History of Wilmington, Delaware Chapter
The Wilmington, Delaware chapter was installed on March
10, 1979. The chapter was the vision of Mildred Whaley.
Mildred had been a member of the Hampton-Newport News
Chapter before moving to Delaware. When she was in the
company of her close friends, she constantly mentioned the
"Epicureans" and the word seemed to be synonymous with
merriment, sharing of good times, close friendships and
involvement in various activities. Finally, her friends
asked her how a chapter could be started here in Wilmington.
The process began and the Hampton-Newport News Chapter
agreed to sponsor the new chapter. For many years Mildred
remained in the chapter even though she was moved to Weber,
Utah. She stayed in touch with members and was active
through the Internet. The charter members were Atlanta T.
Brown, Claudette B. Evans, Regena J. Manley, Gwendolyn R.
Neal, Cynthia E. Oates, M. Louis Spaulding, Mildred Whaley,
Helen B. Wharton, Bernice White-Manning, and Estella M.
White. Their Eppos were very supportive and happy to be
involved when asked to do so.
Supporting the National
Sickle Cell Anemia project is the prime civic focus for the
chapter. Annual contributions are made locally to the DuPont
Hospital for children, through the Pearls of Hope Foundation
(the charitable arm of Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa
Alpha Sorority), for care of patients with Sickle Cell
Anemia and for research in the field. In October 2011, the
chapter co-sponsored, with the Pearls of Hope Foundation, a
memorial 5K Run/Walk, given in memory of our beloved Eppie
Regena J. Manley. The proceeds from this activity are used
to provide scholarships for worthy students through the
Pearls of Hope Foundation. We have been involved in hands-on
activities by preparing breakfast for small children in the
"Breakfast with Santa" and "Breakfast with the Easter Bunny"
programs at the North Church street location of the
Christina Cultural Arts Center. The CCAC, which provides
cultural activities in drama, art and music primarily for
children and young adults, was the recipient of the National
Award at the 1987 Conclave held in Wilmington, Delaware.
Members of the chapter have always enjoyed traveling.
Many Wilmington members went to Spain in 1982s with members
of other Epicurean chapters. In 1999 Wilmington Eppies,
Eppos and friends took a trip for 15 days to Hawaii,
spending time on each of four islands including the big
island Hawaii - Kona and Hilo, Oahu - Honolulu, Maui and
Kawai.
Of the ten charter members, four are still
very active, three inactive and three deceased. The chapter
currently consists of twenty members. We meet monthly to
Eat, Drink and Be Merry. Our founders, both national and
local are honored each February and each summer we have an
activity that includes Eppos and guest.