On Saturday, January 7, at 10:30 a.m. Bill Hutchison of the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation will present a program at the Delaware Public Archives focusing on how the Kalmar Nyckel operated, with special emphasis on the navigation of the vessel, and the firing of the ship’s guns. Segments of a new film about the ship will be shown to reveal how these tasks were carried out. The Kalmar Nyckel arrived in America in 1638 from Sweden and the settlers aboard founded the colony of New Sweden on the Delaware. This was the first permanent European settlement established in the State of Delaware and in the area that would become the City of Wilmington. New documentary evidence has recently been uncovered about the fate of the Kalmar Nyckel which will be presented at the program.

Bill Hutchison, Lead Educator Emeritus for the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, has served as a volunteer crew member since 2003. A retired educator, Hutchison was a social studies teacher and administrator in the Capital School District for 35 years. He was the district’s Teacher of the Year in 1989. In addition, Hutchison has been an instructor at Delaware State University, Wilmington University, and the University of Delaware. A Vietnam Veteran and life-long resident of Delaware, Hutchison received his BA in history from Salisbury University and his MA in education from the University of Delaware.

The program is free to the public and will last approximately one hour. No reservations are required. For more information, contact Kevin Barni (302) 744-5015 or e-mail Kevin.Barni@delaware.gov.

Delaware Public Archives (DPA, archives.delaware.gov), an agency of the State of Delaware, is one of the oldest public archives programs in the United States. DPA serves the citizens of Delaware by identifying, collecting, and preserving public records of enduring historical and evidential value; ensuring access to public records for present and future generations; and advising and educating interested parties in the creation, management, use, and preservation of public records.

Students from across the state gathered Saturday at the Delaware Public Archives to celebrate the winners of the 15th Annual Delaware Day Fourth Grade Competition and to be recognized for their knowledge of the First State’s influential role in crafting the United States Constitution.

Students were given two months to prepare an informative four-panel display on Delaware’s role in the creation and ratification of the Constitution, integrating creative elements such as artwork, poetry, songs and cartoons. Representatives from the Department of State judged 23 projects focusing on three main areas: historical accuracy, spelling and creativity.

Each year, awards are given to schools with the most creative and historically accurate projects.
Named in honor of Delaware’s five signers of the U. S. Constitution, the awards recognize schools in each county plus the city of Wilmington as well as a private school. Honorable mention awards were given to 13 schools for their participation. A total of 21 schools participated in this year’s competition.

The Delaware Division of the Arts and the Newark Arts Alliance also evaluated the projects and presented Artistic Merit Awards to Bunker Hill Elementary School, Epworth Christian School, Gallaher Elementary School, Learning Express Academy, and North Dover Elementary School. These awards recognized students’ use of visual art as well as design and composition.

“Delaware Day is our time to celebrate just how important our state was in the early days of the nation,” said Secretary of State Jeff Bullock. “As always, the projects our fourth graders presented were outstanding tributes to this legacy, and I congratulate them for their efforts and the time they devoted to learning about the history of the First State.”

The winners of the 2016 Delaware Day Fourth Grade Competition are:

• George Read Award – Wilmington Friends School (Wilmington)
• Gunning Bedford, Jr. Award – [Tie] Bunker Hill Elementary School (Appoquinimink School District) and Gallaher Elementary School (Christina School District)
• John Dickinson Award – [Tie] North Dover Elementary School (Capital School District) and Lake Forest Central Elementary School – Project #2 (Lake Forest School District)
• Richard Bassett Award – [Tie] North Laurel Elementary School – Two Projects (Laurel School District)
• Jacob Broom Award – Learning Express Academy (Newark)

For more information, visit the Annual Delaware Day Competition website.

Each year, awards are given to schools with the most creative and historically accurate projects.
Named in honor of Delaware’s five signers of the U. S. Constitution, the awards recognize schools in each county plus the city of Wilmington as well as a private school.

Projects also are evaluated by the Delaware Division of the Arts and the Newark Arts Alliance. Select projects are presented with an Artistic Merit Award in recognition of the students’ creative use of visual art as well as design and composition.

For more information, visit the Annual Delaware Day Competition website.

What: 15th Annual Delaware Day Fourth Grade Competition Ceremony

Who: Secretary of State Jeff Bullock; State Archivist Steve Marz; Students, parents and teachers from across the state

When: 10 a.m. Saturday, December 10

Where: Delaware Public Archives, 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. North, Dover

El Gobernador Jack Markell honrará al exsecretario de estado Edward J. Freel con el Premio del Gobernador a la Herencia en ceremonia programada para el próximo martes 29 de noviembre en los Archivos Públicos de Delaware.

Establecido en el año 2003 por la Oficina del Secretario de Estado, el Premio del Gobernador a la Herencia se otorga periódicamente a individuos que han hecho contribuciones distinguidas para el reconocimiento, preservación y celebración de la herencia de Delaware.

Entre las diferentes posiciones como servidor público en Delaware a lo largo de su carrera, el señor Freel sirvió como secretario de estado desde 1994 hasta 2001. Actualmente sirve como instructor en el Instituto de Administración Pública de la Universidad de Delaware donde también maneja The Democracy Project, un programa para maestros y líderes políticos que fomenta las conversaciones sobre la participación cívica y maneras para inspirar a la juventud ciudadana.

Qué: Presentación del Premio del Gobernador a la Herencia al exsecretario de estado Edward J. Freel

Quiénes: Gobernador Jack Markell; Secretario de Estado de Delaware Jeffrey Bullock; Archivista del Estado Stephen Marz.

Cuándo: Martes, 29 de noviembre a las 9:00 a.m.

Dónde: Edificio de los Archivos Públicos de Delaware, 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Dover.

On Saturday, November 5, Judy G. Russell, JD, CG CGL, known as “The Legal Genealogist” will present two programs at the Delaware Public Archives. The first presentation, at 10:30 a.m. is titled “Don’t Forget the Ladies” – A Genealogist’s Guide to Women and the Law. In early America, women were all too often the people who just weren’t there: not in the records, not in the censuses, not on juries, not in the voting booth. The common law relegated women to “protected” – second-class – status and understanding how they were treated under the law provides clues to finding their identities today.

The second program, titled Rogues, Rascals and Rapscallions will begin at 1:30 p.m. Playing detective in court records can unmask those individuals that every family has. Learn to understand the criminal process in both federal and state courts and how to find the records to put meat on the bones of the skeletons one may have in their family’s closet.

Judy Russell is an attorney whose aim is to assist people understand the often arcane and even impenetrable legal concepts and terminology that are so very important to those who are studying family history. A graduate of the Rutgers School of Law-Newark, Russell also has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from George Washington University in Washington D.C. She has worked as a newspaper reporter, trade association writer, legal investigator, defense attorney, federal prosecutor, law editor and, for more than 20 years, an adjunct member of the faculty at Rutgers Law School. She lectures on a wide variety of genealogical topics, ranging from using court records to understanding DNA testing.

The program is free to the public and will last approximately one hour. No reservations are required. For more information, contact Tom Summers (302) 744-5047 or e-mail
thomas.summers@delaware.gov.

The Delaware Public Archives is located at 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard North in Dover. The Mabel Lloyd Ridgely Research Room is open to the public Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. On the second Saturday of every month the research room is open from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Delaware Public Archives (DPA, archives.delaware.gov), an agency of the State of Delaware, is one of the oldest public archives programs in the United States. DPA serves the citizens of Delaware by identifying, collecting, and preserving public records of enduring historical and evidential value; ensuring access to public records for present and future generations; and advising and educating interested parties in the creation, management, use, and preservation of public records.