June
17, 2008
Delaware flag stamp unveiled
By JAMES MERRIWEATHER
The News Journal
DOVER — The U.S. Postal Service marked Flag Day 2008 by announcing a three-year series of stamps called “Flags of Our Nation,” and, owing to its spot in the alphabetical pecking order, an image of Delaware’s flag was one of 10 issued Saturday to get the ball rolling.
On
Tuesday, postal representatives were in Dover, as well as eight other
state capitals, to celebrate the issuance of the series.
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner hosted a ceremony that included U.S. Rep. Mike
Castle, R-Del., Kent County Levy Court Vice President Allan F. Angel,
D-Dover, and Dover Mayor Carleton E. Carey Sr.
The first 10 flags – including Stars and Stripes, the national flag – now
are available at post offices, by visiting
www.usps.com or by calling (800) STAMP-24. A second group of stamps
will be issued in September and the process will be repeated over the
following two years until flags from all 50 states, the District of
Columbia and five U.S. territories are in circulation.
Ray Daiutolo Sr., a postal service spokesman, said the series was inspired
by the popularity of stamps bearing images of the U.S. flag, which are
featured on an ongoing basis.
“It’s part of our commemorative stamp program in which we issue stamps to
show what makes our country special and unique,” Daiutolo said. “The Stars
and Stripes is very popular, and this is a way of spreading that around.”
The flags were designed by Tom Engeman, a former Brunswick, Md., resident
who, according to Daiutolo and Minner, now lives in Bethany Beach. Besides
images of the flags, the stamps include “snapshot views” of items
particular to the various jurisdictions. In Delaare’s case, a depiction of
a beach scene is featured.
Noting that the postal service handles 212 billion pieces of mail each
year, Minner described the stamp issuance as “a great tourism campaign.”
“We are very proud and fortunate to be among the first 10 stamps to be
launched in this collection,” Minner said. “Of course, it does make sense
– we are the First State. And I can’t think of a better way to showcase
the beauty of our state.”
In a statement, Castle praised “Flags of Our Nation” as an educational
tool on par with his own 50 State Quarters Program.
“Flags are a great symbol of our nation, representing unity of Americans
and pride in our states,” he said.
“This initiative will not only serve as something for collectors but also
as a means to teach about the history of Delaware and every other state as
new stamps are released over the next three years.”
Minner noted that Engeman also designed the National World War II Memorial
stamp, which was issued in 2004, and a stamp featuring the Liberty Bell
released three years later.
“It is no wonder that with an artist from Bethany, our flag is flying on
the beach,” Minner said.
Design Director, Dwight Smith,
artist, Designer, Sculptor, Journalist, Educator designs kinetic artwork for
HypnArtic Artwork.
They provide
high-end, yard and garden wind sculptures. Each wind sculpture's movement
has been designed to provide a relaxing, hypnotic environment. HypnArtic Artwork
partners with multiple artists throughout the United States who provide a
continuing flow of unique wind sculptures. If interested in learning
more or owning some of Dwight's creations, contact Dwight at
DwightS@Hypnarticartwork.com
Top memories: "David Porter and Becky slept UNDER the opened-out couch. A huge ashtray fell on his chest. Steve Bruni and I slept in his car down at the Beach. Gil slept in his car and complained (he had locked his keys in the trunk). I think a lot of people slept on the floor or in their cars. Did anyone even bother to think of a sleeping bag? Geeeesh, how did we do it? And no one has any pictures - too bad. It was fun though wasn't it?. And we were soooo young then!
Thanks for the memory."
Peggi Mitten
Granogue, Cathy Rollins Debutante Party, The Four Tops, Count Basie and some Inventive Gate Crashers:
Drew Stuart: "Wasn’t this Rollins gig the same night we graduated from BHS? For some reason that sticks in my mind. All I remember (and that isn’t much considering we were pretty well plastered) was walking through a field of parked cars and coming upon the stage area from behind. Then lifting the canvas and seeing all the equipment, and suddenly, music! Inhibitions must have been checked, because we simply got up on the stage and I actually remember the Four Tops enjoying our dancing with them. I have no idea how long we were there or what happened next. It was surreal. Over the years I’ve recounted the story many times, and I think about it whenever I get the Motown urge. The other Motown memory was Steve, Jack, Gil and I going to see the Temptations at the Nixon Theater in West Philly the day before we were to leave for college. The only white folks in the audience! If I’m correct in my dates that would mean we started and ended our summer of ’67 with Motown! The other society page stuff I remember are parties at the Soda House. We were plastered then, too. But when weren’t we? Regards, guys!"
Norm Lack: "I once went to a debutant party at Granogue (1969 or 70) and there was a duPont family of 4 (mom, dad, son and daughter) living there. They had lots of room. The famous crashing was at Cathy Rollins’s deb party. I knew her pretty well because she was dating Nick Ellis, who is a good friend and was a roommate in college. The reason for crashing was The Four Tops. Deb parties are a dime a dozen but the Four Tops played so this was serious business. I remember seeing someone on the way in, I think it was Bruni, out in the parking area and I thought he was pretending to park cars, I don’t think I saw the others until the Four Tops started playing. Most of the young people moved up on the dance floor right in front of the band. Keep in mind they had Count Basie for the parents in another area. The band started playing and the crowd went nuts clapping and yelling. I looked around and there they were right up front; it was great, all of us from Brandywine right up front on the dance floor, inches from the band."
Class of '67'ers Mike and BJ
Houser, Susan and Bruce Kingshill, Marilyn Monson Nimtz and Kevin Donohue
gathered at Buckley's in Greenville April 19, '08 to discuss the latest classmate comings
and goings. Bruce and Susan were up from Waynesville, NC visiting his
mom, Chiquita who still lives in Fairfax. Marilyn looked none the
worse for wear even though she has been working non-stop getting the new
Francine's Community Marketplace in Hockessin open for business. BJ
Houser, much to everyone's delight, looked fit as a fiddle after some
medical issues had put her out of commission during our big 40th last OCT.
Bruce, Susan and Kevin inspected the downed tree behind the Class of '67
memorial marker at BHS (we plan on planting a new tree and landscaping with
flowers) and for good measure, discovered a pretty good cheese steak place
in the Independence Mall on Concord Pike in the process. A nostalgic
drive out to the old Merchandise Mart on Gov. Printz Blvd proved that time,
urban blight, shifting demographics and changed shopping habits had not been
kind to the once popular commercial area, which to our great disappointment,
pretty much resembled a moonscape.
Spring Lakes Par-Three Golf
Course Found on Google Satellite Map!
From
Old Wilmington.net. Google view of where Lynthwaite's once was on the Concord Pike.
"Lynthwaite's Ice Cream See Map had TWO locations. The first location was on the west side of Concord Pike. The west side is the side that the Chuck Wagon is on - if you know where that is. The SECOND location, 4725 Concord Pike, was on the east side of Concord Pike - the side where the Concord Mall is. The second location would have been between Double Tree and the Concord Pike Village. I would guess that the two locations were across from each other and maybe 200 yards apart. The Chuck Wagon side was where the farm was. The exact location is NOT recognizable - it is not there. It may be the mound of dirt between the two places mentioned. If you are in the area of Mitchell's in Fairfax, every year they put old photos in their windows. One shows the second and last location of Lynthwaite's. The building is alone - nothing else is near it. There are no survey markers to point it out - you just have to visualize it"
Lynthwaite's Homage From Old Wilmington.net - http://oldwilmington.net/oldwilmington/lynthwaite's.html
Almost 50 years ago (1958), a
Wilmington first amendment controversy surrounded the Edgemoor Art Theatre's efforts to show “And
God Created Woman” (tame cinema fare by today’s standards) starring
Bridget Bardot. The Edgemoor Theatre was managed by Mr. Daniel Cudone.
The Cudone family lived on Shipley Rd behind Steve Bruni and had three children; Dan Jr., Bobby, and Christine, all attended BHS. Mr. Cudone died in ’74 at the age of 59. Click here to open a pfd attachment and scroll to “The Price of Art” story by Irving Morris.
March 21, 2008 The deactivated aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy is on its way to a storage yard in Philadelphia – but it won't enter the Delaware Bay until about 9 tonight, officials said. That means the vessel may not pass through northern Delaware until
dawn on Saturday.
Webmaster note: The USS JFK, CVN 67 "Big John" is the aircraft carrier I made my tailhook landing on off the coast of Jacksonville, FL a few years ago. |
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DELAWARE BACKSTORY March 18, 2008
DuPont shaped good legs For a brief and shining moment, the women of Wilmington were the fashion envy of the world. They had nylons. And nobody else did. Anywhere. Nearly 70 years and millions of legs ago, the first 4,000 pairs of nylons were sold at six Wilmington shops. Cheaper and less apt to run than silk, the garter-style hose sold out in three hours. Nylon was created by DuPont Co. shortly after the company ended more than a century of making gunpowder by the Brandywine River. The mill site, now the Hag- ley Museum, closed in 1921. Five years later, DuPont director Charles M.A. Stine championed a shift to molecular research, leading to scientist Wallace H. Carothers' creation of "Fiber 66," later dubbed nylon, in 1935. The first filaments, an infinity loop of white threads, are preserved -- like the first nylon stocking -- in the museum near Greenville. Nylon's development is documented there in detail rarely found in industrial history because executive Charles Rutledge kept elaborate scrapbooks on all DuPont textiles, Archivist Ben Blake said. "It's the single best collection on the early history of nylon," he said. For detail, the filaments' label cites their manufacture as Dec. 12, 1935, at approximately 12:50 p.m., on Position 2 of Spinning Machine No. 1. Nylon's advent was announced in The New York Herald Tribune on Oct. 27, 1938, touted three days later by a full-page DuPont Co. ad. Like the museum's DuPont Science & Discovery exhibit, the scrapbooks show nylon's first use was not for legs, but mouths. "Toothbrush bristles were the first things made of nylon," said Hagley Museum spokeswoman Meg Dickhart. The first nylon stocking, kept in Hagley's Hall of Records, was thick and nubby. A few Du Pont wives wore refined samples before the first nylons went on sale -- at Braunsteins, Arthurs, Bird-Speakman, Fisher's, Kennard's and Crosby & Hill -- to around-the-block lines on Oct. 24, 1939. "They started in Wilmington, then DuPont took nylons to the World's Fair and San Francisco Expo almost simultaneously in 1939," Blake said. The nylons' national launch on May 15, 1940, sold nearly 4 million pairs in four days. Seaford, the production site, became "The Nylon Capital of the World." Reference Archivist Marjorie G. McNinch said her favorite nylon photo shows World War II pin-up Betty Grable removing her stockings to be auctioned for war bonds. Stocking production stopped as nylon joined the war effort in products from parachutes to sutures. Postwar, production of nylon stockings resumed -- and boomed. But they nearly weren't called nylons. The scrapbooks detail brainstorming on what to call "Fiber 66." Scientists toyed with creator Carothers' name and "KLIS" or "silk" spelled backward. Another idea was "Duprooh," for "DuPont pulls rabbit out of hat." For the fiber's durability, a scientist suggested "no-run." Another switched vowels to "nu-ron." Brainstorming led to "nulon," "nillon," "neelon" and "nilon" with the "I" tried as both long and short vowel.
They liked "nilon"
with the long "I", so they changed the "I" to a "Y" to ensure it was
pronounced that way and the rest was history, Dickhart said. "But those aren't all the names they tried," she said. "For awhile, they thought of calling nylons 'Delawear.' " Du Pont Co.'s invention of nylon stockings caused a fashion revolution after their debut in Delaware. Above, actress Marie Wilson, whose leg was cast for this 1950 Hollywood advertising sculpture, is hoisted skyward for a comparison. The first public sale of nylons caused quite frenzy at Braunstein's department store in Wilmington on Oct. 24, 1939. Five other shops shared DuPont's first 4,000 pairs. Nationally, women went wild for the silk-like stockings, which went on sale May 15, 1940.
Stockings weren't the first product made of nylon to be rolled out to the public. This is a Saturday Evening Post advertisement for toothbrushes with nylon bristles from Oct. 29, 1938.
Betty Grable removes her nylon stockings to be auctioned at a war bond rally during World War II. A pair of her stockings could receive a bid of up to $40,000.
The first nylon filaments to be drawn at the first production factory, at the Du Pont Co. in Seaford, are preserved at the Hagley Museum and Library near Greenville, which also has the first nylon stocking and the first nylon garment, an elegant white evening dress. MORE ABOUT NYLON(From FiberSource) Nylon Characteristics • Exceptionally strong • Elastic • Abrasion resistant • Lustrous • Easy to wash • Resistant to damage from oil and many chemicals • Can be precolored or dyed in wide range of colors • Resilient • Low in moisture absorbency • Filament yarns provide smooth, soft, long-lasting fabrics • Spun yarns lend fabrics lightweight and warmth Major Nylon Fiber Uses Apparel: Blouses, dresses, foundation garments, hosiery, lingerie, underwear, raincoats, ski apparel, windbreakers, swimwear, and cycle wear Home furnishings: Bedspreads, carpet, curtains, upholstery Industrial, other Uses: Tire cord, hoses, conveyer and seat belts, parachutes, racket strings, ropes and nets, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, tents, thread, monofilament fishing line, dental floss General nylon care tips Most items made of nylon can be machine-washed and tumble-dried at low temperatures. Use warm water and add a fabric softener to the final rinse cycle. Remove articles from dryer as soon as tumbling cycle is completed. If ironing is required, use warm iron. (For specific care instructions, refer to garments' sewn-in care label.) LINKS TO LEARN MORE • To learn more about nylon and the history of DuPont Co.’s evolution from gunpowder production to “Better Living Through Chemistry,” visit the http://www.hagley.org/" target=new>Hagley Museum and Library near Greenville. • "http://www.chemheritage.org/EducationalServices/nylon/chem/chem.html" target=new>The Science of Nylon," from the http://www.chemheritage.org/" target=new>Chemical Heritage Foundation. • "http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/whole_cloth/u7sf/u7materials/nylondrama.html" target=new>The Nylon Drama," from http://invention.smithsonian.org/home/" target=new>The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention & Innovation of the Smithsonian Institution. |
NOAA Selects Bill Read as New National Hurricane Center Director: (Jan '08)
Class of ’67 Bill Read:
Bill Read on U-Tube
>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emU95Hsd7WY
Bill's NOAA Press Release = http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/20080125_read.html
Thanks, and a tip of the hat to Classmate Rob Harra for pointing out Bill's appointment.
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May 15, 2008 Brandywine grad directs
Hurricane Center
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/NEWS/805150327/1006 Broadcasting the weather is more than guaranteeing that people will wear the appropriate clothing, have a pleasant time or avoid a bad-hair day. Forecasting warns people to seek shelter, especially when Mother Nature wields a heavy hand with severe weather. The Atlantic hurricane season officially starts June 1. Standing at the forefront of disseminating information that will safeguard millions is former Delawarean Bill Read, who became director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami on Jan. 25. Protecting the public from severe weather has been his lifelong mission. "In the event of a hurricane, my primary responsibility is to serve as the voice in the building -- in other words I'll be the one presenting the information when we have a critical hurricane event," he said. "Obviously I have to do that in a calm manner." Read's other responsibilities focus on the leadership and management of all operations and projects. Read plans to continue the advancement of the display and dissemination of scientific information, especially through the Internet. The Brandywine High School graduate also wants continued development of training within the emergency management community and expansion of its outreach capabilities. Part of the job means getting people to understand that meteorology is "an inexact science," he said. "We're constantly getting new people moving to the coastal areas and in some areas of the country, particularly the areas northeast of you. You all had experience with Isabel a few years ago, which is fairly typical of a mid-Atlantic to Northeast hurricane moving fast and producing a lot of wind and power lines and trees down and whatnot. But in New England, it's almost two decades since they've had a direct hit from a significant hurricane, so ... getting people educated and actually to take [forecasts] seriously ... is always a challenge. "Even in Florida for example -- North Florida around Jacksonville, they haven't had a direct hit in a generation, even though the rest of the state has been pummeled for the last several years; that tends to be one of our biggest challenges -- is to overcome people getting complacent or having a false sense of security due to the lack of an event having gone through their area." Read's warmth for weather may not seem surprising, considering the day he entered the world. Aug. 10, 1949, was the hottest day of that year in Boston, where Read was born. His family moved to Wilmington in the early 1950s (his mother still lives north of town), and he vaguely recalls the peripheral effect of Hurricane Hazel in 1954. But it was the nor'easter on Ash Wednesday that caught his eye in 1962. Read's father found himself on a trial jury that had to deliberate whether property damage was caused by wind or water. Each day, the senior Read regaled his son about meteorologists' testimonies. The light bulb flashed like a bolt of lightning that this was his calling. A bachelor's degree in meteorology at Texas A&M prepared Read for his sometimes-unpredictable career. With a draft number of 21, Read had a tour of duty with the Navy and flew with the Navy Hurricane Hunters in 1972 and 1973. Afterward, Read spent time in Keflavík, Iceland, utilizing the Norwegian School of Meteorology methods for weather predictions. After his Navy stint, he returned to Texas A&M, where he received a master's degree in meteorology. Read has been with the National Weather Service, mostly in Texas, ever since. Read, a self-described storm junkie, has developed what his colleagues refer to as "rhino hide"; a thick-skinned protection against the love/hate relationship the public has for meteorologists. "Probably over the long haul the thing that I've learned the most is it's not nearly as easy to understand the weather as I thought 35 years ago when I started down this road," Read said. "It's very complicated, and each system you wind up forecasting or working throws a little curve in there to remind me that we don't know everything about it." |
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Class of '67'ers Featured on Delaware News Journal Blog: "Second Helpings" by Dining Critic, Patricia Talorico.
delawareonline ¦ The News Journal ¦ Second Helpings
Blog
Last Friday's Dish column about sandwiches
from the Claymont Steak Shop and Gaudiello's in Trolley Square
resulted in much web traffic and reader emails.
Hi Patricia,
(They are; Left to right: Bruce Kingshill, Mike Houser, Kevin Donohue, Marilyn Monson Nimtz, Linda Fuhrmeister Potter.)
Thanks for the
review!
Kevin Donohue
From Patricia;
"Here's a really interesting email from News Journal reader Kevin Donohue - and a great idea. Sub/steak shop owners or city of Wilmington/Newark officials get your thinking caps on and STEAL THIS IDEA. Seriously."
From Kevin:
"Patricia,
has anyone ever thought of doing a
“Cheesesteak Festival” in Wilmington??!! As a former Wilm resident, I
know for a fact, those Wilmington subs and cheese steaks keeps a lot of us
ex-pats coming back again and again.
Best, Kevin
Class of 67'ers Take Over
Charcoal Pit
The Class of ’67 was well represented at the Charcoal Pit in Wilmington yesterday as Marilyn Monson Nimtz, Mike Houser, Maureen “Muffy” Crowley Milford and Kevin Donohue dined on a traditional menu of Philly Cheese steaks and French fries in near record 70 degree February weather. Animated conversations covering a wide variety of topics from former classmates, cholesterol lowering statin drugs to alternatives to the internal combustion engine punctuated an enjoyable lunch. In an unscripted moment, another Class of ’67er; Sandy Molitor Konetski (along with her daughter and grand kids) made a surprise appearance. A very efficient and sweet Vietnamese server provided photography duties.
(On a sad note, we gathered hoping to visit our friend and classmate, John Schwind who is suffering from cancer. However, we did not get to visit with John, a "Thinking of You" card was signed by all present and was mailed to John).
Kevin Donohue 2.7.08
Major construction of Blue Ball Project complete
By Adam Zewe
Staff Reporter
Brandywine Hundred residents breathed a sigh of
relief at the final public meeting for the Blue Ball Properties project on
Jan. 7. Major construction of the seven-year, $130 million project is
finished, officials from the Delaware Department of Transportation told 75
residents at the meeting.
“Pretty much what you see is what it’s going to be,” said Bob King,
community relations officer for the department.
The project included road improvements, historic preservation, wetland
restoration, improved storm water management, recreation improvements,
publicparkland and greenways.
There are still some minor projects to complete, King said, but the to-do
list is small compared to the project’s 100- page master plan.
Landscaping and signs need to be finished around Alapocas Run State Park, a
new state park near the intersection of Routes 141 and 202, he said.
Most of the park is open, said park manager Susan Staats, but the athletic
fields will open this Spring once the grass grows and a bathroom will be
constructed later this year at the park’s playground.
A dog park, which is a fenced area where residents can bring their dogs to
play without leashes, will be built in Alapocas Run State Park at the
intersection of Foulk and Weldin roads, she said.
The dog park and all the remaining work for the project should be complete
by the end of the year, said Mark Tudor, the department’s project manager.
“DNREC and DelDOT are still here and we will still be fine-tuning some
things,” he said.
But Tudor does not expect the fine-tuning to be disruptive to motorists or
residents.
Residents experienced plenty of disruption from construction vehicles and
lane closures during the seven-year project, said Brandywine Hundred
resident Sue Finnie.
Finnie, said that she was skeptical of the project in the beginning, but is
pleased with the end result.
“It’ll be a little confusing until people ride on it enough,” she said, of
the new traffic patterns. “I think it was worth it, in the long run, what
they finished. The roads look really good.”
The project involved construction of the Route 141 Spur, widening of Route
202, reconstruction of a ramp from Interstate 95, and construction on the
Augustine Cutoff, West and East Park Drives, Children’s Drive and Powder
Mill Road.
“It’s nice to not have all the construction, but it’s nice to see the
progress and the end result of it,” said Bob Blazovic, a Brandywine Hundred
resident.
He said he drives on the redesigned roads during rush hour everyday and
traffic moves faster because of the improvements.
“I think the project has been an upgrade for the environment and the
cultural aspects of Brandywine Hundred,” he said.
The area’s culture is highlighted through a folk art display inside the
renovated Blue Ball Dairy Barn and the environment has been preserved on a
five-mile greenway trail.
The greenway, a 10- foot-wide path for walkers or bicyclists, is complete
except for a bridge over Turkey Run Creek in Brandywine Hundred.
New Castle County Councilman Robert Weiner (R-2nd District) said New Castle
County plans to install the bridge. He did not know how much it will cost,
but said the county will seek funding this Spring.
The greenway will be improved along Rockwood Road, Weiner said, but he did
not know when the project will start. A $1 million project will shift
Rockwood Road and a hiking path will be built alongside it.
Mike Bensinger, a Brandywine Hundred resident, said he is happy with the
barn and greenway, but he thinks the department built too much.
“In Delaware, we tend to overdo some things,” he said. “It’s pretty, what
they’ve done, but Delaware, over time, it seems to be overdeveloping.”
Highway project to begin in 2009
A project to redesign the U.S. Route 202/ I-95 interchange, which was not a
part of the Blue Ball Properties plan, is scheduled to start in 2009.
The ramp from Northbound I-95 onto Northbound Route 202 will be rebuilt so
it is two lanes for its entire length, said David Galeone, an engineer with
McCormick Taylor, the firm that designed the ramps.
The ramp from Southbound I-95 onto Southbound Route 202 will be moved to the
East side of Route 202, which will make the merge area safer, he said.
The Route 202/I-95 merge area is dangerous because motorists entering the
Interstate from Route 202 are accelerating while motorists exiting the
Interstate onto Route 202 are slowing down, said Galeone.
The project, which is expected to cost $30 million and take two years to
complete, will be put to bid in Fall, 2009, said Tudor.
Auto tag No. 6
likely to sell for $1 million
UPDATE TO THIS STORY: Del. tag goes for $675,000
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080218/NEWS/802180321
By SUMMER HARLOW, The News Journal
Posted Sunday, January 20, 2008
For some, it's like a fraternity they desperately want to pledge.
Others see dollar signs, a good investment.
And then there are those like Ruthi Adams Joseph, who view their low-digit, black and white license plates as a sentimental link to history and family.
Joseph, of Millsboro, inherited all three of her tags -- Nos. 5, 357 and, on the farm truck, FT1 -- and no matter their selling price, she'd never part with them, she said.
"It's something that's really special to me," she said. "There's a real sense of pride."
So when drivers roll down their windows and ask her how much her obviously heirloom 5 tag is worth, she just shrugs.
"I have no idea," she said. "And what difference does it make? If I'm sentimentally attached to something, I would never consider selling it."
The First State's fascination with numbers -- especially low ones -- does not end with license plates. Hunting licenses, fishing licenses, even phone numbers have added cachet ... depending on their number.
But the allure of low-digit tags is something outsiders and many newcomers have trouble understanding.
Delawareans, especially natives, are familiar with the pull of the black and white porcelain plates, pestering the Division of Motor Vehicles to see if any are available, or resorting to auctions or Web sites where a three-digit tag can sell for $80,000.
And the elusive one-digit tags? The coveted No. 6 tag will be auctioned Feb. 17, and auctioneer Butch Emmert of Emmert Auction Associates in Rehoboth Beach expects it to go for somewhere in the million-dollar range.
That's right -- $1 million.
Sociologists call the low-digit tags "cultural capital."
"Due to its scarcity and history, the low-digit black license plate has become a local signifier of status and prestige," said Tammy Anderson, associate professor of sociology at the University of Delaware. "When you pass a BMW with such a license plate, you distinguish yourself from the other Beemer drivers without one. It's all about distinction -- distinguishing oneself from others in the status and prestige areas."
State obsession
Delaware's motor vehicle laws, which allow registration numbers and tags to be transferred between cars and owners, have spurred the state's obsession with low-digit numbers, leading to the buying and selling, even willing and inheriting, of the must-have tags.
Only numbers lower than 87,000 are eligible for a black and white porcelain plate, adding to the appeal. And numbers 1 through 3 are reserved for the governor, lieutenant governor and secretary of state, making the remaining single digits that more scarce -- and desirable.
"They're nostalgic," said Dave Miller, president of the Delaware Historic Plate Co. in Newark, the only state-authorized company allowed to reproduce the black and white plates. "To some people, maybe it's a status thing because there is a limited amount of people who can have one. It differentiates people, and people always like that."
Delaware first issued state tags in 1909, and a year later about 1,000 vehicles had been registered. Those plates were black and white.
While most states stopped making porcelain plates in the 1920s, Delaware used porcelain until 1946, and in 1947 the black and white porcelain plates were replaced with stainless steel.
In 1959, the current blue and gold look was instituted. It's the longest-running continual plate design in the country, said Mike Williams, spokesman for the Delaware Department of Transportation.
The state allows legal reproductions of the black and white porcelain plates for numbers lower than 87,000, as the last original porcelain plate issued was No. 86,999, Williams said.
"The black and white is recognized as a distinctively Delaware plate," he said, adding that he has a four-digit, black and white original stainless steel plate. "Its simplicity is what makes it beautiful."
Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University in New York, said the low-digit plates have value simply because local culture has decided they are valuable.
"You've got virtually no supply, so they're hard to get," he said. "It's a way of advertising your status, advertising that you're important enough to have a license plate, or it means you're a big shot and you can pay for it."
Thompson likened the phenomenon to the craze in New York City to have a 212 area code.
"If you have 212, it immediately says to everyone you're old-school New York, so it is almost a brand value," he said. "The low-digit license plate carries all the status because in Delaware, everyone knows what it means."
The phone number phenomenon is also in play in Delaware.
In Seaford, for example, many opt for the 629 exchange over newer 628. In Hockessin, 235 is preferred over 239.
In Rehoboth Beach, 227 is the old-school choice over 226, so much that seasonal customers pay an extra $25 to keep their numbers during the off-season when many turn off their service.
It doesn't end there.
Because of high interest in things low-numbered, the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife is about to hold a lottery for the first 1,000 fishing licenses -- this is the first year fishermen will be required to purchase a license. As with license plates, though, numbers 1 and 2 are reserved for the governor and lieutenant governor.
And hunters have been known to pass on or auction off their low-number licenses. Some pay to renew their licenses after they turn 65 -- when they don't need to pay anymore -- just so they can pass down the license to family members. Others auction off these precious commodities.
When Jay Getto moved to Wilmington from Pennsylvania about two years ago, he knew what the black and white plates were all about, and he wanted one.
He posted an ad on the Delaware Historic Plate Co.'s Web site. Within 15 minutes, he'd gotten 30 responses and had his pick of available tags to purchase.
"True Delawareans have them," he said. "It says you're part of a state club of 87,000 people. You're part of the, quote, special group. It says, 'I'm a Delawarean now.' "
It also says you've got money to spend, said Emmert, who sells about 60 tags a year, mostly at auctions.
And while it's great to inherit a tag, what matters is that it's displayed on your car, not how you got it, he said.
"It's a great investment," he said, speculating that the No. 6 tag he'll auction next month will be worth more than $2 million in the next 10 to 30 years.
'Dead tags' fetch a price
It's not just the plates with active registrations that are worth a pretty penny.
"Dead tags" can go for $300 or $400, Emmert said.
Snookie Vent of Milton buys and sells the old tags, and he's amassed a collection of more than 1,500 plates.
"I just got hooked on it," he said, adding that his collection includes a plate from 1910, and an old governor's plate signed by Ruth Ann Minner.
Of course, not everyone buys into the mania of tracking down low-digit black and white plates.
Retired state trooper Barry Beck said he has never tried to get a low-digit tag, even though he worked for the Division of Motor Vehicles until about five years ago.
"It's just not something that blew up my skirt," said Beck, who is on the Hagley Car Show committee. "I figured what I have is good and legal and I didn't have to put hard work or money into it."
It took about a year of living in Delaware before Aaron Dunphy felt the draw.
Now he runs the license plate brokerage Web site www.lowdigittags.com.
"When I first heard about it, I definitely thought it was odd, but I also think it's odd when people spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of jeans," Dunphy said. "No other state really does this; it's just one of those little niches that Delaware has."
Thompson, the professor of pop culture, said he could understand spending $13,000 on a Hannah Montana ticket, because you get to see a concert and you make your 11-year-old daughter happy.
"But here? All you get is a license plate number," he said. "It's whimsical."
It doesn't matter whether you're a native Delawarean or you've only lived here a few years, Williams said.
"You have a soft spot in recognizing the significance of showing off a low-number plate," he said.
As more people move to Delaware, demand for -- and the price of -- these tags will continue to mount, Emmert said. And the aspiration to own digits as low as possible won't ever change, he said.
"There's a lot of wealth in Delaware, and what better thing to own if you're a loyal Delawarean?" he said.
Getto acknowledged that the fixation is "unusual."
"It's a state-sponsored vanity tag," he said. "I think it's part of what makes Delaware, Delaware."Copyright © , The News Journal. Users of this site agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights (Terms updated March 2007). Questions?
Google satellite view of old Brandywine Raceway.
Acc'd to the
Old Wilmington.net webmaster;
"this is a Satellite view of the
Brandywine Raceway in 2005. Toll Brother's Construction is building
$1,000,000+ homes on the site - which is almost finished. The roads have been
named. The Brandywine Town Center is on the left, just out of view."
The Brandywine Raceway in it's heyday picture below is from LS Anderson Reproductions - http://www.larryanderson.com/artwork/prints/nostalgic_delaware/raceway.html
Ever wonder why it’s called the “Blue Ball” Properties?
In the 1700s, the property under today’s
renovated Blue Ball Dairy Barn was part of land occupied by the original Blue
Ball Inn, which was located at the crossroads of Concord Pike and Foulk Road.
The inn took its name from the blue ball that innkeepers hung on a post
outside as a signal for stagecoach drivers to
stop for passengers. Among the Inn’s most prominent owners was John Dickinson,
Delaware’s “Penman of the Revolution.” His wife Mary continued to operate the
Inn after John’s death in 1808.
Later, the Inn became a tenant farmhouse, as it was in 1908 when industrialist Alfred I. duPont bought the Blue Ball land. Alfred I., along with cousins Pierre S. and T. Coleman DuPont, were early leaders of the E. I. DuPont deNemours Company, now known as the DuPont Company, and A. I. was a benefactor who founded the A. I. DuPont Children’s Hospital and the Nemours Foundation health system.
The dairy barn was built to supply DuPont's 300-acre Nemours estate. In an era when many dairy barns were being closed due to unclean conditions, DuPont instructed his contractor to build a barn that would be both fireproof and sanitary. They used steel reinforced concrete, along with innovative ventilation and drainage systems to meet DuPont requirements and made it a model of early 20th century modern thinking and practical technology – similar to the kind of 21st century thinking that has gone into its modern day recreation as a community center.
When A. I. DuPont died in 1935, his estate was split up and leased to tenant farmers until 1977, when the barn was abandoned and the former inn was demolished to make way for the widening of the Concord Pike.
Blue Ball Dairy Barn Is Going
“Green”
Water savings, energy efficiency and selection of environmentally-friendly building materials are all a part of the plan for the conversion of the historic Blue Ball Dairy Barn to a community center. When completed, DNREC will apply for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the project. The LEED Green Rating System® is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. The photo above is part of a rain water retention system that will collect water from the roof of the barn for non-potable uses. Click here to see more.
Did You Know?
Christmas Seals were first sold in
Wilmington, Delaware in 1907.
Henry Heimlich, inventor of the Heimlich Maneuver, was born in Wilmington,
Delaware.
Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, making us the First
State of the Union.
Delaware ranks 49th in size, but 46th in population, and continuing to grow at
a rapid pace!
Delaware Memorial Bridge is the longest twin-span suspension bridge in the
world!
The inventor of the phonograph and founder of RCA, Eldridge Reeves Johnson,
was born in Wilmington, DE
Delaware has more doctoral level scientists and engineers per capita than any
other state.
New Sweden was founded as a colony in 1638 and is recognized as the first
permanent colony on Delaware soil.
Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, six miles northwest of Wilmington
features one of the world's finest naturalistic gardens
The nation's first scheduled steam railroad began in New Castle in 1831.
The Blue Hen chicken is the official state bird. The hens were noted for their
fighting ability. Delaware is sometimes referred to as the Blue Hen State.
The Lady Bug is Delaware's official state bug.
Eleven years after the landing of the English pilgrims the first white
settlement was made on Delaware soil.
Take Our Quiz
You know you're a Delawarean if...........
- You know what the Hummers Parade is, also, when
& where its held.
- Vacation means going to Bethany, Rehoboth, or Cape Henlopen.
- You know the best subs come from Capriotti's and Casapulla's.
- You used to play in the wooder in the crick, and caught frogs.
- 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 love the beach but hate the tourists.
- You know what people mean when they talk about punkin-chunkin.
- You know someone who went to school with one of the Capano's.
- You've eaten scrapple sandwiches.
- You can identify all the major types of manure by smell.
- If it takes more than an hour to drive there, you're not going.
- You know what a "slippery" dumpling is.
- You know who YouDee is.
- Somebody in your family has worked for the DuPont Company.
- You think the "Apple Scrapple Festival" is perfectly normal, except for all
those granola types running in the 5K race.
- You think, maybe, just maybe, you might get a White Christmas. Then it
rains.
- You know that the highest point in the state is a rise on the golf course.
- The state has one hill. You've been sledding on it.
- You remember WAMS and WCAU (BARSKY in the morning!).
- You know NewERK is in New Jersey, but NewARK is in Delaware.
- You know how to carefully pronounce the name Foulk Road.
- You talk of Northern Delaware and the entire Eastern Seaboard as "above the
canal."
- You know if another Delawarean is from southern, middle or northern Delaware
as soon as they open their mouth.
- You know the name of every street in Delaware, but have no idea what the
route number is.
- You can remember when Maryland Bank (MBNA) swallowed up Ogletown and
Putt-Putt.
- Everywhere you go, you always run into someone you know or went to school
with.
- You know what Newark Night and First Night are.
- You know exactly which roads to avoid due to the CONSTANT road construction.
- You love Dolly's salt water taffy and Grotto's Pizza.
- You know where all of the late-night 24-hour rest stops and restaurants are.
- You can remember when Christiana Hospital was a field with cows.
- You remember when Christiana Mall had a Galaxy arcade.
- When you go out of state to shop or eat, you are always surprised about the
tax
- You know the differences in housing in Elsmere, Pike Creek, and Greenville.
- You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from
Delaware.
Add up all the ones you know
Scores:
30+ = You're too much of a Delawarean. You really should visit another state.
20-29 = You are a true Delawarean.
10-19 = Eh. You're a mediocre Delawarean. Take a trip to the natural history
museum.
0-9 = You are definitely a Delaware novice..... venture out and see all the
good things Delaware has to offer.
Delaware History, Time Lines, Neighborhoods: Copyright ©2007, The News Journal.
Brandywine Hundred, Hockessin and Pike Creek
Some of the most
affluent and historical communities of Delaware are nestled near the arc of
the state's northern boundary.
But Brandywine Hundred, Hockessin and Pike Creek don't actually have
boundaries of their own.
Though unincorporated, each of the communities is distinct.
Brandywine Hundred
Generally synonymous with North Wilmington and its largely white-collar
suburbs, Brandywine Hundred is roughly the area north of the Christiana River
and east of Brandywine Creek. That's where it got the first part of its name.
The second part is tied to the pre-Revolutionary War history of the state.
In 1682, Delaware was divided into 33 hundreds -- a British unit of
measurement roughly the equivalent of a U.S. county.
Though all deeds in Delaware still are recorded in hundreds, Brandywine
Hundred is the only 'hundred' commonly used as a proper place name today.
Initially home to old Delaware families such as the Weldins, the Hanbys and
the Talleys, who owned large farms, the area was carved into housing
developments after World War II and as the DuPont Co. grew.
Today, Brandywine Hundred is a mature community whose residents have a strong
sense of identity.
If the community had a Main Street, it would be Concord Pike Highway, or U.S.
202 - which over the last several decades has become one of the most
attractive shopping districts in the region.
Though the boundaries aren't official, most agree that Brandywine Hundred
includes the communities of Claymont, Talleyville and Arden.
Hockessin
Geographically, Hockessin is equally as indistinct.
The community- pronounced HOE-kess-in - is essentially the chunk of northwest
New Castle County that lies south of the Pennsylvania line, west of Red Clay
Creek, east of Doe Run Road and north of Graves Road.
About 40 families laid the foundation of the village in 1688, according to
Hockessin historian Joe Lake, Jr. Since then, it's grown into a community of
more than 12,000 - and growing.
A market study for a new $20 million health club found that more than 100,000
people lived within an 8-minute drive of the facility, located of Limestone
Road.
Residents generally are well educated and well to do.
According to the 2000 census, more than 96 percent of residents graduated from
high school and almost 30 percent have graduate degrees. The median income of
Hockessin households: About $100,000, census figures show.
Once the site of kaolin clay pits and snuff mills, Hockessin's economy has
gone through more than one evolution. As the pits and mills disappeared,
mushroom and dairy farms took their places. Now, small businesses such as
boutiques, nurseries and real estate offices provide the community's economic
backbone.
Pike Creek
If the boundaries of Brandywine Hundred and Hockessin are difficult to pin
down, Pike Creek is even more amorphous.
The U.S. Census took a stab, creating a CDP for Pike Creek, making it a
"census-designated place." With close to 20,000 people in 2000, it encompasses
the area surrounding Pike Creek from Kirkwood Highway up to the Northstar
area, roughly between Limestone Road (DE 7) and Polly Drummond Hill Road. It's
about six square miles.
Predominantly residential, it includes Carousel Park, overseen by New Castle
County, and a riding center. Many of its housing complexes were built during
the 1970s and 80s.
Other landmarks: All Saints Cemetery, Ebenezer Methodist Church and Faith
Baptist Church. Like other areas of northern New Castle County, Pike Creek
residents have median incomes above the state average, unemployment rates
significantly below the state average and college graduation rates above the
state average.
Copyright ©2007,
The News Journal.
Users of this site agree to the
Terms of Service and
Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights (Terms updated March 2007).
Questions?
Wilmington: Delaware's metropolitan hub
The News Journal
Wilmington,
Delaware’s largest city, sits on the Interstate 95 corridor between the larger
metropolises of Philadelphia, to the north, and Baltimore, to the south.
Within its 10.8 square miles, the city of Wilmington is home to about 72,600
residents. But the city also is the hub of a metropolitan area of more than a
half-million people, nearly two-thirds of the state’s population. It is the
home to major corporations, including the DuPont Co. and Bank of America.
The Swedes, Dutch and British settled in Wilmington in the mid-1600s. Quaker
settlers came in the early 1700s and turned the area into a successful market
and mill town.
Wilmington became a borough in 1739 and a city in 1832.
By the mid 1800s, the city was bustling with shipyards, tanneries, carriage
factories, railroad-car manufacturers, brickyards, cotton factories and a
flour mill.
The city became an office center in 1904, when DuPont Co. located it’s
headquarters here.
Legislation passed in the early 1980s made it attractive for banks to do
business in Delaware and changed Wilmington into one of the nation’s corporate
capitals. MBNA, the country’s largest independent credit-card bank, built its
headquarters in Wilmington in 1993. Bank of America acquired MBNA and retained
the city offices.
About 43,000 people, mostly suburban commuters, work downtown each day.
The city is about 56 percent black, 36 percent white, 10 percent Hispanic and
1 percent Asian.
The entertainment areas are in the Trolley Square area, Union Street and the
Christina Riverfront, where a significant part of the $1 billion that has been
invested since 1995 in real estate and economic development projects has been
spent. Wilmington is also home to the Grand Opera House, the Delaware Art
Museum and Theatre N at Nemours, a theater that shows small independent
productions.
The city also has 552 acres of parkland.
The Wilmington-based Buccini-Pollin Group has been the leader of the private
re-investment effort, converting old office buildings into upscale apartments
downtown and spearheading new residential and mixed-use projects on the
waterfront.
Copyright ©2007,
The News Journal.
Users of this site agree to the
Terms of Service and
Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights (Terms updated March 2007).
Questions?
Well-rounded Trolley Square
With a rich blue-collar history and a modern-day identity as a dining and shopping destination, Trolley Square is fertile ground for the future
By GARY SOULSMAN, Staff reporter
Bob and Diane
Vondrasek were unhappy with the isolation they felt in the suburbs, so 15
months ago they moved to greater Trolley Square, a west Wilmington
neighborhood framed by Pennsylvania Avenue, Union Street and the Brandywine
River.
The family wanted Brit, their 12-year-old daughter, to live where people said
hello and looked after one another. Greater Trolley Square, with its mix of
stores and homes, was the place they settled on.
“We’ve found this to be an unbelievably nice place to live,” said Diane while
having coffee at Angelo’s Luncheonette. “Living here instills an appreciation
of community that will serve Brit well through the rest of her life.”
Angelo’s is an example of what Diane means. It’s a three-generation family
eatery that is so friendly it feels as if it’s been airlifted onto Scott
Street from the “Leave It to Beaver” world of the 1950s.
Diane has discovered a neighborhood rich in working-class history. It’s been
known as an Irish community, though English and Germans were early residents,
too. The area was settled in the 1860s after the city’s trolley line had
extended into farmland once owned by the Shallcross and Lovering families.
Historically the area where she lives has been called Forty Acres, a name
taken from the fertility of the farmland. One acre of land was said to be
worth 40 acres one might find someplace else.
“With such a wonderful history, we want to keep the Forty Acres name and its
link to the past,” said Diane, noting that Shallcross and Lovering are street
names still in use.
But she is also realistic. She knows that to many people who drive to the area
for music and Guinness at Kelly’s Logan House, the coffee at Brew HaHa! or the
breadsticks at Toscana, this area is Trolley Square.
Trolley Square is a name first given to a shopping complex at Du Pont Street
and Delaware Avenue built in the late ’70s at what had been a former trolley
depot and bus barn. Since then, it’s taken hold as something of a neighborhood
identity.
Within the past year, 20 restaurants and more than 60 other businesses have
begun calling themselves the Village of Trolley Square. A brochure and map now
carry the Village of Trolley Square name as does a Web site (www.visittrolleysquare.com).
Real-estate agents often call the region Trolley Square, too.
“It’s because Trolley Square has grown beyond the identity of a commercial
hub,” said City Councilman Gerald L. Brady, who represents the neighborhood
and hears lots of debate on what the area should be called.
To him there’s room for all:
•
“Forty Acres” when talking about the historic homes to the west of the
shopping center.
•
“Delaware Avenue” when talking about historic homes up the hill to the east of
the center.
•
And “Trolley Square” when speaking about the stores.
Movement afoot
Mike Wilson would like nothing better than to make Trolley Square well-known
to the wide world beyond Delaware.
As president of the Village of Trolley Square Business Association, he hopes
that one day this will be a destination that people want to find for shopping,
strolling and dining.
“We already have a vital district, one of the most successful in the city,”
Wilson said. “Over the next several years, with improvements and marketing, we
think it will be even more desirable
–
that visitors will want to come for the afternoon.”
Last year, 10 of 14 billboards were removed and there are plans to improve the
streets around the Trolley Square shopping, said Brady, a fourth-generation
resident.
This would be a $3.5 million state-funded project that would redo sidewalks
and streets on Delaware Avenue, Clayton, Du Pont, Gilpin and 16th streets near
the shopping center. The three-phase plan calls for brick intersections and
period lighting.
The Eighth District Neighborhood Planning Council, which has recommended the
project, also has suggested utility lines be placed underground. But the plan
still needs approval and funds from the Delaware Department of Transportation,
which means the earliest it could occur would be 2004, Brady said.
He added the city is also studying ways to create more parking. One idea is to
add a parking garage on the Acme parking lot either below or above ground. The
existing lot is located at Du Pont Street and Delaware Avenue. Brady says
expanding this would make it easier for people driving into the area. A larger
lot also might make it possible for the grocery to expand.
Parking is needed if the Trolley Square area is to thrive and attract a more
diversified mix of shops, said John Kurtz, owner of a Lincoln Street gallery
showing Oriental rugs in what was once a candy store. In addition, Kurtz said
he would like to see more residents and business owners show an interest in
keeping debris off neighborhood streets.
Because of the area’s 19th-century roots, residents have been studying how the
creation of a Forty Acres historic district might affect homeowners. “What I’m
hearing is that people are afraid of an historic district
–
that it would be too restrictive if they wanted to make repairs,” said Brady.
Fred Carspecken, longtime owner of Carspecken-Scott Gallery, says he’s glad
the city and state are interested in seeing Trolley Square improved. “There’s
been so much money and attention given to places, like Market Street and the
Riverfront, we feel a little neglected,” he said.
Even without new amenities, the area has been appealing to Joel and Uthairat
Wilson. The couple opened a Thai import shop in Trolley Square Shopping Center
three years ago, though they first looked at Rehoboth Beach; the Manayunk
section of Philadelphia; and the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C.,
before settling on the Wilmington neighborhood.
“We think we made the right choice,” said Joel, who pointed out that parking
is free and real-estate values on the rise.
But he’s also found that people in Newark and Middletown do not always know
the name, or the location
–
or that Trolley Square is a safe shopping area to visit.
“There’s all kinds of potential here,” said Joel.
Economically resilient
Thirty years ago, when so many families were moving from the city to the
suburbs, some people had doubts about this part of Wilmington.
In 1973, when Carspecken sought to open a gallery at 1707 N. Lincoln St., a
bank initially turned him down for a $22,500 mortgage because it was unsure
the neighborhood would be a good investment. But a second bank lent him the
money.
“I feel fortunate that I bought where I did when I did,” said Carspecken, who
also purchased a home in Forty Acres in 1976. “This neighborhood has been very
resilient.”
He says he would not be able to afford to open his gallery in the area now.
And he’s observed that several galleries that were once open in the heart of
downtown have died or moved.
Forty Acres has been resilient because it’s a blend of shopping and living
that intrigues people who wanted the experience of getting to know their
neighbors, said Hugh Horning, who has lived on North Scott Street since 1977.
Today the strength of this interest can be seen in the price of homes
–
they routinely sell for $250,000 or more. Tom and Marie Foley’s pristine
four-bedroom row home, which has about 1,600 square feet, is on the market for
$359,000, well above values reported in the 2000 Census. At that time the
average price for homes in greater Trolley Square was $161,000.
“The run-up in prices has been amazing,” said Paul Schofield, echoing a
statement often made.
To Schofield, who was born in Forty Acres in 1937 and lives across Union
Street in the Highlands neighborhood today, the drawback to gentrification is
that young people who grew up in Forty Acres can’t always afford to move back.
Even so, he’s glad young couples with children are moving in. Among them, he’s
seen lot of enthusiasm.
“They’ve come because there are parks, a grocery store, shops and lots of
restaurants,” he said. “They can walk to just about everything they want.”
Youthful appeal
Today the appeal of Trolley Square/Forty Acres crosses many age groups, though
there is not a great deal of racial diversity. The 2000 Census reported that
91 percent of the population is white, seven percent black, three percent
Hispanic and one percent Asian.
The median age is 37.8. Nevertheless, the restaurants and shops are a big draw
for adults just out of college when they look for an interesting place to rent
an apartment, said resident and business owner Bill Degnan. The Census found
that 1,916 of the area’s 4,924 people are 20 to 34 years old.
Degnan has long recognized the appeal of the neighborhood and three years ago
he located his Web-design business just east of the Trolley Square Shopping
Center. He’s had no trouble attracting young people to work for his company.
To Degnan, the community is a desirable place to rent or own and the last
Census reported that 1,895 people rent in the greater Trolley Square area
compared with 1,244 people who own their own home.
The area has a cachet with his clients too. “You’ve got the benefits of being
in the city but you feel like you’re in a neat little neighborhood,” he said.
Older people, such as Phil Giordano, are also drawn to the neighborhood's
convenience.
Giordano has cut hair in the family's Trolley Square shop, All About Hair, for
25 years. Last November he and his wife, Jeanne, sold their Prices Corner-area
home to move to the third floor of the Trolley Square shopping center.
Living atop his first-floor shop has been so easy (he rents out the middle
floor as office space) that he hasn’t driven his second family car during the
last seven weeks. Amenities are so close he’s thinking of selling the car.
“I love my commute,” he said. “It's 32 seconds.”
Forty Acres history
The interest in Trolley Square/Forty Acres has brought a new focus on history.
Kara Briggs, curator of the George Read House and Gardens in Old New Castle,
has been one of the leading lights. A fourth- generation Forty Acres resident
who attended nearby St. Ann’s School, Briggs is adamant about seeing the
historic identity of her community preserved.
“Trolley Square is a name that’s only about 20 years old,” she said, adding
that Forty Acres is a name that carries you back to the Civil War.
Last May, to preserve a sense of neighborhood identity, Briggs joined with
other area residents, including her mother Cissy and the Vondraseks, to start
the Forty Acres Historical Society. Initially, the group hosted a lecture at
the city’s 1893 firehouse which is still in use on Gilpin Avenue. The group
also launched a newsletter and the 27-year-old Briggs has been assembling
photographs hoping to write a history of Forty Acres.
“Forty Acres began with economic stability, it stumbled and rose again, but it
was always Forty Acres,” said Briggs. “It has such an overwhelming sense of
community we don’t want the name to slip into oblivion because of the
popularity of Trolley Square.”
Reach Gary Soulsman at 324-2893 or
gsoulsman@delawareonline.com. Reporter Mike Chalmers contributed to this
story.
Copyright ©2007, The News Journal. Users of this site agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights