Women of Rehoboth Beach

Mayor Miriam Howard

Mrs. Miriam Howard was the first and only female Mayor of Rehoboth, serving two terms from 1975 to 1981. Known as the "environmentalist mayor," she first served as city treasurer from 1970 to 1975, was elected as a city commissioner in 1973, then ran for mayor in 1975 at the age of 63.

Howard was the first chair of the city parks committee, and later expanded the city parks department from a volunteer committee to a department with a budget and a staff of three. Under her leadership accessible ramps were added to beach comfort stations, and handicapped parking permits were issued. She once described herself as "not a very colorful person - just a middle class person doing her bit." She also served as the president of the Village Improvement Association.

During her time in office she opened the Anna Hazzard Museum. The museum is a historic house that once served as Anna Hazzard’s home and real estate office, which was used for housing during the era of the Methodist camp meetings. It remains open almost 50 years later at 17 Christian St., where visitors can sit on the same front porch where those camp meetings were held. The Anna Hazzard Camp Meeting Tent House is open by appointment and for special events.

Source: Wilmington News Journal

Louise Chambers Corkran

Louise Chambers Corkran was an interior decorator who moved to Rehoboth with her husband in 1929. After moving here, she became close friends with Ethel Pennewill Brown Leach, a classically trained artist who had been summering in Rehoboth since 1922.

Together, and with the help of the Village Improvement Association, in 1938 they established the Rehoboth Art League and the Annual Summer Art Exhibition. Using land lent by her husband, Louise and Ethel moved a two-room portion of an abandoned farmhouse to the land. The League brought a creative ethos to the community through exhibits, lectures, and classes. She later served as the Executive Secretary of the League.

 https://www.rehobothartleague.org/ 

Anyda Marchant & Muriel Crawford

Although Anyda Marchant and Muriel Crawford were not native Delawareans, they permanently relocated to Rehoboth in 1965 and are still remembered for their role in the LGBTQ+ history of Rehoboth Beach.

Together, they were two of the four founding members of Naiad Press, 1973, which was the first and all-time largest American publishing company dedicated to lesbian fiction. The first book published by Naiad Press was The Latecomer, which was the first of 14 novels published under the name Sarah Aldridge, which was the pseudonym of Anyda Marchant. For some time, this company operated out of Anyda and Muriel’s garage on Laurel St., using the small space as a warehouse to send books internationally.

In 1993, when a Boston newspaper wrote about a book signing Anyda and Muriel had attended, and linked both their real names to the Sarah Aldridge pseudonym, they both were "outed" to the community of Rehoboth, despite the years of subtlety regarding their relationship. Anyda and Muriel both feared hostility and rejection from the town they had come to call home. However, that Sunday, when Anyda dragged Muriel to their usual mass at All Saints' Episcopal Church, they found that the parish had reserved their usual pew and was awaiting their arrival, just as welcoming as ever.

Due to creative differences, Anyda and Muriel left Naiad Press and founded their own publishing company, called A&M books, in 1995. A&M Books merged with Bywater Books in 2016, and is still active today in publishing lesbian literature.

Until their deaths in 2006 (just 5 months apart), Anyda and Muriel maintained their social prominence through Saturday night salons on their front porch, where all were welcome.

 https://www.camprehoboth.com/ 

Photo Credit: Fay Jacobs

Mary Wilson Thompson

Affectionately remembered as the “Mosquito Matron” of Rehoboth, Mary Wilson Thompson became so frustrated by the hoards of mosquitoes that bothered her as she was gardening, she devoted her time to repelling the pests from the city. She worked in collaboration with the DuPont family and the V.I.A., did extensive research, and even consulted with the builders of the Panama Canal to complete this project. In the1930s, Mrs. Wilson Thompson persuaded the governor of Delaware, C. Douglass Buck, to create two Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which created job opportunities, brought more people into Rehoboth, and successfully solved her mosquito problem. Mrs. Wilson Thompson also advocated for kindergartens, school hot lunches, and daycare centers. She laid the groundwork for the founding of the Sussex Gardener's Club.

Photo Credit: Delaware Historical Society

Ruth Emmert

After spending her childhood summers in Rehoboth, Ruth Emmert moved here with her husband in 1926. During the Great Depression, she sold yeast rolls around town to make some extra money; the rolls were delivered to neighbors by her three children. Ruth’s first establishment was on Philadelphia Street; she named it the Dinner Bell Inn. The Inn, named for the large dinner bell from the old Ceasar Rodney farm that would ring every day to inform guests and locals that dinner was ready, was an incredible success. Later, through the cosigning with a male friend and community member, she acquired a loan to purchase and move The Dinner Bell Inn to a farmhouse on Christian Street. She brought the bell to the new establishment. In 1973, she won Delaware Restaurateur of the Year, and the Dinner Bell's notoriety continued well after Mrs. Emmert's retirement. Today, the Bellmoor Inn & Spa is open at the original site of the Dinner Bell.

Portrait of Ruth Emmert by M. E. Elliot. Photo Used with permission of Butch Emmert.

Edna Harmon

Edna M. Harmon was born in Rehoboth Beach, one of 10 children. She attended the Rehoboth Elementary School 200C, Lewes Junior High and Howard High School in Wilmington where she excelled in English and French. Mrs. Harmon was the baker at the Dinner Bell Inn for 45 years. As the Inn grew, Edna Harmon was in charge of baking the yeast rolls that put the Dinner Bell Inn on the map. Everyone who ate there asked for Edna's rolls. She was also known for her incredible peach pie and other personal recipes.

The Village Improvement Association (V.I.A.)

This community organization was established in 1909 to address the needs of Rehoboth as a new and growing city. The objectives of the Village Improvement Association (both at its founding and still today) are: "To improve and increase the intellectual culture, education advancement, and moral development of our members[...] To further and promote the interests, improvements and progress of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware[...] To do and perform whatever charitable and civic work at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and elsewhere as may be decided upon by our members."

In 1911, a junior V.I.A. was founded to “keep young people’s surplus energy occupied.” This branch of the club established a well baby clinic, worked to start kindergarten classes and a hot lunch program at school, and helped establish the Rehoboth day care center.

Though the club recessed during WWII, the clubhouse was used by the Red Cross during the war and club activities resumed soon after the war ended.

The list of things the V.I.A. has accomplished over the past century is extensive and remarkable. These women were instrumental in the creation of sidewalks, and curbs, and posted speed limits in Rehoboth. They lobbied for child labor laws and helped establish Delaware Women’s College (which merged with Delaware College to become the University of Delaware). They also petitioned for the preservation of public parks, installed the first boardwalk water fountain, and led protests against the construction of high-rise buildings. More recently, they've provided knitted and crocheted afghans for Beebe Medical Center, hospital gowns for Operation Smile, and established scholarships for Cape Henlopen High School Seniors and nursing students.

Photo courtesy of the Village Improvement Association.

 https://www.rehobothbeachvia.org/ 

Myrtle Belle Wingate

Born in 1890 in Rehoboth, Myrtle Belle "Mimi" Wingate lived with her husband, Ralph, and five children at 25 Rehoboth Avenue.

Myrtle was an active member of the Village Improvement Association and the Epworth Methodist Church, actively supporting the community and her husband, the Vice Mayor of Rehoboth. At age 38, she unexpectedly became a widow.

Her strength and courage allowed her to raise the children on her own. Faced with limited income, she managed her husband's real estate and insurance business.

She served as the personal secretary to Col. Wilbur Corkran, who offered her a role in the Delaware Mosquito Control Commission. She was well known for her quest to eliminate mosquitos.

Elected Rehoboth Tax Collector, Myrtle was one of the first females elected in Rehoboth; she netted 5% of her collections.

She rented a bedroom to tourists during the summers.

She worked as a Quartermaster (supply officer) at Ft. Miles during WWII until she retired in 1950.

Myrtle was a crack card player and wrote poetry, placing poems in cards and gifts. She enjoyed bingo and going to the movies until her death at age 86.

Photo courtesy of Cory Rose.