on the edge of his grave site. I still do it, at the age of 63...
  A few days ago, Captain Dan Davis, who does the Foal Patrol tours of Assateague commented that he'd had descendants of Captain Chandler on board, and wondered if anyone knew his history.  It took me a few days to start looking, but I was surprised by what I found.    First, Captain Chandler is buried in isolation on  the north end of the island - there were few inhabitants there when he died in October of 1877.  There are no other graves near him.  In fact, there is no one else named Chandler buried on the island!  So what was the story?

This is a photo of his original grave stone - with many pennies.  If you're an older person who either grew up on Chincoteague, or has spent a lot of time there, you can quote the stone with ease.

"Capt. Joshua L. Chandler  -  Born  Oct. 1829     Died  Oct.21,1877  -

Farewell wife and children dear, I am not dead but sleeping here.

As I am some day you will be, Prepare for death and follow me."

So who was Captain Joshua L. Chandler?  He was born in Delaware, and, according to his Delaware death records, his father's name was James, and his mother's name was Ellen.  In 1850, he was a Printer's apprentice in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware.  He was then 19 years of age, and was living with the family of another Printer's apprentice; the head of the household was widow Jane Cloud.

  In 1851 or early 1852, Joshua married Catherine Mary Lynch.  Their first son, William James, was born in Pennsylvania in 1852.  In 1854 another son, Joshua Burton joined the family.  In 1856 a daughter was born, but died soon after birth; and in 1858 son Ebe Townsend was born.  The last three children were born in Delaware.

  In 1860, Captain Joshua Chandler and his family were living in Baltimore Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware.  The Census of that year lists him as a Mariner, owning real estate worth $750, and having a personal estate of  $500.  Joshua and Catherine's last child, Mary Catherine, was born in 1861 there in Baltimore Hundred.  Due to the Civil War, Joshua joined Company D of the 6th Delaware Infantry of the United States Army, where he served as a Private for 2 years.  Afterwards, he returned to the water in Sussex County, Delaware.

  The 1870 Census finds Joshua Chandler and all of his family living in the village of Roxana in Baltimore Hundred, Sussex, Delaware.  Joshua's employment is listed as "Light Boating" and both of his eldest sons are listed as being employed "Boating."  At that point in time, the Real Estate is listed under Catharine's name and is named at $700.  Joshua has a person estate value of $200.

  In about 1872, the entire Chandler family moved to Chincoteague Island,Virginia.  Joshua's eldest son, William James, worked for the US Life Saving Service on Assateague, but had a new wife and child on Chincoteague.  Joshua was now "Captain Joshua" again - employed as a captain of a schooner and an oyster dredger, depending on the season, trade and tides.  Now his two younger sons, Joshua and Ebe, worked on the boats with him.   Apparently, things were going well for the family.

  However, on 21 October 1877, Captain Joshua and the two boys had the schooner on Cat's Creek at Wallops Island.  A lightning storm appeared and lightning struck Captain Joshua Chandler and the mast of the schooner, disabling it.  Captain Chandler died instantly.  Young Joshua and Ebe poled the schooner from Wallops back to Chincoteague, and then Ebe carried his father's body home to his mother.

   Within 6 months, all of the family, except William, the eldest son, moved back to Delaware.  Joshua became a hugely successful farmer, and was the largest strawberry grower in Sussex County at one time.  Ebe worked the water all his life, living to be 98 years old, and having 3 ships sink under him.

Oldest son William became a member of Christ's Sanctified Holy Church and moved away from Chincoteague in 1884. Joshua's widow never remarried and passed away in 1918.  His daughter Mary Catherine (Cassie) married twice and had eight children; she died two weeks before her 90th birthday.

   So Captain Joshua L. Chandler lived on Chincoteague for about five years of his life, and none of his family are buried here with  him...  I guess we do owe him respect...  and a penny on his grave every visit.

Maureen Beebe, of "Misty of Chincoteague" Fame, Has Died

My cousin Maureen Beebe has passed away.  Maureen was a very private person and might be upset that I am posting this, but I felt the world should know a little bit about the real Maureen Beebe; not the fictional character that Marguerite Henry wrote of in her Newbery Award winning children's book, Misty of Chincoteague.
   Marguerite Henry had been told of Chincoteague and the wild pony round-up known as Pony Penning, and she talked her editors into a book deal about the wild ponies.  Mrs Henry stayed at Miss Molly's Inn while visiting the island in 1946, and she interviewed a lot of islanders, asking about the history of the ponies, and the history of Pony Penning itself.  One of the people she was told would be a fount of information was Clarence Beebe, who had his own Chincoteague pony farm on the southeast end of the island.
   Clarence Beebe was both a waterman and a farmer (or rancher) on the island.  He raised ponies, which he sold, pigs, chickens, and the occasional cow with calf.  He also worked as a waterman, harvesting fish, crabs, clams, and oysters, all to feed his family of eleven children.  He had married Ida Whealton in 1906 and the family grew quickly.  His sixth child was Harold Beebe, the father of Paul and Maureen.  Paul was born on 1936 and Maureen in 1937.  Due to family difficulties, Paul and Maureen ended up being raised by their grandparents, Clarence and Ida.  (Clarence and Ida's daughter Alma was born 5 January 1921; my Mother, Alma's first cousin once removed, was born on 28 January 1921.  The two were life-long friends, and Alma gave me a lot of Beebe family heirlooms before her death.)
  Marguerite visited the Beebe Ranch on 1 August 1946, and saw the new foal that had been born the day before - on Pony Penning Day.  The mother of the foal was named The Phantom because she blended into the shadows of the pine trees when she was born - she was a black and white pinto mare from Assateague.  The sire was one of Clarence Beebe's Chincoteague Pony stallions, named The Pied Piper.  Mrs Henry fell in love with the foal, who was golden and white and "looked like it had been wrapped in mist and fog."  That's how Misty came about.  Mrs Henry purchased the foal from Beebe Ranch and the foal was shipped to Fort Wayne, Indiana when Misty was weaned.
  In the meantime, Mrs Henry was charmed by Paul and Maureen, independent youngsters being raised by their grandparents, who worked very hard on the ranch, and really loved the ponies they worked with.  And so, her idea for the story was born.  Each of the four Beebes - (Grandpa) Clarence, (Grandma) Ida, Paul, and Maureen - were paid $100 apiece for the use of their names in the book Misty of Chincoteague.  I don't know what Clarence and Ida did with their payment; but the $100 was put into savings accounts for both Paul and Maureen, for their use once they each reached the age of 20. (Paul died after an automobile accident at the age of 21; he had just finished a hitch in the US Marine Corps, and had signed on for a 4-year stint with the US Coast Guard.)
   That is the only money that Paul and Maureen ever received for the use of their names in the book and in the movie, Misty, which was released in 1961.  A lot of people believe(d) that the Beebes received royalties from the books and movie. They did not.  Maureen was inundated with fan letters for her entire life, and really hated receiving mail.  She was in contact with Marguerite Henry until Mrs Henry's death in 1997.  She met Pam Smith, who portrayed her in the movie, and stayed in contact with her.
   Maureen married twice.  Her second marriage produced two daughters, of whom she was extremely proud.  She was widowed when both of her girls were young, and she returned quietly to Chincoteague to live the rest of her life, and raise her daughters on the island. She became somewhat of a recluse, and was a very private person.  Once visitors to the island found out who this quiet woman was, she was swamped with personal questions and requests and always for photographs.  She did not want to be a celebrity.  She wanted to stay at home and love her Irish Setters, and her horses and ponies.  She still loved horses and ponies of all kinds until the day she died.  She could take a five minute trial ride on any horse and know exactly what that horse or pony was capable of, and how it had been trained.  She was one of the most incredible horsewomen I have ever known.
   Maureen's health had declined over the past three years.  She was always a little more frail each time I saw her.  She passed away a few days ago.  All of her family and friends are grieving.

***  Visitation will be held at Salyer's Funeral Home on Church Street on Chincoteague on Thursday, May 30, from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m.  ***

Maureen Beebe jumping The Phantom

Maureen & Paul Beebe

Maureen Beebe at AJ's On the Creek during

Pony Penning a few years ago...

Misty of Chincoteague - and Why I Love the Island So Very Much

  I have always been "horse crazy" and so was my Mother up into her 30s.  Luckily she recognized my life-long obsession at an early age, and encouraged it as much as possible.  Mom was born and raised on Chincoteague Island.  The maternal side of her family traces back to some of the earliest settlers on Chincoteague and Assategue Islands, while her great-grandfather was a Danish immigrant who married into the Whealton family, and her father was a Swede who married into the Peterson and Tarr families.  Most people on Chincoteague are related through generations of cousins inter-marrying, and my maternal side is the usual Teaguer mish-mash of intertwined relatives.   (My Dad was an Oklahoma/Kansas farm boy who joined the Navy and was stationed at NAS Chincoteague.)
   The book Misty of Chincoteague made the island famous.  The "quaint" tradition of the pony round-up and selling of the youngsters had been written up in newspapers and magazines since the 1870s - and there are several old movie-theater newsreels covering Pony Penning prior to the book being published.  Marguerite Henry visited the island of Chincoteague in 1946 during the annual Pony Penning festivities.  When she made it known she was writing a book about the ponies, she was introduced to one of the private pony breeders on Chincoteague - Clarence Beebe.  She visited the Beebe Ranch on the southeast tip of Chincoteague frequently during her stay at Miss Molly's Inn on Main Street.  At the Beebe Ranch, she met Clarence's wife, Ida Whealton Beebe, and their two grandchildren, Paul and Maureen, whom the grandparents were raising.
   While on the island, Maureen's favorite riding pony, Phantom, gave birth (on 20 July 1946) to a palomino pinto filly, sired by Clarence Beebe's chestnut pinto stallion, the Pied Piper.  Marguerite Henry fell in love with the foal - and purchased her for $150 - with the promise of Clarence to ship her to Fort Wayne, Indiana when she was weaned.  Ms Henry also promised to use the real names of the Beebe family in her book, and each of those four Beebes were paid $100 each for the use of their names.  (Other than the fame from the books, this is the only monetary recompense that any of the Beebes ever received.)
   Ms Henry worked away valiantly on her book, Misty of Chincoteague, and it was published by Rand McNally in 1947.  In 1948, it won the coveted Newbery Award from the American Library Association.  It is a fictional account of two siblings being raised by their grandparents on Chincoteague Island, and their desire for a pony of their very own. How the two children work hard and save up enough money to purchase the wild pony they see, followed by heartbreak, and ending with an up-lifting gesture of freedom has won hearts around the world. Misty became a celebrity, and Ms Henry took her to library conventions throughout the United States.  She was taught to step onto a stool and shake "hands" with people wanting to meet her.  She was also a useful riding pony, being ridden in English gear with a double-reined Pelham bridle.
   The next book that Marguerite wrote about Chincoteague was titled Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague (published in 1949), after a visit to the island in 1948, where she witnessed the death of an orphaned foal. 
   In 1958, Ms Henry sent Misty back to Chincoteague to become a mother. Mares can be particular, and Misty was no exception - she fought off the advances of several stallions, and finally accepted the love of Wings in 1959.  She had three foals with Wings in three successive years - Phantom Wings arrived in 1960; Wisp O'Mist in 1961; and Stormy in 1962.  Phantom Wings was a palomino pinto like his dam; he produced only one known foal, a son named Sandpiper.  The fates of both ponies are unknown.  Wisp O'Mist was a solid chestnut mare, who also had only one foal, a solid palomino son named Cloudy, who was gelded.  Misty's third foal was Stormy, born after the disastrous Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962.  All of the ponies labeled "Misty family" ponies today are descendants of Stormy, a chestnut pinto mare with a small crescent moon on her forehead.
   The Ash Wednesday Storm killed a majority of the ponies running wild on Assateague.  Ms Henry immediately sat down at her typewriter and began writing Stormy, Misty's Foal, which was published in 1963.  And children around the world started saving money and sending it  for the replenishment of the herds on Chincoteague.  A  lot of people who had purchased ponies from the island previously gave them back so there would be wild ponies on the island once again.
   In 1960, 20th Century Fox made a movie of Marguerite Henry's book - the movie was simply titled Misty.  It was released in 1961, and was a quiet children's movie hit, but not a block buster.  The movie starred  Pam Smith as Maureen Beebe, David Ladd (son of Alan Ladd) as Paul Beebe, and Arthur O'Connell and Anne Seymour as Clarence and Ida (Grandpa and Grandma) Beebe.  The movie had used trained Welsh ponies as the Chincoteague ponies; and the foal portraying Misty was a liver chestnut, who had to have her fur dyed on an almost daily basis.
   With the Ash Wednesday Storm still a huge news item, the movie was re-released and Margueritr Henry and Misty made multiple appearances around the country, raising funds to replenish the ponies.  It was a great success.
    Paul Beebe, unfortunately, died from an automobile accident in April of 1957.  He had finished a stint in the US Marine Corps and had just joined the US Coast Guard.   Clarence Beebe passed away two months later in June of 1957.  Ida Whealton Beebe passed away in October 1960, just after the filming of the movie.  She never visited the film set.  Maureen Beebe is still living on Chincoteague, but she shuns the spotlight.  One of her daughters is a photographer and artist on the island, while the other daughter runs a charter Fishing boat service out of Puerto Rico, returning to Chincoteague during her off times.  - Misty herself passed away in her sleep on 26 October 1972 at the age of 26.  Stormy passed away in 1993, at the age of 31.
   Through my Mom's maternal family, we are cousins to Ida Whealton Beebe.  Mom used to walk from her home on Peterson Street down to the Beebe Ranch almost every Sunday afternoon in hope that "Uncle Clare" would allow her to do some chores around the Ranch and be able to ride one of his ponies with her cousin, Alma Beebe (Maureen and Paul's aunt).  So I come by my love for Chincoteague ponies very legitimately.  As a youngster, I rode Misty, Stormy, and Cloudy.  Stormy's son, Thunder, took a golf-ball sized piece of flesh out of my back one day while I was grooming him.  It took 38 stitches to close the hole, and I can still stick the ball of my thumb in it - almost 37 years later.
  Even though Misty and her immediate family never actually ran wild on Chincoteague, there are currently six descendants of Misty running free on Assateague.  All of the ponies were bred and born off the island, but were donated back to the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company (who actually own the ponies) to re-establish the Misty line on the islands.  The following ponies were all sired by Walnut Hills Nightwind, a direct descendant of Misty: Beach Boy (a young stallion), and the mares and fillies named Sundance, Wildfire, Summer, Surfette (WH Surf and Sun) and Calendar Girl.  Winter Moon, usually shortened to Moon, does not have a pedigree listed.

Maureen Beebe riding the Phantom:

Misty was a rather small 12 hands high:

Misty and her first foal, Phantom Wings:

Misty and Stormy 2 months after the Ash Wednesday Storm - during the storm

Misty was "stalled" in the kitchen of the Beebe house:

** The first two photos are from the website Misty's Heaven  at   www.mistysheaven.com   **

Island Sunrises and Sunsets - Photos

Chincoteague Bay sunset

Assateague sunrise

Chincoteague Channel sunset

Happy and Bodacious Bob with Assateague sunset

(Photo by Beached Paws Photography)

Chincoteague Channel sunset

Crab pot sunrise

(Photo by Beached Paws Photography)

Marsh Island sunset

Assateague and Chincoteague Photos

Buckeye, a 9-year-old Feather Fund Chincoteague pony, gallops along Tom's Cove

Charmed and her new colt on the Maryland end

Butterfly Kisses - Riptide foal

Chincoteague Bay sunset

CNWR sunset

Eagle eye, Assateague

Dolphin family

Recent Island Photos

Looking north, up the Chincoteague Channel, today

Two of the rides at the Firemens Carnival

Gokey Go Bones and Yankee's colt - he has 4 socks plus the sea dollar on his side

Pedestrian crossing on Chincoteague Main Street

Shrimper in the Chincoteague Channel

Jellyfish

Gull with lunch

Fun Things To Do On Chincoteague and Assateague Islands

In Virginia, people live on Chincoteague and only wild things live on Assateague.  In Maryland, a person can camp on Assateague, which isn't possible in Virginia.  There are a myriad of things to do and see in either state and on, or around, both islands.
    Assateague Island is a National Seashore in both states, and, in Virginia, Assateague is also the site of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge (CNWR).  This confuses a lot of people.  Chincoteague ponies run wild on Assateague Island in both Virginia and Maryland - but each state has a unique way of dealing with the ponies.  All of the different kinds of wildlife on Assateague mingle and breed together - except the ponies (usually).  There is a fence separating the Maryland and Virginia sides of the island, but ponies do, on occasion, break through and mingle.  I can definitely say the ponies on the Virginia end of Assateague Island are branded and micro-chipped. The Maryland ponies are not branded.  I don't know if they are chipped or not.  A person, or family, can legally camp on the Maryland side of Assateague with a permit.  No over-nighters are allowed in Virginia.
   Chincoteague Island is located within the Virginia state borders only.  It's where people live, work and play.  If you visit Chincoteague or Assateague for the annual festivals, you know that you usually stay on Chincoteague in a hotel, motel, rental, or bed and breakfast. There are all sorts of festivals on Chincoteague.  The most widely known, thanks to Marguerite Henry's book and the 20th Century Fox movie, Misty) is Pony Penning.  There are also a Blueberry Festival, Seafood Festival, Oyster Festival, Decoy Festival, Arts and Crafts Festival, Chili Festival, the Volunteer Firemens' Carnival and multiple bird-watching festivals, throughout the year.
   If you visit the islands, be prepared for heat, humidity and mosquitoes in the summer.  Storms come from the Atlantic regularly - northeasters and hurricanes.  I can easily remember the five high tide lines on the wall paper in my Grandfather's kitchen.  A seemingly huge storm can sweep across the island in a few hours and wash everything new again.
   What is there to do on the islands?
  Well, first and foremost, Assateague is a National Seashore.  The beach is highly recommended.  Get some sun, play in the surf, or walk the beach.  There are many walks and trails available for hiking on Assateague in both states.  Check in at the respective Visitor's Centers and see what is recommended, or is off limits, for the day. (Some beach areas may be closed due to bird and/or turtle nesting.)  There is also a widely varied group of wildlife on Assateague - from over 400 different kinds of birds, including bald eagles and peregrine falcons, to otters, muskrats, the Delmarva fox squirrel, water and grass snakes, turtles and terrapins, white tail deer, miniature elk (aka Sika deer), seals, ponies, frogs and toads, butterflies, raccoons, fox, groundhogs and rabbits, to name a few.  Take a birding guide and/or a guide to wildlife tracks.  Wild turkeys are in abundance and might startle you.  With a fishing permit, you can surf fish from the beach.  And you can tour the Assateague Lighthouse from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. during the summer.
   Water activities?  There is swimming and surfing, or one can take out a canoe, kayak, paddle board, or small motorboat.  You can see all the sights on a guided tour; take a fishing boat into the bays or channels, or out into the ocean; you can fish, crab, clam and oyster - as long as it isn't on private or posted property.  You can cook and eat what you catch - flounder is running well, I hear.  On small cruises, one can take a hands-on ecological tour of the marshes and bays (with Captain Barry), tours around the island of Chincoteague with some local history thrown in, sunset cruises with champagne (with Captain Barry, and others), a guaranteed pony-sighting tour (with Captain Dan), sunrise and sunset cruises on the Miss Chincoteague, and just about anything you can imagine, or want, to do.
   On Chincoteague, the choices seem endless - walking, biking or trolley tours; shopping; eating; reading; the library; the cinema; coffee houses; the Carnival on weekends in July; Second Saturday art shows; the Saturday Farmers Market; the Chincoteague Island Museum; the Chincoteague Bay Field Station; the Chincoteague Pony Center; the Chincoteague Natural History Alliance; the Refuge Golf and Amusements Center; or just kicking back and relaxing....  There are three parks on the island where you can picnic.  And I mentioned eating a little earlier in this paragraph - the home made ice cream on Chincoteague is to die for!  The Island Creamery is known as having the best ice cream on the east coast of the United States; then there's Mueller's Ice Cream Parlor and Mister Whippy - all delicious!
   If you don't mind taking a short trip off the island, you can visit the NASA Visitors Center, go hang gliding with Virginia Hang Gliding, take an air tour with Carter Crabbe aviation, visit the Delmarva Discovery Center in Pocomoke City, or the Barrier Island Center of the Eastern Shore in Machipongo.  You can also go horseback riding at Queen Hive Farm in Assawoman.
   I never get around to doing everything I want to when I'm there - I have to pick and choose.  You will, too.

Mom & Dad

Yesterday would have been my parents' 68th wedding anniversary - they were married in a double wedding ceremony in Pocomoke City, Maryland  by the Reverend John Ditto.  The other couple married were Mom's sister, Ruth, and Earle Gordon; they divorced after 9 years.  It seems funny that an Oklahoma/Kansas farm boy and the daughter of a waterman of Chincoteague would meet and marry.  Dad joined the US Navy in 1939 to become a bomber pilot.  Poor man - he washed out of the program because he had no depth perception.  So he was sent to the Ford Company and became an expert on airplane engines, and went to sea on an aircraft carrier.
  Mom was born and raised on Chincoteague Island.  Her father was a dual citizen of Sweden and the United States. But her maternal line goes back to the first land patents on the island, and the Whealton family.  Having been on, or around, the island for more than 300 years, she was related to almost every "old timer" family there in Accomac County, and along the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland.  Pop-pop's Swedish relatives lived in New York City, and were a backbone of the Fulton Fish Market.  Mom-mom was a true Chincoteaguer, and had the Whealtons' fiery temper.
  Mom and Dad met at NAS Chincoteague, over on the mainland.  Mom was working as a cashier in the base's Ship's Store, and, of course, Dad was a customer, posted to the base.  At that time, he was being endoctrinated in radar systems, having just returned from a stint in the Caribbean.  Mom thought he was a dashing Puerto Rican, with his deep tan, black hair and moustache, light green eyes, and the way he could speak a few Spanish phrases.  Dad thought Mom was extremely straight-forward, to the point, and had a great sense of humor.
  After a little over a year of wooing, Dad proposed and Mom accepted - after he had to confess one thing.  Mom had told him during their second date that she would never marry a man who was younger than she was.  Dad found out how old she was, and added two years on top of that when she asked his age.  Proposal day had him confess that he was actually two years younger than Mom - she laughed, and then accepted his proposal.  Their honeymoon was in Baltimore, Maryland.
   Mom's sister, meanwhile, had accepted the proposal of her boyfriend, Earle Gordon; and so the double wedding in Pocomoke City took place.  They were married in 1948; Dad died in 1980; and Mom never remarried. She passed away in 2001.
      This photo was taken by my Aunt Ruth, about a months before the weddings - her fiance, Earle Gordon, is toward the front of the photo.  Mom and Dad are in the back, Dad at the tiller, and Mom is wearing her favorite jacket, made of fringed buckskin.  She always loved ponies, horses, and the West.

Sixty Years in a Few Photos...

Born in the back seat of a 1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe

Dad was posted at NAS Oceana and delivered me on the way to the base hospital...

We spent our spare time on Chincoteague Island, Momma's home

Then we moved to Shamrock Road in Millington, Tennessee

From NAS Millington, we went to NAS Kingsville, Texas

I started riding at King's Ranch when I was four

Me, at four, in Kingsville

                            

Dad retired from the Navy when I turned 5, and we moved to Gainesville, Florida...

Where I became a Gator for life...

I also stayed true to my love of horses - this is Avalon, a Trakehner -Thoroughbred cross at a schooling show

But I always returned to Chincoteague and Assateague Islands each summer, and ended up meeting my husband on Chincoteague in 1995 after 34 years of running back and forth between Florida and Virginia.

Now I live in Boulder, Colorado - but the sands of the islands are still in my blood and my soul; I constantly yearn for the sounds of gulls, the tidal wash, the scent of marsh mud, and the wonderful smells of islands in the Atlantic....

I'm still short and chubby, but my hair is now down to my waist, and is very grey.  I've worn glasses since I was 11, and my freckles are making a spectacular come back...