 
September
1, 2002 Akwaaba by the
Sea Bed & Breakfast to
host house blessing and dedicate guest rooms to Cape
May luminaries - past and present
Akwaaba by the Sea, a bed and breakfast located at
116 Broadway, West Cape May, New Jersey will celebrate
the success of its first season of Sunday, September
15, 2002 at 2:00PM. The inn officially opened Memorial
Day weekend and posted a 90% occupancy rate through
Labor Day.
Recently featured in full-page articles in the Philadelphia
Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, Fast Company and Essence,
Akwaaba is Cape May's only Black-owned bed and breakfast.
Proprietors Monique Greenwood, 42, and Glen Pogue,
43, also own and operate Akwaaba Mansion Bed & Breakfast
in Brooklyn, New York.
Each of the six guest rooms at the new Akwaaba by the
Sea has been named after prominent African-American
in the Cape may community. Honorees or their descendants
will be special guests at Sunday's ceremony and will
cut the ribbon to their respective rooms, which are:
William
J. Moore - The first principle of West Cape
May's school for Black children during segregation,
and the popular tennis instructor who is the namesake
of Cape May's public tennis courts. Cutting the ribbon
will be his daughter, Amaleta Moore, the former dean
of girls at Hampton University.
Stephen
Smith - The wealthy Philadelphian who built his
summer home on Lafayette Street in Cape May in 1846
and founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church in
Cape May. Cutting the ribbon will be Amelia Hampton,
the West Cape May resident who fought to preserve Smith's
home and have it designated as a historical landmark.
Woody Woodland
- The 72-year-old Renaissance man who is training to
be a professional boxer and the co-founder of Cape May's
famed jazz festival. Woody will cut his ribbon.
Dolly's
Boudoir - Named after the 78-years-young Janet "Dolly" Nash,
the former owner of Cape May's Planter Motel, the wife
of local historian John Nash, the granddaughter of
Civil War General Robert Small, and our society girl.
Dolly will do the ribbon cutting honors.
Mayor's
Retreat - Named after the two men who have
led West Cape May for nearly four decades - Mayor Jack
Vasser, Jr. and Robert "Bob" Jackson. Both
will be on the hand to cut their ribbon.
Helen's Haven - Named after Helen Dickerson, the celebrated
cook who helped put the Chalfonte Hotel on the map
with her finger-lickin' Southern cuisine. Her daughters,
Dorothy "Dot" Burton and Lucille Thompson,
currently rule The Chalfonte kitchen, and they will
cut the ribbon to their Mom's room
The afternoon festivities will also include a house
blessing by Macedonia Baptist Church's Reverend Robert
O. Davis, entertainment by Cape May's Queen of Jazz
Lois Smith, and refreshments by Chef Steve of Freda's
Café. "Village" drummer Ken Dempsey
will lead the processional of guests on a tour of the
inn.
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