Delmar DustPan

October 2nd, Tuesday, at 10 AM Sussex County Council Meeting
October 3rd, Wednesday, at 8PM the Parks and Recs Committee meets at Town hall. This is your chance to have an input on basketball, skateboarding, little league, or just general comments on our parks.

A Special Person receiving special attention from a Delaware State Trooper

On a near perfect afternoon, I drove over to Denton to visit the Denton Wesleyan Camp Grounds. This is a church camp similar to Carey's camp, but larger. In 2008, it will celebrate it's 110th anniversary.

I spoke with Pastor Bruce Lecates and he said the camp is made up of about 90 cottages and 15 other buildings (Dorms, dinning hall, bath/shower rooms,tabernacle, snack buildings, picnic pavilion etc).

This is a row of cottages. The cottages are classic camp architecture. They could be found at Church Camp or any older lake side resort. They range from single level block cottages with two rooms, to two story cottages with four to six rooms.

Another row of cottages. The cottages are individually owned. This is a very quiet serene camp. The cottages are the type that were owned by your grandfather and have been passed down to you over time and you will pass it on to your grandchildren. It is the type of place where you can let your children run around with out being worried about them.

Another row of cottages. I think all the cottages have electric, most have some form of plumbing and for those that don't there are bath houses.

More Cottages. I find this style of small buildings to be fascinating. It reminds me of the motels from the 1940's and 1950's that had small cottages instead of rooms. This style can be found not only at Church Camps but also at so many older resort areas. Most have been torn down. It is also a style I have found on the Virginia Eastern shore and defunct camp grounds being used as permanent houses.

Bruce and Susan Smart showed me around the camp and their cottage. This is a photo of the living room. They have a classic 4 room cottage. Kitchen/eating area and living room downstairs and two sleeping areas upstairs.

The Museum and Archives for Denton Camp. It looks like this could be a good source for family tree research.

Snack Shop down on "main" street. If you don't want to eat at the snack shop, or cook in your cottage you can buy a meal plan and eat in the dinning hall. The dining hall (Crowder Center) can handle about 350 people. They rent it out for wedding and other events.

Another row of small cottages. The actual camp meeting takes place about the same time as Carey's Camp, from July 25th to August 3rd. Thru the year they will rent the "Public" buildings (dinning hall, dorms, meeting halls, etc) to other church groups (such as the Mennonites) to use. Thru the summer there are also Teen Camps and Kid camps and retreats. It happens that this weekend there was a Gospel concert going on. They had about 800 people to it last night and expected more tonight. At a price of $5.00 a ticket it is a cheap night out to listen to professional nationally known singing groups.

A view of the fishing Pond and Wesleyan Retirement Center. Next to this also is the Wesleyan School. I can not help think that with the Campground, Retirement Center and School these facilities must have a significant economic impact on Denton.

Denton Wesleyan Camp is part of the Chesapeake District of the Wesleyan Church

The address is; 424 E. Wesley Circle, Denton, Maryland
It is just off Camp Road in Denton.

Denton also has a large 4H camp facility at the opposite end of town on Detour Road.

I stopped by the water plant yesterday. I went to introduce myself to the new public works clerk but found she locks herself in the public works building so you can't get in. I found Bob Windsor, public works foreman, who showed me around the water treatment plant. The water treatment plant was built about 1999.

This is the Well 2A building. Well 2A is 205 feet deep which puts it in the Manokin Aquifer. It can pump 1,000 GPM.

This is the Well 3A building.

This is inside the building, looking at Well 3A. Not much to see huh? Well 3A is 143 feet deep, which puts it in the Columbia aquifer. This well can draw 750 GPM. Our line item in the annual budget for electric to run all the pumps etc is $45,000.

The water after being pumped from the wells enter a holding tank and is than fed to an aerator type device that will remove carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, hydrogen sulfide, etc. All of which can create odor and taste problems.

Bob Windsor in front of the ferrosand filters.

The water will leave the aerator and chlorine gas will be mixed with it. The chlorine will act as a disinfection to the water. It will than enter the ferrosand filters.

These ferrosand filtration systems have layers of gravel, ferrosand and other mediums to remove iron and maganese from our water. They are by Hungerford and Terry. They are 108 inch diameter automatic vertical catalytic ferrsand filters rated at 60,000 GPH.


Once the water is filtered it is mixed with fluoride and phosphate. In the annual budget there is $4,000 for chemicals.

This is the fluoride mixing station. We use sodium fluoride to put fluoride in the water. You can go to My water Fluoride to learn about fluoride and Delmar fluoride system. In this room is also a phosphate mixer to add phosphate to the water for corrosion control on our pipes.


Bob taking a sample of water after it has gone through the filters. In the 2008 annual budget there is $2,000 for lab testing. The standards for the quality of town water is much stricter than for bottled water. The town has to answer to the Federal government (EPA), State of Delaware and the State of Maryland, whereas most bottle water producers just answer to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). So if you had a good drink of water today send Bob an email at wtp.delmar@verizon.net and tell him thanks.

The water after it has mixed with the fluoride and phosphates is than pumped to the water storage tanks. The North water tank is a single pedestal elevated storage tank that holds 250,000 gallons (at 8.33 pounds a gallon that is over 2 million pounds up there). The tank is about 125 feet in height and when full the water level elevation is 119.5 feet above ground level.The south water tank holds 300,000 gallons. The pressure maintained by the weight of the water forces the water through the water mains to our houses. The water pressure is normally about 45 pounds. Altho the water is treated and clear when it leaves the water tower after running a number of miles thru some of our older water mains it will pick up some iron. Part of the town's budget will be used in a reasonable fashion to replace those older mains.

The North water tower was built in 1999 by Brown Steel construction (Caldwell Tanks). The cost was $700,000 and funding was provided by USDA Rural Development with a split of Delaware 41% and Maryland 59%.

For additional information on water or Delmar water system go to Delaware Water Resources Center

or Office of Drinking Water

This article is from the September 29th, 1944 Bi-State Weekly newspaper in Delmar. The reasons given hold true for today.

TEN GOOD REASONS FOR JOINING P.T.A.

You may have a son or daughter or perhaps you are a teacher, with many children in your charge. Or maybe you’re just a citizen, someone who knows that this world will someday need new leaders – leaders who must be recruited from among the youngsters down the block and others like them. Whichever you are, there’s a place for you in the P.T.A. and a reason – many reasons- why you should be occupying that place right now. Somewhere in this list you’ll find the reasons that fit your own particular cases.

1. In time of war, so many old-time basic values are in danger of being forgotten that it takes everything that every one of us can do to prevent our overlooking them. The P.T.A. stands guard over just such values.

2. Children needs won’t wait. It doesn’t take long to grow up. And growing up under unwholesome or undesirable conditions means tragedy to the child and loss to the nation. The P.T.A. helps to prevent both.

3. Many heads are better than one. In the parent-teacher association all members pool their thinking in a common cause.

4. We must do something about the increase in juvenile delinquency, the day care of war workers’ children and more than a dozen other pressing problems. Through the P.T.A. you can contribute your share in these very necessary activities.

5. We want our boys and girls to grow into responsible adults. It’s a good idea to let them see responsible adults from their own homes working together in the P.T.A. Remember that it is far easier to teach by example than by precept.

6. This world needs to learn exactly what democracy is all about, needs to see it in action at close range,. Where better than in the P.T.A., one of the most democratic organizations in America?

7. We know more about training children than we used to, and it makes a difference in our way of handling them. The P.T.A. brings you the latest and best information on child training.

8. We need a balance wheel for our war activities, some means of keeping our sense of proportion when the all out war effort seems to obscure everything else. The P.T.A. is grand at helping its members to put first things first.

9. We want to do something practical to help win the war, so that we can go back to normal living. Nothing in the world is more essential than working for the welfare of childhood and youth, so that when the war is won, we shall have a fine, sturdy generation to carry on.

10. Most of us have a more or less urgent desire to do something to make the world a little bit better. In the P.T.A. we begin to feel that we can do something in this direction. Making the world better by rearing a better generation of children is the goal of the P.T.A.

Mrs Albert Hastings,
Membership Chairman.

On September 29th 1982 12 year old Mary Kellerman would become the first of 7 victim of cyanide laced Tylenol. Johnson and Johnson would issue the first major recall of a drug by taking Tylenol off the shelves. We would all be reminded of these murders by the tamper proof bottles that are now on all over the counter drugs. A good description of this is at All About The Tylenol Murders. The perpetrator was never caught.

As a reminder the town will be flushing the water distribution lines byway of the fire hydrants tonight, beginning at 9 PM and will probably go to 3 AM. Periodically flushing is required to clear up sediment, etc that are in the water distribution lines. You should check your water before washing just to see if rust or iron ended up in your water from the flush.

I had hoped to put in another bottle tree this summer but did not get around to it, instead I planted an Anheuser bush. Now with this hot dry weather we have had this summer most of my garden is dead, but this Anheuser bush just thrives in that kind of weather. Every time I look, it has sprouted another bloom.

On today's TV news and newspapers was a discussion about a study for rewarding overweight people with money if they lose weight. Now altho it pertained to private business that is a typical government philosophy. Reward the people who created their own problem and give nothing to the people who have attempted to live a conservative lifestyle. In this study, overweight people received between $14 to $7 for each pound they lost. The "normal" weight people received nothing. Now, I am someone who is grossly overweight, I know how I got there and I am not blaming anyone but myself. I do not expect a handout to correct a problem I created. This "rewards for creating your own problems" can easily be related to the current housing market where those people who were conservative and stayed in their income level on housing will watch the government bail out people who should have never received a home loan to begin with (actually they will be bailing out developers, builders and banks). Those same conservative people who also saved their money are watching the interest rates go down again. The government, in this case federal government, has no clear ideal what it wants to do. It sends conflicting messages out everyday.

Of the places I worked at over the years ConDiesel in Salisbury had the best workers program for healthy living. They were given a budget each year by their corporate office (that the plant could not cut or use any other way) for a health program that fostered a healthy living style. That said, the local Condiesel plant, I also think looked the other way on drugs as they found they could get a higher percentage of work done if an employee was on drugs, but that is just my opinion on that.

I made a post about a year ago about the problem of possible back flow or back siphonage action with your outside faucet. When I was in the north Salisbury Wal mart today I noticed in the garden section they had anti siphon devices reduced to two dollars. Now that is pretty cheap protection against back siphonage and the risk of contaminating your home plumbing with detergent or pool chemicals. Like I said before it is a small tube like thing that just screws on your outside faucet and when the water pressure goes off on the house side of the faucet it closes and prevents any siphon action from your garden hose.

Today is Emily's birthday. Happy birthday Emily!!!

The Delmar Election for mayor and two commissioners is like some kind of a secret thing. We know since Mayor Niblett is the one who filed for the Mayor spot he is a shoo in.

I understand the results from Tuesday primary election were;
Marlena Hodgins received 38 votes
Commissioner Luther Hitchens received 35 votes
Reginald Lizotte received 35 votes
Chris Pittas received 36 votes.

Commissioner Joan Tisinger only received 29 votes and was eliminated from the race.

So does that mean 173 people voted in this election? Again I can only say if you have 50 sure votes you can be elected to any office in Delmar. The lack of voting is almost like a plea for a cult to move into town and take over. I do understand this election was made more special by the lack of notification to the people.
UpDATE: I have been told that only 52 people voted. They were suppose to pick four people to vote for. The voting booth was at town hall. I understand there are 1089 register Delmar Maryland voters. Why wasn't the town website used to post more information on this?

The actual Delmar Maryland election date is November 20th.

Any of those candidates who might want to post a statement on why they should be elected should feel free to do so on this blog. You can post it as a comment to this post or email me your statement at delmardustpan@comcast.net and I will post it as a separate post.

Keith D'Armi of D'Armi Tree Service came by today and removed a dead Silver Maple I had in the back yard. Over the winter it had died and since part of it stuck out over our little swimming pool we have been expecting it to crash into the pool.

Keith uses low tech tree removal, no cherry picker to ride up in the tree. He just throws ropes up into the limbs and climb up with a chain saw and removes it. If you have a crowded yard this works well as you don't have to make room for equipment.

I have used Keith D'Armi a number of times over the years on the trees in my yard and I have always been pleased with his work.

The man can climb like a hunted possum.

This is like out on a limb.

Chipping away

The remains of the tree. I was too cheap to pay him to remove the stump I figured I could send my wife out with an axe to remove it.

Anyway, I can recommend D'Armi Tree Service to anyone who might need a tree trimmed or removed. His Phone number is 410-546-1342. He lives and works in Delmar, he just has a Salisbury number from a time when he has an office in Salisbury.

The Delmar Joint Council was held tonight at 7 PM at Town Hall. Mayor Outten and Councilman Figgs were missing.

Again, let me say this is just a summary of some items and my opinion of them. If you want to know what really happens at these meetings you should attend.

There was a joint resolution by both Towns to declare that Halloween would be one night and that night would be October 31st. The hours will be between 6 to 8 PM and limit to children under 12 years of age.

I don't know if Mayor Outten's feeling were hurt by my comments about his reading ability last month but he didn't show up tonight to read the resolutions for the proposed annexed properties on the East side of town. The resolutions were read by that great orator, or is it oracle, Vice Mayor Houlihan who kept the audience spellbound and on the edge of their seats thru out the readings. On October 29th will be the second reading, so if you have any complains about it you should be there, but it is a done deal as we all know.

The State of Maryland/Wicomico County is requiring the town to do a new Comprehensive plan. When Sharptown had theirs done the low bid was $32,500, so Delmar Maryland can figure on a higher amount than Sharptown. It is so complicated that towns are pretty much required to hire a consultant to do it for them.

There was an issue with a resident on the Maryland side who has recently planted trees/bushes on their property line and altho it does not create a driving hazard yet it may when they are fully grown. The Town cited him for it. He came to Town Hall and gave the Town manager a list, with photos, of other property in town that was just as bad or worst and said not to cite him until the town took care of the other properties.

The road cuts on Old Stage Road were discussed and the fact they are not maintained. The Town manager said she drove out there and did not see the problem Diane Buckley was talking about. Diane Buckley said she would drive her out and show her. The Town manager asked if it would be at Diane Buckley usual driving speed.

As you may recall Sam Lennox purchased four portable basketball goals for the park. One of them has finally been assembled and put in the park. The Wicomico County Parks and Recreations inspector looked at it and said to remove it as it was a goal for home use not public park use. The Inspector also said the rims on the current basketball goals were unsafe and should be replaced. There followed a discussion about how much the town did not want the basketball stuff anyway and how the Parks and Recs survey was not done properly.

There was a discussion on Mayor and commissioners/councilman salaries. They decided to raise the Delaware elected officials salary so the Mayor would make $2,300 a year, The Vice Mayor would make $2,000 a year and the councilman would make $1,700 a year. This way the Delaware elected officials would make as much as the Maryland elected officials (Why didn't they just lower the Maryland side of Town salaries if they wanted to keep them the same?). This will take effect after the next election.

Parks and Recs - Commissioner Carrie Williams would like for everyone to attend the Parks and Recs meeting. With so many people on the Little League and baseball there has not been enough people to hold a meeting. A wider selection of people need to be active in Parks and Recs. The meetings are the first Wednesday of the month in Town hall.

Police business - the Police auction of confiscated cars and bikes will be held October 27th at 10 AM Saturday.

Delmar Revitalization Committee will hold a downtown festival on November 10th from 9 to 2. Pennsylvania Ave will be closed off.

Fire department -The dedication of the fireman memorial will be October 7th starting at 1 Pm.

Public works - Fire Hydrant Flushing will start at 9 PM this Friday night

Comments; Councilman Mary Lee Pase and Councilman Buckley expressed that the two building lots that a developer was trying to put houses on were considered unbuildable when he bought them and should remain so.

Public works has hired a part time clerk. She will be at the public works office and the phone will be answered by her. Any complains about public works related problems can be called into 302-846-3696.

The town manager has received numerous complains on the Maryland election and the lateness of the Town Newsletter. As usual the town removed them self from the problem by saying it was advertised in the "Daily Times" and the Newsletter was not the official source of information.

Councilperson Diane Buckley thanked the town for getting a new clock that was large enough and clear enough for her to read. She also said she did not get a town newsletter and again asked to be put on the list to get one.

Councilperson Mary Lee Pase said she had discussions with the town Red Hat Club and they wanted to do some work in the State Street Park. Ms Pase was concerned about the number of teenagers who were hanging out in the park. She said they do need a place and activities to do but hanging out on the playground equipment was not it.

Commissioner Tisinger asked about the signs at the produce stand on RT 13. The Town manager said the letter sent to them to remove the signs, etc gave them 30 days which wasn't up until October 1st. Joan Tisinger also wants a recycling program.

Commissioner Hitchens said vote for him in the election.

Public Comments;
Chris Harr said he was new to how the town government worked and asked a number of questions about the workings of it. One question asked was about the lateness of the newsletter. He had heard it was held up by one of the elected officials and wanted to know why and by whom. Commissioner Carl Anderton said it was him and he had a problem with the tone and wording of the FOP statement in the newsletter, that caused the lateness of the letter.

The women of woodcreek, who always attend the meeting, said they knew nothing about the people who were running for office in this Maryland election and how could they find out about them.

The Delmar Utility Commission met tonight at 6:30. all members except Lori Dewald were present.

Among the items discussed was the water main to the Delmar Diner. It has been installed,pressure tested, water samples analyzed, and was accepted as of September 13th in the distribution system. It has a one year warranty from the contractor who installed it, Alvin Schrock.

The engineers are working on timetables for the new well.

The Aydelotte property which was discussed in the last Planning and Zoning meeting, where the owners wants to rezone and eventually subdivide the one lot into four building lots, has hit an additional problem. The Town well is next to this property and part of the Delaware Wellhead protection program rules is construction can not be done within 150 foot of the well. The wellhead Protection Program is also generally discussed in the Delmar comprehensive plan and Delmar resolution #1997-5. About half of the Aydelotte property would be disqualified from development. The town has in the past asked Mrs Aydelotte for a price on this land so the Town could buy it but has received no reply.

The Town Manager and Delaware Mayor will be going to Dover with Tidewater Utilities Officials to discuss House bill 30 . House Bill 30 expressly prohibits the application and/or injection of wastewater or treated wastewater or disposal of biosolids and/or sludge from sewage treatment facilities. The new wastewater treatment plant under discussion for the East side of Delmar Delaware had plan to use spray irrigation to remove the treated water. Two years ago the State of Delaware was encouraging us to us this form of removal now they are preventing it.

Originally it was a simple idea to use a private Utility company to service the expanded area east of town. There seem to be more issues coming of it than we had thought and I am beginning to think it is like climbing in bed with the devil.

This is possibly the first and last flogging that occurred in Wicomico County. It should be pointed out that before Wicomico County became Wicomico County and was part of Worcester and Somerset counties floggings had occurred.

September 24, 1931 WICOMICO NEWS, Salisbury Maryland

HUSBAND IS FLOGGED FOR BEATING WIFE
Sheriff Phillips Administers 30 Lashes To Clarence Bell on Order of Court

Whipping Executed in Corridor of Jail

Accused of assaulting Mother Of His Four Children;Penalty Never Before Invoke Here

Clarence Bell, 40-year-old carpenter, paid the penalty under the lash Friday morning, for beating his wife, Priscilla Bell, the mother of his four children.

Invoking an age old law, Judge Joseph L. Bailey in Circuit Court Thursday afternoon sentenced Bell to receive thirty lashes and Sheriff Phillips was instructed to execute the court’s order before noon Friday.

The flogging was executed at 8:55 on the second floor corridor of the jail. Judge Bailey interpreted the law to mean that the whipping should not be administered in public.

A crowd of some 300 people had gathered in the jail yard, believing the penalty would be exacted there. The flogging was over in approximately three minutes and the throng outside the prison dispersed. Many of them had come in from the county to attend the day’s court session.

Not a sound issued from Bell’s lips as the thirty lashes fell across his shoulders, nor did he speak as he was led back to his cell by the officers.

Ball sat on a bench in the corridor nervously smoking a cigarette as he watched Sheriff Phillips and deputies make preparations for the flogging. The nervousness was the only sign of emotion visible to spectators during the ordeal.

The prisoner’s wrists were handcuffed to the steel bars on the door of the dungeon. He had been instructed by the Sheriff Phillips to remove his outer shirt, leaving an undershirt to cover only a small part of his back.

Bell stood outside the locked cell door, Sheriff Phillips, whip in hand took a position to the prisoner’s left. Bell’s face was not visible to the spectators.

The solid wooden doors to the cells on either side of the corridor were closed, denying the thirty inmates a view of the scene being enacted a few feet away. Not a voice or a sound was heard from behind the doors.

Sheriff Phillips and a spectator counted the lashes as they were given. Several times Bell winced as more red welts appeared on the exposed portions of the flesh.

Three Whips; about one-half inch in diameter at the largest end, were used. Each lasted ten lashes.

Among the spectators witnessing the flogging were; State’s Attorney Levin C. Bailey, who prosecuted Bell, Deputy Sheriff, newspapermen, and Herman Phillips, brother of the Sheriff.

In passing sentence Judge Bailey imposed a penalty as old as the Maryland colony, but never before executed in Wicomico County. Old Maryland laws permitted flogging of both sexes for a variety of criminal offenses.

Ancient court records at Princess Anne describes the execution of such a penalty by the Sheriff several times dating the sitting of the court.

The sentence surprised the crowded court room, including State’s Attorney Bailey. A hush fell upon the room as Judge Bailey concluded a lengthy lecture directed at Bell with “This is something that you will remember for 30 years, if you live that long.”

Having no precedent to follow Sheriff Phillips sought information concerning the practice of Delaware authorities where the whipping post is frequently brought into usage. He was informed that the cat o nine tails has been abolished and three switches were used, a new one for each ten lashes.

Some thirty such switches were collected and stripped of leaves and branches. From this collection Sheriff Phillips selected the larger ones.

Mrs Bell testified Thursday her husband took her from her home on July 16, forced her into his automobile and after driving into a woods outside the city severely beat her about the head and body.

For a fortnight she was confined to her bed, critically ill from the wounds. Bell was indicted by the grand jury and pleaded guilty to the allegations.

To a charge of assaulting Sarah Lecates, his mother-in-law who endeavored to intercede for her daughter Bell entered a plea of not guilty. He was convicted by the court, however and sentenced to pay a fine of $20.

On a charge of driving an automobile while intoxicated he likewise pleaded guilty and fined $100 to stand committed to jail until the fines were paid.

Judge Robt. F. Duer was on the bench with Judge Bailey when sentenced was pronounced.

September 24 Monday 6:00 PM Delmar Public Works
September 24 Monday 6:30 PM Delmar Utility Commission
September 24 Monday 7:00 PM Delmar Joint Council

September 25 Tuesday 10:00 AM Sussex county Council
September 25 Tuesday 7:30 Maryland Board of zoning appeals

September 27 Thursday 6:00 PM Sussex County Planning and Zoning

AN ALLEGED FORGERY
September 23, 1875 The Daily Gazette, a Wilmington Paper

A West Chester man was robbed of a check on which his endorsement is Forged.

An alleged forgery has come to light in Maryland in which the First National Bank of West Chester is interested in the particulars of which the Local News relates as follows:

During the first day of the Agricultural Fair held in our borough, a man named Washington Eastbourne, residing at Russelville, this county, came to West Chester and negotiated a loan with Messrs. Pyle & Brown, bankers for the sum of $180, he receiving a check on the First National Bank for this amount. He did not draw the money, and while here it appears, he made the acquaintance of a very pleasant gentleman, who was endeavoring to operate among the people attending the exhibition in the way of selling some sort of a patient right. Eastbourne and this gentleman who was very childlike and bland, he became quite intimate, and on Tuesday, it is said they left our borough together and betook themselves to Wilmington Delaware. In that city they drank together and got more or less intoxicated and Eastbourne on Tuesday night took lodging in a wagon standing in one of the hotel yards. On the following morning he awoke to find his hat and traveling companion both missing and upon investigating the interior of his pocketbook, the check was also found to be missing and he at once suspected his newly found friend as being the thief.

It appears that the stranger after quitting Wilmington went to Delmar, a place near Maryland line and stopped at a hotel kept by a man named Hodgson and with whom he settled his hotel charges by passing over the check, after first endorsing it in the name of “Washington Eastbunn” – Subsequently the check was endorsed by Mr. Hodgson and given to Adams Express Company for collection, and by the company it was also endorsed and presented to the First national Bank of west Chester, and the money paid to the company.

On the day following Eastbourne advised Messrs Pyle & Brown, of this place of his loss and requested them to stop payment, and the being then in the Express Company’s hands they were forthwith advised by their agent at West Chester to return it or hold it until further orders.

The stranger, who gave his name as Washington Eastbunn, was afterwards arrested at Crisfield, Md. In regard to the check he said:
“I won the check in Wilmington from Washington “Eastbourne’ at a gambling table and brought it down to Delmar and there transferred it to Mr. Hodgson by putting my name on the back of it, which is Washington Eastbunn. I have a right to put my name on anything, the bank cashier should have noticed the spelling.” Eastbunn, as he calls himself but which is not his name, is a tremendous man in size, being greatly over six feet high, he says he was fifteen years a sailor and three years on the police force in the 8th ward in New York City.
He showed the magistrate how he wrote the name “Eastbourne” and his writing was an excellent specimen of beautiful pensmanship.

The bank cashier went down to Delmar, Tuesday in company with Washington Eastbourne to be present at the hearing.

The theft being committed in Delaware an effort will be made to have the trail take place at New Castle instead of in Maryland, that place being the choice of those interested.




In 1859 Kendall B. Hearn built a Hotel in Delmar. After he died it changed hands a number of times with one of the owners being Richard Hodgson. The Hotel burn in the great Fire of 1892.

So where is the fishing tournament? I drove by the Holiday Inn in Delmar and saw these big dollar fishing boats parked there.

I guess they could be passing thru but at least they are bringing some bucks to Delmar.

With the size of those engines it doesn't look like they are fishing Trap pond.

I was out riding in the suburbs of Delmar today (Bacon Switch, Little Acres, Laurel) and stopped by the Country Porch to browse

For those who may not know about The Country Porch it is a Country decor and collectibles store on Dorothy Road. It is run by Eva Malone. The sign is easily seen from Route 13.

She is open now but she is planning a Grand Opening on Saturday, September 29th.

So stop by when you are looking at those country and craft stores around Delmar. Even if you don't buy anything you are bound to have a pleasant conversation with Eva. The phone number is 302-875-3200. The address is 10813 Dorothy Road, Laurel, DE 19956.

Praise in the Park took place today at State Street Park.

Some times when church orientated events happens there is a fear that the only people who will attend is Church members, but I thought "Praise in the Park" was very well attended by the public at large. There was even a fender bender on State street next to the park to add additional excitement.

Prayer, free hot dogs and free Pepsi in the pavilion, what more could you ask for?

Mary cooking Hot dogs

The Fab Four knocking out some tunes

Delmar High School has started off on a great football season. Wayne Barrall, who has Fire in the Hole, also has some great photographs posted on his other website. At his site click on which game you want to see photos of.

Sept 22 1944 The Bi State Weekly

VETERAN OF THREE PACIFIC BATTLES HITCH HIKES HOME

J. Edward Jones, S-2c, a veteran of three major engagements in the Pacific landed from the war in San Francisco and hitch-hiked all the way to Delmar “just for the fun of it”.

He is a son of Mrs Myra H. Jones and the late Jacob A. Jones, and is a member of the deck crew on an amphibious troop transport.

Jones, who is 17 years old, helped to land one of the first contingents of marines on the first day of battle for Saipan.

“The battle was plenty rough”, he said, ‘and even though the Jap planes did come over every night about dark there was plenty of opposition from the marines after they had captured the air field on Saipan.

“You needn’t worry about our ship as she is plenty tough and she can take it. She is the best ship in the Navy and has the best officers.

“With all the bad times I’ve had.” Seaman Jones said, “the good times overbalance them and I will take sea duty any time to shore duty.”

He took part in two invasions of the Marshalls since going on foreign duty last February. He enlisted at Salisbury last October and took basic training at Bainbridge.

He arrived at his mother’s home in Delmar, Sept. 7 at 6;30 a. m. after leaving Long Beach, Calif. Sept. 3 at noon. He said he had no trouble getting rides. ‘People were very kind to me.”

In St. Louis, Mo. He got a ride with two U. S. Marshals as far as Hagerstown, Md.

Belize, once known as British Honduras (until 1973), is the only official English-speaking country in Central America. Belize has had numerous disagreement with Guatemala which claims the country. The disputes still are not settled and on some Guatemala maps Belize is shown as the 23rd province of Guatemala.

Belize lies on the eastern coastline of Central America, bordered on the north by Mexico, on the west and south by Guatemala, and on the east by the Caribbean Sea. It is separated by sea from its neighbor to the southwest, Honduras.

Belize is larger than Delaware with approximately 8,866 square miles as opposed to Delaware's 2,044 square miles (less at high tide). The mainland is approximately 180 miles long and up to 68 miles wide.

Belize celebrates it 26th year on Independence today. Belize Throws a party

The Town of Delmar Planning and Zoning Committee met tonight. The members, Ed Ferro, William Boyan, Carl Anderton, Michael Houlihan, Joe Dixon, and Stan Benson were all present.

Among some of the items discussed were;

The Irvin Aydelotte property in the vicinity of the water plant wants to be rezoned to residential. It currently is light industrial. They want to develop four building lots once it is rezoned. A discussion pursued as to rather First street actually extended onto the property. There was some thought that if the street did not exist the developer would have to pay for the street. If the street did exist the town would have to pay to put in the street. The issued was tabled until more investigation could be done.

Fred Hudson, I think I have his name right, of the Heron Pond Development (South side of RT54, East of Town) showed the committee plans for the Duplex homes that would be on the property. He said the houses would be by Fort Maier Homes. Fort Maier currently is working on a development in Cambridge called Pintail Landing. Since the code does not specifiably address duplexes and the height was under 35 foot the committee gave their approval to the design for the Ridgley Model Duplex and the Ridgley Deluxe Model Duplex. The developer also said there would be a tree buffer, of existing trees, that would hide the duplexes from the view of their Delaware neighbors.

Bob Eaton and Danny Maszera, of the Pheasant Lake Development on the southwest side of Delmar Maryland, made their presentation and said they fulfilled the conditions the P&Z committee put forth last month. The Committee gave final Plat approval and final engineering approval to Pheasent Lake in a 5 to 1 vote. Carl Anderton was the one voting against the project as he would like a playground put in the development and as he pointed out the streets are the same width as WoodCreek. The Maryland attorney Bob Benson and Pheasant Lake attorney Bob Eaton both pointed out there is no longer a requirement for these approvals to be sent to the Mayor and Commission. This committee's approval is the final say in the matter.

As a reminder, the Delmar Christian Center will hold Praise In The Park at State Street Park in Delmar, Delaware this Saturday from 11 AM to 2 PM.

Free Food, CD and DVD

The Schedule is;
11:00 Illuminate Drama Team
11:20 Delmar Christian Center Praise Team
11:40 Mike Brown Singer/Songwriter
12:00 Illuminate Drama Team
12:20 Delmar Christian Center Praise Team
12:40 Mike Brown Singer/Songwriter
1:00 Illuminate Drama Team
1:20 Delmar Christian Center Praise Team
1:40 Mike Brown Singer/Songwriter

East of Laurel, on Trussum Pond Road is a pleasant, established, mobile home park called Briarwood Manor. It is made up of about 100 homes and it appears to be a well kept up mobile home park. It is surrounded by Sussex County farm land with additional mobile homes on the land plus Sandy Ridge development.

Yesterday in the Daily Times was an article on it regarding the high nitrate levels coming from the well at the park. The well is in the center of the park, next to the playground. The mobile homes are hooked to septic systems and across the street is a sod farm. In addition, in the past, there were chicken houses next to the park.

The Delaware Public Health Department advised people in the park not to drink the water if they are pregnant or nursing or younger than six months. In August the Health department placed them on their Drinking Water Alert Briarwood. This put them and Laurel Tastee Freez on the same alert notice for Nitrates


Briarwood Manor is owned by Mobile Gardens, LLC in Seaford and the water well is run by K. C. Burnham and associates of Pittsford, NY.

I happen to be taking a Water Treatment course at Del Tech so last night we discussed this problem at Briarwood. The problem has been going on for 10 to 15 years. The Park owners have driven a new 400' well only to discover the water from that well had other problems and was unusable. They have added technical equipment such as a nitrate remover. It is simply a bad area for water. I think the combination of a concentrated number of septic tanks at the mobile home park, the old chicken houses, the sod farm and the general runoff from the farms in the area all combine into making it a high nitrate area. The current tack the park is taking is to do away with the septic tanks and install a community septic system.

The Delaware Health department drinking water Alerts for 2007 are here the drawback to them is they do not give an address on the alert so unless you are familiar with the business you don't know where they are located.

For those who may be interested in the real estate development in town, there is a Delmar Planning and Zoning meeting tonight at 7 PM, at town hall.

An excellent fall dish. I came across this recipe Possum while looking for a good possum recipe. I was always wondering what to do with those leftover possums. It is from the blog Baboon Pirates. He sounds like he would fit in to Delmarva society very well.

It must be the weekend for church fall festivals. King's United Methodist Church out on Gordy road is having their Fall Festival, Saturday September 22nd, 10 AM till 3 PM.

They will have;
A petting zoo
Barrel Train rides
Antique Fire equipment
Homemade Ice cream
Oyster sandwiches
Homemade soup
Etc.

Happy days are here again, the Sports Nut bar, run by Jim and Mary Daley, has reopened.

It was shut down for renovation for about three months. It does look good now! It is bright and it sparkles.

Mary is behind the bar. They will return to serving food on October 1st. They are still making a few last minutes touch ups.

The hours are Monday thru Saturday 9 AM to 1 AM and on Sunday 11 AM to 11 PM.

The Phone number is 302-846-2970.
Stop by and visit, after all it is Delmar's neighborhood bar.

Today in Chile it is Independence Day. See Dieciocho

Some dumb ass was busy with a spray can. I guess this will take some taxpayer resources to clean it up.

A night of Astronomy Education and Exploration

The Pittsville Branch of the Wicomico Public Library together with Jerry Truitt, President of Delmarva Stargazers will be hosting "A Night of Astronomy Education and Exploration" on Friday September 21, 2007 at 6:00pm, Mr. Truitt will be presenting an Introduction to Astronomy, followed by a view of the night sky through telescopes. Presentations will be held outside. This event is free and open to all ages.

Refreshments courtesy of Dunkin Donuts will be served. We will also feature a prize raffle, free giveaways, and more.

Bring your family, friends and a lawn chair and enjoy "A night of Astronomy Education and Exploration."

The Pittsville Branch of The Wicomico Public Library is located on the grounds of the Pittsville School in Pittsville Maryland.

For more information call 410-835-2353 or visit us online at Wicomico County Library or contact:


Kerry O'Donnell
Library Assistant
Pittsville Branch
Wicomico Public Library
7370 School Lane
Pittsville, MD 21850
410-835-2353

I have written before about the apathy in Delmar; one, vote and second to run for elected office. It is interesting that in Delmar, Maryland the current Mayor is the only person to file for that position in the upcoming election. In Dover there are nine people that have filed to run for the Mayor position there. I am glad to see for the two Delmar Maryland commissioners positions that five people have filed for them.

I picked this up from "This Day in Delaware History":
1787 As Delaware's representatives, George Read, John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Gunning Bedford, Jr., and Jacob Broom signed the new US Constitution in Philadelphia.

The byline on this information is; "Today's facts were compiled by historian Roger Martin and brought to you by the Delaware Public Archives. Visit Delaware Public Archives and discover what DPA has to offer!"

It is of course Constitution Week.

I stopped off for gas today and while filling my van about 10 bikers came in. I thought at first I was surrounded by the Pagans but when they got off theirs bikes and all went hobbling to the men's room they were taken off their helmets and all you saw was gray hair or no hair. Yep, it was the Old Farts On Bikes. I guess they had taken short and were in need of a men's room as I didn't see them buying gas. It reminded me of a commercial I have recently seen where it shows bikers than wraps into a Depends adult diaper commercial.

Camp meetings have been a unique tradition on Delmarva for over two hundred years. It is still a tradition, but on a more limited scale today. At one time there was a Camp Meeting in every town on Delmarva. Rehoboth Beach, Delmar, Laurel, Seaford, Bridgeville all had Camp Meetings. People would come, set up tents, built a tabernacle of brush and branches and stay for a week or two. I have often thought it gave people an excuse to have a little pleasure under the umbrella of being religious. Most of the sites have disappeared and I have no ideal where they were.

Camp meetings time was more than a religious gathering it was a social event. The camps came at a time without automobiles, television or computers and people made their own amusements. The main reason for camp meeting time was of course religion but courting rituals went on, horses were raced, people talked politics, there was a whole lot of gossip, and occasionally out of sight they drank a little liquor.

CAREY’S Camp

Carey’s Camp is perhaps the best known camp meeting, simply because it is near and still active. Carey's camp is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and its first camp meeting was in 1888. Since it is one of the few active camp meeting places left on Delmarva I am sure many of you have been to it. I drove by a couple of days ago and took some pictures that are posted below. It is of course closed until next camp meeting time.

The physical camp has 47 cabins that circle the tabernacle structure. It has its camp at the end of July thru the first part of August. This certainly is the hottest part of the summer on Delmarva. Maybe the ideal was to make you think you were close to hell and would convert more easily. With no air conditioning, certainly sweat figures heavily in the camp meeting. While one group may be in the tabernacle listening to the sermon or singing, another group, usually younger, is in constant motion walking around the camp circle kicking up dust to settle on your sweat covered sinner of a body. It has been years since I have been to a Carey’s Camp meeting. I think the last time I was there the
Dixie Melody Boys sang, I notice on the agenda for this past session they also sang.



Before the permanent tabernacle they had brush shelters. A covering of brush and branches would be supported by poles and the sides were open. Each year it had to reconstructed. The tabernacle floor was and is covered in sawdust and wood shavings each year.

The original tents have been replaced by cabins or cottages. There are 47 of them.

When the camp was first held people had to bring their own supplies, so live chickens, fresh produce and cows for milk all shared the space with the people.






Backside of Cabins showing ventilation.

After Labor day when school has started up and some of the tourist have gone home I have always enjoyed going to the beach. Well just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Delaware Pride (a gay event) and Delmarva Bike Week happens I guess it will be a few more days before I return to beach.

For those who may not know, today is Delaware Pride festival in Rehoboth Beach. It is a gay event. The Gay community has been around Rehoboth since the 1940's. In spite of the rain I am sure Poodle Beach and Indecision Point will be active today.

For those who may be driving and are blind there are a multitude of bikes on the roads as this is Delmarva Bike Week in Ocean City.

Now tell me those two events don't go together.

September 15th must be the most frequently occuring Independence Day. In our Hemisphere the following Central America countries celebrate Independence Day today; Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

Tomorrow, Mexico celebrates "El Grito" Mexican Independence Day on September 16th. Bells will ring in all the plaza all over Mexico. September is "Mes de la Patria" - The month of our nation.

Sept 15, 1875 The Daily Gazette

BURNING OF AN OLD MONITOR

THE AMPHITRITE TO BE BURNED ON THE JERSEY SHORE

In August 1874, the monitor Amphitrite was sent to the yard of the Harlan & Hollingworth Company in this City (Wilmington) to be broken up. The Amphitrite was built in one of the New England States during the late war, and was what is known as a “wooden monitor” the hull being built of wood, though heavily plated with iron.

After the arrival of the vessel at the H & H Co’s yard, the turrets, engines and boilers were removed, and the hull stripped of it's iron coating.

The government authorities then decided to burn the hull in order to preserve for other use the great amount of brass bolts, braces and valuable iron workings which it contained. Three clerks were sent on to have this decision carried into effect, and on last Saturday the work begun, under the superintendence of Capt. Kelley, of this city.

On that day the remains of the vessel were towed across the Delaware river to the Jersey shore, a short distance above Pennsgrove. It has since been hauled high upon the beach so as to get it out of the track of passing vessels, and to prevent the bolts and bars from being lost in the water when they drop from the burning wood. The hull was thoroughly saturated with coal oil, fifty or sixty barrels being used, and filled with shavings and sawdust.

The match will be applied sometime today, or this evening. At first the conflagration will be very large, and visible for miles around. It will be more than two weeks before the smoldering embers will be entirely consumed.

A new monitor is being built at the H & H Co.’s yard to replace the one to be burned on which the turrets, engine, boilers and some of the plating of the old monitor Amphitrite will be used.

Staples has always been a convenient and cheap place for me to make copies. They have several self service copiers there and charge 7 cents for a black and white copy. I could race in and be back out in five minutes or so depending on how slow the cashier was. I went in yesterday only to find the self serve copy machines have a credit card hookup on them so you have to use a credit card or go buy a credit card to use on the machine. Far to complicated for me. My copy charges are usually under a dollar, I can't imagine using a credit card for that. So so long Staples, I am sure the absent of my 70 or 80 cent copy bill won't hurt you but you also won't have me browsing the store before I go out for any impulse buying.

I understand no one filed to run against Mayor Niblett for the Mayor position but there are five people running for the two commissioners slots. Luther Hitchens and Joan tisinger both filed to run for their current position, plus Marla Hodgins, Chris Pittas and Reginald Lizotte have filed to run for those two positions. There will be an election September 25th. Not very far away is it?

I was shocked today to read in the Daily Times that some people think the new Somerset County Warden may have gotten the job not on merit but because he was one of the "good old boys". To think that something like that could occur on Delmarva. Of course I was shocked to when it was announced Liberace was homosexual - who would have thought? I am sure Trimper Amusements in Worcester County received the tax break on merit alone. I won't even talk about the crap that goes on in Wicomico County. In the News Journal they are reporting that Sherry Freebury and Tom Gordon were only given a small fine for their alleged criminal use of New Castle County resources. Of course nothing happened to Ruth Fallis for stealing a million dollars. Could those people too be part of the "good old boys" network? Is Sussex and Kent Counties the only fairly run counties on Delmarva?

William Walker was born in Nashville Tennessee on May 8 in 1824, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a MD at the age of 19; He was a doctor, lawyer, writer, adventurer, and President of Nicaragua. He was dead at 36, shot by a Honduran firing squad on September 12, 1860. He is buried in the Cementerio Viejo in the coastal town of Trujillo.


William Walker was a filibuster, (from the Spanish word filibustero meaning pirate). Filibusters were irregular military adventures who lead unauthorized military expedition into a foreign country to create revolution. Obviously America has used these people in that capacity for a long time as it continues to do so today.

When he was only 29 years of age, Walker and a small army sailed into Baja California and Walker declared himself president of Lower California. After a brief reign Walker was forced out and surrendered to U.S. authorities on the grounds of violation to U.S. neutrality laws.

Three years later in 1856 Walker took over Nicaragua with a force of 58 men (His force was referred to as “The Immortals") and had himself elected President. His goal in Nicaragua was the constructing of a trans-isthmus canal there. He wanted to create a sea-route across Nicaragua that could be used by Easterners transporting gold from California, and saw Nicaragua’s San Juan River as the ideal base for this.

By 1857 he had upset the political power sufficiently in the area to have the Costa Rica army attacked his band of men and forced him out of the county. A great Costa Rica story is how on April 11th, 1857, Walker’s forces had barricaded themselves into a farmhouse from which they refused to leave or be dislodged. According to popular legend, Juan Santa Maria, a lowly drummer-boy from Alajuela, ran up and torched the roof of the house, dying in a hail of bullets, but forcing Walker’s retreat and ensuring Costa Rica’s victory. Juan Santa Maria is now recognized as a national hero, the victory is celebrated every year and Costa Rica’s International Airport is named after the boy.

With his forces defeated he was rescued by the US Navy. He was taken to New York City where he was greeted as hero. He attempted to take over Nicaragua once again in 1857 only to be defeated and imprisoned. He spent three years in jail and on his release tried to capture a Honduran custom house. This eventually was the cause of the firing squad that ended his life.

Sometime manufacturers and packaging people forget and make their product very difficult to open. I recently unpacked a Hewlett Packard (HP) printer and saw the multiple strips of tape they had on the printer were folded on one end so it was easier to grasp and remove. Clever and thoughtful ideal.

Longwood gardens has a nice model train display. There are some photos posted below of it. It had about six men fussing around the setup, I guess they were afraid someone would touch it.

I think these model trains are refered to as G-scale size.

I read, I think in the News Journal, this display was created by Paul Busse.




On the way home I encountered rain south of Dover. Not enough to wet a board. Naturally none in Delmar

I went to the Delmarva Antique Bottle Show this morning.

I arrived about 10 AM and already the parking lot had a large number of cars in it. Inside there were more people than I wanted to see.

Bottles, Bottles , Bottles plus jugs etc. The prices surprised me. Five years ago you could have purchased a decent bottle for $10, now the same bottle is going for $35. What was a reasonable hobby is now pricing itself out of the market. Oh well if you go digging I guess your finds are still free.

A milk jug from Hollybrook Milk company

A Salisbury liquor jug

I am interested in Maryland Rye Whiskey bottles. It amazes me how many distilleries there were. Delaware, in 1875, had over 130 peach distilleries, yet you rarely fine a bottle from them.

When I was growing up my family lived in rented houses. Sometimes I think we moved every 6 months. One place we lived at in the 1950's had a large junk pile in the back that was filled with cone top beer cans. Notice the price on this one, if I only had the vision to save some of them (my mother would have killed me for keeping beer cans).

I thought the cicadas had their fling back in 2004 and were now back in the ground for another 17 years, but my mother's yard has these pupal casing (like above) scattered all across her yard, plus the small holes where they come out of the ground.

Fire in the Hole has good pictures of the Delmar Maryland fire on Brick Row yesterday.

Happy Birthday to my Sister in Law, Mollie. Mollie turns 49 today!!! She is from Baltimore so she has endured all our jokes about Baltimore for a number of years now. In those years we have even begun to understand her accent. Does that make us bilingual?

As a reminder to the Maryland side of town you have an election coming up to elect a Mayor and two Commissioners. If you want to put your name on the slate to run for these offices you have to file by Sept 10th (Monday). Now is a good time for the Woodcreek Development to register a full slate of candidates and control the Maryland side of town or for the people who live by the Basketball courts to control that side of town.

I believe to file a Certificate of Candidacy for the offices it is the standard requirements of being 1) a resident of the United States 2) A resident of the State of Maryland for one year prior to the election 3) A resident of the Town of Delmar for at least six months preceding the town election 4) Be at least 18 years of age on the day of the election 5) be a qualified voter of the town of Delmar. You can only file for one office at a time.

Remember it is every citizens duty to run for an elected position at least once. Give poor old Mayor Niblett a break, maybe after the 20 or so years in the office he would like to get out of it and all he needs is for someone to file for the Mayor's job. Likewise for Commissioners Luther Hitchens and Joan Tisinger.

To be eligible to vote in this upcoming election, persons must be at least 18 years of age, reside in the State of Maryland and be a resident in the Town of Delmar for at least 30 days and must register at Town Hall. Deadline for registration is Tuesday, November 13th at 4:30 p.m.
UPDATE: Some information I posted earlier was incorrect. The Town manager pointed my errors (Thanks) and I have corrected them. The above information should be correct.

From the Bistate weekly September 6, 1940

CHICKEN THIEVES ACTIVE IN THIS SECTION

Chicken thieves were active in this section last Friday night when they stole chickens from three farmers living near Delmar according to Constable J. Roland LeCates of Delmar who is cooperating with Officer John Blizzard of the Delaware State police in investigating the thefts. LeCates reported that 22 chickens were taken from the farm of William Yeadt about 1 mile west of Delmar. the hen house of Wm. Price west of Delmar was broken into and stole 16 chickens, all Price owned and the third place raided was Frank M. Lynch where 12 chickens were taken. The Lynch farm is about two miles northeast of Delmar.

All three of the thefts were reported early Saturday morning and altho an immediate investigation was started no clues as to the identity of the thieves has been undercover, LeCates stated. Lynch reported that his dog was heard to bark around three AM but he did not investigate until day light when he discovered the loss.

The Officers are of the opinion that all three thefts were carried out by the same party. This is the first time chicken thieves have raided this vicinity in over four years.

Try as I may to say something good about T S Smith in Bridgeville I just can not. The people that work there are unfriendly and usually act like they have their head up their ass. Unless you are looking for apples the produce they sell is nothing better than you can get elsewhere, cheaper, and from people who aren't talking to someone else when you are checking out. Not just today but just about every time I have been in it is the same.

This time of years there are all these great yellow widflowers growing on the ditch banks.

Today in Deal Island at 9:30 AM the Commercial Oyster Fleet Skipjack race will start. Now I have always been impressed by the Skipjacks, actually all wooden boats, but unless you are out on the water on a Skipjack I have found the race to be a boring affair. Nevertheless, it should be a big day on Deal Island and you should go at least once in your life. For a schedule go to Deal Island Chance Lion Club
A site about the Rebecca T. Ruark


The Skipjack races also gives me an opportunity to mention that right here in Delmar we have the first ever Miss Skipjack Beauty Queen. Yes, in 1962 Brenda Bordey Morris was given that honor.

Bucks Store - one of the wonders of Somerset county Maryland

This information is picked up from the Delaware Public Archives "This Day in Delaware History"


Today in 1785
The Irish ship, "The Faithful Steward," sank in a storm south of Bethany Beach. Only 68 of its 249 passengers survived, and for decades coins washed up on what is known today as Coin Beach.


Today in 2004
Long a Seaford landmark, the fifty year old "Cock and Bull Tavern" at the corner of Route 13 and Concord Road was razed to make room for a new convenience store.

From "The Morning Herald" Wilmington, Delaware September 2, 1875

The Life-saving station at Henlopen and Rehoboth.

There are to be established by the Government two life saving station houses, on the Delaware Ocean coast, one about a half mile south of Cape Henlopen and one on Rehoboth Beach near Indian River.

The necessity for such stations on our coast has long been felt and it will be a source of pleasure for Delawareans to hear of this prospective fulfillment. The breakwater does probably more good to commerce than any natural or artificial harbor on the U. S. ocean boundary, but even this providence cannot answer a complete purpose. The wrecking on the Sussex coast has been going on since Hendrick Hudson sailed into our bay and the mouth of our beautiful South river. The famous race of wreckers that have lived for many years, from the Breakwater down, are generally kind-hearted and active enough, but their assistance is rendered so irregularly and is frequently inefficient. Some settled plan of procedure is needed, and this the government proposes to have. The management of the stations, the mode relieving wrecked vessels, &c., are directed by official regulations.

There was an interesting article in the Daily Times and a number of other
Newspapers a few days ago. The articles were interesting more from the briefness and what they didn’t say.

Dianne Pearce, director of Chesapeake Wildlife sanctuary Inc. pleaded guilty to misusing funds and improper record-keeping. She was given, by Judge Thomas Groton of Worcester County Circuit Court, a one year suspended sentence and five year probation. She also will pay back $116,000 in restitution. Notice; no jail time.

Dianne Pearce was an advertising executive and turned to saving animals in the 1980’s. Eventually she ran Chesapeake Wildlife Sanctuary. She is well connected with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and other Maryland State agencies. There has even been bills passed in the State legislative giving her money. She or her organization have been in the news for washing oil smeared ducks off etc. She also has had a number of legal problems that seem to stem from not turning in paper work supporting her charitable trust status and taking money or property and not fulfilling the terms or intend for that money.

In October 2004, a judge in Anne Arundel County revoked Chesapeake Wildlife's nonprofit status in Maryland for failing to submit records. The organization maintains its federal nonprofit status, according to an affidavit submitted by Pearce's attorney

2003, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources warned Dianne Pearce that she had failed to submit documentation under the terms of her permit to rehabilitate wildlife. She never applied for another permit; Chesapeake Wildlife's animal sanctuary in Bowie ceased operations years ago.

Aspen Hill Pet Memorial Park was turned over to the Chesapeake Wildlife Sanctuary to run. The person, Dorothy M. Shapiro, who gave the money to buy Aspen Pet cemetery ended up suing alleges the wildlife organization violated covenants and restrictions. The judge found against Chesapeake Wildlife Sanctuary.

Chesapeake Wildlife Sanctuary and Pearce were ordered in October by an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge to stop soliciting charitable donations in the state until the sanctuary files delinquent annual reports for fiscal years 1997 through 2002.

What is lacking in the Daily Times article and court case is no one actually said she stole the money. The Attorney General seem very careful in the way he worded the charge Could it be we have another Ruth Fallis who said “my husband is very well connected, so I'll never go to jail." Perhaps Dianne Pearce is so well connected in Maryland she will never go to jail.

UPDATE: Dianne Pearce has left a comment regarding this post and it provides some insights I was not aware of when i wrote the original post.

One of the children who grew up in our neighborhood, Kennetha (Rae) Samuelson enlisted in the Army a couple of weeks ago. She is currently going through basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. She graduated from Delmar High School about 4 years ago. We all wish her the best.

From the BiState Weekly September 1, 1944

Aviation Cadet Emerson C. Holloway, son of Mrs Lorraine Holloway of Delmar, recently completed his primary flight training at Moton field, Tuskagee Institue, Ala. and has been assigned to the Tuskagee Army Air Field where he will begin basic flight training. He attended Maryland State Teachers College, Bowie, MD from 1936 through 1939. His brother, A. James Holloway, is serving in the Pacific theatre of operation.