Students stop dune destruction in 1970
Fifty-five years ago, on the eve of the nation’s first celebration of Earth Day, a group of Cape Henlopen High School students stopped the Army from bulldozing dunes on oceanfront property it controlled on the edge of Cape Henlopen State Park.
John Stenger, a naturalist at the park and biology teacher in local schools, was a persistently active defender of the dunes. He used the dunes of Cape Henlopen as a living classroom for his students.
On April 24, 1970, Stenger invited a group of students to the park to witness a natural area being ruined. According to an article in The Morning News, there were about 20 students at 7 a.m., but the number grew to 150 by mid-morning. They were also joined by 38 students from Kutztown State College (now Kutztown University) who happened to be in the area on a nature study.
Stenger had been alerted to the project by Charles Horn of Rehoboth Beach. After investigating it himself, Stenger called the governor’s office. Unsatisfied with the response, Stenger, at the encouragement of his daughter, organized a small group to meet at the site the next day. The phone chain snowballed, however, and many more students than expected showed up.
Stenger and the students were confronted by Lt. Laurence Sadoff, officer in charge of the construction project. He warned the students they were trespassing on U.S. government property. Eventually, the Army backed off, and the dune destruction was averted.
The 70-foot-high dune was set to be leveled in order to make space for a trailer park for vacationing servicemen.
