Explore Ocean City's hidden treasures with local author Bunk Mann
In search of some hidden treasure? Look no further than Ocean City, the home of countless historical sites and oddities.
Forget about the Atlantic Ocean. Instead, dip your toe into history as you come face to face with a cackling robotic clown, a deserted tower, a vacant hotel and the oldest surviving building that remains in use after all this time.
Local author shines a spotlight on Ocean City
Before beginning your treasure hunt, relive the past with local author and history buff Bunk Mann who, through his three books — "Vanishing Ocean City," "Ghosts in the Surf" and "Ocean City Chronicles" — shines a spotlight on the historic resort town of Ocean City.
Having grown up in Salisbury, Mann first fell in love with Ocean City as a young boy when he would travel to the shore with his family. The idea for his first book, "Vanishing Ocean City," came to life in 2004 when Mann caught word that Ocean City would be tearing down a few old hotels. He grabbed his camera to snap a few photos, and the rest is history.
"I've always been interested in history. If I had to do it all over again, I'd like to be a college professor in history," said Mann, whose passion led him to writing a collection of books that explore the vibrant history of Ocean City.
All of Mann's books can be purchased online, while Mann himself can often be found in Ocean City, traversing the streets, the Inlet, Boardwalk, seagull infested dunes or whatever else may catch the chipper history buff's eye.
Discover Laffing Sal at Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum
She is known for her laughter, a loud cackling that used to be heard at least a block or two away from the buzzing Boardwalk. She wears a long, floral blue dress, stands 6 feet tall, and her face, dusted with pink blush, is stretched into a wide, imposing grin. She is Laffing Sal.
The large robotic rag doll, often misspelled as "Laughing Sal," once stood in a cage at the entrance to Jester's Funhouse on Worcester Street and the Boardwalk. Sal was purchased by the Jester family in the early 1940s from a funhouse equipment firm in Philadelphia, per "Ocean City Chronicles."
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Sal, an animatronic figure, would shake her head, bow her torso, wave her arms and laugh continuously. Her laugh was thought to be eerie, so much so that children feared she would break loose from her cage and chase them, Mann said. Over time, she was considered more nightmarish than laughable.
Today, Sal resides on the second floor of the Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum, where she can be admired — or quietly observed as onlookers cower in fear — through a tall, glass box. Those who dare to press the button to her right will hear her famous guffaw.
Coast Guard Tower was vital during World War II
What was once manned 24 hours a day by a handful of U.S. Coast Guard members now sits abandoned next to the Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum. The Coast Guard Tower at the Inlet remains one of the few still standing in the United States today.
Before 1933, there was no need for a Coast Guard Tower. The Inlet was not created until 1933 when, starting on Aug. 23 and lasting for three consecutive days, a hurricane tore through the resort town.
Plans for the 50-foot tall steel tower began in 1938, and construction — at a considerable cost of $5,000 — was completed one year later, in 1939. The tower, said Mann, was a vital part of coastal defense during World War II, as it was used to monitor the offshore shipping lanes where U-boats, German naval submarines, sunk several merchant ships in 1942.
"The Coast Guard was tasked with reporting any planes that flew by and logging in every boat that went in or out of the Inlet," reads "Ocean City Chronicles."
The tower had no bathroom, heat, air conditioning or place to properly sit. The Coast Guard members were given a "pee bucket" as a substitute for a restroom. Chairs were not allowed in fear of the men falling asleep. The men were expected to stay alert and on their feet at all times.
"They ran a tight ship, so they didn't have a whole lot of downtime to be terribly comfortable," said Christine Okerblom, curator at The Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum.
No matter the unfavorable conditions, "Some guys used to sneak their girlfriends up there when they were on duty. Many married local women, and ended up staying in Ocean City," Mann said. But now, he wrote, "No longer manned, it remains a silent spectator looking out on the wide Atlantic Ocean."
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The Henry Hotel was a refuge for Black visitors
During a heart-rending time of racial strife, when Black people were segregated and prohibited from staying as paying guests in Ocean City, one hotel became a beacon and place of refuge. Built in 1895 and originally known as The Hotel Baltimore, The Henry Hotel came to be one of the only places in the resort town to offer rooms to Black people.
Charles and Louisa Henry purchased The Henry Hotel in 1926, before one businesswoman — Lyncia Pearl Bonner — later acquired it in 1964. Bonner ran the establishment until her passing in 2003, and it remains under Black ownership to this day. The historic three-story, wood-shingled hotel, although worn and vacant, remains standing on the corner of Baltimore Avenue and South Division Street.
Ocean City was a segregated town from its founding in 1875 until the mid-1960s, during which Black people were turned away from local restaurants and hotels. The beach was also restricted during the early to mid-20th century. Reserved periods, known as "Colored Excursion Days," were limited to weeks after the main summer season had long passed, as stated on a historical marker near the hotel.
As a result, many Black people sought out refuge at The Henry Hotel, where Black entertainers such as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Willie Harmon — unable to stay in the "white only" hotels in whose ballrooms they performed, reads "Ocean City Chronicles" — once stayed.
"(Bonner) ran a tight ship," Okerblom said. The businesswoman had a long list of rules and regulations her guests were told to follow, a few of which included:
All roomers are expected to be in the hotel by 2 a.m., as the entrance will be closed at that time.
There will be no male visitors after 1 a.m. and no female visitors at anytime.
Always lock your room door and make sure that you have the key.
Radios and televisions shall not be played after 2 a.m.
Positively no stereos allowed in the rooms.
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St. Mary's Star of the Sea is Ocean City's oldest original building
A mere block or two from the resort town's bustling Boardwalk stands the oldest original building in Ocean City. St. Mary's Star of the Sea, reported to have been erected in 1878 and completed during the summer of 1880, sits at its original location at 1705 Philadelphia Ave.
"It is probable that most of the early worshippers were summer visitors from Baltimore and Washington D.C., as there were less than 100 year-round residents in 1880 and few of them were Catholics," wrote Mann in "Ocean City Chronicles."
"There were very few Catholics living in this area at that time," Mann said of Ocean City. "But many people who were coming down for the summer on the excursion trains were from Baltimore, and that's a heavily Catholic area."
The place of worship, named after Mary, Star of the Sea — translated from the Latin "Stella Maris" — has survived each storm to have struck the resort town. According to writings from the 9th century, Mary was a guide to be followed on the way to Christ to avoid capsizing in storm-tossed waters.
“If the winds of temptation arise, if you are driven upon the rocks of tribulation look to the star, call on Mary," Saint Bernard of Clairvaux wrote in the 12th century, reported Aleteia. "If you are tossed upon the waves of pride, of ambition, of envy, of rivalry, look to the star, call on Mary. Should anger, or avarice, or fleshly desire violently assail the frail vessel of your soul, look to the star, call upon Mary."
The church, a worshiping community of Catholic Christians of the Diocese of Wilmington, is still in use to this day, and continues to beckon faithful parishioners and visitors through its squat iron gates.
Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com.
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Ocean City's hidden treasures get new spotlight from author Bunk Mann
