Once Upon A Time…
by James Rada, Jr.
December 1922, 100 Years Ago
Unusual
Handing a clerk a one dollar gold piece in payment for a cone of ice cream is not often done, but it did occur here in Thurmont recently. The child evidently did not know the value of the coin, and the clerk interviewed the proprietor to learn if the coin was money, and good, before accepting it. The purchaser was given the change and departed happy.
– Catoctin Clarion, December 7, 1922
Ice Plant For Emmitsburg
There is a strong possibility that Emmitsburg will have a new industry here next year. Several out-of-town parties were in the neighborhood during the past week looking over the field with a view of establishing an ice manufacturing plant in this section. These people are experts in the ice business and have several plants in other parts of Maryland. The purpose of their visit was not in the nature of looking for investors but to see some of the leading citizens of the town as to the prospects and if such a plant was needed and would be a paying proposition.
– Emmitsburg Chronicle, December 7, 1922
December 1947, 75 Years Ago
Thurmont Likes Foxville Road
Expressing appreciation to the Board of County Commissioners and the County Roads Board for completion of the highway from Foxville to Thurmont, which opened a new all-surfaced road to Hagerstown, Thurmont residents learned last week that the surfacing of a road from Garfield to Foxville has been approved for construction in 1948.
– Frederick Post, December 15, 1947
Stuffing Turkeys With High Price Grain Is Making Little Profit For County’s Growers, They Claim
If all the turkeys raised in Frederick county this year were consumed within the confines of the county, each of us would have to eat more than a half of one.
Between 30 and 35 thousand turkeys will have been sent to market by the time you clean the last bone of your Christmas bird, the men who market the most of them estimate. About 95 percent of that total come from Frederick county’s growing turkey production center around Thurmont.
– Frederick Post, December 20, 1947
December 1972, 50 Years Ago
St. Joseph College Offers 200-Acre Campus For Lease
St. Joseph College formally announced plans today to offer its 200 acre campus for leasing following the graduation of the class of 1973. The announcement was made in an advertisement in the national edition of the Wall Street Journal.
– Emmitsburg Chronicle, December 14, 1972
Wildlife Officer Ray Toms Honored
Wildlife Officer Ray Toms of Emmitsburg, was singled out for praise Friday evening by Shikar Safari International, a prominent hunter-conservationist organization. The occasion was the sixth annual banquet of the Potomac Valley Fly Fishermen, held at Walton’s Family Restaurant in Frederick.
Earlier this year Toms was selected by the Southeastern Association of Fish and Game Commissioners as Maryland’s outstanding wildlife officer for 1972. It was in recognition of this that Ed Boyd of St. Michaels, Md., traveled to Frederick last Friday evening to attend the local fly fisher’s banquet and there awarded a plaque and check to Ray on behalf of Shikar Safari.
– Emmitsburg Chronicle, December 14, 1972
December 1997, 25 Years Ago
Local Cemeteries Damaged
Nearly 50 markers were tipped over or broken (at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church cemetery). In the same night, some 20 tombstones were damaged at the Elias Lutheran Church on E. Main St.
Early estimates marked the loss at a cost of well over $5,000.
– The Emmitsburg Regional Dispatch, December 1997
Extended Elementary School Proposed to BOE
The Emmit Ridge subdivision will be a topic of discussion for the Emmitsburg town council at the January 5th town meeting. The subdivision is located in the northern section of town adjacent to Irishtown Road. The project was planned in three phases with the third phase providing an access road connecting to Irishtown Road. Currently, the only access to Emmit Ridge is through the neighboring Northgate subdivision entrance. According to the original plans, the developers cannot begin phase three until prior phases are complete and thirty-three homes are built. To date, just three homes have been completed in the first phase. In the meantime, the original plan time limits have expired. At its Dec. 1 town meeting the commissioners voted to reinstate the final plats for Emmits Ridge Subdivision for one year, but change the phasing to require Phases II and III to be developed simultaneously. They also called for the development of Irishtown Road immediately after the completion of Phase I.
– The Emmitsburg Regional Dispatch, December 1997
