The Tideline Gallery has been a fixture on Rehoboth Avenue for more than 40 years. Before that, my cousin on my mother's side, Dan Carey, owned it. I think my artistic gene runs deep in the Rickards' side of my family. Dan's and my mother's great-grandparents, Katie and Steven Rickards, were once owners of the infamous Rick's Raft, a colorful speakeasy bar that operated during Prohibition near the boardwalk in Ocean City.  My cousin, Captain Dan, also used to fashion jewelry out of sea glass and sell handmade baskets, etc. from Africa at craft shows.

 

Bill and Barbara Hammond are now and have been for many years the proprietors of the Tideline Gallery that my dear friend and muse, Jane O'Donnell of Lewes, pronounced "Tid-e-leen-eez." I exhibited there with Danny, and continued with Bill and Barbara and their faithful daughter Patty Daniels, and Barbara's mother, the late Isabel Brown. They also owned a gallery similarly named Tideline in Greenville and Hockessin outside Wilmington.

 

Patty, Isabel and the Hammonds had wonderful taste and quenched my love of beautiful, exotic and highly ornamental jewelry, particularly a line called Lunch at the Ritz.  I became fast friends with them, and visited them at Isabel's home near where I lived in Wilmington.  Bill would often pour me a Maker's Mark bourbon from the iconic bottle with the red wax seal when I came over.

 

Patty is also a gourmet cook in addition to her sophisticated taste in all things artistic. During my children's younger years, I would visit the gallery in the 1980s and 1990s. I would check out my own exhibit at their Rehoboth store and take my children to the Camel's Hump on nearby Baltimore Avenue afterward for the large Middle Eastern appetizer plate, redolent with falafel, black Mediterranean olives, hummus, grape leaves and pita bread.

 

Restaurant proprietors Marsha and Richie Shihadeh were always gracious and entertaining, favoring us with honeyed pastries afterward. Speaking of the Camel's Hump, when I lived on Rehoboth Avenue in the Moore Building in the 1970s and they appeared with their first restaurant location, I was an early customer, taking home jars of their Mediterranean vegetable soup. The then-tiny restaurant sported a huge wooden camel placard on its frontispiece.

 

One day as I was walking by, the big wooden camel fell over onto the sidewalk and just missed hitting me! Fortunately, they moved to their flagship restaurant on Baltimore Avenue. To this day, I get requests to paint that restaurant, but the building was recently demolished.

 

Tideline Gallery still remains on Rehoboth Avenue, although it has relocated a few times in the past. It is now in what was once the iconic Sea Shell Shop at 119 Rehoboth Ave. The Hammonds' longtime friend Patty Derrick, who owned that store, entrusted the spot to them when she closed that location, consolidating operations at her flagship Sea Shell Shop on Route 1, which is a treasure hunter's dream.

 

I visited the Tideline Gallery recently, since I now have taken some new works showing Rehoboth scenes there. The front door sports a funny list of opening hours penned by daughter Patty. The Hammonds all have great senses of humor, which has kept them going for so long. The sun-bleached, handwritten note gives different times of day after 10 a.m., but well before 11 a.m., during which they will be open for business due to happenings that all of us over 70 may experience, such as forgetting keys, misplacing glasses, etc.

 

Bill Hammond, now 85, and Barbara, nearing 84, are both renowned for their longevity in years and business energy. The store is beautiful, with showcases painted in Patty's favorite color, purple. Bill mans the sales platform and Barbara stands faithfully nearby to greet and assist customers. As I look on, Barbara exclaims, "Oh, another passerby just dropped an ice cream cone!" as an appreciative pooch on a leash helps with the cleanup. We laugh together at this mishap.