Off-beat and exceptional characters featured in new book

2:25 p.m., Nov. 13, 2003--On a sunny summer day, a group of unusual people congregated at the Dover Agricultural Museum for a photograph. One man sported a red tasseled gnome cap, another wore a baseball uniform and a third was attired in a tuxedo, while a trio in colonial dress looked as if they had stepped out of an 18th-century manor house. Others in the group displayed curious objects, such as a miniature lighthouse, hand-carved wooden bowls and a bubble-machine, complete with sound system.

The common link connecting the group was that they are the featured “Friends, Neighbors and Folks Down the Road” in a new book by regional author and adjunct UD English instructor Ed Okonowicz, AS ’68, M ’84, and Jerry Rhodes, a writer and editor in the Office of Public Relations.

The book spotlights individuals in the community who have out-of-the ordinary, off-beat jobs, avocations and hobbies, such as Bob Trapani, who heads an organization to restore lighthouses of the Delaware River and Bay; George Reynolds, whose interests range from archeology to UFOs; Ted Stegura who creates works of art from trash; and Richard Humphreys, who has turned his home and grounds into Gnome Countryside with hundreds of garden gnomes scattered about to teach children about the environment.

In short, as Okonowicz writes in the introduction, they are people who are sometimes overlooked but have “remarkable stories to tell.”
For example, Joanna Alrod, a volunteer with Historic Elk Landing Foundation, discovered an original letter from Thomas Jefferson in a box of papers from the Hollingsworth plantation house; and Chuck Wehrl recorded history with his camera as a Coast Guard photographer taking pictures of the D-Day invasion and the invasion of Okinawa in the South Pacific. Another chapter in the book describes the Kelton (Pa.) Afternoon Ladies Club, founded in 1909 for local farm women, which has recorded the last century through its minutes as seen though the eyes of its members. Now 11 are left to carry on the tradition.

Discovering the people with stories was like connecting the dots, Okonowicz said. “I’d interview someone, and they suggested others with unusual stories or pursuits for the book. There were so many I asked my friend Jerry Rhodes to help interview and write stories for the project.”

The authors: Ed Okonowicz and Jerry Rhodes

“I enjoyed talking to different people—they are not couch potatoes, watching TV—they are doers. How else would you meet Corky Jones, the crab taxidermist?” Rhodes said.

Many in the book have UD connections, such as William Katorkas, assistant director of public safety, who trades in his police uniform for a tuxedo as Billy K, the announcer for the East Coast Wrestlers, sparring verbally with such characters as Boogie Woogie Brown or Dr. Destruction. Ron Whittington, special assistant to the dean of UD’ College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy, assumes two different persona for the National Chautauqua Tour, portraying a black Civil War soldier and baseball player Judy Johnson of the old Negro League, the only Delawarean who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Elbert Chance, a familiar figure on campus for many years began his career at UD as sports information director and assistant director of public relations in 1952 and became the voice of Delaware Stadium, covering more than 300 games until he retired in 2002.

The two authors have had long-term ties with the University. Okonowicz served as assistant director of alumni relations and later as editor of UpDate in the Office of Public Relations. Since retirement, he teaches at UD and has devoted more time to his writing and storytelling. Rhodes is also retired from UD, where he was a locksmith. He is planning to receive his degree in journalism this winter, and has worked as a reporter for local newspapers and is now a part-time writer/editor for the Office of Public Relations.

The book is available at the University Bookstore, and there will be a book signing from noon-2 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 4.

For more information visit the web site at [www.mystandlace.com/FNF.html].

Article by Sue Moncure
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson

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