By Glenn Rolfe

GEORGETOWN — On a day forecast to be wet and rainy, it still was a great day to whet your appetite for oysters.

Platters stuffed with fried oysters, along with a raw option, and other homemade fixings were served in drive-thru fashion Saturday during the 2021 Oyster Eat — Georgetown Fire Company’s marquee fundraiser that was unlike any of the 83 predecessors.

Due to public health concerns and capacity restrictions because of the coronavirus, this year’s event was staged outdoors, not inside Station 77 at 100 S. Bedford St.

While obviously vastly different this year from the traditional Friday night extravaganza, organizers were anticipating a good turnout under the conditions and restrictions.

“It has actually been pretty good. Ticket sales were really up this week,” said Michael Briggs, Oyster Eat chairman and president of the Georgetown Fire Company. “Typically, every year people wait until Wednesday, Thursday or Friday to buy their tickets. It has been a good response.”

“This year, it is lot different. Usually everything is pretty much set in stone, and it runs like a well-oiled machine on a Friday night because we’ve done it for so long. Then today, we’ve got an assembly line for the platters …,” said Mr. Briggs.

Platters, at $30 each, consisted of oysters (20 fried or a whole pint of raw), three hard-boiled eggs, generous scoops of chicken salad and macaroni and cheese, two slices of bread and complimentary popcorn.

The mac & cheese was made by the firemen. The Georgetown Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary prepared the chicken salad.

“The ladies are really known for their chicken salad,” said Mr. Briggs.

Absent this year under the drive-thru format — besides the fire house filled with cigar smoke and men crammed elbow to elbow shucking and slurping down raw oysters — are those supporters who travel from afar to sample the historic event.

“Obviously, I doubt we’re going to get the traveling people like we usually do,” said Mr. Briggs. “We have people that come from Maine, North Carolina and Georgia … for the annual Oyster Eat. But they’re not going to drive like that for a drive-thru platter. But we’ll get the local people.”

Patron support from the area’s fire service first was expected.

“I know some from Millsboro Fire Company, Milton, Ellendale, Dagsboro, and the like, will be coming,” said Mr. Briggs. “We’ve got firemen here from Dover that are helping as well. They help us every year- the Dover Fire Company.”

A long-running Oyster Eat tradition is the live auction for a handcrafted oyster knife, which again this year made by Rocky and Neil Green, a father/son duo.

Due to COVID, this year the knife is being offered through a sealed bid format. Sealed bids, which can be dropped off at the fire house on South Bedford Street or given to any fire company member, are due by March 3.

All bids will be opened at the fire company’s monthly meeting, Thursday, March 4, and the winner will be announced that night, via Facebook and the company’s website, Mr. Briggs said.

This year, two knives were made. “You have your choice of one knife,” said Mr. Briggs.

The oyster knife is typically a big ticket attraction in the live auction, usually drawing $2,500 or more.

“We’ve had it go up to $8,500 for a knife,” said Mr. Briggs. “I know we’ll probably get a good amount for it this year.
Obviously, the people that pay high dollars support the Georgetown Fire Company very well.”

Georgetown Fire Company’s Oyster Eat, which dates to the 1930s, was recognized by the U.S. Congress for its “historical and cultural significance” during Rep. Michael Castle’s tenure in Washington. The event’s unique notoriety also earned a feature spread in a 1992 edition of New York Times.