New Castle DIGEST (Nov-Dec) 🍂
'News, Views & Stuff to Do' as of November 24, 2023
This special, day-early, Thanksgiving issue of the Digest starts with some lovely, local holiday history, with the usual, newsy elements a bit lower.
Jump to: November News Round-up / November Socials Recap / December Event Calendar
I. ‘Holiday Greening’ - A History 🎀
60 Years of Wintry Beautification in Historic New Castle
By Arasapha Garden Club chair Linda Suskie, guest contributor
In the middle of the 20th century, New Castle was decorated for the holidays much as any other small American town, with colored lights and artificial decorations. Some townspeople felt these decorations didn’t showcase Historic New Castle’s unique charm, however. One of those townspeople was Arasapha member Eleanor Holden, who expressed her views quite colorfully in a 1967 speech to the Colonial Dames:
Many townspeople for many years had had an uncomfortable feeling that we were
perhaps not celebrating the Christmas season in the very best way. Something ought
to be done! I know my particular breaking point came the day I saw nearby on one
of the most beautiful Georgian doorways in the country, a plastic wreath –
white, magenta and viridian green! Something really had to be done!!!
Eleanor Holden went on to explain, “the Arasapha Garden Club was the most logical and the most interested group to suggest a new plan of decoration.”
Still ‘Green’ - Early History of the Project
The idea of Arasapha providing appropriate holiday decorations for New Castle’s historic district appears to have originated with Arasapha member Mary Earle. In Spring 1963, Eleanor Tobin, Arasapha’s First Vice President, asked Mary to write a proposal for decorating New Castle at Christmastime, and newspaper articles in 1963 and 1964 credit Mary with conceiving the idea. (A 2003 club document notes that the Mayor and City Council asked Arasapha to undertake a Christmas decoration project in January 1963, but other records from the time make no mention of this.)
Mary Earle was one of Arasapha’s many remarkable leaders. A professional floral designer, she was active in Arasapha for over 40 years. At various points over the decades, she was president of Arasapha and headed May Market, May Market’s plants sales, the Dutch House garden committee, committees for other Arasapha gardening projects around the city (such as the Academy’s secret garden and the garden behind the Court House), the club’s program committee, and the club’s annual flower show (a big thing in the 1950s and early 1960s).
Everyone agreed that the decorations should be “traditional,” but what did that mean? Some Arasapha members researched early Christmas decorations and learned that outdoor Christmas decorations weren’t used in this country until the very late 1800s. Christmas decorations in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, were among the members’ inspirations.
The eventual idea was to enhance the inherent beauty of Historic New Castle in two ways: first, with simple, traditional, fresh greens and other natural materials that might have been used in the late 1800s and, second, with soft illumination of churches and historic landmarks, because light has been a symbol of Christmas for centuries.
Mary Earle’s proposal focused on the Court House and the Green. She proposed several Christmas trees in front of the Court House (with one large one, in front of the east wing, as the “Town Tree”), roping of fresh greens on the Court House railings, and wreaths with natural decorations on the Court House doors. She also suggested a large spot lit tree on the Green and that Delaware Street shops be encouraged to put trees in tubs on their sidewalks, trimmed with artificial snow or colored lights (a surprising suggestion, since those are hardly natural). Finally, she suggested spotlights on the Arsenal cupola, Immanuel spire, and all churches, along with soft lighting inside public buildings to resemble candlelight.
Mary Earle’s ideas were enthusiastically accepted by Arasapha members, and a group got to work implementing the plan for Christmas 1963. The Board of Water and Light (now the Municipal Services Commission) offered to install and pay for the lighting. This is when the spotlights familiar to us today were first added to the Court House cupola, Town Hall cupola, Arsenal cupola, and Immanuel Church spire. Initially the spotlights and interior lights were lit for only two weeks, and someone had to be hired to turn the lights on and off each night.
Arasapha members ended up decorating 26 wreaths in 1963, not just the two that Mary Earle proposed. To decorate the wreaths, they purchased holly and fruit, and they cut greens themselves, a practice that continued for decades. Workers from a local construction company helped hang wreaths that were too high for Arasapha members to reach. The total cost that first year, for trees, tubs and stands for the trees, wreaths, decorations, and labor was $390.63 (about $3900 in today’s dollars).
A Local Tradition Develops
For the project’s first year, Arasapha budgeted $400 of its own funds for the project, noting “Another year it is hoped the City of New Castle would help.” And indeed this happened. The next year, 1964, the Mayor and City Council provided some financial support for the project, a practice they have continued ever since. In the late 1970s, Public Works crew members began hanging the wreaths and, in the early 1990s, they began removing them as well—both important City contributions to the success of the project. The Trustees of New Castle Common also began making annual contributions in 1967.
The “Christmas decoration project,” as it was called then, was not without problems in its early years. Enough wreaths were damaged or stolen that Arasapha had an annual Replacement Committee through the late 1980s. Some of the trees were blown over by winds and others were stolen. In 1965 one townsperson built a creche that was placed in the walkway from Delaware Street to Battery Park, but it was heavily damaged by a nor’easter in 1967 and not used again.
Over the project’s first 40 years, Arasapha gradually decreased its role in holiday lighting. The last Lights chair in 1999 only lit Town Hall. Today the cupolas and spires around the Green are lit year-round, public buildings are no longer lit from within, and the City takes responsibility for adding strings of lights to some Delaware Street trees and lampposts.
The project’s focus on trees also declined over its first 40 years. By the 1980s the trees were no longer lit because of safety concerns. (Electrical cords had to be run quite a distance to the nearest outlet.) An evergreen tree planted and lit on the Green for many years was cut down in 1988. Theft of Christmas trees continued to be a problem into the 1990s, and Arasapha erected its last trees in 1997. Today the City takes responsibility for lighting a large evergreen tree in the park between Market and 2nd Streets.
Some other initiatives have come and gone over the years. Between 1966 and 1978, Arasapha sponsored a carol sing around one of the trees. Also between 1966 and 1978, Arasapha designated one or more trees as “bird trees,” decorated with treats made by local children such as popcorn balls for birds to enjoy. For almost 30 years, from 1965 through 1994, shop windows were filled with items that might have been sold during Victorian Christmastimes. Interest in this gradually declined, partly because of liability concerns, until at the end only one store window was decorated.
Wreath Making Moves to Center Stage
Meanwhile, wreath decorating became a bigger and bigger project. The number of decorated wreaths hung in the Historic District grew from 26 in 1963 to 83 in 1993, to almost 100 in 2000, and to about 120 today.
The complexity of the wreath decorating process reached a peak in the 1980s and 1990s. Starting in 1979, a committee began creating decorations from dried materials such as nuts, popcorn, and pinecones. Soon some Arasapha members were drying their own flowers. Starting in 1987, a Dried Flower Workshop was held about a month before the Wreath Workshop, in which Arasapha members bundled purchased and donated dried flowers onto flower picks for easy attachment to the wreaths. In the 1990s another group met the day before the Wreath Workshop to make “fruit do das”: flowers made from citrus peel and cranberries. Yet another group made bows.
In pre-Internet days, researching and buying supplies was a time-consuming process. Separate committees were set up to buy greens, fruits and vegetables, and other supplies. Even as late as 2003, materials for the Dried Flower Workshop came from 11 different suppliers, most contacted in person.
In the 1980s and 1990s, considerable time and thought was also spent on the design of individual wreaths. A “Wreath Design” report from 1991 explains that two Arasapha members specified decorations for each wreath that they deemed compatible with the building on which it was to be hung. After wreaths were hung, the two wreath designers drove around town to check the wreaths and make notes for design improvements for next year.
In 1999, one member began the Wreath Workshop with a demonstration on creating a “well-constructed” wreath, and two other “experienced wreath designers” provided “diplomatic technical and aesthetic help during the workshop.” Two photo albums from those days—virtually the only photos Arasapha has of past Christmas decoration projects—show how magnificent the wreaths were.
Today, Arasapha’s annual Wreath Workshop is bigger but simpler. During a two-day marathon workshop, roughly 120 wreaths are decorated with all-natural materials, including donated evergreen clippings, dried flowers bundled onto picks, fresh fruits and vegetables, pinecones, and other natural materials. We now invite members of the New Castle community to help us. Designers no longer specify the look of the wreaths, but even wreaths created by novice volunteers are beautiful and help transform Historic New Castle during the holiday season.
…
Wreath Workshop 2023 is at the Arsenal on Market Street, on:
Thursday, 11/30, from 12pm to 7pm, and
Friday, 12/1, from 9am to 12pm.
Learn more about Holiday Greening and Wreath Workshop on Arasapha’s website.
Thanks to Linda Suskie for sharing this fascinating and festive history with us!
II. November News Round-Up 📰
Clayton, Platt face off in 12/9 Election to the Trustees of the New Castle Common
The Trustees of the New Castle Common (TNCC) will hold an election on December 9, 2023, at Good Will Fire Co., to elect a board member to help oversee the land and assets managed by the Trust on behalf of the people of New Castle. Trustees serve twelve-year terms once elected to the Board.
It appeared for a time that the only candidate would be Thomas Clayton, whose previous term as a Trustee ended in September, making him a quasi-incumbent. However, in the final days before the filing deadline, another candidate emerged: former council president Mike Platt will appear on the Trustees’ December ballot next to Mr. Clayton.
The Trustees’ voter list is separate from that used for municipal, state and federal elections - residents who qualify must sign up for this voter roll in order to vote (which can be done on election day for Trust elections). In order to qualify to vote, a person must be 18+ and have resided in New Castle for at least one year. In order to qualify as a candidate, one must have been a resident for at least two years.
The week before the election, on Monday, December 5 at 7pm, the Trustees will hold their final meeting of the year, which will be open to the public. After the election, TNCC will have one remaining vacancy on the board, to be filled next year.
City Elected Offices Full for the First Time in 2023 - but New Castle still needs an Administrator
On Saturday, November 4, New Castle residents went to the polls for a record third time in 2023, in order to select a new member of City Council, following a string of resignations that prompted two Special Elections after our normal April ballot.
It’s rare for the third installment of a trilogy to be the best, but residents broadly agreed that this one was, thanks to the excellent qualifications and mutually respectful campaigns of candidates Alice Riehl and Brian Mattaway. While Mr. Mattaway ultimately got the job with enormous support, many felt that New Castle won the election, with higher-than-expected turnout and a reminder of how local politics should be, thanks to he and Ms. Riehl.
Suzanne Souder also became Council-President-Elect that day, though she did not appear on the ballot due to the state’s laws governing muni elections. It specifies that, “where the number of qualified candidates … is equal to or less than the number of seats up for election, the Board of Elections shall declare the candidate or candidates elected” (§ 7555 (j)). Reasonable folks may disagree about whether it is right for an election to end this way; but this is not an area where the state law is unclear.
Mr. Mattaway and Ms. Souder were sworn in to their new offices by Mayor Valarie Leary on November 13, at a ceremony at New Castle Court House. Each made a short statement during the event, which are included below.
Community Engaged at Rail Safety Presentation
Community leaders and members gathered in the auditorium at the New Castle School on November 6 for a discussion about emergency preparedness in relation to railroad incidents, and public concerns about the safety of trains moving through town. The meeting was organized by state senator Nicole Poore and state representative Melissa Minor-Brown, in collaboration with New Castle’s mayor and council.
County Preparedness officer Chris Hodgden served as MC for a presentation featuring numerous agency partners, including the DE Emergency Management Agency (DEMA), the DE Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), the DE Division of Public Health (DPH), Good Will Fire Co.’s Chief David Majewski, and others. Together, they detailed the resources available to and the step-by-step actions taken by local officials in the event of emergencies (PDF link below).
Three representatives from Norfolk Southern - the operator whose trains move through the city - also attended: Lydia McPherson, government relations specialist; Kevin Drummer, senior operations manager; and Scott Gould, a hazmat compliance officer. They fielded many resident questions about the speed, noise levels, contents and general safety of trains moving through New Castle. Their key assertions were that:
No local train exceeds 20mph or has more than 200 cars,
Trains all have 2 crew members: one engineer, and one conductor, and
Individual engineers have discretion over how aggressively they use the train's horn.
At the end of the meeting, channeling many residents’ lack of satisfaction with the rail corporation’s answers to some questions, Sen. Poore suggested further work was needed to ensure that Norfolk Southern is being mindful of its tracks’ New Castle neighbors. While some residents acknowledged becoming more alarmed about rail accidents by hearing the the extensive plans and contingencies in place to deal with them, all left a bit more prepared thanks to Hodgden, Majewski and the other presenters from state and local response agencies.
Further information:
Watch the full meeting on YouTube.
Read along with the presentation at: tiny.cc/Railroad-Safety-Mtg.
Updates from City Council and Administration
On Tuesday, November 14, New Castle’s newly-full City Council met officially for the first time, at New Castle Senior Center, with all members in attendance and Suzanne Souder presiding.
The regular meeting was preceded by a hearing on Ordinance 541, which effectively grants one seat on the city’s Planning Commission to a member of Good Will Fire Company. Joe Day, who introduced the ordinance, noted that GWFC had approached him about having a voice in Planning, which he supported given that “communities approved have a direct impact on them and their responses.”
While nobody rose to offer formal comment, the general support for the measure was clear, with murmurs and clear remarks of “sounds like a good idea” from the audience. During the regular meeting, Council approved the Ordinance unanimously.
With no city administrator, much ongoing business is on hold for one reason or another, as council members do their best to pick up the slack and keep moving forward on projects like the dog park, updates to security at the City Admin building, and a new band shell/bandstand.
During his report, Chief Richard McCabe of NCPD announced that his department had received a grant to cover creation of a Behavioral Health Unit, which he is working to get set up. As the chief explained, “Our goal is to stand this unit up working with several non-profit groups that work with mental health and substance abuse issues, including Community Collaboration of DE (CCD) and others.”
He continued, “A clinician will ride with our officers 10-15 hours a week. She will help us when we have folks who need intervention. Will also work with CCD to offset the cost of two hirings – a counselor [and] a case manager. When we deal with folks with these issues, we will now have other resources to provide than we’ve had… an outlet for people in crisis, [which] frees officers up to handle safety issues.
“We’re not always equipped to deal with people who are struggling, other than to identify [that there is a] problem… There are people with nowhere to go… and not all stories end well. We don’t know the success rate [yet], but it’s an opportunity to provide a service we haven’t had before.”
Several members of Council and of the public lauded the department’s new initiative during comments throughout the rest of the meeting.
Other significant takeaways from the meeting included:
Chief McCabe also urged people to keep refraining from mailing checks, as incidents of ‘check washing’ have continued. He also recommended mindfulness around package deliveries this season, as they can present a tempting target for theft, and suggested scheduling deliveries while someone will be home.
Bull Hill boat yard will remain in its current, unused state, after an attempt at reviving the Boat Club there mentioned at last month’s meeting appears to have petered out due to the same insurance issues that caused it to fold previously.
Members of Council met with Separation Day event manager Event Allies to sign a contract for the event in 2024. Ms. Souder described the history of using the organization, which has kept the event revenue-neutral for the city by seeking grants and sponsorships, while keeping ticket prices as accessible as possible. She also noted that volunteers for the event “are always welcome.”
The rental bike rack installed by FIN Outdoor Recreation at the Wharf has been used at least 139 times, based on the number of $1 payments received by the city when users pay the “unlock fee.” While the Resolution permitting FIN to operate in the city does not expire, Council is working with the company to renew the usage contract for another year.
Joe Day noted that he has been working on quotes for installation of a professional audio-visual (AV) system in the Senior Center’s River Room, where Council meets. He will present that at the next meeting. Mr. Day also asked city building staff to put together a list for the beginning of next year, showing all development projects that are “in the pipeline,” with some degree of approval but no active construction yet.
Nermin Zubaca announced that he “was working with Bill Barthel before he left to add a page [to the city website] showing approved developments, or possibly any in the pipeline, and to make the relevant documents more accessible. [He] instructed me who to work with on that, so I have been in communication [with them]. I hope to add it to the website soon.”
Mr. Mattaway started his comments with a nod to some New Castilians from whom he draws inspiration, namely Eugene Petty, Gladys Clark and Sylvester Clark. He shared a gift with fellow Council members and said he looked forward to the work they’d do together. Lastly, Mattaway noted his interest in establishing a Police Advisement & Community Engagement committee, and working with stakeholders on a welcome packet for new residents.
Mayor Leary congratulated the newly-elected. She also recapped recent community engagement events in Shawtown and Dobbinsville, and noted the next will be in Buttonwood in February, hopefully to be held at the historic Buttonwood School. Turning to the upcoming holidays, Leary offered residents a chance to help with Wreaths Across America, and noted that Carrie Downey Elementary is seeking help to provide meals for 29 families.
Speaking more officially, Mrs. Leary also presented three Mayoral Proclamations:
Recognizing 11/25 as Small Business Saturday, she urged “residents to support small businesses and merchants, and to shop small throughout the year.”
Recognizing November as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, Leary noted “a special bond with folks in town who have or have had pancreatic cancer, including former Councilman Russ Smith.” And,
Recognizing National Family Literacy Month, which highlights the importance of reading and learning for entire family.
Ms. Souder shared a letter from MSC director Scott Blomquist regarding the undergrounding wires project in Van Dyke Village. It recapped the original timeline ending in November 2023, then detailed the slowdowns caused by COVID and the supply chain issues of 2022-2023. As completion sometime in 2024 nears, MSC and members of Council have received numerous resident complaints regarding the delays, and the manner of construction. During Public Comments, several residents mentioned issues with MSC, including former council president Mike Platt, who was highly critical. “Why do we have to look at conduits sticking up out of the ground?” he asked. “We have to wait for a child to be impaled on it?”
Brian Mattaway was the lone dissenter on passage of a Resolution to permit re-subdivision of the ‘Riverbend at Old New Castle’ development, speaking of issues he’d heard from residents there, including lack of access to a clubhouse that is still being advertised among the 55+ gated community’s amenities.
All Resolutions appointing citizens to committees passed unanimously:
Michael Westman to the Historic Area Commission,
John Wik as a commissioner of the MSC,
Warren Flowers to the Board of Adjustment, and
Matthew Eide to the Playground Committee.
Due to technical issues, this month’s meeting was not broadcast via Zoom and will not be available on YouTube. City Council’s next regular meeting will be Tuesday, December 12, at 7pm.
III. Re: Mike Platt’s Recent Interview
Corrections, Additions and Updates (oh my!) to the Story
After publication of our interview with Mike Platt last week, a few folks reached out with corrections and concerns. NCT always considers reader feedback seriously and is grateful for the opportunity to be accurate and to make sure we’re sharing as much information as possible to help fellow citizens understand the Topics we cover.
Here is what has changed in the story since initial publication on 11/18. We can’t update the original email, and this Digest is already too long, but these changes now appear in the web version of the story, with blue inset bars to make them stand out:
City solicitor Max Walton was named incorrectly as ‘Max Griffin’.
Kim Burgmuller’s last name was spelled wrong.
Weekly editor and publisher Terry Buchanan has offered a response to Mr. Platt’s statements relating to her and the paper.
Links to video of referenced Council meetings have been added, cued to the relevant start times.
Mayor Valarie Leary has furnished documents showing that she did file to run for City Council via email in 2015.
We apologize for the errors of editing and oversight above. Stories evolve, and we always welcome the opportunity to be more accurate, and to learn more about the players, policies and perspectives shaping our town.
As noted in the original story, New Castle Topics does not endorse the statements or claims of Mr. Platt or others quoted. This project is neither equipped for - nor interested in - adjudicating these matters, just sharing the info we find helpful in considering them. As always, readers should make up their own minds.
IV. ICYMI: Local Media Spotlight 📸
In case you missed it... Fall is in Full Swing. Aside from it being Thanksgiving, the Season has really shown New Castle at its best this past month...
A few wonderful posts from other local pages - including The Weekly, ‘Visit Historic New Castle,’ and the Community Collaboration of DE - captured life in this little city as the seasons turn…
Lastly, just this week, our post about the Earle Theater that once stood at Delaware and 5th Streets touched off a wave of reminiscence that was really lovely…
V. Community Event Calendar 📅
Check out the Community Calendar on our website for a farther view of the local event scene and to catch additional events as they are added, plus the list of monthly/ongoing events!
The rest of this month offers some amazing chances to support local businesses and ‘shop small’ at events around town as you consider your holiday gift-giving…
Remaining in NOVEMBER:
11/24 - Fourth Friday Art Loop downtown at participating shops, 5-8pm.
11/25 - Small Business Day at the New Castle Historical Society, 9:30am-4:30pm.
Featuring Cobblestone Chocolates and other local, small vendors in the Arsenal.11/25 - Small Business Saturday in HNC, participating locations, 10am-4pm.
Start at the Arsenal on Market Street to receive a shopping bag, specials for each shop and an event passport. Shops will have specials for the day.11/29 - Natural Materials Donation Drop-Off, behind the Arsenal (all day).
Support the Holiday Greening of New Castle and Arasapha’s Wreath Workshop by dropping off appropriate natural materials for wreath decoration. (More info at link.)11/30 & 12/1 - Arasapha’s Wreath Workshop at the Arsenal, hours vary by day.
Help Arasapha Garden Club create the wreaths that will beautify New Castle for the season. Participation is free and experienced help is available. Visitors may also make personal wreaths (supply dependent) for $30. Hours are 12-7pm on Thursday, 11/30; and 9am-12pm on Friday, 12/1.
Coming up in DECEMBER 2023
12/2 - Annual Breakfast with Santa at Good Will Fire Hall, 8-11am.
Join neighbors for breakfast and photos with Santa, by GWFC in partnership with the Historic New Castle Hundred Lions Club.
12/5 - Trustees of the New Castle Common Meeting, Penn Farm, 7pm (Public).
12/7 - Last Day to Donate Toys at NC Court House for Toys for Tots.
12/8 - Fezziwig’s Ball at the Arsenal/New Castle Historical Society, 7pm.
This event is Sold Out.12/9 - Election for Trustees of the New Castle Common, at GWFC, 10am-4pm.
12/9 - The Spirit of Christmas and the NC Library Winter Festival & Market
The Winter Festival will include a Book Sale and Raffle by the New Castle Library Friends, and a Poinsettia Sale by Arasapha Garden Club.
12/9 - Hearth Cooking in the Amstel House Kitchen, 10am-2:30pm.
Hearth cooks will introduce visitors to the recipes and techniques used to prepare meals and preserve foods by people of the 18th century. Demonstrations are free.12/9 - LIT for the Holidays Winter Reception at the Read House, 6-8:30pm.
This year featuring a “Holidays in Miniature” exhibition, in partnership with the First State Mini Club. Tickets $35 (non-members), incl. hors d’oeurves/dessert & cash bar.12/10 - Holiday Hoopla 5K starting from St. Peter’s School, 10am (9am check-in).
The annual 5K walk/run by the Community Collaboration of Delaware, supporting that organization’s drug abuse prevention programming for youth and adult recovery housing.12/17 - Holiday Party & Toy Drive at New Castle Little League, 11am.
Featuring games, crafts, food trucks, a drive-through car show, bounce houses and - from 11-1pm - Santa. Bring a new unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots.
12/17 - Look out (and listen) for Carolers downtown in the late afternoon!
Thank you for reading and have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and holiday season.
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