Share:
Return Day tradition continues in Georgetown
Large parade, burying the hatchet, entertainment, oxen sandwiches all part of event
November 10, 2022
Following a long run-up to the 2022 midterm election, political opponents came together Nov. 10 in Georgetown for Return Day to bury the hatchet.
![Sussex County political party chairs gather on the stage to bury the hatchet in Lewes Beach sand. Taking part are Marilyn Booker, Republican Party; Jane Hovington, Democratic Party; Don Ayotte, Independent Party; Rob James, Libertarian Party; and James Brittingham, Non-Partisan Delaware.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC8585.jpg)
Sussex County political party chairs gather on the stage to bury the hatchet in Lewes Beach sand. Taking part are Marilyn Booker, Republican Party; Jane Hovington, Democratic Party; Don Ayotte, Independent Party; Rob James, Libertarian Party; and James Brittingham, Non-Partisan Delaware.
![Ken Tull, a member of the Seaford Volunteer Fire Department fire police, was seriously injured when he was hit by a car while working a scene last October. He serves as the parade’s grand marshal.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC8465.jpg)
Ken Tull, a member of the Seaford Volunteer Fire Department fire police, was seriously injured when he was hit by a car while working a scene last October. He serves as the parade’s grand marshal.
![Members of the Sussex Central High School Band are among the eight bands taking part in the Return Day Parade.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC8234.jpg)
Members of the Sussex Central High School Band are among the eight bands taking part in the Return Day Parade.
![Waving to the crowd, Democrat Stell Parker Selby of Milton is winner of the 20th District representative seat.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC8156.jpg)
Waving to the crowd, Democrat Stell Parker Selby of Milton is winner of the 20th District representative seat.
![Democrat U.S. Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester won enough votes during the Nov. 8 election to serve another term.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC8109.jpg)
Democrat U.S. Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester won enough votes during the Nov. 8 election to serve another term.
![Steve Smyk, right, who lost a bid for the District 6 Senate seat, talks with Tom Protack, Beebe Medical Foundation president, prior to the start of the parade.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC7957.jpg)
Steve Smyk, right, who lost a bid for the District 6 Senate seat, talks with Tom Protack, Beebe Medical Foundation president, prior to the start of the parade.
![Steve Smyk, second from left, gets a little help from some friends as they push his transport – with a dead battery – along the parade route. The former Republican state representative from Lewes lost his bid for the Senate District 6 seat.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC8129.jpg)
Steve Smyk, second from left, gets a little help from some friends as they push his transport – with a dead battery – along the parade route. The former Republican state representative from Lewes lost his bid for the Senate District 6 seat.
![Republican Lee Murphy and his family ride a horse-drawn carriage in the parade. Murphy lost his bid for U.S. Congress to incumbent Lisa Blunt Rochester.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC8054.jpg)
Republican Lee Murphy and his family ride a horse-drawn carriage in the parade. Murphy lost his bid for U.S. Congress to incumbent Lisa Blunt Rochester.
![Democrat Speaker of the House Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, who won another two-year term, waves to the crowd.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC8148.jpg)
Democrat Speaker of the House Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, who won another two-year term, waves to the crowd.
![From left, Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, and Lou Ann and John Rieley participate in the traditional Return Day ceremony following the parade. Republican Rieley won his second term as District 5 Sussex County Council member.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC8498.jpg)
From left, Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, and Lou Ann and John Rieley participate in the traditional Return Day ceremony following the parade. Republican Rieley won his second term as District 5 Sussex County Council member.
![Republican Dan Short of Seaford, 18th District representative, won re-election for the seat he has held since 2006.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC8113.jpg)
Republican Dan Short of Seaford, 18th District representative, won re-election for the seat he has held since 2006.
![Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution Maj. Nathaniel Mitchell Chapter ride in the parade.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC8274.jpg)
Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution Maj. Nathaniel Mitchell Chapter ride in the parade.
![Haley Cummins, a Sussex Academy senior, serves as emcee for the youth talent competition. She is the 2023 Distinguished Young Woman of Delaware.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC7705.jpg)
Haley Cummins, a Sussex Academy senior, serves as emcee for the youth talent competition. She is the 2023 Distinguished Young Woman of Delaware.
![Members of Sussex Dance Academy pose for a photograph before their performance on the street around The Circle.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC7697.jpg)
Members of Sussex Dance Academy pose for a photograph before their performance on the street around The Circle.
![A large group of Sussex Dance Academy performers takes over The Circle in the youth talent competition.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC7897.jpg)
A large group of Sussex Dance Academy performers takes over The Circle in the youth talent competition.
![Town crier Kirk Lawson, left, and Sussex County Sheriff Robert T. Lee have the best view of Return Day from the balcony of the courthouse on The Circle.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC8546.jpg)
Town crier Kirk Lawson, left, and Sussex County Sheriff Robert T. Lee have the best view of Return Day from the balcony of the courthouse on The Circle.
![Georgetown Mayor Bill West says the community needs to come together and do the right thing to win the war against racism and dishonesty.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC8473.jpg)
Georgetown Mayor Bill West says the community needs to come together and do the right thing to win the war against racism and dishonesty.
![Hard workers such as Derrick Eming, left, and Jimmy Hitchens spent the day cooking the oxen for sandwiches given away at the end of Return Day.](/sites/capegazette/files/2022/11/field/image/_DSC7934.jpg)
Hard workers such as Derrick Eming, left, and Jimmy Hitchens spent the day cooking the oxen for sandwiches given away at the end of Return Day.