“An unpretentious resort where people could enjoy the country, the great shade trees, and the safe, sandy beaches” is how one magazine once described Red Point Beach. The vacation spot about 4 miles below North East was established in 1926 after Alphonse Pericat and C. F. Park of Wilmington purchased the 112-acre property in Elk…
Women in the Fire Service
Women began joining the fire service in Elkton in the 1970s, entering the all-male Singerly Fire Company ranks as first responders. These trailblazers started with emergency medical services but soon expanded into firefighting. Over forty years later, they are found driving the apparatus, entering blazing buildings, providing pre-hospital acute care, and commanding incidents. It certainly…
Martha Finley Joined the Singerly Fire Company in 1892
Recently, while researching the Singerly Fire Company’s 125th anniversary, we searched the archives for information on members when we discovered another marker to add to the company’s annals. In 1892, as the Singerly Fire Company started serving the community, a man was issued a share of stock to show that he was a member. The…
The Fireman’s Lot at the Elkton Cemetery
In the Elkton Cemetery on Howard Street, a small stretch of grass alongside Howard Street has served as the fireman’s lot since 1892. Here is the story behind this little plot of land in the old burial ground. The Singerly Fire Company incorporated on Jan. 22, 1892, and in early November of that year the…
Bobby Kennedy’s Funeral Train in Cecil County
On Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, at 7 p.m., Rein Jelle Terpstra will talk about Senator Bobby Kennedy’s Funeral Train, which passed through Cecil County on June 8, 1968. Over four years, Professor Terpstra worked on his project “Robert F. Kennedy Funeral Train: The People’s View.” As part of his fieldwork, he visited Cecil County several…
Working to End Segregated Hospitals
PORT DEPOSIT — On Nov 10, 1960, Port Deposit resident, Patrica Taylor Stamps, 23, was rushed to Harford Memorial Hospital. There she was admitted to the segregated ward for African-Americans. Expecting to deliver her baby boy, Carlos, the doctor told her there were medical complications and the procedure needed to happen immediately. On delivery, Carlos…
WSER — Playing the Tunes on Elkton’s Radio Station
A recent NBC News piece about a small town of under 1,000 people having a hometown radio station serving the rural community reminded us of when Elkton had a full-service outlet, WSER. With the station providing original daily programming for Cecil County, the broadcasters talked to the community. DJs played the hits and chatted up…
Historic Buildings in Cecil County
As we travel around, from Pilottown to Fredericktown and every place in between, we often encounter old landmarks and historic buildings in Cecil County that grab our attention for numerous reasons. Sometimes it’s the end of the line for an aged, neglected building, its days dwindling quickly as a wrecking crew gets to work. Other…
End of Watch: Dispatcher Keith Sinclair Laid to Rest
ELKTON, Sept. 9, 2019 – On this Monday in late summer, first responders, friends, and family gathered to say goodbye to N. Keith Sinclair. The sixty-four-year-old, passed away suddenly Wednesday morning (Sept 4), while preparing to report for a duty shift at the Cecil County Department of Emergency Services. Keith was a 911 dispatcher, a…
Labor Day Observed in Cecil County for the First Time
The idea of celebrating a holiday for workingmen caught on slowly in the United States. But eventually, the first Monday in September became a federal holiday in 1894, although many industrial communities around the nation observed the workingman’s day much earlier. One was Port Deposit in Cecil County, which held its first Labor Day in…