His Firehouse Sayings Are Hot, Hot, Hot : Delaware: Ken McIlvain aims to entertain those who pass through Bridgeville. One of his gems: ‘Wife: I got a dog for my husband. I thought it was a good trade.’

BRIDGEVILLE, Del. —  Ken McIlvain chuckled at the motorist rubbernecking to read the latest message on the fire house marquee: “Wife: I got a dog for my husband. I thought it was a good trade.”

The saying was the latest of hundreds of catchy phrases McIlvain has put up over the years on the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Co. marquee. The messages provide fodder for local conversation and help ease the tension for some of the thousands of motorists who slowly thread their way through the small town in bumper-to-bumper traffic heading for the beach.

McIlvain, a 67-year-old retired telephone company worker and volunteer firefighter, says he does it just for fun.

“It gives me a lot of pleasure to see people look at it,” he said.

There’s always reaction from townsfolk--be it agreement, disagreement or denial.

Take the message that read, “Sermons are like biscuits. They improve with shortening.” McIlvain’s pastor cried foul, but McIlvain assured him it was aimed at the previous pastor who had a tendency to be long-winded.

Bonnie Workman, president of the fire company’s ladies’ auxiliary, suggested the one about trading the husband for a dog.

“I take a lot of heat for things like that,” she said. “I saw it on a sign somewhere. I told Kenny I had a good one for him.”

McIlvain thinks up some of the sayings; others are suggested by friends or culled from magazines and a book of 14,000 quips and quotes he got from his daughter.

“If someone has a favorite saying, I try to get it up before I take one out of a book. It makes them feel like they’re contributing,” he said.

“Man plants, God grants,” was a saying contributed by a resident.

McIlvain’s marquee sayings began in 1984 when he took on the duties of announcing fire company events. When there were no activities, he put up his own messages. He logs the sayings in a notebook to avoid repeats and has a photo album of many of the messages.

A fan club of sorts has developed. McIlvain has received letters from as far away as Harrisburg, Pa., and someone in Delaware sent a $10 donation.

Jeanne Morris of Fairfax, Va., who vacations regularly in Bethany Beach, decided last year that she wanted to meet the person responsible for the messages.

“I’d wonder what would be on the sign. I would always read it and I’d always get something out of it,” she said.

Among her favorites is “Every minute I am angry I lose 60 seconds of happiness.”

Motorists sometimes stop to read the messages. One that read, “Hugs are better than drugs,” prompted two couples from Maryland to park their cars and take turns posing for photos under the sign.