Last week, the soaring mercury made it hot, humid, and miserable around Cecil County. These sweltering conditions cause many people to scurry off to the shore, mountains, a pool, or theatre – anywhere to escape the steamy tropical days. For an extended period this month, the daytime temperatures hovered just shy of the 100-degree mark. If that escaped you, perhaps the fuss by Baltimore TV newscasters had you sweating. They spent a lot of time telling us the temperature neared triple digits, though it felt a good deal hotter because humidity saturated the air.
Whatever the case, the heat was on, although the all-time record for the northern part of the peninsula did not tumble. The weather service records, maintained in nearby Wilmington since 1895, show a blistering August 7, 1918, when the mercury halted its climb at 107 degrees. .
In the time before electricity to power fans and refrigerators, and air conditioners it was hard to beat the heat.
Heatwave of 1901
Take the heat wave of 1901 as an example. That July, long before there were energy-sucking air conditioners, a wave of tropical air gripped the area. Men and horses suffocated under what was then described as the worst heat wave on record, according to county newspapers. It was so hot that mercury in a thermometer in the Port Deposit foundry was ready to burst from its tube. So workers took the instrument outside to let it cool off and then returned to the superheated foundry.
The scorcher caused people to slow their pace and go to extremes for comfort. Farmers working in fields suspended work until a cooler hour, according to the Whig. “The sound of mower and binder made merry music in the soft moonlight.” Later, after hours of tossing and turning in overheated houses, many folks spent restless nights trying to sleep on porches and in hammocks.
Heading to the Beach
Packing up and heading to the beach to escape sweltering days is not a new thing. As far back as the 19th century, vacationers would climb aboard a steamboat for a leisurely trip to one of the Chesapeake’s bathing resorts, such as Betterton or Tolchester. Others would take extended August breaks in Cape May, N.J.
Ice made by machinery did not arrive here on blazing summer days in the 19th century. No, when cold weather failed to produce an annual harvest in January 1890, an Elkton dealer purchased the “artificial” item from Wilmington, the Whig reported. A local plant to manufacture the sometimes hard-to-obtain frozen commodity was built in the county seat in 1909.
Electric Fans, Refrigerators & AC
Refrigerators for homes were introduced to consumers in the 1920s, and “mass production … began in earnest after World War II,” reports History Magazine. “By 1950, more than 80 percent of American farms had one.”
In the 20th century, struggling air conditioners tamed our summers, making indoor working and sleeping comfortable. Before that, table and ceiling fans kept warm indoor air moving. A patent for the electric fan was issued in 1882, and those breezy devices started showing up in the county. When J. J. Newberry’s opened its department store in downtown Elkton in 1941, it had six fans suspended from the ceiling, newspapers observed.
After World War II, air-conditioning systems became increasingly common. When a modem theatre, the Elk, opened in the county seat in 1949, moviegoers attended shows in air-conditioned comfort. In the 1950s, magazines such as Popular Mechanics pushed the idea of “made-to-order” climates for the home and in increasing numbers, homeowners agreed, causing sales to skyrocket in the 1960s.
Well, it’s summer on the Eastern Shore and the heat is on. During these trying days, some of the hottest and most humid, we have many ways to cope with stifling conditions. Perhaps you will be off in search of delicious ice cream, a climate-controlled building, or the refreshing beach.