Preserving The Past | Creating Memories
Items of general interest
Wednesday, October 29, 2014, was my last day with the State of Delaware Messenger Service. For the last three years, I served as a part-time mail courier, routing state and US mail to and from state agencies, in western Sussex County and southern Kent County. I like being active and I wanted something to do for awhile after retiring and moving back to Millsboro. It was never really a job…more like a gig.
I’m sure most of you could not imagine the extent of my joy a couple of weeks ago when I was finally able to stay in front of the computer for more than an hour. There had been several plans on the drawing board for the last two years, but I couldn’t justify starting any one of them, not knowing if there would ever be any improvement in my vision.
You mean golf on a rainy afternoon?
No, not golf links…
I mean links to some neat sites on the Internet. Check these out and copy or bookmark them in your browser –
At one time, Somerset County extended well up into what is now Sussex County and created quite a tiff between the Penns and Calverts. Here are a couple websites with a wealth of information about families, cemeteries, maps, etc., in Old Somerset: The USGenWeb Project and The Somerset County Historical Society.
Or check out Handley’s by clicking here –
If you need map information, use this link –
Till next time…
Our guest contributor today, is Ronald F. Dodd, of Georgetown.
Ronald Dodd, or “Ron”, as he is known to most of us, is from a very old Sussex County family, the origins of which go back to 1635, in colonial Eastern Shore Virginia. Part of his boyhood was spent at Dodd’s Pond (Morris Millpond north of Millsboro) where his father operated a water-powered flour mill until WWII. His deep love of Sussex County history becomes evident after only a short conversation. He can’t help it; it’s part of him, sinew and bone.
On Thanksgiving Day, a couple of years ago, I made a side trip to Mechanics Cemetery on East State Street, on the way to Mom’s.
One of my granddaughters had stayed overnight with me, so I took advantage of an early arrival in town to share some seasonal thoughts with her. I told her how my grandmother Bessie Carey and I, and then later my father and I, had frequented the cemetery. We would walk among the graves, noting the names and dates of those interred there and then we would reflect on the lives they had lived, and how each of them had touched our family.
Of particular significance on that occasion, I remarked to my granddaughter, was just how many Thanksgivings were represented there. In one sweeping view of the monuments dotting our perspective, we were looking at almost 200 years of community history. Before us lay the earthly remains of people who had lived, toiled, and contributed to the development of Millsboro, and celebrated many Thanksgivings there before us. Without their efforts, our community would not exist.
Many of those interred there celebrated only a few Thanksgivings. Without their sacrifices, we would have much less to celebrate.
Click here and read about a special Thanksgiving that took place during World War II.
Our next get together is scheduled for December 4th (Rain date December 11th) at 2:00 PM
We’ll meet along Delaware 30, 1.5 miles north of Millsboro, on the west side of Route 30, across from Doc Frame Road. Park just off the road, in the area of the open field, just north of the Revel Farm.
So much has happened in the last few weeks…
The Mid-Atlantic States have been jolted by a 5.8 earthquake,
The entire Eastern Seaboard has been pelted by wind, rain and storm surge of Hurricane Irene,
Our nation is still reeling from the effects of the hottest July on record,
A wide-spread, devastating drought lingers in the mid-South,
Which in itself has contributed to fires that have consumed vast swaths of land and hundreds of homes.