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Kent County (Del.)

Ordinary Heroes of Old Delmarva
From Grief to Grace: A Marydel Whodunnit (a free “Ordinary Heroes” book excerpt) From the BooksWay Back Machine

From Grief to Grace: A Marydel Whodunnit (a free “Ordinary Heroes” book excerpt)

This story is free excerpt from my book, Ordinary Heroes of Old Delmarva: Inspiring True Tales of Courage, Kindness, and Community. More info about the book here. The chapter, "From Grief to Grace: A Marydel Whodunnit," exemplifies the virtue of forgiveness. Lots of other stories about lots of other virtues are in the book. Here goes: Forgiveness is not weak. It takes courage to face…
January 3, 2026
Barratts Chapel Photo
Stopping Point: Barratt’s Chapel (a Shore Fun! destination) Destinations

Stopping Point: Barratt’s Chapel (a Shore Fun! destination)

"Someday!" "Next time!" That's what I thought over and over again, every time I passed the sign between Dover and Milford along Delaware's Route 1 pointing the way to Barratt's Chapel and Museum. I finally got off the highway and checked the place out when doing research for my book, Shore Fun! A Wanderer's Guide to Delmarva. That book serves up helpful snapshot descriptions of…
December 27, 2025
Samuel Burris FEATURED PHOTO
Saved from the Auction Block: Underground Railroad Hero Samuel Burris CharactersWay Back Machine

Saved from the Auction Block: Underground Railroad Hero Samuel Burris

The story below is a draft that has not yet been published in a Secrets of the Eastern Shore book. If you are interested in the inspiring true-life stories of the heroes of Underground Railroad times on Delmarva, the book to get is Tubman Travels: 32 Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva.  OK, Here is that story about Delaware's Samuel Burris: There’s something wrong in the…
October 29, 2025
Foxxy Terrier from book You Wouldn't Believe FEATURED PHOTO
From the Books: The Foxxy Terrier Who Found Itself From the BooksWay Back Machine

From the Books: The Foxxy Terrier Who Found Itself

In the book You Wouldn't Believe! storyteller Jim Duffy serves up 44 Strange and Wondrous Delmarva Tales that run the gamut from true crime to romance and adventure and comedy. Every story is true. Every chapter is a story unto itself, perfect for relaxed flipping and browsing. This free excerpt is the shortest chapter in the book--and one of the cutest, in my humble opinion.…
October 29, 2025
Lettie Callaway Hard Worker Featured Photo SIZED
Lettie Callaway’s rule for life: “Yes, siree, I don’t mind workin’!” CharactersWay Back Machine

Lettie Callaway’s rule for life: “Yes, siree, I don’t mind workin’!”

I was wandering around one of the historical society museums in Harrington, Del., when I came across a yellowed clipping from the Delaware State News, dated Jan. 2, 1972. The intriguing headline caught my eye. So did the infectious smile of an old woman in a photo. Here is the headline: Lettie Callaway, One Hard Worker From first word to last, the story by reporter…
March 31, 2025
Horseshoe Crab Apocalypse 1920s
The Horseshoe Crab Apocalypse of the Late 1800s and Early 1900s Way Back Machine

The Horseshoe Crab Apocalypse of the Late 1800s and Early 1900s

The horseshoe crab is one of our region's great natural wonders. Every year in late springtime, nature lovers descend on the beaches of Delaware Bay to see the strange ancient sea creatures waddle up onto the beaches of Delaware Bay in a spectacular spawning ritual. The animals didn't always get that sort of respect from humankind. What you see up top here are horseshoe crab…
April 18, 2024
Winterfest of Lights in Ocean City, Maryland
CHRISTMAS 2023: The Big Light Shows Good Times & Fun Events

CHRISTMAS 2023: The Big Light Shows

Here is all the info you need on the biggest and best season-long light shows of the 2023 holiday season! Winterfest of Lights in Ocean City, Md. Nov. 16 to Dec. 31 This is the 31st time around for Winterfest of Lights at Northside Park in Ocean City, Md. Take an outdoor walking tour through incredible light displays. Afterwards, see Santa in the gift shop.…
October 22, 2023
Typical Chicken Farm 1940s FEATURED PHOTO from Poultry Industry History
You’ve Heard of Bootleggers? How about Meatleggers? There Were Lots of Them on Delmarva in the 1940s Way Back Machine

You’ve Heard of Bootleggers? How about Meatleggers? There Were Lots of Them on Delmarva in the 1940s

What you see up top here is an ordinary Delmarva chicken farm in the early 1940s. But that decade was anything but ordinary for the poultry industry: Think black marketeering, bushel baskets of cash hidden in attics, and military roadblocks set up on DuPont Highway. These were World War II years. Among the array of complex logistics in that conflict was the task of feeding…
September 21, 2023
Frenchtown New Castle Railroad Featured Photo
A Railroad Milestone, with Doomed Cow, Peach Baskets, and a Modern Cocktail Way Back Machine

A Railroad Milestone, with Doomed Cow, Peach Baskets, and a Modern Cocktail

As I was putting this piece together, railroad safety was front and center in our 21st-century news media. Two big train derailments, one spewing toxic chemicals in an Ohio town. Who’s to blame? What should be done? How can railroad safety be improved? I don’t have answers to those questions, but I can tell you about the birthplace of railroad safety—the very first place in…
March 26, 2023
John H Muiholland Featured Photo
This Milford, Del. Man Helped Ice Cream Parlors Take Off in the 1920s CharactersFrom the BooksWay Back Machine

This Milford, Del. Man Helped Ice Cream Parlors Take Off in the 1920s

This is a free excerpt from my book, You Wouldn't Believe! 44 Strange & Wondrous Delmarva Tales. That's right, the book has 43 other stories like this one. Info on the book here. The only folks who screamed for ice cream when that delicacy first came on the market were the filthy rich. The history of the ice cream parlors we know today dates back…
March 1, 2023