Poll: In Which DE County Do You Live (Or Plan to Live)? (Wilmington: sales, coupons)

[DelawareLiz]

Wow....this post has really taken off! Thanks for clarifying that it's fine for me to hijack this post

I just arrived home from work, but I will post more later on "New Castle vs. Sussex Counties" now that know I can speak freely on this topic.

To answer a question before I log off: NO, I am not a DuPont. My father's family is friends with/linked to some "old NCC money" and yes, some of my paternal family is rather wealthy. However, they were (originally) a very old farming family who used to own much of the land in Brandywine Hundred for generations. In fact, my father was the first person in his immediate family who never lived on a farm. If you're an old Brandywine Hundred native, then you can probably guess that my last name is one of the very familiar five or so last names up there. Think names of roads, schools, and libraries in the Brandywine Hundred. I will post more later....

[Joe84323]

Jef.. their vowel and consonant usage is almost completely in line with the Mid-Atlantic accent between Baltimore and Philadelphia. Their timing, however, is much slower, and their emphasis is on different parts of words and sentences than a northerner.

Now, I have heard another person who actually used some southern vowels, and he was from just outside of Bethany Beach.

I wouldn't call their speech full-blown southern.... it is somewhere between Appalachian Virginia and Philadelphia... southern timing and emphasis, but northern vowels, and the famous Mid-Atlantic "o."

"tourrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrsts versus tour-ists."

[doctorjef]

I heard the Mid-Atlantic "o" sound in several of the speakers, but in the Waterman type variant. That itself seems continuous with a similar pronunciation of that vowel which goes on down through Virginia and into the Carolinas. One of those guys was very drawling, to my ear -- maybe much of what I heard as Southern. I certainly don't hear Philadelphians sounding at all like that. The first speaker on the video, however, has a pretty unremarkable Delaware accent that you could easily hear up here in New Castle County.

[DelawareLiz]

O.k...I'm back!!

Joe: When I first moved here in 1985 (Oak Orchard area), I was 11 years old. It was VERY "good ol' boy" almost anywhere in Sussex at the time. I was shunned by my redneck classmates because--to quote them--I "had an above the canal name and was not really from Delaware because Wilmington is not part of Delaware". Rather insulting considering my family owned most of Brandywine Hundred for generations and had deep roots in Delaware agriculture. But, whatever. Not really who I want to befriend anyway.

Fast forward 20 years: the beach area is mostly transplants, and I am friendly with quite a few of them. They look at me as a "local". But, head inland (Seaford/Laurel) and it's still like it was when I first moved here. Please, I am NOT trying to offend anyone, and let me reiterate that I married a Sussex Countian whose family is as redneck as they come (he's the "black sheep"). His last name is VERY "Sussex" and so is his family. They don't like me because I am educated and won't tolerate their narrow-minded bullcrap, point blank. That mindset is still very much alive and well in western Sussex; I avoid the area as much as I can.

People in NCC are totally different unless (as stated) they are from "old money". Most of my family is still up there.
What I liked about NCC: more arts/cultural events, more job opportunities, more stores to choose from, and planned infrastructure. No wells or septic systems. Less narrow mindedness. What I didn't like: snobby people, I-95 traffic, and crowded stores.

What I like about Sussex: my transplant neighbors are rather friendly (well....most of them), slower-paced lifestyle, "beach" life, local events, and the parks/hiking trails we have here. I also like my job. What I don't like: too many narrow minded and uneducated people (more of this inland than where I live) and an overabundance of trashy people and drug addicts. It seems that no matter how much money you have or where you live, a drug addict or "white trash" person is a stone's throw away, just waiting to rob your car or house. I did not have this problem in Brandywine Hundred. The social classes were much more isolated, and I do not recall seeing this many drug addicts. The drug problem in Sussex County is unbelievable.

Again, I'm just stating my observations--not trying to offend. My husband will tell you the same, and he's from Seaford. He's actually considered an "outcast" in his family because he left Seaford and moved to the beach. I don't know much about Kent County; I've never lived there or spent much time there other than shopping or gambling in Dover.

[doctorjef]

Thanks, beachliz. It's interesting that amongst the inland Sussex natives you describe there wouldn't seem to be much appreciation of the State of Delaware as a whole. What you describe seems to be a sort of hyper-regionalism and micro-regionalism that strikes this transplant as very odd. I could contrast that with the Texas experience, where there is certainly some regionalism within the state but where the overarching idea of TEXAS and of being Texan supercedes all local (or at least most) local bias.

I wouldn't imagine that people living in western Kent County or western and southwestern Sussex County see too much of outsiders. Although I would love to make a driving tour of those areas, they are pretty well unknown to me and I would think it's the same way for most upstate natives.

I'd really like to hear from some residents of Kent about their perceptions of how that county fits in overall with the rest of the state!

[DelawareLiz]

I hope I didn't ramble on too much....had a bit too much to drink last night

Doctorjef, you hit that nail right on the head; it's sad that some Sussex natives do not appreciate Delaware as a whole. And you should take that tour of western Sussex. You'll find some of the historic districts rather charming, but you won't have to go very far to see some scary sights....or some scary people. LOL!!

I'd also like to hear from some Kent Countians. I've always lived at the extreme northern end or extreme southern end of the state, never spending much time in Kent County at all.

[DelawareLiz]

Oh, and to note: my Wilmington kin laugh at the way I speak, and so do native inland Sussex Countians. People from PA always ask me where I'm from as well, given my accent is an odd blend of north Wilmington and Sussex County. VERY, um, unique.

[Joe84323]

When I worked for Sprint, back in 2003-05, one of our "outreach," programs was to drive down to Laurel, DE and sell phones at their Farmer's Market (there were no stores down there - easy bucks.)

I'll be honest - I didn't give too much thought as to whether we were accepted or not down there. The people were friendly, and seemed to be tickled pink that somebody/something new was in their town.

[doctorjef]

OK, here's another Sussex County native speaker, this one from Milford. Notice the flatness and nasalization of some of his vowels and the drawn-out or drawling quality, as well as the transformation of a short e sound into a short i sound. At the same time he has the Mid-Atlantic/coastal Southern o sound. His grasp of American colonial history is a little faulty and I also think he's under-estimating the number of generations of old families being settled around Milford -- he says four or five generations, when in fact I would think it's closer to ten generations (five generations for me is that of my ancestors in the years leading up to the Civil War). Anyway, it's interesting both in terms of the speaker's accent and his local point of view:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leB70ia1vGY

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

.

I wouldn't imagine that people living in western Kent County or western and southwestern Sussex County see too much of outsiders.

Ouch! My response is two-fold on that statement, since I'm a qualified native and lived in that area for many years.

First off, all of my friends and relatives living along the western borders of Sussex and Kent Counties, like it that way, and those families have been there for well over 150 years. They have some beautiful properties, one acre lots with very nice homes, up to 200-400 acre high value farms with renovated or new farmhouses, and multiple buildings and improvements. Add in all the latest hi-tech farm equipment they own, and their net worth would surprise many. The ones I know, aren't overjoyed about the population boom Delaware has encountered and their lives revolve around their families, neighbors, and natives they know.They deed off 1-2-3 or more acre lots off the home farm for their children, and new life continues. They will not divide off and sell a parcel of land (at any price) to anyone they do not know, and they view owning a house in a subdivision or town in any part of Delaware, as something not to be too proud of. When we sold our large farm to move to a small town, our farming relatives and friends were sad for us.

Secondly, they are not recluses, but travel wherever or whenever (except for planting and harvest seasons) they desire outside of Delaware and the USA, which is why they love coming back to their quiet havens in the country. They've experienced people, and they're done until their next trip. Locally, we see our friends and relatives where everybody else we know goes - grocery shopping, slots, fire company events, church, pumpkin' chunkin' and festivals...typical things in Delaware.

While a drive through western Kent and Sussex may be interesting to some more suburban people, please don't jump to the conclusions that these people are strange or uneducated. They want their privacy, are hard working people, respect the land, and are the true Delawareans, some of the few left. I wish we still had our farm.