by James Rada, Jr.
October 1920, 100 Years Ago
Water Main Bursts
Last week one of the joints of wooden pipe that carries water from the dam to the Electric Light and power Plant at this place burst, the break occurring at a point where the pipe line crosses Hunting Creek. Repairs have been made and water is again turning the wheels that makes the juice that makes the light for Thurmont. The water, however, is low and at times it is necessary to hit on to the Security line.
– Catoctin Clarion, October 21, 1920
School Improvement Association Organized
In response to a call for a meeting at the Thurmont High School Building on Monday evening of this week, a hundred or more people gathered in the auditorium to learn what Prof. F. X. Day and Faculty had to present.
The object of this meeting was to form a School Improvement Association, Prof. Day spoke briefly, and mentioned a number of subjects along which improvement could be made, but not without the assistance and cooperation of parents and patrols of the schools. The real purpose of the association is to create a more intimate relation and better cooperation between patrons and teachers.
– Catoctin Clarion, October 30, 1920
October 1945, 75 Years Ago
Thurmont Handed Defeat
Shafer held Thurmont’s sluggers to five hits and shut them out 5 to 0 Sunday before a good crowd at Middleburg as the home team evened the Penn-Maryland League play-off series at 1-all. The Middleburg hurler not only checked the invading hitters but blasted three hits, including a triple, to aid the winning cause.
The rivals meet in the deciding game next Sunday at Middleburg, the latter club having won the toss Sunday afternoon. The winner will then tangle with the champion Blue Ridge Summit nine in a final series.
– The Frederick Post, October 1, 1945
Roosevelt’s ‘Hide-Out’ Near Thurmont may Become Shrine
When the late President Roosevelt selected the Catoctin Recreational area west of Thurmont for the one place that he could get away from it all during the most trying days of World War II, he but followed in the footsteps of hundreds of lovers of forest and stream who for generations had found the greatest joys in the solitude of its precincts, even before it was made into a Federal park. And he probably never gave a thought to the fact that he was dropping almost into the lap of the quiet little town the possible making of a national shrine to commemorate the momentous decisions that were made there.
– The Frederick Post, October 26, 1945
October 1970, 50 Years Ago
100-Acre Hunting Club Opens Here
Pheasant Meadows Shooting Preserve, a new concept in sporting preserves, will offer the beleaguered sportsmen in this area the chance to get away for some hunting and fishing this fall without having to join an expedition to do so. Only one hour from the Washington and Baltimore areas, Pheasant Meadows’ 1,000 acres of rolling meadows, wooded mountainsides, stocked fishing ponds, and a freshwater stream, will open near Emmitsburg on Saturday, Oct. 3, to provide both the hunter and fisherman a natural site to pursue their sporting pleasures.
– Emmitsburg Chronicle, October 2, 1970
Bishop To Visit Parish Here Over Weekend
This weekend, St. Joseph’s Parish will be visited by His Excellency T. Austin Murphy, vicar general of the archdiocese. The bishop will celebrate the 7:30 Mass on Saturday evening and will deliver the homily at the 11:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday.
The main purpose of his visit will be to get to know the members of the parish, and for the members of the parish to meet him. A parish meeting will be held on Sunday evening at 7:30, at which time he will be available to answer any questions the parishioners care to ask.
The bishop will visit St. Joseph’s High School and Mother Seton School on Monday, Oct. 5.
– Emmitsburg Chronicle, October 2, 1970
October 1995, 25 Years Ago
Emmitsburg Joins Chesapeake Bay Project
Commissioner of Parks and Recreation Christopher Weaver and the advisory committee responded enthusiastically when the Chesapeake Bay Foundation announced their Save the Bay project. They proposed a two-pronged local program: (1) to prevent continuing erosion of Willow Rill’s banks by planting more trees along the rill; and (2) to initiate the marking of storm drains as a reminder to keep our waterways clean. The Emmitsburg Town Council approved the suggestions.
With the assistance of John L. Harris and the Frederick County Baywatchers volunteers, the Emmitsburg volunteers will stencil warning signs on the storm drains around the square. The signs will remind residents and business people that the water that runs along our streets goes through the drainage systems into Willow Run, Flat Run, and Toms Creek, then the Monocacy, and eventually reaching the Chesapeake Bay by way of the Potomac.
– The Emmitsburg Regional Dispatch, October 1995
Mount Makes Money
Mount Saint Mary’s College is featured in a select list in the 1996 issue of Money Magazine’s “Money Guide: Your Best College Buys Now.”
The Mount is included among the 25 “Top Academic Religious Schools,” a group that is topped by St. Olaf College of Minnesota and also includes Villanova, the University of Scranton, and about 10 other Catholic institutions.
– The Emmitsburg Regional Dispatch, October 1995
