New Castle, DE

On Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012 at 1:30 p.m., the New Castle Courthouse Museum http://history.delaware.gov/museums/ncch/ncch_main.shtml located at 211 Delaware St. in Old New Castle, Delaware., will present the program "Forgotten Presidents and How the Presidency Evolved." Admission to the museum, which will also be open for visitation between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m., is free and open to the public. For additional information, call 302-323-4453.

Led by historic-site interpreter Bob Vander Decker, the program will explore the lives of the 14 men who served as presidents of the Continental Congress. See info at http://www.russpickett.com/ushist/uscont.htm This convention of delegates emerged as the first national government of the United States during the period of the American Revolution through the ratification of the United States Constitution. One of those men, Thomas McKean of Delaware, served as the Congress' 8th president in 1781.

Last month, the 192 room Sheraton Wilmington South finally opened for guests, 10 years after it's original planned opening. What happened? Well, building inspectors discovered it was 1/3 larger than approved plans. Court battles ended in bankruptcy for the developers, another developer took over, and finally Hersha Hospitality plunked down $15 million for the fully furnished. building.

Hersha spent $24 million gutting the never-used hotel, creating a grand lobby staircase for those perfect bridal pictures. Yesterday, the New Castle County Board of Realtors held their installation of 2012 officers at the Sheraton, and we had a chance to see it in all its neutral-toned beauty.

The verdict? I have not seen the rooms, but the meeting room on the 2nd floor overlooking the lobby had a low ceiling and a big post in the middle so that the podium was hard to see, a problem depending on where your table was. Sort of claustrophobic. The food was OK, although this tea drinker had to be persistent requesting tea, since only coffee was set out (and not market decaf or caffeine).

Originally the older design had a spiral staircase in the lobby (what were they thinking?), so the "grand" version was nice, but I walked all around the lobby and although their was a tiny Starwood Hotel guest counter, there didn't seem to be a traditional check-in desk, just some computers. Guess they figure everyone is fine with some online system. Below, the lobby as seen from the 2nd floor. As I came in from the parking lot, I could see guests leaving the hotel, so they are attracting people--as they should, since it is just feet from the heavily travelled north-south I-95 corridor. Hope they don't have too many problems with being built in a swamp, since I did see a "high water" sign posted on the road outside the parking lot. It is right down the road from Historic Old New Castle, so at long last visitors will not have to travel far for an overnight stay.

Although few houses now NEED fireplaces as their only source of heat, from the early days of our republic until the late 19th century, fireplaces were the main cooking and heat source in most homes.

The photos above show 2 houses, the first of which, Tomahawk, was built in 1772 near Hartly, Delaware, and which has been incorporated into the life of a modern family. The second picture is from The George Read II House in New Castle, Delaware, from 1801, which is a house museum with volunteers demonstrating open hearth cooking.

Now, you might ask, "What is going on here?" And the answer would be, these are the same 2 houses, but on the basement level. Some people look at the picture on the left and say,"That must be a fireplace." But they would be wrong. That is the support arch for the hearth and chimney above. A similar situation is seen on the right on the next picture, but in front of the support arch, there is a table set for a banquet. This is to represent the period of the last private owners of the Read House, Philip and Lydia Laird, whose ownership stretched from the 1920's to Mrs. Laird's death in 1975. The story is told that during Prohibition, the family had booze flown in from Cuba. The plane would land on the Delaware River across the street from the house (doesn't everyone have a yacht and seaplane mooring in their front yard?) and the cases carried over to the Rathskeller or party room in the basement of the house. This was said to be perfectly legal because they didn't cross any state lines, and it was all for the use of their family and friends (many, many, friends).

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Saturday, May 21, from 10 am to 5 pm is the 86th annual Day in Old New Castle, Delaware. The Colonial Capital of the State opens museums, private homes, and gardens, in this little town on the Delaware River. (shown is the Old Court House west wing).

~Stroll through carefully tended gardens
~Tour exquisite private homes dating from the 18th century that reflect the history of Old New Castle
~Enjoy guided historical walking tours
~Enjoy period music, dance, and change ringing on the church tower bells.

More information at http://dionc.immanuelepiscopal.com/

(And until 1:45 pm, look for me greeting guests at the door of the Amstel House museum)