Rehoboth railroad history program set May 11

The next Rehoboth Beach History Lecture, covering Rehoboth’s Railroad, is set for 7:15 p.m., Thursday, May 11, in the Sussex Room at the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel.

Paul Lovett, creator of the miniature village diorama of 1910 Railroad Era Rehoboth, will moderate.

Although most pictures of Rehoboth’s railroad show passenger cars, it was freight that allowed the industry to survive. Exports from Rehoboth included barrels of fish and sturgeon roe from Rehoboth fisheries; canned tomatoes and green beans from Rehoboth canneries; and scrap steel from Rehoboth’s shipwrecks. Freight coming into town included Canadian glacier ice to be carved up for ice box refrigeration, coal to fire the electric plant, musical instruments for Thompson’s Music, gasoline to supply Cooper’s gas station, raw materials for Horn’s ice cream factory, and the giant stones that now line the shores at Indian River Inlet.

Residents and vacationers gathered when the train came in to receive the newspapers, mail and silent movies.

A donation of $25 is requested. Proceeds in excess of expenses will go to sustain the diorama project. To reserve a seat, email Lovett at paul@pdlovett.com.