Delmar DustPan

We went down to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge to ride the service road going north from the Wildlife Loop. Waterfowl week must be a big boost to the winter economy of Chincoteague as there was a ton of cars there. Mostly mid-atlantic state car tags but some from Maine and Utah etc. Of course with the number of military bases in the Norfolk area and the Navy at Chincoteague it could just be servicemen driving their cars with their home state tags. The wildlife loop was crowded with people taking photos.


Geese, not a big surprise, always impressive in mass.

The mandatory Pony Picture. My wife thinks the north herd is taller than the south herd.

Another Mandatory Pony picture

The park service "manage" the ponds by draining and filling them.

This is as far as they let you go. It was 5.7 miles from the wildlife loop

The mandatory Heron Photo

Marsh land

All in all it was a good trip. Gave us a change to legally go up the service road and look at things. Not that there is much differences on it from the rest of Assateague.

Check out Dick Dykes' post on being a Christmas Santa at the Salisbury Mall in the 1970's.

I was looking thru the Guide, Wednesday, and it looks like the number of advertisements for a concealed weapon permit is up. Altho there were only five in this issue of the Guide it seems to me six months ago there were only one or two in each issue. I don't know if the increase is due to the crime rate or the story Obama is going to restrict guns once he gets in office. Besides the cost of the handgun there is about another $400 paid out in training, application, and advertisements.

For those who may be interested this is the instructions for an APPLICATIONS FOR A LICENSE TO CARRY A CONCEALED DEADLY WEAPON. A place for the required training is JD Defense Carrying Concealed Deadly Weapon (CCDW) Permit Education.

Family and Company for Thanksgiving. Hope you all had a good one.

Well another Thanksgiving Day, a day in which the house will be filled with great food smells, family, fat daily newspapers with black Friday ads, and an excess of food that we will eat on for the next week. This is also one of those days in which family traditions clash in marriages. I am from a family that had their Thanksgiving dinner about two in the afternoon, my wife is from a family that had their Thanksgiving dinner about six in the evening. Needless to say we eat about six at night (almost bedtime for an old person). My wife and daughters gather in the kitchen; baking and cooking for most of the day. While cooking they are also tasting and munching. I on the other hand am given the role of fetch person, if we are out of something I go get it. It does leave me out of the food tasting and on Thanksgiving Day, that day of excess food, I almost starve until supper is served - pitiful isn't it? Not even a Hayman Sweet Potato tossed my way until night time. If it wasn't for my secret stash of Vienna Sausages and Beef Jerky and the new McDonalds in Delmar it could be a hard day for Howard. So ladies remember the male members of your family on Thanksgiving Day and feed them thru out the day.

On November 10th 1961 the pavilion was dedicated at the Middle stone marker of the Mason-Dixon Markers six and a half miles west of Delmar. The Shelter was erected as part of a joint project of the Maryland and Delaware chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution to protect the stones from weather erosion.

Delaware Governor Elbert N. Carvel and Maryland Senator, Mary L. Nock, spoke at the ceremonies. Governor Carvel, when speaking of the markers, said "There must have been some who did not agree with this but they abide by it, which is the way men must live if they are going to live by laws."

A tea was held afterward at Snethen Community Hall.

The current guard rails were added at later date.

They seem to be using the stones to toss coins on now.

Dear Lord,

There's a young man far from home,
called to serve his nation in time of war;
sent to defend our freedom
on some distant foreign shore.

We pray You keep him safe,
we pray You keep him strong,
we pray You send him safely home ...
for he's been away so long.

There's a young woman far from home,
serving her nation with pride.
Her step is strong, her step is sure,
there is courage in every stride.

We pray You keep her safe,
we pray You keep her strong,
we pray You send her safely home ...
for she's been away too long.

Bless those who await their safe return.
Bless those who mourn the lost.
Bless those who serve this country well,
no matter what the cost.


Author Unknown

The older members of my readers will immediately recognise this as being from the Turkey episode in the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati which aired on October 30, 1978. The plot of this episode was station owner Arthur Carlson, decides to stage his own promotion for Thanksgiving: dropping twenty-five live turkeys from a helicopter to unsuspecting shoppers below. His ace news director/reporter, Les Nessman, was at the mall where the turkey's were dropped doing the live broadcast and described it as: Oh my God, they're turkeys!! Johnny, can you get this? Oh, they're plunging to the earth right in front of our eyes! One just went through the windshield of a parked car! Oh, the humanity! The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement! Not since the Hindenburg tragedy has there been anything like this!". At the end of the show Carlson explains, "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

From the Milford Chronicle Nov 26, 1937

The annual Thanksgiving Day football game will be played between Delmar and Wicomico High at Gordy park in Salisbury at 2:30 P.M. Since the last game the two teams played ended in a scoreless tie, this game promises to be one of the most exciting of the year.

Some lazy people who couldn't search my blog for this two year old post asked me to repost it again


You Know You Are From Delmarva:

Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway.

You know several people who have hit a deer.

You've ridden the school bus for an hour each way.

You love the beach but hate the tourists.

You know about pumpkin-chunking and you have your favorite chunker.

You eat scrapple sandwiches and have a favorite brand of scrapple.

You have been to the Chicken Festival and seen the Giant Frying Pan.

You actually know what a "slick" dumpling is.

You see a car running in the parking lot at the store with no one in it no matter what time of the year.

You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

You leave your keys in the car and the next morning it's still there

You carry jumper cables in your car.

You only own 4 spices: salt, pepper, ketchup and Old Bay.

The "State Fair" in the Delaware State Fair.

You pick up all the free stuff at the State Fair.

You knew an extra in the movie "Runaway Bride"

You think the "Apple Scrapple Festival" is perfectly normal, except for all those granola-types running in the 5K race.

There is one hill in a 15 mile radius and you've been sledding on it.

You watch Christmas parades that mainly consist of Volunteer Fire department trucks.

The local paper covers national and international headlines on one page but requires 6 pages for sports.

You talk of Northern Delaware and the entire Eastern Seaboard as "above the canal".

You talk of people on the western shore of Maryland and Virginia as being "across the bay".

You know if another Delmarvian is from southern, middle or northern Delmarva as soon as they open their mouth.

You think everyone from a city has an accent.

Your child only need a GED to become Governor.

Your parents & grandparents refer to the street as "the shell road"

If one yard ornament looks good, then 15 looks even better.

You keep a deer bowhunting target in your yard in the off season as decoration

You don’t catch “Stripers”, you catch “Rock” Fish.

You have a tide chart somewhere

Belonging to AMSA means something...having a low tag number REALLY means something

The U.S. Coast Guard is regarded as the "cream of the crop" of the military

You not only know how to pick crabs but you also know how to catch them, cook them and tell the males from the females.

You have more than three recipes for crabcakes

You know a crab pot is both a trap and a kettle and you own both.

You've eaten muskrat at a church dinner but think it's better the way you fix it.

Your neighbor said his wife cooked "rats" for dinner, you know he is referring to Muskrats. (Good God, what kind of people do you think we are, we wouldn't eat real rats)

You can pronounce and spell "Pocomoke," "Mattaponi," "Accokeek," and "Havre de Grace"

You don't think that Assawoman Bay is a strange name for a body of water

You know perfectly well why Rehoboth is called "Little San Francisco".

You think Salisbury and Dover are big cities.

Your whole family lives within a 30 mile radius of your town

Every other person you meet is a 32nd cousin once removed.

You know where, what and when the Mummers Parade is held.

Your school classes were canceled because of 3 snowflakes.

The whole state panics and uses all of their road salt for those 3 snowflakes.

You load up on milk and bread before a snowstorm.

You can identify all the major types of manure by smell (especially chicken!)

You can tell the difference between the smells of septic and marsh.

If it takes more than an hour to drive to, you're not going.

You know how to do the Eastern Shore Macarena dance ( .. clap mosquito on arms..clap mosquito on legs... clap mosquito on back..)

You know who YouDee is.

When you walk you only lift your feet an eighth of an inch because the ground is so flat.

When you visit hilly areas off Delmarva you find yourself stumbling alot due the only lifting your feet an eighth of inch when you walk.

Someone you know has used a "Birddog and the RoadKings" schedule to plan their wedding date.

You aren't surprised to find rental movies, groceries, ammunition and bait all in the same store.

You know the difference between field corn and sweet corn when they are still on the stalk.

You can eat an ear of corn with no utensils in less than 20 seconds

You believe that the worst tomato on Delmarva is still better than any other tomato, anywhere.

In summer you have home-grown tomatoes with every meal

Speed limits are just suggestions. You don’t have to go that fast.

You believe that using a turn signal is a sign of weakness

Speeding consists of 2 miles over the speed limit.

You know the worst drivers are from new Jersey.

When the Government started telling people to stock up on duck tape, you were waaaaaaaaaay ahead of them.

You've broken down on the highway and somebody stops to help you.

At least one member of your family does or has worked in a chicken plant.

You never work for some one, you “help them out".

The highest paid person you know works for the government.

You call people from Baltimore, “Baltimorons’.

You remember the "Oaks drive In”

You have taken a date to the town dump to shoot rats.

Most people you know have a nickname.

You have pee’d in a corn field.

There is still time to participate in the Delmar Christmas Parade. The deadline to file your applications for the Christmas Parade is Fri. Nov. 28th. and the Christmas Parade itself is Saturday Dec. 6th with a start time of 2 p. m.

Applications for participation in the parade are available by calling the Chamber's voicemail at 302-846-3336 (leave name, address and phone #).

In November of 1961 Civil Defense Director, Ralph Good, told the Delmar Democratic Club that there should be little fear of fallout from the recent Atomic testing in Russia, as it has produced no measurable amount of radiation in Delmar. He said Civil Defense officials take a reading at least twice a week in the Delmar area. He also stated Delmar had one of the better organized Civil defense units in Delaware. In his talk to the club he advocated family fallout shelters and suggested using the basement of the old movie theatre as a Civil Defense Command center. He also stated he has gotten no cooperation on this matter from the Mayor and Council regarding the command center.

My wife works an ever changing schedule so she keeps her work schedule on the our communication center (the refrigerator door). Just to remind her I am retired I put my work schedule under her's .

Salisbury Soapbox has a good post on sending Christmas Cards to military men at Walter Reed Hospital.

Picked up from This Day in Delaware History Nov 26;

1943 Blair Ellis of Laurel was one of 2,000 soldiers aboard the ship HMT Rohna when it was sunk in the Mediterranean. With the loss of half the troops, including Ellis, the report was withheld from the public for over 50 years!.

These facts were compiled by historian Roger Martin and brought to you by the Delaware Public Archives.

For those who may not shop on Black Friday but wants to take a short trip for a once a year event;

From the Saturday before Thanksgiving to the Sunday after Thanksgiving, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge celebrates the marvel of migration. For the entire nine days of Waterfowl Week, the Wildlife Loop will be open to vehicular traffic from 9 am to dusk. Private vehicles will also be permitted to drive the Service Road from noon to 3:30 pm from Thanksgiving to the Sunday after. A variety of guided walks and auditorium programs will also be offered during this time. For information, call (757) 336-6122.

This is a great chance to see the Virginia side of Assateague from your car instead of hiking to the Maryland/ Virginia state Line.

The Joint Council meeting was held tonight. My usual disclaimer is I am not part of the council and what I write is my personal views, not the minutes, of the meetings. It is also just the parts I want to comment on or write about. If you want to know the real story go to the meeting.

Robert O. Thompson was sworn in as a Delaware councilman tonight. Glen Payne was sworn in at the beginning of the month.

A brief presentation of the beginning work for the Maryland Comprehensive Plan was made by Davis, Bowen and Friedel. They are designing a survey to send out to residents of both sides of town to solicit input on the plan.

Marlena Hodgins made the comment that she is recommending no growth for the town if Wicomico County doesn't enlarge the school. Half the school is in prefabs.

Carrie Williams talked about the Parks & Recreations Council; the lack of meetings, the need for more involvement from the town to take a lead on the commission, the need for parks areas on the Delaware side of town and the need for a Recreation building for young and old residents.

Mayor Outten appointed Glen Payne to the Parks & Recreations Council and the Revitalization Committee.

Mayor Outten appointed Robert Thompson to the Utility Commission.

Mayor Outten said the Delaware side had decided to go to a separate monthly Delaware Meeting with a possible joint meeting also. Much discussion was made on this. Carl Anderton seemed most disturbed by this. It was finally decided to to have a separate Delaware meeting, a separate Maryland meeting and a joint meeting.




The police Report mention the camera in State street Park had identified someone who vandalized some picnic tables.

Revitalization Committee; again some arguing over some emails concerning the 150th anniversary of the founding of Delmar, is it a full moon tonight? There will be a historical play at the school on September 23 and 24th titled "A Date in Delmar"

The Town Manager said if there were any problems in town over the holidays the standby Public works number is 443-359-0894.

The Delmar Utility Meeting was held tonight. All were present except for the one unfilled position. Among the items discussed;

The new Backup well; The original permit from DNREC allowed us to drill a 205' well with a 50' screen. The day the well was being drilled DNREC showed up and said we could only put a 20' screen on the well. The result is we are having increased iron in the water of the backup well, given we have spent $120,000 on the backup well we are discussing this problem with DNREC.

The filter media in the water treatment plant needs to be replaced at about $150,000.

We hope to put the bid out for the BNR project soon. With the failing economy the construction companies we are hiring are able to concentrate on doing the job they bid on as opposed to starting it and running off working on another project. As the saying goes "it's an ill wind that blows no one any good."

Work is continuing on the Urban Service agreement with Wicomico County regarding Woodlawn and sewer service. Three lots in Woodlawn have requested annexation.

Mrs Thelma Leonard Garrett, owner

A couple weeks back Bill Duvall of the "Duvafiles" blog said he was going to stop blogging. I waited a while before this making this post as you are never sure what he was going to do but since the blog has been deleted I guess he was serious about it. Bill Duvall was one of the first bloggers in the area. As is typical of bloggers he frequently created a controversy but I always enjoyed his writings. He set an example for us all and he will be missed from the blogging world. Farewell Mr. Duvall.

I always love a good treasure hunt story and today in 1971 D. B. Cooper gave us one. A person who gave his name as Dan B. Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft and held it, 36 passengers and the crew for a ransom of $200,000 and four parachutes. The ransom was paid in unmarked $20 bills and Cooper supposedly parachuted from the plane over Oregon. No trace of him has since been found.

Part of the $200,000 was found in February 1980 by eight-year-old Brian Ingram. He found three bundles of decaying $20 bills that totaled $5,880 on the banks of the Columbia River.

On the travel channel of the top ten lost treasures, D B Cooper came up as number one. A movie was made of the crime. Much money has been put out in searching for the remaining money. With all that effort I assume the money belongs to the finder as opposed to being returned to the government. Frankly after 37 years lying on a forest floor or in the river I would expect for it to have long since decayed.

I was looking at the blog Reflections on Delmarva's Past and saw he made reference to another blog called Road to Compromise. Road to Compromise is a historical blog, of sorts, about school integration in Cecil County. Now school integration on Delmarva even fifty years later is something that gets people excited. I had often thought about writing about school integration myself but there is just to much to write about. In Delaware in 1954 Milford High school was integrated and there were riots and boycotts. Each school on Delmarva had their own set of issues when integration came.

Reflections on Delmarva past also has a number of posts on Delmarva Police Chiefs and Sheriffs. The most recent one is about Chief Jesse Carmine in Crisfield.

from the Journal Every Evening (Wilmington News Journal) November 21, 1934

The two masted schooner "Hannah and Ida" from Elizabeth City, North Carolina loaded with lumber bound for Philadelphia crashed into the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. bridge over the canal, west of St. Georges, scraping off both masts and breaking off the bowsprit, Monday afternoon.

H. A. Vaughan Tflugk, captain of the vessel had his right leg and his right arm injured by the falling masts. When it appeared inevitable that the boat would strike the bridge the captain's wife, Mrs Anna Tflugk, jumped overboard and escaped injury. The only other person on the boat, a Negro, also escaped injury.

The schooner was proceeding from Chesapeake City and was being pushed by a power launch. As the boat approached the bridge the whistle was blown for the bridge to be raised. About that time a southbound passenger train was approaching and the bridge operator signalled to the schooner to stop. The tide was with the schooner and the crew of the "Hannah and Ida" was unable to stop the vessel with the result that it crashed into the bridge a few moments after the passenger train passed over.

The canal patrol boat was notified by wireless and within a short time arrived and Captain Tflugk was taken on board and taken to St. Georges, where he received medical attention. The schooner was towed about a mile east of the bridge this morning after being removed from the channel last night and is now tied up for repairs.

From the Bi-State Weekly November 11, 1949

Paul L. Hastings, Seaman First Class who is aboard the USS Coral Sea, arrived in Norfolk, Va., September 26th, after a long cruise where he visited the French Riviera, anchored in Cannes, France. He also visited Nice, shopped in Riviera and Grasse, France's perfume center.

Hastings entered the Naval service June 4, 1947, received his recruit training at Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Ill.

Before entering the Navy he attended Delmar High school.

He has been visiting his brother, Clyde, North Second St., and is the son of Mrs. Martha Wilkerson, Selbyville, Dela.

Another Photo from Dick Dykes. This is a team sponsored by the Salisbury Elks in the early 1950's. Dick's father; Richard W. Dykes is on the far right front row and the man to his left is Gordon adkins. Richard Dykes was inducted into the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame back in 1985 for Manager.

A photo sent to me by Dick Dykes. The non-players in the photo from left to right are; Richard W. Dykes (far left), Henry Parker (Middle) and Donald Bowden (right End). He made the guess it was in the late 1940's.