tain accounts about our many

achievements, pass along news

from the directors and officers,

report on member activities, and

present features that put the

spotlight on what we do so well.

In short, it will keep you well

informed on what is happening,

whether you are a probationary

member or longtime Singerly

veteran.

Phil Scott, President.

On behalf of

the Board of

Directors, I

am pleased to

present the

premier edition of the Singerly

Connection, a newsletter for

members.

Following the annual election

each year the board organizes

for the new term by approving

the selection of non-elected of-

ficers, making committee assign-

ments, and generally strategizing

about our business plans for the

next twelve months.

At the initial March meeting,

Director Frank Lewis suggested

we enhance internal communica-

tions so the board authorized the

creation of this quarterly

product.

The department has numerous

narratives waiting to be broadly

shared so these pages will con-

In this regular column from the

museum, we will chronicle the com-

pany’s past by exploring a range of

historical topics. For the first install-

ment, we uncover information about

how the Company was named.

By Mike Dixon

As you travel around northeast-

ern Cecil County, you notice the

name all over the place. On the

road heading north from the

county seat (Route 213), almost

making a straight line for Pennsyl-

vania, signs let you know that

you’re rolling along on Singerly

Road. When the shriek of an

Elkton fire engine or ambulance

punctuates the calm of the day,

the vehicle markings inform you

that it is an emergency unit from

Singerly Fire Company. If you are

near Union Hospital searching

for a parking spot, glance at the

street signs. Singerly Avenue is

what some say. Pause to pour

over a county map and you will

notice that there is a place called

Singerly.

It is not a popular name for a

community or for that matter a

wide spot in the road. According

to the people who keep track of

such things, the U. S. Geological

Survey, there are only two other

places named Singerly. Compare

Continued on page 3

Welcome to the Newsletter

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Welcome 1

Who is Singerly 1

Election 2015 2

Editor’s Corner 4

Event’s

Calendar

5

Antiques raise

funds

5

New Members 5

Halls named 7

Next Issue 8

Chief Hill 8

Who is William M. Singerly?

T H E S I N G E R L Y F I R E

C O M P A N Y

The Singerly Connection S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

Antiques have

raised funds for the

company for 30

years.

Nine new

probationary

members

welcomed

Board names the

halls

Thank you for your

service Chief Hill

P A G E 2

SFC Officers 2015-16

President

Phil Scott

president@singerly.com

Chief

Michele Debold

mdebold@singerly.com

Secretary

Steve Horah

secretary@singerly.com

Treasurer

Norman Marquess

Assistant Chief-EMS

Robert Conway

Engineer

Michael Norman Sr.

1st Vice-President

Joe Zurolo

2nd Vice-President

John Norman

Chaplain

Rev Karen Bunnell

Medical Officer

Dr. Mark Scheiner

Attorney

Clara Campbell, Esq.

Stockholders Elect Leadership for 2015 The annual stockholders meet-

ing was called to order by

President Scott on Feb. 5,

2015. After hearing reports

from administrative and line

officers, voting was opened.

For the 123rd time the

stockholders went to the old

veteran of many elections, the

SFC ballot box, to select com-

pany leaders for the 2015-16

term

After the judges counted the

votes, the following candidates

had been elected for three

year board terms: Donald

Hicks, Fred Hill, Jr., Rob Mul-

ler, and John Norman.

For one-year posts in line posi-

tions, Michele Debold was

elected chief. She

ran unopposed.

The other posi-

tions were: Engi-

neer Michael

Norman, Sr,; and

Assistant Chief of

EMS, Robert

Conway.

At the conclu-

sion of the stock-

holders meeting,

the newly formed

Board of Direc-

tors met as a

corporate body.

Phil Scott was

elected president; 1st VP—Joe

Zurolo, 2nd VP—John Nor-

man, Secretary, Steve Horah,

Membership Secretary Jeannie

Mayes, Chaplain, Karen Bun-

nell, Attorney, Clara Campbell

& Associates.

T H E S I N G E R L Y C O N N E C T I O N

Former Chief McCall drops his ballot in the box as election judge Mayes monitors the vote.

The election judges prepare to count the ballots: Linda Clark, Nicole Norman, Jen McClelan, Jeannie Mayes & Kay Trego.

Who is William M. Singerly:

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

to city markets.

In 1891, a blaze destroyed a section of

Main Street and required that the Wilming-

ton Fire Department rush here on a special

train to help contain the flames. With that,

the citizens of Elkton started working on

organizing the new company. Probably

many of the men worked for Singerly in the

mills and he donated money to help get the

fledgling organization kicked off.

After that the company started serving

the community, but one Sunday evening in

1898 distressing news flashed across the

wires from Philadelphia. William M. Singer-

ly, the man who had brought

a significant measure of

prosperity to the county,

had died suddenly of

“tobacco heart.” The next

day, the headquarters of the

Singerly Fire Company was

draped in mourning. The

Board passed a resolution

honoring the man who was

known for his “many kind

acts of deep interest in the

welfare of the town,” wrote

the company secretary, Fred

C. Ludwig., in the official

records.

The testimonial to the man

who had supported the fire

company with liberal dona-

tions at the time of its organization, read in

part: “In his assistance in the formation of

this Company he realized the great need

for protection of life and property against

the ravages of the fire fiend, and was one of

the first and most generous contributors

towards the purchase of our apparatus and

in honor of whom this Company was

named . . .”

William Miskey Singerly was born in Phila-

delphia, Dec. 27, 1832. He had been mar-

ried twice and left one survivor, Elizabeth

Singerly Blach. There were also two grand-

children, from a deceased daughter. He

died at his resident, 1701 Locust Street,

Philadelphia on February 27, 1898.

staid old town has been undisturbed in its

slumbers by the busy hum of manufactur-

ing industry but now there was another

great Singerly boom,” the newspaper

observed. He was providing work for

nearly 200 men at the two factories.

His mills were about nine miles apart.

When he built them, the road connecting

the two factories was one of the worst in

Cecil. At his own expense, he “piked” the

route, covering the greater portion of it

with crushed stone. After it was built the

Whig said it was confident that there was

one good road in the county, if no more.

With his

enterprises

growing here,

he erected a

handsome

summer cot-

tage for him-

self just a few

blocks from

the railroad

station, over

near Bow and

Cathedral

streets in

Elkton. The

handsomely

furnished

cottage cost

about

$15,000 to

build, an enormous sum for that era (that

is about $300,000 today).

There was some criticism of the capi-

talist, a few saying that he paid lower

wages than other mills. This was not true

for he paid all the skilled laborers $2.70

per day and the unskilled men $1.25 per

day, the Whig wrote.

The last spike was driven on a new

railroad across the county, the Baltimore

and Ohio, in 1886. Near where the

tracks cross Singerly Road, the Company

built a Queen Anne Style Station and

named it after the newspaper publisher.

Mills along the busy Little Elk Creek

hauled goods to the station for shipment

Continued from page 1

that with Elkton, Perryville, Rising Sun. or

Cherry Hill. There are a dozen or more

of each of these across the nation. As for

localities called Singerly, there is what the

survey calls a “populated place” in Cecil

County and another one in Virginia.

It is not even a common family name. A

search of a couple of national telephone

directories on the Internet leaves no

question about that. There is one living

somewhere out in Ohio.

The road, the street, the fire company,

and the “populated place.” How did this

infrequently cited name become so com-

mon here? If you are a student of history

or just someone with a bit of curiosity,

perhaps you have wondered about this

too. So let’s look at the record to see if

we can explain its origin.

One day in 1880, a prosperous-looking

gentleman from Philadelphia stepped off

the afternoon train at Elkton. He climbed

aboard a carriage for a trip to Providence,

where he carefully examined an old paper

mill on the Little Elk Creek. It had “gone

to wreck under the weight of years,” the

Cecil Whig reported. This stranger soon

procured the title to the property and set

out to build a modern paper mill on the

site. It was not too long before a passerby

on the road from Andora to Fair Hill,

looking down into the “beautiful and pic-

turesque valley,” observed a small village,

in the midst of which was a busy mill, the

newspaper noted.

The visitor was William M. Singerly, the

editor and publisher of a popular one-cent

daily newspaper, the Philadelphia Record.

And he was a wealthy industrialist. He

owned about a thousand houses in the

city, operated a huge dairy farm there, and

had major interests in manufacturing op-

erations.

Having “pitched his tent amongst us,”

the industrialist purchased a wharf and

ground along the Big Elk Creek in Elkton,

where he constructed a pulp mill four

years later. For many years the “quiet and

P A G E 4

Caption describing

picture or graphic.

Singerly Events

Editor’s Corner: Telling Singerly’s Story

Welcome to

the spring

issue of the

Singerly Con-

nection.

Look for

this newsletter quarterly, as we cover

the Singerly beat, bringing you news,

helpful information, and features focused

on our 123-year old public safety organi-

zation. In each issue, you will see sto-

ries from our correspondents and pho-

tographers, as we put together this

product for you.

The volunteers working on this team

effort are turning their attention to the

summer issue now that the inaugural

edition has been distributed. The com-

mittee consists of Eileen Edelin, corre-

spondent, Dave Scarbrough photogra-

pher, and Heidi Coleman, copy editor

and features contributor.

Eileen puts the spotlight on members, high-

lighting the stories of your colleagues as they

join and progress through the ranks, complete

training, achieve certifica-

tions, are recognized for

their contributions, and

much more. Dave, an

excellent photographer,

will give readers through

the lens coverage as he

provides us with photo-

graphs of departmental

activities. And Heidi is

on board as our copyeditor, since as a paralegal

she has an eye for detail.

Be sure to look for regular features and col-

umns from the officers and departments too as

we develop the newssheet and enhance it in

upcoming issues. In the “President’s Corner,”

President Phil Scott will update you on adminis-

trative matters, the members spot-

light by Eileen will feature narratives

about your colleagues, and there will

be the Singerly Story, a column about

the company’s heritage. And we will

have plenty of general company news.

We hope you find our first issue

helpful, as our goal is to publish inter-

esting and informative articles for

Singerly. Please let us know if you

have a company story to share or if

you want to work on the Connec-

tion’s staff. Our contributors are on

constant watch for articles to bring to

you each quarter as we put the spot-

light on our strong organization.

If you have an idea for a story or

something we should cover, send

your ideas to the newslet-

ter@singerly.com.

Mike Dixon, editor

May 14 . . Susquehanna Job Fair

Both Hall 1:00 P.M. to

5:00 P.M.

May 16 . . Wedding Reception -

Dinner 6:30 P.M.

May 19. . Blood Bank 12 noon

until 6 PM

May 20 . . Bingo

May 26 . . Auxiliary Meeting at 7:30

PM

May 30 . . Party - Both Halls

June 3 . . Bingo

June 6 Flea Market 8:00 A.M. to 2:00 PM

June 10 . . Bingo

June 13 . . Wedding Reception - Dinner

5:00 PM

By Nancy Caldwell

Below is a list of events for April through June

2015.

April 1 . . . . Bingo

April 4 . . . Flea Market 8:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.

April 8 . . . Bingo

April 12 . . Open House at Fire Stations

April 15 . . Bingo

April 16 . . Senior Luncheon

Apri 22 . . Bingo

April 28 . . Auxiliary Meeting at 7:30 P.M.

April 29 . . Bingo

May 2 . . Flea Market 8:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.

May 6 . . Bingo

May 9 . . SFC Banquet

May 13 . . Bingo

June 17 . . Bingo

June 20 . . EHS Alumni Banquet

June 24 . . No Bingo - Convention

week in Ocean City

June 30 Auxiliary Meeting 7:30 PM

N E W S L E T T E R T I T L E

“The Company

has plenty of

stories to tell

and the

Connection

plans to put the

spotlight on

them.

Antiques Raise Funds for 30 years

P A G E 5 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

An important fundraiser, the An-

tiquea Show, opened for the 30th

year over Valentine’s Weekend

2015 (February 14 & 15) at Station

13.

It featured over 40 quality dealers

from throughout the mid-Atlantic

region, offering a range of items

from furniture, china, collectibles,

dolls, dinnerware and much more.

The show was originally launched

to pay for the cost of restoring the

company’s two 19th century hand-

pumpers and aid in underwriting

the cost of the 100th anniversary in

1992.

Today, the important fundraiser

helps with general operating costs.

It is now managed by Steve

Leonard and Ben Petty, who

assumed the responsibility from

Rosemary Culley, a few years ago.

Co-chairs Steve Leonard & Ben Petty check out some of the merchandise.

Macon & Heidi Coleman work the door.

Dave Caldwell and Jane Peterson kept things moving in the kitchen.

Photo Left: In the Museum, they had the boot out for donations. (l to r) Bob McKinney, Will Moncrieffe, & Tom McMahon Photo Right—Heidi Coleman displays one of the dealers Oyster boxes.

P A G E 6

Ca

pti

on

Member News: New Probationary Members Welcomed By Eileen Edelin, Personnel Director

Since November 2014, nine new probationary

members have been added to the rolls. Please

join the Board in welcoming these new mem-

bers.

Matthew Jay Lutz -- A 1999 Graduate of St.

Mark’s High School in Newark, DE. He is em-

ployed at New Castle County Fireboard. For

the past 13 years, he has been a member of

Christiana Fire Co. and he moved to Elkton in

May 2012 with his wife and infant. They now

have two children. He was the Safety Officer in

the Operation Division. He was formerly the

Assistant Chief. He is the husband to fellow

Probie Sheri Lutz. He is assigned to Station 14

and his membership is fire.

Sheri Lutz -- A 1993 Graduate of Glasgow

High School Glasow, DE, Sheri attended Dela-

ware Technical and Community College for

two years. She is employed at A.I. DuPont

Hospital for Children, as an EMT.

A member of Christiana Fire Co. she moved to

Elkton in May 2012 with her husband and infant

son. She is the wife of fellow Probie Matt Lutz.

Sheri is assigned to Station 14 in the EMS divi-

sion.

Barry Gregg -

- A 2010 gradu-

ate of the

Tome School

and a 2014

graduate of

Salisbury Uni-

versity. he is

employed at

Buffalo Wild

Wings located

in Newark, DE.

Barry is as-

signed to Sta.

13, in the EMS

division.

Reynolds ( R.J.) Davis -- (not present for

photo) He is a graduate of the

paramedic program at Albert Ein-

stein EMS Academy in 1999. He is

employed at Plymouth Communi-

ty Ambulance located at 902 W.

Germantown Pike, Plymouth

Meeting, Pa. as a paramedic for 6

years. Reynolds is assigned to

Station 13

in the EMS

division.

Brian DE

Busk, Jr. --

Employed at

Blue Beacon

Truck Stop

in Elkton,

he graduat-

ed from

Griggs In-

ternational

Academy in

2011. He is

certified as

a FFI and

Rescue

Tech. Brian

is assigned

to Sta. 14 in the Fire/EMS divi-

sions.

Anna L. Green -- Employed at

Performance Food Group, locat-

ed on Rte. 279 Elkton, MD, Anna

is a former member of Chester-

town Vol. Fire Co. She has

completed certification as a FFI,

Rescue Tech. and Haz. Op’s. She

is a former member of the Com-

munity Fire Co. of Millington,

MD. where she completed EMT-

B certification and held the posi-

tions of Board of Director and

Fire Recorder. Additionally she

served as EMS Captain and Assis-

tant Secretary. From 2009 to

2013 she served as Secretary of

Kent and Queen Anne’s Fire

Rescue Squad Association. She

was employed as a part time

EMT-B/ Driver at Kent and

Queen Anne’s Fire Rescue

Squad Association from 2011

until 2013. In 2007 she re-

ceived the “Frank Embert Jr.

Award” from Millington Fire

Co. for most outstanding

member of the year. She also

was in the top ten responders

for five consecutive years.

Anna is assigned to Sta. 13 in

the fire/EMS division.

Michael Cody Hopkins --

Employed as an Operator at

Delaware City Oil Refinery, he

is a member of Galena Fire Co.

and former member of Chesa-

peake City Fire Co. He relo-

cated to Elkton in December

2014. Cody held the position

of EMS Lieutenant in 2010 at

the Chesapeake Fire

continued on page 7

N E W S L E T T E R T I T L E

Matthew Jay and Sheri Lutz

Barrry Gregg

New Probationary Members Welcomed

P A G E 7 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

continued from page 6

Co. His certifications include: EMT-B, Haz

Mat Ops, Hazmat Tech, Fire I, Rescue Tech

Site Ops, Vehicle Rescue, Machinery Res-

cue, Public Fire Safety Educator I. Michael is

assigned to Sta. 13 in the fire/ems divisions.

Karen Bashore Bathras — Formerly she

was a career Fire Lieutenant in Howard

County, Md. and retired in 2004. She com-

pleted her Fire and EMT-B certification thru

MFRI & MIEMSS. Karen completed the Para-

medic course at Cecil College in August

2012 and holds that credential. Karen is

assigned to Sta. 3 in the fire/ems division.

Cara Morgan -- Self -employed as a Day

Care Provider, Cara has CPR & First Aid

certification. She is the wife of Ben Morgan

and daughter in law of SFC Past President

Walt Morgan. Cara is assigned to Sta. 13 in

the administrative/fire police divisions.

L to R: Brian De Busk, Jr., Anna Green, Cody Hopkins, Karen Bathras, Jacob Hinderhofer (resigned) and Cara Morgan.

The Singerly Board has named the two halls. The

large hall was named the “SFC Banquet Hall” and

the small hall was named the “SFC Memorial Hall.”

Anyone interested in working events in the SFC

Memorial Hall, please contact Linda Clark, Jim

Ewing, Eileen Edelin, Frank Lewis or Tracy Streets.

Members working the events earn fundraising

hours.

Members work the halls

for a range of

fundraising events.

Here Carl Edelin,

Danielle Kelly, Eileen

Edelin, and Tyekla

Viars work the bar

during an event.

Singerly Halls Named

Our correspondents, photographers and editors

are busy now working on the summer issue.

Singerly Names First Female Chief in Cecil

County

New Ambulance Acquired

Spotlight on Members

The Singerly Story from the Museum

President’s Corner

Calendar of Events

Much More

Look for the summer issue in July,

The Singerly Connection Staff

PO Box 444

301 Newark Avenue

Elkton, MD. 21921

410-398-7300

newsletter@singerly.com

www.singerly.com

Singerly Fire Company

In the Summer Issue

After commanding the company’s emergency response operations for two years, Chief Fred Hill, Jr. decided not to seek a third term in 2015. He is shown here waiting to speak at the dedication of Station 13 in April 2013. Chief, we thank you for your service. Look for a story spotlighting the leadership transition in the summer issue.