Rock Around the Clock, A True Story
Erick Sahler • January 5, 2021
In “Here,” a pioneering 304-page graphic novel, Richard McGuire shares the illustrated history of the corner of a single room and of the events that occur in that space throughout all time — past, present and future.
It’s a fascinating concept and one that, once it gets in your head, is difficult to shake.
So it was on a recent Sunday morning bicycle ride across Salisbury, I got lost in contemplation waiting for the signal to cross Route 13 at Main Street.
Nearby is a barren lot that serves as the materials staging area for a downtown construction project. But in another time — when I was growing up — the site was home to The Boulevard — a big old barn of a theater where all the top films were shown, back before the movies left for the malls.
In the 1970s, The Boulevard was a palace. Pastel back-lit glass blocks surrounded the sidewalk ticket booths. Inside the bustling lobby, the air was heavy with the aroma of buttery popcorn. The seats in the theater were crushed velour, just like on Broadway. Left of the huge movie screen, which was concealed until showtime by two heavy curtains, was a dim purple phosphorescent clock that advertised White Jewelers. Before the main attraction there was an animated ad for the Top 40 radio station WJDY. It had two naked cartoon characters who flashed by in a split second. It was shocking.
The Boulevard got so packed during Saturday kiddie matinees that if you arrived too late the only place to sit was in the front row, where you looked straight up at the screen, like a bug at the base of the Washington Monument.
On the second floor was a balcony with even more seating, though it’s my recollection that folks who went up there were more interested in exploring each other than watching any film.
Now travel in time again, Richard McGuire style, and picture that same space on the night of May 26, 1958, when one of the pioneers of rock ’n’ roll took the Boulevard Theater stage.
Bill Haley and His Comets, who had sold more than 35 million records and appeared in five movies, “played for a packed house of hand-clapping, foot-stomping teenagers,” according to Jerry Kelly’s story on page 1 of the Salisbury Times.
Riding a string of hits including “Rock Around the Clock,” “Shake Rattle and Roll,” “Crazy Man Crazy,” and “See You Later Alligator,” Haley is most likely rock’s first megastar to perform in Salisbury. He had just returned from a two-month tour in South America.
Kelly called Haley “a mellow, mild-mannered man” who would “stop the performance” if his teen audience got too rowdy and left their seats, yet his rebel influence inspired budding rockers all over the world.
“I had no idea about doing music as a way of life until rock 'n' roll hit me,” John Lennon once said. “What specifically hit me? It was ‘Rock Around the Clock.’”
After the concert, the revved-up Salisbury teens gathered around the band’s bus, where autographs were signed.
My Aunt Charlotte waited in the crowd, but when her turn came it was time for the band to leave. Seeing her dejection, Franny Beecher, the Comets’ guitarist, asked her to write down her address and promised to mail an autographed 8x10 photo after the band returned home to Chester, Pa.
True to his word, a week later, it arrived along with a hand-written letter from Rudi Pompilli, the Comets’ sax player:
I’ve combed the relic-packed galleries of the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and I’ve poured over the memorabilia that adorns the walls of Hard Rock Cafes around the world. They are filled with battered guitars, hand-written lyrics and stage clothes from world-famous musicians.
But there’s nothing for which I’d trade that sweet, sincere letter and signed photo — from a concert that happened six decades ago — right over there in that space where the bare lot is — on Main Street in downtown Salisbury.
Erick Sahler is an artist and writer. He has exhibited his serigraph prints across the Eastern Shore and they are available in shops throughout the region. Erick holds a B.A. in Visual Arts from UMBC and is a member of the Society of Illustrators in NYC.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.
Apparently, some people think that the GOP’s “big beautiful bill” is a foregone conclusion, and that the struggle over the budget and Trump’s agenda is over and done. Not true. On Sunday night, the bill — given the alternate name “Big Bad Bullsh*t Bill” by the Democratic Women’s Caucus — was voted out of the House Budget Committee. The GOP plan is to pass this legislation in the House before Memorial Day. But that’s not the end of it. As Jessica Craven explained in her Chop Wood Carry Water column: “Remember, we have at least six weeks left in this process. The bill has to: Pass the House, Then head to the Senate where it will likely be rewritten almost completely, Then be passed there, Then be brought back to the House for reconciliation, And then, if the House changes that version at all, Go back to the Senate for another vote.” She adds, “Every step of that process is a place for us to kill it.” The bill is over a thousand pages long, and the American people will not get a chance to read it until it has passed the House. But, thanks to 5Calls , we know it includes:
Let's talk about our Eastern Shore Delegation, the representatives who are supposed to fight for our nine Shore counties in Annapolis, and what they actually got up to this session.
For the first time in recent memory, Virginia Democrats have candidates running in all 100 House of Delegates districts — a milestone party leaders and grassroots organizers say reflects rising momentum as President Donald Trump’s second term continues to galvanize opposition.
The 447th legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly adjourned on April 8. This End of Session Report highlights the work Shore Progress has done to fight for working families and bring real results home to the Shore. Over the 90-day session, lawmakers debated 1,901 bills and passed 878 into law. Shore Progress and members supported legislation that delivers for the Eastern Shore, protecting our environment, expanding access to housing and healthcare, strengthening workers’ rights, and more. Shore Progress Supported Legislation By The Numbers: Over 60 pieces of our backed legislation were passed. Another 15 passed in one Chamber but not the other. Legislation details are below, past the budget section. The 2026 Maryland State Budget How We Got Here: Maryland’s budget problems didn’t start overnight. They began under Governor Larry Hogan. Governor Hogan expanded the state budget yearly but blocked the legislature from moving money around or making common-sense changes. Instead of fixing the structural issues, Hogan used federal covid relief funds to hide the cracks and drained our state’s savings from $5.5 billion to $2.3 billion to boost his image before leaving office. How Trump/Musk Made It Worse: Maryland is facing a new fiscal crisis driven by the Trump–Musk administration, whose trade wars, tariff policies, and deep federal cuts have hit us harder than most, costing the state over 30,000 jobs, shuttering offices, and erasing promised investments. A University of Maryland study estimates Trump’s tariffs alone could cost us $2 billion, and those federal cuts have already added $300 million to our budget deficit. Covid aid gave us a short-term boost and even created a fake surplus under Hogan, but that money is gone, while housing, healthcare, and college prices keep rising. The Trump–Musk White House is only making things worse by slashing funding, gutting services, and eliminating research that Marylanders rely on. How The State Budget Fixes These Issues: This year, Maryland faced a $3 billion budget gap, and the General Assembly fixed it with a smart mix of cuts and fair new revenue, while protecting working families, schools, and health care. The 2025 Budget cuts $1.9 billion ($400 million less than last year) without gutting services people rely on. The General Assembly raised $1.2 billion in fair new revenue, mostly from the wealthiest Marylanders. The Budget ended with a $350 million surplus, plus $2.4 billion saved in the Rainy Day Fund (more than 9% of general fund revenue), which came in $7 million above what the Spending Affordability Committee called for. The budget protects funding for our schools, health care, transit, and public workers. The budget delivers real wins: $800 million more annually for transit and infrastructure, plus $500 million for long-term transportation needs. It invests $9.7 billion in public schools and boosts local education aid by $572.5 million, a 7% increase. If current revenue trends hold, no new taxes will be needed next session. Even better, 94% of Marylanders will see a tax cut or no change, while only the wealthiest 5% will finally pay their fair share. The tax system is smarter now. We’re: Taxing IT and data services like Texas and D.C. do; Raising taxes on cannabis and sports betting, not groceries or medicine; and Letting counties adjust income taxes. The budget also restores critical funding: $122 million for teacher planning $15 million for cancer research $11 million for crime victims $7 million for local business zones, and Continued support for public TV, the arts, and BCCC The budget invests in People with disabilities, with $181 million in services Growing private-sector jobs with $139 million in funding, including $27.5 million for quantum tech, $16 million for the Sunny Day Fund, and $10 million for infrastructure loans. Health care is protected for 1.5 million Marylanders, with $15.6 billion for Medicaid and higher provider pay. Public safety is getting a boost too, with $60 million for victim services, $5.5 million for juvenile services, and $5 million for parole and probation staffing. This budget also tackles climate change with $100 million for clean energy and solar projects, and $200 million in potential ratepayer relief. Public workers get a well-deserved raise, with $200 million in salary increases, including a 1% COLA and ~2.5% raises for union workers. The ultra-wealthy will finally chip in to pay for it: People earning over $750,000 will pay more, Millionaires will pay 6.5%, and Capital gains over $350,000 get a 2% surcharge. Deductions are capped for high earners, but working families can still deduct student loans, medical debt, and donations. This budget is bold, fair, and built to last. That’s why Shore Progress proudly supports it. Click on the arrows below for details in each section.
