Member Tom Ward The Vigilant Hose Company (VHC), in partnership with the Emmitsburg Volunteer Ambulance Company (EVAC), is excited to be progressing with the merger of the two emergency service organizations. Recently, with the support of EVAC, the VHC signed a contract to purchase a 2018 F-550 Road Rescue Ultramedic Ambulance. This unit to be […]
James Rada, Jr. As night fell in Thurmont on October 28, 2017, the gates to Community Park creaked open, and ghouls, ghosts, and monsters swarmed inside for the annual Halloween in the Park event. Ashley Wivell of Fairfield, Pennsylvania, has come to the event with her children for four years. “It’s different,” she said. “The […]
Emmitsburg’s Annual Halloween Parade and Costume Contest was held on October 31, 2017. The parade line-up began at 6:30 p.m., at Federal and DePaul Streets. Following the parade, a party was held at Vigilant Hose Company, featuring a costume contest, refreshments, prizes, and lots of fun. Costume Contest Winners Cutest: 1st Place—Jessica Tolbert, 2nd Place—Mia […]
Theresa Dardanell The Catoctin High School (CHS) cast and crew of Auntie Mame demonstrated remarkable versatility during their performances on October 27 and 28, 2017. The story is about an orphan, played by Casey Ecker, who goes to live with his eccentric aunt, played by Jean Pembroke. Ecker and Pembroke, who both have previously performed […]
Sabillasville Elementary School hosted its 3rd Annual Sabillasville Scenic 5K/1-Mile Fun Run on November 12, 2017. It was organized by the Sabillasville Elementary School’s Parent Group (SES-PG). The SES-PG would like to thank all the runners and volunteers that came out to help support the SES-PG by participating in this event. It was a beautiful […]
Catoctin High School will hold a free holiday event for area children this holiday season. The school’s various clubs and organizations invite area children to Santa’s Workshop on Saturday, December 16, 2017, from 9:00-11:00 a.m., at Catoctin High School. The cafeteria will be transformed into a winter wonderland for children to enjoy many fun activities, […]
Theresa Dardanell Twenty-two Catoctin High School (CHS) FFA members, along with FFA Advisor Amy Jo Poffenberger, attended the National FFA convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, this past October. They returned to CHS with multiple awards and recognitions. Over 67,000 FFA members from every state participated in sessions, workshops, and a career expo during the four-day event. […]
by Theresa Dardanell St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church Part of the Mission Statement of St. Joseph’s Church is “…following in the spirit of St. Vincent DePaul to assist those in need.” When I met with Pastor Father Martin McGeough, Parish Secretary Elaine Ebaugh, and Facilities Manager Dennis Ebaugh, they all agreed that the parishioners fulfill […]
by Anita DiGregory Memory-Making Moments Last month, when we visited together, we talked about fostering an attitude of gratitude in our little ones. This transitions beautifully into the mystical season of Christmas. But if your home is anything like mine, this season can get more than just a bit stressful. As lovely and magical as […]
by Lisa C. Cantwell There were no reader questions this month, so I’d like to share three pieces that I either noticed in a home, inherited, or found in an antique market. I hope you enjoyed learning about vintage items and antiques through this column. Due to decreasing submissions of reader’s questions, this is the […]
Your Holiday Questions by Valerie Nusbaum The holidays are difficult enough without wondering why we’re doing the things we’re doing, right? We all follow certain traditions and customs, but do we really know why? I got curious and started doing research, and I asked some other people to tell me what puzzles them about their […]
by Christine Maccabee My Last Chicken My last hen was a beautiful, little blue egg layer, an Auracana, originally from South America. I acquired her four years ago, along with two other larger hens of a different genetic heritage, whose large brown eggs I enjoyed until they both died, leaving me one last unhappy hen: […]
by James Rada, Jr. Celebrating Independence During the Country’s Centennial When America celebrated its first one hundred years in 1876, Mechanicstown threw the country a grand party. “The old saying that the people of Mechanicstown could never get up anything of a startling nature was beautifully knocked in the head last Tuesday—the 4th of July—by […]
by Jim Houck, Jr. TINA MARIE REEVES E-3 UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS Tina was born and raised in the Emmitsburg-Thurmont area until she was seventeen years old, then she joined the Marine Corps. She met her husband, Keith, who was also a marine at the time, and they went on to have a daughter they […]
by Buck Reed In last month’s article, I used the term “throwing tricks.” This in no way made me popular with my colleagues in the food service industry and may have confused a few of the many fans of The Supermarket Gourmet. So, I wanted to take a moment to express my absolute respect for […]
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 […]