Reflections on Yesterday — Cecil County History
In August 1966, the firefighting equipment of the Chesapeake City Fire Company was lined up in front of Station 2. The Company had plans to double the size of its headquarters station so the annual appeal for donations was particularly important that year.
Yesterday afternoon I stopped by a quiet, small-town cemetery in Woodstown, NJ, to visit the grave of a freedom seeker and a member of the United States Colored Troops from Cecilton, MD. His story first circulated when Today’s Sunbeam published a piece about Susan Richardson-Sanabria, his great-granddaughter, honoring the Civil War sergeant with a proper headstone at his final resting place, the Spencer UA.M.E. Church on Bailey Street.
Richardson-Sanabria, who lives in New York, told the newspaper she used to listen to accounts of Richardson’s life. He had been born on a plantation in Cecilton, MD, on October 15, 1841. Escaping on the Underground Railroad, he went to Woodstown, where the freedom-seeker eventually prospered. But the Civil War interrupted life, and the young man went off to fight for freedom. A soldier in Co. A., 22nd USCT, he mustered out as a sergeant and the recipient of the Butler Medal.
Richardson-Sanabria, told the reporter: “I am humbled by the faith and perseverance that my great-grandfather demonstrated in orchestrating an escape from a Maryland plantation where he had been born to make his way in unfamiliar territory as a fugitive, find work, become a soldier, and returned to marry, support and raise a family. According to oral history, he was a very hard worker and somewhat of an entrepreneur who managed to purchase a thrasher to make extra money using the machine to thrash other farmer’s crops as well as his own.”
Last Christmas, we were on a holiday house tour in Woodstown, and while the host showed us through one of the fine properties, I noticed this old piece of framed school board correspondence on a wall. A closer examination showed that Edward Richardson signed it.
Earlier this summer, Salem County launched a new interactive cell phone tour of the county, and Edward Richardson is one of the stops on a tour called 7 Steps to Freedom. Check out the blog post from the Salem County Cultural & Heritage Commission and the newspaper article for additional details.
So after hearing the story of this Cecil County freedom seeker’s adventure on the underground railroad, I decided to visit his grave the next time I was in Woodstown, NJ. Spencer U.A.M.E. Church was erected in 1842 and remodeled in 1907 and 1923, according to the cornerstone.
For additional information on the USCT in Cecil County check out Eric Mease’s University of Delaware graduate thesis on that subject.
Moviegoers at the Elkton Drive-in were in for a grand night of dusk to dawn shows on July 3, 1961, all for an admission price of 3 cents per person. The evening screenings consisted of No Man is an Island, Jack the Ripper, X-15, and the Posse from Hell.
The special night, just before the nation celebrated Independence Day, was part of a big birthday bash planned by the management as the outdoor theatre celebrated its third anniversary. The screen had flickered on for the first time in 1950, and after nearly a decade of shows, the place had been renovated and opened under new management.
Click here for a brief history of the drive-in.
This image is courtesy of the Flickr account of Theatre Talks/Cezar Del Valle (used with permission)
Many in Cecil sighed with relief when 1963, an eventful year full of ups and downs, came to an end. As people reflected on that November nearly fifty years ago, they recalled the opening of the modern expressway, President John F. Kennedy’s visit, and the unbelievable news flashes eight days later. An assassin’s bullet had struck the youthful president down in Dallas. So, as the county grieved and the calendar turned on that troubling month, people thought it couldn’t get any worse.
There were wrong. On a terrible December night Pan-American World Airways Flight 214 exploded, plunging into a cornfield at the edge of Elkton. On that cold, rainy Sunday, as lightning periodically illuminated the town, eighty-one people perished when the big plane broke apart in flight and debris rained down on a cornfield. Hours later, while rescuers combed the wreckage, a county firefighter, Steward W. Godwin of the North East Volunteer Fire Company, suddenly collapsed and died.
This horrifying disaster, the worst airplane crash in Maryland history, is something that is seared into the collective memory of the community, as well as friends and relatives of victims. People involved in this tragedy will never forget the unusual December thunderstorm and how the fiery blast in the stormy sky suddenly illuminated the town, momentarily turning December darkness into daylight. Fear, anxiety, and concern swept across the unnerved community as sirens filled the night air with emergency units rushing toward Delancy Road to provide aid to the injured. It was soon obvious to first responders that the accident wasn’t survivable.
On Sunday, afternoon Dec. 8, 2013, the Singerly Fire Company and the Historical Society of Cecil County will hold a remembrance program to honor the memory of those who lost their lives on a day we will never forget, as well as those who were touched in other ways by the tragedy. On this date, fifty years after the tragedy altered so many lives, families, emergency responders, and the public are invited to gather and remember the victims and those who answered the call to help. A complete schedule will be released as the date nears, but since many family members will be traveling a distance, we are providing this preliminary information.
The Rev. Hubert Jicha and retired school superintendent Henry Schaffer will facilitate the program. Henry, a 16-year-old at the time of the crash, was one of the first responders. The afternoon will include the sharing of memories, outtakes from the oral history collection, and displays of materials from the Society library.
As part of our mission to chronicle Cecil’s past, our volunteers have been busy creating a remembrance archive. A major part of this involves interviewing witnesses, residents of the area, and family members and it also involves collecting research materials. We have already done a lot of work and have found that with the greatest clarity, this searing incident is clearly imprinted on a generation of Cecil County residents.
On Saturday, Dec. 7th, we will open up the Flight 214 listening station. During half-hour appointments, people will be invited to privately share their stories about the tragedy. Our oral historians will be at the recording booths, listening to people, asking a few questions, and recording the conversation. We will add these stories — whatever people want to share — to the archives, as a half-century is passed.
For family members, seeking additional details, we have established a special email address where we will keep you informed as plans progress. The email is remembrance@cecilhistory.org. Also since we are planning a private reception for the families, we ask you to contact us by email so we can share some additional information. But also keep an eye on the blog as we will post routine, regular updates for everyone.
As the Historical Society of Cecil County prepares an exhibit remembering the 1960s in Cecil County, here is an interesting video about President John F. Kennedy dedicating the Northeastern express or I-95. It was November 14, 1963.
A few years ago, the Delaware Department of Transportation located a tape of radio station WDEL’s broadcast of that memorable day, nearly fifty years ago. They combined the audio recording with photographs to produce this product.
Here is a link to the press release on this subject. Thanks DELDOT.
At a time when few had televisions, Elkton was looking forward to decades of grand entertainment after a drive-in theatre opened at White Hall Road and Route 40 on Friday evening, May 12, 1950. Bringing this new outdoor show to Cecil County, Nathan Rosen had carefully located the new enterprise by finding a suitable tract, one large enough for 700 cars, on the new dual highway. The 15 acres were leased from the Society of the Divine Savior, a Catholic order popularly known as Salvatorians. Once the contract was signed, crews started grading the field, putting up the big screen, building the box office, concession stand, and projection room, and wiring the sound system.
Heavy floodlights brightened the area on the gala opening night while the high school band presented a concert, and balloons and carnations were given away. Once dusk arrived, people settled down in their cars, enjoying “nature’s own healthy air conditioning,” while “Relentless,” starring Robert Young, played in Technicolor on the big outdoor screen. Admission was 50 cents.
The popularity of the Elkton Drive-In grew quickly. For decades to come, it served as a social hub and a place for entertainment, where families and teenagers gathered to watch movies under a starry sky.
The lease was transferred to Reba and Muriel Schwartz in March 1960. The new owners were experienced motion picture operators, owning the Smyrna Theater in Smyrna, DE; the Everett Theater in Middletown, DE; and the Del-Mar Drive-in Theatre in Del-Mar, DE. Local papers reported they were putting the Elk in first-class condition for the spring opening.
The drive-in closed about 1984 when the property was sold to Wal-Mart.
Note: Land Records research by Darlene McCall.
Also, see
Drive In Theatre shut down for violating Sunday Laws
For additional photos of the Elk Drive-in Theatre see this album on Facebook
The Society’s curatorial staff is working on an exhibit that will be rolled out in the fall about the 1960s in Cecil County. It was a decade that brought many transformations to this corner of Maryland and our talented group of volunteers are working on capturing those years in intriguing displays. Right now they are selecting materials and planning the panels. While the team, headed by Curator Lisa Dolor, mulls over concepts Lisa asked if we could leverage the power of our social media outlets to get some help. She would like to know what sorts of images come to mind when you think about Cecil County in the 1960s. We will keep you updated as things move along and also share a few photos from that time.
After making it through another day in this July heat wave, the old Main Street in Elkton was looking good this evening. The thermometer soared to the mid-90s in the late afternoon, but one towering, puffy cumulus cloud hanging near the Elkton United Methodist Church as businesses closed in the county seat made things look cooler. But once you stepped out of an air-conditioned space you realized we were in for an uncomfortable evening, as the oppressive conditions continued to hang around. With dusk approaching the mercury retreated to an uncomfortable 87-degrees, which the Weather Bureau said feels like 104-degrees.
The end of October is normally a scary time in Cecil County as Halloween rolls around. But an actual nightmare on the eve of the trick-or-treat season in 1962 caused people to shy away from ghosts and goblins. Facing a dreadful reality, the world standing on the edge of a nuclear war, people decided they had enough frightening antics and scary tales, although the situation eased by the time the last two days of the month arrived.
George Prettyman, a columnist for the Cecil Democrat, wrote about those jittery days. “Almost everything has become of scant importance since the president spoke on October 22 on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Several times during the past few years it has seemed that we have been on the brink of war. But all other crises pale in the light of the present one, for we are indeed dangerously – very dangerously – close to hostilities. Every moment we remain disengaged from open warfare gives us a little more hope that the matter can be settled short of all-out, worldwide war.” With a chill of that type in the papers, on television, and in the air, nervous people weren’t in the mood for the mysterious and spooky season or any other dark jolts.
It was the quietest in years, “virtually free from malicious mischief and vandalism,” Elkton Chief Thomas N. McIntire, Jr. reported. Looking to bolster his patrols, given the normal antics, the county seat’s top cop called out the Civil Defense Auxiliary Police. Already on high alert because of international tensions, it was easy for the chief of the CD force, Norton Singman, to mobilize his resources. He detailed 27 men to take up positions throughout town for two days, and between the regular officers and the CD auxiliary the entire community was “under surveillance.”
Elkton’s annual Halloween parade, a popular event, was headed by Harry Cleaves in 1962. It was a “huge success,” papers reported, although the floats and paraders seemed to be far fewer in number.
Sheriff Edgar Startt also reported that mischief night passed quietly in rural Cecil. He put all four full-time deputies on patrol and had six extra men supplement the regular force.
Despite the heightened presence of lawmen and the frightening specter of mass destruction, pranksters in Rising Sun managed to pull off their traditional trick. After a group prowled around the countryside and found a convenient outhouse, they promptly dragged it to the center of the town square. There it stood under cover of a chilled October darkness. Police were looking for the owner of the privy.
Jittery residents weren’t looking for the creepy and kooky in 1962.
See additional photos related to this photo on Cecil County History on Facebook.
