Blue Ridge Sportsmen’s Association 2014 Events The Blue Ridge Sportsmen’s Association is holding a Cash Bingo on December 7. Doors will open at 11:00 a.m. Games will begin at 12:45 p.m. Their Breakfast with Santa will be on December 13, from 9:00-11:00 a.m. On December 14, they will hold their Sunday Funday at 2:00 p.m. […]
Christmas in Emmitsburg There are multiple events taking place in Emmitsburg on Saturday, December 6, 2014. The day is sponsored by the Emmitsburg Council of Churches. Christ’s Community Church, located at 303 West Lincoln Avenue in Emmitsburg, hosts their 3rd Annual Christmas Bazaar, from 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. There will be nineteen vendors and a silent […]
Deb Spalding As we enter the Holiday shopping season, it’s important to be prepared and, sometimes, cautious. Here at The Catoctin Banner newspaper, we encourage local shopping—with our valued advertisers, of course! Statistics suggest that shopping locally helps support our local economy, since the money stays in our community. Another major plus is that it […]
Georgine Rabenold Renovations Salon and Day Spa got a makeover. The transformation began over Labor Day weekend 2014, and when the doors reopened that following Thursday, the salon had a fresh, updated new look. The Salon and Spa has been open for nine years. “It was time for a new look. We want to keep […]
Lindsay Brandt A new general store has opened in Creagerstown. However, Emma Jean’s General Store isn’t your everyday store. Yes, it has the usual milk, bread, and eggs, but you may be surprised to learn that it is also an antique store. Emma Jean Goldberg and her son, Chuck Johnson, had the same kind of […]
Lindsay Brandt The season of giving kicked off early at Lawyer’s Farm and Moonlight Maze, located on Creagerstown Road in Thurmont. On Sunday, October 26, 2014, all admission proceeds for the farm were collected to benefit the American Brain Tumor Association in honor of Jan Lawyer, who passed away from brain cancer on December 15, […]
James Rada, Jr. Colorfest, Inc. met for its annual meeting on November 11, 2014, at Simply Asia in Thurmont to elect officers for the coming year and to review its contributions to the Thurmont community. Colorfest, Inc. earns income from the annual fall festival and returns much of that money back to the community through […]
Lindsay Brandt He may look, walk, talk, sing, and play the guitar like Willie Nelson, but Richard Isaac Renner is not Willie Nelson. Richard started singing when he was just five years old. He would run around his parents house, grab his mother’s broom, and create a makeshift guitar while singing along to the tunes […]
James Rada, Jr. Brace yourselves. It could be such a cold winter that one of the best-known prognosticators—the wooly bear caterpillar—is hiding out looking for a place to stay warm. “I haven’t seen one since August,” said Bill O’Toole, a prognosticator with the Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanac. Though he doesn’t recall how that shy […]
James Rada, Jr. Erik Legg was named the 2014 Thurmont Volunteer of the Year in October 2014. He was chosen from among a group of six volunteers who had been nominated. “Our community is very fortunate to have such individuals who give of their time freely,” said Colleen Gillen with the Lions Club. Legg was […]
Lindsay Brandt The Emmitsburg Council of Churches went to Africa for two weeks in July 2014 to supply the local communities there with much needed entertainment, medical assistance, and learning opportunities. Pastor Jon Greenstone was part of the nine-person team, dubbed “Team Kenya 2014,” who started their two-week journey by boarding a plane at Dulles […]
Allison Rostad Imagine locking up your business at the end of the day—closing out the register, shutting off the lights, locking up until the next day. Now imagine that the next day you find your business had been broken into. It is now part of a crime scene. According to the Thurmont Police Department, the […]
For the month of October, the Town of Thurmont sponsored a “Think Pink” fundraising campaign, during which many businesses and residents contributed to the Patty Hurwitz Breast Cancer Fund at Frederick Memorial Hospital. “Think Pink” resulted in an impressive response. Through the cooperation of residents and businesses in Thurmont, the Town of Thurmont presented the […]
by James Rada, Jr. How a Goldfish Stand Became the Center of the Free World One Afternoon During WWII In the midst of WWII, all two of the world’s most-powerful leaders could talk about one Sunday afternoon in 1942 was goldfish. About eighty percent of the goldfish sold in the United States came from farms […]
The Best Christmas Present Ever by Valerie Nusbaum I’ve given and received a lot of Christmas gifts over the years. I remember most of them fondly, and some have funny stories attached. Choosing the best gift ever was posing a problem for me, so I asked some friends and family to share memories of their […]
by Jim Houck, Jr. Loren “Curly” W. Kruen E-6 U.S. Navy (Retired) Loren was born to Lawrence W. and Clorence Kruen in a small town in Minnesota in the northeast corner named Edgerton, population approximately three thousand, a farming community. Curly grew up with two brothers, Donovan and Carroll “Buck”, and two […]
by Chris O’Connor Party Planning in Sabillasville Thanksgiving reminds me of the gifts I’ve enjoyed, including thoughtful advice and support from others. I have an ever-expanding list of folks that I’ve neglected to adequately thank for their kindness and generosity of spirit over the years. One neighbor on this list is Vickie Willard of Special […]
Christine Schoene Maccabee “Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God.” —Elizabeth Barrett Browning “There they are!” I exclaimed when I saw the first purple blooms of the wild Canadian Aster in September. “There they are in all their late summer, early autumn glory!” Fifteen years ago, I dug up a […]
Book to be published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Date of release announced soon. A Message from Bob Seidel of Emmitsburg 1LT Robert A. Seidel III KIA in Abu Ghraib, Iraq on 18 MAY 06 As you probably know, my son 1LT Rob Seidel was a local soldier who was killed in action back […]
John Nickerson Emmy Award winning producer, Chris Haugh, premiered his highly anticipated film documentary, Almost Blue Mountain City: The History of Thurmont, on Sunday, October 26, 2014, at The Springfield Manor Winery & Distillery near Lewistown. The showing was a great success, and everyone left knowing a lot more about the founding of the original […]
Deb Spalding The evening of November 15, 2014, was one to be remembered, as Thurmont native and international tenor, Richard Troxell, returned to his alma mater, Catoctin High School (CHS), to present—along with current students of the CHS music program—a world-class concert to benefit the Catoctin High School music program and the Thurmont Senior Center. […]
Donald Lewis stood crammed among a group of friends and fellow soldiers, trying not to lose his balance. The landing craft they were on was pushing toward its destination on Omaha Beach at Normandy, France. A strong current threatened to pull them away from their destination. Lewis was a long way from his hometown of […]
James Rada, Jr. It might be Rube’s Crab Shack now, but in the 1930s, the building that sat on that piece of property was a chicken house…literally. “My father got a tractor and dragged a chicken house down the road to there,” says Mike Fitzgerald. Two gas pumps were added and the site became a […]
by Michele Cuseo Thurmont Christmas in Thurmont—December 6 The 12th Annual Christmas in Thurmont event starts at 9:00 a.m. at the Mechanicstown Square Park with a ribbon cutting. This event is meant to help support local businesses by asking citizens to shop locally. Shoppers can register for free prizes and enjoy hot cider and cookies […]
MSS Breakfast with Santa & Christmas Bazaar Shop Mother Seton School’s (MSS) Christmas Bazaar and enjoy the Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, December 6, 2014, from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., at 100 Creamery Road in Emmitsburg. Event features door prizes, crafters, bake table, pictures with Santa, and more! New this year is a Kid’s Bazaar, featuring […]