Press Releases - 2006
To the Editor of the Cecil WHIG;
As 2006 quickly passes into the archives of time, we at the Historic Elk Landing Foundation say “Thank you” to everyone who helped make this a highly successful year for the Foundation. 2006 was our first full year of programming and over 1600 of you attended the First Saturday of the Month House and Grounds tours, the Vintage Base Ball games, Quarterly Lecture Series, March to Yorktown , Defenders' Day, and the Old Fashioned Christmas with the Hollingsworth party.
Of course none of these programs were without costs. We at the Historic Elk Landing Foundation are especially thankful for the financial support we received from many private and public organizations that helped make these events possible.
Perhaps the biggest financial assistance the foundation received, which deserves a special “thank you”, came from the citizens of Elkton who gave us a $60,000 grant. That grant will match a $50,000 grant from the Maryland Historic Trust which will be used to perform an engineering study of the 220 year old Stone House in anticipation of its restoration. That restoration will open a plethora of possibilities for tourism, economic growth, and educational programming.
Our hope for 2007 is that you continue to support us as we expand and grow our interactive historic programming and special events for the general public as well as our school children. Check the Foundation's web site ( www.elklanding.org ) and our events hotline (410-620-6400) for updated information.
Thank you,
Eric F. Mease
Member
Board of Directors
Historic Elk Landing Foundation
The Historic Elk Landing Foundation accepted a $1000 grant from the DuPont Company in December. According to the DuPont web site the awards are part of the company's Volunteer Recognition program which “recognizes employees or teams of employees who devote their time and talents to improving the quality of life in their communities.”
DuPonters and Elk Landing Foundation Board members Frederic Allen and Eric Mease were awarded the grant for their work on the Elk Landing board, the Events Committee, and programs they developed and/or participated in at Elk Landing over the last year. Fred is best known for his work as a re-enactor captain in the Cecil Militia who appears regularly at Elk Landing events. He also participates on the foundation's Grounds Committee. Eric is responsible for programming the First Saturday of the Month House and Grounds tours, the Quarterly Lecture Series, and special events such as last August's March to Yorktown event. He also publishes The Landing , Historic Elk Landing's quarterly newsletter.
Pictured are DuPont Chambers Works Plant Manager, John Strait , Fred Allen, Historic Elk Landing Foundation President, Judge Kenneth Wilcox, and Eric Mease.
“The work done by our employee volunteers is critically important to the vitality of the communities in which we operate,” said Stacey Mobley, senior vice president and chief administrative officer and general counsel at DuPont. “These ‘community ambassadors' create an environment of trust that is an integral part of our growth strategy and supportive of our aspiration to be welcomed as a good corporate neighbor.”
Christmas is Coming to Historic Elk Landing!
“Christmas is so commercialized.”
“I wish we could go back to a simpler time.”
“Remember when Christmas was just family and friends?”
These are comments we hear, or maybe we even make every year as the Christmas season rolls over us. If you have these same thoughts, the Historic Elk Landing Foundation has just the Christmas celebration you've been looking for. It's our second annual “Old Fashioned Christmas with the Hollingsworths” on Friday evening, December 1 at Historic Elk Landing.
This year's event will feature the Hollingsworth House decorated in simple, but elegant mid 19 th century regalia: beautiful plants, candle light, table settings, and a tastefully decorated Christmas tree (no cartoon characters here!). We'll have refreshments featuring our famous wassail that will warm your body, plus arts and crafts for the kids, caroling, and a special reading of “T'was the Night Before Christmas” by Captain Zebulon Hollingsworth himself to the Hollingsworth children, which will warm your heart and take you back to Christmases long ago.
The doors to the Hollingsworth House open at 6:30 Friday evening, December 1 and we'll end at 9. Admission is $5 per adult and $3 for children under 18 years of age.
The Hollingsworth House and grounds will reopen at 10 a.m. on December 2 until 2 p.m. for our last, First Saturday of the Month House and Grounds tours of 2006. We'll feature 19 th century Christmas decorations and tours of the house and grounds with an emphasis on how Christmas was celebrated in the mid 19 th century when the house was restored. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children under 18 years of age.
The Hollingsworth House, located off route 40 at the foot of Landing Lane , is handicapped accessible.
See our web site at www.elklanding.org or, if you have any questions, please call our Events Hotline at (410) 620-6400 and leave a message. Someone will return your call within 24 hours.
The sounds of hammers on anvils and firing muskets will greet visitors to Historic Elk Landing on Saturday November 4 th between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Our First Saturday of the Month House and Grounds tours for November will feature blacksmith Wallace Badur and elements of the Cecil County Militia. Wallace, who was rained out in October, will peak your interest in how many household utensils were made back some 200 years ago by the local blacksmith.
Meanwhile the Cecil Militia will prepare for winter quarters as the cold weather approaches and months at Valley Forge looms ahead. See and hear if they will be ready. In addition, the historic Hollingsworth House will reopen for visitors as our costumed guides take you through the mansion which housed members of the Hollingsworth family for nearly two centuries.
Admission is free and both the house and grounds are handicapped accessible.
The Blacksmith and Archeologist return to Historic Elk Landing
Blacksmithing and Archeology return to Historic Elk Landing on Saturday October 7 th . Our First Saturday of the Month House and Grounds Tours will be joined by Blacksmith Wallace Badur and Archeologist Christine Gill, two of our most popular interactive presenters this year. In addition to the house and grounds tours presented by our costumed guides, Wallace will demonstrate how steel was forged into household goods in the early 19 th century in his furnace that reaches temperatures of 3000 degrees! And behind the Hollingsworth House, Christy will show kids the art of digging up “artifacts” as they sift through a sandbox full of buried treasure!
The Historic Elk Landing gates open at 10 a.m. and wrap things up at 2 p.m. after an exciting day of history tours, blacksmithing, and archeology. And best of all, there is no charge!
Historic Elk Landing is located at the foot of Landing Lane in Elkton and is handicapped accessible. See our web site at www.elklanding.org for more information.
Haunted Evening At Elk Landing
Mike and Ed
Haunted House or Historic Mansion? Find out on the evening of September 30th when Historian Mike Dixon (left) and storyteller Ed Okonowicz share tales of history and haunts during a family night featuring a ghost/history walk and campfire at the Hollingsworth House at Historic Elk Landing,
Hear Ed Okonowicz and Mike Dixon talk about the real and the paranormal as they take visitors on a tour of the Historic Elk Landing grounds as they have never been toured before. Learn about the hangin' tree, the ghostly soldiers, and the men and women who inhabited, and may still inhabit Elk Landing over the last 4 thousand years. Following the tour, gather around the bonfire with Zebulon Hollingsworth and Ed and “Spooky Ghost Tales of Cecil County and Maryland ”. Hear more about what makes Elk Landing such a wonderful place for the living and no so living, but not quite dead either!!
Three or four of Ed's books will be chanced off during the campfire and many of his works will be available for sale at the close of the evening.
The Elk Landing gates open at 5:30 p.m. with the ghost/history walk beginning at 6. The campfire begins at 7. Admission is $7 for adults and $3 for kids under 18.
“At around 4:00 a.m. on 11 September 1781, that Dr. James Thacher of Scammel's Light Infantry set sail from Head of Elk for the Chesapeake on the ‘Glasgow,' a schooner with a burthen of 24 tons which he shared ‘with four other officers and sixty men.' The remainder of the vessels departed later that day and on 12 September as well.”
Dr. Selig in red in Rhode Island
This is just one tidbit of information which Dr. Robert Selig will share at Historic Elk Landing's September Quarterly Lecture . Dr. Selig, who is project historian for the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route project for the National Park Service, will talk about the Washington-Rochambeau march to Yorktown in1781 when the combined armies traveled through Elkton on their way to victory over the British. It was that victory that earned independence for the young United States .
Dr. Selig, who has appeared across the country speaking about the march, completed site surveys and historical narratives for the marches and routes through Connecticut , New York and Delaware , delivered a draft for New Jersey , and is working on similar projects for Rhode Island and Pennsylvania . So as you can see, we at Elk Landing are extremely fortunate to have Dr. Selig speaking in Elkton.
The presentation, which is free and open to the public , begins at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 12 in the parlor of the Hollingsworth House at the foot of Landing Lane . The Hollingsworth House is air conditioned and handicapped accessible. Dr. Selig's appearance is partially funded by a grant from the Cecil Community College .
Come to Historic Elk Landing to rest from your labors on Labor Day weekend. On Saturday, September 2, join us for our First Saturday of the Month House and Grounds tours beginning at 10 a.m. Costumed guides will take you around the grounds talking about the people who lived and the plethora of events that happened there over the last 400 years! Inside, enjoy guided tours of the house that was originally built in 1800 and was restored following a fire in 1850. Afterwards, enjoy a picnic in our picnic grounds. You supply the food and we'll supply the picnic tables and shade!
Washington and Rochambeau Remembered…Again
By Mike Dixon
On a clear and crisp picture perfect October day 25 years ago, the booming of cannon shattered the calm of an Elkton afternoon. Then musket fire rang out as black powder smoke rose up filling the sunny autumn air along the Big Elk Creek. Somewhere nearby bystanders shouted, “The French are coming! The French are coming!” as troops led by General de Rochambeau advanced on British soldiers garrisoned in Meadow Park .
This portrayal of a simulated skirmish in October 1981 was part of a program by the Mayor and Commissioners of the Town of Elkton and the Cecil County Bicentennial Committee to host re-enactors from Rhode Island who were celebrating the anniversary of a famous march 200 years ago. In 1781 General George Washington and the General Comte de Rochambeau led their troops through Cecil County to Yorktown , VA , where they defeated the British.
During the American Revolution Elkton was situated on the main route between the north and the south and its dusty road provided the route for the passage of thousands of soldiers as the armies of three nations, British, French, and American, passed through Cecil County . One of the great movements of soldiers took place on September 6 – 7, 1781, when the combined forces of American and French troops under Washington and Rochambeau passed through Elkton on their way to the siege of Yorktown , Virginia and the subsequent surrender of General Cornwallis and the British Army.
On August 26th the Historic Elk Landing Foundation will turn back the calendar again when it celebrates the 225th anniversary of General Washington and General Rochambeau's March to Yorktown with a grand parade on Elkton's Main Street . Participants include members of the Cecil County Militia, Maryland and New Jersey regiments, and elements of the Continental Line. They will be followed by twenty two members of the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps playing the music that would have been heard by Washington and Rochambeau's army as it passed through Elkton. In the reviewing stand will be General George Washington himself, acknowledging and giving salutes to his assembled troops. You are invited to this celebration beginning at 10 a.m. Following the parade, the participants and guests are invited to Elk Landing where the militia units will be camped, the Old Guard will perform, and where General Washington will drill his new “recruits”. Refreshments and house and grounds tours will also be offered as once again, Elkton remembers its Revolutionary War heritage and the Washington/Rochambeau march. This celebration is made possible by a generous grant from the Elkton Rotary Club.
While many towns and other municipalities claim that George Washington slept there, Elkton , Maryland has proof for its claim. On March 10 th Washington 's diary says: “Dined and lodged at Elkton, tolerably pleasant all day.” But this was not the General's only visit to Elkton. Perhaps his most important stay was during the late summer and early fall of 1781 when he and French General Rochambeau stayed in Elkton on their way to Yorktown , Virginia and victory over the British in the climatic battle of our American Revolutionary War.
On August 26, 2006, General Washington returns to relive those heady days of victory and independence for our new nation. The General will be portrayed by Dean Malissa from the American Historical Theatre who has interpreted Washington at his home in Mount Vernon , the Smithsonian Institution, the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia , as well as in films for the Discovery Channel and the National Flag Foundation. General Washington will review the parade along Elkton's Main Street and following the parade, adjourn to Historic Elk Landing at the foot of Landing Lane to talk to visitors and drill young people in the tradition of the Continental Army. Also on hand will be the militia camp for three militia re-enactor units and the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps.
All events are free and open to the public with refreshments at cost available at the Landing. Come to Elkton for the March to Yorktown parade and celebration at Historic Elk Landing starting at 10 o'clock on August 26 th . For more information and directions, see our web site at www.elklanding.org or call and leave a message on our Events Hotline (410)-620-6400.
This March to Yorktown event is sponsored in part by the Rotary Club of Elkton and the Cecil Community College .
Elkton Awards Grant to Historic Elk Landing Foundation
The Elkton Town Commissioners awarded a $60,000 grant to the Historic Elk Landing Foundation allowing the foundation to match a $50,000 grant from the Maryland Historic Trust (MHT) to begin restoration work on the Foundation's Stone House.
The grant, which was awarded at a Town Commissioners' meeting on Wednesday July 19 th will be used to pay for an architectural/engineering study of the Stone House in preparation for the anticipated restoration of the 220 year old structure.
Foundation Board President, Judge Kenneth Wilcox, said the grant will match a grant from the trust which is due to expire in October.
“This grant is the first step on a long road to bring the old Stone House back to life.” Judge Wilcox said. “Structural engineers tell us that we don't have much time before the house begins to fall down. Our window of opportunity to act and save the house is rapidly closing.”
In thanking the town of Elkton for the grant, Judge Wilcox said there are two issues at stake: the town's property and economic development. He explained that “the Elk Landing property belongs to the town. Anything it puts into the property remains with the town. In addition, money spent on the house will come back to the town as the restoration project begins and finally ends.” He said “as people, tourists, come to Elk Landing to watch the restoration, which will include an archeological study, they will spend money with local businesses. They'll buy gasoline, eat at local restaurants, and visit other businesses that will impact the local economy. So this is a win-win situation for the town and the Historic Elk Landing Foundation.”
The Elkton Town Commissioners also reviewed a Foundation request for a parade permit for Saturday August 26 th . A “March to Yorktown ” celebration is planned for that Saturday as a part of the national recognition of the 225 th anniversary of the Washington/Rochambeau march to Yorktown who's battle ended the Revolutionary War and resulted in independence for the United States . The August 26 th event will begin at 10 o'clock on Howard Street and last for about an hour. Marching in the parade will be the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, three local and regional Revolutionary War militia re-enactor regiments, and one of the two interpreters of General Washington at Mount Vernon . More information on the parade and other March To Yorktown activities at Elk Landing will be posted on the Historic Elk Landing Foundation web site: www.elklanding.org
Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps Coming to Elk Landing
The U.S. Army's Old Guard Fife and Drum Corp, which has performed at every Presidential Inaugural Parade since President Kennedy's in 1961, will march and perform in Historic Elk Landing's March to Yorktown 225th anniversary parade on August 26th.
The August 26 th event will begin at 10 o'clock in the morning on Howard Street in Elkton and also include elements of at least three Revolutionary War Militia re-enactor units from Maryland and the region.
In announcing the participation of the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, Historic Elk Landing spokesperson, Eric Mease said it is an honor to have such a prestigious fife and drum corps to agree to come to Elkton.
“The Old Guard has performed at thousands of locations all over the world” Mease said, “and at occasions ranging from presidential inaugurals to Super Bowls to the Winter Olympics. They've been everywhere and we at the foundation are grateful to the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, DC for allowing them to come to Elkton and march in our parade.”
According to the Corps web site, this is the only unit of its kind in the United States armed forces. Their uniforms are patterned after those worn by George Washington's Continental Army musicians from about 1781, the year of the historic March to Yorktown whose resulting battle ended the Revolutionary War, granting our independence from Great Britain .
“The 69-member Corps uses 10-hole fifes, handmade rope-tensioned drums and single-valve bugles,” the site notes, “which bring to life the exciting sounds of the continental army. While traveling, the marching strength of the unit is normally 22 musicians, and the drum major and support personnel.”
The site also reports that the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corp marches “ in support of the president. (It) performs at all armed-forces arrival ceremonies for visiting dignitaries and heads of state at the White House.” In addition, we are also cautioned that their “appearance is subject to preemption by the White House or other official military requirements.”
Viewers of the parade are encouraged to utilize a shuttle bus or drive to Historic Elk Landing at the foot of Landing Lane following the parade where the militia units will be camped, General George Washington will talk to visitors and “drill” youngsters, and the Hollingsworth House and grounds will be open for tours by costumed interpreters. Refreshments will also be available for a fee. All of the day's events are free and open to the public.
For more information contact Historic Elk Landing at (410) 620-6400 or E-mail info@elklanding.org
Quarterly Lecture Series Features Jim Casey and 18th Century Cooking
When Zebulon and Mary Hollingsworth took up housekeeping at Elk Landing in the 18 th century, they not only had to feed themselves, they had to feed their eight children. Ten mouths to feed is quite a task! So what did they eat and how did they prepare it? They didn't have gas stoves, microwaves, or even Sterno! So how did they prepare their food? Come to Historic Elk Landing on Tuesday, July 11 at 7 p.m. as the Historic Elk Landing Foundation presents James Casey whose presentation on 18 th century cooking will go a long way in telling us what our colonial ancestors ate and how they prepared it. Jim will bring his 200 year old plus recipes, and samples of both ingredients and finished products as they would have been prepared in the 1700s.
Jim is a retired 37 year veteran fishery biologist and Chief of the Atlantic Coast Fishery Management Program of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. In addition, Jim has been a Revolutionary War re-enactor for the last twenty years with the First Maryland Regiment. Jim is also a twenty year veteran volunteer miller from the Wye Mill in Wye Mills, Maryland .
The presentation is free of charge and open to the public. The Hollingsworth House is air conditioned and handicapped accessible.
March to Yorktown Celebration at Elk Landing
On August 26th the Historic Elk Landing Foundation will celebrate the 225 th anniversary of General Washington and General Rochambeau's March to Yorktown with a grand parade on Elkton's Main Street . Participants include members of the Cecil County Militia, Maryland and New Jersey regiments, and elements of the Continental Line. In the reviewing stand will be General George Washington himself, acknowledging and giving salutes to his assembled troops. You are invited to this celebration beginning at 10 a.m. Following the parade, the participants and guests are invited to Elk Landing where the militia units will be camped and where General Washington will drill his new “recruits”. Refreshments and house and grounds tours will also be offered.
Then, on September 12th , Dr. Robert Selig will present a lecture on the March to Yorktown and the significant part Cecil County played in that historic event 225 years ago. Dr. Selig is the historian for the National Washington, Rochambeau, Revolutionary Route (W3R) organization that is spear heading the national observance of the March to Yorktown . Please join us in our celebration, sponsored in part by the Elkton Rotary Club.
Historic Music Comes to Historic Elk Landing
George Frideric Handel
Franz Joseph Haydn
Come in out of the heat and humidity on Saturday, August 5th as the Historic Elk Landing Foundation brings something unique and pleasant to the ear for visitors at Elk Landing and the Hollingsworth House.
The First Saturday of the Month Tours will feature 18 th and early 19 th century music as played by Maggie Creshkoff and Massaki Fujiki. The musical duo will not only play the music, but explain its origins and meaning to any and all visitors.
The tours begin at 10 with the music commencing at 11 o'clock. The Hollingsworth House is handicapped accessible and both the tours and the concert are free and open to the public.
On the Fall Agenda
By Eric F. Mease
I know it's only July, but we at Historic Elk Landing are already making plans for the fall and winter at the Landing.
Plans for our First Saturday of the Month House and Grounds Tours on September 2 nd are sketchy as this edition of The Landing goes to press; but we hope to present various labors of the early 19 th century during that Labor Day weekend.
Our last Quarterly Lecture Series presentation for 2006 will be held on September 12 at 7 p.m. in the Hollingsworth House as we welcome Dr. Robert Selig who is the historian for the National Washington, Rochambeau, Revolutionary Route celebration marking the 225 th anniversary of the march to Yorktown , Virginia and final victory over the British.
We combine history with the supernatural as folklorist Ed Okonowitz and Historian Mike Dixon combine forces to tell ghost, goblin, and real stories about Historic Elk Landing. Come to this exciting annual event, warm yourself by the campfire, and try to determine the difference between what's real and what's imagined.
With what most certainly will be a chill in the air, October's First Saturday of the Month tours will feature an encore presentation of both an Archeology dig with Christy Gill and the return of blacksmith Wallace Badur. In November the Cecil County Militia will prepare for winter quarters on the fourth.
Again, plans are sketchy, but we're well on our way toward our second annual Old Fashioned Christmas with the Hollingsworths the weekend of December 2 nd .
So mark your calendars now and watch future Landing newsletters, e-mails, and the Cecil WHIG for details as the dates approach.
Have a safe and happy summer and we hope to see you often at Historic Elk Landing.