50th Anniversary: 1962-2012 ’S GREAT NOR’EASTER DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Three days of unrelenting wind, water, waves deaths, more than $50 million in storm coastal towns were cut off tures that are not normally hit during Storm of '62 etched in damage, $20 million in repair costs for the from inland areas with flood waters of storms,” said Wendy Carey, coastal haz- damaged beach, $20 million in personal more than 4 feet. ards specialist with the Delaware Sea Cape Region history property losses and destroyed businesses A family of six was lost in South Bow- Grant program. along the coast. In today's dollars, the to- ers Beach when their car was overtaken After the storm, police and Delaware By Ron MacArthur tal losses would be more than $500 mil- by water as they attempted to flee the Army and Air National Guard were [email protected] lion. area. Another person who refused to called in to keep people away and prevent Nearly 2,000 homes sustained damage evacuate died in Slaughter Beach. looting. It's the storm all others are compared in Dewey Beach, South Bethany, Bethany Most coastal roads were impassable as Carey went to see the storm damage as to, yet those who lived through the Storm Beach and Fenwick Island. Wave action the dunes were destroyed, leaving 4 feet a child. “I remember finding shiny bath- of '62 find it hard to compare it to any- destroyed 28 of 29 oceanfront homes in of sand along Route 1. The Boardwalk, room tiles buried in the sand like little thing else. Fifty years have done little to Bethany, as well as every oceanfront which had been in place without damage treasures,” she said. “You could find diminish the memories of people affected home in South Bethany. for nearly 80 years, was splintered be- everything including the kitchen sink.” by the massive storm. The ocean swept straight through to yond recognition. Many Rehoboth Beach Fifty years ago – during the first week the bay in Dewey Beach. Sand covered landmarks – Dolle's, Pink Pony cocktail The makings of a perfect storm of March – the Storm of the Century hit Route 1 – then Route 14 – from Dewey lounge, Belhaven Hotel, Atlantic Sands The Storm of '62 – also known as the the Cape Region coast with unrelenting Beach to Indian River Inlet and beyond, Hotel, Playland (now Funland), Henlopen Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 – had all fury. A 1,000-mile wide nor'easter, the leaving the highway impassable. Hotel, Stuart-Kingston Gallery – were ei- the makings of a perfect storm. It was un- storm lingered off the coast for five con- Damage was not confined to the coast- ther completely destroyed or badly dam- usual in its development, makeup and be- secutive high tides. The oceanfront dune line as unprecedented high tides drove aged. Other oceanfront hotels and homes havior. Three low-pressure systems system from Maryland to water inland to create the worst floods in were ripped off their foundations; some formed off the East Coast, held in place was flattened. memory. Downtown Milton, Millsboro were laid open with doors and curtains by a high-pressure system over eastern Three days of pounding surf, storm and Milford were flooded; the water had hanging in the breeze. Canada, Carey said. The high-pressure surge and seemingly endless extreme nowhere to go because low-tide water re- “Huge waves superimposed on the high tides brought heavy losses: seven mained at normal high-tide levels. storm surge were able to break on struc- Continued on page 60

Page design by Jen Ellingsworth 50th Anniversary: 1962-2012 DELAWARE’S GREAT NOR’EASTER

PHOTO COURTESY OF HAROLD WHITE Another Rehoboth Beach landmark, Stuart Kingston Galleries, broke up and slid off its foundation into the sand.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORMAN PLACK The large Grier House along the coast in north Rehoboth Beach is one of many that toppled over due to foundation failure caused by erosion of sand around the houses.

The view looking north toward the Atlantic Sands Hotel shows the devastation along The Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach.

DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PHOTOS Debris, including wood from The Boardwalk and buildings, was piled up following the storm. Dolle's and the Atlantic Sands Hotel, two Rehoboth Beach landmarks, were in ruins after the Storm of '62.

At 21, Jay Stein was a young man in his prime. He had already started work- ing in his parent’s auction house – Stuart Kingston – on the Boardwalk. He remembers his family had never been away from the store very long be- fore 1962 – nor any time since 1962. Remembering Rehoboth Beach in ‘62 It happened that in March 1962, his father decided to pack up about 95 per- cent of the items in the auction house and ship them to Florida for a sale sess the damage. through another auction house. Locals share memories of “The thing I remember most is that I saw no evidence of the storm any- “This building totally was destroyed. I remember the safe washed up on the where coming into town. I didn't see any branches down, wires down or trees beach,” Stein said. down until 50 to 75 feet off the Boardwalk,” he said. “Then it was utter destruc- “We were back open for business in August,” Stein said. “I remember the monster storm in resort town tion.” Boardwalk and much of the other damage was repaired quickly and open again By Rachel Swick Mavity and Nick Roth The only portion of Sport Center that remained somewhat intact was the in July. Things seemed to get done faster then.” [email protected] front corner where Dentino started the park in 1939 with a spill-the-milk game. Evelyn Dick Thoroughgood was in her 40s in 1962. She still lives in the same The reason it survived was that Dentino dug the foundation deep enough, house she lived in then, on Bayard Avenue in Rehoboth Beach. haron Fisk Rose was 12 in 1962. Her family lived in Rehoboth and ran something he was mocked for at the time. “There was no evacuation then – it was just another storm,” Thoroughgood Sport Center on Delaware Avenue, the place now known as Funland. “Mr. Dentino scooped out the foundation with a mule and a scoop,” Fasnacht said. “I remember there were a lot of storms back then.” As part of the Rehoboth Beach Museum’s oral history project, Rose said. Now in her 90s, Thoroughgood told her story of 1962, remembering what had been and what changed “In doing that, he got low enough that the erosion [barely af- remembers vividly her childhood S fected it]. Mr. Dentino remembers his cronies watching him and “There was no in Rehoboth. Even though the during the three-day storm. “The kiddie rides were devastated by that storm. A couple Dodgem cars that saying, 'Where are you going, to China?'” storm took out much of the weighed over 500 pounds were never found. They just disappeared, not to be But it worked to his advantage. The building sank only a little evacuation then.” Boardwalk and shops, her house seen again.” bit and was more than salvageable. wasn’t damaged. Rose’s parents were in Florida with her grandparents when the storm hit. The storm not only created destruction that has yet to be seen “It was just another storm. I She said National Guardsmen Her grandfather was a bootlegger during Prohibition; he had eventually settled again in this area, but it also made for a poor summer of '62. were stationed on the street in in Rehoboth Beach before it was the summer destination it is today. “We didn't do much business that year because everyone remember there were a lot of front of her house to discourage Rose stayed in Rehoboth at a friend’s house while her family was in Florida. thought the place was utter destruction,” he said. “The first sum- - Evelyn Dick Thoroughgood, looters. After the storm, she tried to walk to Sport Center so she could report on the mer was slow, and understandably so.” storms back then.” Rehoboth Beach “I remember we had television damage to her parents, but she was stopped by National Guard members. They The Fasnachts have since taken precautions to safeguard Fun- aerials on our roof and they had closed the roads. land from any major destruction if such a storm were to hit again. weren’t even bent,” she said. “The “I sat at the end of Delaware Avenue and looked down at Funland, and I They've installed 20-foot piles under the foundation, which is seven to eight storm only damaged the first 50 feet from the Boardwalk.” could remember sitting there and crying.” feet below the level of the Boardwalk. “The largest storm of my lifetime definitely was March of ’62,” said Connie Sport Center was to be sold to the Fasnacht family just a week later. Allen But even the best precautions are never a guarantee, he said. Catts, wife of Dick Catts, in her oral history at the Rehoboth museum. Fasnacht had talked to Rose's grandfather, Jack Dentino, throughout the winter “When the storm hit in '62, the old-timers making the observations said “When I went down the next day on the Boardwalk, it was devastated. Like as he prepared to take over the business, and he remembers receiving a phone killer storms occur about every 50 years,” he said. the Atlantic Sands, the front of the buildings were gone, some whole buildings The Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk took the brunt of the storm as waves and storm surge blasted the area for three straight days. call from him from Florida informing him of the news of the destruction. He “You can imagine last August when Hurricane Irene started churning up the were gone, and it was just a really, really bad storm … the worst I remember.” traveled from Hershey, Pa., to Rehoboth the next day to meet Dentino and as- coast.” STORM STORIES Saved the taffy machine Dolle's on The Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach was destroyed by the storm, yet the new owners were able to salvage the long taffy machine. A crane had to lift the 3,500-pound piece of equipment. That same taffy machine is in use today.

Stormy is born A sequel to one of the most popular children's books of all time has its roots in the Storm of '62. Shortly after the storm, Misty, the famous Chincoteague, Va., pony gave birth to a foal PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARIE QUILLEN named Stormy. The foundation was in Playland, now called Funland, received extensive damage, but the steel foundation held up. place for another book in Marguerite Henry's award-winning Misty of Chincoteague series. The new book was named “Stormy, Misty's Foal.” Nearby at Assateague Island, the storm caused so much damage a developer called off plans for a 5,000-lot resort community on the island. Three years later the island was named a National Seashore.

Diamonds are recovered A safe belonging to Stuart-Kingston Galleries in Rehoboth Beach with $75,000 in diamonds was recovered in the sand following the storm. Prisoners were used to help clear debris from the sand along the Cape Region coastline. Work starts toward restoration amid the ruins of The Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach. In the distance is Playland (now Funland), one of the few structures left standing. » See more coverage of the Storm of ‘62 in the Tuesday, March 6 edition and at capegazette.com the extent of damage would be Ongoing wave action eroded Three days should a storm of this magni- sand so much that foundations tude hit the Cape Region today. gave way and houses tumbled Events commemorate anniversary Continued from page 57 The area bears hardly any re- over. As much as 10 feet of sand semblance to what it looked like washed away in some areas, The Delaware Division of Other events system stalled any movement of in 1962. The Boardwalk was a Carey said. When it was all over Natural Resources and Envi- 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 6 - the coastal storm, resulting in popular destination for tourists and done, work crews had to ronmental Control’s Division Filmmaker Michael Oates, 302 record-setting winds, waves and and locals, but that is about the move nearly 2 million cubic of Watershed Stewardship will Stories, Inc. will introduce tides. The nor ‘easter stalled extent of any comparisons. yards of sand that had washed sponsor a workshop Wednes- “The ’62 Storm – Delaware’s through a cycle of five high Most of the area around to- away, to rebuild the coastline. day, March 7 commemorating Shared Response” in Cannon tides. The tides and waves are day's Route 1 was still farm Carey said it was amazing the Storm of ’62. Room 104, University of the highest ever recorded in the fields; very few people lived how quickly the area recovered; “Delaware Coastal Vulnera- Delaware Hugh R. Sharp Cape Region. Wind speeds around the Inland Bays; Lewes the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk bility and Sustainability – 1962 Campus in Lewes,. This reached 60 mph; tides reached a was undiscovered as a tourist was nearly completed and most to 2062” will take place at the evening screening has been maximum of nearly 9.5 feet – spot; and only a few hundred businesses were open by early Rehoboth Beach Convention scheduled to accommodate normal high tide is 4 feet – and people lived in the affected area to mid-summer. The storm left Center, beginning at 8:30 a.m. those who are unable to at- wave heights reached 30 to 40 year-round. behind a path of death and de- Cosponsoring the workshop tend the March 7 daytime feet offshore and 20 to 30 feet Fifty years ago, development struction from North Carolina with DNREC are the events. onshore. Sustained gal- force along the Delaware coast was to New York. In the end, as Delaware Sea Grant College winds of 35 to 45 mph with sparse compared to today's stan- many as 40 people died in six Program and the City of Re- • 2:30 p.m., March 7 - much higher gusts blew for dards. Beachfront cottages, most states; hundreds of millions of hoboth. Screening of the film “The ’62 three straight days with no let- at ground level on concrete dollars in damage had been Exhibits featuring 1960s Storm – Delaware’s Shared up. foundations, dotted the coast- done; coastal landmarks were photographs and memorabilia Response” at the convention To make matters worse, the line. There were no building erased and the coastline was from the storm from coastal center. The documentary fea- storm occurred during a time of standards for coastal home con- changed forever. The storm communities and historical tures firsthand accounts from exceptionally high spring tides. struction; very few homes were dropped more than 3 feet of societies also will be on dis- people who lived through the The high tide of nearly 9.5 feet elevated and there was no feder- snow on Skyline Drive in play at the workshop. Hazard damaging three-day nor’east- recorded on March 6, 1962, re- al flood insurance, Carey said. Shenandoah National Park. mitigation and storm pre- er, often called Delaware's mains the highest ever recorded For example, Carey said, old Carey says it's important for paredness information will be Coastal Storm of the Century at Breakwater Harbor at the aerial photographs from 1968 people to learn and understand available from Delaware that claimed lives, homes and mouth of Delaware Bay. show 53 houses located along what occurred the first week of Emergency Management property along the coastline Rain and wind were not the the beach in South Bethany, one March in 1962. “We use history Agency, the Federal Emer- throughout the Mid-Atlantic. most serious problems associat- of the most vulnerable areas of the storm to get people en- gency Management Agency ed with the storm, Carey said, along the coastline. By the late gaged as a springboard to dis- and other organizations. • 7:30 p.m., Friday, March 9 - although there was some wind 1990s that number had increased cuss coastal storms and hazards. Workshop activities are free, Additional screening of “The damage caused by gusts of up to to more than 575 houses. In Fen- “We need to make folks aware but seating is limited.Contact ‘62 Storm - Delaware’s Shared 70 mph. About 2 inches of rain wick Island in 1954 there were something like this will occur Michelle Scorziello at 645- Response” at the Dewey fell in the area. 105 units; in 1997, there were again,” she said. 4346 for information. Beach Life Saving Station. One can only wonder what nearly 725 units. 50th Anniversary: 1962-2012 DELAWARE’S GREAT NOR’EASTER

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORMAN ROSSITER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AND meet as Dewey Beach is flooded during the Storm of '62.

PART 2: SPECIAL REPORT Dewey Beach: Where the ocean met the bay every building along the ocean was dam- down for business after Labor Day, so Quillen-Dougherty said people living Homes crushed aged, undermined by erosion or de- very few people lived in the town year- on the beach side of town had to contend stroyed. “And at least 10 to 15 houses were round. Quillen-Dougherty estimates that with sand while people living on the bay by high surf, surge washed out to sea,” she said. about 50 to 75 people lived in Dewey side had to deal with thick mud washed All that remained of her uncle's house Beach all year; it hasn't really changed up from the bay. She remembers helping By Ron MacArthur on New Orleans that much because her aunt shovel sand out of her kitchen. [email protected] Street was a water today's year-round “Rehoboth Beach firemen came in to pipe, although the “The houses population is hose off mud from businesses and houses In 1962, Dewey Beach was a sleepy cinder-block garage about 300 people. on the bay side,” she said. summer town with a few hotels, stores apartment was left looked like a She said it was Quillen-Dougherty had recently turned and cottages. Parts of the town were intact. “The houses amazing to see de- 21 and was looking forward to celebrating prone to flooding during any heavy rain looked like a giant giant stepped bris washed up her legal status with a visit to the Pink or high tide, but the flooding March 6-8 stepped on them,” one-half block Pony along The Boardwalk in Rehoboth from the Storm of '62 was unprecedented she said. along the entire Beach. The popular nightclub was and has never been repeated since. Dur- In one stretch, the on them.” stretch of Dewey washed into the Atlantic Ocean, so that ing three days of extreme high tides, current location of - Barbara Quillen-Dougherty, Beach. “There dream was never realized. Rehoboth Beach storm surge and 20- to 30-foot waves, the Adam's Oceanfront were stoves, toi- Because of the debris in the ocean, her ocean met Rehoboth Bay and flooded the Hotel, four houses lets, freezers, family, along with several others, spent entire town. were swept out to sea. chairs and other furniture all mixed in the summer following the storm using Dramatic aerial photographs have cap- Quillen-Dougherty is working on a with lots of debris. Parts of houses were Silver Lake as their beach. The east side tured the scene that is almost too bizarre presentation she will give during an event everywhere,” she said. Her mother, Marie of the lake, which wasn't developed with to be believed. Flooding was bad, but to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Quillen, took an extensive treasure trove houses like it is today, had its own sandy damage along the Dewey Beach beach- the storm at 7:30 p.m., Friday, March 9, at of color slides a few days after the storm. beach thanks to overwash from the front was devastating. the Dewey Beach Life Saving Station. “It was hard to get up and down the ocean. “I heard waves were breaking into Barbara Quillen-Dougherty, Dewey Like neighboring Rehoboth Beach in streets to even take photos because of the the lake, but I didn't see it,” she said. Beach resident and local historian, said the 1960s, Dewey Beach basically shut sand and debris,” she said. Special coverage continues on next page

Special section by Jen Ellingsworth 50th Anniversary: 1962-2012 DELAWARE’S GREAT NOR’EASTER

PHOTO COURTESY OF DON WIEDMANN

Above, nearly 2,000 houses along the coast from Dewey Beach to Fenwick Island were damaged or destroyed. Almost half of the Royal Surf Hotel, left, in Dewey Beach washed out to sea.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARIE QUILLEN

IMPACT OF THE STORM IN DELAWARE DELAWARE PUBLIC ARCHIVES PHOTO A NATIONAL GUARD TANK ROLLS along flooded Savannah Road toward the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal in Lewes. High tides in Lewes were nearly 5 feet above street level and remained that way for more than three days.

Debris from destroyed homes covers every Lewes: Flooding from storm was issue street in Dewey. • Powerful nor’easter raged PHOTO COURTESY March 6-8, 1962 to evacuate the beach the first night of National Guard activated first day of storm OF MARIE QUILLEN Lewes-Rehoboth Canal spilled over into marsh the storm. “We were used to moon high Jack Argo, who lives near Rehoboth • Seven people tides and didn't think much of it,” she NEW By Ron MacArthur Special School District, went with two Beach, was one of more than 2,000 Na- killed in [email protected] school officials to see how bad the storm said. The family went for a ride around tional Guard and Air Guard troops on CASTLE Delaware was in Rehoboth Beach to help them de- Lewes to check out the situation and patrol in the Cape Region; a state of A Bethany Beach ifty-year-old aerial photographs were stopped at the canal bridge on their house is broken in • Storm lasted cide about school cancellations in Lewes. emergency was called very quickly. Ar- of Lewes after the Storm of '62 “Two blocks away from the ocean, we way back home. “The National Guard go said he got a call that his unit, the half exposing the through five high had set up a roadblock, and they were interior. tides with waves tell the story best. Storm surge saw a wall of water. I didn't mean to, but 160th AAA in Milford, had been activat- DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PHOTO as high as 40 and the highest tides on record I screamed when I saw it,” she said. not letting anyone to the beach area,” she ed the first day of the storm and he was Most of the area on the marsh side of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal in Lewes is flooded. Record-high tides over a PHOTO COURTESY OF F said. “We had left our two dogs home.” forced the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal to HAROLD WHITE feet Brittingham said the Lewes of the assigned to the old Rehoboth High three-day period forced water to overflow canal banks. At the top left of the photo is the canal bridge. spill over its banks and flood most of the 1960s was a much different place than it The family spent that night at the old School. He said members of his unit • Wind gusts up beach side of the canal. is today. Tourism was in its infancy as Valley of the Swans motel in downtown were on patrol on all Rehoboth Beach to 70 mph People had to be evacuated, but the the town's factory image was beginning Lewes and ended up staying with friends streets to ward off looters and keep peo- damage paled in comparison to what to diminish. “Lewes was evolving into a in Quakertown until they were allowed ple away from danger. “We were on duty KENT • Storm Bowers Beach took place in nearby Rehoboth Beach be- family resort, back to their home. for two hours and off for four hours,” he damaged $70 tween March 6 and 8. But Howard was de- million in public and the facto- said. “We were given live ammo and told “We still had school that first day of ries were disap- “We were given live termined to get her to shoot to kill any looters.” and private dogs. She was able to DELAWARE property the storm,” said Lewes historian Hazel pearing,” she Other military personnel were used hitch a ride with a Na- BAY Brittingham. “But it was canceled after said. ammo and told to for search-and-rescue operations. • Boardwalks in that because school buses couldn't get Into the tional Guard tank Argo was assigned to an area along Rehoboth and through on many roads because of flood- 1960s, the town kill any looters.” crew that was going Surf Avenue near the Henlopen Hotel at Slaughter Beach Bethany beaches ing. Water came up into places it had down Bay Avenue to- had garment - Jack Argo, National Guard the north end of The Boardwalk. “The destroyed never come up before. But when you and hosiery fac- ward Roosevelt Inlet Primehook Beach and Air Guard troop waves were pounding so hard, and I think what had happened in Rehoboth tories, fish fac- in an attempt to res- thought the wind would never stop • Oak Orchard Beach, we thanked our lucky stars.” tories, a clam factory and canning facto- cue an older couple Broadkill Beach recorded 2-3 feet blowing,” he said. “I saw one house after Western Auto and a nearby Acme ries. In 1965 the last menhaden fish facto- who had refused to leave their home. another roll into the ocean. It was like of flood water, Howard said the couple still refused to Lewes with waves up to store along Savannah Road, just past the ry closed, and a sports fishing industry bombs going off.” canal bridge, were completely surround- began, Brittingham said. leave, but she was able to get her dogs. SUSSEX 4 feet rolling He was on duty for five days. “After it Rehoboth Beach ATLANTIC across Delaware ed by water. Brittingham said the high Betty Hill, who lived with her husband “The water was about 4 feet high around was all over, it looked like a lumber houses toward Roosevelt Inlet,” she said. OCEAN Bay tide mark remained on the concrete side Mike on Illinois Avenue near the Lewes yard,” he said. of the stores for many years as a re- beachfront, said the storm was enough to “We had about 1 1/2 feet of water in our In fact, he said, his uncle, Dick Miller, Dewey Beach minder of the flood. In some areas, flood change her mind about living near the house. What a mess it was. We cleaned was able to salvage enough wood from Source: UD Sea Grant waters reached as high as 4 to 5 feet. beach. It wasn't long after the storm that and cleaned and cleaned. Most every- the beach to build two cottages along Police closed off the canal bridge to thing in the kitchen was ruined.” Bethany Beach they moved across the canal to higher Middlesex Beach. keep people away from the beach. The land. She said she evacuated when water Howard said that experience was As soon as the water subsided, Argo bridge was the only access point to the reached just below her front door. enough for her. “It was a crazy, scary said, curious onlookers started to head Fenwick Island beach because the Freeman Highway Vicky Howard was a teenager growing time. I made up my mind that I didn't toward The Boardwalk. “It was hard to bridge was not constructed until after want to live close to water.” DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PHOTO up along Lewes beach during the early keep them away because everyone want- On one of the first high tides, Cedar Avenue in Lewes is already flooded. Water levels continued to rise for the next the storm. Brittingham, who was secre- 1960s. She said she and her family heard “When the water went down, we were ed to see what had happened,” he said. back in business,” Brittingham said. two days. JEN ELLINGSWORTH GRAPHIC tary to the superintendent of the Lewes the warnings from police and firefighters Film documents firsthand accounts of storm Many Cape Region residents tell their sto- ries of the Storm of '62 in the film, “The '62 Storm – Delaware's Shared Response,” writ- ten, edited and produced by Michael Oates. The 55-minute film was funded by Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Envi- DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PHOTOS ronmental Control, Delaware Humanities Several inland towns were flooded as the Storm of '62 lingered off the coast for five consecutive high tides. The best way to get around in downtown Mil- ton was by boat. Forum and 302 Stories Inc. Copies are avail- able at area libraries. The film will be shown at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 6, at the University of Delaware's Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes and then again at 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 7, fol- lowing a Storm of '62 conference at the Re- hoboth Beach Convention Center. Phone 645-4346 to make reservations or for more information. The '62 Storm DVD can be purchased through the online Shop Delaware page at http://shop.delaware.gov/product_info.php? products_id=678. Copies will also be for sale at the screenings in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. Go to deseagrant.org/62storm2012 for PHOTO COURTESY OF MARIE QUILLEN Families enjoy a summer outing on a beach formed along the shore more on the Storm of '62. of Silver Lake between Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach.

Many said the untold story of the Storm of '62 was the destruction of Delaware Bay Documentary to be shown by WHYY coastal towns, where seven people were killed. Most waterfront cottages, like these in Bowers Beach, were destroyed. Commemorating the 50th an- pounded Delaware’s shoreline niversary of Delaware’s greatest from March 6-8, destroying natural disaster, the documen- hundreds of oceanfront homes tary, “The ‘62 Storm – and businesses, flooding com- DID YOU KNOW? Delaware’s Shared Response,” munities and snatching lives. March 9 – President John F. the U.S. Weather Bureau took will be broadcast at 9 p.m. Seven people were killed in Kennedy declared Delaware, the extraordinary step of giving Thursday, March 8, by WHYY Delaware alone. Along with the Maryland, Virginia and New it a name: "The Great Atlantic TV on Comcast channel 257 first-person stories of survivors, Jersey federal disaster areas. Storm." It is also known as and FIOS channel 474. the production uses home "Five High Storm" because it The powerful nor’easter movies, historic footage, still 2,000 – Number of national lingered off the coast for five photographs and a meteorologi- army and air guardsmen sent high tides. The Christian cal analysis of the storm to re- to Kent and Sussex counties holiday of Ash Wednesday create hourly unfolding of this during the storm for rescue, occurred Wednesday, March 7, event. The program also exam- recovery and security missions. that year, the same day when ines the possibility of a similar The storm is the most the most damage occurred, weather event occurring again. damaging on record in leading many people to call it This documentary was writ- Delaware. the "Ash Wednesday Storm of ten and produced by Michael Its impact was so powerful 1962." Oates, 302 Stories Inc. of Wilm- Roads to all Delaware Bay coast ington. It was funded by 302 towns were cut off early on during the RON MACARTHUR PHOTO Storm of '62. This photograph was Stories Inc., DNREC, the The sign says it all. The historic flood- taken March 6 looking toward Delaware Humanities Forum ing in Lewes during the three days of Slaughter Beach. and Berkana Center for Media the Storm of '62 has never been and Education. equaled. » Visit us online at: www.capegazette.com About this Special Report

Created and published by the .

Articles by Ron MacArthur Rachel Mavity Nick Roth

Page design by Jen Ellingsworth

Cover design by Teresa Rodriguez

Editors Laura Ritter Jen Ellingsworth Bernadette Hearn

Special Thanks to all who provided the photos and shared their experiences.

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