“In June 1948 an enthusiastic three-mile parade wended its way through the tiny town of Georgetown, Delaware, as the final event in the improbably named (to contemporary ears) “Del-Mar-Va Chicken of Tomorrow Festival.” The parade celebrated a remarkable event that had been building for several years – the national “Chicken of Tomorrow” contest…The winner, the Vantress Hatchery in California, was able to grow a heavier, meatier chicken faster than any other entrant.“ – Putting Meat on the American Table: Taste, Technology, Transformation By Roger Horowitz
U.S. Rep. Bill Roth of Delaware (Delmarva Poultry Industry archives)
According to legend, the Delmarva poultry industry got its start due to a “shipping error,” in 1923 when Cecile Steele of Ocean View ordered 50 chicks and received 500, which she raised and sold around the region.
Raising chickens was nothing new to most households, for the same
reasons it is experiencing a resurgence now, but the Delmarva Poultry
Industry represents the modern era of breeding chickens for certain
traits, and industrial farming techniques.
Other facets of the Del-Mar-Va Chicken festival eventually became better known than the quest to breed a bigger bird. A pageant crowned the Del-Mar-Va chicken queen. The cooking contest was introduced in 1949 – Edna Karlik (1903 – 1987 ) from Salisbury, MD won that contest with her buttery, paprika-covered “Broiled Chicken Deluxe.”
The contest grew to attract cooks from all over the country. The annual cookbooks of contest winners are unique snapshots of what creative home cooks were doing. The combined 1949 & 1950 winners book includes standards such as fried chicken, barbeque, fricassee, and some adventurers using almonds. Paella, Indian Masala seasoning, and “Oriental Oven-Fried Chicken” placed in 1958. The 1971 book, from which I cooked “Pizza Chicken” demonstrates a contemporary pizza obsession, but also “exotic” sauces featuring pineapple, peppermint, grapefruit, and teriyaki.
National Bohemian Spokesman Frank Hennessy’s 1960 recipe
Another famous highlight of the Chicken Festival was the gigantic frying pan. The 10-foot pan held 180 gallons of oil and used to fry 800 chicken quarters at a time for festival-atendees consumption. There is some debate over whether this pan was truly the world’s largest, but it remains the festival’s most famous attraction.
As the poultry industry’s star rose on the Delmarva Peninsula, the environmental effects could be devastating. Attempts to deal with the effects of this have been in and out of the news for decades.
The final DelMarVa Chicken Festival was held on June 21st, 2014. The Delmarva Poultry Industry felt the festival had run its course. The effort and investment put into promoting chicken awareness to the public was diverted towards furthering industry interests in political and legislative ways.
The decision may have paid off as Governor Hogan was elected soon after, shortly enacting regulations that the Delmarva Poultry Industry found favorable.
Chicken remains a popular choice for frugal Maryland meat-eaters. Many are now eschewing Delmarva chickens and turning to smaller farms (and eating smaller chickens.) Some are even taking it back to their own backyards with a sentiment that much like our fruits and vegetables and other food that was “improved” in the last century, the improvements may have come at too high a price.