Libby (and her partner Bea Wagner) and I have been acquaintances for some time. I have gotten to know her better over the last several years as a member of the City of Rehoboth Beach Animal Issues Committee. She has a refreshing "tell it like it is" quality I often find in people originally from this area. She combines this honesty with an amusing or shocking observation that demonstrates how few ironies of life escape her. If you haven’t met Libby and Bea, try to. They are good people to know.

Mark: You have long ties to Delaware. What are they?

Libby: My mother’s family came to this area in the 1600s and is from Milford Hundred. We used to come each summer and stay at Nettie Horn’s place. It was right next to the Epworth Church, now the Lord Baltimore Inn.

I brought my Mom back here when she was in her mid 90s. She joked, "Of all the horrible things you’ve done to me over the years bringing me back to Sussex County was the worst. All they want to do in this area is go ducking, goosing, or eat chicken and dumplings. That’s a Sussex County hobby."

Mark: What first brought you to the resort area?

Libby: In 1974 the whole area was in a terrible depression, bankruptcy, you couldn’t get a mortgage, so you had to pay cash. We bought a place on the water in Indian River Bay. The Rehoboth Beach area was not gay then though we knew a lot of people in the Fenwick Island and Bethany Beach area.

Mark: You are in a longtime relationship with Bea Wagner. Tell us about it?

Libby: I had seen Bea at the Wilmington Medical Center now called Christiana Care. Bea was the first Clinical Nurse Specialist in the state of Delaware. I was impressed, but I had only seen her in meetings. One night thirty years ago this April I went to the local bar and she was there. She took me home and I haven’t been to my home since. Together we have raised her daughter, Beth, who is an attorney in Lancaster.

Mark: Were you and Bea always in agreement to live here full time?

Libby: The interesting thing is the predominant reason we bought our house in 1974 and moved here in 1981, was because of Beth. The hours we were working at the hospital were long. We decided to chuck it and move down here. We would be home more to give her supervision. We were concerned about ninth and tenth grade. Beth got an excellent education here as part of the honors program at Indian River High School. Elizabeth Hochholzer was her teacher. (Hochholzer is retired now and is President of the Rehoboth Beach Film Society and Executive Director of the Southern Delaware Choral Society)

Mark: When did you make the move to the City of Rehoboth Beach?

Libby: We wanted to move to Rehoboth Beach. It was getting gayer and gayer before our very eyes. But, we never wanted to commit the resources to move here. It was too expensive. But, then Bea’s brother unexpectedly passed away at sixty one. We asked ourselves, "What are we saving our money for?" If we want to move to Rehoboth, let’s move to Rehoboth.

Mark: Why did you get involved with CAMP Rehoboth?

Libby: This area was not a bastion of liberal thought. When we first moved here in 1974 the Ku Klux Klan was meeting one Saturday night a month in a field outside of Dagsboro. It really was back water. It’s only been since the nineties things have changed.

I am a community oriented person by training and inclination. I was blown away by CAMP Rehoboth and its mission to "create a more positive Rehoboth." I couldn’t believe how people were doing this. That’s when we decided to get involved.

Mark: Do you have a little known Rehoboth Beach pleasure?

Libby: My backyard. We back up to the school yard. We have a lot of trees, a high fence, fishpond, and nobody knows we’re back there. It’s a very private little place.

Mark: What has your experience on the Animal Issues Committee been like?

Libby: I have an interesting reputation. There’s a group of people that think I am anti-animals and there’s a group of people who think I am pro-animals. I think that indicates that I have a balanced approach. But, I am clearly pro-animals. I was raised on a farm and know a lot about animals. My biggest problem is the people who have animals and don’t care for them. That bothers me.

Mark: How do you like your work in the social worker field?

Libby: I have a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania. I’ve worked in the field of mental health for 20 years, before that the medical field and child protective services. I was instrumental in implementing the licensing law for clinical social work in Delaware.

Mark: What do you think of the growing prominence of the lesbian community in Rehoboth Beach?

Libby: Last Saturday night was the Mermaid Splash. There were over 500 women there. Although CAMP Rehoboth was involved it was the Mermaid Splash group that did it. More and more women have come out to get involved. CAMP has made great progress to include gays as part of the community. It’s up to the individuals now to develop their own presence.

Mark: Are there needs our community is not meeting?