Page 15 - April 2017 BNP ALL
P. 15
Published by www.EPlusPromotes.com www.TheCatoctinBanner.com The Catoctin Banner Newspaper April 2017 Page 15
Armstrong Rifle Saves a Boy’s Hearing
James Rada, Jr.
Rifle use has been known to Photos by Grace Eyler that the barrels had been filled
cause hearing damage, but Thomas with beef tallow to keep them from
Worthington’s Armstrong rifle once Thomas Worthington and his Armstrong rifle replica. rusting. They held the rifles with
helped restore Worthington’s son’s the barrels pointed down over a
hearing. The trip Instead hot stove so that the tallow melted
to Frederick of going to and drained out, leaving the barrels
Worthington, who lives in County Hunting clean and rust free.
Sabillasville, was born and raised began an Creek that
in Annapolis. His family lived with annual year, they In examining the rifles, they
his grandparents, because a month trip that went to determined that Emmitsburg
after Worthington was born, in Worthington visit the gunsmith John Armstrong made
September 1929, the stock market would make instructor’s the flintlock. Melchior Fordney, a
crashed, heralding the start of The with the friend, who Lancaster gunsmith, had made the
Great Depression. man. lived in percussion cap rifle.
Emmitsburg.
“We were in bad shape Back They fished on the man’s property. Worthington held onto his
financially, so we all lived together,” in Annapolis, he soon discovered When the man learned of treasures. He never hunted with
Worthington said. another passion. Worthington’s interest in shooting, them, but he did shoot them in
he told the boy that he thought he competitions. When he was in his
As his family struggled to make Often, he would run errands for had an old muzzleloader in his attic late twenties and married with
ends meet, Worthington’s world was people to make a little extra money. that he would be willing to sell him. two children, one of his sons had
the streets of Annapolis. Two of the men who he ran errands Worthington agreed, and he a traumatic hearing loss. He was
for were Confederate Civil War returned to Annapolis on a mission. told that it could be treated, but
His father enjoyed reading Veterans. He would do chores for He spent the next year running more it would cost $18,000, which was
outdoor magazines. Once, when them and listen to their stories. errands and saving his nickels and a huge sum in the mid-1950s. He
Worthington was looking for dimes. By the time the next year wasn’t sure what he would do until
something to do, he found one of At some point, said rolled around, he had saved $24.00. the doctor’s medical partner, heard
the magazines. The cover showed a Worthington, the Veterans “decided After fishing up in Emmitsburg, about Worthington’s rifles.
man fishing in a beautiful mountain to teach me to shoot a musket, the man brought out not one, but
stream. in case they had trouble with the two old rifles. One was a flintlock, Worthington showed him the
Yankees again.” and the other used a percussion rifles and told him their story. The
“I’d never seen anything like cap. They were covered with soot doctor offered him $4,500 for each
it before,” Worthington said. “It So they pulled out their old and years of coal dust. The man one, on the condition that he never
was just gorgeous. I’d never seen a weapons and began instructing offered to sell the percussion cap tell anyone who the doctor was or
mountain before then because I had the young boy on how to care for rifle for $10.00 and the flintlock for the farmer that sold him the rifles.
never been out of Annapolis.” them, load them, and fire them. Not $8.00. Worthington agreed and had Apparently, there was some bad
that they could fire the weapons in purchased his first rifles at ten years blood between the families.
Worthington decided that he the city, though. For that part of old.
wanted to learn to fly fish like the the instruction, the Veterans and “They were so long, we Worthington accepted the offer,
man in the picture. He asked his Worthington traveled to a farm couldn’t fit them in the Model A,” and he never saw the rifles again.
father to help him. His father didn’t owned by Worthington’s uncle. Worthington said. “We had to put However, with half of the money
know how, but he did find a man some sacking on them and put them for the operation raised, the bank
who was a customer of his insurance “I was too small to shoot, in the rumble seat.” was willing to loan the family the
business. The man agreed to have really,” said Worthington. “I had to When they got back to rest. The operation was a success,
the eight-year-old Worthington stand on a kitchen chair to load the Annapolis, Worthington and his and Worthington’s son’s hearing was
come to his house twice a month on musket.” fishing instructor began cleaning the restored.
a Saturday morning. Worthington rifles, exposing the wood curves and
began to learn to tie flies, cast, and Using a reduced charge, the metal inlays. They also discovered “I’ve always missed that
fish. young boy was allowed to fire at a Armstrong rifle, though,” expressed
target. He discovered that not only Worthington. “It was such a
Once Worthington had learned was he good at shooting, but he beauty.”
the skills, the man took him fishing also loved it. On his fishing trip, he
in Frederick County. told his instructor about the thrill In fact, he missed it so much that
of shooting a rifle. he commissioned a copy to be made
“We rode in a Model A,” recalled that he has hanging in his living
Worthington. “It took us about four room.
hours. There were no superhighways
or anything like that. We rattled
along at 35 miles per hour, and
usually, there’d be a flat somewhere
along the line.”
They went to a spot on Big
Hunting Creek at the base of
McAfee Falls. They waded into the
water, and Worthington started
trying to cast where his instructor
told him to. The problem was that
he kept pulling the fly back before
it hit the water. The instructor told
him to let the fly land.
“No sooner did the fly hit the
water, then the brook trout hit the
fly,” said Worthington.
He remembers that his first fish
was so red that he thought it was
bleeding, but he learned that it
meant the trout was a spawning
male.
Armstrong Rifle Saves a Boy’s Hearing
James Rada, Jr.
Rifle use has been known to Photos by Grace Eyler that the barrels had been filled
cause hearing damage, but Thomas with beef tallow to keep them from
Worthington’s Armstrong rifle once Thomas Worthington and his Armstrong rifle replica. rusting. They held the rifles with
helped restore Worthington’s son’s the barrels pointed down over a
hearing. The trip Instead hot stove so that the tallow melted
to Frederick of going to and drained out, leaving the barrels
Worthington, who lives in County Hunting clean and rust free.
Sabillasville, was born and raised began an Creek that
in Annapolis. His family lived with annual year, they In examining the rifles, they
his grandparents, because a month trip that went to determined that Emmitsburg
after Worthington was born, in Worthington visit the gunsmith John Armstrong made
September 1929, the stock market would make instructor’s the flintlock. Melchior Fordney, a
crashed, heralding the start of The with the friend, who Lancaster gunsmith, had made the
Great Depression. man. lived in percussion cap rifle.
Emmitsburg.
“We were in bad shape Back They fished on the man’s property. Worthington held onto his
financially, so we all lived together,” in Annapolis, he soon discovered When the man learned of treasures. He never hunted with
Worthington said. another passion. Worthington’s interest in shooting, them, but he did shoot them in
he told the boy that he thought he competitions. When he was in his
As his family struggled to make Often, he would run errands for had an old muzzleloader in his attic late twenties and married with
ends meet, Worthington’s world was people to make a little extra money. that he would be willing to sell him. two children, one of his sons had
the streets of Annapolis. Two of the men who he ran errands Worthington agreed, and he a traumatic hearing loss. He was
for were Confederate Civil War returned to Annapolis on a mission. told that it could be treated, but
His father enjoyed reading Veterans. He would do chores for He spent the next year running more it would cost $18,000, which was
outdoor magazines. Once, when them and listen to their stories. errands and saving his nickels and a huge sum in the mid-1950s. He
Worthington was looking for dimes. By the time the next year wasn’t sure what he would do until
something to do, he found one of At some point, said rolled around, he had saved $24.00. the doctor’s medical partner, heard
the magazines. The cover showed a Worthington, the Veterans “decided After fishing up in Emmitsburg, about Worthington’s rifles.
man fishing in a beautiful mountain to teach me to shoot a musket, the man brought out not one, but
stream. in case they had trouble with the two old rifles. One was a flintlock, Worthington showed him the
Yankees again.” and the other used a percussion rifles and told him their story. The
“I’d never seen anything like cap. They were covered with soot doctor offered him $4,500 for each
it before,” Worthington said. “It So they pulled out their old and years of coal dust. The man one, on the condition that he never
was just gorgeous. I’d never seen a weapons and began instructing offered to sell the percussion cap tell anyone who the doctor was or
mountain before then because I had the young boy on how to care for rifle for $10.00 and the flintlock for the farmer that sold him the rifles.
never been out of Annapolis.” them, load them, and fire them. Not $8.00. Worthington agreed and had Apparently, there was some bad
that they could fire the weapons in purchased his first rifles at ten years blood between the families.
Worthington decided that he the city, though. For that part of old.
wanted to learn to fly fish like the the instruction, the Veterans and “They were so long, we Worthington accepted the offer,
man in the picture. He asked his Worthington traveled to a farm couldn’t fit them in the Model A,” and he never saw the rifles again.
father to help him. His father didn’t owned by Worthington’s uncle. Worthington said. “We had to put However, with half of the money
know how, but he did find a man some sacking on them and put them for the operation raised, the bank
who was a customer of his insurance “I was too small to shoot, in the rumble seat.” was willing to loan the family the
business. The man agreed to have really,” said Worthington. “I had to When they got back to rest. The operation was a success,
the eight-year-old Worthington stand on a kitchen chair to load the Annapolis, Worthington and his and Worthington’s son’s hearing was
come to his house twice a month on musket.” fishing instructor began cleaning the restored.
a Saturday morning. Worthington rifles, exposing the wood curves and
began to learn to tie flies, cast, and Using a reduced charge, the metal inlays. They also discovered “I’ve always missed that
fish. young boy was allowed to fire at a Armstrong rifle, though,” expressed
target. He discovered that not only Worthington. “It was such a
Once Worthington had learned was he good at shooting, but he beauty.”
the skills, the man took him fishing also loved it. On his fishing trip, he
in Frederick County. told his instructor about the thrill In fact, he missed it so much that
of shooting a rifle. he commissioned a copy to be made
“We rode in a Model A,” recalled that he has hanging in his living
Worthington. “It took us about four room.
hours. There were no superhighways
or anything like that. We rattled
along at 35 miles per hour, and
usually, there’d be a flat somewhere
along the line.”
They went to a spot on Big
Hunting Creek at the base of
McAfee Falls. They waded into the
water, and Worthington started
trying to cast where his instructor
told him to. The problem was that
he kept pulling the fly back before
it hit the water. The instructor told
him to let the fly land.
“No sooner did the fly hit the
water, then the brook trout hit the
fly,” said Worthington.
He remembers that his first fish
was so red that he thought it was
bleeding, but he learned that it
meant the trout was a spawning
male.
