Reflections on Yesterday — Cecil County History
Our neighborhood cat took advantage of the brief break in the wintry weather Thursday to catch a few rays of sun in downtown Elkton. Rev. Duke’s Log House at the Historical Society of Cecil County provided the perfect angle for catching the warmth of the short February day. Billie Todd, our resident genealogist at the Society, noticed our friend when she returned for lunch. Thanks for pointing out the photo opportunity Billie.
Eric Lesniak produced this video promoting the services of the Historical Society of Cecil County. A graduate of the University of Scranton and Shippensburg University, Eric volunteered at the Society for several summers. He took this project on for a videography class. Thanks Eric.
At a rapid pace these days, old newspapers are being digitized and made openly available to researchers, and as I work on projects I often find additional collections of these valuable publications. Some are completely digitized and fully text searchable, while on demand PDFs make up others. Either way, as we undergo a digital revolution in research methods, the study of the past is strengthened as we make more resources readily available on our desktops.
Previously work with these aging old newspapers and the technology from another era required lengthy visits to a library or historical society and hours of eye-straining labor as the microfilm slowly slipped past on a screen.
The Maryland State Archives has had some PDFs of Cecil County newspapers online for a number of years. But this evening I needed access to one of those limited runs, and discovered that the Archives has been busy greatly strengthening its virtual publication resources, placing additional local titles online. Those include the Cecil Whig, the Cecil Star, and the Midland Journal. In addition, there are nearly 100 titles statewide.
The serials are not text searchable, but the renderings are clear and easy to read and are great step forward in making a larger universe of data available to an expanded audience interested in the past. Not all the years are online for the selected serials, but this appears to be a work in progress.
Whatever the case, as it now stands it is a valued tool for genealogist and historians digging into the past in Maryland. Here is the link, so check it out. Thank you Maryland State Archives.
By-the-way, more 21st century resources are in the product development pipeline. DigiStew, the blog of digital systems at the University, discusses a project the University library is working on as part of the National Digital Newspaper Project. Through August 2014, the institution will digitize 100,000 pages of historical newspaper content form the state of Maryland. “The newspapers will be made freely accessible and searchable on the Library of Congress website, Chronicling America.
Also here is a link to Special Collections at the University, about the launch of project.
Press Release – Cecil County Public Library
A number of events in February will focus on the African-American experience, past and present.
Have you seen the Oscar-nominated movie “Twelve Years a Slave” and are interested in learning more? Even if you haven’t seen the film, join us for a presentation by Syl Woolford, who will share the story of Solomon Northrup, a free-born African American who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. When he was released from bondage, he sued his kidnappers, slave traders and slave master. This lecture will also explore public reaction and historical significance of his bondage and legal trials. This presentation is at the Elkton Central Library on Thursday, February 13 at 7 PM. Call 410-996-5600 to register.
On Tuesday, February 18 at 6:30pm at the Cecilton Branch, historian Milt Diggins will discuss “Freedom Seekers and the Underground Railroad on the Delmarva Peninsula.” Call 410-275-1091 to register. And on Monday, February 24 at 6:30pm at the Chesapeake City Branch, Syl Woolford will discuss the little known fact that “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe was loosely based on the real-life journals of Josiah Henson, a runaway slave from Maryland. Call 410-996-1134 to register.
If you are unable to attend these programs, but at interested in the topics, stop by any Cecil County Branch Library to find books, movies and resources – or search our online information and historical databases at http://www.cecil.ebranch.info/digital-library/online-resources/
When it comes to fighting fires, every second counts so the Perryville Volunteer Fire Company decided to take additional steps to get apparatus on the road to blazes quickly in 1953. With that objective in mind, the company launched a “new 24 hour fire alarm system” on November 12, 1953, a decade before a professionally staffed, countywide dispatch system went on the airwaves.
In the event of an emergency, residents phoned Perryville 2222, a dedicated number installed in the all night restaurant, the Whistle Stop, and the Fire Station. The cashier handling the register would promptly answer the special phone, obtain the necessary information, and activate the siren.
This arrangement enabled the engine to get underway in a matter of minutes. Originally the company had hoped to locate a night watchmen to take calls. But when that plan didn’t work out, the Whistle Stop’s management, J. W. Calary and Reuben Whistler, “owners of the all night fire house or restaurant” stepped forward.
The next month the system demonstrated its effectiveness. An urgent call was received at the restaurant about 1:55 a.m. as a blaze was ripping through downtown Elkton, and additional pumpers were desperately needed in the county seat. Minutes after the cashier sounded the alarm, Perryville’s engine was “on route 40 racing to Elkton” with “an adequate crew, sleepy-eyed, but ready.” The response was critical in helping to save Main Street Elkton, as the Perryville unit started pumping water from the creek to help the towns overloaded public water system.
The Whig congratulated the fire company for creating a system that hastened the volunteer response and had “trucks on their way in a matter of minutes. But more dispatching enhancements were in the works. The next year the “alarm button” was moved to the Susquehanna Toll Bridge. Chief James Thomas, working with the recently established Perryville Chamber of Commerce, had been instrumental in getting the State Highway Commission to agree to have the communications equipment installed in the new administration building.
In March 1953, a full page, color advertisement for the Elkton Supply Company informed readers that spring was just around the corner. and the store had a full inventory of supplies for the season. Source: Cecil Whig
Elkton was well protected from fire in the years before World War I as the Singerly Fire Company had all the latest equipment for controlling a blaze. Two hand-pulled hose carts supported the horse-drawn Steam Engine and Hook and Ladder, and whenever the old alarm bell rang out with an urgent appeal, those units were soon on the spot.
But the era for horse-drawn apparatus was quickly fading, and the company was determined to have modern equipment to protect the growing county seat. So Singerly purchased a motorized unit in 1914 for $2,800, a GMC Truck from James Boyd & Brothers of Philadelphia. The vehicle was able to tow either the hook and ladder or the steamer.
Before a week was up, the truck debuted as it demonstrated how quickly it could get to an alarm. At the Prest-O-Lite Factory on W. Main Street, an explosion blew out some doors frames and the reliable old alarm bell called out the volunteers. Usually, when that happened, people lined the streets to watch as a team of horses pulling the steamer and hook and ladder raced by. But on that Thursday in the summer of 1914, they watched as the auto truck flashed past the excited crowd, its gong clanging a warning for carriages, wagons, and pedestrians to clear the way.
The passage of the horse-drawn firefighting era in the county seat passed quicker than anticipated. The next year, the hook and ladder was sent to a paint shop on Bridge Street to be overhauled. While there, the structure caught fire, and all the contents were lost. So a second GMC truck with ladders and other firefighting equipment was purchased in 1915. The third truck, an Ahrens Fox first-class pumper, was added in 1920, and a Hale pumper in 1927
Elkton shivers as the county is in the grips of the arctic weather.
Perryville, January 28, 2014 — As Maryland continues to shiver in this frigid weather, the mouth of the Susquehanna River is beginning to freeze over.
Jo Ann Gardner, one of our volunteers, has been producing brief videos of Cecil County history to share with our audience. Since we are presently in the middle of a polar vortex that is creating some frigid January nights, she thought this one would be appropriate as the weather brought to mind the winter of 1852. That year so long ago, the Susquehanna and the Chesapeake Bay froze over and the thermometer plummeted to minus seven degrees in Elkton. Enjoy this flashback in time.