On Sunday, June 18, the late afternoon social buzz along Baltimore
Avenue was interrupted by the sound of fire alarms and the sight of
billowing clouds of black smoke rising over the cluster of restaurants
that occupy the corner of First and Baltimore. To the many observers on
the street the exact location of the blaze was hard to pinpoint—"it’s
Dish!"… "no, Adriatico!"… "it’s the
church!"… "Jammin’ Joes!" … "Nicola Pizza!"
Speculation was rampant, and a nervous excitement swept through the crowd
of onlookers, many of whom had only moments before been dining in the
restaurants in question. Afterwards, of course, the reason for the
confusion became apparent—the fire had started in the back trash
alleyway that connected all the properties. In retrospect, it could have
been much worse. If the nearby propane tanks had exploded or firefighters
had not been able to extinguish the blaze, downtown Rehoboth could have
faced a major loss. As I understand it, Jammin’ Joes suffered the worst
damage and remains closed. Nicola and Adriatico have reopened and by the
time this issue hits the streets, Dish should be back in business. For
photos of the fire, see page 4.
Crisis situations have been known to bring out the best and the worst
in people. For example: at the height of the fire and sometime after all
the businesses on or near to the scene had been evacuated, I witnessed a
young couple who apparently had made reservations for the evening at Dish.
They strolled between fire trucks, stepped over fire hoses and walked down
the steps trying to get into the restaurant. "But we have
reservations" they complained when confronted. On the other hand, my
sister Judy was visiting us from Atlanta and overheard a conversation
between a waitress and a diner from one of the evacuated restaurants. The
man had chased the waitress down the street so he could pay for his meal.
"I don’t know if this is it exactly," he insisted as he pushed
the bills into the protesting waitress’s hand, "but it’s
close."
Summertime in Rehoboth continues to get busier and busier—not just
for CAMP Rehoboth but for a variety of organizations. I’ve been involved
in fund raising activities in this community for a long time and I have
always been amazed at the continuous generosity of the people of the
Rehoboth area. In the coming weeks, both fund raising and ‘fun’
raising will take center stage. Starting with all the Love 2006 events
scheduled for the 4th of July weekend—including the Ultimate Love Main
Event and the Retro Ball—July and August are jam-packed with activities.
After Love comes Splash’06, the 2006 CAMP Rehoboth Follies, Sundance
2006, and a whole lot more. Call CAMP Rehoboth for information and tickets
for these and other events.
Speaking of Sundance, in the next few weeks information will be going
out about becoming a sponsor of our biggest event of the year, Sundance
2006—The Big Bang Supernova PopHeart Rainbow. This year’s Sundance
painting (by the same name) is currently on display at the Blue Moon.
Another hot item at this year’s Sundance Auction will undoubtedly be the
bigger than life size Brokeback Mountain poster signed by Ang Lee and
entire cast. Get ready folks, I have a feeling there’ll be a battle for
this one! The poster was donated by Andrew Byrd of Manassas, Virginia.
Congratulations to Evie Simmons and Barb Thompson on the success of the
first annual CAMP Rehoboth Golf Classic. Evie and Barb are the founders of
the CAMP Rehoboth Women’s Golf League and the organizers of the
Tournament, and they worked hard to make it an exciting day for all the
participants. For information about the Women’s Golf League call CAMP
Rehoboth.
Thanks once again to Greg Albright and George Lizama of production
Solutions for printing the 2006 Beach Book and to Charlie Lee for data
input. The Beach Books are now available at CAMP Rehoboth.
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