Sussex cotton, seismic testing in Lewes, Cupboard finale

Sussex County farmers are often touted as growing more broiler chickens than any other county's farmers in the U.S. But here's another superlative that is rarely mentioned. In 2017, and in 2018 for that matter, Sussex County is one of the northernmost counties in the country with a field of cotton. It may be only a couple of acres, but it's a field.

Many people who travel across Sussex on Route 16 have seen the field. It's on the north side of Route 16 between Ellendale and Greenwood, and it is especially evident because the cotton grown in 2017 was never harvested.

In last week's snow, it looked doubly productive. Cotton balls and clumps of fresh snow look amazingly alike.

Mona Steele is part of the M.J. Webb Farms operation that grew the cotton. "It was an experiment. There was some seed available and it was planted. The plants grew but the cotton wasn't harvested. One thing learned was that we might need to use something on the plants so they don't grow so high. We might play around again with it next year."

Steele said the cotton field has captured people's curiosity.

"They stop and take pictures. Some want to take a few stems to decorate with."

She said all told, the cotton field is about two acres.

Stacey Hoffman, who works in public relations for Delaware's Department of Agriculture, said Delaware doesn't have the infrastructure for processing cotton. "They used to grow it in Accomack County [on Virginia's Eastern Shore] but it was hard for them to manage the risks, so they stopped."

She said the nearest cotton gin, which separates cotton fibers from the seeds in the balls, is located in Suffolk, Va., farther south on Virginia's mainland.

"Cotton needs a long growing season. Five months. It would have to be growing here in June, and harvest couldn't usually begin until October. But we can get frosts in October which can cause problems, as can the rains that we often get that time of the year. It doesn't seem to be economical to grow cotton in Delaware."

Hoffman said she wasn't aware of any test plots being planted in Delaware to gauge feasibility.

The United States is the largest exporter of cotton in the world. It grows in southern states where the growing season is longer. Sussex County is Delaware's southernmost county, but up until now, it hasn't been south enough to sustain a viable cotton crop. With climate change shifting lots of species farther to the north, the Webb folks may be onto something.

Lewes seismic testing

In the midst of last week's blizzard, I noticed scientific instruments chained to several telephone poles on Front Street in downtown Lewes. Darrin Gordon, general manager of the Board of Public Works, said the seismic survey instruments have been deployed in concert with the major infrastructure replacement work going on in that part of town.

"They've been placed by an outside contractor so we can determine if the work that's being done is shaking the buildings. Right now they're measuring the vibrations from existing traffic for comparison. We're anxious and nervous about doing work on Front Street. There are many historic and valuable buildings we don't want to damage with the work we're doing. If the underground work being done to replace water and sewer pipes surpasses certain thresholds, we'll know we have to make changes."

Gordon said one of the testing units includes a microphone for measuring sound. "It was available, so we thought it would be a good idea to add that test as well. It's amazing how much road noise there is without the work. There are residents who live in buildings above the work. They've been very patient and they know it will be noisy. But we want to know if it's excessive."

Gordon said the Board of Public Works has the monitoring units sending

information to an internet site. "When thresholds are passed," he said, "we're alerted."

Corner Cupboard finale

I may not have been as wrong as I thought I was. Two weeks ago in this column I noted that the last building in the Corner Cupboard complex on Park Avenue in Rehoboth Beach was scheduled for demolition. I was later told the discussed house was owned by the Fancourt family since the 1950s and, though next door, wasn't part of the Corner Cupboard.

Apparently there was some truth in both sides. Parker Livingston, who lives in Rehoboth, came to know the resort and the Corner Cupboard Inn on vacations with his parents. He said he stayed in what would eventually become the Fancourt house when it was used as overflow lodging for Corner Cupboard guests. That's how successful and popular the Corner Cupboard was in its heyday.

Regardless, the Corner Cupboard Inn is still gone, and our readers continue to help keep us straight. As always, thank you for reading.