2002 Citizen of the Year - Charles M. Truitt(l) receiving plaque
from John Johnson, Chamber President

The Greater Delmar Chamber of Commerce is proud to honor the 2002 Citizen of the Year, Charles M. Truitt.

Charles was born on December 30, 1917 to parents Larry, a railroad worker and Lovey, a homeworker. Mr. and Mrs. Truitt raised their family in the little town of Delmar where Charles and siblings Russell, Louis, George, Jimmy and Helen called Walnut Street their home. Charles graduated from Delmar Maryland High School in 1934, after which he held various jobs before joining DuPont in 1939. On September 30, 1939, Charles married the former Irene Dickerson. Their marriage was blessed with the birth of two children, Peggy in 1941 and Penni in 1949. Mr. Truitt has two grandchildren, three great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

Charles served our country in the Central Europe Rhineland Campaign where he was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart Medal.

Throughout the years, Charles has had many interests. He served in the Delmar Lions Club as a member and later President of the club. During his time with the club, swings and landscaping were installed at the Delmar Park. Hobbies such as camping, camoeing and fishing were enjoyed as a form of relaxation. In 1949, Mr. Truitt was involved in the consolidation project with Delmar Maryland - Delaware schools. Charles shared his interest in working with and making things from stained glass. When St. Stephen's United Methodist Church remolded their sanctuary, he designed and fitted glass in the doors that open into the main sanctuary. He also donated a beautiful Tiffany style stained glass lamp to the Delmar Library that was auctioned off to raise money for library projects. Charles was involved in other aspects of the town fundraising events also. Many may remember Charles for the theatrical debut in the "Womanless Wedding" playing a jilted sweetheart. One organizer of the event, Irene Culver, remembers Charles as being "hysterically funny and being heard all the way to the stoplight at State Line crying throughout the wedding".

St. Stephen's United Methodist Church has been a place where Charles has spent many hours of inspiring instruction and devotion to the church. He taught the adult Sunday School class for many years as well as serving for several years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the church. Now he attends the adult Sunday School class taught by Harry and Pat Naugle and can be relied upon to offer up interesting points of Bible history. Those who have attended the church's special potluck dinners have enjoyed the talks by Charles on such topics as the history of Delmar, the recent National Geographic visit as well as early historic events.

Delmar Public Library has been another cornerstone of commiment by Chalres. He is responsible for organizing to serve the needs of the library and Charles helped promote citizen awareness of what the library had to offer. He generally did whatever was required to keep the library a viable source of information for the community. He encouraged many citizens to bring in and make displays of their collections and hobbies to encourage more people to visit and use the library.

Serving ten years as a member of the Library Board of Trustees, he was involved in the additions to the library of the Hayman Room, reference room and children's wing. With his interest in Delmar's history of the railroad, it was only natural that he would initiate the idea of housing historic railroad memborabilia in a Railroad Room Museum in the Library. Charles wa instrumental in convincing his friend Grover Lecates to donate his hand carved replica of two steam locomotives. These treasures were highly sought after by several museums including the Smithsonian.

History continues to play a large part in the life of Charles. He has studied the genealogy of his family and is consisdered a valuable reference for the information relating to many families in our area. Recently, National Geographic highlighted our town as part of a documentary on bi-state towns. Charles arranged for a tour of the Railroad Room at the library while explaining the local history of our bi-state town. Additionally, he has researched and written a history of the formation of churches in and around Delmar as well as a history of the influence of the railroad on the development of our town. Currently, he is just finishing an extensive history of Delmar.

Charles ~ your contributions to our community will forever be a reminder of your support and dedication to our town of Delmar. We are most proud to present you with the Delmar CItizen of the Year award for 2002!!!!!!