Grace Eyler Friday, October 13, 2017, marked the beginning of the 54th Catoctin Colorfest weekend in Thurmont. On this morning, the streets were busy with locals snagging a great deal at the yard sales that were set up all over town. The town had started to bustle. Some locals were preparing for the busy weekend…

Eileen Dwyer Each October in Emmitsburg, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation sponsors the nation’s official tribute to firefighters killed in the line of duty the previous year. The annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend features special programs for family members and coworkers, along with moving public ceremonies, rich in fire service tradition. Members of Congress,…

James Rada, Jr. Frances Smith’s oldest dated poem that he has is dated 1946, more than seventy years ago. Over that time, he has penned thousands of poems. “I enjoy words and how they sound,” Smith said from his Taneytown home, which is filled with notebooks of his poetry and more than a few loose…

Carter Jones, Special Projects Coordinator, S.C. State Firefighters Association On February 17 and 18, 2018, South Carolina and the will observe “The Burning of Columbia” by the Union Army, under the command of. During the nearly forty-eight-hour siege, General Sherman and his troops ravaged more than half the City by fire and destroyed much of its…

Horseshoe Pitching Contest and Log Sawing Contest Winners in the 37th Annual Robert Kaas Memorial Horseshoe Pitching Contest for 2017 were: 1st place—Jeff Powell and Dick Glass; 2nd  place— Johnny Buhrman and Ray Helsley; 3rd place—John Holt and Donnie Kaas. The 37th annual log sawing contest was held with the winners as follows:  Children’s Team…

Deb Abraham Spalding In the October issue of The Catoctin Banner, the cover article was called “The History and Mystery of McAfee Falls.” In it, we explored the McAfee family, who were the landowners of the falls, now called Cunningham Falls and part of Cunningham Falls State Park. We invited people to help solve the…

Thank You The sponsoring organizations, consisting of the Thurmont Grange, Catoctin FFA, and Catoctin FFA Alumni, would like to thank those individuals who helped with the 61st Annual Thurmont & Emmitsburg Community Show. We sincerely thank the community businesses and individuals for advertising and sponsoring our show booklet, as we had excellent attendance and great…

by Victoria Moser So, for school, I had to write a paper describing a person who was a place, and the place was the person. If you wanna read a little something about one of the most amazing men I know, my Pappy, I’ll put it here… Larry Bruce May was an amazing man and,…

by James Rada, Jr. Emmitsburg Town Hopes to Dedicate New Flat Run Bridge to Fallen Firefighter Mayor Don Briggs asked the Emmitsburg Commissioners for their support in a proposal he is making to the Maryland State Highway Administrate to dedicate the new Flat Run Bridge in Emmitsburg in honor of a fallen firefighter. Terry L.…

Mayor John Kinnaird Thurmont has survived yet another Colorfest weekend, probably the best one we have seen weather-wise and crowd-wise in the past five years or so. Saturday was an amazing day, despite starting out cloudy, and Sunday was just as nice. First and foremost, I want to thank our residents for making this a…

Mayor Don Briggs At a recent National Fire Heritage Center Board meeting, a fellow board member, Carter Jones, told me of a story he had written about, “The Burning of Columbia,” South Carolina, during the Civil War. In forty-eight hours, February 17-18, 1865, more than half of the capital was burned to the ground by…

by Theresa Dardanell Weller United Methodist Church A Welcoming Congregation When I met with Pastor Bob Kells and several members of Weller United Methodist Church (UMC), I learned that this church is the oldest church within the Thurmont town limits. Although that is an interesting fact, I agreed with Dorothy Clever, president of the United…

Deb Abraham Spalding Cindy Waynant (pictured right), proprietor of Salon Soleil at 1B East Main Street in Thurmont now offers spray tanning, in addition to traditional tanning bed tanning. Cindy is happy to offer the spray tan alternative. She said, “I’ve used a tanning bed all of my adult life with no ill effects, but…

The girls of local Girl Scout Troop 81178 are excited to be the first to benefit from the sale of official Girl Scout Merchandise (GSM) in Thurmont. Hillary Rothrock, troop co-leader and owner of J. Rothrock Outfitters, has been granted a contract with GSM to sell uniform necessities, journeys, fun accessories, and other official Girl…

James Rada, Jr. Although three people were vying for two seats in the Emmitsburg town government, the incumbents maintained their seats. One hundred eighteen votes were cast during the town election on September 26, 2017. Mayor Don Briggs, who was running unopposed, received ninety-eight votes. In the race for Commissioner Joseph Ritz, III’s, seat on…

Grace Eyler The Emmitsburg High School Alumni Association held its 93rd reunion on Saturday, October 21, 2017, at the Emmitsburg Ambulance Building in Emmitsburg. Two hundred ten guests checked in and grabbed a name tag. Many didn’t make it too far in the door before seeing long-time friends and classmates, happily taking a moment to…

by Anita DiGregory Thanks & Giving Thanksgiving is nearly upon us.  I love Thanksgiving—the faith-based tradition, the family-time, the fun, the food, and the feasting.  Quietly nestled between the sugar overload of Halloween and the incessant over-commercialization of Christmas (I honestly think some retailers had Christmas decorations displayed in September this year!), Thanksgiving has remained…

by Lisa C. Cantwell Dear Reader: This is a column to help you determine the history and value of your heirlooms, attic finds, flea market purchases, or antique items. Please send a picture and description of your piece, such as how you acquired it and any details about its history, to [email protected]. I’ll research any…

Pumpkin, Anyone? by Valerie Nusbaum I always know when autumn is just around the corner because I start seeing television and online ads for products featuring the delicious flavor of pumpkin spice. There are coffees and teas and pancakes galore. The pancakes are good, but I don’t drink coffee and I don’t like flavored teas.…

Christine Maccabee Consumer Power: “Think Globally, Act Locally” Some days I go shopping for food, with enough time to look at the ingredients; whereas, other days, I just speed in, get my few items, and speed out. I love the days I have time to be more discriminate, for, as I take more time to…