The Daily Times from Salisbury, Maryland • 9

NEIGHBORHOODS nn TV and Movies11 Comics12 The Mini Page13 YLE THE DAILY TIMES 1996 Page 9 TnrVTV.TI ttte) Hell (TT 0 Lo 1 Ant farm celebrates 40 vpars Stories of bawdy tavern still echo around Accomack village By BRICE STUMP Daily Timet Staff Writer here is no Bign heralding the entrance to Little Hell in Accomack County. It doesn't -aw CINCINNATI 40 years old, full of ants and mailed only on Mondays? Uncle Milton's Ant Farm. Milton Levine invented the classic item in 1956 after watch- I ing an anthill and thinking what a great toy it would make. V. I uaucuijr a uuvcikjr item lasts two seasons, it's great," said Levine, 83, of Westlake Village, Calif.

"Who knew that 40 years later it would still be alive and growing?" About 20 million farms and more than a billion ants in little vials have been shipped from Uncle Milton Industries. The ants are mailed only on Mondays, so they won't have to spend a weekend in a post office. The first Ant Farms sold for $2.98 and now go for $11.20. It takes a special ant to make it into an ant farm. Ant pickers go to California's Mojave Desert-for the Pogonomyrmex cus or harvester ant "-because it digs in daylight Most ants survive three to four months in the Ant Farm, although some people claim to have kept them around for years.

"We have teachers 'that write us that have had (ants) years," Milton said. "Well; maybe they have. Teachers are pretty smart. Maybe ants do live a couple years. But I doubt it." Michigan woman wins chili cookbff RENO, Nev.

Hot spices earned a Michigan woman a cool $25,000 in a worldwide chili competition. "Mv chili is not real hot. hut Timet Photo by Brico Stump merit a spot on the map and isn't even mentioned in tourist brochures, but Little Hell is a real enough place, said Bob Papetti, who once owned most of the surroundings. Said to have been the site of a tavern in the 19th century, it was a popular gathering place for lazy, rowdy and corrupt men, said Papetti. The tavern vanished long ago, but the tale associated with it reveals how this part of the county got its name.

In Off 13 The Eastern Shore of Virginia Guidebook by Kirk Mariner, the author shares a story told to him by Floyd Nock III of Onancock of a preacher's experience here years ago. "Known for his excessive sanctimoniousness, (he) used to pass by regularly between his church in Onancock and Pungoteague, and he always let it be known that he disapproved of the riotous activities at the tavern. "One day the tavern folk could take his criticism no longer, and they forcibly invited the preacher in. 'Drink with they offered, and when he refused they held him and poured the liquor down his throat. 'Dance for they insisted, and when he refused one of them produced a gun and shot bullets at his feet until he danced.

"When he arrived at his church in Pungoteague, the preacher preached an unusually forceful hellfire and brimstone sermon, and in it he told his flock: 1 don't know what Hell is like, but I sure have been to Little Hell and you better mend your ways if you don't want to go Said to have been marked by three houses a few years ago, only one old building is left of what may have once been a neighborhood around the tavern. The oldest, an 18th century house, was the Papetti home, right in the middle of Little Hell. Within walking distance of Bobtown, Little Hell seems to be on the verge of a comeback, as the residential development Evergreen, the site of new homes and available lots. The Little Hell name is not the one developers apparently wanted as the name of the neighborhood, but it is the orig- Bob Papetti stands in front of the house he owned In Little Hell In Accomack County. Little Hell Good neighbors We need your help.

If you are familiar with the happenings and history of Cashville in Accomack County, we want to hear from you. Whether you are a current or past resident of the community, please call Neighborhoods reporter Brice Stump at (410) 749-7171, Ext. 243, or toll-free, 1-800-44-DAILY, Ext. 243. And if there is a village that you would like to see featured, call us and tell us.

i ,4 Atlantic -(13) Cean u'nm' Li 1 TliMt Photo by Brico Stump Jim Wingfield, left, listens as former Little Hell residents Roger LaPlant and Bob Papetti reminisce about life there in the TlmtsErick Sahler said Georgia Weller of Bloom-field Hills, Mich. "It has a good overall flavor no one spice stands out." The 46-year-old billing supervisor outcooked 114 other chili-makers Sunday to take the 'top prize in the 30th annuatWoild's Championship Cookoff at the Reno Hilton. Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme of New Orleans, a contest judge, said it was a tough call. "The array of herbs and spices are different from bowl to, bowl," he said. "You look for so one flavor doesn't dominate.

Contestants came 46 states and six foreign countries," including Australia, West Germany and South Korea. The contest was Weller's seventh try for top honors. 1 The Associated Press inal name. Papetti came here from Connecticut in the 1970s and bought more than 100 acres the biggest part of Little Hell where he opened his nur-sury business. He sold the place in the early '80s, but the leftover nursery stock, once planted where soybeans and corn grew, all but obscure the old house.

Roger LaPlant of nearby Savageville also called Little Hell home for several years in the 1970s. "I lived there in a little shack. It got bulldozed down later," LaPlant said. Like the men of generations before him, Little Hell may have corrupted him with temptations, but since he left, he's been a new man. "You know how life was back in the 70s, times change.

But life was good there," LaPlant said. Life here is good, Papetti agreed, but its remoteness isn't for everyone. "There's no question about it, some people feel this place is in the middle of nowhere. Lots of people who come down here last for about six months, until the (living in the country) novelty wears off. They find it real tough going" when they've been used to city or suburban life, Papetti said.

Travel Tips: From Keller take Route 620 for about two miles to Bobtown. Turn left onto Bobtown Road. The development of Evergreen, on your right, marks the general location of Little Hell. All buildings in the area are privately owned. Trespassing is prohibited.

9 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0'- 000000000000000000000000000000000000 0 0 0 1 1 -a 0i ment at James M. Bennett High School, is the choral society's new director. He brings a more relaxed approach and an emphasis on diversity In music to the group, Nichols A j. 1 1 I i il i IY-m 11 Karen Nichols Princess Anne's Teackle Mansion, circa 1802-1818, will be open Saturday and 1:1: Sunday during Old Princess Anne Days. By Mary Bargion j) Against Drunk Diving in Salisbury.

He lends an ear to survivors of accidents plowed Into his Newtown home, splintering the porch and demolishing shrubbery. "I was in court five times but the experience gave me insight and empathy," he said. Elzey also facilitates support groups every other month. For more Information on MADD, call (410) 742-6233. ShoreUfel wants to know what's going on in tht world of local fund raising, community service and plain old fun.

you'vt got the facts share them with Mary Bargion at (410) 749-7171, Ext 237, or mall your classical mansion come alive in an illuminating monologue from Elizabeth Teackle's original letters on what it was like to be mistress of the hearth during a time when a woman's fortunes were subject to her husband's business acumen. Felthousen will appear Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and again Sunday at 2 p.m. "In trying to get an essence of this woman, I was struck by how unchanged the dilemmas and conflicts are that face women Fa-la-la la-la involving drunken drivers.

The only certified victim advocate on the Eastern Shore, he recently became state coordinator for MADD's victim advocacy program. "I'm a shoulder to cry on," he said. The national trend toward victims' rights benefits his own work, he said. He encourages victims to become actively Involved in the prosecution of the offender. Maryland law allows a victim impact statement at the time of sentencing that news to: ShoreUfel, said.

Rehearsals are Tuesday nights from 7:30 to 9:30 (with a break) in Salisbury State's Fulton Hall Room 130. Nichols said they're fun. Call (410) 543-8353. A day of unity Ladies, mark your calender for the Wicomico County Commission for Women's Day of Unity Saturday. Workshops will center on getting back to work, legal and health issues, and positive reinforcement.

Program organizers are Rachel Polk, the Rev. Carolyn Douglas and Rebecca Taylor-White. Call (410) 548-7151. Old Princess Anne Elizabeth Upshur Teackle could be arranging a bouquet of flowers from her garden while she talks about her life as wife, mother and guiding light of her and husband Littleton Dennis Teackle's 19th-century home in Princess Anne this weekend. Actress Patsy Felthousen makes the neo- The Dally Times, On Times Square, 115 E.

Carroll St, Salisbury, Md. 21801-5421. You don't have to be a concert-quality singer, but you do have to be able to carry a tune to join the Salisbury Choral Society. They need singers sopranos, tenors and basses to perform the society's repertoire, which extends from liturgical to pop. President Karen Nichols said they are now gearing up for a Christmas concert.

The group is working on "Le Petit Noel," a French piece popular centuries ago but still sung today, and a medley of Irving Berlin songs. "We try to give audience-pleasing concerts and we try to educate In a subtle way," she said. "Good music lives." Ben Reavls, director of the music depart today," said Felthousen, who has appeared in theater projects in Georgetown, Williamsburg, and Washington, D.C. Old Princess Anne Days is a celebration of the "can be quite powerful," he said. Elzey worked at the Poplar Hill Pre-Release Unit near Quantlco as a counselor for 13 years.

In an Ironic twist last December, a drunken driver ''.) of 1 Food, entertainment and demonstrations of Colonial life begin Saturday at 10 a.m. and Sunday at noon. Festivities also include historic homes and gardens on tour. One home not to be missed is Melody Manor, said tour chairwoman Reglna Haffner. Tickets are $12 In advance and $15 at the tour.

Call (410) 543-2100. David Elzey Patsy Felthousen Colonial past..