On Sunday, October 23, 2016, the Graceham Moravian Church celebrated its fiftieth anniversary of the first performance of handbells at the church. The Graceham Moravian Church Handbell Choir was founded in 1966, under the direction of the late Dr. James L. Fisher. The celebratory worship included Bells of Grace, the current handbell choir, directed by […]
Grace Eyler The Catoctin Civitan Club has been busy this year, raising money and reaching out to people in need throughout the community. With a handful of active members, the club has contributed well over $74,000 back to the community, just this year. Civitan Clubs normally only reach out to individuals who have intellectual or […]
Chris Cogan (pictured right), son of Mr. and Mrs. John Cogan of Graceham, was bestowed with special recognition for twenty years of service to the City of Frisco, Texas, and its citizens, with a Proclamation of October 28, 2016, as “Chris Cogan Day.” Chris is a graduate of Catoctin High School and, before his move, […]
Helen Deluca Congratulations to Roy Clever, a recent inductee to the Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame. Roy received the honor for the many ways in which he volunteers to help others. He dedicates his time to four principles: God, family, country, and community. Roy and his wife, Dorothy, are active members of Weller Methodist […]
by Theresa Dardanell Rocky Ridge Volunteer Fire Company — Protectors of the Ridge — In 1951, the Rocky Ridge Volunteer Fire Company spent seven-and-a-half hours trying to save the Mt. Tabor Park “giant” wooden slide from a devastating fire. It was their first fire call since they were organized on May 9, 1949. Since that […]
Megan McIntosh National FFA convention is held every year and attracts FFA members from every state, including Alaska and Hawaii. The 89th National FFA Convention was held in Indianapolis, Indiana, from October 17-22, 2016. While at the convention, 21 Catoctin FFA members joined over 59,000 other FFA members. Throughout the week, members were able to […]
Theresa Dardanell Girls can be anything they want to be…even a rocket scientist. That was the theme of the “Girls Only” STEM Day at the United States Naval Academy on Saturday, October 15, 2016. Four middle school girls from Thurmont Middle School attended the free all-day event, where they attended workshops in STEM (Science, Technology, […]
Theresa Dardanell There are only 124 students at Sabillasville Elementary, but during the “Kids Helping Kids” food drive this past October, they collected 163 food items, which will be distributed to local food banks. This program, which is sponsored by the Maryland State Department of Education, is coordinated by the Maryland Food Bank for the […]
The 11/12 Catoctin Baseball Club Fall Team recently concluded a successful 2016 fall season. The team finished the season with a record of 18-4-2. The highlights of the season were winning tournament championships at the SLS Fall Heroes tournament over the weekend of October 15-16, and winning the championship at the Future Stars Field of […]
Four members of the Catoctin-Aires Twirling Corps recently captured the titles of Miss Capital Area Marching Association (Miss C.A.M.A.) at the individual championship event, held in Hagerstown, Maryland. Hannah Gonzales-Diaz of Emmitsburg was named as the Miss C.A.M.A. Queen in the Novice 7-9 age division. Gonzales-Diaz also won the Advanced Tiny Tot Leader award for […]
The Emmitsburg Baseball and Softball League will hold sign-ups for its 2017 fall season on Wednesday, January 18, from 5:00-7:00 p.m.; and Saturday, January 21, from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., at the firehouse in Emmitsburg on West Main Street. Online registration is open from December 15, 2016, to January 17, 2017. Visit EBBSB.com to register online.
Five Frederick County 4-H Club “Fire Power” members recently participated in the publicly promoted “American Marksman” Contest, which is to become a TV show series similar to the Top Shots show. While the contest was not an actual “4-H” event, all used their knowledge and skills learned through 4-H, which gave them the confidence to […]
The Catoctin High School (CHS) Sports Boosters will hold its 8th Annual Holiday Open House on Saturday, December 3, 2016, from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., in the CHS Cafeteria. Cougar apparel, blankets, stadium seats, hats, and miscellanous novelty items will be available for your Christmas shopping. There will be light refreshments. Payment may be made by […]
The Catoctin High School Sports Boosters will be selling Cougar clothing (sweatpants, sweatshirts, T-shirts, and polo shirts), blankets, stadium seats, hats, and other miscellaneous Cougar items at the following home sporting events: December 6—Boys Basketball (5:30-7:30 p.m.); December 9—Boys Basketball (5:30-7:30 p.m.); December 13—Girls Basketball (5:30-7:30 p.m.); December 16—Girls Basketball (5:30-7:30 p.m.) Items will be […]
Submitted by Natalie Bentz and Payton Troxell, Rocky Ridge 4-H Reports On November 6, 2016, the Rocky Ridge Progressive 4-H Club held their Annual 4-H Banquet and Achievement Night. Special quests, community members, and 4-H families were in attendance. The night started off with appetizers, prepared by the Rocky Ridge 4-H Club’s cooking group. Payton […]
by Lisa C. Cantwell “I bought this large menorah at a thrift store for $8.00. It’s made of ornate, heavy brass and is in “like new” condition. What is it worth?” — R. Higgins, Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania You have a Hanukkah treasure! Just in time […]
by Valerie Nusbaum No matter which occasions you celebrate, the holidays are filled with all kinds of traditions, rituals, and gatherings. For my family, one that stands out is the annual Christmas Eve party at Grandma’s house. My grandmother was several inches shy of five-feet tall, and she lived in a tiny house near Harpers […]
Christine Schoene Maccabee Foraging for Food and Medicine in a Wild Garden To say I have taken the words in the above quote seriously is putting it lightly. Ever since I began my exploration of design in nature (my art form is pressed flora), I began exploring the uses of these plants as well, […]
The Wreck of the Blue Mountain Express, Part 1 by James Rada, Jr. Note: This is the first of two articles about the wreck of the Blue Mountain Express between Thurmont and Sabillasville in 1915. On June 25, 1915, the Blue Mountain Express, bound for Hagerstown, pulled into the Western Maryland Railroad Station in Thurmont […]
by Jim Houck, Jr. The American Legion and VFW Combined Color Guard Veterans Day Activities This Veterans Day, November 11, 2016, was a beautiful day to continue with our traditional program of visiting all of our cemeteries in and around Emmitsburg, where we pay tribute to our local Veterans buried there. The Color Guard was […]
by “My Father’s Son” The Immaculate Collection: Hayland Outside Emmitsburg, nearly the northernmost one can travel before leaving Maryland for Pennsylvania, stands a mansion time forgot, nestled at the end of a long, private lane in solitude, possibly its savior. This estate, known as “Hayland,” located at the terminus of Mechanicstown Road, off the way […]
Maryland film producer, Conrad Weaver, and a collaboration of award-winning film makers, have launched a crowd-funding campaign on IndieGoGo.com to raise development funds for a new film project called Scars of an Orphan. The film will tell the true story of Diana Prykhodko, a young orphan girl who survived—yes, even thrived—against insurmountable odds. Fleeing the […]
Deb Spalding Sabillasville resident, Christine Maccabee (pictured right), has been a volunteer at Frederick Memorial Hospital (FMH) since 2012. In that role, she plays a baby grand piano on Wednesdays for a couple of hours. She first encountered the piano in the lobby of the hospital when she went there for one year after an […]
Anita DiGregory “I have no ambition in this world but one, and that is to be a firefighter. The position may, in the eyes of some, appear to be a lowly one; but we who know the work which the firefighter has to do believe that his is a noble calling. There is an adage […]
A music video titled, “The Fallen and the Brave,” by Dave Carroll, was produced by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation at the National Emergency Training Center and was shown for the first time on October 20, 2016, during Opening Ceremonies of the Annual Firehouse Expo Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, with thousands in attendance from across […]