There is a great interest in learning how to identify and protect old pictures, and the Cecil County Public Library is presenting a how-to talk to help you get started with that task. So if you are the family archivist or the records custodian for your church or civic group, working to sift through old…
H. W. Cheyney, Cecilton’s Chevy Dealer
H. W. Cheyney, the Cecilton Chevrolet dealer, marked the 26th anniversary of taking care of the automobile needs of residents in the southern part of the county in 1954. And he featured some great bargains on the used car lot. Mr. Chyeney established the business in 1928, “starting out with only himself and a mechanic,”…
Need an Ambulance in Cecil County in 1953, Call Ernie’s Cab Company
Fire department-based emergency medical services in Cecil County evolved slowly after World War II. The first company to acquire an ambulance was Singerly in 1942. Before that, the American Legion in Elkton operated a unit for many years, but as the war approached, they pulled back. After that, Taylor McKenney’s Garage in Elkton answered medical transport calls until the fire service…
John Denver, a Past President of the Maryland State Firemen’s Associaton, Talks to the Singerly Listening Station
John Denver, a past president of the Maryland State Firemen’s Association, joined the ranks as a probationary member of the Singerly Fire Company in 1968. Over the decades, he served the company in many positions, and two years ago he served as in the senior leadership position with the State Association. In this session with…
Singerly Firefighter Robert McKinney
Last month, Singerly Fire Company launched an oral history project to document the Department’s story. The project is initially focusing on recording interviews with the most senior members. As the initial interviews are collected, we are sharing brief outtakes from the much longer sessions. In time, as the initiative advances, we will use the raw…
Links to High Quality Digital Content for Local & Family History Research in Cecil & Harford counties
Since there is an enormous, rapidly growing body of research information available on the web, there is a need for a curated landing page, a place in the public commons on the net, to help someone digging into the past. This opportunity to help researchers is something I encounter often during public lectures and courses as…
Diggins Works With National Park Service to Nominate Two Sites For Underground Railroad Listing
By Milt Diggins Myths and legends abound about the Cecil County Underground Railroad sites. Old houses with a secluded space set off speculation that it was a station on the Underground Railroad, despite the lack of documentation. Quilts hanging up in yards supposedly gave secret signals to escaping slaves. The Underground Railroad was presumably a…
Photographing an Execution
Mounted on the wall in Sheriff John F. DeWitt’s office in the antiquated 19th-century Cecil County jail were two photographs he proudly displayed and discussed. When someone first visited the county’s top lawman in a space that was full of career-related memorabilia, he often directed the visitor’s gaze to these images of a hanging. Those…
CAB Accident Investigation Reports for Eastern and Pan American Airlines Crashes in Cecil County Available Online
The National Transportation Library of the Department of Transportation has digitized numerous collections to provide easy access for DOT library customers and researchers. In that array of valuable research materials are the investigations of aircraft accidents from 1934 – 1965, the investigations of railroad accidents 1911 – 1993, and much more. Here is the link…
Singerly Listening Station Continues: An Interview With Chief John Turnbull (retired).
The Singerly Listening Station was open on July 12, 2014, and many of the most senior members of the fire department stopped by the company museum to share stories about serving the community decades ago. In this session we listened to past Chief John Turnbull talk about joining the ranks in 1963, some of the unforgettable incidents…