LEWES, Del. - The City of Lewes is working on a name for Beach 1. Back in August, the African American Heritage commission suggested Beach 2 be renamed after Johnnie Walker, a black man who played a prominent role in the Lewes community.
"If that name gets approved, because that has such a deep meaning in the community, we've talked about doing interpretive panels that would let people know the significance of that beach," said City Manager Ann Marie Townshend.
The city began discussing renaming both beaches back in June, and a conclusion is getting closer.
The Mayor and City Council is set to vote on renaming Beach 2 next month, most likely after Walker, who had a restaurant here when this beach was segregated.
But the neighboring beach, probably won't be Beach 1 any longer. There are some options on the table: Savannah, like the road, Bayview, because of the Delaware Bay, DeBraak, after a shipwreck here, or naming it after a Native American.
"The main one that I heard was Savannah Beach, or Savannah Road Beach," said Townshend.
One beachgoer is a fan of the name Savannah.
"It's nicer to have a name, you can say Savannah you know where you're going, Johnnie Walker, you know I'm sitting in Johnnie Walker because it was too filled in Savannah," said Michael Wilson.
And some friends have different ideas on what they want the beach to be renamed, like Bayview.
"I like that name because it's in front of the bay, so its appropriate," said Carol Johnston.
"Savannah! Only because it gives you a geographical location of where you are, you go down Savannah Road and you're at Savannah Beach," said Nancy King.
Once the Parks and Recreation Commission decides on a name for Beach 1, on October 11th it will go to City Council for approval.
"I think that coming out of the city council meeting will determine what we want to do in terms of signage, and the more type of educational elements we would add to the process," said Townshend.
But there is one thing that most people agree on, "Beach 1 and beach 2 aren't the most imaginative names ... I think we can start to build on the identity of those names once we determine what the names will be," said Townshend.
The Parks and Recreation Commission meeting discussing names for Beach one is Thursday at 5 p.m. and a final vote will come on October 11th.