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Happy 25th, CAMP Rehoboth
Community center founded by gay couple that met at White House


CAMP Rehoboth serves the local LGBT community in and around the popular beach resort. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Silver Gala
Friday, Oct. 9, 7-11 p.m.
Nassau Valley Vineyards
Tickets start at $100
Silver Block Party
Sunday, Oct. 11, 12-4 p.m.
Baltimore Avenue, 2nd block
Suggested donation $10
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — As it celebrates its 25th anniversary this weekend, CAMP Rehoboth, the LGBT community center and community services group here, is continuing its role as a well-known and highly regarded operation in Delaware and in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Before Steve Elkins and Murray Archibald, who have been a couple for 37 years, moved to Rehoboth Beach in October 1990 and founded CAMP Rehoboth less than one year later they had been vacationing there since the summer of 1981.
Like the large number of other LGBT people who began to flock to the Delaware beach resort town in the 1970s the two noticed that at least some longtime, year-round residents had become uncomfortable as Rehoboth became increasingly known as a gay destination.
According to Archibald, he and Elkins along with some of their friends sensed the need for an LGBT support and advocacy group in the town around 1989 or 1990. That’s when the Rehoboth Beach Homeowners Association produced and circulated a bumper sticker that said, “Keep Rehoboth A Family Town.”
Everyone knew that message was aimed at the town’s LGBT visitors and growing number of LGBT residents, implying if not saying so openly, that they were not welcome, Archibald and Elkins told the Washington Blade.
“And I always said we wanted it to be a family town as well but families come in all sizes, shapes and orientations,” Elkins said.
Following a series of meetings in late 1990, Elkins and Archibald in 1991 launched CAMP Rehoboth, the town’s first LGBT advocacy and civic organization whose name was an acronym for ‘Create a More Positive’ Rehoboth.
“We thought everybody was focusing on the negative and we said, ‘Let’s create a more positive Rehoboth,’” said Elkins in reflecting on the group’s and the town’s evolution in gay-straight relations since that time.
Archibald said in addition to concerns over the hostile message from the bumper sticker, the atmosphere for gay men in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s was still being shaped by the AIDS epidemic, and he and Elkins thought an LGBT organization would provide support services on that front.
“We were just coming out of that period where so many people were dying and were still dying,” said Archibald. “We were fighting some resistance in town against so many gay people coming to town,” he said. “And you knew we needed something.”
In its first two years, the then all-volunteer group operated in a small rented space on Baltimore Avenue in downtown Rehoboth located two blocks from the boardwalk and beach. The fledgling group had a budget of about $40,000 from money that it managed to raise among early supporters.
It currently has a budget of just under $1 million, with anticipated revenue of $1.1 million for 2015. It has a staff of five full-time paid employees, including Elkins, who serves as executive director. The group’s website proudly says there are three full-time, unpaid volunteer staff members, including Archibald, who play a key role in its operations.
Since 1993, Archibald has served as president of the CAMP Rehoboth Board of Directors. He also serves as producer of the group’s annual Sundance fundraising benefit and as creative director for the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center and for Letters from CAMP Rehoboth.
“Letters,” as many call it, serves as the group’s newsletter-magazine that comes out twice monthly during the summer season and once a month during the off season. The publication is filled with ads from dozens of local businesses, turning it into an important source of revenue supporting CAMP Rehoboth’s multitude of programs and activities.
The ad revenue from Letters; a separate stream of revenue from more than 800 paid members/supporters, which generates about $240,000 annually; and money raised by fundraising events such as Sundance helped the group purchase a complex of several small and larger buildings at the site where it first rented space in 1990.
The successful revenue generating efforts also helped to fund construction of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center, which now occupies the largest building on the site and the attractively designed courtyard that lies between two larger buildings. The building across the courtyard from the main CAMP Rehoboth building and community center is occupied by a home furnishing and interior design gallery and shop, which rents the space from CAMP Rehoboth, generating further revenue.
Similarly, a small financial services firm and the lesbian-owned Lori’s Café, which occupy small annex buildings located in the rear of the courtyard, also rent their space from CAMP Rehoboth.
Adding yet another stream of revenue is the community center’s “big” room, which can serve as a catering hall or auditorium with a seating capacity of about 90, and several smaller meeting rooms, all of which are available for rent. Archibald said the “big” room is regularly rented to same-sex couples for their wedding receptions.
Among CAMP Rehoboth’s largest programs is CAMPsafe, which for close to 20 years has provided HIV prevention related services, including HIV testing and counseling. Archibald said that although it has catered mostly to gay and bisexual men in the Rehoboth area and eastern Sussex County everyone is welcome to come in for its services.
In recent years the program has expanded under a $120,000 contract from the state health department to include testing for other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
“We do it for gonorrhea, chlamydia and we have just been selected for doing the first rapid test for syphilis in the state of Delaware,” Elkins said. “That will start in January.”
The CAMPsafe program along with a general mental health counseling program is directed by Salvatore Seeley, a licensed clinical social worker with a Ph.D. in sexual health counseling, Elkins said. Under Seeley’s direction, the counseling program usually involves up to six counseling sessions for any individual client after which Seeley refers them to a clinical therapist if needed.
Seeley’s reputation as a trusted counselor in a wide range of areas, including sexual health and couple counseling, has spread throughout the Sussex County area and even straight couples sometimes drop in, said Elkins.
“Occasionally it’s a straight couple – a husband or wife – where one spouse comes out and he counsels them on that,” Elkins said. “It runs the full gamut.”
Another program is the CAMP Rehoboth Chorus, which has close to 90 members and performs at venues in Rehoboth and surrounding areas, including nursing homes and community events.
Elkins serves as head of a longstanding CAMP Rehoboth program that provides LGBT-related sensitivity training for Rehoboth police officers and state park police officers assigned to the Rehoboth area. Among other things, Elkins said the trainings have resulted in improved relations with police.
Some of the other programs, all of which are listed on the site camprehoboth.com, include a women’s golf league; gallery and performance space for artists; advocacy for and education of local residents, visitors and businesses on LGBT issues; grief counseling; public WiFi access; an annual women’s conference and women’s weekend; and promotion of non-profit local LGBT and general community events.
Archibald noted that as CAMP Rehoboth’s visibility increased over the past 25 years, some in the LGBT community called for it to become more activist and aggressive in its advocacy work similar to the model of the 1980s-era AIDS direct action group ACT UP. He said he and Elkins and the original corps of supporters chose not go in that direction, instead choosing a more conciliatory path.
To this day, the group’s mission statement published in each issue of Letters says, among other things, “We seek to promote cooperation and understanding among all people, as we work to build safe, inclusive communities with room for all.”
Elkins said he believes that approach has succeeded, helping to make Rehoboth Beach a welcoming place for LGBT people that continues to attract LGBT tourists and new residents to the town.
“The thing I’ve always said is once we actually started talking to one another we all realized that we had the same desire – and that’s to have a safe and inclusive community,” Elkins said. “And once we started talking about what we had in common we find we have a lot more in common than we have difference.”
Elkins’ and Archibald’s journey that eventually led them to the founding of CAMP Rehoboth began in Washington, D.C., when the two met on Sept. 18, 1978, and soon fell in love, as Elkins tells it.
Elkins had been working as a White House administrator during the Carter administration and Archibald, an artist and painter, was helping a friend in Washington deliver a painting to Elkins’ office in the Old Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House grounds.
“She called and Steve cleared us all in,” Archibald recalls. “And she said we have to go get another one and he said well Murray’s going to stay here and I’m going to give him a tour of the White House. It was all part of the compound, and he walked me right into the Oval Office that day,” said Archibald.
“And that was it. From that time on it was the two of us,” he said.
When Carter left the White House after losing his re-election bid in 1980 to Ronald Reagan, Elkins, whose job was a political appointment, took a new job as sales manager at a computer company in New York City, where he and Archibald moved. After losing that job in the 1990s when his company went bankrupt, Elkins and Archibald decided to move permanently to Rehoboth Beach, where Elkins became general manager for the Strand nightclub.
In 1993, two years after he and Archibald founded CAMP Rehoboth and served on its board as volunteers, the board asked Elkins to become the group’s first paid executive director, and he accepted. That set in motion a 25-year journey for him and Archibald that has placed them largely at the center of CAMP Rehoboth’s whirlwind of activities today.
Kristen Minor, now 33, was 13 when she first began grappling with the realization that she might be a lesbian and ventured into CAMP Rehoboth 20 years ago and was greeted by Archibald, she writes in a column in the current issue of Letters. She tells of how she first met Archibald and Elkins at the church she and her family attended in Rehoboth and how CAMP Rehoboth became a refuge for her at a time when she “navigated the terrors of middle and high school” and was able to meet a “handful” of other LGBT teenagers.
“The influence of a community organization is sometime hard to measure,” she wrote. “I don’t know how to measure that CAMP saved my life and the lives of many of my friends; it was our real life ‘It Gets Better’ campaign far before such a thing ever existed.”

Steve Elkins, left, and Murray Archibald of Camp Rehoboth are gearing up for a busy October celebrating the community center’s 25 years. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
a&e features
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Washington Blade’s unique archives chronicle highs, lows of our movement

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade team combed our archives and put together a glossy magazine showcasing five decades of celebrations in the city. Below is a sampling of images from the magazine but be sure to find a print copy starting this week.

The magazine is being distributed now and is complimentary. You can find copies at LGBTQ bars and restaurants across the city. Or visit the Blade booth at the Pride festival on June 7 and 8 where we will distribute copies.
Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors, whose support has enabled us to distribute the magazine free of charge. And thanks to our dedicated team at the Blade, especially Photo Editor Michael Key, who spent many hours searching the archives for the best images, many of which are unique to the Blade and cannot be found elsewhere. And thanks to our dynamic production team of Meaghan Juba, who designed the magazine, and Phil Rockstroh who managed the process. Stephen Rutgers and Brian Pitts handled sales and marketing and staff writers Lou Chibbaro Jr., Christopher Kane, Michael K. Lavers, Joe Reberkenny along with freelancer and former Blade staffer Joey DiGuglielmo wrote the essays.

The magazine represents more than 50 years of hard work by countless reporters, editors, advertising sales reps, photographers, and other media professionals who have brought you the Washington Blade since 1969.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and keep it as a reminder of all the many ups and downs our local LGBTQ community has experienced over the past 50 years.
I hope you will consider supporting our vital mission by becoming a Blade member today. At a time when reliable, accurate LGBTQ news is more essential than ever, your contribution helps make it possible. With a monthly gift starting at just $7, you’ll ensure that the Blade remains a trusted, free resource for the community — now and for years to come. Click here to help fund LGBTQ journalism.





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In stressful times, escape to Rehoboth Beach
Here’s what’s new in D.C.’s favorite beach town for 2025

At last, after an uncharacteristically cold and snowy winter, another Rehoboth Beach season is upon us. I have been going to Rehoboth Beach since 1984, and it was the first place I went where people only knew me as a gay man. It was the year I came out. It was a summer community back then. Today it really is an exciting year-round community. But it’s still the summer season when Rehoboth shines, and when the businesses make most of their money.
The summer brings out tens of thousands of tourists, from day-trippers, to those with second homes at the beach. Everyone comes to the beach for the sun and sand, food, and drink. Some like to relax, others to party, and you can do both in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Stop by CAMP Rehoboth, the LGBTQ community center on Baltimore Avenue, to get the latest updates on what is happening. CAMP sponsors Sunfestival each Labor Day weekend, and a huge block party on Baltimore Avenue in October. They train the Rehoboth Beach police on how to work with the LGBTQ community, and have all kinds of special and regularly scheduled events. Pick up a copy of their publication, Letters, which is distributed around town.
I asked Kim Leisey, CAMP’s executive director, for her thoughts, and she said, “CAMP Rehoboth looks forward to welcoming our friends and visitors to Rehoboth Beach. We are a safe space for our community and will be sponsoring social opportunities, art receptions, concerts, and art exhibits, throughout the summer. If you are planning a wedding, shower, reception, or business meeting, our beautiful atrium is available for rental. We look forward to a summer of solidarity and fun.” While at CAMP stop in the courtyard at a favorite place of mine, Lori’s Oy Vey! Café, and tryher famous chicken salad.
There’s something for everyone at the beach, from walking the boardwalk and eating Thrasher’s fries, to visiting Funland, or playing a game of miniature golf. Or head to some of the world-class restaurants like Drift, Eden, Blue Moon, or Back Porch.
Some random bits on the summer 2025 season. Prices are going up like everywhere else. Your parking meter will cost you $4 an hour. Meters are in effect May 15-Sept. 15. Parking permits for all the non-metered spaces in town are also expensive. Transferable permits are $365,non-transferable $295, or after Aug. 1 if you only come for the end of summer, it’s $165. Detailed information is available on the town’s website.
Rehoboth lost one of its best restaurant this off-season, JAM, but Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant is open for its fourth season. Owner Freddie Lutz told the Blade, “We are looking forward to a fabulous season. Freddie’s has a dance floor and is the only music video bar in town.” There is also live entertainment, karaoke, and Freddie’s Follies drag show Friday nights.

My favorite happy hour bar is Aqua Grill, which has reopened for the season. I recommend taking advantage of their great Tuesday Taco night, and Thursday burger night. Then there is The Pines and Top of the Pines. Bob Suppies of Second Block Hospitality told me, “Come, relax, and play. We are ready! I have been spending summers here since the mid-90’s, and Rehoboth Beach seems to age like a fine wine. Between the new, and favorite restaurants opening back up, the shops bursting with incredible finds, and all the great LGBTQ+ bars to entertain everyone, nowhere beats the Delaware beaches this summer.”
Head down the block on Baltimore Avenue and you get to La Fable restaurant. Go all the way to the beach and you will see the new lifeguard station, which is slated to open later this month. Also, demolition of the old hotel and north boardwalk Grotto Pizza has happened. The site will become a new four-story, 60-room hotel, with ground level retail space.
Then join me at my favorite morning place at the beach, The Coffee Mill, in the mews between Rehoboth and Baltimore Avenues, open every morning at 7 a.m. Owners Mel and Bob also have the Mill Creamery, the ice cream parlor in the mews, and Brashhh! on 1st street, where Mel sells his own clothing line, called FEARLESS! Then there is the ever-popular Purple Parrot, celebrating its 26th year, now with new owners Tyler Townsend and Drew Mitchell, who welcome you to their iconic place. It has only gotten better. If you head farther down Rehoboth Avenue you will find the Summer House with its upscale Libation Room, and a nice garden looking out on Rehoboth Avenue. Also on Rehoboth Avenue is Gidget’s Gadgets owned by the fabulous Steve Fallon. With the renewed interest in vinyl records you may want to stop in at Extended Play.
Then there is the always busy and fun, Diego’s Bar and Nightclub. Joe Zuber of Diego’s told the Blade, “Get ready for a great gay ole time in Rehoboth Beach. Plenty of entertainment, dancing and fun as we seem to be the next Stonewall generation with this newest administration. Each election brings its concerns about how our gay community will be affected. Come to Rehoboth Beach to escape this summer season!”
If you are in town for Sunday happy hour, make sure to stop there to hear the talented Pamala Stanley who is celebrating her 20th season entertaining in Rehoboth.And on Mondays, Stanley plays Broadway and other classics on the piano at Diego’s.
If you are looking for culture Rehoboth has some of that as well. There is the Clear Space Theatre on Baltimore Avenue. Rumors abound that Clear Space will move out of town. But I can’t believe the commissioners and mayor would be dumb enough to let that happen. This year’s shows include “Spring Awakening,” “Buyer + Cellar,” “Hairspray,” “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” and “RENT.”Tickets sell fast so I suggest you book early and they are available online. Then mark your calendars for Saturday, July 19 for Rehoboth Beach Pride 2025 at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the other fine restaurants and clubs in town. Just a reminder, during season you often need dinner reservations. Come to the beach often enough, and you can try them all: Café Azafran, Dos Locos, Goolee’s Grille, Rigby’s, Frank and Louie’s, Above the Dunes, Mariachi, and Henlopen City Oyster House, and Red, White & Basil. And take a short drive to Dewey for breakfast or lunch at the Starboard; popular bartender Doug Moore (winner of the Blade’s Best Rehoboth-Area Bartender 2024 award) holds court at one of the inside bars, which has become a de facto gay bar on Saturdays.
One major development in the local dining scene last summer was the purchase of the Big Fish Restaurant Group by Baltimore-based Atlas Restaurant Group. Nearly a year later, not much has changed at the many Big Fish restaurants, although many locals are hoping for a renovation of Obie’s along with a gay night at the ocean-front bar/restaurant.
These are only a few of the fantastic places to eat and drink at the beach. Remember, book your reservations for hotels and restaurants, early. Rehoboth is a happening place and gets very busy.
We are living in stressful times. A visit to Rehoboth is a nice way to escape them for a while. Take the time to destress, enjoy the sun and sand. Take a stroll on the boardwalk and listen to the sound of the ocean, and people having fun. Enjoy good times, good food, good friends, and remember that life can still be good. Recharge your batteries for the rest of the year, by enjoying some summer fun in Rehoboth Beach.

a&e features
Down to shuck!
Oyster farmers Jordan Nally and fiancé Jimmy Kane on caring for Delaware’s waters — and sharing something special with customers

Although I didn’t come out to my family until my 20s, they should have seen the signs. During one of our annual trips to Indian Shores Beach in Florida, my parents splurged on a Polynesian dining adventure at the only tourist spot in town – Tiki Gardens. While waiting for our table, my sisters found a saltwater tank lined with oysters. For what felt like a fortune to an eight-year-old, a fisherman would shuck a pair and sift through the contents. Dressed in my floral Hawaiian shirt, my excitement turned to desperation when both of my sisters’ oysters revealed pearls. After much begging, my father reluctantly paid to have the small, oddly shaped gems mounted in rings. Watching my sisters flaunt their new jewelry, I seethed with envy and secretly vowed to return one day to claim my own treasure from the sea.
Nearly 50 years later, I’m a full-time resident of Rehoboth Beach, Del. It’s the Atlantic Ocean, not the Gulf of Mexico, but it’s close enough to Florida for me. As a local in a small coastal town, I’m keenly interested in how entrepreneurs are capitalizing on the growing tourism industry with innovative business ideas, so when I stumble across an Instagram page featuring two gay oyster farmers, Jordan Nally and his fiancé Jimmy Kane operating just a few miles away on Rehoboth Bay, my curiosity is piqued. After liking all the posts on the page, I slip into their DMs and ask whether we can meet for an interview. I’m delighted and a little nervous when they agree and invite me out on the boat to tour the farm and talk shellfish. Since everything I know about oysters came from a restaurant menu, I did some research.
Less than a week later, I arrive at the marina on Collins Avenue in Dewey on a picture-perfect morning in early May. Nally is waiting by his pickup truck, casually chatting up a couple of tourists. He’s a Delaware native and looks every bit like an oyster farmer in a long-sleeve, sweat-wicking shirt, PVC-coated shorts, and a branded baseball cap for sun protection. That’s all the more surprising given that Nally spent more than a decade working for JPMorgan Chase and had run for election to the Delaware House of Representatives in 2020.
As a good reporter, I’ve done my research: I know that the Inland Bays (made up of Rehoboth, Indian River, and Little Assawoman Bays) were once prolific oyster producers, with peak annual harvests reaching up to two million bushels. However, by the mid-20th century, overharvesting and a parasitic fungus drastically reduced the oyster populations. By 1960, the annual harvest had plummeted to just 49,000 bushels, marking a low point for the industry. In 2013, former Gov. Jack Markell signed legislation, and the commercial shellfish industry was reborn.
As we unload the flatbed of his EV pickup truck and transport the contents to the waiting boat, a retrofitted pontoon, “The Mullet,” Nally fills me in on his origin story. He came up with the idea to dive into aquaculture while he was quarantined in a hotel in Vermont with nothing but a TV and a local magazine with a cover story on oyster farming. He pitched the idea to his partner Jimmy Kane over the phone, and together they started planning how to make it happen. Nally jokes that what began as a fun “COVID project” quickly bloomed into a thriving business: “Some people did sourdough starter, but we decided to start an oyster farm.”
Although Kane is always there to lend a helping hand, Nally is the one who’s usually out tending the farm. Still, Nally stresses that Kane plays a critical support role: “He’s in charge of merchandising, running sales at the market, and grounding me when I have too many wild ideas.”
In April 2023, the couple planted their first batch of “oyster babies,” provided by the hatchery at the University of Delaware. At the time, they were still living full time in Wilmington, so the first year on the farm meant long drives, managing their day jobs from the car, launching the boat, and working for hours out on the bay before heading back home. Eventually, the capital investment and 14-hour days paid off; now, just two years later, they have 50 floating bags, each holding about 2,000 oysters.
Out on the open water, we see a half-dozen other oyster farms off in the distance. Despite the great weather, we’re the only boat on the bay. Standing confidently at the helm with his eyes fixed on the horizon, Nally gives me a quick biology tutorial on how oysters make it from the bay to the bar. Growers trigger spawning by adjusting water conditions to mimic spring, then feed the larvae specialized algae. After two to three weeks, the larvae develop an “eyespot” and are transferred to grow-out areas on the seabed or suspended bags. Oysters generally reach market size in 18 to 36 months, but the ideal conditions in Rehoboth Bay cut that time down to less than six months.

Nally opens the throttle and, in less time than I expected, we reach the place where the magic happens – the acre of water designated for Nancy James Oysters. Unconventional and bordering on camp, the couple came up with the moniker to honor their late parents. When I ask Nally to explain why they’ve stuck with the venture, his answer, like the name of their business, is personal: “Every single day, we learn something new. And every single oyster reminds us why we started: to grow sustainably, care deeply for our waters, and share something truly special with our customers.”
As we arrive at the oyster farm, Nally cuts the engines and explains the innovative farming technique Nancy James uses to grow its oysters; picture a series of mesh bags, buoyed by floats, and attached to a main line stretching across a tract of water and anchored at both ends. Growing oysters at the water’s surface allows Nally and Kane to capitalize on natural currents and food availability, resulting in faster growth rates and enhanced flavor profiles. The only downside to this growing technique is that the guys never find pearls because the insides of their oysters are cleaner than those of the bottom dwellers.
The farm is directly across from Bird Island, and the cacophony of 10,000 birds is even louder than the whirring sound from the propellers. After anchoring the boat, Nally casually strips down to his bathing suit and surf shoes and jumps into the 60-degree water without a second thought. It’s the ultimate cold plunge, but if he feels the cold, he doesn’t show it; there’s too much work to do.
“You ready to get dirty?”
The waters of Rehoboth Bay may be pristine, but Nally’s question and smirking grin reinforce the message that oyster farming is a messy business. The first order of the day is to change out the older bags to address biofouling — the attachment of seaweed and algae that can affect the health and inhibit growth of new oysters. Nally selects three gnarly bags and hauls them over to the boat. I pull one onto the deck. Once he’s back on board, we empty the first bag onto the cleaning table, and I feel my stomach lurch. Mixed in with small crabs and tiny shrimp, the oysters are covered in muck. Suddenly, I’m glad to be wearing a pair of rubber gloves.
Following instructions, I start sorting; chefs prefer smaller oysters with well-shaped shells. Trying not to get distracted by Nally’s stories and the ravenous flock of waiting sea birds floating above me, I count out four batches of 100 oysters for same-day delivery. Nally and Kane care about how their oysters taste and look. The boat has a portable generator, sump pump, and pressure washer to clean the shells thoroughly. Always ready to quote DNREC requirements scripture and verse, Nally explains that he has to use approved water, and the easiest way is to clean them with water from where they’re growing.
When I ask if it’s hard to comply with the federal and state requirements, like logging the exact time oysters go in and come out of the water, Nally shrugs and offers a surprisingly pragmatic answer: “Everyone on the bay is aware of safety and works together to comply. If anyone gets sick from shellfish, they don’t care where it came from; it will affect all of us. When you are eating oysters in Delaware that came from Delaware, I feel really confident about safety.”
After harvesting and storing the oysters on ice, Nally checks the currents and wind direction before jumping back into the water; he regularly inspects the bags, floats, securing lines, and clips to ensure everything is in working order. As the oysters grow, Nally and Kane move them into bags with progressively larger mesh sizes and mark each with color-coded zip ties to indicate their growth stage. As they mature, the oysters are thinned out and spread across more bags to prevent overcrowding. It’s hard work, but at the end of the day, the two men are proud of what they’ve built together.
Nally explains that the warm temperatures, sandy bottoms, and high salinity of Rehoboth Bay are ideal. Still, not all farm sites are created equal: “The water here tastes different than the water on that side of the bay. It’s the fetch you’re getting from waves, all the swell, and the current. We have a really strong current on this side, and that side doesn’t, so they’re not as salty.”
Although Rehoboth Bay is known for its shallow depths and typically calm waters, aquafarming is still risky. Nally recalled a harrowing incident last winter when his lines got tangled in the boat’s propeller. Rough weather and a hefty chop made it hard to keep the boat steady. Determined to free the line, he put on his wetsuit and plunged into the frigid water. As a safety measure, he shared his location via iPhone with Kane and told him that if the location stopped moving, Nally was in the water and Kane should call the Coast Guard.
On another occasion, Nally slipped on a wet deck and hit his head — an accident reminiscent of what happened to poor Jennifer Coolidge in “White Lotus.” Fortunately, he fell into the boat rather than overboard. He takes no chances now, wearing a special life vest that automatically inflates if he falls into the bay.
Nally and Kane are the only local farmers offering premium catering services, bringing the freshest oysters and top-notch shuckers to events such as weddings and birthday parties. Nancy James Oysters can also be enjoyed at local restaurants, including Drift Seafood & Raw Bar and Lewes Oyster House. You can find them in person at the Bethany Farmers Market and the Historic Lewes Farmers Market. This summer, the couple will be shucking oysters live every Sunday afternoon at Aqua Bar & Grill. Oysters are always available for purchase online at nancyjamesoysters.com.
It’s another beautiful day when I make the short trip to town and park just outside Drift on Baltimore Avenue. Grabbing an empty seat at the outside bar window, I order without looking at the menu (at Drift, ask for the “Rehoboth Rose” oyster). In less time than it takes to check my phone, there are a dozen premium oysters in front of me — bedded in a tray of crushed ice, just waiting to be devoured.

Savoring the poetry of the presentation, I lift a shell to my mouth and slurp down the meat in one swallow. The taste is pure Delaware. Tom Wiswell, the former executive chef at Drift, describes it best: “It reminds me of being a kid at Rehoboth Beach and like a wave splashing you in the face. It’s fresh, briny, and salty.”
As I enjoy a swallow of a good glass of Cava and reach for another oyster, I realize why these exotic delicacies were dubbed “white gold.” Nearly a half-century older and wiser than that kid in the Hawaiian shirt at Tiki Gardens, I’ve finally realized that the hidden treasure inside the oyster was never the pearl.