Bunk Mann

Ocean City

Writer at Maryland Coast Dispatch

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Articles

Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann: Surfing in the early days

Sep 17, 2024 | oceancitytoday.com | Bunk Mann

Although there had been a few individual surfers in the post WWII era, surfing in Ocean City began in earnest in the early 1960s. With no local surf shops at the time, wetsuits were purchased from the Diver’s Den in Baltimore and paraffin wax from the local supermarket. Prior to Ocean City’s first surf shop opening in 1964, surfer Danny Herlihy recalls ordering his boards from California and having them shipped to Salisbury by train.
Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann: Effects of the March Storm of ’62

Sep 9, 2024 | oceancitytoday.com | Bunk Mann
Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann: The English Diner

Sep 4, 2024 | oceancitytoday.com | Bunk Mann

The English Diner opened in 1939 on the corner of Wicomico Street and Baltimore Avenue. Moved to 21st Street and Philadelphia Avenue in the last 1950s, it was one of Ocean City’s most popular family restaurants. It was known as “Little City Hall” for the daily breakfast gatherings of Ocean City’s political elite during the years that Hugh Cropper, Harry Kelley and Roland “Fish” Powell served as mayors.
Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann: 65th Street slides

Aug 27, 2024 | oceancitytoday.com | Bunk Mann

One of Ocean City’s most popular attractions was built by Odie Hartley on 65th Street and Coastal Highway in 1972. Originally known as the “Sea Side Slides,” three concrete slides (painted blue) cascaded down a 38-foot man-made hill where kids would ride rubber mats to splash into landing pools about 2-and-a-half feet deep. Odie, along with his wife Dee, operated the business until selling it to his stepson Mike Wicklein in 1991.
Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann: John W. Hall shipwreck

Aug 20, 2024 | oceancitytoday.com | Bunk Mann

One of Worcester County’s most famous shipwrecks took place on March 12, 1912, when the John W. Hall ran aground on a sandbar about 3 miles south of Ocean City. The Hall, a three-masted schooner of 346 tons, was bound for New York City with a load of lumber and a crew of seven. The surfmen from the Ocean City station of the US Life Saving Service reached the scene at 7:30 a.m. and fired a line to the floundering ship about 60 yards offshore.
Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann: The Hamilton Hotel

Aug 13, 2024 | oceancitytoday.com | Bunk Mann

The Hamilton Hotel, a 68-year-old Ocean City landmark on the corner of 3rd Street and the Boardwalk, burned to the ground on Dec. 14, 1969. The early Sunday morning blaze was discovered by Sgt. James Baker of the Ocean City Police Department as he made his rounds. The fire department was on the scene about five minutes later. With flames up to 100 feet in the air and fanned by a strong southwest wind, it appeared the whole block between 3rd and 4th streets was at risk.
Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann: Wild Mouse mini-coaster

Aug 6, 2024 | oceancitytoday.com | Bunk Mann

One of Ocean City’s most popular amusement rides from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s was the mini-roller coaster known as the Wild Mouse. From the corner of Baltimore Avenue and South Division Street, the tiny two-passenger cars elicited screams from most who dared to ride them.
Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann: Tragic day on 2nd Street beach in ’68

Jul 30, 2024 | oceancitytoday.com | Bunk Mann

Aug. 3, 1986, was one of the most tragic days in Ocean City’s history. During an afternoon thunderstorm, a lightning bolt struck the beach at 2nd Street leaving three dead and two injured, one of them critically (he would die the next day at then-Peninsula General Hospital in Salisbury). The deceased were all from Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. They had come to Ocean City as part of a tour group and had sought shelter under an umbrella when the storm began.
Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann: Original Boardwalk Pier

Jul 23, 2024 | oceancitytoday.com | Bunk Mann

Ocean City’s original Pier building was completed in 1907 on the Boardwalk at Wicomico Street. In addition to shops and a dancing pavilion, it also featured a theatre and several refreshments stands. It was also the entrance to the Ocean City Fishing Pier. The building was raised 10 feet above the beach and built on wooden pilings. Part of it actually extended over the water as the beach was very narrow in that era. The original Pier building had its share of misfortune.
Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann: Roses Department Store

Jul 15, 2024 | oceancitytoday.com | Bunk Mann

Roses Department Store, an Ocean City staple for over 40 years, closed on May 11, leaving memories for both locals and summer visitors. The place to find whatever one needed at a reasonable price, it was often a “must stop” to pick up anything that folks had forgotten to pack for their trip to the beach.