League of Coast Guard Women
association
A Delmarva-wide association of Coast Guard wives, organised in units and branches along the coast — a Lewes, Delaware Unit with branches at Chincoteague, Virginia and at Ocean City, Maryland. On Wednesday 11 April 1928 the Chincoteague branch entertained the Lewes unit and the Ocean City branch at a luncheon in the Masonic Temple at Chincoteague, given by the Order of the Eastern Star, with an address by Mayor John Winder of Chincoteague and reports from each of the three chairmen: Mrs. James A. Price for Lewes, Mrs. William I. Purnell for Ocean City, Mrs. Ernest Pointer for Chincoteague. Commander James A. Price also spoke. It is the first women's organisation attached to the Ocean City station that this campaign has been able to name.
In the record (2)
1928 · 1928-04-11
Ocean City has a branch of the League of Coast Guard Women, chaired by Mrs. William I. Purnell — the wife of the station's keeper.
Peninsula Enterprise, 21 April 1928: "The Chincoteague Branch of the Lewes, Delaware Unit of the League of Coast Guard Women entertained the League Unit and Ocean City Branch at a luncheon given by the Order [of the] Eastern Star in the Masonic Temple, Chincoteague, on Wednesday afternoon, April 11th, from 2 until 4 p.m. A delightful program was enjoyed by all. It was as follows: Address, Mayor John Winder; Recitation, Mrs. David Watson; Report, Mrs. James A. Price, Chairman of the Lewes Unit; Report, Mrs. William I. Purnell, Chairman of the Ocean City Branch; Report, Mrs. Ernest Pointer, Chairman of Chincoteague Branch; Recitation and reading, Mrs. Josephine Scorah; Recitation, Mrs. David Watson; Address, Commander James A. Price; Address and prayer, Rev. O. W. Sawyer."
The Coast Guard station has been in this registry since 1878 as a roster of men. This is the first time the campaign can name the other half of it: an organised women's league running from Lewes to Chincoteague, with its Ocean City chairman married to Capt. William I. Purnell, who two years later would help found the Beach Patrol.
Ocean City Life-Saving Station MuseumUnited States Coast Guard
Source · checked 2026-08-06
1930 · 1930-05-14
The Coast Guard Auxiliaries of Ocean City and Lewes lunch together at the Channel Bass Inn, fifty-four present.
Peninsula Enterprise, 17 May 1930, Chincoteague column: "The Coast Guard Auxiliaries of Ocean City and Lewes, Del. had a luncheon at Channel Bass Inn, Wednesday. There were fifty-four present." This is the second appearance in the registry of the women's organisation attached to the Ocean City station, after the League of Coast Guard Women's Ocean City branch — chaired by Mrs. William I. Purnell — entertained at Chincoteague in April 1928.
Two years on, the same three-station circuit — Ocean City, Lewes, Chincoteague — and the same women keeping it going, under a slightly different name.
Source · checked 2026-08-06