Caching in Bethany Beach 9/20/2009

Sunday morning we had breakfast and drove down to Bethany Beach, DE to do a few caches before the Sunday NFL started. First cache was at a gas station, nothing to earth shattering.
Next cache was very interesting and was located in Ocean View, DE just outside of Bethany Beach. It was at the U.S. Army Radar Site #11. On March 12, 1941, the United States government purchased 10 acres of land here for the location of a mobile radar installation. Preparation of the site was completed the following summer. Construction was then commenced under the direction of the Army Corps of Engineers. Following declaration of war in December 1941, work was accelerated. By the following February a radar unit and tower had been installed. One of 26 facilities of this type established along the Atlantic coast from Maine to Virginia, it was formally designated as Radar Site 11. The installation was fully functional by June 1942. At the time of completion it consisted of 14 concrete block structures including living facilities for officers and enlisted men, Guard Posts, and other buildings necessary to operations. Initially designated as a mobile site, this was one of 10 of the original 26 locations to be converted to permanent status. Following conversion a building was constructed to house the radar equipment, which had been mounted on trailers and trucks for purpose of mobility. Equipment was upgraded, promoting extended detection capability. With the end of the war the property was declared to be surplus and sold. After decades of deterioration, the buildings were in ruin when the property was acquired by Carl M. Freeman Communities in the 1990s. All remaining structures were removed with the exception of the Pump House, which stands today as a visible reminder of the history and significance of Radar Site 11. We found the cache easily and read the historical information and we were off.
Next 3 caches weren't anything to interesting as 2 were at a shopping centers and the last was at a restaurant that had been made out of an old locomotive and several old railroad dining cars. Then it was off back to the coach for the afternoon and watching some football on the computer as the campgrounds didn't have cable and we couldn't get any local TV with our antenna. Oh well wasn't very good planning by myself to spend a Sunday at a campgrounds with no cable especially when the Giants were playing the Cowboys on Sunday night. I did watch it for awhile on the computer, as well as I could watch it. By the way most of the bikers deserted town during the day and the area was like a ghost town today.
One interesting thing we did see in Bethany Beach was another of Peter Toth's wooden Indian carvings. Bethany Beach's landmark sculpture of "Chief Little Owl" was officially dedicated during a 45-minute ceremony Monday, July 15, 2002. The statue, depicting a Nanticoke Indian chief with a north-facing eagle atop his head. Remarks from Peter Toth, the sculptor who carved Bethany Beach's first "Whispering Giant" in 1976 as well as the new one, were followed by comments and a dedication ritual by Charles Clark, former assistant chief of the Nanticoke Indian Tribe. Clark expressed appreciation to Toth, who carved the first "Chief Little Owl" in 1976 as part of a project in which he has now placed a totem pole in each of the 50 states and another 15 in Canada. His purpose in doing so, he said, was to promote unity among all people. The new Whispering Giant is carved from a red cedar log from Alaska, which Toth said he personally selected. The sculpture it replaced was carved from white oak and showed signs of serious damage after seven years. The red cedar sculpture is expected to last from 50 to 100 years. This is the 4th Whispering Giant carving we have seen and for those of you who don't remember or didn't see our other posts Peter Wolf Toth (born December 1947) is a Hungarian-born sculptor, who immigrated to the United States and settled in Akron, Ohio. He later studied art at the University of Akron. He created a series of sculptures called Trail of the Whispering Giants to honor Native Americans. Overall, he has created more than 60 sculptures, including at least one in each state of the United States, and in several provinces of Canada. He has completed a statue in each of the 50 states, and in several provinces of Canada. Some states have more than one sculpture.
Well time to say until next time we love you all. Mom & Dad Dori & Dick