It is the Fourth of July in Delmar

 

It is the Fourth of July in Delmar

Fourth in Delmar 1916

 

Fourth in Delmar

DELMAR, July 5. The "Fourth" was celebrated patriotically in Delmar. The national colors were displayed in all parts of town and early in the afternoon a parade was formed at the Maryland school grounds composed of a company of Boy Scouts, the cornet band of Newton Lodge I. O. O. F. of Salisbury, pupils of public schools, forty-eight little girls in white and decorated with the colors, representing the forty-eight state of the Union, floats of the various business houses and decorated automobiles.

 

After passing through principal streets and viewed by residents and visitors it ended at the grove between State and Grove streets where the Declaration of Independence was read by Ralph E. Nichols.

 

A ball game between Laurel and Delmar was played later resulting in a score of 10 to 2 in favor of Delmar. In the evening a patriotic address was delivered by the Hon. Jesse D. Price of Salisbury, Representative in Congress from the First District of Maryland. The exercises closed with a display of fireworks. Congratulations are due the New Century Club under whose auspices the demonstration was given.

Above from The Morning News (Wilmington) 06 Jul 1916

Sergt. Marion L. Hitchens 1945

 

First Sergt. Marion L. Hitchens, 28, of Delmar, the Distinguished Service Cross, awarded at the Bushnell General Hospital, Brighton City, Utah, for action in the South west Pacific on March 4, 1944.

Presentation of the DSC to Sergeant Hitchens was officially ordered by Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur, and was made by Col. Robert M. Hardaway, commanding officer of Bushnell General Hospital. In a citation General MacArthur wrote: For extraordinary heroism in action at Los Negros Island. Admiralty Group, on March 4, 1944. First Sergeant Hitchens was at his assigned station ready to engage any low-flying hostile aircraft with anti-aircraft fire when enemy ground troops directed heavy grenade and small arms fire against our troops adjacent to his position. Faced with the alternative of remaining in the field fortification, or moving his machine-gun Into the open to engage the enemy on the ground, he moved his weapon to assist our ground troops. Finding his field of fire obstructed, he ran 50 yards in the open, under a heavy enemy fire to his other machine gun, pausing enroute to throw eight hand grenades into an enemy pillbox.

Manned Gun Alone 

"Upon reaching the machine-gun, he moved it from its fortified position with the aid of two enlisted men, and manning the gun alone, placed heavy and accurate fire on the enemy. By his quick and accurate judgment and courageous action. First Sergeant Hitchens, in addition to killing at least 12 enemy troops, contributed materially to repelling the enemy attack." 

Son of Mrs. Carrie L. Hitchens of 2 West East Street, Delmar. Sergeant Hitchens on a recent furlough married the former Fay L Mclnnis, daughter of Mrs. Helen Curtis of Philadelphia. 

Before joining the Army on Oct. 22, 1942, he was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad as a brake-man. He went overseas Aug. 23, 1943, and wears the Southwest Pacific ribbon with three campaign stars. He is a coast artilleryman. 

from The News Journal 24 March 1945

Bridgewood Estates

 

Bridgewood Estates is located on the east side of Delmar Maryland.  It is a subdivision started in about 2000 by Glenn Bridge.   Mr. Bridge got out of it in 2005 at which time it was annexed into the Town of Delmar.  It has a little over 70 lots, with houses on over 50% of the lots.  It was for a while, a Ryan Homes Development.

It is unique in several ways. Each road in the subdivision includes the word “bridge” in it; Footbridge, Drawbridge, Newbridge, Old Bridge lane, Swingbridge with the exception of Trestle Place.  For Delmar the other unique thing is most of the lots/homes are owned by people with an India origin surname.  The residents are mostly small business owners, owning Drug stores, hotels, real estate development companies and convenience stores.   The houses have impressive patios and backyards, well decorated for entertaining. 

Working on the Delmar Caboose

 

Working on the Delmar Caboose

The Delmar 1929 Penna Railroad caboose arrived in June of 1976 in time for the Bicentennial. Like most things getting it here didn't happen by itself. It took the efforts of a number of people to make it happen. George Truitt and Grover Lecates were two. They had been trying for 20 years to get a caboose into Delmar to use as a Railroad Museum. In 1976 with the help of the Delmar Bicentennial Committee they were able to succeed in that dream. The caboose cost in 1976 $1,000 ($3,793 in 2009 dollars) and the money was raised by fundraising events and the sale of cookbooks. I came across one of those cookbooks at a flea market and snatched it up. Anyway, with that effort the caboose arrived in June of 1976 covered in plywood painted the yellow color of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. It also had some damage to it. When the plywood was remove the familiar red of the former Chesapeake and Ohio was still on the caboose. In 1976 the caboose was considered obsolete and parts to replace the damaged sections were hard to find, but the damage was repaired and the caboose was ready for the 1976 Bicentennial.

Laurel Auction Block 1940

 LAUREL AUCTION LEASES 7 ACRES 

Site for Block Secured From Dashield Estate; Carmel Moore Chosen Manager 

Special to The Morning News LAUREL, March 31 At a meeting of the Laurel Farmers' Association in the Laurel Community House, attended by about 100 farmers, announcement was made that seven acres of land had been leased from the Dashield estate, just south of Tenth Street and east of the railroad, for the new Farmers' Auction Block. Announcement was also made that the manager of the block would be Carmel Moore of this town. 

It is planned to operate the block entirely on a fee charged in proportion to the sale price of the produce, and to permit buyers to purchase under the block free of charge by complying with the financial requirements.

above from The morning News 01 Apr 1940

This year, 2021, the Laurel Auction Block will open June 26th

https://laurelauctionmarket.com/

History from their website;

The Laurel Farmers’ Auction Market began in January 1940, when area farmers elected 10 of their peers to the original Board of Directors to begin the organization. This new cooperative would prove to play a major role in the region’s agriculture, history, and identity. It would also impact the national marketing of one of our country’s major and favorite produce items, the watermelon. The auction’s origins and continued success are a tribute to the power of cooperation. Hundreds of farm families from Delaware and Maryland have survived on the land as a result of the Auction Market.

Laurel-area farmers were shipping trainloads of watermelons at the turn of the century. For example, on August 17, 1905, 45 carloads of melons, with 1,200 melons per car were loaded on a train in Laurel. The watermelons weighed between twenty and forty pounds each. This particular trainload generated $30,000 in cash sales for the many farmers who cooperated to put the load together.

Delmarva producers, then as now, enjoy a competitive freight advantage over growers from more distant regions. In 1926, 2,014 carloads of cantaloupes and 356 carloads of watermelons were shipped by rail from Delmarva. Rail car transportation charges for cantaloupes shipped from Delmarva to New York were $148.70 per car, versus $612.50 from California.

A wholesale produce market existed at the corner of Poplar and Clayton Street in Laurel during the 1920s. It is unclear if this small shed facility was an auction, or simply a buying station for shippers. However, a photograph from that time demonstrates it was active and busy.

That market was replaced during the 1930s by a private auction block, the Laurel Produce Association, controlled by brokers operating in Laurel. Farmers were dissatisfied with the trade practices followed at this auction and charged that the brokers controlled the auction to their advantage. Outside buyers could make purchases only through a local broker who belonged to the auction. Brokers charged fees of five cents per package to the buyer and two cents to the farmer. These burdensome commissions made it less attractive for buyer and seller alike. Moreover, the system of allowing purchases only through member brokers tended to force other buyers to make purchases elsewhere, since they disliked dealing exclusively through the brokers.

The word was spread among farmers in the area about a meeting in January 1940 to discuss the formation of a grower-owned auction market in Laurel. By the end of that first session, a plan was set and ten men were elected to the original board of directors. Those founding members were Merrill G. King, Earl T. Cooper, Harley G. Hastings, William J. Hopkins, Norman O. Dickerson, Fred M. Wright, Martin W. Johnson, Jr., Watson W. Moore, Grover C. German, and Roy C. Dennis. Merrill King was elected President.

These 10 directors then went out to solicit and collect $5 investments in the new cooperative from interested farmers. They attracted 213 people who found the five dollars to become the original stockholders. Who could guess that this act of cooperation and faith, generating seed money of $1,065, would create something so lasting and important to generations of people and families in the region?

In April 1940, the Board hired Carmel Moore as Treasurer and General Manager. Still a legend in Laurel even years after his death in 1978, Moore was known not only for his honest and keen management of the auction, but also as a fair man for both buyer and seller. Moore is generally acknowledged as the man who made the venture work. He would manage the auction into the 1970s.

That first year, 22,000 sales transactions generated sales of $231,887.74. From those beginnings, the Laurel Auction Market now sells over $5 million of produce annually. More than 80 percent of that is in watermelons.

The light, sandy soils, coupled with our warm, summer climate, make the agricultural region around Laurel and the neighboring counties in Maryland an ideal spot for production of high quality, nutritious produce, especially watermelons.

If you would like more information on the history of the market, you can obtain “Where Buyer and Seller Meet – Sixty Years of the Laurel Auction Market,” by Ed Kee, from the Laurel Historical Society or the Southern Delaware Truck Growers Association Office at the Laurel Auction at 302-875-3147.

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Jim's Automatic Transmission Outlet

 

1975 ad

James Porter Adams

Folsom - James "Jim" Porter Adams, 87 of Folsom, WV passed away on Friday, June 11, 2021 at his residence. Jim was born May 4, 1934 in Folsom, son of the late James "Jake" Adams and Rosalie Martin Adams. Jim owned and operated Jim's Automatic Transmission Outlet for thirty plus years. He was a golden glove boxer. Jim enjoyed boating, fishing, riding his side by side, working on cars, and collecting guns. He enjoyed life to the fullest. Jim is survived by his daughter, Lisa Adams, Folsom; four grandchildren, Courtney Drake, Skye Adams, Brian Wodkins, and James Gordy; five great grandchildren, Blaze, Myah, Roselynn, Leilanni, and Lucas; like a son, Jim Smallwood and April; like a granddaughter, Allison Stevens; and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, Jim was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Jean Gordon Adams in 2004, and whom he married on April 7, 1954; two sons, Richard Neil Adams and Victor Ray Adams II; two siblings, Sidney Johnson and Victor Ray Adams I. Davis Funeral Home and Onsite Crematory is handling the cremation and honored to serve the Adams family. A Celebration of his life will be held at his residence on Saturday, July 17, 2021 at 3:00PM