Tonight we went out to the Corbit-Calloway Memorial Library (where just last weekend I did a book signing) to attend a special community event.
While I am used to thinking of December 7th as Pearl Harbor Day, I learned that, in these parts, December 7th is celebrated as “Delaware Day.” On 7 December 1787, the 30 representatives sent by Delaware to the Continental Congress ratified the Federal Constitution, making Delaware the first state in the Union. Who knew?
The Corbit-Calloway Library has a marvelous collection of historical documents pertaining specifically to Delaware. It’s located right here in Odessa, where I now make my home. Odessa was also home to former Delaware state Governor Sherman W. Tribbitt, who passed away in August.
Some of the people who worked with Governor Tribbitt have spent the last several months commissioning a portrait of him for the library. Tonight we went to the dedication ceremony. It was beautifully put together, and extremely well-attended. Odessa is so small that they don’t bother to deliver the mail–they just give everyone in town a free post office box and the secret code to open the door lock so you can get to your box 24/7. And afterwards there was cake. The ceremony included brief remarks from several folks that knew the Governor, including a featured address from a former state senator who worked with him, and the singing of our state song (“Our Delaware”) by a local judge. In attendance were several state senators and representatives, as well as a number of former government officials, and the governor’s family (including the former first lady of Delaware).
This is a really nifty town we’ve moved into.
