A Cry For Less Smoke

The Morning News (Wilmington DE) 3 June 1941

Wingate and Downes 1943

Betty Beach

above 29 Dec 1941 The Salisbury Times

Railroad Records Saved

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Northeastern railway preservationists have saved hundreds of drawings — some dating to the 1860s — from Conrail predecessors from the shredder in what has been called a “monumental achievement” for railroad historians. 

The documents came from the Smithsonian Institution, which collected them between 1981 to 1984. With an Aug. 1 deadline to move or shred the documents, Smithsonian archivist Craig Orr offered the drawings to the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, but the commission was unable to accept the materials on that schedule. 

Kurt Bell, an archivist with the historical commission, offered to help find new homes for the materials. Bell says in an interview with Trains News Wire the collection included more than 100 boxes, each containing three cubic feet of drawings. There were more than 639 cubic feet of materials. Mostly bridges, stations, and other structures, the drawings had never been processed and had been held at the Smithsonian's storage depot in Suitland, Md., since their acquisition.

Bell arranged for the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society, the New York Central System Historical Society, the Pennsylvania Railroad & Technical Society, and the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society to accept 81 boxes with an additional 31 boxes and seven crates of material going to the Industrial Archives & Library in Bethlehem, Pa. The University of Michigan received one box of Michigan Central documents, while the University of Connecticut's Dodd Research Center took three boxes of New Haven items. 

Rick Bates, a volunteer archivist at the Reading Co., museum, says, “Overall, this is a really monumental achievement in rail history preservation. I can't speak for the other railroads, but for the Reading, this more than doubles the number of former Reading Railroad buildings for which architectural plans are known to exist in publicly accessible archival sources.”

Nicholas Zmijewskis of Industrial Archives and History says "We have begun going through the Lehigh Valley material, which is composed primarily of bridge and structure drawings, with a lot of marine and even some Morris Canal dating from their control of the property. Several researchers have already used two of the drawings.” Industrial Archives received the largest portion of the Smithsonian materials.

above from Train Industry News 8/23/2019

Two Gaits Restaurant 1974

1974 ad for those who worked at NCR in Millsboro this was a popular place to stop off and have a drink after work before coming back to Delmar.  Who can forget Bob Toomey.  It later changed to The Mill. 

Levin A. Collins, retired merchant

LEVIN A. COLLINS 

Delmar, Jan. 3 Levin A. Collins, retired merchant, died early yesterday at his home here following an illness of two weeks. He was 75. 

Mr. Collins was the son of the late Levin A. and Catherine Ellis Collins, a well-known farmer in the Bacon section, north of Delmar. After his marriage in 1886 to Miss Amanda Thompson, by whom he is survived, he moved to a farm near Delmar. 

Some years ago he opened a store in West Delmar which he operated until his retirement in August of this year. Mr. and Mrs. Collins recently celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary. 

Funeral services will be held at the Saint George's Methodist Church north of Delmar Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock, Rev. Walter A. Donoway, pastor of the Delmar Mt. Olive Methodist Church, will officiate. He will be assisted by Rev. H. B. Hanby of Laurel. 

Besides his widow Mr. Collins is survived by two children: Mrs. Frank Sullivan of Delmar and Levin A. Collins Jr. State Sanatorium, Md. Two grandchildren, Mrs. Bessie Hancock and Raymond Sullivan, both of Delmar and two great-grandchildren.

above from The Salisbury Times Jan 3, 1940

The Spoerer

One of the regional automobile manufacturers from Baltimore Maryland

In 1890 Carl Spoerer opened a carriage, wagon, and truck works at 400-402 South Fremont Avenue in southwest Baltimore City, eventually bringing his sons Charles and Jacob into the business. When he died in 1899, Charles and Jacob changed the name of the business to Carl Spoerer's Sons Company and began to transition the company from a carriage-making business to a motor vehicle manufacturer. The sons expanded the factory in 1904, using their father's former home at 404 South Fremont Avenue to build an annex onto the old building at 400-402 Fremont Avenue. They also added the repair and sale of rubber tires to the business, slowly turning their father’s carriage-making business into a business building motor vehicles. Then, in 1907, they purchased property and built a new, larger factory at 901-909 South Carey Street (corner of Carey and Herkimer Streets). About this time they also took on a new partner, John F. Reus, although the name of the firm remained unchanged. During the years 1907 to 1914, the company produced several types of motor vehicles: a roadster, a five-passenger touring car or convertible (tonneau), a seven-passenger touring car or convertible, a town car, a landaulet, a limousine, and trucks including Spoerer-built fire equipment. Carl Spoerer's Sons Company eventually gave up building motor vehicles and concentrated on providing accessories such as tires for motor vehicles. The company went out of business in 1934.

1911 Spoerer roadster 

William H Gillis

above 1932 State Register Laurel Delaware

William Herbert Gillis (1887-1970) was born in Bacon to Josiah Esma (Izz) Gillis (1859-1933) and Lucretia Janie Lowe Gillis (1868-1910).  He did a number of things in his life from farming to running a Texaco station in Delmar.  He was also a retired brakeman for the Penn Central railroad .  He married Bessie Mae Dykes (1892-1969) on May 2nd 1914.  They had two sons Lawrence Herbert Gillis and William W Gillis.

Patsy Elliott

Some photo were posted recently of the Delmar Stockcar raceway They were from the Nabb Research Center of Salisbury University the Harry Baker photos.  Included in the group of photographs were pictures of Patsy Elliott.

Patsy Elliott was the daughter of Frank and Libby Elliott from Delmar.  They had moved to Salisbury in the 1940s with their daughters.  At the age of five Patsy took dance lessons from Billy Tryall (A Salisbury dance instructor) and was very successful at it while she was in High School.  After graduating high school in 1953 she went to New York City and became a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall.  She developed a comedy dance routine she performed in night clubs in New York,  Eventually she was signed to the Gary Moore Show.

At last word Patsy was alive and well and living in a retirement community in Virginia Beach. 

Patsy Elliot Cartwheeling, 1950

  

Stockcar Races in Delmar abt 1951

The Nabb Research Center of Salisbury University posted some photographs taken by Harry F. Baker a member of the Salisbury Camera Club.  Included in the photographs are these from the Stock Car races that were held west of Delmar.

Curtis Taylor and Vera Jane Cropper

The Bi-State Weekly June 2, 1944 edition

 MISS VERA JANE CROPPER - PVT. CURTIS TAYLOR MARRIED

Miss Vera Jane Cropper, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dorsey L. Cropper, of this city, and Pvt. Curtis Taylor, of Jamestown, R.I. , son of Mr.s and Mrs. Samuel Taylor, of Wilmington, Del., were married Saturday, May 20, 1944.  The Rev. Dr. J. N. Stewart performed the ceremony in the Allen memorial Baptist Church, Salisbury.

 The Bride wore a suit of blue flannel and a corsage of red and white rosebuds.  Her only attendant was her sister, Miss Frances E. cropper.  Lt. (jg) Charles Lancaster, who had been stationed at the Chincoteague Naval Air station was best man.

 Following an informal reception at the home of the brides parents, the couple left for a wedding trip to Wilmington and Jamestown, R.I.

 Mrs. Taylor, a graduate of the Delmar Maryland High school, will continue her work at the duPont plant in Seaford for the duration.  Prior to his induction in the Army, Pvt. Taylor was employed in Wilmington.

The Bi-State weekly Sept 8, 1944 edition

 Mrs. Curtis Taylor has gone to Jamestown, R.I. for an indefinite stay with her husband who is stationed there.

Salisbury BiCentennial Parade

The Nabb Research Center (Salisbury University) put a 15 minute film of the 1932 Bicentennial parade in Salisbury on you tube.  The address is here;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S2pAVMUzag&feature=share

an interesting film some parts were shot at night so it is hard to see but the parade and aircraft was interesting.  A time when people put some planning and effort into their floats instead of grapping apiece of tagboard and a felt tip pen and hanging a sign on the back of a pickup truck.  Somewhere in the crowd might be your relative. 

The Fire Dept and The Park

Two recent donations to the Delmar Historical and Arts Society

Some Delmar Service Station Ads

1995 Grad Class