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Nostalgia & Memories
(Archive
#56: August 1, 2008 to August 31,
2008 entries)
Connie --- I looked at the WILM site that you posted ... did not see the man's name. I only met him a few times since I rarely worked at night when he was there.
Joe Mosbrook --- interesting story about the KKK and the gunshot. BTW, I grew up in Woodbine on Silverside Road. Once when I was snooping around the area behind WDEL/WSTW I "found" one of the big concrete blocks used to anchor the guy wires for the old TV station antenna. Also, does anyone know if Scotty Moyer (he was chief engineer of the two radio stations) is still there? He and I were both ham radio operators.
Roy C. Pollitt <DJ@OldiesMusicMan.com>
Punta Gorda, FL USA - Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 23:40:39 (EDT)
TO ALL YOU SPORT LOVERS ,WHO LIVE OR HAVE LIVED IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE. TO BE VOTED INTO THE DELAWARE SPORT,S HALL OF FAME IS QUITE A HONOR. BUT NOW I AM WONDERING IF POLITIC,S COULD STOP A GREAT ATHLETE FROM BEING GIVEN THIS HONOR.? I RECENTLY CHECKED THE NAMES OF THOSE MEN AND WOMAN WHO HAVE BEEN VOTED INTO THE DEALAWARE HALL OF FAME. THERE WAS TWO NAMES I THOUGHT FOR SURE I WOULD FIND ON THAT LIST OF GREAT ATHLETE,S ROBERT (BOB) LaFAZIA WHO WAS PICKED TWO YEARS IN A ROW (BACK IN THE EARLY 50,S ) ON THE DELAWARE HIGH SCHOOL ALL STATE TEAM, BESIDE THESE GREAT HONORS BOB, WON OTHER AWARDS FOR FOOT BALL. . I REMEMBER HEARING ,THAT LaFAZIA WAS OFFERED MANY COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS ! ---THE 2ND. ATHLETE WHO,S NAME SHOULD BE ADDED AMONG THE NAMES LISTED IN THE DELAWARE HALL OF FAME IS JAMES (GOOGIE ) PATTON ! I CANT THINK OF A BASKETBALL PLAYER WHO PLAYED IN HIGH SCHOOL IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE , WHO COULD COME CLOSE TO HIM ON A BASKETBALL COURT, AND LIKE BOB LaFAZIA , GOOGIE RECEIVED MANY OFFERS FROM BIG COLLEGES .. I HAVE NOT SEEN EITHER OF THESE GREAT ATHLETE,S IN ABOUT 55 YEARS ! I LIVE IN FLORIDA . I THINK THEY STILL LIVE IN DELAWARE BUT I WISH THEM WELL , BUT I HOPE THAT BOTH BOB AND GOOGIE ARE INDUCTED INTO THE DELAWARE SPORTS HALL OF FAME WHILE THERE STILL ALIVE ! THEY DESERVE THIS HONOR !
RALPH PRYOR <REPJFK@AOL.COM>
TARPON SPRINGS , FL USA - Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 22:06:29 (EDT)
I found this site searching "Willie Gaylord Wilmington radio" http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=48437.msg848420 - it's about a WAMS reunion
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 19:29:06 (EDT)
Check out this site for Wilm radio station pix. http://www.fybush.com/site-030925.html
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 19:27:10 (EDT)
Speaking of radio personalities - where is Willie Gehlert (Gaylord)? Someone once noted he wrote in on this site. Have I missed him? Should would like to hear some of this thoughts from the past.
Phyllis B. <pboyd52@comcast.net>
Wilm., DE USA - Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 16:50:38 (EDT)
A local radio personality that can be asked some radio questions is Richard "Dick" Holmes, retired from WILM. He has a web site: http://www.richardbholmes.com/ and his e-mail is: dick@richardbholmes.com
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 15:24:38 (EDT)
Does anyone remember and/or know were a local DJ named Bill Blatz is today? I cannot recall the station he was on but it was local and I believe mid 60s.
Al Minne <alminne@msn.com>
Temecula, ca USA - Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 14:24:54 (EDT)
One time in the mid-60s, when I was doing "Voice of the People" on WDEL, a couple of self-styled Ku Klux Klan guys fired some shots through a window of the station on Shipley Road. I had done a little commentary suggesting that the Klan's main motivation was making money by trying to sell KKK souvenirs, hate mail, etc. They apparently weren't happy with my observations. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the shooting incident and the damage was confined to one window of the building, near the studio where I was on the air. The FBI investigated and, I believe, eventually caught the guys. I never considered arming myself with anything more than a microphone.
Joe Mosbrook <joe.mosbrook@multiverse.com>
Cleveland Heights, OH` USA - Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 14:02:27 (EDT)
ROY - try this site - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WILM-AM - and see if they list the name of the man you're thinking of.
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 12:57:10 (EDT)
Joe Mosbrook: When I started working at WILM in 1967 there was a man who did a nightly talk show (my senior moment keeps me from remembering his name). He, apparently, had had threats against his life as he brought a baseball bat and a .38 revolver to each show! He was a nice man and was very kind to a 17 year old newbie in broadcasting!
Roy C. Pollitt <DJ@OldiesMusicMan.com>
Punta Gorda, FL USA - Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 10:49:57 (EDT)
JERRY LANK: I don't remember a lot of talk show hosts on WILM -- Joe Pyne, of course, and later, after I started "Voice of the People" on WDEL, Carl Jones. At that time, Carl and I were doing the only call-in radio shows in town. Sorry, I can't place Frances Sheing, but Ewing and Sally Hawkins, the owners of WILM, lived just down the street from our family on Franklin Street. I do remember Sam Shipley doing a lot of PR in Wilmington in the '60s, but I haven't heard his name in years.
Joe Mosbrook <joe.mosbrook@multiverse.com>
Cleveland Heights, OH USA - Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 21:49:59 (EDT)
PHYLLIS: REMEMBER THAT WITHOUT THE MUSIC OF THE 50'S NONE OF THE MUSIC THAT THE KIDS HAVE TODAY WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED.
BOB WILSON: YOU HAVE ALL THE NOSTALGIA MEMORIES BUT YOU COULDN'T REMEMBER THE STORE ACROSS THE FROM SHORTLEDGE SCHOOL WITH THE HUGE PENNY COUNTER. TONER'S HAD THE PIN BALL MACHINES AND LANK'S HAD THE PENNY CANDY COUNTER.
JOE MOSBROOK: THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU FOND MEMORIES OF WILMINGTON> DO YOU REMEMBER ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAD TALK SHOWS ON WILM? YOU PROBABLY KNEW MY SISTER, FRANCES SHEING WHO WORKED FOR HUEING HAWKINS FOR YEARS AND THEN SHE WENT TO WORK FOR SAM SHIPLEY. I HAD BROUGHT GENERAL SCANLAN WHO LIVED AROUND THE CORNER FROM OUR STORE ON CONCORD AVE TO FL IN THE 70'S
Jerry Lank <transworldtsl@delaware.usa.com>
Marco Island, FL USA - Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 20:48:49 (EDT)
What does this have to do with Old Wilmington, you might ask?___There seems to be a small interest here and I have stuff that I want to share with those interested.___We will return to Old Wilmington shortly.___So, what is a Les Prélude, that has been mentioned?___Franz Liszt, a Hungarian composer (1877 - 1886), composed several symphonic tone poems, one of which is Number 3, Les Prélude.___A tone poem is simply a work of literature translated into a musical form.___Les Prélude over the years has been used in many films and serials.___ Select Here to download the complete orchestral score and Select Here to listen to Les Prélude.___Bob Wilson, please enjoy the score and let me know if you have any problems downloading it.___By the way - TURN UP THE VOLUME ON THIS, TOO..
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 12:04:45 (EDT)
RE: THE SHADOW -- the radio role of The Shadow and his alter ego, Lammot Cranston,
was played mostly by actor Bret Morrison. Morrison was The Shadow for ten years, longer than any other actor. I met Morrison several times when I was working in the early 1960s at a radio station in Easton, Pennsylvania, not far from his home. While he was obviously a terrific actor and very friendly, he looked nothing like the mental picture I had of The Shadow from listening to the program for years on radio. He was very short and sort of pink and soft-looking. In fact, his appearance reminded me of the cartoon character Elmer Fudd. But to radio listeners, he personified the dashing and debonair crime-fighter. Bret Morrison died in 1978.
Joe Mosbrook <joe.mosbrook@multiverse.com>
Cleveland Heights, OH USA - Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 11:31:06 (EDT)
This from the Net:: Brace Beemer (December 9, 1903 - March 1, 1965
Beemer served as the announcer for The Lone Ranger soon after its first broadcast in 1933. Beemer also appeared as the Ranger in public appearances because Earl Graser, the actor who played the part of the Ranger on the radio, did not look right for the part.
Brace Beemer was voice of Lone Ranger as early as 1938. In 1941, Graser was killed in a car accident, and Beemer took over as the voice of the Ranger from 1941 to the last new episode on September 3, 1954. During the 13 years that Beemer played the title character, he was required by contract to restrict his radio acting to that one role until the program left the air.
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 09:44:04 (EDT)
To Phyllis and all fans of old old radio...yes, it was Beemer, who was killed in a car crash back in about 1940. I forget who it was who succeeded him as the voice, but it wasn't Clayton Moore, who didn't come along until the TV series in the 50's. (The voice of the Invisible Shadow was done by a whole range of actors over the years, including Orson Welles, and by a guy named Arthur Vinton, who had a working turkey farm in upstate New York about a mile from where I once lived.)Moore, by the way, was a regular in those Republic serials that showed at the Grand Opera House, memories of which I share with Ralph Pryor. The two Kato's shared a profession, but not much else. And if Lois and Margo Lane were related, where does Frankie "Mule Train" Laine fit into that picture?
Bob Wilson Jr <wilso127@yahoo.com>
Beaufort, SC USA - Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 09:25:42 (EDT)
I'll try again. Liszt's "Les Preludes" also provided the background music for the old Flash Gordon serials.
Bill Mackey <whmackey@verizon.net>
Chadds Ford, PA USA - Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 08:31:30 (EDT)
My favorite year to go back to would be 1959. I probably listened to Bobby Darin sing Mack the Knife a thousand times. Some Came Running, Anatomy of a Murder and Some Like It Hot all played at theaters in Wilm. in l959. American Legion on Lancaster Ave. - Frankie Baldo on guitar. Atterbury Post on E. 26th St. The old German Club (6th & French?). These were the places to go for music. Loved it. Thought those heady days would never end. Was the atmosphere that intoxicating, or did it just seem so because I was so young?
Phyllis B. <pboyd52@comcast.net>
Wilm., DE USA - Friday, August 29, 2008 at 23:18:22 (EDT)
Bob Wilson - Was the original Lone Ranger played by Brace Beamer? Wasn't Dan Reed also the Ranger's nephew? Do you think Kato Kaelin (that far away hole-in-the-ozone) was named after the Kato of Green Hornet fame? Since you are a fan of mundane trivia (as am I) I thought you might know these earthshaking answers.......Were Lois Lane (superman's girl friend) and Margo Lane (the Shadow's girl friend) possibly first cousins?........
Phyllis <pboyd52@comcast.net>
Wilm., DE USA - Friday, August 29, 2008 at 22:53:24 (EDT)
Debbie: the Store U were talking about was Lank's. I ran it with my Mother and Father.
Jerry Lank <transworldtsl@delaware.usa.com>
Marco Island, FL USA - Friday, August 29, 2008 at 22:21:43 (EDT)
Bruce:
It wasn't Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney that did the Nestle's commercials. It was Jimmy Nelson and another wooden Irishman, Danny O'Day. They sold Nestle's on the Milton Berle Show. Farfel was the dog.
Jack Riley <jckril@comcast.net>
Wilmington, DE USA - Friday, August 29, 2008 at 17:50:03 (EDT)
Web and Joe - That 'bridge' music used on "The Lone Ranger" radio program was taken from excerpts from "Les Preludes" by Franz Lizst, a magnificent and majestic piece of classical music which I urge all to listen to, in its entirety. That program originated in the studios of WXYZ in Detroit, and it was produced by a man who was also a great classical music lover named George W. Trendle. A somewhat later program also produced by Trendle was "The Green Hornet", and the theme music for it was "The Flight of the Bumble Bee" by Rimsky-Korsakov. The Trendle folk maintained that the "Lone Ranger's" straight name was Dan Reed, and that "The Green Hornet's" straight name was Britt Reed, and that Dan was Britt's uncle. When I first found that out, I wondered if Tonto and Kato were also related in any way.
Bob Wilson Jr <wilso127@yahoo.com>
Beaufort, SC USA - Friday, August 29, 2008 at 16:33:32 (EDT)
RE: Nestle's, Farfel was the dogs name.
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Friday, August 29, 2008 at 14:19:49 (EDT)
The music, which is from the Republic Studios, was first used in their serials and movies. The scores were later provided for the radio and TV Lone Ranger programs. The music that I have, plus other selections, are heard even today on TV. One of the religious TV channels on DirecTV show The Lone Ranger every day...
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Friday, August 29, 2008 at 12:10:10 (EDT)
Harry -- I believe that Long Ranger music you posted was not intended as a theme song, but rather as mood music used by WXYZ in Detroit(where the Long Ranger series was produced) to bridge from one scene to another and in and out of commercial breaks. The engineer would use the recording to find a brief section which seemed to fit the current story line. But it is interesting and brings back some memories.
Joe Mosbrook <joe.mosbrook@multiverse.com>
Cleveland, OH USA - Friday, August 29, 2008 at 11:24:24 (EDT)
Nestle's, to me, always seemed to be synonymous with the 'Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show'. Whenever they sang the Nestle's jingle during commercial time, the dog would end it with a long "C-h-a-w-w-w-k-l-i-i-i-t". I had to laugh about Swifty's secret decoder ring response. Many of us would like to make that a reality.
Bruce Esdale <BEsdale48@comcast.net>
Newark, DE USA - Friday, August 29, 2008 at 09:05:51 (EDT)
GO HERE to see images and hear sound clips from the old TV programs and Serials. Also, Lone Ranger fans - Listen To a 7 Min. Sound Clip - and turn up the volume - IT IS NOT The William Tell Overture. The images and sounds were taken from the .avi and .mp3 files I have in my library...
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 20:44:02 (EDT)
How about Pete Boyle and our gang, and I want my Maypo
Bob <rjordan552@aol.com>
Newcastle, DE USA - Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 19:14:40 (EDT)
RE: Sagamore, Could it have anything to do with beneficial savings and loan?
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 18:00:44 (EDT)
The musical version of, "Sagamore 2-2900, Sagamore 2-2900...." Does anyone remember what they were advertising? I think it was on the Soul Train program.
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 16:55:48 (EDT)
I remember Ovaltine. It's a wonder that I didn't OD on it. I wish I still had my Captain Midnight magic decoder ring. It might help me figure out today's world.
Swifty <williamwswift@aol.com>
Middletown, DE USA - Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 15:03:39 (EDT)
N E S T L E S, Nestle's makes the very best........
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 15:03:07 (EDT)
Ramar of the Jungle (Jon Hall) had Howard and an English chap named Charlie as his sidekicks. I also remember Captain Midnight and the constant hawking of Ovaltine chocolate drink during the commercials.
Bruce Esdale <BEsdale48@comcast.net>
Newark, DE USA - Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 14:51:22 (EDT)
RE: Blackhawks, a long-running comic book series, was also a film serial, a radio series and a novel. The comic book was published first by Quality Comics and later by National Periodical Publications, the primary company of those that evolved to become DC Comics. The series was created by Will Eisner, Chuck Cuidera, and Bob Powell, but the artist most associated with the feature is Reed Crandall. Future Justice League of America artist Dick Dillin succeeded him in the 1950s, continuing on through DC's acquisition of the series.
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 11:05:19 (EDT)
Rev Debbie -
The corner grocery you mention in your post was probably the Save-More Market at 23rd and Monroe, the corner drug store was Fell's at Monroe and Concord, and the small soda shop across from the school was probably Patsy's (or as I always called it, Toner's) at the Boulevard and Van Buren. In the 2300 block of Monroe also at that time was the Wiberg family, and I believe that son Jack became a minister.
Bob Wilson Jr <wilso127@yahoo.com>
Beaufort, SC USA - Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 09:11:14 (EDT)
I've probably walked where George Washington walked - "1777 While the British Army controlled the land between Glasgow and Newark, American troops were stationed along White Clay Creek with General Washington headquartered at Newport."
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 04:25:15 (EDT)
I remember Ramar too! How about Nyoka of the jungle? I've only met one person who remembers her - the Park movie ran her serials in the 40's.
Patty <pattywerk@comcast.net>
Wilmington, DE USA - Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 02:29:52 (EDT)
I was raised in and baptized at McCabe Memorial United Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. Charles Dickerson was the minister. My Grandmother and Aunt, Laura and Grace Walker, lived at 2302 N. Monroe St. and I spent many many years there growing up. I used to buy the original Sara Lee pound cakes sold at the corner grocery, and Dolly Madison Egg Nog Ice Cream purchased at the drug store on Concord Avenue. I attended Shortlidge Elementary School two blocks away, and last I heard it was now apartments or condos. There was also a small store across from Shortlidge that sold candy and sodas, but I can't remember the name of it. This was all during the 1950's.
Rev. Deborah Collins <revdebc@yahoo.com>
Church Hill, TN USA - Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 18:17:53 (EDT)
The "Blackhawks" originated in a 1940's comic book adventure feature, very well drawn. They consisted as a squadron of fighter pilots from five or six European countries, and Blackhawk, the American leader of the squadron. Each one of them were stereotyped representatives of their countries, with names like Olaf, Pierre, etc., and they spoke accented English according to their National origins. Their battle cry, as in "Gung Ho!", was a very loud and bold "HAWK-AAAA!" Never saw the TV version, or even knew there ever was one. Live and learn.
Bob Wilson Jr <wilso127@yahoo.com>
Beaufort, SC USA - Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 16:23:08 (EDT)
Dose anybody remember Ramar of the jungle
Bob <rjordan552@aol.com>
New Castle, De USA - Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 16:17:02 (EDT)
BUZ: I eventually got my chemistry set with microscope, and enjoyed working with all the chemical compounds except those with sulfur.
Jerry T. <private>
at the shore, De. USA - Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 15:44:45 (EDT)
I remember watching Flash Gordon after school, but don't remember the Blackhawks. What show was that ? I remember Dilly Dally, but forget what he looked like ?
Jerry T. <private>
at the shore, De. USA - Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 15:24:31 (EDT)
Anyone remember "Flash Gordon" or the "Blackhawks" ?
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 12:28:37 (EDT)
Don't forget: Dr. Sing-A-Song, Chief Thunderthud, the Private-Eye character, Mr. Bluster's brother and several others -- GO HERE for MORE...
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 20:46:40 (EDT)
Jerry, Buffalo Bob was the host of the Howdy Doody show. Flub-a-dub, Dilly Dally, Phineas T. Bluster, Clarabelle and Princes Summerfall Winterspring were all characters on the same show.
Dave ziegler <dziegler3@comcast.net>
Newark, DE USA - Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 20:42:16 (EDT)
Anyone remember the " Buffalo Bob " show ? How about the character, "Flub a Dub". I forget, but he may have been on the Howdy Doody show.
Jerry T. <private>
at the shore, De. USA - Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 20:23:49 (EDT)
Commenting on Peninsula Methodist Church - I can remember going roller skating every Wednesday night in the church basement. It was a lot of fun! I walked up from 19th & West on cold winter nights carrying my skates in a suitcase or over my shoulder with no fear at all. It was a beautiful church just as the church they merged with - McCabe Methodist.
diane thomas oller <d.oller@verizon.net>
townsend, de USA - Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 14:57:03 (EDT)
OOps...that's Princess SUMMER Fall Winter Spring...
Buz <private>
Sequim/Wilm, WA/DE USA - Monday, August 25, 2008 at 20:09:40 (EDT)
Welcome back "home" Tom (Slower Lower). Thought we may have lost you after the spam notations and possible offenses taken to 1BC. You are always full of wonderful information.. I guess we all know now about SPAM, what with the canadameds.com notation...Tom, I have a Princess Fall Winter Spring towel from the Howdy Doody Show. I must have "sent away" for it. Found it among my Mom's things after she passed away...
And Jerry T, I had one of those chemistry sets too...and a neat microscope that came in a wooden box...
Buz <Private>
Sequim/Wilm, WA/DE USA - Monday, August 25, 2008 at 20:07:05 (EDT)
HEY JOHN, YOU ARE CORRECT !PRINCES SUMMER FALL WINTER SPRING WAS A MEMBER OF THE CAST ON THE HOWDY DOODY SHOW ! SEVERAL MONTHS BEFORE THE SHOW WENT OFF THE AIR, SHE WAS KILLED IN A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT (DECAPITATED ) MY DAUGHTER , WHO IS NOW 50 YS. OLD KEPT ASKING ME , ---WHERE IS THE PRINCESS ? NO WAY I COULD TELL VALERIE THAT HER INDIAN FRIEND HAD BEEN KILLED . ---SO I JUST TOLD HER SHE WENT TO VISIT HET FAMILY ON A INDIAN RESERVATION !
RALPH PRYOR <REPJFK@AOL.COM>
REPJFK@AOL.COM, FL USA - Monday, August 25, 2008 at 16:25:35 (EDT)
Go to this site for all kinds of information on Bertie, Sallie and other
Philadelphia kids shows in the 1950's and 1960's. http://www.tvparty.com/lostbertie.html
Art <ajjas@yahoo.com>
Wilmington, DE USA - Monday, August 25, 2008 at 14:40:05 (EDT)
Remember the songs, "It's in the Book" and "Gran ma's Lye Soap" ? The lyrics are on this site - http://lirama.net/song/16622
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Monday, August 25, 2008 at 13:59:20 (EDT)
RE: Sally Starr, look here,,,,,http://www.sallystarr.net/
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Monday, August 25, 2008 at 13:17:11 (EDT)
RE: Bunyip,,,,Bertie the Bunyip was a puppet character on a popular American children's television show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 1950s and 60s.
Created by Australian Lee Dexter, Bertie was a bunyip (a mythological Australian creature), described by Dexter as "a cross between a bunny, a collie dog and a duck billed platypus."
Bertie's enemy was an aristocratic fox by the name of Sir Guy de Guide (a newspaper article published shortly after his death featured an interview with Lee Dexter who noted that Sir Guy was named after the ubiquitous TV Guide).
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Monday, August 25, 2008 at 12:19:32 (EDT)
Jerry T. I remember Bertie the Bunyip. My question is what the heck was a Bunyip. If I can trust my memory Bertie had a long snout and a red nose.
My favorite kid show was Sally Starr. Is she still around?
Bruce <private>
Sugar Land, TX USA - Monday, August 25, 2008 at 08:31:32 (EDT)
The show was "Winky-Dink and You" (1953-1957). Starred Jack Barry as the "host", Dayton Allen ("Why Not?") as Mr. Bungle, and Mae Questel provided the voice of Winky-Dink. (She was also the voice of Olive Oyl in the Popeye cartoons, and Aunt Bluebelle in the commercials for some paper towel.) And, yes, I had the Winky-Dink kit with the plastic screen that you pasted on your picture tube and crayoned on it. Those were the days!
Roy C. Pollitt <DJ@OldiesMusicMan.com>
Punta Gorda, FL USA - Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 23:19:55 (EDT)
Buz, I haven't thought about that interactive show in years! I'm thinking it was Winky? And I remember Willy the Worm. How about Miss Frances and Ding Dong School?
Maureen Vitalo <mvitalo@mac.com>
Bear, De USA - Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 22:38:27 (EDT)
Anyone remember WILLY THE WORM (TV puppet show)? And, there was a cartoon show (BINKY,maybe???) an interactive show, where plastic could be placed on the screen and one could help BINKY, by using special markers to draw bridges, stairs, etc. to help him escape his pursuers?? I think he had a dragon???!!!
As the one suggesting time travel, I'd like to go back to 1956, the year my parents bought our house on Faulkland Rd. I spent many hours exploring Brandywine Springs State Park[sic] and my Dad kept his promise, that whenever we had room for one, he'd buy a horse...the only thing is I wouldn't want to go through the following ten years of school again....
Buz <private>
Sequim/Wilm, WA/DE USA - Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 20:11:34 (EDT)
Princess Summer (etc.) was, indeed, on "Howdy Doody". She was played by Judy Tyler who was tragically killed in Billy The Kid, Wyoming, in a car-truck accident, along with her newly married husband. Judy Tyler played opposite Elvis in "Jailhouse Rock" ... a film that he could never again bear to watch because of his grief over her death.
Roy C. Pollitt <DJ@OldiesMusicMan.com>
Punta Gorda, FL USA - Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 10:08:21 (EDT)
JERRY T.
I THOUGHT PRINCESS SUMMER FALL WINTER SPRING WAS ON HOWDY DOODY.
john <medkeff@yahoo.com>
wilmington, de USA - Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 09:42:55 (EDT)
With a time machine I would go back to 1945 and welcome back all my relatives (the ones that came back) from WW II. Truly the greatest generation.
bummy davis <bd1943@gmail.com>
Lewes, DE USA - Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 09:03:38 (EDT)
Webmaster - my one year of choice for returning to the past in Old Wilmington would be 1950, which I personally described ar length in an illustrated memoir in a 2004 issue of the Delaware History Journal. (Rose Culver has kindly linked a readable copy of it into the Yearbooks section of her All-Year PS-Warner-Old 9th Ward 2008 Reunion. You currently have Rose's site linked into the top of this page.) My SECOND choice, 1955-56, involves Newark more than Wilmington, when I was a senior at the U of Del, and with the help of a few friends, probably consumed 50% of the Carling's Red Cap Ale sold at The Deer Park back in that time...
Bob Wilson Jr <wilso127@yahoo.com>
Beaufort, SC USA - Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 08:07:12 (EDT)
Another fond memory from the early '50's : On either Mondays or Tuesdays I used to rush home from grade school, do my homework, have supper and go next door to Babcia and Dziadia's (granparent's) house to eagerly await my two favorite shows on T.V. - Robin Hood starring Richard Greene and Superman. One came on at 7 p.m., the other at 7:30 p.m. Babcia used to fix me a snack as I watched the shows from under her round coffee table in the living room. On Sunday mornings, I used to rush home after 9:00 a.m. Mass at St. Hedwig's to watch the Bertie the Bunyip show. Featued characters were Bertie, Sir Guy de Guy(sp.) and Princess Winter Spring Summer Fall. Stir up any memories ?
Jerry T. <private>
at the shore, De. USA - Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 01:02:06 (EDT)
Back in the early to mid 50's one day, I overheard my parents talking about taking me in to "town". I thought for sure that thay were going to buy me the long awaited for, "Chemistry Set". Instead we went in to the Buster Brown shoestore somewhere on Market St. I was initially disappointed until I was greeeted by Clarabelle the Clown doing a Promo. After a handshake and a squirt in the face from his Seltzer water bottle, my day was made. Afterwards my feet were X-ray'd and I was bought a new pair of shoes. On the way back to the car, I noticed that another store was sellng Davy Crockett coon skin hats with a background picture of Fess Parker as Davy. Great days, great memories.
Jerry T. <private>
at the shore, De. USA - Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 00:30:19 (EDT)
Re telephone numbers and exchanges--during a visit to the U of DE library back in the mid-1990s, I looked through their Wilmington phone book archive and can relate these items:
In 1950, some parts of the metro (example being the Newport/Stanton area) used five numbers, as in 3-XXXX. Other parts such as New Castle (which included the airport area) had only four numbers--my notes infer the phone book listing as "New Castle XXXX" however I'm not sure how that was dialed.
By 1955 the New Castle area mirrored other parts of the metro with numbers such as 8-XXXX. It appears the "8" was added to the front of the XXXX number.
The big switch occurred at 2:01am EST on Sunday, February 19, 1956. At that time the Wilmington area was upgraded to 2L+5N exchange numbers. The Stanton area 3-XXXX number I was tracking became WYman 4-XXXX (XXXX was unchanged). I don't have any notes as to why it did not become WYman 3-XXXX. The New Castle area 8-XXXX number became EAst 8-XXXX (again XXXX was unchanged). By late 1956 I noticed the WYman exchange had at least WY 4- and WY 8- numbers.
I can't give you any geographic region for the OLympia exchange.
Now to throw this back to the other phone phreaks, when did direct-dial long distance (DDD) become a reality in metro Wilmington? And when it did, did you access long distance by dialing "1" or "112" (or some other prefix)? If you know any retired techs from Diamond State Tel, ask them to chime in with more
Telco history.
oldiesfan6479 <oldiesfan6479(at)yahoo(dot)com>
Phoenix, AZ USA - Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 21:25:36 (EDT)
Definitely, I would have the time machine take me to the 50's!
Pat LeVan <levan1706@bellsouth.net>
Port St. Lucie, FL USA - Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 19:25:01 (EDT)
1953 for me. A great year!
Bill Fisher <whfisheratearthlink.net>
Westminster, CA USA - Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 16:40:45 (EDT)
If you had a "Time Machine", to what year would you go back? I would go back to 1958!!!
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 16:37:08 (EDT)
WYman4-0139... This was my phone number on Faulkland Rd., just one block from Rt 41. A friend at Hercules Rd. had the same prefix. And the heck with "dinper", let's just jump aboard a time machine and run over to TWIN KISS. "Always eat dessert first...", especially at OUR age...
Buz Peoples <private>
Sequim/Wilm, WA/DE USA - Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 16:09:13 (EDT)
I was born in 58 and can remember my parents giving the phone # out as Wyman. I was from the Newport area.
Michele Reed <Reedygirl@yahoo.com>
Wilmington, DE USA - Friday, August 22, 2008 at 15:07:57 (EDT)
A Gentlement asked on 8/1 about Twin Kiss in Newport. I also was from Gordy Estates and visited Twin Kiss afterschool many times. There is a storage facility there now. I also worked for a company where the old Krebs School was and it felt weird working in the Art Class Room.
Michele Reed <Reedygirl@yahoo.com>
Wilmington, DE USA - Friday, August 22, 2008 at 15:04:34 (EDT)
My phone number was Holly Oak 3176; the Eberts lived next door - theirs was 4753. I don't know why I remember this and can't tell you what happened five minutes ago.
Butch Schilling <fschilling@bellsouth.net>
Aiken, SC USA - Friday, August 22, 2008 at 15:00:24 (EDT)
RE: exchanges. heres a brief history of the progression, not localized but does have general years of transition,,,http://www.artlebedev.com/mandership/91/
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Friday, August 22, 2008 at 12:15:11 (EDT)
Re: the telephone exchanges. The exchange was added in order to expand the amount of numbers in a telephone number from five to seven. Our phone number went from 38795 to WY(man)8-8795. This change must have occurred some time in the late 40' or early 50's. Anyone recall when? Larger metropolitan areas must have been using the two letter five digit format for some time, e.g., the Glen Miller song "Pennsylvania6-5000.
Tom Kolasinski <tkck@cox.net>
Glendale, AZ USA - Friday, August 22, 2008 at 10:32:18 (EDT)
The Olympia exchange had to be HUGE, because our house in the boondocks
had it in the 50's. This was between Centerville and Hockessin.
(OL 84510).
joyce hartnett <buttercup316@comcast.net>
wilm, de USA - Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 20:52:38 (EDT)
Growing up in Hedgeville it was OL or Olympia. Our number was 654-4824 or OL 44824.
Jerry T. <private>
at the shore , De. USA - Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 20:14:47 (EDT)
In 1966, when we moved to our first new house on Naamans Road, the prefix was just "475-"
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 18:11:27 (EDT)
I think WYman centered more around Newport. We had WYman in Willow Run, Oak Hill (we lived in the first of the first three houses on Spruce Avenue which were in Elsmere) and Richardson Park.
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 18:08:36 (EDT)
Wasn't WYman the Elsmere exchange?
Phyllis B. <pboyd52@comcast.net>
Wilmington, DE USA - Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 17:50:43 (EDT)
Bob Wilson Jr.: Let's see how good your memory is... What area of Greater Wilmington was WYman???. What amazing little neurons we have, to allow us to remember our phone numbers from childhood...
Buz Peoples <private>
Sequim/Wilm., WA/DE USA - Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 13:39:25 (EDT)
When I lived in Wilmington in the 50's, our Ninth Ward phone number was preceded by OLympia and after moving to Philadelphia Pike and Marsh Road our number was POrter. Wish I were up there now. We are experiencing very bad flooding here in Florida as a result of Tropical Storm Fay. Couldn't get out of my driveway for two days because of high water in our cul-de-sac. Now we can get out, but the main road in our subdivision is still flooded. Getting a little stir crazy!
Pat LeVan <levan1706@bellsouth.net>
Port St. Lucie, FL USA - Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 12:40:21 (EDT)
There are several exchanges listed under the "General Items Nostalgia" list...
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 09:33:49 (EDT)
Does anyone here remember what year it was when the phone company started using exchange names like OLympia for local phone numbers? And who remembers any of the other Wilmington and Northern Delaware exchange names from back then? (I think it was ENdicott for Newark.) In those days, you could tell more or less in what neighborhood someone lived by the exchange name of his or her phone number.
Bob Wilson Jr <wilso127@yahoo.com>
Beaufort, SC USA - Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 09:21:17 (EDT)
A Tip for all: depending on if you use a mail program or web based mail, if the person is not in your address list the mail will NOT go to the inbox, depending on your mail client settings, hope this helps !
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 17:00:10 (EDT)
BILL FISCHER-WESTMINSTER, CA- “We lived just across the street from the church on the corner of 22nd and Monroe Streets”…Bill, you must have lived right across the street from me if you lived (across from McCabe Memorial) on Monroe near 22nd. You can respond off line if you want. Your email was non-functioning.
Kevind <donohue11@comcast.net>
Ellicott City, MD USA - Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 16:33:35 (EDT)
My dear wife and I were married at McCabe Church 12 April 1952. I had just graduated from pilot training (Joanie pinned on my wings at Williams AFB in Arizona) and we rushed home to get married (cadets could not be married in those days). We had 2 weeks to arrange the wedding! Joanie's Dad's band (Paul Wilkinson's Dance Band) played in the basement for our reception, something of a first for a Methodist Church in those days. We flew to Phoenix that night since I had to report for gunnery training Monday morning.
Bob Veazey <bobbyvz@comcast.net>
Wilmington, DE USA - Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 14:22:09 (EDT)
BUTCH SHILLING: Camp Arrowhead is still there. But TWO-WEEKS this summer cost me $765.00 per kid! Gone are the 8-weeks visits.
TheKid <private>
Wilm, DE USA - Monday, August 18, 2008 at 18:29:01 (EDT)
Kevin, your comments about Hurricane Hazel reminded me of the two trees which fell on our homuse on Windybush Road and the same-time passing of Ralph Sasse, who ran the old Camp Arrowhead,so it wss a very traumatic time. Sasse, a former West Point & Old Miss football coach and member of the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame, was an integral part of my growing up,as I went to Arrowhead from 1948-53. They had a salt water seimming pool with water pumped in from Rehoboth Bay, where there was a great view of Piney Island and Marsh Island. We used to ride horses on the sandy lanes off of, I believe, Delaware #24; there was an old saw mill back there and I remember an arrow sign pointing toward Angola Farms. In addition to swimming and horseback riding they had crafts, boxing, the usual summer sports, hiking, riflery, indian lore & folk lore. On Saturday night there was an "indian council fire," when they awarded stripes for proficiency in such as atletics, riding, aquatics, crafts as well as a "gentleman's stripe," for good conduct. If you won all the stripes, you received a "Major A" for yoiur sweatshirt and were rewarded with a trip to Ocean Downs Raceway. What a great place to spend eight weeks every summer!
Butch Schilling <fschillling@bellsouth.net>
Aiken, SC USA - Monday, August 18, 2008 at 12:14:57 (EDT)
A. From the windows of the 3rd Floor Art Room (Miss Klund presiding) at PS, and on clear days, we could see the towers and then the roadbed of the Delaware Memorial Bridge being installed in 1949-1951, and could see the progress of construction on an almost daily basis.
B. Both the old Peninsula Methodist and the McCabe Memorial Methodist Church were great institutions in the 9th Ward back in the early 1950's, anyway, from the perspective of a kid who lived at 504 West 23rd back then, and who could be seen occasionally among the congregants of Christ Our King on Sundays (even though COK wasn't even a church back then). Services at COK in 1949-1951 were still being held in the lunchroom of the school.
D. I had several teen-age buddies who sang in the choir at McCabe, and it was indeed a great-sounding group, at least when heard from the Monroe Street sidewalk.
D. Another church in that neighborhood was Lutheran, I think, and was squeezed into the northwesterly end of the street angle formed where Madison, 23rd and Concord intersected. It had a nice empty-lot-styled lawn in its rear, and was a favorite and very convenient place for a quick pick-up game of boys' touch football, providing we avoided digging up too many divots with our sneakers. I can still hear in my mind's ear the chimes from the belfry of that church which rang out at 6PM every evening.
E. The removal and destruction of the duPont Oval sign is a real shame. That oval was one of the icons of my life from 1935 to 1967, during which time my father was employed at the Company, first at Newburgh NY and then at the Nemours Building.
Bob Wilson Jr <wilso127@yahoo.com>
Beaufort, SC USA - Monday, August 18, 2008 at 11:01:08 (EDT)
August 18 "1964 Radio station WNRK, 1260 AM began broadcasting in Newark."
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Monday, August 18, 2008 at 08:22:43 (EDT)
About the DuPont ‘OVAL’:: During the 1980s when DuPont began to change the direction they were headed, this was passed around between the employees See Oval #1. On a more serious note, DuPont is very jealous of their ‘OVAL’, as all companies are of their trademarks. It is their identification to the world and its design is very exact See Oval #2. So, to have manufactured the sign to put atop the Brandywine Building was not cheap. I agree, why trash it? They could have used it somewhere else (like overseas?). The article mentioned that DuPont is going to install a new visual identification on two sides of the DuPont Building – what could that be other than the ‘OVAL’?
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Monday, August 18, 2008 at 05:12:30 (EDT)
RE: Connie-Cowtown.
According to a brief history, Cowtown Rodeo was broadcast to Wilmington, from 1957-to early 1958. No channel or station listed. A brief broadcast spanned 1968,1969, but was broadcasted from a Phila.station. [ WKBW ch.48?]
Postscript: Even though the Dupont sign, was not felt to be old enough to reflect significant importance,it should have been saved or stored. What a waste to throw it in the trash...
Donn <brownys828@yahoo.com>
wilmington, de USA - Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 21:57:44 (EDT)
RE: McCabe Memorial Methodist Church. I grew up across the street from MMMC in a great old Victorian; (2108 Baynard Blvd) during the 50's. We had a great wrap-around porch on which we used to listen to the heavenly McCabe Choir. (We attended Christ Our King) my father; Dr. John F. Donohue, D.O. had his office in our house. We had a concrete above-ground pool in the side yard which I thought was the coolest. "Save-More" market was just up the street. In '54, during Hurricane Hazel, a huge oak tree fell across our front yard, which, the next morning was the object of curious interest by the every resident of Baynard Blvd it seemed. Today, the pool and porch are all gone and the house has been split up into apartments, its past glory sadly faded.
Kevind <donohue11@comcast.net>
Ellicott City, MD USA - Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 14:00:41 (EDT)
I was Christened in what was then known as McCabe Memorial Methodist Church, which is located at the corner of 22nd and Baynard Boulevard. It's now Peninsula McCabe United Methodist Church. We lived just across the street from the church on the corner of 22nd and Monroe Streets, and I recall playing football on the church lawn along Baynard Blvd., and playing in the basement window wells which made great little "foxholes" for playing soldier! That was back in the mid-to-late 40's... great times.
Bill Fisher <whfisheratearthlink.net>
Westminster, CA USA - Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 13:29:58 (EDT)
Was PENUSULA METHODIST CHURCH a beautiful large stone building? If so, I recall frequently walking past it and thinking how beautiful it was. As for THE WILSON LINE - As a child, looking down that gap between the boat and land was a terrifying experience to me.
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, d USA - Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 12:22:03 (EDT)
I prayed in Peninsula Methodist Church but the prayer usually went like this: Lord grant me the brains to pass this test! The Church was purchased in the early 70's by the Delaware Law School. We attended classes there after originally attending classes at the YWCA near Rodney Square. In 1975 Dean Avins affiliated with Widener University and we were then permitted to take the Delaware Bar exam. It was an exciting time, to say the least.
jim rambo <rammymex@yahoo.com>
ajijic, jalisco Mexico - Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 12:16:23 (EDT)
BILL, I remember Peninsula Meth. Church, It was the first church I attended back in the 30's Reverend Cummings was the minister, his son Jay lives close by me.
Norman <buckenae@comcast.net>
Wilmington, DE USA - Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 11:05:57 (EDT)
does anyone remember Peninsula methodist church at 20th and washington st
Bill <deguy4653@comcast.com>
martinsville, va USA - Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 09:01:12 (EDT)
Connie, just getting caught up - my son has been updating my computer. Thanks for letting us know that Schlitz beer (my favorite) is making a comeback. Also, Drufo, I remember when doctors made house calls. Our family doctor, Dr. Parsons, alway came to the home when requested. No such thing these days. The doctors' offices I go to are quite impersonal, almost cold (stark) in appearance.
Phyllis B. <pboyd52@comcast.net>
Wilmington, DE USA - Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 21:32:56 (EDT)
Just got caught up reading everything since the end of April. (My son has been working to update my computer.) He is of the opinion that since he is a Bill Gates wanna-be, I too am. He couldn't be more wrong. Anyway, Connie, I am thrilled that Schlitz beer, my favorite, is making a comeback. Drufo, do you remember when doctors actually came to the house? Dr. Parsons, our family doctor, did. About the ferries to New Jersey - remember when the boats, while waiting for those to board, would beat against the wharves.? I was scared as a child and always thought we were going to go down in the river in that space between the boat and land and drown. Not Old Wilm. here - however, for one moment, remember the Diving Bell on the Steel Pier in Atl. City. My mother and I used to get in it. All the money in the world today wouldn't be enough for me to repeat that step.
Phyllis B. <pboyd52@comcast.net>
Wilm.,, DE USA - Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 21:10:32 (EDT)
JASON: I remember the Ferry Boats and the traffic your dad spoke of. I was 11 years old when the first span was built. Ofcourse a ferry ride was a big adventure for an 11 year old. The claim that there was no way to recover people that fall into large pours of concrete is frequently made of various large projects. A recent article I read claims that it is usually a myth. That is certainly true about Hoover Dam. Their are no bodies known to be left in it but the claim has been perpetuated over the years. That's not to say nobody has fallen to their death into a pour, just that they are recovered.
Al Minne <alminne@msn.com>
Temecula, ca USA - Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 19:12:29 (EDT)
I was talking to my Father about beach traffic the other day, and he said if I thought it was bad now I should have seen it when he was a kid. He told me the cars used to line up all the way out to Hare's Corner and down onto route 13 from the ferry slips in New Castle. They would have to stop and wait their turn to cross the river on the boats to get back to New Jersey and the lines would be that long on weekends. While we were talking he said that during the construction of the first bridge, several workers fell to their deaths into the piers that support the bridge. He said they are still in the piers. When someone fell there was no way to save him, that once they started pouring the cement there was no stopping. Does anyone know just how many people died that way, who they were, and if their is a memorial for them anywhere?
Jason <bdbowti@aol.com>
New Castle, DE USA - Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 08:21:37 (EDT)
August16th "1951 With the last ferry running the day before, the $46 million Delaware Memorial Bridge opened to traffic as drivers paid 75 cents toll."
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 08:14:14 (EDT)
Where would the McDonalds in prices corner fall in the timeline.
A. Campbell <purewhitemp5@aol.com>
Bear, DE USA - Friday, August 15, 2008 at 17:49:31 (EDT)
If you want to see how areas have progressed over the years go visit Delaware datamil you can look at aerial imagery from 1937 to 2007 with maps/imagery in 1937 , 1954 , 1961 , 1968 , 1992 , 1997 , 2002 , 2007. I visit the maps quite often to find out where old fairgrounds , railroads , and industries where and how they look now. Its absolutly amazing.
A. Campbell <purewhitemp5@aol.com>
Bear, DE USA - Friday, August 15, 2008 at 17:26:57 (EDT)
RE: Connie,
Richmans ice cream plant, restaraunt,and takeout, is still open. NJ RT. 40 east, just past Cowtown.
Do you know physically, where Coopers ice cream was in Wilmington?
Donn <brownys828@yahoo.com>
wilmington, de USA - Friday, August 15, 2008 at 16:50:50 (EDT)
Does anyone remember Abbott's ice cream? It was sold in Wilmington in the 40's. The last time I had it was in Rehoboth in the 60's. I believe the plant was in Philadelphia.
Pat (Stillwell) LeVan <levan1706@bellsouth.net>
Port St. Lucie, FL USA - Friday, August 15, 2008 at 11:04:19 (EDT)
When my father was a child the people at 12 W 23rd made and sold home made ice cream. When they went out of business they gave my father an aluminum ice cream scoop and my mother used it for a flour scoop. I still have it.
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Friday, August 15, 2008 at 10:53:00 (EDT)
Does anyone remember Rockys homemade Ice Cream? I beleive their store, and the place they made it was near Concord Ave. and Monroe. This would have been in the 30's and 40's.
Bill <wchamerica@aol.com>
Ocala, fl USA - Friday, August 15, 2008 at 07:51:38 (EDT)
My favorite ice cream brand was Richman's. If I remember, that was the brand advertised by the WILMO the Clown radio program. Their chocolate marshmallow flavor was out of this world.
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Friday, August 15, 2008 at 07:43:32 (EDT)
Phyllis, I remember Dolly Madison Ice Cream. It was sold in a store near where we lived in the Ninth Ward. HOWEVER, nothing was more delicious than the ice cream served @ Reynolds in down town Market Street. Their hot fudge sundaes were incredible. OR, was the "treat" back then so special that a child's impression lasts forever? I'm really loving this updated site and lurk a lot.
Barb <Barb@comcast.net>
Peabody, MA USA - Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 20:15:40 (EDT)
RE: John Zebley You may wish to try Zabasearch.com Many times I can find address, phone number and date of birth of a person Really helpful when working on a reunion. Narrows many names to a few likely people.
Don Wood <DCW545@Yahoo.com>
Charlotte, NC USA - Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 21:11:33 (EDT)
Rev Deb - Speaking of ice cream, the Dolly Madison/Aristocrat ice cream office and plant on Hutton Street in Wilm. (during the 40's and 50's) put out a product to die for called "The Darlene Mold". It was sort of oval shaped, with vanilla on the outside and a different flavor every spoonful or so as you worked your way in. Nothing was better. Dolly Madison was known to have a high butterfat content and was recommended for sanitorium/hospital patients at that time. Of course, this was not for the diet conscious. Aristocrat put out a brick form (vanilla, choc. & strawberry) unique in its form & also very delicious. I'v never seen it since. These days I find The Woodbridge Creamery on North Star Road just about as good as any place around for ice cream. I hope somebody remembers the above-mentioned ice cream forms.
Phyllis B. <pboyd52@comcast.net>
Wilm., DE USA - Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 17:05:10 (EDT)
I know of a Jack Zebley, is his wife name Jean?
Joan <usa >
Wilmiington, De. USA - Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 16:27:59 (EDT)
Rev. Deborah Collins: if you go to 411.com there are only 4 John Zebley's listed for the state of Delaware, depends on if He has his phone # listed also.
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 15:50:38 (EDT)
I am a frequent visitor to this site, having been raised at 114 East 25th Street, learning to ice skate at Price's Run Park. Thanks for all the reminders of days gone by but not forgotten. One of my favorite memories was going to the Borden Ice Cream Plant on summer afternoons and being given free ice cream as the trucks returned from their deliveries. We would take our wagons or a large bag and the men would fill them up for us to take home. I used to love nothing better than a Dixie Cup. Also, if anyone knows John Zebley, he is a cousin of mine. I was in contact with him a few years ago but lost contact when my husband died suddenly. Would love to hear from him again!
Rev. Deborah Collins <revdebc@yahoo.com>
Church Hill, TN USA - Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 12:08:41 (EDT)
The DuPont 'Oval' was removed from the roof of their former Brandywine Building...
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 05:02:11 (EDT)
My cousin Anthony Pesce did the STONE work on the "new" thompson bridge bridge
drufo <private>
wilm, de USA - Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 14:58:11 (EDT)
Bruce,from Sugarland, TX, Email me back and we'll talk about old times.
CRAIG MILLER <DELTRUCKSERVICE@netzero.net>
Wilmington, DE USA - Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 14:02:45 (EDT)
BRIDGE ALERT!! WDEL 1150 AM--"Plans for new bridge on Old Kennett Road By: John Lewis--Deldot wants your "two cents worth" regarding a bridge replacement.
The department has scheduled a public workshop Monday in Hockessin, at the Ashland Nature Center, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Plans call for replacing the Old Kennett Road Bridge near Snuff Mill Road, west of Centerville. Deldot is also accepting written comments from those either for or against the proposal which includes improvements to the road right around the bridge."
Kevind <donohue11@comcast.net>
Ellicott City, MD USA - Monday, August 11, 2008 at 15:52:33 (EDT)
R. Mueller: I just read your update, in the WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO section, regarding the old Lenape Carousel mechanism, which now resides in Lahaska PA. Are you related to the carver, Daniel Mueller, who carved many of the elegant horses on the original machine, when he worked with the Dentzel company in Germantown? Daniel Mueller had an easily recognizable style of carving, which set him apart from every other carver of his era. What a beautiful "park model" that was. I rode it as a child, in the late 40's and 50's. I could never make up my mind which horse to ride, an outside row "stander", so I could reach for the brass ring, or an inside row "jumper" so I could go up and down. That was the machine which led to my later appreciation of all old wooden carousels....
Buz Peoples <private>
Sequim/Wilm, WA/DE USA - Monday, August 11, 2008 at 15:20:35 (EDT)
Dave and Tom: I have an old watercolor of Thompson's Bridge (over The Brandywine) by Robert Shaw. It is of the original covered bridge. If anyone wants to play detective, drive to the current concrete structure and look for a construction date plate. If there isn't a metal plate, there may be a raised concrete date someplace. Have fun...Buz
Buz Peoples <private>
Sequim/Wilm, WA/DE USA - Monday, August 11, 2008 at 15:03:28 (EDT)
Dave ziegler: I believe your talking about the Smith bridge that is still a covered bridge,located on Smith Bridge Rd close to the state line
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 18:48:36 (EDT)
John, Thompsons bridge in Beaver Valley was(is) a covered bridge, Thompsons bridge in Newark was not.
Dave. ..
Dave ziegler <dziegler3@comcast.net>
Newark, DE USA - Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 18:22:56 (EDT)
John M - Thank you very much! I often wonder about the history and namesakes of our (previously wonderful) City of Wilmington. In fact, whenever I find an article on 'today in Delaware' which could possibly name the person a street or area is named after, I save it to my documents.
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, d USA - Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 14:40:15 (EDT)
WASN'T THE OLD THOMPSONS BRIGE COVERED ?
john <medkeff@yahoo.com>
wilmington, de USA - Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 14:02:49 (EDT)
Bob Wilson:: The SAND PIT was on Yorklyn Road on the right hand side,
going into Yorklyn from Rt. 141 in Hockessin. I used to swim there in the
50's, and it was the only one around there. Don't know if it's still there.
joyce hartnett <buttercup316@comcast.net>
Wilm., DE USA - Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 13:52:26 (EDT)
Thompsons bridge is still located on Thompsons Bridge Rd. Rt 92
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 11:27:01 (EDT)
Mary Ann - The Thompson's Bridge I knew was a passage over the Brandywine up near the state line, and it might have been the on the right-of-way for Route 100. I should look at one of the Webmaster's great posted maps to confirm that, but I'll let you guys do that.
Bob Wilson Jr <wilso127@yahoo.com>
Beaufort, SC USA - Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 10:33:25 (EDT)
DONN,
Thanks for the info. The reason I asked was because, as I understood it, my grandmother's sistr owned Brownie's or Browny's cafe on 7th and Church Sts. During Prohibition, she did extremeley well.
Jerry T. <private>
at the shore, De. USA - Saturday, August 09, 2008 at 22:39:19 (EDT)
Connie,
Will. Shipley is known as the "Father of Wilmington" because he provided the capital and impetus that got the tiny village started. Many of Shipley's Quaker friends followed him down to Wilmington from Pennsylvania. (Shipley, originally from England, & his wife, Elizabeth Levis, came from Darby, PA to Wilm.) Shipley opened the first market house and brewery in the city and became the first town burgess.
John Medkeff, Jr. <delawarebeer@comcast.net>
Newark, DE USA - Saturday, August 09, 2008 at 20:37:29 (EDT)
The sand pit was on the road going toward Yorklyn. I don't think it is there any longer. Was the Thompson's Bridge along White Clay Creek? There are 2 Thompson's Bridges.
Mary Ann <MacCbc2003@aol.com>
Hockessin, DE USA - Saturday, August 09, 2008 at 19:45:20 (EDT)
Joe Pasquale, Pat Le Van et al - I remember swimming at the Old Quarry in Avondale (just off the Kennett Pikr, right?)in my high school days, but can't for the life of me conjure up a memory of the Sand Pits in Hockessin. Can anyone tell me exactly where it was located? Are either of them still in existence as "ol' swimmin' holes"? I also remember taking a dip in the Crick up by Thompson's Bridge...
Bob Wilson Jr <wilso127@yahoo.com>
Beaufort, SC USA - Saturday, August 09, 2008 at 11:19:07 (EDT)
Just for the record ....the Sand Pits were in Hockessin DE. and the QUARRY was in Avondale PA.
JOE "BUBBLES "PASQUALE <JNPASQUALE@COMCAST.COM>
WILMINGTON, DE USA - Saturday, August 09, 2008 at 10:32:52 (EDT)
Today in DE history - Aug 9 “1735 William Shipley of Ridley, Pennsylvania, "Father of Wilmington," bought land from 2nd to 5th and Market to West Streets.” (I WONDER WHY HE IS CALLED THE "FATHER OF WILMINGTON".)
2003 Former Blue Hen football coach Harold 'Tubby' Raymond was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. At age 77, Raymond had coached for 36 seasons and had accumulated 300 wins.
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Saturday, August 09, 2008 at 07:21:24 (EDT)
Regarding the sand pits in Avondale: My Dad, Franklin Euart Stillwell, was born in Hockessin, DE and one of his earliest memories was almost drowning in the Avondale quarry. He was saved by his older brother, Alfred who, according to my Dad's story, grabbed him by his long blond curls and pulled him out. In later years, as a young girl, I went with a bunch of my girlfriends out to the sandpits to swim. As we approached the area, we were stopped by an old guy who said we had to pay 50 cent each to swim. We paid him and went on. Later, I told my father what we had done that day. He threw an absolute fit. Could not believe that we had to pay to swim in his old swimming hole. Seems he knew the fellow who owned the land. Guy by the name of Dew Lafferty. Anyone else have memories of the old days in Avondale and Hockessin. Old names in that are were Lafferty, Stillwell, Euart, Jenkins, etc.
Patricia Stillwell LeVan <levan1706@aol.com>
Port Saint Lucie, FL USA - Friday, August 08, 2008 at 20:54:40 (EDT)
N. Sullivan - I couldn't agree with you more. Craig was always a wiz with cars and a great guy. If you see him tell him Bruce Heather said Hi.
Bruce <private>
Sugar Land, TX USA - Friday, August 08, 2008 at 16:12:44 (EDT)
To those Wilmingtonians who are now expatriates, here's a cool link for bird's eye views of the city & regiion as it is now (or was very recently.)
Enter a Wilm., Del. address and then click "Bird's Eye":
http://maps.live.com/
John Medkeff, Jr. <delawarebeer@comcast.net>
Glasgow, DE USA - Friday, August 08, 2008 at 15:47:27 (EDT)
Craig Miller is still there and still the best mechanic in the State, The location is 3rd and Hawley Streets and his business is :Delaware Truck service
N. Sullivan <svan402@aol.com>
Wilmington, De USA - Friday, August 08, 2008 at 14:00:40 (EDT)
RE: Jerry T.
My name came from a nickname, I recieved at work.
Actually, I was born at the corner of Foulk RD and Silverside RD. in a snowstorm. Didn!t actually go to hospital until they plowed the roads. But they listed me as born at home .
Luckily, there was a nurse who lived close by.
Donn < brownys828@yahoo.com>
wilmington, de USA - Friday, August 08, 2008 at 13:13:50 (EDT)
While growing up in Hedgeville in the '50's there was an older Italian shoemaker named Dominick Fortugno who had his shop on S. Van Buren St. I heard rumors that his son drowned in the " Sand Pitts " in Avondale, Pa. DONN : Are you any relation to the family who owned Browny's or Brownie's Cafe on 7th and Church Sts. on the East side ?
Jerry T. <private>
at the shore, De. USA - Friday, August 08, 2008 at 12:15:45 (EDT)
Trivia :June 24: A 34-year-old man drowned in a Pennsylvania quarry after diving from a bluff into jagged rocks. No-trespassing signs surround the 80-year-old abandoned quarry, which is rumored to hold junk cars and an old railroad car on its deep bottom. In June 1996, an intoxicated 24-year-old jumped into the water, hit his head on a limestone ledge and drowned. A teenager drowned there in 1978 after he became wedged among rocks
Attributed to Sept. 5, 2005. Mine and Safety newsletter including Avondale, PA
Donn <brownys828@yahoo.com>
wilmington, de USA - Friday, August 08, 2008 at 11:33:02 (EDT)
JERRY LANK: thanks for the info. about the " Sand Pits ". If I remember right, it was an old quarry, filled in with water. My oldest brother, Alfred, took me there a couple times. Alfred was in the Sallies' graduating class of '53, 3 years ahead of John.
Jerry T. <private>
at the shore, De. USA - Friday, August 08, 2008 at 10:31:34 (EDT)
Does anyone remember a car club located on 202 south of Shipley road?
It was a small white building where guys used to work on their cars. A friend of mine, Craig Miller, was a member. I haven't seen Craig for close to 30 years, the last time I saw him he owned his own garage around Greenhill Ave.
Bruce <private>
Sugar Land, TX USA - Friday, August 08, 2008 at 10:15:59 (EDT)
Well I read here on the forum that the city in it's infinite wisdom, elected to spend $44 million of the taxpayers money to refurbish a building that originally cost $1.4 million to build. I'm talking about the once beautiful P.S. Du Pont High School.
There is no one in this world who is more fond of old buildings, preserving them, and the architecture of days gone by. The craftsmanship displayed within those walls is second to none.
I am taking a trip to Richmond next month, and that is one of the main reasons I choose to visit that particular city. Its architecture, and beautiful state buildings, as well as the preserved Victorian mansions.
Unfortunately, the city of Wilmington has, in my opinion, elected to throw away $44 million dollars. I'm sure they could have found a much better use for the money. Assault rifles for the police comes to mind. Bullet proof cop cars, an expanded jail facility, more police patrolling the streets. The list goes on and on.
I feel this way because I remember back in the late 50's when a brand new school was built in the vicinity of 12 th and Church Streets. Not exactly at that intersection but, close enough that it would suffice as an address, and one could still find the facility. It wasn't erected a year, and it was covered all over the outside with spray paint.
I don't even believe the word graffiti was in the English vocabulary at the time, but within a few short years we came to learn its meaning well.
Returning to current day, I doubt it will take a year for some influence, to start undoing, all the work performed so lovingly, in the restoration of this magnificent structure. I honestly and truthfully hope I am proven wrong.
I would suggest that someone, before the school reopens, go and take a full set of pictures of the results of the $44 million worth of work. Then give it five years, and come back and re shoot the same scene.
Then the next time City Council wants to spend the taxpayers money for a similar project, they can bring out the pictures.
Wayne <twntydasys@aol.com>
New Castle, DE USA - Friday, August 08, 2008 at 08:43:09 (EDT)
Jerry T.
The old Sand Pits in Avondale were still there last time I was in De.I think they have converted to a rod & Gun Club with a complete gun range.
Jerry Lank <transworldtsl@delaware.usa.com>
Marco Island, FL USA - Friday, August 08, 2008 at 01:38:35 (EDT)
On March 15, 1960 the first McDonalds opened at 374 E. main Street, Newark
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Thursday, August 07, 2008 at 18:33:29 (EDT)
Just for my own satisfaction, after reading, and seeing the confirmation, that the Newark McDonalds was in actuality the first in the area, then reading earlier about it burning down, are we talking about two different locations here? I still seem to remember the one that exists now, on the opposite side of the railroad bridge and tracks, from Porter Chevrolet, coming along after the others discussed here. If in fact the first one was located on another property in town it would then all make sense to me. Where was the first one (opened March 15,1960) located in relation to the one that is in Newark now? Was it rebuilt on a different site after burning down?
Wayne <twntydasys@aol.com>
New Castle, DE USA - Thursday, August 07, 2008 at 17:36:05 (EDT)
Community News -- Wilmington, Del. — P.S. duPont High School: The largest renovation project in Delaware history is nearly complete. Link to story: http://www.communitypub.com/homepage/x806577564/P-S-duPont-s-44-million-renovation-masterfully-melds-old-and-new
Kevind <donohue11@comcast.net>
Ellicott City, Md USA - Thursday, August 07, 2008 at 13:20:50 (EDT)
Hi John - Thanks for the McD info. I will now add the date to the 'Fast Food Nostalgia' Page so it will not be forgotten...
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Thursday, August 07, 2008 at 12:09:59 (EDT)
While I wasn't alive at the time, I had always heard local legend describe the McDonald's in Newark as, not only the first in Delaware, but the first on the East Coast. I recalled an NJ newspaper article on the subject back in the late '70's. Sure enough, I remembered correctly.
Len Dukart, friend of chain founder Ray Kroc from Chicago, opened the very first McD's in the East on Main Street in Newark on March 15, 1960.
http://heritage.delaware.gov/pdfs/winter%2005%20newsletter.pdf
Again, if I recall correctly, the Elsmere & Kirkwood Hwy. McD's opened in fairly quick succession in the early '60's, a year or two after the one on Main St.
John Medkeff, Jr. <delawarebeer@comcast.net>
Newark, DE USA - Thursday, August 07, 2008 at 11:22:22 (EDT)
Had the best root beer milkshake from the Greenhill drive in on Greenhill Ave. on the way back from swimming at the " Sand Pits " near Avondale Pa. in the '50's. Don't know if the old swimming hole is still there. There used to be an older fellow who sold enormous soft pretzels off the side of the road in that area for 25 cents.
Jerry T. <private>
at the shore, De. USA - Thursday, August 07, 2008 at 08:10:33 (EDT)
In all the years I lived in the 9th Ward, from the 30's to the late 50's, I never remember a Spic & Span at 20th & Market. G&G, Heywood's Restaurant and Hearn's were on the east side of Market between 20th and Vandever Ave.
Pat LeVan <levan1706@bellsouth.net>
Port St. Lucie, FL USA - Wednesday, August 06, 2008 at 21:09:58 (EDT)
Buz ..... yes, Twin Kiss was on Route 41 on the fringes of Gordy Estates.
I still love root beer (and birch beer, too!). Try to find root beer or birch
beer in the restaurants down here in Flori-DUH !
Roy C. Pollitt <DJ@OldiesMusicMan.com>
Punta Gorda, FL USA - Wednesday, August 06, 2008 at 19:28:07 (EDT)
Joan: Yep, bet you're correct. Afterall, Highland School is just half a block from Pauline Jones' house. Wondering now if anyone from the Highlands remembers Pauline Jones?
Buz <private>
Sequim/Wilm, WA/DE USA - Wednesday, August 06, 2008 at 10:55:06 (EDT)
Just wanted to let you know that the Hollywood Diner in Dover is still there and open for business. It did close for a few months till it was sold and then it was re-opened.
Gary Seward <lgtat2@bellatlantic.net>
Dover, DE USA - Wednesday, August 06, 2008 at 08:24:43 (EDT)
Joe Mitchell - Sad to hear of Mitchell's closing. I have a fond memory of your store. When my two sisters and I finally stopped believing in Santa Claus, my father felt it was time to teach his kids about the "true meaning of Christmas," which he felt was to give and not receive. Each year he would take us to Mitchell's and we would shop for our loved ones with what we saved from our meager allowance money. We didn't have much but we always were able to find enough things there that we could afford small gifts for everyone on our list. Best of luck to you and all the Mitchell family and employees.
Erik <private>>
Newark, de USA - Wednesday, August 06, 2008 at 07:23:54 (EDT)
Buz, lived in the forty acres but, do not remember P. Jones, and if you are going up De.ave past union st. I believe you are going into the highlands.
Joan <usa >
wilm, De. USA - Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 21:11:26 (EDT)
As Kevin posted below, the rumor has been confirmed. I would have addressed it on here earlier, but our official announcement only came today.
It's a bad day for us in the Mitchell family, it feels like someone died.
A couple things:
Two of us at Mitchell's plan to open 'spinoff' stores this fall. I am planning on opening a toy store in the Concord Pike area and Doug Arnold (who managed the model train department for 30 years) plans on opening a hobby & train store. For more information on my toy store, you can visit yoyojoes.com
Someone asked about the photographs that are currently in the window. I plan on photographing these pictures and sending a copy along to oldwilmington.net. I too would hate to lose these.
If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at joe@mitchells.com
Joe Mitchell <joe@mitchells.com>
Wilmington, DE USA - Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 20:17:53 (EDT)
Anyone, from The Forty Acres, remember Miss Pauline Jones, the piano teacher? She lived on Delaware Ave., above Union St. This would have been in the 1950's. She had a mixed Brittany/cocker dog., lived in a yellowish Victorian house, which had a lovely garden around it. I believe the house is still there, on the West side of the street...
Buz Peoples <private>
Wilmington/Sequim, WA/DE USA - Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 18:04:46 (EDT)
RUMOR CONFIRMED--
August 5, 2008
Hobby store closing after 55 years
The News Journal
A family hobby store that has been in business in Delaware for 55 years is closing its doors.
Mitchell’s Trains, Toys and Hobbies, in the Fairfax Shopping Center, announced the closing today.
The store opened in the shopping center on July 3, 1953.
Mitchell’s will begin a going-out-of-business sale on Wednesday. The store is expected to remain open until October.
Kevind <donohue11@comcast.net>
Ellicott City, MD USA - Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 18:04:28 (EDT)
Webmaster:
Thanks for the Dupont Airfield photos. My cousin's husband, George Kincade used to take me flying out of that airfield in the early 50's. I was just a little kid, about 6 or 7. We lived on Brandywine Blvd. at the time. He'd stop by, pick me up, and drive to the airfield. What a thrill that was, especially when he let me take the controls...He'd fly back along the Delaware River and go over my house. I could see my Mom and Dad in the back yard waving...And ROY, I also remember the Twin Kiss. Wasn't it on Rt. 41 on the west side of the road?
Buz Peoples <private>
Sequim/Wilm., WA/DE USA - Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 17:39:36 (EDT)
I do not recall the Spic & Span on 20th & Market. I do know that Ralph McKinney had a place in that immediate area. There was a Hollywood Diner at Concord Ave & Market back in the mid-sixties as well as locations on Route 13 in New Castle, Milford, and Dover. The Dover location was one of the last original diners of the bygone era, going out of business just a few years ago.
bummydavis <bd1943@gmail.com>
Lewes, DE USA - Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 16:09:58 (EDT)
As a student at Krebs School in Newport, and living in Gordy Estates at the time, I used to walk home after school and stop at the Twin Kiss for a frosty mug of root beer. Anyone remember the Twin Kiss? I wonder what is on that location today.
Roy C. Pollitt <DJ@OldisMusicMan.com>
Punta Gorda, FL USA - Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 15:54:57 (EDT)
The only spic and span I remember was on Phila pike ,north bound after Wash st. extension.
Donn <brownys828@yahoo.com>
wilmington, de USA - Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 11:33:56 (EDT)
I most certainly remember Mr. Guidici as Lore's gym teacher. He was a gruff no-nonsense type who was not adverse to picking any kid up and throwing him around the gym if he acted up. We were terrified of him but we learned to shut up and speak when spoken to. Today, that would amount to child brutality. Mrs. Dugan became the principal of Lore and the one teacher who really stuck out was ancient 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Dorman, a female Mr. Guidici. There were some good teachers, however: Mrs. Youshock (1st grade), Mrs. Hunt (5th) and Dallas Green's mother-in-law, Mrs. Taylor (6th). I especially remember the May Day Fair where notables like Sally Starr, Chief Halftown and Uncle Pete Boyle participated.
Bruce Esdale <BEsdale48@comcast.net>
Newark, DE USA - Monday, August 04, 2008 at 18:33:19 (EDT)
Regarding Steer Inn's..... I think there was one also in the center of the
east/west lanes on Rt.40 & Rt.896. (or thereabouts) in the late 50's or early 60's.
Orv <obursler@comcast.net>
Lincoln, DE USA - Monday, August 04, 2008 at 10:12:10 (EDT)
Up in the 9th Ward in the early 1950's, and for actually a few pennies more, the price of the goods at the "Save More" Market at 23rd and Monroe were a bit more expensive, but the corner more was also a bit more convenient to 23rd and Madison, than the big Hearn Brothers market at Concord and Washington in the opposite direction. Fell's drug store at Concord and Monroe, and the liquor store and dry cleaners on the block of Concord between Madison and Monroe, were also very convenient. Mad dad used to buy Sunoco gasoline with his "Sunchex" just across Concord, where 24th Street ended by merging into Concord.
Bob Wilson Jr <wilso127@yahoo.com>
Beaufort, SC USA - Monday, August 04, 2008 at 08:23:36 (EDT)
Tom, it does look like you are outside the classroom.___I had Miss MacAdams also for kindergarten and so did my Dad.___You must remember other teachers: Teatsworth (music), Eisenhardt (science), Kadese (sp) (boys gym) and Mrs. Dugan.___Other teachers I had were: Wandell - 1st Grade, Holston - 1st, Ryan - 2nd, Harrison - 3rd and Durstein - 4th.___I can't remember my 5th grade teacher since I was only there for about five weeks and in the 'Tower Room', too - not long enough for a report card.___We moved to the Elsmere area and attended Oak Grove School.___I contacted Mr. Carson on chance that he just might have some old photos.___Did you check out the condition of the front door?___The building was empty for five years in the early 1980s.
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Monday, August 04, 2008 at 05:09:44 (EDT)
Webmaster: You caught me. Your Charles B. Lore picture, "Students in Christmas Play, 1934". That was Miss Macadam's kindergarten class - MY class. I am in the back row, far left. My Mom always kid me that I was outside looking in the door window. I have a copy of that photo some place. Thanks for the memories.
Tom Wood <twood@hoflink.com>
Albertson, NY USA - Sunday, August 03, 2008 at 21:38:30 (EDT)
TO HARRY OUR WEBB MASTER, THANK YOU FOR DISPLAYING THE GREAT PHOTO,S OF CHARLES B. LORE SCHOOL. THEY WERE GREAT ,AND BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES OF MY SIX YRS. AT THE SCHOOL. AND MR. KEN CARSON THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING THE BEAUTIFUL PHOTO,S.. THIS IS LATE COMING , BUT BETTER LATE THEN NEVER.
RALPH PRYOR <REPJFK@AOL.COM>
TARPON SPRINGS, FL USA - Sunday, August 03, 2008 at 19:39:47 (EDT)
What was the timeframe of the Spic 'N Span at 20th & Market? I sure don't remember one being there, and I grew up fairly close to that area (1944-1964).
Bill Fisher <whfisheratearthlink.net>
Westminster, CA USA - Sunday, August 03, 2008 at 19:04:38 (EDT)
Spic 'n Span Drive-Ins were also located at 13th & Union Streets and 20th & Market Streets.
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Sunday, August 03, 2008 at 17:58:04 (EDT)
A friends father owned the Fitzpatricks Gulf Service Station at Lancaster & Greenhill Avenues up to about the early to mid-70s.___The Greenhill Dairy & Curb Service was located at 111 Greenhill Avenue. It was also their milk bottling plant.___Coca Cola bought it in 1988.
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Sunday, August 03, 2008 at 17:56:31 (EDT)
BummyDavis: The white circular drive-in near the Penny Hill Police Station was the "Spic-N-Span". The thing to order there was a grilled cheese sandwich with barbecue sauce... MMMMmmmm... delicious. There was another one at 31st and Market Sts.
Bill Fisher <whfisheratearthlink.net>
Westminster, CA USA - Sunday, August 03, 2008 at 17:04:49 (EDT)
I remember a McDonald's in that area, well after the Greenhill disappeared. Apparently I saw the 'before and after' but missed the Dick Clark establishment.
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Sunday, August 03, 2008 at 16:35:07 (EDT)
It was first the Dick Clark's Steer Inn; then it became a McDonald's; now it is the Alpha Pizza, located at Forest Drive and Maryland Avenue...
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Sunday, August 03, 2008 at 14:43:46 (EDT)
I recall the Greenhill Drive-In as you leave Newport. They also had one on Lancaster Avenue that I frequented. As for being waited on in your vehicle, the Chuck Wagon had to be the most popular back in the fifties. There was also a white circular place near the Penney Hill police station where a lot of Mt Pleasant students would gather after school. I believe it became a Gino's. The drive in's all but disappeared in the early sixties and maybe a decade or so later, the drive-in movies as well.
bummydavis <bd1943@gmail.com>
Lewes, DE USA - Sunday, August 03, 2008 at 14:37:14 (EDT)
Anyone remember Dick Clarks 'Steer Inn' on Maryland Avenue near Newport?
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Sunday, August 03, 2008 at 11:09:22 (EDT)
Jans steaks were the best that I've ever had!!! I remember them very well. There's not a place out there that can make a cheese steak like Jans. On another note, how about some Prices Corner Gino's memories!!!
Marge <scooter1120@msn.com>
Wilmington, DE USA - Sunday, August 03, 2008 at 08:22:18 (EDT)
Just was back in Wilmington to visit my mom. I was staying with my sis in PA, after our visit to Wilm. where my mom in now in a nursing home when we headed back to Pa., my daugher and I entered our return destination on the GPS and we were directed to head down 4th street. This is the neighborhood I grew up in, and at one time I knew like the back of my hand. All the back alleys and short cuts, I loved the old neighborhood. 4th street, 5th street between Jackson and Broom that was where I lived my young life. I belonged to St. Paul's parish. I shopped at Riccio's, and Rosies at 4th & Franklin, we bought our subs at Banjo's. Of course back then there was literally a store on every corner. Well, it had been a long time since I travelled down that street, and if it weren't for passing our beloved St. Paul's church I would never have recognized 4th street. Man has it changed. I moved from 5th street between Franklin & Broom when I was 12 years old. We moved to Union Park Gardens, that area has not changed from the time I first moved there. I felt so sad for the old neighborhood. So much is different. In addition WHS, is no longer WHS. It was almost new when I went there as a 9th grader from St. Paul's. Our math teacher used to chuckle, because all of us Catholic 9th graders actually stood up when we were called on. Oh well just a few thoughts about my old days. As a child of the sixties I say "PEACE" to you all.
Susan Cregg <Zuezee@aol.com>
Colorado Springs, CO USA - Sunday, August 03, 2008 at 01:13:06 (EDT)
Heres a bit of info about how Gov Printz Blvd got its name, if anyone has ever wondered.
http://www.cbsd.org/pennsylvaniapeople/level2_biographies/Level_2_biographies/johann_printz_level_2.htm
Tom Brejwa <tbrejwa@yahoo.com>
Slower Lower, De USA - Saturday, August 02, 2008 at 10:33:17 (EDT)
I remember the Dan Dee and Jans Steak House at 30th and Gov Printz. This was the mid 50s.
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Saturday, August 02, 2008 at 08:37:36 (EDT)
WAS THERE A Mc DONALD'S AT 30TH & GOV.PRINTZ BLVD ? AND IF SO WHAT YEAR DID IT OPEN ?
DAVE CAUFFMAN <CAUFFMANDS@AOL.COM>
HOCKESSIN, DE USA - Saturday, August 02, 2008 at 07:42:27 (EDT)
The Dukart Management Co. still owns the franchise for the McDonalds in New Castle County and a few in Delaware County, PA. They have an office building next to the McD's on Concord Pike in Fairfax
Mike Rowe <irishmafia@aol.com>
New Castle, DE USA - Friday, August 01, 2008 at 23:17:39 (EDT)
TO CAROL GIBSON ILLiNGWORTH . , CAROL,I HAVE WHAT I CALL , A WALL OF HONOR IN MY STUDY, IT COSIST OF PHOTO,S OF MEN THAT I SERVED WITH ON THE WILMINGTON POLICE FORCE , PLUS LOGO,S , ETC.. I HAVE PHOTOS OF INSPECTOR,S ,LT., SGTS., AND PATROLMAN. OLD PADDY WAGON,S---AND I MEAN OLD --HORSE DRAWN WITH CANVAS TOP AND SIDES FROM THE EARLY 1900,S . BUT CAROL, YOUR DAD AND I WERE CLOSE , HE WAS A GOOD LEADER AND A GOOD FRIEND. PLEASE SEND ME A PHOTO. OF HIM IN UNIFORM. THEY TALK ABOUT A MISSING LINK, WELL MY WALL OF HONOR WILL NOT BE FINISHED UNLESS I HAVE 'HOOT " GIBSON,S PHOTO . MOUNTED UP THERE ! PLEASE CAROL COULD YOU MAIL ME A PHOTO. OF YOUR DAD ? P.S. ONE CLOSE FRIEND MADE CHIEF OF POLICE IN A PA. TOWN AFTER RETIREMENT . IF YOU SAY YES . THEN I WILL GIVE YOU MY HOME ADDRESS. AND AGAIN, YOUR DAD HAD A VERY KIND HEART!
RALPH PRYOR <REPJFK@AOL.COM>
TARPON SPRINGS, FL USA - Friday, August 01, 2008 at 22:57:30 (EDT)
WEBMASTER: Thanks for the maps and the URLS. It is great to have the ability to look at Old Wilmington at different times in it's past. Imagine how good these pics would be with today's satelite technology. I know from past classified work I did in the early 70's the Military had better resolution capability. I once could count the cabbages in my back yard via orbital photography. I wonder if any of those old photos are declassified and now available on line.
Al Minne <alminne@msn.com>
Temecula, ca USA - Friday, August 01, 2008 at 20:48:35 (EDT)
The maps I posted are from larger maps I picked up a year ago at this location: http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/01-02/datamil103102.html. They are maps maintained by the UD for the State of Delaware. If I remember, they were hard to deal with if a constant elevation is not used when checking site to site. Another map that is hard to work with is the latest official map from Wilmington because it is layered. Another group of maps I use, I had to get a special program just to open them. This is why I had asked a couple of weeks ago if anyone knows where I can scan a large 1952 Wilmington map I have. I think I will look into Kinko's.
webmaster <web-master@oldwilmington.net>
Wilmington/Perryville, DE/MD USA - Friday, August 01, 2008 at 13:11:41 (EDT)
I commuted to the University of Delaware '59 - '63 via the Kirkwood Highway.
There was a McDonald's just before entering Main Street. I always thought that one was there before the ones in Elsmere and K'wood Hwy near Chuck Wagon. After I left the area in '63 I remember hearing that a gas explosion had destroyed the building.
Tom Kolasinski <tkck@cox.net>
Glendale , AZ USA - Friday, August 01, 2008 at 12:36:40 (EDT)
I remember one day my father drove us to a frosted root beer stand just up from the fire department (and on the same side as the station) on Kirkwood Hwy in that area. We saw flames coming out of a roof of a fast food restaurant across the street but I don't know the name of it. By the time the volunteers got to the fire house and got to the fire the building was a goner.
Connie <nospam>
Wilmington, DE USA - Friday, August 01, 2008 at 11:23:12 (EDT)
ERIK: Take a hard look at the 68 pic. It is blurry but I believe it shows a building on that lot. The blurr matches the blurr seen on the nieghboring lot (lower left) where we can see buildings in the 61 pic. The pattern may be a little diferent because McD may have been rebuilt during that time interval. I know they had a serious gas explosion but I can't remember what year.
Al Minne <alminne@msn.com>
Temecula, CA USA - Friday, August 01, 2008 at 11:02:53 (EDT)
I could have sworn that the Newark McD's was in place by 1960 or so, but the photos prove it was not. Back during my time in Newark (1952-56), the places
that UofD students favored for off-campus inexpensive food were the State Restaurant where you could buy a weekly meal ticket, and get a complete hamburger steak meal for 75 cents, notwithstanding that the servings of a juice appetizer there were in tiny paper cups; the Greek restaurant run by the Laskaris family near the State Theater, where cinnamon toast was the favored breakfast fare; the Newark Diner which was there at the same old stand the last time I looked; "Pop's", between Harter Hall and the theater, where a late evening snack of chocolate TastyKakes and a bottle of non-carbonated orange drink were the routine; and Angie's sub shop just across the B&O Tracks from the Carpenter Field House, who made the best subs I've ever tasted in Delaware, washed down with a pint of chocolate drink. Wow! My mouth is still watering after 50-plus years!!!
Bob Wilson Jr <wilso127@yahoo.com>
Beaufort, SC USA - Friday, August 01, 2008 at 09:55:34 (EDT)
So I guess we still aren't sure about the first McDonald's. The Newark Post claims the first one was opened in Newark in 1960, but the 1968 aeriel photo shows nothing at the location. The mystery continues.
Erik <none>>">">none>>>
Newark, DE USA - Friday, August 01, 2008 at 07:51:20 (EDT)
Thanks Bruce. That was the McD's I was talking about and thought was the first one to open. I knew it was on the other side of Kirkwood Highway, close to Chuck Wagon. I think you're right about where it was.
Erik <none>>">">none>>>
Newark, DE USA - Friday, August 01, 2008 at 07:38:22 (EDT)
The McDonalds that was across from the Chuckwagon location was just up the street from it (across from the Ford dealership). It is now a big men's shop and, several years ago, a young sales person was murdered there. There is a Wendy's and a Taco Bell directly across the Chuckwagon locale.
Bruce Esdale <BEesdale48@comcast.net>
Neark, DE USA - Friday, August 01, 2008 at 06:57:39 (EDT)
WEBMASTER: Thanks for the maps of the McD location. Are they available on line and if so can you please tell us where? It really interesting to view an area at different times in its history.
Al Minne <alminne@msn.com>
Temecula, CA USA - Friday, August 01, 2008 at 02:52:31 (EDT)
Phyliss:
I graduated from Sacred Heart in 1951. Richard Serpe is my cousin and has a place in FL in the Same complex as me and his brother Tony. Mr Davitt was the scoutmaster at the time you were in school. I got Richard's E-Mail address from the Salesianum Web Site. Sent him an E-Mail but he never responded. He lives in Fl in Ft Myers not far from us. Do you remember the 75yr anniversary year book, I still have it it has all the priests and I think the graduating class of 1947.
Jerry Lank <transworldtsl@delaware.usa.com>
Marco Island, FL USA - Friday, August 01, 2008 at 01:41:22 (EDT)
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