Delmar prior to 1940

Delmar prior to 1940 from the Delmar Library facebook page

Blood Alcohol Breath Analyzer Donated 1983

About 1983, when James C. Jones and his partner Charles C. Nicholson, who had the Northwood Nite Club on Alexander street in North Salisbury reopened it, he had on hand an alcohol blood count breath analyzer  from his previous bar, he donated it to the Delmar Police department as he decided to do away with the bar feature of check your blood alcohol content before leaving the bar.  He had previously ran "Little Jimmys" in Delmar.

1996 Cereal Box

Carlisle Cereal Co. produces Hometown Stars cereal. The company's motto is, "You shouldn't have to be Michael Jordan to have your picture on a cereal box."

Founder Chuck Fleming started the company in 1993 in his basement and now sells novelty Hometown Stars cereal boxes to high schools in all states except Alaska and Hawaii.

The company, based in Bismarck, N.D., handles the design of the box using photos and art supplied by the sponsoring organization.

Interested in placing an order? In the year 2000 The minimum order for 18-ounce boxes of cereal was 144 boxes. The price per box to the grocery store is $5.94 with a 50-cent rebate sent to the sponsoring group.

Charles Fleming, a prominent Democrat in North Dakota, died July 13 at age 70 in 2016

These hometown stars cereal boxes tend to sell for a high price. 

Aunt Betsy Trader

Aunt Betsy Trader, one of Delmar's oldest and respected colored women, who has for years nursed many of the younger generation of the town, died, while on duty, this morning. She was staying with a family near town, and without complaining lay down to rest. A short time afterwards, she was found dead.

above from the News Journal Nov 4 1925

Early 1900 Auto Mechanic

1970s Delmar railroad yard

1970s Delmar railroad yard from the Delaware archives

Bar Stools

above from the book "Wicomico County and Delmar in Vintage Postcards" by John E Jacobs

Bar stools were not popular until the Prohibition era.  Before that men stood at the bar and drank (belly up to the bar) .  Ladies were expected to sit at the tables provided.  In some states this was law - no ladies at the bar.  In the above postcard of the Cozy cabin you will notice there are no bar stools at the bar.

above a bar (the Fashion Saloon) in Santa Barbara, Calif notice spittoon on floor and the stains around it where the men have missed hitting it, also no bar stools.

Enter the prohibition era where speakeasys existed and since they were illegal anyway laws about women at the bar were ignored.  In order to make it easy for the women, stools were provided at the bar for them to sit instead of stand and so bar stools became popular for men and women.

Liquor laws are strange and they vary town to town, county to county, and state to state.  In Delmar Delaware in the 1960s and 1970s  the bar stools had to be screwed to the floor so they could not be moved and if you wanted to move from a bar stool to a table a waitress had to carry your drink to the table for you as it was against the law for you to do so. 

2007 Mrs Mary Daley at the Sports Nuts Bar in Delmar Delaware and bar stools are provided but no spittoons.

Mr and Mrs Herman J White 25th Anniv

above from the Bi State Weekly Jan 5, 1951

Capt Benjamin Franklin Lowden

above from 31 May 1937 News Journal

Benjamin Franklin Lowden (1847-1938) was born in New Jersey.  He joined the Union army in the Civil war serving with the 6th Maryland infantry, company K.  After the civil war he joined the Navy.  About 1877 he became a railroad employee serving as a brakeman and eventually a conductor retiring in 1915 with 42 years and four months of service.  He lead many Delmar parades on the fourth of July and armistice  day.He married Nancy Addie Lynch (182-1943) who was the daughter of James r and Mary Lynch of Sussex county. Addie and Capt Ben  had as children; Walter, Edward, Addie, and Clarence.  Clarence was a great sports person playing with the Delmar team in 1912. He would become an athletic coach for Trenton High School in New Jersey.  The other silblings also taught in schools before branching out to other projects. The Lowdens would spent the winter in Philadelphia with their daughters family and spent the summer in Delmar. The title of Captain must have been an honorary one as in the civil war he was a private and in the Navy he was an ordinary seaman.

above News Journal 8 May 1938

Teacher and Pay in 1917-1918 School Year for Delmar school

The principal was paid by the year and the teachers by the month.

Cousins - about 1927

Top Left - Lloyd Benjamin Sirman (1910-1970)
Top Right - Loran E Elliott (1910-1970)
Bottom Left - Vance Linwood Adams (1907-1987)
Bottom Right - Thomas Kendal Adams (1909-1985)

Accessory for your running board

as far as I know this photo does not pertain to Delmar, however I thought the accordion fence on the running board was an interesting idea for additional storage. 

1951 Party at Catholic Church

Delmar Historical and Arts Society Membership Information

As a reminder to members and not-yet-members - it is time to pay the dues

Annual dues are payable in January of each year and cover the period from January 1 to December 31.

Individual Membership - $12.00

Life Membership - $200.00

Mail to: Delmar Historical and Arts Society,  PO Box 551, Delmar, Delaware 19940

DHAS Officers ;

Alan Whitley, President

Janet Martin, Vice President
Ginger Trader, Treasurer
Karin Walter, Secretary

The Board of Directors are;

Howard Dickerson, Shirley Martin and Wayne Mitchell.

Join and help us save and preserve the history of Delmar

Our meetings are held monthly at the training room of the Delmar police department on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 7PM.  The meetings are open to the public so you do not have to be a member to attend but for $12 a year why not be a member?

The Rev John Emory Berkstresser 1925-1929

The Rev John Emory Berkstresser (1894-1987) came to Delmar in 1925 to be the minister at the First Baptist church.  He arrived with his wife, Louise Mildred Nall Berkstresser (1894-1976) and two children; Mildred Louise Berkstresser (1920-1993) and John Emory Berkstresser (1922-1979).  The Rev Berkstresser had attended Howard College in East Lake, Alabama.  It was a college for the training of young men to teach the gospel.  Rev. Berkstresser was the minister of a couple Baptist churches in the Sylacauga, Ala. area (Central Alabama) before coming to Delmar.  He was born in Sylacauga. 

His father, also a John Emory Berkstresser, was born in the Pennsylvania Dutch region of Pennsylvania.  In 1863 he was attending Gettysburg College when Robert E Lee arrived.  John Emory joined the Union army.  After the American Civil War he became a doctor and joined the carpetbaggers that went south.  He settled in Sylacauga.  He was an inventive man and had several patents from a syrup pitcher to an automatic switch for railway crossings.

The Rev John Emory Berkstresser's grandfather was also a minister and perhaps that is whom he decided to follow.   Nevertheless he arrived in Delmar about April 1925 from Greensboro, Maryland and lead his flock in an evangelistic style.

above May 1928 News Journal newspaper Wilmington Delaware


DELMAR KLANSMEN HAVE LADIES NIGHT

DELMAR, Del., Dec. 26 - Ladies night was observed by the Delmar Klan No. 2, K. K. K., with an entertainment and supper in the church hall of the Baptist church, on Wednesday evening, from 8 to 11 o'clock.  Benjamin F. Marsh was master of ceremonies.  Led by Mrs. Paul R. Lowe, the audience sang "My Country, Tis of thee" Addresses were made by S. Ker Slemons, the Rev. J. E. Berkstresser, pastor of the Baptist church, the Rev. W. C. Little, of Midway, Del., and Taylor L. Thompson, Grand Dragon of the Realm of Delaware. One hundred partook of the supper which was served by the Ladies Aid Society of the Baptist Church.

Above from The Evening Journal (Wilmington) 6 Dec 1925

He was a well liked minister and tried to tender his resignation when he grew homesick for Alabama but his Church refused to accept it and he stayed a while longer.  Finally in July of 1929 he resigned to take over as minister at First Baptist in Decatur, Alabama.  While here the church building was enlarged and a social hall was added.  After leaving he returned to visit Delmar a few times and in 1941 after being gone 12 years the local paper still carried an entry when his daughter, Mildred, married Earle Smith in Alabama.  He remained in Alabama the rest of his life.

from Wicomico County and Delmar in Vintage Postcards  By John E. Jacob

Prior to the Civil War Railroad Ad

The Package Store

In the 1950s and into the 1990s,setting in the wye made by Waller road and Rt54, was a liquor store.  Today that spot is part of the old mill crab house parking lot.

I think it was CJ's Package Store (Carl John Valentin's) but there is a good chance I am wrong

another vanished building in Delmar.

The Conaway Family in 1939

abt 1939  -  Left to right - Andrew Conaway (1921-1986), Ed Conaway (1914-1992),  Florence Hadder Elliott Conaway in front of Florence is George Alvin Conaway (1930-1986),  Ed Conaway, in front of Ed is Nellie Conaway (1927-2002), Lonnie (Lonney) Conaway (1916-2003), in front of Lonnie is Evelyn Conaway (1925-2014) and on the end is Evelyn Waller Conaway (Lonnie's wife)

J J Elliott 1919 Bill Head

1919 account bill for Norman Twilley from J J Elliott Delmar Delaware, sold by Charles Collins

The Dutch Kitchen 1991

In Feb of 1991 the Dutch Kitchen opened out by the State Line Plaza.  It was a buffet Dutch Amish type place.  It changed hands over the years becoming a Bonanza Steak House, a pawn shop, a liquor store.

Kick Off Sunday School Contest Dinner 1955

Wow! tight seating arrangement for the dinner - no fatties there.  This is the Sunday school officers and teachers of the Faith Baptist Church.  Unclear if the dinner was at a restaurant or church hall.  The church had just been organized in October of 1954, With a charter membership of 54 people to mark the year.

Seated around the table left to right; Mrs. Rachel Stearns, Mrs. Irene Northrup, Mrs. Howard West, Mr. Edward Abbott III, Mr. Lee Littleton, Mrs Edward Abbott Jr, Mr Edward Abbott Jr, Rev. Wilford Kalback, Mr. William Doyle, Mr. Robert Palmer, Rev. Al Troester (Pastor of church), and Mrs. Eileen Troester.

Extracted From the Bi State Weekly January 28 1955

Rev Adolph Troester was born in Doylstown PA in 1916.  He attended the Bible Institute of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and graduated in 1940.  He then was an itinerant evangelist preaching across the North Eastern United States and Canada.  He married his wife, Marion Eileen Bell,  in 1949 in Canada.  Before coming to Delmar in 1952 as pastor at the First Baptist Church he was associated with the Fuller Evangelistic Foundation in New Jersey.  When he left Delmar he ended up Rockland, Maine where he ran the Glen Cove Bible School.  He died in 2002.

1940 yearbook photo from  the Bible Institute of Pennsylvania

above Eileen Troester

ROCKLAND — Eileen Troester, 89, entered the presence of her Savior, the Lord Jesus, March 3, 2018 from her home.  Friends and relatives are invited to visit from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, March 22, 2018 at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland.  A service to celebrate her life will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, March 23, 2018 at the West Rockport Baptist Church, Park Street, Rockport. 

Marion Eileen Bell was born on January 21, 1929 in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, the third of five children, of George (Les) and Ruth Bell.  Those left to honor Eileen’s memory include her youngest sister Ruth Steeves and her husband Lawrence; her children, Gary and his wife, Venila; Karen Wiersma and her husband, David; and Beth Troester.  Additionally she is survived by 11 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren (with two more on the way), and her nieces and nephews and their families.

As a teenager Eileen came to an understanding of the reality that she was a sinner in need of a Savior and placed her faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.  She married a traveling evangelist, Al Troester of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, September 6, 1949, she was 20. They were together just short of 53 years.

Eileen was the “Pastor’s wife” as Al pastored a church in Delaware, and later another in New Brunswick, Canada.  After Al became the Academic Dean and Bible teacher at the Glen Cove Bible School in Glen Cove, Maine, Eileen trained Bible School students to work in Good News Clubs, and also taught a club in her own home.  She was “house mother” to Bible School girls who lived upstairs in their home as a dormitory; co-taught Evangelical Teacher Training Association courses with Al; worked briefly at the Grants department store and as a teacher’s aide in the Rockland High School.  After Al left the school they traveled together for nearly twenty years in an itinerant ministry he called “Troester Bible Teaching Ministries” encouraging and strengthening Christians.  When Al had to end his teaching ministry due to encroaching Alzheimer’s disease Eileen cared for him until his death in 2002.  For a number of years she also took care of her daughter Beth’s “home office work” as she served as a missionary in Russia.  In 2001, Eileen finally made the decision to become a U.S. citizen.

When Eileen was no longer able to fully care for herself due to the onset of dementia her daughter, Beth, became her caregiver until her home-going.  The family will always be grateful for Beth’s loving care of her Mother.  We also wish to express appreciation for the hospice and palliative care personnel of Maine Health Care at Home that came to care for Mom as well as her nurse practitioner, Jennifer Dreher who often made house visits to check on her.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to: Truckers for Christ, P.O. Box 342, Hartland, ME 04943-0342; or Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) of Maine, 431 Campground Rd., Livermore Falls, ME 04254.

Signal Shirts 1919

1919 ad

US 13 Dragway 1968

above april 1968

James Pusey 1962

James Franklin Pusey II (1939-2018)

Porn Film Making Comes To Delmar

Atten: Wanted aspiring young actors and actresses to audition for new video company incorporating in Delaware, Must be 21 years of age.  Also wanted director and cameraman to help video company incorporated in Delaware with the production of their first video....

above ad in The Leader and State Register

In the summer of 1989 Paradise City Productions of Arizona came to Delmar to make a porn film well the company at least had an East Street Delmar address.  Cpl Matthew Mitrione of the Delmar police investigated and found some scenes were shot somewhere in the area but eventually the film company went back to Arizona from where they had came.

L H Murphy

Above from the Railroad Telegrapher, a magazine for the Order of Railroad Telegraphers

Leonard H. Murphy (1891-1965) was born in Greensboro, Maryland.  He became a telegrapher for the railroad and was at Laurel, Delaware for several years until being transferred to Delmar where he mainly worked the night shift.  From Delmar he was moved to New Castle.  He would marry in 1915, Annie L. Hastings Elliott.  Annie was 13 years older than him and had been married to Joseph Elliott (died 1910).  Joseph and Annie had a son, Norris R Elliott.  The above "personal mention" in Leonard's union magazine refers to the birth of Leonard H Murphy jr on December 18, 1917.  In addition to Leonard they would have a daughter, Louise Adaline Murphy, who would be born in 1919 but would die at an early age in 1921.

An unusual event happened to Leonard in 1915 when he was trapped in quicksand.

above from the Morning News (Wilmington DE) May 25 1915

Leonard, Annie, and Louise Adaline are buried at Odd fellows cemetery Laurel Delaware

Elder Ker

Elder Henry Claude Ker on left unknown bride and groom on the right unknown date and location

Elder Ker was a minister in the old school baptist church

What Is It?

The books in the background is the give away, it is a tool used by researchers when they have several books opened at one time and want to cross reference back and forth between them by turning the wheel.

J Clyde Truitt

above 17 Jan 1971 Daily times Salisbury MD

James Clyde Truitt (1891-1976) retired from the railroad in 1957 with 49 years and 4 months of service.  He was born in Salisbury to Dr James Handy Truitt and Amelia (Minnie) H Baker Truitt.  he was a telegraph operator for the railroad.  He married Annie Ellen Anderson and they lived at 401 Grove street.  They had no children.  He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, the Improved Order of Red Men, and the order of Railroad Telegraphers district 17 Philadelphia. 

https://archive.org/stream/33McisaacOrderofrailroadtelegraphers/33-mcisaac-orderofrailroadtelegraphers_djvu.txt

During World War 2 he served on a number of rationing boards including the sugar rationing board and tire rationing board.

above from 1908 The railroad Telegrapher

Norfolk Southern is in town today

Norfolk Southern is in town today

The Rev Leo Forse

Although the railroad employee is perhaps the largest occupation to bring someone to Delmar certainly the second largest one would be preachers.  By the natural of the work they are transferred in and transferred out elsewhere.  One minister was the Rev. Leo Forse (1916-1979).  He was raised and educated around Binghamton, New York.  He was a preacher there for a number of years before coming to Delmar to minster at Faith Baptist church.  His wife was Beverly G Steele Forse (1919-1989) and they had for children; Cherie, Dolly, Trudy, Thomas,  and John (Jack).  All were talented musically both singing and playing piano and organ. They arrived in Delmar in 1957.  In 1958 they had a third son, Budd Forse, who only lived one day and is buried in St Stephens cemetery.  From Delmar he moved to Gumboro to preach at a Pilgrim Holiness church and from there to Dorchester county.  Eventually they ended up in Indiana where they both died. 

Their children came of marriageable age while in the area and Jack Forse married first, Shirley Mae Harrington, in 1958 and second, Eleanor Rae Cook, in 1997.  He would die in 2013.  

Cherie would marry an airman from Dover Air Force Base, Kenneth Roger Mullins in 1962.  They would also go to Indiana to be evangelists.

Thomas Trygve Forse would marry Dolores and live in Delmar for a while before  ended up in Glendale, Alabama.

Dolly Forse would marry Bill Judge and live in Grantville Summit, PA

Trudy Forse would marry Kevin Ames and live in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Not unlike a career military person all of the children graduated different area high schools as Leo kept moving. 

above 1957

Flowers Auto Sales

above 1957  - Flowers Auto Sales started in Salisbury but about 1955 they moved to Delmar.  They had a slogan of "We sell Every bloomin Make".  The operation was run by Norman Thomas Ake for sales and James Hooper Parrott for service.  Both had been in vehicle sales or service for a few years before and after this operation changed hands each would continued in sales or service.  Norman would die in 1972 and Hooper would die in 2000.

Daniel Webster Shaw Jr

above 1957, Daniel Webster Shaw Jr was a railroad worker (Signal and communications) and from 1954 to 1958 was Mayor of Pocomoke City, Maryland.  He was one of many mayors who worked for the railroad or had worked for the railroad.  He was the son of D W Shaw and Louise Hearn Shaw and was born in Deals Island.  His mother, Louise, was the sister of Joseph Masden Hearn master barber of Delmar.

In 1911 he married Agnes Annie Parks.  They had no children.  He was active in a number of organizations in Pocomoke.    He would retire from the railroad in 1960 with 43 years and two months service.   His brother Frank Shaw was the owner of Clarkes drug store in Pocomoke.   He would die in February of 1964 

above 1961

Julia E Gordy 1957

Jan 1957 Bi-State weekly Delmar Delaware