Delaware
New book explores folklore from the Delaware Valley’s first people
![New book explores folklore from the Delaware Valley’s first people](https://media.phillyvoice.com/media/images/091523_delaware_nation_women.f02144d4.fill-1200x630-c0.jpg)
According to Indigenous folklore, Earth began on the back of a giant turtle. The creation story often begins with a woman falling from the sky, hurtling toward a watery grave. Animals spot her descent and intervene to save her life. She lands on the back of a turtle, packed with mud to form solid ground, and once she gives birth, a new world is born.
While versions of this tale appear in many different cultures, the Lenape have been telling it for at least hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Also known as the Delaware, these Indigenous Americans inhabited land on both sides of the Delaware River long before English settlers arrived.
William Penn signed a peace treaty with the Lenape one year after he established the colony of Pennsylvania in 1681, as memorialized in a painting, but subsequent colonists pushed the Lenape across the country to Oklahoma. Though many settled there permanently, Lenape influences are still felt all over the state and in the city of Philadelphia, in words derived from their language like Manayunk, Kingsessing, Passyunk and Wissahickon. Some Lenape people also remain in Pennsylvania — and are currently fighting for state recognition.
Now, their myths and traditions have been collected in a new book from Camilla Townsend, a history professor at Rutgers University, and Nicky Kay Michael, president of Bacone College and a member of the Delaware. “On the Turtle’s Back: Stories the Lenape Told Their Grandchildren” traces the Lenape’s folklore through stories recorded by anthropologists and the authors’ own interviews and expertise. They range from fables warning against the neglect or abuse of nature to the humorous exploits of Strong Man, a literal-minded character the authors compare to Amelia Bedelia.
The Lenape’s values and core beliefs shine through in these stories, and often highlight the Lenape’s striking differences from Western culture, Michael says.
“If I were to actually give some concise lessons (from the folklore), a lot of it is to be a good relative,” she explains. “The family and the clans and your identity are all tied together, and it all is about taking care of each other in a good way, and then also being humble. I think that’s kind of an opposite trait (from) American society or the mainstream, (where) it’s always self above everybody.”
These principles are apparent not only in the creation myth, as animals band together to save the first woman, but in stories like “Ball Player,” where five brothers all journey one by one to rescue their sister-in-law after her husband is killed. In “Snow and Ice Boy,” a boy discovers he is a wintry spirit and leaves his people fresh snow to track animals.
Stories were traditionally told in the winter, after the Lenape had finished the hard work of harvesting food for the colder months. Sharing tales in busier seasons was considered not only improper but dangerous, for as Michael explains, “Things would come back on us if you didn’t do it the right way.” Respecting tradition kept everyone free from bad consequences like hardship and illness.
“On the Turtle’s Back” also devotes a chapter to the arrival of white European settlers and how their disruption to Indigenous life appeared in folklore. A much-loved tale of the Lenape’s first encounter with Dutchmen in Manhattan, New York concerns an initial sale of land “as big as a cow skin.” The Lenape agree to these terms because a cowhide is fairly small, but soon the settlers begin “to cut the cow hide into a small string… that string went around a ‘hell of a big piece of ground.’”
Perhaps most striking, however, is the way death plays out in these old stories. As Michael and Townsend emphasize in their book, the Lenape were not interested in tales of the afterlife because they had an accepting and peaceful attitude toward death. Binaries of heaven or hell simply didn’t fit into the framework.
“We feel like the ancestors are here all the time,” Michael said. “With Indigenous peoples, whether it’s Lenape or any other culture that’s Indigenous, you’re always connected and bringing your ancestors back at certain times, and then making sure that you give offerings to them.”
Due to these harmonious relationships with ancestors, you also won’t find Lenape legends of spiteful spirits. A visit from beyond the grave was welcome, not an omen.
“It was really striking in the stories, how many of the women’s stories were about death or ancestors, people who had died, people they had known who had died, and yet they weren’t ghost stories,” Townsend said. “They were ghost stories in the sense that they’re about people who are dead and talking to them, but they weren’t ghost stories in our sense of the word. They weren’t horror stories. It wasn’t macabre, it was loving.
“These were loving ghost stories.”
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Delaware
Joe Biden turns his Delaware home into 'personal ATM', earns $4.2mn from $350K property: Report
![Joe Biden turns his Delaware home into 'personal ATM', earns $4.2mn from $350K property: Report](https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/2024/06/26/440002-biden.png)
United States President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are believed to have treated their various real estate holdings in Delaware as their personal ATM for years by using them for various mortgages and refinancing them for not less than 35 times, according to a report.
The couple, whose reported net worth is $10 million, have allegedly borrowed $6 million against their properties for many years.
The dealings over their homes in Delaware are likely to have started in the late 1970s just after Joe and Jill got married.
According to a report published in the Daily Mail, the mortgage or credit deals were negotiated by the couple after approximately every 17 months. Such frequent refinancing has left the finance experts puzzled.
“It doesn’t make a lot of sense unless they were desperate for cash,” said a finance expert, while speaking to Daily Mail.
The revelations made in the report have further added mystery to the financial past of his family as the president faces scrutiny over financial transactions.
Biden’s murky financial transactions
The current residence of Bidens is a mansion which was purchased in 1996 and has an outstanding $541,000 mortgage after nearly three decades, as per records.
“Why would anyone view their home as an ATM?” LA realtor Tony Mariotti said while speaking to the Daily Mail.
“Over time, mortgage fees really add up. Paying off a mortgage… is like a forced savings account that bears modest interest,” Mariotti added.
As per the records, in 1996 the current four-acre spread was purchased by Bidens for $350,000 and they have since leveraged it with 20 different home credit agreements as well as mortgages totalling $4.23 million.
Watch: US: Biden & Trump prep for key Presidential debate
Bidens’ other major property is a summer home in Rehoboth Beach which was purchased in 2017 for $2.74 million. It was a cash purchase and had no mortgages attached to it.
However, financial records of Bidens show that they have significant debt and have a mortgage on the Wilmington home as well as an equity loan on the same property.
The family’s total liabilities fall between $350,000 and $850,000. Their estimated assets fall between $1 million and $2.6 million.
According to the records, the Bidens have sanctioned 13 home loans and two credit agreements between 1978 and 1994 which totals $1.72 million.
(With inputs from agencies)
Delaware
Wilmington’s Cool Spring Park introduces new amphitheater, outdoor classroom
![Wilmington’s Cool Spring Park introduces new amphitheater, outdoor classroom](https://whyy.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/wilmington-delaware-cool-spring-park.jpg)
In 2019, Alison Quimby, manager of sustainability and environmental compliance for the city of Wilmington, proposed an outdoor classroom to help support families and community members living in the urban areas where green spaces may be limited.
However, it faced setbacks at the time due to the pandemic.
“I just had this thought in my mind, definitely like a daydream, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be beautiful to give [this to] the citizens of Wilmington who are inside of buildings a lot?’” she said. “[We want to] give them a space to be outside where they can feel comfortable, where they can learn. It’s not just for environmental stuff.”
Collaborators including Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, the city of Wilmington, Healthy Communities Delaware and local schools came together Tuesday morning to celebrate the ribbon cutting of the park’s new addition.
Education and community were central to this project, influencing its location at Cool Spring Park due to the park’s proximity to nearby schools. During construction, involving the community was essential, with students at William C. Lewis Dual Language Elementary School contributing by planting native plants and attracting pollinators.
“We went through three different schools. But this was the one that we definitely landed on, and it’s perfection. The goal is to do this again and again. This is an experience that William C. Lewis and Padua and Ursuline or any community can come and enjoy,” she added. “With the help of the school William C. Lewis, they were able to come out, get their fingers dirty and do some planting, and they found worms and they were so excited.”
Delaware
Where to find free beaches in New Jersey and Delaware
![Where to find free beaches in New Jersey and Delaware](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox29.com/www.fox29.com/content/uploads/2024/06/1280/720/GettyImages-1320422279.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Heat wave Day 6: Temperature records broken
FOX 29 Meteorologist Kathy Orr chats about the 136-year-old record broken in Philadelphia with its high temperature Sunday.
PHILADELPHIA – Summer fun is even better when it’s free, and beachgoers looking to beat the heat have several options in both New Jersey and Delaware.
Temperatures have sizzled parts of the Delaware Valley ever since summer began earlier this month, including a record-setting heat wave.
Crowds have packed shore towns in New Jersey and Delaware where the sea breeze helps make unbearable summer temps more tolerable.
Everyone has their favorite shore town, but anyone looking to save a couple bucks can still enjoy a day at the beach with these free options.
Atlantic City: Best known for its gambling and vibrant nightlife, Atlantic City also offers a massive free beach for summertime fun. Downtown Beach, Crystal Beach, and Delaware Avenue Beach are a few of the options available to visitors. A.C. also boasts a more than 5-mile stretch of boardwalk that has access to restaurants, casinos and novelty shops.
Bay Front: Considered part of the more well-known Seaside Heights, Bay Front offers beachgoers “an alternative to the oceanfront activities.” Bay Front, found just north of Route 37, not only offers a free patrolled beach, but visitors can also enjoy fishing, crabbing and boating.
Beesley’s Point: Located on the banks of Great Egg Harbor, Beesley’s Point gives beachgoers a quieter escape and is said to be “an ideal spot for launching a kayak to explore the calm waters.”
Jennifer Lane Bay Beach: Another bay side location for beachgoers who prefer a more laid back shore experience, Jennifer Lane Beach is found on the Manahawkin Bay. Jennifer Lane Bay also features nearby parks for volleyball, walking, biking, and fishing.
Strathmere: Neatly tucked between Ocean City and Sea Isle City, Strathmere beach offers “a low-key, off-the-beaten-path beach experience.”
The Wildwoods: One of the most popular South Jersey beaches is also one of the state’s largest free beaches! With over 5 miles of beaches, Wildwood offers visitors plenty of room to find a spot to enjoy the sun and surf.
William Morrow Beach: VisitNJ.com called William Morrow Beach “the perfect spot to spend a sunny summer day” due to its plentiful sandy beaches and amenities like free parking, outdoor showers and a playground. A small notch of Somers Point, William Morrow Beach stretches between Higbee and New Jersey avenues.
Dewey Beach: There’s a lot packed into the small Delaware shore town, including a free beach! The one-mile-long town is just three blocks, but offers shops, restaurants and a lively nightlife scene.
Rehoboth Beach: One of Delaware’s premier vacation spots also boasts free sandy beaches! Rehoboth Beach also features a fun boardwalk and plenty of shops and restaurants to round out your day at the beach.
If we missed a free beach in New Jersey or Delaware, let us know at WTXF_web@FOX.com!
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