As this Memorial Day — the time to honor those who died in the military while serving our country — draws to a close, we also want to remember another group who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation. These were Women Ordnance Workers (WOW) and men employed at Triumph and other defense jobs in…
Tag: elkton
Senator Robert Kennedy’s Funeral Train Passes Elkton
Late in the afternoon of June 8, 1968, the long-delayed funeral train carrying the body of Senator Robert F. Kennedy to Washington passed through Elkton. It was around 6 p.m. and the train was about 4-hours late. Larry Beers, a teenager, took his 8-mm home movie camera and captured the scene that hot June afternoon…
The Age of the Automobile Arrives in Cecil: 1st License Issued to Port Deposit Resident
In a time when horses, carriages, and bicycles provided transportation, the sight of an auto could cause a commotion, but little did anyone know how unsettling that first view could be for “Poor Excuse.” It was Friday, April 13, 1900, a day for bad luck, when the Adams Express delivery horse trotted up to the…
Steamer Carmania Served Elkton in 1916
In the early years of the 20th century, steam boating days on the Chesapeake Bay started slipping slowly away. But in the summer of 1916, Elkton obtained renewed service, as the Philadelphia and Baltimore Steamboat Company (Ericsson Line) launched a new line with connections to Baltimore. Leading up to the return of a regular schedule…
An Old House Research Question: When did the Pennsylvania Railroad Move the Dwellings
Over time, physical changes occur to a community’s built environment. Most are subtle like when a backhoe goes to work digging up a new foundation, or a bulldozer extends a street so a small parcel of land can be subdivided into building lots. But as decades pass, more radical transformations occasionally materialize, many of which…
Elkton Police Arrest of Ambassador From Iran Causes International Incident in 1935
If there was anything remarkable about that Wednesday in November 1935 in Elkton, it was the new policeman directing traffic on the main thoroughfare from Washington to New York. Seventy-year-old Chief George Potts, having maintained tranquility in the town for twenty-eight years, had recently retired. The rookie, Jake Biddle, was going to make a fine…
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…
Undergraduate Thesis Examines the Cecil County School Integration, 1954-1965
It is always exciting to obtain fresh perspectives and insights on Cecil County’s past, something that is often provided when scholars take a serious, fresh look at our history. These thorough investigations, requiring months of intensive digging into original documents and a critical evaluation of the sources, are valuable as they focus on specific research…
Additional Plans Announced for Remembrance Program on 50th Anniversary of Elkton Plane Crash
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…
Remembrance Program Planned to Mark Fiftieth Anniversary of Elkton Plane Crash.
Many in Cecil sighed with relief as 1963, an eventful year full of ups and downs, came to an end. As people reflected on those events of nearly fifty years ago, they recalled the opening of the modern expressway, President John F. Kennedy’s visit, and the unbelievable news a few days later. An assassin’s bullet had struck the…