Built in 1924, the Hammond Cottage is one of the oldest cottages remaining in Slaughter Beach and was among the first 5 cottages on the South End. This was part of the 1st Simpson Annex (1922) on Lot #5, now 341 Bay Ave. It is the only 35-foot lot in Slaughter Beach. All other lots are at least 50 feet. Below is picture of the plot plan, then 1924 and 1946 photos of the cottage.

Family patriarch and grandfather Willis Hammond was a rural mail carrier, and his family had a small farm outside Milford and were well known to raise and train hunting dogs. Willis built the Slaughter Beach cottage in 1924, lived to be 99, and had 3 wives.
During his adult life, Willis evolved into quite a historian for the local area and was often featured in newspaper articles and spoke at many local gatherings and meetings. His family found some of his handwritten history notes and shared them with our Slaughter Beach Historical Society (SBHS). This article focuses on the Hammond family and their 100-year-old Cottage that has been maintained and keeps much of its old-time charm.
In a separate article, more info from Willis, the Town Historian, will be featured on this website in the Tidbit section.
Willis and his first wife Mary Baker had 3 children: The picture below shows Mary Catherine on the left, (a WAC in WWII, and later a phone operator in Wilmington), brother Chuck (Charles Wilbur) in the center, and Margaret Louisa on the right. Their brother Chuck Hammond managed the Slaughter Beach Hotel in the 1950s after his return from WWII. Later in the 1960s, he owned the sandwich shop on the corner of Slaughter Beach Road and Bay Avenue.

Willis and his 3rd wife Sybil, shown in photo to the left, were married for over 60 years. The next 2 pictures show 2 generations of family fun over the years. The first was taken in front of their cottage on the Slaughter Beach boardwalk in the 1930s; showing daughter Margaret on the left, with the town pavilion and pier in the background. The second picture is circa 1955, showing the third generation of Hammonds at the old cottage, which then and now continues to be shared by the five adult children of Margaret Hammond and Frank Mirra.
Below are 4 of the 5 children, including our current contact Chris Mirra, who is the little guy in front. He and his wife Renee (short for Maureen) Wright, met and married in Warwick, New York, but spent much time in SB ever since. They are now retired and live on Slaughter Beach Road, but continue to use the cottage seasonally. They have one son, and 2 grandsons, which makes now 5 generations who have loved their time spent in the old cottage.

During our tour of this wonderful old cottage, Chris showed us how currently the outside of the house foundation appears to sit right on the ground but was originally built above the sand on 4-foot cedar trunk posts that supported the original cedar shake cottage, as shown in the photo above. Over time, many storms have washed up sand underneath, and the house has also settled over time as can be determined by shifting within the house; the first floor has some uneven and rolling floors. The house was built consistent with the times (1920s), and continues to be seasonal only, with no insulation, heat or air conditioning. It may have had an outhouse in the early days. The current bathroom evolved from an outside shower that has been enclosed at the entry to the old lean-to-style kitchen. The house now has a hot water heater, and the front porch is screened …modern improvements!

Over time there has been need for regular maintenance as well as some major projects. A necessary maintenance project was required in 1985, when thick cables were stretched through ceiling beams to hold and stabilize the 2nd floor. Circa 2018, some serious renovation was done to the first floor supporting beams that had dropped too low. To even-up the front porch and inside living area, the original oak planks of the deck were removed, then put back in place during restoration of the front deck and the actual front outer cedar shake walls. Meanwhile, a new tin roof replaced the old roof after 4 layers of old shingles had to be removed. The weight of the shingles was 2 tons when removed and weighed at the dump!

1976 Photo Below. This 102-year-old cottage has remained wonderfully true to its roots and all the traditions that have evolved within its walls. It is rustic, but fully functionable. As a new visitor, I marveled at the gorgeous 8-inch-wide oak boards throughout the house…. from floor to ceiling. You will see them in most of the pictures below, as we took a tour with Chris and Renee who shared their special old cottage with us in 2024.
The kitchen, with its original old cupboards and porcelain sink, is still functional, including a nice big refrigerator. Although the old stove died, it has been replaced with smaller appliances including coffee maker, microwave oven and grills. A picture below shows the white painted door frame from the kitchen to the great room, where ayoung Margaret Hammond carved her initials long ago. The next picture shows the original sink and cabinets in the kitchen.

Entering the hospitable open great room, there is a large table for meals and card playing, and an old brick fireplace. All space is efficiently used, with the uninsulated walls and studs acting as shelves and a library, and a place in a corner for storing necessary things like fishing poles and sun hats! You can see the thick old electric wires, as well as an old oil lamp that still comes in hand. Moving upstairs, there are 3 simple bedrooms. Remnants of old times are the presence of a portable commode in the corner of one bedroom, and an old sink with a mirror in the corner of another… Imagine old Willis standing in front of that mirror, shaving with a straight razor! Also stored there are some old clothes hangers hanging from the rafters, some old chairs, and an electric fan. From personal experience, I remember how hot it can get in an old cottage, in the summer with no air conditioning. You should notice that there is cross ventilation both upstairs and down, to allow the prevailing east/west breezes to blow through. This was a standard feature in the old cottages!

As you walk through, you can’t help but notice the gorgeous 8 inch oak boards throughout, most in good condition, but in some places, showing remnants of past storm damage. This house has weathered many, including surviving the Big March Storm of 1962.
The whole upstairs is open space above all the partitioned rooms, again to allow optimal air flow. In early days, closets were not included in the old cottages, but you can see a nice old wardrobe in each bedroom. Period old bedspreads and throw rugs are consistent with the times. A more modern addition shows a free-standing TV antenna inside, standing in the highest elevation in the middle bedroom (requested by Chris’ sister who liked to watch Masterpiece Theatre on Sunday nights!) Below are some photos of the upstairs bedrooms, with all the charm of the 1920s.

Below is a picture of the house taken in 2024. Renee had showed us the large Catalpa tree outside near the house and driveway, and said she thought it was the only one in SB. We returned in early June and took pix when it was fully in bloom. Heavenly fragrance!
Worth a ride by!

Thanks to Chris Mirra and Renee Wright for working with us, sharing information and this amazing old family cottage, one of a kind, in Slaughter Beach. To add a little fun to this story is another reminiscence from Chris. In the 60s, many of us who were teens at that time remember taking old dune buggy rides along the beach in dilapidated rebuilt jalopies! One of those cars was trapped in the sand on the South end, maybe caught by the incoming tide, and later became a destination during our walks along the beach. Below is a picture of Chris (in front) and family enjoying a summer day. The other picture shows the dilapidated and barnacle covered remains of the chassis of a car nearby, that was seen in 2021 when the tide was low… 60 years later…. Could it possibly be the same one???

Compiled 2025 by Diane McFaul Hindman, Slaughter Beach Historical Society.

I first met Frank Draper shortly after I moved to Slaughter Beach in the Fall of 2009, when Frank was Mayor, and as a new citizen started attending the monthly Town meetings. It was clear to me from the start that Frank’s knowledge of Slaughter Beach included a wealth of family and Town history that few people knew. Frank had a gift of story-telling and on various occasions he shared many of them with me.

When I was asked to be on the Town Council, I came to understand how Frank worked behind the scenes to promote the Town interests through his vast network of State and County officials. And I certainly heard many of Frank’s recollections on the history of Slaughter Beach. When Frank retired as Mayor about a year later, I realized that Frank was far more than a former Mayor, but was a legend about Town, who imparted history and advice to everyone in Town who he met. In addition, he freely promoted Slaughter Beach to people he met in Milford at places he frequented, such as the West Side Diner, the Mispillion Fitness Center, and the Milford Diner (of which he was a co-owner). 

The Dance Hall and the Draper Residence

Once, while visiting Frank at home, I noticed the ceiling timbers that came from the original dance hall, after it was cut in two, and placed on lot numbers 1 (Draper’s) and 2 (Reverend Hugh Miller’s). They were both put on the beachfront, but not on pilons. Later, about 1981, after Frank had inherited the house from his father, he had the house elevated on pilons. The pilons were driven just north of the house’s original location by Paynter Sharp (a local pilon driver), but it was a daunting task using rollers, jacks, and human labor to situate the house in exactly the right place. The whole project cost $5,000, which was a tidy sum in those days. 

The Reverend Miller house remained on a concrete pad and is still standing in nearly its original condition. The Miller house was sold jointly to the Bohls and Loeffler families. However, a dispute between the two owners ensued, leaving just the Bohls family as Frank’s neighbors. Mr. Bohls often complained about Frank’s Great Dane dogs barking along the 4-foot-high fence between the properties, so Frank installed a 6-foot fence. The Bohls family sued on the grounds that it was against Town code. However, Frank won the suit, and the Bohls house was sold and has since seen a succession of owners.   

The Pier and Pavillion

Frank also spoke admiringly of two prominent early owners, Drs. Sam and “Wid” (aka William) Marshall, who by 1885 already owned beachfront property just north of where today’s Pavilion site. Sadly, Dr. Sam M.D. Marshall’s house burned to the ground, as did his neighbor’s, in 1940 so that land eventually became the site of today’s Memorial Fire Station. As an aside, Frank noted that the Marshall family established the original Milford Hospital, a major progressive move for Milford’s development.

 The pier, as it appears in photos, likely extended 100-150 feet into the Bay from the Town boardwalk, which ran from 247 Bay Ave. to 443 Bay Ave.  Although meant to be a crabbing and fishing pier, Frank recalled that during high tides, he and his buddies would dive straight off the end of the pier into the Bay, which flowed under the pier’s support pilings. The original pavilion was located slightly north of its current position. It was torn down after the 1962 nor’easter, but parts of the structure were used to build the Anzolut house (just north of the Draper house), and the roof was saved and bought by Mark Wells (this confirmed by Amelia Anzolut). So nothing was wasted in those times.

The Beach Hotel

There were numerous other stories about the original Slaughter Beach Hotel from 1868 (first known as the Willow Grove Hotel), which was purchased by Frank’s Father, George, about 1924, from the Slaughter Beach Corporation. The hotel prospered as a resort hotel for upscale clientele from Philadelphia and surrounding areas, as well as hunters and fishermen in the off-season.  And this prosperity continued until WWII.  The Hotel was given to his brother, Dick, to run and maintain during the prewar period.  

However, shortly after WWII began, it lost all its customers, and Dick Draper let it deteriorate, much to his father’s disappointment. Only a handful of customers returned post-war, and the hotel began a steady decline with only a few local characters who remained. Among the characters who rented at the old hotel post WWII included Tiptoe Calloway and Riz Passwaters. They would crab from the pier by day, and drink until soused by nightfall. They would sell their crab catches to any beach residents, but if no one was home, they would just leave the bushels of crabs on various homes’ porches and collect the fees whenever they got to it.

George Draper was unhappy with the local vagrants who hung out at the hotel, getting drunk and rowdy virtually every night, and disturbing his enjoyment of the tranquility of the beach. When the hotel was severely damaged in the Storm of ’62 George had it burned down by the Memorial Fire Company and buried onsite under what became our fire company’s main parking lot across from the Fire Station.

Frank also had interesting stories about the Town pier and pavilion. The pier, as it appears in photos, likely extended 100-150 feet into the Bay from the Town boardwalk, which ran from 247 Bay Ave. to 443 Bay Ave.  Although meant to be a crabbing and fishing pier, Frank recalled that during high tides, he and his buddies would dive straight off the end of the pier into the Bay, which flowed under the pier’s support pilons. The original pavilion was located slightly north of its current position. It was torn down after the 1962 nor’easter, but parts of the structure were used to build the Anzolut house (just north of the Draper house), and the roof was saved and bought by Mark Wells (this confirmed by Amelia Anzolut). So nothing was wasted in those times.

Frank also related that during WWII, a sentry was posted at the pavilion 24 hours a day, keeping a lookout for German U-boats. However, the U.S. military planes would periodically strafe the pavilion with to “keep the sentries on their toes.”

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge

George Draper’s neighbors to the south were Vinal Carey, father of George Carey, a well-known legislative representative from the 36^th District. Part of Carey’s and other farmers’ lands were bought by the Federal Government to become part of Prime Hook Wildlife Refuge.  All were promised they would retain grazing rights throughout their lifetimes, though this proved to be untrue. The marshy areas close to the beach produced large quantities of cordgrass, which in the early years were cut by Vinal Carey and George Draper, rolled in bundles, and used as animal bedding or a form of excelsior used as packing material.

Inlets, Creeks, Immigrants, and Legacies

During Frank’s childhood years (the late 1930s) all inlets to the Bay, including Slaughter Creek, Cedar Creek, and the Mispillion River, exited directly into the Bay. However, storms impacted on the old inlets, and inlets were therefore periodically reopened and later closed. At one point, the two halves (north and south Bay Ave.) had to be reconnected between Harrison and Bridgeham Avenues with a corduroy-style log bridge, which eventually was razed and paved.   

George Henry Draper Sr. (Frank’s grandfather), built (ca.1880) the family vegetable cannery along what is today’s Draper Rd., intersecting with Bakerfield Rd. near what would later become the Blessings’ family composting site. The cannery would subsequently be expanded and improved by Frank’s father (George Henry Draper Jr.). Frank’s old concrete block office and the original radio tower for Draper Media (run by cousin Tom Draper) is still located near that intersection. Vegetables canned at the Draper Cannery included sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, and asparagus.

At first, local white and black workers operated the Draper Cannery and picked the crops. However, the cannery and associated farmland grew rapidly over a long period from 1933 to when Frank’s tenure ensued in 1981 but was closed by the early 1990s. At its peak operational seasons, the cannery employed about 350 workers. After World War II, many of the cannery’s seasonal workers did not return, and the cannery needed new workers.

The Draper family summered annually in Florida with Frank and Dick in tow, so part of the trip involved hiring new cannery workers, usually immigrants.  George Draper first hired many Puerto Ricans to become pickers at the vegetable farm. Accordingly, over several years, a large contingent of Puerto Ricans from Florida moved to Delaware to work as hourly pickers. A labor camp was built for these workers on the southeast corner of what is today Rte. 30 near the juncture of Pine Haven Rd. and Benson Rd, which was then called Mason’s Farm at Slaughter Neck (quote from Laurie Carter Draper).

The next ethnic group hired were Cubans, presumably in the late 1950s and early 1960s. As the story goes, the Cuban workers wanted paid by the piece, not by the hour (a piece was defined as a bucket or a bushel). This became problematic because to maximize their income, these workers usually picked the largest, and therefore most overripe, fruits and vegetables, which was a poor outcome for the cannery.

At this point, the Cubans were sent to work inside the cannery. A smaller group of liberated German POWs, who after WWII settled in the area rather than return to Germany were hired, and as they were excellent mechanics, they worked on the machinery and kept the cannery humming. There are still German descendants in the Milford.

Although George Draper was largely responsible for the legacies of Draper Canneries, Draper Farms, and the initial Slaughter Beach Water Company, Frank had many legacies of his own. These included replacing the badly degraded pavilion with a new pavilion (just north of the original location) that added bathhouses, donation and installation of Town tennis and basketball courts, and a much greatly expanded and improved Town water company to serve hundreds of new customers.

History Preserved

Frank had many lifelong friends from the Town, the State, as well as Milford. Frank recalled Roger Swain, who took many black and white photos of the beach. Frank’s wife, Marilyn, had a decades long project of collecting historic photos of the beach, its homes, and anything of historic note. It is likely that many of the Swain photos were acquired by Marilyn Draper and became part and parcel of her quest to document the Town history.

Cousin Tom Draper was very interested in family genealogy. He had a handsome brick residence and barn located on Thirteen Curves Road near Fowler Beach. One year, at a family reunion, an interior wall of the barn was graced with a family tree displayed on a huge canvas mounted on his barn wall for display. 

P.S. If I have succeeded in broadening our view that Frank Draper was a major force in driving the progress and development of Slaughter Beach, I am satisfied. Sadly, Frank passed away in December, 2023, but his accomplishments and those of his family forever appreciated in our Town.   

Many thanks to Joy and Terry Feulner, who met with me during the summer of 2021. They shared wonderful examples of life on Slaughter Beach (SB) near their Rust Bay House starting back in the late 1940s.   This included several interviews, and sharing of memorabilia and many photos, both original and digital to help us all walk in Joy’s shoes… or flip flops!   

Joyce/Joy Rust was born in Milford in 1939 to Harry S. Rust and Alma Tease Rust who were married for 70 years! Their family made day trips to Slaughter Beach prior to buying the house at 437 Bay Ave in 1947.  The original cottage was built by a fisherman before WWII, approximately 1940.  The house shown above in 2021 is very similar to the original, with some additions and improvements.  It is not winterized, and the only shower is the same outdoor shower, but nicely improved!   Currently Joy and family live in southern CA, but even as adults, the family including their 2 daughters have always spent summers at SB. Joy feels it was those summers here that made her the happy, Joyful person she is.  Her parents were welcoming to all her Milford friends growing up, and at this writing, she was planning her Milford High School 64^th reunion to be held there at the Rust Bay House. 

Originally, the town Boardwalk stopped a few cottages south of theirs (Henry Wilkins 433).   However, the owners of a few cottages to the north built personal extensions in front of their houses.  All houses in this area connected to the boardwalk shown below with short perpendicular walkways. Below is neighbor Essie Evans, wife of Ed Evans who was a local Justice of the Peace, who would collect fines issued by the Slaughter Beach Constable in his garage office.  He also served as mayor for many years.

The beach was not real wide in the 1940s-50s, the tides coming closer to the houses than it does now. The 1964 beach replenishment added significantly, and has held well there until now.  In front of 441 Bay Ave. (former Evans/current Ward cottage), a pier out into the water was added, with a gazebo at the end.   See it during a cold spell in the winter below!

Most families had speed boats, and built long ramps made of 2 parallel tracks to pull the boats down to the water. Quite an art to do this…. see picture below.

Long jetties were also built along the beach, too tall to climb over.  In order to walk the beach, you could walk around the ramps and jetty at low tide, or at high tide go up into neighbors’ yards to go around, or use the boardwalk. The picture below (Alma Rust and Terry Rust) illustrates the boat ramps and jetties, quite a unique arrangement.

Every house had kids in them.  A picture of Joy and friends, the “Slaughter Beach Buzzards” is below, with the names of the kids and dogs, approximately 1952.   

They spent most of the day swimming in the water, even at low tide. When it was time to come home, each family had a way to communicate, e.g.  bells, a foghorn, police whistle, trombone, etc. 

They also went out in boats which had old Evinrude motors and didn’t go very fast!  They pulled water skis, surfboards, and saucer/discs… all usually home-made of wood by their fathers. They often went fishing at the Coral Beds (located off the now south end of beach). They could see their homes from the water (using binoculars), and each cottage had a very tall flagpole. In an emergency, the flag would be lowered to communicate with the people on the boats.  Once home, they ate what they caught:  clams, crabs, fish.  After a day on the bay, everything had to be washed because of all the silt in the water….  People, clothes, boats, including the Evinrude motors which were run in a large barrel of fresh water (picture below shows Harry Rust and neighbor William Draper). Next in line for the hose would be the young muddy boy (identity unknown) showing off his clam rake and a wooden box he pulled along on a leash to carry his catch!

Other memories: 

• In the 50s, the kids rode their bikes out to the Mispillion Lighthouse, which they considered an adventure/haunted house because it was in such bad shape and smelled horrible.
• During the school year, the bus came in on Slaughter Beach Road and picked up the kids at the old non-functioning SB Hotel, which was destroyed by the Storm of March ’62, then burned afterward.
• There were many Firemen living in town, so when the Fire Whistle blew, even one fireman could drive the truck immediately to a kitchen fire, etc., and put it out very quickly.
• Major beach replenishment of 1964: 2 pictures below, including Joy’s father Harry.  He worked for the Milford Police, later the DuPont Company in Seaford, as did many Milford residents at that time. He also took his turn being a Mayor of Slaughter Beach.

Joy Rust: personal memory (email 7/27/21).

“We used to be almost the last house on the North end.  Going North: Rust house, Draper, Evans, Zook.  Going South:  Empty lots, then Mayhew at the end of the board walk and houses past that south toward the fire hall.  No more houses for many, many years.  The beach hasn’t changed at all except for the jetties that are buried from sand being blown in.  The mud started exactly where it is today.  We went clamming EVERY full low tide and crabbing each day with a pot because we lived off the land.  I have pictures of the pier Ed Evans built for us Slaughter Beach Buzzards.  What a perfect life.  No wonder I come back every summer.”       

 And below is our friend and neighbor Joy Rust at Slaughter Beach:  Then and Now!

The Development of Cedar Beach Annex in 1960s:

The Sitar family cottage is a good example of the beginning of development which began in the 1930s in the Cedar Beach annex on the north end of Slaughter Beach, north of Bridgham Ave.  By 1970, there was a paved road, and 79 lots had been laid out in the Cedar Beach area, but only 13 of them had houses on them.  The 1967 Sitar cottage was among the first. 

Alan’s parents were Joe and Bette Sitar, who had 3 children Alan, Diane and Terry. Photo below shows the family on  a vacation in May 1967. 

Joe Sitar began building their cottage himself in 1967. At that time, it was Lot 10 Cedar Beach, which is now 529 Bay Ave. Son Alan shared some saved paperwork, including a newspaper clipping of the ad for the Slaughter Beach lot (cost $895), and also invoices for building supplies to be delivered to the “house with a blue panel truck” because no street address was yet available.  See photos below showing Joe at the house with his truck in driveway. Also notice the storm fence along the dunes, erected by the town for storm protection. 

Sadly, Joe died in 1968, leaving Bette to raise the family on her own.  The family kept the cottage, but Bette’s caveat was it must remain the way Joe built it.  Only a few necessary changes were made over 50 years, so it remains very similar, as a summer home only. No air conditioning or heat.  See 2021 photos below of a bedroom with no insulation.  Joe worked in HVAC, and the shower was made of leftover tiles from a construction project in his neighborhood in Stanton, DE, which Joe took great pains to arrange artistically. New Sitar generations were also artistic: granddaughter Emily painted the water heater, and son Alan has crafted many things using driftwood collected on the beach.

Photos from the family album below show the results from a storm in 1974, that did much damage to the beach in this area.  See Alan in Dec 1974, where it looks like the cottage held, but water surrounded, creating a low spot in the yard on road side. The next photos were dated Aug ‘76, showing one of the large beach replenishments on the bay side, and how it improved the beach in front of the cottage.  Alan remembers finding fossils and petrified wood dredged up during the project.  He also says that when the equipment operators came across nests of terrapin eggs, they would carefully dig them up, and move them to another location in hopes of saving them. 

Pictures below of the family eating crabs in kitchen (circa1980s), after a good catch from their pots, which they continue to use today.

Also, a recent photo (2021) of inside of cottage where treasures from the beach can be seen in the net hanging in living room over Alan, his wife Katie and sister Diane.

Looking through Alan’s saved paperwork, the change in their home’s value can be shown over the years:  In 1967 the lot was listed at $895. In 1973, the family received a letter from Marvel Realty offering to sell their lot for $2500-3000. In 1975, a letter from Sussex County notes the appraised value of the home was $16,600.  2024 online real estate shows a current estimate over $400,000 and rising! Not a bad investment which doesn’t even include over 50 years of priceless family fun at Slaughter Beach. 

Above is the Sitar cottage 529 Bay Ave on the right in 2021.  We know the house on the left (531), was not built until after 1976, Because it is not shown in the replenishment pictures above.

Alan remembers their nearest neighbor to the north, the Ernie Fry home (above pic) at the corner of 541 Bay Ave and now Marvel Dr. The Sitars know it was built prior to the Big Storm of March ‘62, because the storm washed it into the Marsh.  In 2022, the new owners from PA met Ernie, who still lives in Milford. He had told them that after the house washed into the marsh in 1962, he hired a local farmer with a tractor to pull out the house, and it was resettled on its lot with pilings.

So now, 50 years later, the beach pioneers who braved the weather and enjoyed their summers in this enclave of small original seasonal cottages at the beginning of north end development are now part of a thriving Slaughter Beach community with access paths across the dunes to the bay, and educational opportunities for students, walkers and nature lovers, including the amazing marsh views at the Marvel Reserve Boardwalk built in 2019. In 2024, those original 79 lots laid out in the Cedar Beach Annex are now almost all filled with a variety of old cottages and much new construction.  

Researched and compiled by Diane McFaul Hindman, SBHS, including interviews, emails and pictures shared by both Curt and Mary Lyde Esposito.

Curt Esposito and Mary Lyde Foster, 279 Bay Ave, both come from families with long military histories, including generations at West Point. Both have ancestors involved in many American wars: including Revolutionary, 1812, Civil, WWI and WWII, Viet Nam. The Esposito side had a fifer/drummer in the Delaware Regiment (the Blue Coats) during the Revolutionary War. And Mary Lyde continues the tradition of her interesting name that began during the Civil War when a Confederate soldier named Elias had the nickname of “Lyde”. After he was killed in action at the Rappahannock River, his new niece was named Lyde in his honor. So, Mary Lyde is the 4^th of now 6 generations of daughters in that family carrying the tradition of the “Lyde” name.

Curt’s family has a long history in Milford, including 100 years at Slaughter Beach!  The two actually met in Europe in 1979 while working for Civil Service and the Army. He brought Mary Lyde here to meet his family, who were living in the Causey Mansion in Milford where Curt’s mother Eleanor Vinyard and her siblings had grown up. Curt proposed at Slaughter Beach in 1980. They had 2 children: daughter Lyde, son Garrard “G”. They spent every summer at Slaughter Beach. Son “G” later proposed to his bride in a row boat at Slaughter Beach, continuing the family tradition!

The Milford Connection with Slaughter Beach:

Curt’s grandfather was Wilson Marvel Vinyard, owner of the Causey Mansion and Vinyard Shipyard in the 1930s.. His daughter was Eleanor Vinyard, who met and married Vincent J. Esposito through West Point connections.

The Esposito family’s 100-year history at Slaughter Beach began in the early 1920s at the Vinyard Family cottage, built by Curt’s grandfather on Lot 10, now 331 Bay Ave. (purchased from Simpson for $400). Curt spent much time there with his family in the 1940s-50s. Below see photos of the house and family circa 1947: Eleanor with her 3 sons “Mikey (nickname for Vince Jr)”, Curt, and Michael below.

In 1931, Eleanor’s brother “Uncle Sonny” (Wilson Vinyard, Jr) built a cottage at Lot 62 now 279 Bay Ave. Fires destroyed the homes on either side in the 1950s (Barnard north, Newton south). Because of this, in 1954, Sonny sold their smoke damaged cottage for $1 to his sister Eleanor and brother-in-law Vincent “Mike” Esposito, Curt’s father. He was a West Point graduate and professor in Engineering and a skilled woodworker, so was able to make extensive renovations, rebuilding much of the interior including the staircase, cedar panel walls, and kitchen cabinets. See the photo with boardwalk below.

Both Esposito parents died in 1965, leaving the house to their 3 sons. Curt bought out his 2 brothers in the 1980s. The current home (picture below taken in 2021) is the original cottage, brown cedar shake with some minor renovations over the years, and it still remains very true to its old cottage roots. Note the wood pile used for additional winter heat.

Curt’s childhood memories at SB, life in the 50s/60s:

• The boardwalk was still present at 279 Bay Ave. in 1954, ending one property south at Newton’s. Curt remembers walking the boards, getting splinters; riding bikes as far north as Frank Draper’s cottage (approx. 1 mile). There were lights along the way for an evening stroll, and on a hot summer day, it was cool underneath!
• 3 neighbors built personal cement sea walls on the house side of the boardwalk for extra protection (Barnard, Esposito and Newton). Their end of the boardwalk was destroyed in the Big Storm of 1966. In 1968 a big beach replenishment occurred. Prior to that, the water was so close that Curt can remember jumping off the boardwalk into the water at high tide.
• The water was much clearer then; Curt’s dad and brothers would use a drag net/seine in front of the old house at Lot 10 for fishing, and later Dad used his Fyke at Lot 62. See Fyke “Tidbit” at end of this article.
• Curt’s engineer father modified their section of the boardwalk so portions could easily be removed. This allowed them to pull their fishing boat down to the water on a rolling ramp using the crank shown in picture below. They would fish at the Coral Beds near Fowler’s Beach, and sometimes out farther near the tankers.

• The Esposito boys and friends would water ski three abreast behind the larger Barnard boat north to the inlet canal, all the way up Cedar Creek to the drawbridge (at Rt 36). On windy days on the Bay, Curt would pull the kids farther up the Mispillion to ski on flat water. Both sides of the inlet were intact and the current was very fast, so the challenge was “Don’t fall!”
• Curt’s mother would pack sandwiches for the boys, and drop them off at the Harbor to spend a day fishing on the party boat, the “Thomas E”. They also would crab off the docks, where the fishermen had cleaned their catch, dropping the heads and guts into the water nearby…. great crab bait! They would only keep the big ones, and would easily come home with a bushel of fat crabs!
• Neighbor Warren C. Newton, Bill McSpadden’s grandfather, owned property off Lighthouse Rd, where he hoped to build a boat launch. A memorable adventure was when the whole Esposito family went up to watch Mr. Newton blow up the swampy marsh in this area with explosives! This later evolved into what is now the State improved Boat Launch area. (This story has been verified by both Curt and Bill)
• Horseshoe Crabs were much more numerous, smelled bad, and the residents would dig big pits in the sand to cover them.
• A road existed from Argo’s Corner in late 40s: one lane paved, one lane dirt.

Stores

• Curt remembers being in the Corner Store that he said evolved from the 2^nd Hotel Dance Hall. It still had a bar and décor. Was burnt down at some point. Near this location, a 2^nd store (Palumbo sub shop) was built in the late 60s, but is now converted into a private residence.
• Scorchy’s was a General Store where families could get groceries, produce, milk and bread. Gas pump in front. Curt thought Scorchy got his name from having holes in his T shirts, always sunburned!
• Lemuel’s Liquor store would trade potatoes/goods for liquor. Had gun on wall behind counter.

2023 Update:

There is now a new generation coming to SB; both Garrard and Lyde have contributed grandchildren (Lyde had triplets in 2021). This makes 5 generations of Vinyards and Espositos coming to Slaughter Beach over more than 100 years.

Historical “TidBit”: “Fish and Fyke”

“A fyke net is a fish trap. It consists of cylindrical or cone-shaped netting bags mounted on rings or other rigid structures. It has wings or leaders which guide the fish towards the entrance of the bags. The fyke nets are fixed on the bottom by anchors, ballast or stakes. Usually hauled by hand. The fish enters voluntarily, but is hampered from coming out. Fishermen visit traps every day collecting only the captures and leaving in the same place for several days.”

This photo is Curt’s father Brigadier General Vincent Joseph Esposito, nickname “Mike for Michelangelo”, fishing with a fyke in front of their cottage in the 1950s. He was a full professor at West Point after retiring from active duty.

Below are friends and family still helping to harvest the fyke in the1980s! From left Mark Bliss; Mary Lyde; Junior Hitchens; cousin Katie Bliss, and Irene Hitchens, Junior’s wife, holding baby Lyde.

Note to Readers! We hope you have enjoyed this first in a Series of “Meet Your Neighbors” and “History Tidbits”. If you have brief stories or memories from family, friends or neighbors that you’d like to share, we may be able to include them on the website! Please send them in written form to info@sbhistory.org.