Playland: Greetings From Ocean City, Maryland - Softcover

Shores, Earl

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0989236366 ISBN 13: 9780989236362

Publisher: One Way Road Press, 2019

Synopsis

The long-lost Playland Amusement Park comes back to life in Earl Shores' new book Playland: Greetings From Ocean City, Maryland. All the sights, sounds, and smells of this defunct, yet still beloved Eastern Shore landmark can be experienced in Shores' intimate on-the-ground account of the park's final summer.

Want to take a last ride on the Hurricane, the only wooden roller coaster ever to exist in Ocean City? Or sit next to your wide-eyed child as they “drive” the spoke-wheeled Antique Cars? Spin majestically into the bayside night air on the Airborne ride? Hit the green gas pedal and throttle out onto “Ocean City's largest go-kart track?”

Then step into the pages of Playland and back to the summer of 1980 as Shores skillfully puts the reader to work in the park for its fateful final season.

"Playland takes you back to a time when Ernie's Donuts were always hot and delicious, the Admirals played at the Pier Ballroom, and a great amusement park existed on 65th Street. It's a great beach read!”- Hunter “Bunk” Mann, author, Vanishing Ocean City and Ghosts in the Surf

Ocean City, Maryland was a very different place in 1980. Undeveloped lots existed along the beachfront, working “down the ocean” was still a summertime rite of passage...and a monorail-ringed amusement park sat on a westward pointing finger of land at 65th Street.

That park was Playland.

For the young people lucky enough to land a job at Playland, summers were pretty sweet. Running the rides on warm sunset nights as the park's flashing lights and the squeals of happy children filled the air was the stuff of fantasy.

At least most of the time. Some rides, however, presented more challenges than others. This was something that author Earl Shores discovered quickly during his early days at Playland. And what seemed like the most perfect job in the world turned into something quite different - the summer-long roller coaster ride of his life.

“Weaving two stories together, one from his childhood, the other as a young man working during the summer, Earl Shores brings Ocean City, Maryland to life, vividly, as it was during the 60s, 70s, and 80s.”- Sandy Hurley, Curator, Ocean City Maryland Life-Saving Station Museum

“Playland far exceeds all expectations by transporting readers to a simpler time in Ocean City history, and our society in general. All OCMD local residents and tourists alike will get a kick out of reminiscing while enjoying this truly great body of work.”- Brandon Seidl, founder, Trimper's Haunted House Online, co-founder, The Bill Tracy Project, co-author, Trimper's Rides and Ocean City Oddities (2020)

“Playland transports us back to a time when summers were magical and friendships were made and renewed year after year. The words put into motion an emotional ride that allows us to check-off a bucket list item that ceased to exist long ago. Read the book, close your eyes, and realize that ‘Playland’ still exists.”- Rick Machado, Playland alumnus 1976-80

About this title

Review

"PLAYLAND takes you back to an earlier time. A time when Ernie's Donuts were always hot and delicious, the Admirals played at the Pier Ballroom, and a great amusement park existed on 65th Street. Earl Shores has captured a part of old Ocean City that exists today only as a splendid memory. It's a great beach read!" - "Bunk" Mann, author, Vanishing Ocean City and Ghosts in the Surf 
"Weaving two stories together, one from his childhood, the other as a young man working during the summer, Earl Shores brings Ocean City, Maryland to life, vividly, as it was during the 60s, 70s, and 80s."- Sandy Hurley, Curator, Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum
"PLAYLAND far exceeds all expectations by transporting readers to a simpler time in OC history, and our society in general. Earl's storytelling is on point and he does an incredible job of painting an accurate picture of the way things were back in yesteryear, particularly as they relate to his first-hand accounts of the amusement and hospitality industries. Ocean Playland helped shape the uptown amusement industry in the early days of Ocean City development, and the book proves to be a time capsule in support of that. All OCMD local residents and tourists alike will get a kick out of reminiscing while enjoying this truly great body of work."- Brandon Seidl, founder, Trimper's Haunted House Online, co-founder, The Bill Tracy Project, co-author, Trimper's Rides and Ocean City Oddities (2020)
"Most of us have a defining summer of our youth. Earl Shores takes us back to his special summer in 1980 when he lived in the seaside resort of Ocean City, Maryland and worked as a ride operator at Playland, a long-defunct amusement park. It turned out that this would be the final summer that Playland operated and Shores takes us back to the park with his vividly descriptive style of storytelling. The rides, the co-workers, and the customers provide a rich tapestry of a long-gone place that provided so many memories and shaped a person's life forever."- Jim Futrell, historian, National Amusement Park Historical Association, author, Amusement Parks of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware
"Not many kids get a chance to live out a dream of working at the beach. Getting that chance for 5 summers in Ocean City was like hitting the lottery. If only back then we had cell phone cameras and social media, we could relive all the memories all the time. PLAYLAND captures the next best thing. It transports us back to a time when summers were magical, friendships were made and renewed year after year; lifetime memories. The written words put into motion an emotional ride and without knowing it allowed us to check off one bucket list item that now only exists in a time many summers ago. Read the book, close your eyes and realize that Playland still exists."Rich Machado, Playland alumnus 1976-80
"Anyone who has ever worked at, or visited, an amusement park will appreciate Playland. Earl Shores takes readers back to 1980 and a summer at Ocean City, Maryland-operating rides, surfing in the Atlantic, and worrying about academics. While the book is from Earl's point of view, there are bits and pieces of history about the park and Ocean City. As a former ride operator, I quickly related to the stories Earl had at each ride -the difficulty operating the Spider, knowing the best rides to run, and arguing with parents when their child wasn't tall enough to ride. Earl also shares stories of growing up vacationing in Ocean City with his family. Upon completion of the book, I quickly wanted to know how the next chapter of Earl's life unfolded as he returned to school and reflected on a summer at Ocean City. This book is a enjoyable read through the eyes of a young adult." - Joshua Litvik, National Amusement Park Historical Association

"There is a world-famous amusement park in Rye, NY, called Playland, but sure as the salty goodness of Thrasher's fries or a hole-in-one at Old Pro Golf, it's not the only Playland worth writing about. And just like those Ocean City Boardwalk icons, writer Earl Shores captures the exquisite nostalgia of Playland on 65th Street, one of OC's original family-fun amusements destination."- Coastal Style Magazine

Edition details

• Publisher: One Way Road Press
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0989236366
• ISBN 13: 9780989236362
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 330