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As the Historical Society of Cecil County’s Winter Speakers Series continues, Historian Milt Diggins will present “Stealing Freedom Along the Mason Dixon Line” on March 2, 2013.  The talk examines the story of Thomas McCreary, a kidnapper and slave catcher, making whatever profit he could from the institution of slavery.  Working out of Elkton, he was active around the time the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed.

The program by the author and retired educator is presented for the first time in Cecil County.  It offers a scholarly, thoroughly researched examination of slave hunting and dealing in the Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware areas and its political ramifications.  This case study tells of McCreary’s most famous kidnapping, that of the Parker sisters in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and the mention of McCreary in the treason trial of Castner Hanway, a Pennsylvanian who refused to help a posse search for a runaway slave.  The free program takes place at the Cecil County History and Genealogy Library at 135 E. Main Street Elkton at 2 p.m.

An independent researcher, Milt served as the editor of the Journal of Cecil County History and is the author of “Images of America:
Cecil County. ”  He has also lectured at the subject at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Conference.

Here is a list of the early police chiefs of Elkton.  The data is drawn from municipal records and newspapers.

George M. Potts . . . . . . 1908 – 1935

Jacob Biddle . . . . . . . . . 1935

W. Coudon Reynolds . . 1936 – 1938

W. Coudon Reynolds . . 1945 – 1948

William H. White . . . . . 1948 – 1962

Thomas N. McIntire, Jr. 1962 – 1980

Frederick Nebrauer . . . . 1981 – 1983

Calvin Krammes . . . . . . . 1984 – 1993

(note:  When George Potts started on the force, the title was bailiff.  By the time he retired it was chief.  For a period of time, supervision of the patrolmen was put under the Supt. of Public Works.)

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.  The horse-drawn Steam Engine and  Hook and Ladder were supported by two hand-pulled hose carts, 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 had its debut 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 was 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.

On this Friday afternoon in late January snow started falling on the frozen Scotchman Creek around 3:00 p.m.  It quickly started covering surfaces as the area has been shivering under frigid conditions for a few days.  But all around Hacks Point, all was quiet as big fluffy white flakes came down for a period as the clipper zipped across the northern Chesapeake Bay.

Elkton, Jan. 16, 2012 — Star-Spangled Archaeology:  Commemorating the War of 1812 Through Maritime Archaeology, a recently added lecture, will wrap up the inaugural year of the Society’s Winter Speakers Series.  Taking place on Saturday, April 13^th at 2:00, the speaker, State Underwater Archaeologist Susan Langley, is sponsored by the Maryland Humanities Council and the Maryland War of 1812 Commission.  

The waters of the Chesapeake conceal many hidden treasures, and Dr. Langley will help us dive into the subject of those submerged cultural resources.  She describes the fascinating process of researching and excavating these artifacts while investigating the sites of maritime battles.  Over the years, her staff has worked on the Elk River a few times, exploring sunken War of 1812 mysteries.  During one investigation in 1999, the researchers found a ship wreck site at the scene of a Cecil County skirmish at Frenchtown.

Journalist Nancy E. Lynch, author of the award-winning social history, Vietnam Mailbag, Voices From the War: 1968-1972, and Vietnam Veteran Rick Lovekin join forces for a multi-media program at 2 p.m. Feb. 2 at the Historical Society of Cecil County.

The program, which takes place on Saturday, Feb 2, 2013, at 2 p.m., takes lace at the HIstorical Society of Cecil County, 135 E. Main St., Elkton, Md.

Lynch, who lives in Bethel, will read selected correspondence from servicemen featured in her book, based on the nearly 1,000 letters and hundreds of pictures her popular newspaper column, Nancy’s Vietnam Mailbag, received for five years from our troops on the front lines during the undeclared and unpopular war.

Included in Lynch’s readings will be the poignant December 1968 war letter from Army Pfc. Jim Stewart of Elkton whose family shared his correspondence with the Mailbag. Jim wrote about being so far from the hearth during the holidays.

In her final column in December 1972 she promised “her guys” she would some day put all their war letters and pictures in a book to honor them. The 2008 Veterans Day release of her 456-page social history fulfills her pledge. The book earned a gold medal from Independent Publisher in 2009 for Best Non-Fiction in the Mid-Atlantic states.

Lovekin, who had a medical disability and could have avoided service in Vietnam, chose instead to enlist in the Army and spent a year in combat as a door gunner on a Huey helicopter and later as crew chief on a Cobra chopper. He was based in Bien Hoa and Vung Tau with the 147^th Helicopter Company.

He wrote frequently to Lynch during his 1969-1970 tour, always signing his letters, “Your Man in Nam.” He will share some of his combat experiences as well as slides of images from Vietnam enhanced with 1960s music. Now retired, Lovekin lives in Wilmington.

Elkton, Jan. 5., 2012 – Curiosity about a 250-year-old line that once settled a colonial-era property dispute and later took on popular symbolism as a boundary between the north and the south was strong Saturday.  On this winter afternoon a standing-room-only crowd of 100 people packed the large gallery at the Historical Society of Cecil County as Mike Dixon, a historian, did the Mason-Dixon Line lecture.

The lively, slide-illustrated program kept things rolling along.  But laughter periodically interrupted the lecture as humorous, quirky incidents associated with the work of the old surveyors was examined.  And questions flowed from the eager audience.  People lingered afterwards, talking in groups and sharing their interest in this famous boundary.  They also gathered around centuries old maps from the Cecil County History and Genealogy Library, seeking out particular details.

This was part of the Society’s winter speaker’s series.    During the colder months, the Society hosts a series of lively, engaging speakers on topics ranging from practical research methods to fresh lectures that have broad appeal.   All talks are designed to be informative and enjoyable while concentrating on fresh, broadly engaging topics or applied sessions to help you with your research.

Upcoming programs for the remainder of the 2010 season will bring more of these types of programs to Cecil County.  Those include the Vietnam Mailbag and Stealing Freedom on the Line.  The programs take place on the first Saturday of each month at 2:00 p.m. at the Society’s library at 135 E. Main Street in Elkton.

Blogs are a great way to share local history and today another fascinating local one, Whimsical Tales and Honorable Tributes, just came to our attention.  Robert Hazel, the author of a number of local histories and creative works focusing on Chesapeake City and Cecil County, has been producing the weblog since December 2011.  On it we’ve found interesting pieces about early movie theaters; Triumph Industries; the rebuilding of the Chesapeake City Bridge, World War II Vets; creative works about the days of Uncle Ernest; and much more. Thanks Bob for sharing these interesting pieces.    

During this holiday season Chesapeake City has been celebrating with a winterfest of lights.  And as dusk descended on the old canal town on the Chesapeake & Delaware, the early evening darkness on this freezing, winter night provided the perfect opportunity to grab a few photos of the beautifully illuminated 19^th century community.

Big Elk Creek, Saturday, Dec., 29, 2012 — On the last Saturday in 2012, a light snow gently blanketed the Big Elk Creek valley.  The twisting, turning stream, flowing gently toward the Chesapeake, was the source of industrial power in the pre-electrification era and many mills lined the waterway.  Today, it still retains significant cultural resources that reflect the 18th and 19th centuries in Cecil County.  And a gentle snowy day amplifies the beauty of the old mills, homes, churches, graveyards, schools and other places as the timeless flow of the creek ambles along on its course through history.