WR 88: Dale Wimbrow Collection |
1 document boxes (0.25 cubic feet)
(1926 – 1994)
Bulk: 1926-1954
Worcester County Library: Genealogy and Local History Collection, Snow Hill Branch, Snow Hill, MD
Identifier: |
WR 88 |
Creator(s): | Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr. |
Acquisition: |
The Dale Wimbrow collection was donated to the Worcester County Library in 1994 by unknown persons. |
Language(s): | English |
Use: | Records are open for research. Copyright, including literary rights, belongs to the author(s) or their legal heirs. Permission to publish or reproduce must be obtained from the Worcester County Library which extends beyond “fair use”. |
Preferred Citation: |
“Item, collection name, [Box #, Folder #,] Worcester County Library, Snow Hill Branch, Snow Hill, Maryland.” |
Attribution: |
Finding aid written by Nate Godfrey, May 2022. Updated by Erin Pogue, January 2023 |
Related Materials: | None. |
Separated Materials: |
None |
Former Collection Names/Numbers: |
WR 70: Dale Wimbrow Newspaper Clippings |
This collection consists of songbooks, poems, and writings of Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr, a pioneer in radio music and recording during the early 20th century. In his capacity as a professional musician and songwriter, he applied his talents to poetry and essays during the 1940s and 1950s, when he founded and ran the Indian River News.
Peter Dale Wimbrow was born in Whaleyville, Maryland in 1895, and became a composer, poet, and radio broadcaster during the golden age of radio in the early 20th century. During this time, he earned the nickname, ‘The Del-Mar-Va Songster’ and also went by ‘Old Pete Daley of Whaleysville’. Music written by him was also covered by other artists, most notably Duke Ellington, and ended up in Betty Boop cartoons. He was best known for his 1934 poem The Guy in the Glass, which became a popular clipping – although his name was usually removed from these. During the 1940s and 1950s, he settled in Florida, where he founded the conservative Indian River News newspaper, where he acted as editor.
He married radio producer and writer Dorothy Livezy, and had two children before dying in 1954. After his death, his family continued the newspaper until the mid-1960s. He is buried in a family cemetery in Whaleyville.
This collection documents the professional output of Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr. The bulk of the collection consists of songbooks written from the late 1920s to early 1930s, and his published poetry. The remainder of the collection consists of a bound copy of the editorials he wrote for the Indian River News, and various personal papers and remembrances.
Series I: Songbooks, 1926-1933. This series consists of Wimbrow’s songbooks, which were published by various publishers during the 20s and 30s.
Series II: Publications, 1931-1953. This series consists of Wimbrow’s published writing, both lyrical and editorial.
Series III: Papers. This series consists of letters, newspaper clippings, and other papers pertaining to Wimbrow. These are sorted into two main categories, papers relating to remembrance of his life after death, and correspondence with his family, or between Wimbrow’s family and others regarding him and his work.
The Dale Wimbrow Collection records have been arranged into three series, songbooks, publications, and papers. Songbooks are arranged chronologically by year of publication. Folders are listed by their location in each box; any given subject may be dispersed throughout the entirety of the collection.
Topical Terms
Editorials – Newspapers
Music
Poetry
Whaleyville (Md.)
Corporate Names
The American Magazine
Columbia Records
Indian River News
Washburn Printing Company
Wimbrow’s Photography
Personal Names
Hamilton, Wanda
Wimbrow, Peter Dale Sr.
Wimbrow, Sallydale
Location Terms
Whaleyville (Md.)
Series I: Songbooks
Box 1
1|1 When Black Sheep Get the Blues, 1926
1|2 Wife O’ Mine, 1927
1|3 The Good Old Eastern Shore, 1928
1|4 Oshkosh, 1928
1|5 Every Moon’s A Honeymoon (With You), 1929
1|6 That’s What I Call Heaven, 1929
1|7 The First Girl I Met Was The Last Girl I Loved, 1931
1|8 The Start of the Big Parade, 1933
1|9 Photocopied Songbooks
Series II: Publications
1|10 A Sardine & A Cracker, 1931
1|11 Swamp Cabbage & Angel Wings, 1953
Series III: Papers
1|12 Remembrances
1|13 Family Correspondence