Delaware
Delaware history in News Journal June 7-13: Stone Balloon demolished
300 years later, Shad welcomed back to Brandywine
Dam removal begins in the Brandywine as the Shad and other fish are welcomed back to historic breeding grounds. The project is the first of many on the waterway and one of a series in the Delaware River watershed.
William Bretzger, The News Journal
The Delaware history column features excerpts from The News Journal archives including The Morning News and The Evening Journal. See the archives at delawareonline.com.
20 years ago, The News Journal, June 7, 2006
100-year-old Stone Balloon demolished for condominiums
There was no ceremony or parting words. Just the sound of the orange high-reach excavator machine as it began clawing into the wall of the Stone Balloon tavern on East Main Street in Newark.
A large crowd gathered Tuesday to watch the 100-year-old building come down. As the familiar walls crumbled, they snapped photos on their digital cameras and cell phones.
Owner Jim Baeurle will replace the tavern with a 54-unit project called the Washington House Condominium, as well as retail and office space. Demolition could take several days. Construction is set to start in July.
“To me, the emotional part was on Dec. 17, saying goodbye to the staff and customers,” Baeurie said before the demolition. “But now we turn the page and bring to Main Street what I tried to do for two years. The excitement outweighs the sadness.”
University of Delaware students, residents and business owners had mixed emotions.
Travis Duke, 22, a UD senior from Wilmington, went to the Balloon every Thursday night for two years. His dad went there in the 1970s to watch George Thorogood perform.
“I’m upset,” Duke said. “You can’t really replace the Stone Balloon with condos. It was a one-of-a-kind type of place.”…
The Stone Balloon was opened by Bill Stevenson in 1972.
“I don’t think people will ever realize how much fun we had at this building,” Stevenson said.
50 years ago, The Morning News, June 9, 1976
Governor vetoes bill to merge 3 vo-tech schools
Fearing more problems with budget deficits and desegregation, Gov. Sherman W. Tribbitt yesterday announced his veto of a bill to put three New Castle County vocational schools under the control of a single school board. ….
The bill would have given the New Castle County Vocational Technical Board of Education control over Wilmington’s Howard Career Center which opened last year and Newark’s Hodgson Vocational-Technical School, due to open this fall. …
Before making the decision, Tribbitt talked with Albert H. Jones Jr., president of the State Board of Education. He also met with vo-tech officials and school superintendents from Wilmington and Newark which would have lost control of their vocational schools through the bill….
While vetoing the merger bill, Tribbitt let stand the two companion measures. Those bills increase the vo-tech property tax from 3 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to 4 cents in Sussex County, 4 cents this year and 5 cents next year in Kent County, and 8 cents in New Castle County. The revenues raised in New Castle County will be split, based on enrollment, among the Wilmington, Newark and vo-tech districts.
Tribbitt said the cost of consolidating the three vocational schools under one board would be greater than the increased taxes would raise. The problem, he said, is “leveling up,” which state law requires when districts are consolidated. By putting three schools under one district’s control, the district would have to pay all staff according to a pay scale equal to the highest now existing at any of them. That, Tribbitt said, would have created at least a $300,000 deficit next year.
Desegregation was mentioned indirectly in the veto message, but Jones elaborated on it. In consolidating, Jones said, the district’s three schools would have to meet U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare standards. Those standards require that the district couldn’t have one school with mostly white students while another was mostly black or have a similar racial imbalance between teachers at different schools.
Meeting those guidelines, Tribbitt said, could have meant “significant shifts” in students, teachers, administrators and programs. “It could have meant busing,” a Tribbitt aide noted.
100 years ago, The Evening Journal, June 12, 1926
Wilmington to join in nation’s 150th birthday celebration
Wilmington Mayor Forrest, at 11:11 a.m. on June 28, simultaneously with the ringing of the Liberty Bell by Mayor Kendrick in Philadelphia, will ring a bell in this city, as an echo of the tolling of the symbol of liberty.
The ringing of the bell will be a signal for the commencement of American Independence Week.
President Coolidge in Washington is expected to perform a similar service, and each of the state governors are expected at that time to toll a bell in the state capitols.
The week has been set aside by a special act of Congress for the celebration of the 150th birthday of the Declaration of Independence and commemorating the Centennial of the death of its author, Thomas Jefferson.
Claude G. Bowers, executive secretary of the national commission, yesterday wired Mayor Forrest about the celebration and received an immediate return telegram from the mayor assuring the commission of his fullest cooperation. …
The tentative program follows: “Patriot’s Pledge of Faith Day” on Monday, “Universal Education Day” Tuesday, “Founders Day” Wednesday, “Great American Day” Thursday, “Signers Day” Friday, “Monticello Day” Saturday, “Jefferson Centennial Day” Sunday and “Sesqui-Centennial Independence Day” on Monday.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
The Hagley Museum and Library houses a collection of patent models
The Hagley Museum and Library houses the nation’s second-largest collection of patent models, many of which the public never gets to see.
For most, 41 years of service is more than enough. For State Librarian Annie Norman, though, even retirement can’t slow her down.
“The work is never done; there’s always something to do,” she said. “I’m going to have to continue to help in other ways.”
Norman will step away this fall after 24 years as the Delaware state librarian and director of the Delaware Division of Libraries.
Throughout her tenure, Norman made waves; the director helped create the Delaware Library Consortium, which allowed all of Delaware’s Public libraries to share items, and brought the library system along during a wave of technological change. For these achievements, she was named to the Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame in 2016 and appointed by President Joe Biden as a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board.
We spoke with Norman as she wraps up an accomplished career about her proudest achievements, and the state of libraries in 2026.
Question: As you look back on your tenure, what was your proudest accomplishment?
Answer: What I’ll be known for more than anything is probably the statewide library catalog and consortium. The politics of bringing all of those libraries together, after years of there being four separate library catalogs in Delaware, took about eight years. More recently, I think bringing the school libraries into that catalog is going to be really significant. We’ve got more than 50 school libraries to be a part of the statewide catalog, something we think can really help with the literacy crisis in this state.
One of the biggest challenges of your tenure was adjusting to the large wave of technology that came about. How have you and the Delaware libraries handled it?
It’s been very systematic. We have a great IT team that helps manage for us, as well as the state funding 100% of library technologies. The growth of the iPhone has certainly had a huge impact on literacy, but we’re really just working hard to bring back the excitement of reading.
The Delaware libraries’ programming have always been a popular resource. How important do you view these offerings to local communities, and will they continue to expand?
Yes, libraries are about enrichment, which means helping support people in things like entrepreneurship, education and innovation. We’ve had libraries start up job centers, which were so successful we could expand to entrepreneurship, and even help with more basic social needs, by starting a “social innovation team” to help with more of the social services-type work.
Where we still struggle is we can only help people access Delaware systems to help with their needs, not fix things within those systems. For that reason, we always encourage these systems to work with us, so the Delaware library system can fit everyone’s needs.
Cuts toward libraries just occurred in New Castle County, with the potential for more to come. How will the library system look to stay afloat?
Because of the economy, because of federal changes, things can get difficult, it’s not the first time we’ve experienced budget cuts. We’ve progressed significantly over the years, but there is much more work to do, and I don’t know that the public understands how critical libraries and librarians are to literacy.
The power of walking into a library and being able to choose what you want to read for a child is powerful, and until people understand that, we can’t achieve our literacy goals.
Adam Denn is an intern reporter for Delaware Online/The News Journal. You can reach him at apdenn@delawareonline.com.
Inspiration
Do you have a suggestion for our Inspiration page? E-mail Tammy Paolino at tpaolino@usatodayco.com
DELAWARE COUNTY, Ohio — People in Delaware County said it feels like new housing developments are popping up on every corner.
WSYX
“What haven’t you noticed, right? The whole area just exploded,” said Scott Shonebarger.
Scott Sanders, the executive director of the Regional Planning Commission, said companies like Intel and other industries are a main driver for thousands of people moving to Delaware County.
With the big boom comes an urgent need for more housing.
John Wicks is the developer at Real Property Design and Development.
He has spent over a decade building homes for families in Delaware County.
Wicks said the Olentangy School District is one of the hottest spots for new homes.
“I started with one high school up until the 90s, then now we’re up to four up to five different high schools so it’s just a big draw,” said Wicks. “It’s a beautiful community.”
The district has grown into the fourth largest in Ohio with a new elementary school opening next year, and a fifth high school in 2028.
Wicks said the growth has presented some challenges over the years like labor shortage and some opposition.
“It’s become a big issue for a lot of people that live in and around these areas. They tend to oppose new growth and new development, so restrictions have gotten a little bit harder. Costs have obviously gone up over the last 20 years,” said Wicks.
The planning commission says between 275,000 and 350,000 people could call Delaware County home by 2040.
That’s up from 214,000 in 2020.
Scott Shonebarger said he supports growth but wonders when is enough.
“I mean to a certain extent I think you know at some point right you have to have some sort of boundaries I think, getting into the fact that now you have five high schools,” said Shonebarger. “What’s the limit?”
Police in Wilmington, Delaware, shot and killed a 19-year-old man Wednesday night.
The incident happened in a residential area near 24th and Jessup streets just after 11 p.m., Wilmington police said in a news release. The person who was shot has not been publicly identified.
Officers were monitoring a large crowd gathered outside when they saw a man exit a home with a handgun and point it toward the crowd, police say.
When officers approached the man, he ran away and a foot pursuit began, police say.
At some point in the chase, an officer fired their weapon and hit the 19-year-old. The man was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.
Police say they recovered a loaded gun from the man and that the officer was not injured.
Video filmed at the scene shows a crowd of residents gathered outside after the shooting.
Police are asking anyone with more information to come forward. The shooting is under investigation by the Delaware Department of Justice and Wilmington police.
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