Category: General

Examining the Past of the County’s EMS With A Group of New Paramedic Candidates

I had the pleasure of talking to the current paramedic candidates’ class for Cecil County this afternoon. Soon these six young men and women will staff the county’s advanced life support units, providing emergency care for critical cases whenever the need arises. They’ve been busy studying advanced medical procedures such as how to administer IVs, use defibrillators, push drugs and intubate patients. It’s a crammed schedule full of essential life-saving knowledge and skills and as I departed this afternoon they were getting ready to study medical protocols.
The Countys first ambulance was operated by the American Legion
The county's first ambulance was operated by the Elkton American Legion.

I was there was to talk to these young providers about the history of Cecil County Emergency Services and explore the legacy of the progressive system they’ve joined. The county’s paramedic system celebrated its 20th anniversary last fall and the first group of volunteer Advanced Life Supporter Providers, capable of administering drugs and providing other treatments, started traveling the county in 1978. Through a lot of hard work and determination Cecil County has maintained a progressive role in Maryland EMS and I was pleased to explore the past of of the system with this fine group of recruits.

Celebrating a Community of Readers

dixonlibraryThe library system in Cecil County recently celebrated an important achievement. For the first time, the system circulated 1-million items. That is 10 items checked out for every single citizen in the county. To observe this major milestone, every library branch in the county celebrated with a range of special programs. One aspect involved Cecil Reads posters featuring staff, citizens, and community leaders.

Over the past ten years, I have had the opportunity to serve the system as a trustee and president of the library board as it has grown. It’s been a worthwhile community experience as we opened two new branches, increased staff to serve demands, added 21st century programming, and enhanced technology. As required by state law my term on the board will end in Nov. If you haven’t visited some of branches in Cecil County, please stop in when you’re in the area.

Remembering Three Fallen Officers in Crisfield

About ten years ago, I was involved in researching a piece on the history of criminal justice on the Lower Shore and came across some sketchy indicators that three Crisfield Police Officers had died in the line of duty. The number of line of duty deaths in such a small town surprised me so I decided to dig into this subject.  The obvious sources, such as the National Law Enforcement and State Memorials, did not list the fallen officers. So I traveled down to Somerset County for some fieldwork, since surely someone in the town would have information. But to my surprise, I came back empty-handed, even after a visit to the police department.

But that changed a few years ago after First Sgt. Stanley Harmon joined the Crisfield Police Department. Having recently retired from a law enforcement career in the Baltimore Metropolitan area, where he’d served in a variety of units, including homicide, the 50-something officer was interested in the history of his new department. While doing research to dig up the history of the agency, he too came across the names of Night Chief Daugherty, Chief Kirwin, and Policeman Daugherty, the officers that had fallen in the line of duty while maintaining peace in the Chesapeake Bay town.

After making the discovery, he created a memorial at the Crisfield Police Station. Then he took on the task of getting these public servants listed on the Officer Down Memorial. He also sat out to get the men added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial and that happened On May 13 during a candlelight vigil ceremony.

I think Sgt. Harmon for making sure these fallen law enforcement officers from Crisfield were remembered. For a little more information on these fallen officers click here to go to my regular history blog.

Working With Students on Oral History

For course assignments, I try to employ projects that engage students in the practice of history while also helping them understand the subject they are examining. 

As this time in the semester rolls around, it’s time for everyone to present one of those deliverables, an oral history project.  As we wrapped up this task, I was pleased with the outcome as all the participants produced engaging work, while several had developed outstanding projects.

Everyone had identified an appropriate individual for the task and obtained quality information from the interview.  Those that excelled had gone beyond that to place the data collected during the lab in the larger context of what was happening in the period to provide meaningful interpretations to their work.

I am usually impressed with a number of the class presentations each semester and have found oral history assignments to be a worthwhile means for engaging my students in the practice of history while helping them gain better comprehension of the subject matter.  For example, two students

focused on the Vietnam War today.  One interviewed a relative about the draft during the war, while another focused on the war veteran’s reaction when he returned home in the late ’60s.  Another student interviewed a small-town police chief.  He’d been on the job for forty years, beginning when the force of two men had to share one gun.  He talked about the professionalization that has occurred over the decades.

While I can lecture on these subjects, the hands-on experience students acquire in these interviews is helpful.  I am happy with how these turned out
and how this also appeals to a young group of college students.