Congratulations to the Town of Rising Sun. The municipality officially kicked off its Sequicentennail Celebration today with a ribbon cutting at the town hall and an open house in the museum. As brilliant April sunshine warmed the crowd, it was great to see the sense of history that exists in an old Maryland municipality as remarks by Mayor Cox and others indicated. Additionally an enthusiastic crowd gathered to help remember the town’s past. 
Category: Public History
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.
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.
Seeing the Work of Young Scholars, While Judging Maryland History Day
The Maryland Humanities Council sponsors Maryland History Day, an annual program that encourages Maryland students to research, analyze, and develop their own year-long projects based on historic events and people. The competition, which begins at a school level and builds to county, state, and national contests, had over 16,000 Maryland participants. I was fortunate to have the experience of participating as a judge at the state contest on April 25 at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. That was an enriching experience since I got to see some of the fine work of a cluster of scholars in the web site cohort, as well as having the opportunity to work in the run-off contests for displays. This is a valuable project for young scholars and I was pleased to be able to see some of the outside work of these young people.
Blogging for a Cause Subject of 2009 Preservation Maryland Conference
I am pleased to learn that I have been selected to present “Blogging for a Cause” at the 2009 Preservation Maryland Conference. This year it takes place on May 28-29 in Baltimore.
The idea of offering workshops on blogging for a cause came about because the Town of Elkton attempted to allow a big box retail store to develop 10-acres of valuable historic land. Once the development threat was known, I got involved in an advocacy project to save the property. But I couldn’t get print media to cover the story so after trying for months, while watching the situation deteriorate, I turned to a practical alternative, a blog called Someone Noticed. Almost overnight I’d become a blogger with a cause. The weblog served its purpose by creating far more attention on the proposal than I would have ever have been able to create in a newspaper. I’m now happy to report that the property is no longer at risk since the town has stopped persuing the development interest.
Having gained experience with using the blogosphere for a purpose, I decided to put together a workshop on my experience so others would understand how to leverage this new media for preservation advocacy. The program will present a cause study on this situation, introduce how to handle the technology, and discussed concepts related to leveraging this new media.