From the Delaplane to Punkin Chunkin: New book details pieces of 'Lost Delaware'

Parts of Delaware history may sometimes seem lost to time, but a new book is bringing the old days back.

The 172-page "Lost Delaware" (The History Press, $24.99) by former Delaware Online/The News Journal reporters Rachel Kipp and Dan Shortridge was released earlier this month.

Seventy-one pieces of long-gone Delaware history are detailed, broken into 10 categories ranging from eating, industry and mansions to business, public life and entertainment/sports.

It can be purchased at arcadiapublishing.com or anywhere books are sold.

Whether you're a Delaware native with more years in your rearview than in front or a First State newbie, the collection sheds a light on plenty of interesting tidbits that residents should find worth the read.

“Telling the stories of these vanished stores, restaurants, and schools draws attention to moments in Delaware history which are still relevant today,” Kipp says in promotional materials announcing the new project.

Here are 10 bits of Delaware history that get their due in "Lost Delaware," ranging from recently lost institutions to long-faded memories dating back hundreds of years.

Happy Harry's, statewide

A good way to tell how long someone has lived in Delaware is by what they call their local pharmacy: Walgreens or Happy Harrys? It's been almost 20 years since the national drug store chain swallowed Delaware's own smaller chain with a unique name, but plenty of Delawareans still refer to their Walgreens as Happy Harry's. As noted in "Lost Delaware," Happy Harry's had 76 stores in four states with an estimated $480 million in sales at the time of the sale, which was due to declining insurance reimbursements, pharmacist shortages and other reasons. The store's distinctive hand-drawn logo of founder Harry Levin's smiling face was everywhere: store signs, plastic bags and even product boxes after first opening in 1962. It's so iconic around these parts that you can still find T-shirts, sweatshirts and stickers sold with his face made by Claymont-based music artist Aaron Fisher, who performs under the No Sir E moniker.

Delaplane, Wilmington

Did you know Delaware once had its own plane? Probably not. It's been nearly 115 years since the Delaplane was built and took to the sky in Wilmington, built by Robie Seidelinger, who "Lost Delaware" notes was a typewriter company manager and not an aircraft engineer as you might imagine. In fact, he was a model plane hobbyist and built the plane with spruce wood and cotton-covered wings for about $6,000. Test pilot Eddie Bloomfield was at the helm when it took off for the first time, making it 40 or 50 yards on October 21, 1910. In another flight, it got 50 feet off the ground for a 20-miniute flight. But the Delaplane soon met its demise, although not due to a crash. In 1911, it was being stored in a shed when lighting struck, burning down both the shed and the plane.

Stone Balloon, Newark

Arguably the most legendary rock club in Delaware history, the Stone Balloon hosted everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Metallica during its 33-year run ending in 2005. The national acts got the most attention, ranging from Run-D.M.C., Warren Zevon and Ray Charles to Joan Jett, Meat Loaf and Hall & Oates. But the club also was a very popular bar for University of Delaware students, anchored by its weekly Mug Night beer special resulting in unimaginably sticky floors thanks to hundreds of sloshing mugs of beer. Attempts to capture the history at the site with new restaurants Stone Balloon Winehouse and Stone Balloon Ale House both failed with the latter closing only a few months back.

Du Pont Motors, Wilmington

When it comes to transportation, Delaware didn't just have its own plane. The state also had its own automobile line thanks to the du Pont family. (Who else could it be, right?) Founded by E. Paul du Pont in 1919, du Pont Motors Inc. lasted only a dozen years, making more than 500 custom-made high-end automobiles ― first headquartered in Wilmington before moving manufacturing north of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Cars included Models G and H at prices ranging from $3,500 to $6,100, even drawing famous customers such as showman Will Rogers and boxer Jack Dempsey. "Paul du Pont personally test drove each car for up to 10 days," "Lost Delaware" notes. But the company went bankrupt in 1932, merging with Indian Motorcycle Company, which du Pont had purchased two years prior.

World Championship Punkin Chunkin, Milton

World Championship Punkin Chunkin was a classic, quirky Delaware event with teams competing to see who could launch a pumpkin the farthest across a field with homemade contraptions. It raised money for charity, drew massive crowds of onlookers and even made its way onto national television. The dayslong display of engineering (and tailgating) was founded in Southern Delaware in 1986, but after a strong 28-year run, the event was canceled in 2014 and 2015 due to logistical and insurance reasons. It returned in 2016  complete with a return of national television coverage thanks to the Science Channel, but then tragedy struck. A cannon malfunctioned and a piece of metal struck a member of the television production staff in the head, critically injuring the woman. It never returned to Delaware due to insurance reasons and has had only two out-of-state editions since: Illinois in 2019 and Oklahoma in 2023.

Wilmington Clippers, Wilmington

A Delaware football team that played the Philadelphia Eagles? It's not a pigskin fever dream. It was once a reality. Lammott du Pont II founded the team in Wilmington in 1937 as an independent team before joining as part of the minor league American Association. An early Clippers player is a name you know: legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. In 1940, the Clippers beat the Eagles marking the first time an American Association team beat an NFL squad. The Clippers reached the championship that year, but lost to the Jersey City Giants. The Clippers folded in 1950, ending Delaware's professional football run.

The Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant, Smyrna

For more than four decades, if you wanted a true Delaware eating experience, Smyrna's Wagon Wheel was one of the must-stop dining rooms. It was there where the Kent County favorite on U.S. Route 13 served up hot platters of muskrat (dubbed "marsh rabbit," as the book explains) complete with fried potatoes, stewed tomatoes and cornbread. The restaurant was struggling in 2013 when owner Patty Gallegos agreed to appear on chef Robert Irvine's "Restaurant: Impossible" Food Network television show. A muskrat-slinging restaurant turned out to be impossible even for Irvine, who revamped the menu to little success. The spot closed a year after its episode aired.

Muskrat for dinner?: Remember when restaurants served muskrat? It's hard to find this, uh, Delaware delicacy

Cape Henlopen Light, Lewes

Cape Henlopen is an iconic Delaware sight, but it was even more distinctive years ago. In 1767, an 87-foot lighthouse was built atop a dune, first lit with whale oil. Over the years, erosion ate away at the ground around the rock-and-wood lighthouse and it eventually closed in 1924. Two years later, it collapsed midday and fell onto the beach. "After the lighthouse's collapse, Lewes residents swarmed the rubble on the beach and carried away stone and other materials," "Lost Delaware" details.

Diamond State Drive-in, Felton

Movie drive-ins had a no-one-saw-that-coming revival during the COVID-19 pandemic, coming a dozen years after the closing of Felton's Diamond State Drive-In. The theater entertained families for nearly 60 years opening with a double feature of Roy Rogers' Western "Under California Stars" and the Lyn Wilde comedy "Campus Honeymoon." The site also "put on live musical shows … because blue laws kept them from screening movies on Sundays, and also operated a roller rink on the property," the book reads. The drive-in's final movie night under the stars came in 2008 with a kid-friendly line-up of animated flicks "Bolt" and "Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa" with patrons "offering a '200-horn salute' to the theater between the two movies."

Wilmington Dry Goods, Wilmington

Dubbed "A Great Store" on its storefront at Fourth and N. Market streets in Wilmington, the old Wilmington Dry Goods Co. was a go-to shop for name-brand clothes and more from 1924 to 1978. Opened by Jacob Lazarus, "Lost Delaware" points to News Journal columnist Bill Frank's writings that the store was "hailed as the major spark of thriving retail business in downtown Wilmington," something the area still struggles to recapture decades later. He continued, "It drew thousands of customers from all economic classes of the shopping public in Delaware and nearby states."

Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (@ryancormier).

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Former Delaware Online/The News Journal reporters mine Delaware's past