Scope and Contents: The collection consists primarily of newspaper clippings and supplemented documents that chronicle Morris W. Rannels’ term as superintendent in Cecil County, Maryland, from 1952 to 1960. Among the supplements of materials are photographs of building dedications; programs of graduations and school dedications; surveys of obsolete school buildings; and an evaluation of the county’s financial needs.
The newspaper clippings were obtained mainly from the Cecil Democrat and the Cecil Whig. The articles chiefly describe Cecil County’s financial needs to build new schools and renovate others and the issue of integration. Rannels also included personal items in the collection such as invitations to graduations, programs from various conventions, and photographs.
Rannels saved this collection for years and gave it to his close friend, Owen Crabb, in hopes that the latter could preserve the collection and make it a useful resource. Crabb contacted Margaret Trader at McDaniel College, where arrangements were made to have the collection preserved and put in the school’s archive.