The Monterey Tea House by Richard D. L. Fulton The Monterey Tea House operated for decades in Blue Bridge Summit.  An advertisement in the June 4, 1924, edition of The (Baltimore) Sun had announced the opening of the “New Monterey Gift-Shop Tea-House” at the Monterey Golf Course. The tea house was located at Tracy (also…

October 31, 1941 to August 27, 2024 Sara Taylor Miller, 82, passed away peacefully on August 27, 2024,  at York Wellspan Hospital, York, Pennsylvania. Born October 31, 1941, in Baltimore, Maryland, Sara always enjoyed the magical, whimsical, and “witchiness” the Halloween celebration exudes, along with an affinity for Star Trek and its memorabilia, as well…

James Rada, Jr. Taylor McCrea and Jean Churnesky in the Cracken Catering kitchen at the carry-out location in Blue Ridge Summit. Photo by James Rada, Jr. Taylor McCrea has worked in catering since he was 17. For nine years, he worked with a catering and convenience store in the Blue Ridge Summit area. He took…

Part 2 of 3 Submitted by Joan Bittner Fry The Sabillasville Charge was formed in May 1886 by detaching St. John’s congregation of Sabillasville and Jacob’s from the Mechanicstown Charge. Jacob’s congregation (originally Herbach’s) was with the Emmitsburg Charge after 1842 until 1853, when Jacob’s and Millerstown were made into a charge. Rev. A. B…

Deb Abraham Spalding Christy Hawkins and Damanda Forrest are in the shoe groove, and that’s why they’re the ShoeGurus! A grand opening was held on May 15, 2021, at their store located at 14961B East Buchanan Trail (directly behind the Blue Ridge Summit Post Office) in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania. “It was always our dream…

The Year is…1896 An English Dutchess Born at Blue Ridge Summit by James Rada, Jr. When Alice Montague and Teakle Wallis Warfield were married in 1895, Alice was already pregnant, and Teakle was dying. He had tuberculosis, which is probably why they traveled to Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1896. Besides being…

Blair Garrett Capturing scenery is easy. Today, anyone can pick up their cell phone and digitally capture a moment in time at the push of a button. Breathtaking mountaintops, nights out with friends, and everything in between lies at your fingertips.  Capturing the emotion, vivid color, and beauty of a scene is a much more…

Although Edward Bowman Coleman was born in Port Republic, Virginia, in 1924, he has lived most of his life in the Blue Ridge Summit and Sabillasville areas. In the early 1920s, his father rented a farm in Virginia, earning $1.00 a month, two hogs, and a house to live in. Later, the family moved north…

James Rada, Jr. In the days before air conditioning, Washington D.C. could be nearly unbearable in the summer. Those who could would travel to summer homes in more-agreeable climates. It wasn’t always possible for federal officials, though. In 1915, some of the towns surrounding the capital city began making their case to serve as the…

2by James Rada, Jr. Note: This is the second of three 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, crashed head-on with a mail train traveling east from Hagerstown, crumpling the two engines and sending a baggage…

Deb Spalding A fire above Thurmont between Route 550 and Kelbaugh Road consumed seven acres on Sunday, November 21, 2016. The fire started around 2:00 p.m., was contained by 5:00 p.m., and fully extinguished by 8:00 p.m. It was started by downed power lines. Ironically a new fire broke out around 1:00 a.m. the following…

Joan Bittner Fry In 1964, my family and I bought and later moved into a house in Sabillasville, where the late Tom and Annie Harbaugh had lived. I still live there. My mother helped pack up the Harbaugh’s household goods for public sale at the Blue Ridge Summit fire hall, but the family didn’t want…

Army Chaplain, Family Man, Pastor, and Artist by Chris O’Connor Col. Bill Hammann of Blue Ridge Summit retired in 1999 after two and a half decades in the U.S. Army, where he served as a chaplain, rising through the ranks, ministering to the spiritual needs of American patriots and their families. His service to our…

James Rada, Jr. As the Confederate Army retreated from Gettysburg on July 4, 1863, they encountered Union troops in the area of Blue Ridge Summit. A two-day battle ensued in the middle of a thunderstorm that eventually spilled over the Mason-Dixon Line into Maryland. “It is the only battle fought on both sides of the…