Colora Civic Association Remembers the Past & Continues Advocacy

The Colora Civic Association hosted another one of its "Remember When" programs on April 21. At these meetings everyone is invited to share their remembrances of Colora and listen to stories from the community's past. This one was on the Railroad and the Society participated by showing slides of the Octoraro line. Over 50-people turned out, and we are told that the response to the first session on Downtown Colora was even larger. The members, drawing on first hand experiences or stories handed down from an earlier generation, shared insights, adding to the rich knowledge of this area.

We were impressed with the excellent turnout, as well as the enthusiasm the interested guests and officers of the association brought to the subject. We commend the members for the proactive work they are doing to look after the community's past and care for its rural legacy. In a time of tremendous change at the top of the Chesapeake, it is good to know that there are citizen-stakeholders working to preserve our legacy and environment and to assure that sound decisions are made as changes occur.

Click on the link above to get more information on the Association and to check the schedule for future programs. Thanks to Hazel, Dianna and all the officers and members for inviting us to attend an enjoyable evening where we learned so much and for the work they're dong as advocates for the Colora area.

Long Time Volunteer, Rebecca Smith, Recognized as Trailblazer

We were pleased to learn this week that a longtime supporter of the Society and former trustee, Rebecca Smith was selected to receive the 2008 Trailblazer Award. Sponsored by the Cecil Whig, the award is given to a woman who has blazed a trail in serving the community.

The Society was pleased to join others in nominating her for this recognition. Miss Smith touched the lives of two generations of Cecil’s young people as a teacher and guidance counselor during a career spanning five decades. In the midst of the Great Depression she completed her bachelor’s degree at Western Maryland College and started teaching history at Perryville High in 1935. After World War II, the practice of school counseling emerged and Miss Smith became one of the first practitioners here. The devoted educator sought out new professional development opportunities and broadened her knowledge as she helped guide teenagers. After serving the county for 41-years the popular and respected educator retired in 1979.

Glance at the handwritten notes scribbled in yearbooks during these years and you will see the admiration so many young people had for a caring professional that dedicated a great portion of her life to teaching them important lessons and helping them with the challenges of maturing. The Elkton High Class of 1976, which dedicated its yearbook to Miss Smith, illustrates this point: “As we worked our way through high school there was always one person to whom we turned in times of joy and sadness. The patience and devotion she gave each of us is deeply felt as we remember those times when her gentle nudge and her words of encouragement were all we needed. . . . With these things in mind, the class of 1976 voted unanimously to dedicate the 1976 Antler to their guidance counselor, Miss Rebeca Smith.” After that she served as the Chief Judge of the Orphans Court, finally retiring a few days before turning 88-years-old.

Beginning in the early 1980s, the lifelong Cecilton resident volunteered as a trustee at the Historical Society. During that time, she worked tirelessly to advance the organization and to assure that the County’s heritage was preserved. While helping better the organization in many ways, she was directly responsible for developing two valuable resources. The A. Rebecca Smith Yearbook Collection began when she donated her cherished volumes with so many fond memories of her students to the Society. The initial gift of 33-editions inspired others to donate so there are now nearly 300-books, which reveal the high school years of generations of teenagers and invoke priceless memories. Researchers putting together their family history or studying Cecil’s past treasure this valuable source containing once in a lifetime memories. Many other county societies have remarked to us that they wished they had such a valuable holding for one rarely sees such a large body of these works in special collections libraries.

She also created the Cecil County writers’ collection. This special holding is composed of books that were written by local authors and she always sought out additions to those titles. When she retired from the Society in the late-1990s, the tireless supporter and volunteer had improved the organization in many concrete ways.

We frequently hear that our organization is in the very top tier of societies in Maryland. During 16-years as a trustee and a much longer period as a member, the dedicated volunteer greatly contributed to the services and facilities we, as Cecil’s heritage keepers, bring to the public. We were pleased to nominate her for this honor and pleased that she is being recognized for a lifetime of community service.

Continuing to Acquire Outstanding Primary Research Materials

We recenty acquired a couple of ledgers books for our collection from the middle of the 19th century, which should provide researchers with new primary research documents. One is an 1866 inventory of all the businesses in the county with weights and measures and the other is an 1841 inventory of mills by Adam Whann.

Diggins Booksigning - July 12

We are pleased to announce that the Society will host a booksigning for a new Cecil County history title on July 12 from 1 to 3 p.m. Milt Diggins, the editor of the Society’s Journal is the author of this title, which is part of the Images of America series by Arcadia Publishing. Milt spent much of 2007 examining thousands of Cecil County photos and he selected over 200 of these for his volume. Many of these images have been unseen for decades, some are from glass-plate negatives from the 19th century, and, since he also worked with private collections, some of picture have never been published. We eagerly look forward to hosting the first booksigning for Milt's Images of America – Cecil County. Watch our blog and keep an eye on our calendar for updates. We’re sure you will enjoy this title.

Society Volunteer Wins First Place at History Competition

Yesterday one of our volunteers, Kyle Dixon, received a first place award for an entry in the Maryland History Day Project. This competition required extensive, independent research of historical subjects related to a national theme of conflict and compromise. An 11th grade AP history student in Mr. Mean’s class at Bohemia Manor High School, Kyle completed a comparative study of desegregation of schools in Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne’s counties. It’s always exciting to see young scholars enhance academic skills and prepare for college by exploring some aspect of Cecil’s past. We congratulate Kyle and the other 12 winners from Cecil County in this year’s competition. They will all go on to be judged at the state-level academic competition in April. (Kyle is introducing one of our performers in the winter living history series in this photo.)

Remembering the Past at Mr. Caldwell's School

The Cecil County Board of Education celebrated the legacy of one its former schools on February 10th when it rededicated the central office on Booth Street as the George Washington Carver Education Leadership Center. This facility, the county-wide high school for African-Americans in the era of segregated education, graduated its last class in June 1964.

The blast of strong winds and snow showers rattling the building on this special Sunday wasn’t able to put a freeze on the excitement at the ceremony. An overflow crowd of several hundred former students, friends, educators, and others eagerly looked on as Dr. Carl Roberts discussed the reason for rededicating the building while others recalled its history. This large turnout on this wintry Maryland Sunday and the conversations that filled the hallways afterwards as old friends rekindled memories and recalled past experiences spoke to the strong bonds that remains for George Washington Carver alumni and family.

A community’s history is important and it is essential that we preserve reminders of the past so we have context for understanding current events. Dr. Roberts, the Historical Society of Cecil County thanks you for helping assure that we recall this part of our heritage and for helping to make sure we keep in mind a time when the challenges at Principal Caldwell’s school were different.

The House was Packed for Tillie Pierce Performance

An outstanding performance by University of Delaware history major Abby Harting playing Matilda “Tillie” Pierce wrapped up our winter living history series. Fifteen-year-old Tillie witnessed the battle of Gettysburg and she wrote about those dramatic days later in her life. The house was full as Abby, in character, vividly told guests about the civilian side of this pivotal Civil War battle. The emotions felt by a young lady witnessing dreadful scenes that July in Gettysburg caught the audience up in the show. Once she finished the performance, the crowd peppered her with lots of questions. If you missed this show, you missed a superb portrayal. In addition to portraying Tillie, the Middletown Delaware resident has done reenacting and interpretations related to the War of 1812 at Fort McHenry. Abby sometimes plays the young Civil War era lady at the Tillie Pierce House Bed and Breakfast in Gettysburg. If you missed this engaging performance, perhaps you can catch her there over the summer. Look for more information on next year’s winter living history series later this year.