Monday, July 19, 2010

Happy Monday, JoyRiders! I hope that your weekend was extravagant, or at the very least, enjoyable. But now we are back to the work at hand. A new week filled with possibilities and opportunities. Who knows what God has in store for us? I mean last week, He shook up Washington DC with an earthquake! Did that freak anybody else out? Earthquakes are supposed to happen in California and the other side of the world, not 20 miles across the bay ...

102.5 Shore Things
Getting to know the Eastern Shore

#20. McCready Memorial Hospital in Crisfield

A hospital, you say? Yes. A gift of healthcare to Somerset county. I recently received an email containing the history of McCready Memorial, and I think you'll agree - it's worth making the list of what makes The Eastern Shore so great!

How McCready Became a Hospital…

McCready Memorial Hospital, with its beautiful campus on the banks of the Annemessex River and the Daugherty Creek Canal in Crisfield, came to be, literally, by accident. Here’s the story:

On a late summer Sunday in 1919, Chicago residents Edward M. McCready, his young daughter Suzanne and the child’s nurse were leaving their family’s home in Crisfield. They planned to meet Edward’s wife Caroline in Atlantic City before returning to their winter home for the school
year.

Their journey was interrupted by a terrible accident.

Edward’s car and a morning passenger train bound for Crisfield collided at a crossing in Westover with a force so great that his automobile overturned a box car. Eight-year-old Suzanne was alive, but died en route to a tiny, storefront hospital called the General and Marine, back in Crisfield. Her father and her nurse were killed instantly. Their bodies were also brought to the little hospital.
Caroline McCready, summoned from Atlantic City, arrived there Sunday morning. She was greeted by Nurse Florence Smith who took her to view the bodies of her family. As Caroline turned back to the nurse, she asked a question: “How much?”

“Why Mrs. McCready,” Nurse Smith replied, “you have no bill from us. We are very sorry we could not have done more.”

Mrs. McCready, tears in her eyes, took Mrs. Smith’s hands in hers and replied: “You and the people of Crisfield will be paid.”
Two weeks later, the widow announced that she would build and donate a hospital to the city in memory of her husband. In 1921, Mrs. McCready purchased the land – Cork Point on the Annemessex River. In 1923, the hospital she built, the Edward M. McCready Memorial Hospital, opened – her gift to the people of Crisfield. In the years since 1923, McCready Hospital was expanded several times.

So you see, a generous spirit has helped thousands of lives for over three quarters of a century! MMH makes the list of 102.5 Shore Things as a reminder to be generous, and perhaps our legacy will be one of this magnitude one day.

Have something to add to the list? I'd love for you to email me your ideas: jmillwood@wolc.org

ARTIST OF THE DAY:
Jason Allen Rich (JAR?)

This Iowa boy now calls Atlanta home, where he leads worship and writes and records music. He and his wife Bailey Rae have two dogs, Gracie Rae and Beau Peep. Bailey runs "The Recycled Shop," an online store featuring her artistic takes on repurposed items.

Jason got his start as a competitor on American Idol. While he didn't win AI, he scored a record contract and the opportunity to make music for a living. Jackpot!

Jason Allen Rich's latest single is called "In The Stillness." He's hoping to turn this song into a full album, that is if you'll go to his website and buy a copy of the song for $1.50.

Want more J.A.R.? Click Here