REHOBOTH'S JOHN BROWN PARKS SUPERVISOR

REHOBOTH'S JOHN 'GAS' BROWN

John Lewis Brown, a Rehoboth Beach municipal employee since 1966, the former parks

supervisor, now a semiretired parks supervisor, does 'leaf mulch' at the towns compost

pile. His compost, pure mother nature doing her work, is much better than fertilizer, he says.

Some time ago he was top dressing some town flower beds with the black humus and some

spilled on a grass plot near by and Brown noticed later that this grass was greenest, tallest,

and healthiest he had ever seen. That was 20 years ago.

Brown and former mayor Lester Johnson worked together to develop the composting pit

because Rehoboth Beach is a 'Tree City” and has many leaves that were some sort of a

problem to dispose of. Now, the leaves go into the compost pile and saves tranportation cost,

plus e cost of disposal at the county dump. The compost pile is on a vacant 2-1/2 acre plot

along the Lewes – Rehoboth Canal that once was a 'wilderness' that held squatter chicken

coops and hog pens, where now the rains, sun and time do the work on the leaves.

Ever now and again, residents will bring in vegetable trimming and watermelon rines to add

to the pile. It's the best stuff for our flower beds in the city's parks.

John Lewis Brown died Sunday December 16, 2007 at age 89, and is buried in Epworth

Methodist Cemetery, Rehoboth. He was born in Clayton to John Lewis Stanley Brown and

Jessie Cannon Brown. He once had a country store in Williamsville before serving during

WWII in the Army overseas. After the war he worked

for Shoregas of Dover and served account in the Cape Henlopen area were he met Ellen

Moore, married, and moved to Rehoboth to raise his family.

John Lewis Brown is to be remembered for his attention to the beautification of Rehoboth,

his serving as marshal for many Rehoboth parades and his friendliness to all who passed

by him.