once upon a time...
James Rada, Jr.
Note: Newspaper excerpts are as they appeared in their respective issues.
December 1924, 100 Years Ago
Dr. O’Toole in London
According to a teller received by Edmund it. Fhidung, a Baltimore entomologist, Dr. Bernard F. O’Toole, of Thurmont, recently saw the collection of rare butterflies and moms of Lord Rothschild of England. Dr. O’Toole is on his way to Africa, where he will hunt big game and collect butterflies and moths.
“I had the pleasure of seeing Lord Rothchild, who is considered a rather excellent entomologist here,” Dr. O’Toole wrote, “and we went together to the British Entomological Society meeting. Almost all life great entomologists of England were present.
– Frederick News, December 23, 1924
Mail Late, Traffic Delayed by Sleet; Snow on Thursday
Christmas mail was late and traffic conditions miserable as a result of the ice-infested rain which swept Frederick County and vicinity late Tuesday night and early this morning.
…Sleet on the trolley wires and railroad tracks was responsible for the late arrival of Christmas mail today. The Thurmont trolley, which connects with the Western Maryland at Thurmont and brings the mail to Frederick, was an hour late in arriving, with the result that the work at the post office was delayed and much Christmas mail will not arrive when expected. The Western Maryland train was also late in arriving at Thurmont.
– Frederick News, December 24, 1924
December 1949, 75 Years Ago
Garbage System to be Started in Near Future
Chief topic of discussion at the regular meeting of the Mayor and Commissioners Tuesday night in the Firemen’s Hall, Emmitsburg, was the plans for a general garbage collection.
The officials are in receipt of a bid from a local party and are taking the bid under advisement. No date was set for the commencing of the collection of trash, but when it does begin, ashes as well as garbage, will be taken away. It is the intention of the Town Fathers that the system be put into operation as soon as possible after the first of the year.
– Emmitsburg Chronicle, December 9, 1949
Town Receives $1,600 Check from County Treasurer
Frederick County last Wednesday split a $109,450 automobile fee melon with Frederick City and ten incorporated towns in the county. The money represented fees received in lieu of motor vehicle taxes in 1949-50 registrations of pleasure cars and trucks by the State Department of Motor Vehicles.
To the average car owner, this represented $5 of the $15 which he paid to receive his license tags and registration last spring. In some cases, the fee was $8 instead of $5 and in the case of trucks, it was collected according to certain classifications. The whole amount of these fees, which took the place of the old city and county levies on motor vehicles, came to County Treasurer James H. Falk.
– Emmitsburg Chronicle, December 16, 1949
December 1974, 50 Years Ago
Mother Seton To Be Canonized
Pope Paul VI announced today the completion of the formal process naming Mother Elizabeth Bayley Seton as the United States’ first native saint. His announcement culminates nearly a century of prodigious effort to bring about Mother Seton’s canonization. Word came from the Vatican this morning that the formal act of canonization will take place in Rome September 14, 1975.
The Pope approved the decree of canonization at a Monday meeting that confirmed a miracle in which Mother Seton was said to have been responsible for healing a sick person whom doctors believed was beyond medical help.
Sister Mary Clare Hughes, Provincial Superior of the Emmitsburg Province of the Daughters of Charity at St. Joseph’s Provincial House, Emmitsburg, had this to say: “We have anticipated this happiness for so long! I am overjoyed at the thought that canonization will occur in 1975, ‘The Year Of Woman.’”
– Emmitsburg Chronicle, December 12, 1974
Mary Devlin Takes 1st In 26-Mile Race
Battling heavy winds, freezing temperatures and rain to finish the 26-mile, 385-yard Philadelphia Marathon, two Swarthmore College students, Mary Devlin and Bob Soellick, have added honors to their racing records.
Ms. Devlin, a freshman from Blue Ridge Summit, Pa., finished first in the women’s division with a time of three hours and 25 minutes. Ms. Devlin is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John R. Devlin, Monterey Circle, Blue Ridge Summit. She is a graduate of St. Joseph’s High School, Emmitsburg. Devlin runs for the Fairfield Striders, an AAU team centered in Fairfield, Pa. Her rainy Sunday victory was her first attempt at a marathon.
Besides running cross country and middle distances in track, she is also an excellent race walker. Two indoor seasons ago, she won the women’s East Coast walking championships lapping the second place finisher at the Baltimore Civic Center.
– Emmitsburg Chronicle, December 26, 1974
December 1999, 25 Years Ago
Clintons Dine at Carriage House
A routine reservation for a birthday party of 24 turned into a night to remember for the owners, staff and guests of the Carriage House Inn December 27th. The reservation had said nothing to indicate that the party included the President of the United States and the First Lady.
Sharon Collazo and Christy Stabler were the scheduled wait-staff and, according to Sharon, the Clintons were about a half-hour late and “that was good because it gave us time to get over our shock.”
Owner Jim Hance observed that it was a nice, friendly meal. Pretty much routine if you overlook being surrounded by the Secret Service, Frederick County police, the President’s personal photographer, a press van, ambulance, and having guests being scanned with metal detectors. The entourage even included its own chefs, who had prepared a birthday cake and who oversaw the preparation of the Carriage House menu. The kitchen staff pulled it off despite the added pressures of having their preparations so closely scrutinized.
– The Emmitsburg Regional Dispatch, December 1999
Notes from December 1st Town Meeting
At the December town meeting the commissioners acted on the following issues:
Agreed to purchase 20 more parking meter heads programmed for ten and twenty-five cents. They will be placed on the square and along Main Street. Penny meters will be eliminated.
Voted to extend the town’s security patrol for 90 days. The sheriff deputies say the “extra set of eyes is helpful” and vandalism is down in Emmitsburg. – TheEmmitsburg Regional Dispatch, December 1999
