Listening to the Delaware COVID-19 update on WDEL this Tuesday afternoon (11/24/2020), Governor Carney caught my attention when he said don’t come to Delaware for your alcohol! One-hundred-two years ago, public health and police officials in Wilmington had a similar situation during the Pandemic of 1918. That October, Delaware authorities closed public gathering places, including…
Delaware Libraries & Archives Facilitate Research During Pandemic
When COVID-19 disrupted everyday life in March, the research I had been working on for over a year, the pandemic of 1918, took on greater urgency. But, the storehouses of primary documents I needed to provide deeper insight for the investigation closed. Of course, I mined the great abundance of digital content accessible from the…
Wilmington Police Helped Stamp out Pandemic in 1918
The Wilmington Police Department grappled with the unprecedented challenge of maintaining service after the Spanish influenza slipped into Delaware in the autumn of 1918. In normal times, the 127-person force patrolled streets, preserved peace, operated the lockup, investigated crimes, collected dog taxes, and maintained the fire and police telegraph. However, early that autumn, as the…
Effort to Save Levi Coppin School Continues as State Reopens Review Process
CECILTON – September 2, 2020 – The demolition plan for the Levi Coppin School in Cecilton is being reassessed as a “post-review discovery” under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, according to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Some months earlier, a determination had been made that the demolition of…