Why Should Delaware Care?
In Laurel, a 40-year-old market springs to life every weekend. It carries the memories, traditions and stories for countless Delawareans in Sussex County.
Ferris Fields doesn’t consider himself a hero.
He only saved a family of three from an overturned car engulfed in flames near Clarksville, Delaware, in 1994. Fields, a volunteer firefighter with the Millville Fire Company at the time, was driving home from work on the Fourth of July when the car in front of him overturned and burst into flames.
He kicked in the window and carried the woman and child from the car before rescuing the unconscious driver — whose pants were literally on fire — from the scene, according to a 1994 News Journal article. Then-35-year-old Fields said at the time that he didn’t consider himself a hero for the act.
Others disagreed.
Fields went on to receive the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an active firefighter in Delaware, the Heroic Firefighter of the Year Award, before accepting the Governor’s Award for Bravery and Heroism soon after.
Fields became the first Black firefighter to join the Laurel Fire Department in 1987 and went on to lead a 42-year-long career in firefighting and emergency medical service.
But his true calling in life?
Party decorations.
“That’s my God-given gift,” Fields said, donning a Bluey hoodie with over-the-ear headphones around his neck, on a recent morning. He stood amid a brilliant explosion of balloon arches, vibrant frills and cartoon character cutouts in his own corner of the Route 13 Outlet Market in Laurel.
“And as you can tell, I’m very good at it.”
His business, Royalty Balloons and Party Supplies, has specialized in custom balloon archways and backdrops for any and all celebrations since it opened in the market in 2017.
The indoor flea market hosts more than 100 independent vendors and has established itself as a mainstay tradition for Delawareans in its more than 40 years of operation. The bazaar boasts an eclectic patchwork of business owners from countries around the world such as: South Korea, Mexico, Albania, Pakistan, China, Lebanon, Vietnam and nations in Africa – all housed under one metal roof in Delaware.
An electronics repairman who doles out discounts in exchange for good grades, a go-out-of-your-way, cornerstone mini-donut shop and a medley of family heirloom taco sauces can all be found within the market three days a week.
“Everybody has a story,” Fields said.
‘Everybody has a story’
Fields found his flair for party decorating during his time with the Laurel Fire Department, where he was tasked with preparing the fire hall for chicken dinners, fish fries and other local events.
Fields was a “very dependable” member of the department who was ready for anything that was asked of him, according to Mike Lowe, past chief of the Laurel Fire Department.
“I wish we had more like him today,” Lowe added.
At Fields’ business, a vintage TV played old children’s movies on repeat as a few families strolled through the weekend-only market on a recent Friday. Smooth concrete paths connect all the vendors through the various sections of the giant space.
One such path leads to Zeng Qing Zheng, a slender man wearing a blue sweatshirt and a black baseball cap. Zheng hunched over the dissected entrails of an iPad as he meticulously tweaked its innards.
Towers of used phones and laptops loomed over Zheng, as wires and cables spilled from the mouths of nearby boxes. Exhausted flat screen TVs stood as pillars along his storefront.
Zheng was ready to fix them all. And if he didn’t know how, he’d learn through YouTube.
Over the years, Zheng became a fixture of the community and encouraged local kids to get good grades. If they came to his shop with a good report card, he’d give them a discount to repair their broken tablets or shattered phones.
The store on the shore
The market was first founded by Johnny Janosik, a TV technician turned furniture mogul, in the mid-1980s. Janosik, the son of Czech immigrants, first opened the market as an expansion project to his original Route 13 furniture store, a former chicken house that was dubbed, “The Longest Store on the Shore with the Shortest Prices,” according to News Journal archives.
Janosik sold the market two years later, but the flea has since flourished into an attraction that offers a variety of goods while mostly keeping only one of each type of business, in order to avoid unnecessary competition. Quinceañera dresses, jewelry, leather boots, fresh meat, seafood, bread and over 20,000 used books are all for sale in the building.
Then, there’s the food.
The line for tacos from La Placita de Don Polo usually stretches down the hallway and stops at the entry to the market. Patrons credit the popularity of the restaurant to the homemade sauce recipes that Estrella Ramirez’s mother brought with her from Guadalajara, Mexico.
Ramirez’s family was one of the first to introduce a Latino element to the market 18 years ago. Before then, it consisted largely of clothing and jewelry booths.
While many vendors have remained the same for decades, some booths have been passed on.
Carmen Robledo first started selling makeup next to the business that she now owns, which has been in the market for about 30 years. Robledo and her family took over the men’s clothing booth four years ago when the previous owner was ready to retire.
Robledo learned how to run a business, identified trends and added her own stamp to the business which now offers modern streetwear clothing. She ended up forming lifelong friendships in the market – especially with the customers who she sees weekend after weekend.
“I truly, honestly came to love this place,” Robledo said.
Check It Out
Visit the Route 13 Outlet Market in Laurel. It’s open Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. and on Sundays from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.
