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CSM believes the most important editorial in our magazine are the great letters we get from you.
It is your voices that make the most interesting stories and capture the heart of Cecil County.
We encourage you to share your thoughts and memories with us all, before they are lost.
Thank you — ETB

Sincerely yours,
Ed Belote Sr, Publisher

P.S.— We've provided a simple and convenient form that you may use, if you wish.

July/August 2008

Hello Momma.....

Don't think I've been neglecting you. I've been forced to neglect everyone for a month now. Back at the beginning of last month as we were settling into our new home of Cedar2 just outside of Talill we got a phone call from a 4 star general and he told us to pack our stuff right then, and make a ground assault on the city of Basra to our south. The Brits had stopped going inside the city like 6 months earlier and were just patrolling the outskirts. The Iraqi Army had gotten their butts handed to them inside, and like 3/4ths of the division surrendered to the insurgents and gave them everything.

Since we were the only Infantry unit in Southern Iraq we were instantly deployed to come down here. You may have been watching CNN and everything around that time when ole G.W. gave a press conference about how Basra needs to be taken back, and that this is going to be one of the most decisive battles in the Iraqi theatre to date. Yah well, lucky us, the main effort into the city was none other than D co. 2/504th 82nd ABN Div. like... just us. No one else, other than Air Support, which is really awesome, by the way.

So as we speak it's just my company living in a palace inside the city of Basra on the Shuk al Arab River. We run patrols, raids, cordons and knocks, day and night with the Iraqi Army.

OK, well since now you know the scoop, and you can tell ole Papa, I'm going to go ahead and say: Momma you have no need to worry. Basra hasn't seen US forces since the initial invasion of Iraq and they respect us. We're whipping this city back to what it should have been from the start and confi scating tons of weapons and ordinance. Other than the lousy standard of living here, it's okay.

Mumsy, I miss you mucho, and make sure you tell everyone I love them, and that I should be coming home soon, maybe 2 more months who knows. :) I miss you guys too much.

I Love you Mom!

Spc Cody Ricks
82nd Airborne
Basra, Iraq

Dear CSM,

I enjoy your magazine very much. While reading the story on Ruth Graybeal, I saw the picture of the house at Calvert. My great great grandfather (William Conrad Hambleton) operated the Brick Meeting House Hotel and tavern in that building in the latter part of the 1800s. I have attached copies of three pictures of the building. I don't have any dates on the pictures.

Millard Dawson
Newark, Delaware

Dear Mr. Belote,

We want to thank you and Maggie Creshkoff for the professional article written about Calvert Manor Healthcare Center. Maggie conducted such an interesting interview to create an informative article about Calvert Manor's history and our family. The photographs you selected were a pleasing addition. We have received many positive compliments for your wonderful article and the quality of your home-town magazine. It certainly enriches many folk's memories. Again, our Thanks and Appreciation for the marvelous story on our family's heritage.

Sincerely,
The Graybeal Family

I kid Wayne Halsey, that he is my lucky charm. Since I'm an artist, he told me to paint on an old nail keg. I put that piece in a fancy New York store (on Broadway and 18th Street) and Whoopi Goldberg bought it. Next, Wayne gave me a beat-up, naturally distressed footlocker. I took it to the same store and Susan Sarandon bought it. I said to Wayne, "Give me something else. We're on a roll!"

Now, Wayne is giving me all sorts of objects to paint on: old five-gallon milk cans, bottles, cheese boxes, kerosene cans, etc. Everything he gives me sells! He's gotten me so many commissions I'm backed up for months. He makes fun of my whacky themes, and choice of bold colors, or "kellers" as he pronounces it. Sometimes, if a piece isn't selling, he'll say, "Why don't you paint something people like, like a rooster or flowers for once, or something?" And I'll reply, "I ain't into that @xz:@!"

Wayne has always encouraged me and I'm grateful to be able to tell his story.

Zane Campbell
Elkton, Maryland

Publisher's Note: See Wayne's story on page 35 of the current issue.

To Maggie Creshkoff...

Hi,
Thank you for writing such an informative and fun article about our lodge. It was simply perfect and everyone is delighted. You may have heard or read that my dear Aunt Delia Lee died April 11th. She was a second mother to me and a dear friend, and sister to many. Her husband Walter is very sad. It all came about rather quickly.

Please know you are always invited to our meetings. I look forward to reading the Cecil Soil and most particularly your articles. Keep up the good work.

Sincerely,
Mary Ann Sekowski
Elkton, Maryland

Dear Ed and Carol,

Ah, the memories of Circus Park. My dad operated the Cedar Tree Garage and went to the park many times to change flat tires and start engines. My brother Edward and I went with him when he worked on the Model T Ford engine in the little train. We got a free ride when he took it for a test drive.

We stopped there once in the '28 Buick tow truck. Sure enough the monkey (Mickey) got in an open window and helped himself to a package of cinnamon buns.

One winter they found a stiff, large snake that they thought had frozen to death. They carried it off and dropped in the woods. Later it crawled into someone's back yard. It didn't die, just hibernated.

Ed and I liked the car crashes in the ball diamond. They used 4-DR sedans because the drivers, at the last minute could jump behind the front seat to keep from getting hurt. One car hit a brick wall at 35 MPH. Two cars would hit head-on at a high speed. The T-bone was one car that went up a small ramp and hit another car in the side usually removing the body. They didn't hit the Model As in the side because their bodies were mostly metal. The other cars had more wood in the bodies.

Just east of the park was the "S" curve where a number of trucks turned over from going too fast. Dad heard a noise one evening and we three went down to the 'S" curve. There was a truck on its side. The trailer roof had come loose and a bunch of wooden barrels of whisky rolled down the bank and into the woods. Dad set a price for setting the truck on its wheels. A tow truck from North East showed up and the guy told the truck driver that he would charge less than my dad to set the truck up. The price went down to $15.00 and the driver told dad he could get the job. The North East guy backed his tow truck to the bank's edge. Thought he was turning around but several guys were there so we guessed a gab session was going on.

The driver wanted dad to winch the whisky barrels up out of the woods. We did. It was 2 AM when we got home. Found out later the North East guy had winched a barrel of whisky up the bank and broke the wooden lid with a hammer. Then they poured the raw whisky into paper cups through a piece of cheesecloth to strain it. Bet they got the paper cups from Circus Park.

I really enjoy Cecil Soil Magazine.

Duane Borden
Fort Worth, Texas

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Belote,

We all just wanted to give you an update that we attended the State Solo and Ensemble Festival in Baltimore on May 10th and are happy to say that all seven RSMS students won medals for our performances! My mom wanted to get everyone together there for a picture but it was really crazy and this was the best she could do. Thank you again for the story you printed about us in your March/April issue. We were practically famous and that was fun!

Sincerely,
Emmalee Spotts (and Colleen Boyle, Julie Grantham, Kelly Holsten, Sean Mulligan, Chris Powels and Luke Raymond)
Rising Sun Middle School Orchestra

Please send your letters to: Cecil Soil Magazine, P.O. Box 645, Rising Sun, MD 21911. You may also fax them to 410-658-3242 or use this handy form. All letters become the property of Cecil Soil Magazine and Back Porch Publications, LLC, and may be edited for clarity or space. All letters received are given due consideration for publishing. Beginning in January 2010, writers of letters selected for publication in future issues will receive a free one-year subscriptions to CSM, or extensions to their existing subscriptions, when applicable.
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