Thurmont’s Catoctin Colorfest Turns 60 James Rada, Jr. For 60 years now, Catoctin Colorfest has turned the second weekend in October into an appreciation of beauty both natural and created. Nowadays, around 125,000 people travel to Thurmont to admire the color of the changing leaves in the Catoctin Mountains and browse through the art and…

Michael Betteridge There is a distinct sound this time of year that can be heard up against our beautiful Catoctin Mountains, off in the distance, when the wind blows just right. You can hear whistles blowing and coaches yelling on the practice field. When we hear that distant sound, we smile and we know that…

T h e Y e a r i s…1 9 2 8 by James Rada, Jr. She Wa s the F i r s t L ine in Fire Defense Photo Courtesy of findagrave.com. Alice Willard knew all about struggling to get by. The Foxville resident was a 30-year-old single mother of an 11-year-old son,…

by Randy Nusbaum The year was 2020 as Christmas Eve was settling into the frost-covered Catoctin Mountains. The air was crisp, the Christmas lights glowing, the soft church bells echoing in the distance. The cool night air was filled with the warm aroma of pies, cakes, and Christmas Eve dinners. The hustle of the day…

Mark Allen Lewis A Life Well Spent by Priscilla Rall Mark Lewis was born in 1924 in the hamlet of Garfield, high up in the Catoctin Mountains. He died there, in a place he knew well—the home where he was born. When I consider Mark’s life, I realize it encompassed an entire century of our…

Deb Abraham Spalding Amongst our abundant natural resources in our local Catoctin Mountain, seekers will find a tranquil treasure at ThorpeWood. ThorpeWood is a retreat nestled in the woods on Mink Farm Road in Thurmont. It boasts 160 acres of forests, meadows, an arboretum, wetlands, a native brook trout stream, a timber-framed lodge, a cottage,…

blair Garrett From small-town journalist to big-time sports director, Dave Ammenheuser, a native of Thurmont, has done it all. Ammenheuser, 57, is now the sports director for a major news network, USA Today, but his journey began like many of us, humbly, in a small town, shadowed by the Catoctin Mountains. Developing into a great…

James Rada, Jr. It has been decades since Thurmont had a train station; however, this December trains will once again stop in the town. Of course, each train is only a couple feet long. The Frederick County Society of Model Railroad Engineers will host a weekend train garden throughout December. The group will use the…

Local Artist Yemi Fagbohn announced in spring 2017 that he would be completing the mural project on Main Street, on the former electric building, after the Thurmont Commissioners approved the project to proceed. The current Main Street murals depict Thurmont’s historical buildings, natural resources, and trolley history, which were completed in collaboration with the Thurmont…

On Friday evening, May 26, 2017, the Myersville-Wolfsville Area Historical Society will sponsor a free PowerPoint presentation, exploring the rich history of the presidential retreat at Camp David. The program is open to the public and will be followed by a social hour with refreshments. There is no charge. Since 1942, the Catoctin Mountains have…

Vanessa (Maccabee) Niemann, professionally known as “Gal Holiday,” came to live in the Catoctin Mountains with her family when she was eleven, and made many friends throughout the county at church and at school. As fate would have it, she left here as soon as she could and began a long journey musically that finally…

Denny Black As all boys did in small towns during the 50’s and 60’s, I explored every street and alley in Thurmont. Nestled at the foothills of the beautiful Catoctin Mountains in Northern Frederick County, Thurmont offered a kaleidoscope of images, whether you were walking high on the Western Maryland Railway tracks along Altamont and…

C. L. Harbaugh The weekend of October 10 and 11, 2015, featured cloudless blue skies and crisp fall temperatures, a glorious greeting for those participants who journeyed just a few miles off of the beaten trail to enjoy a less crowded, slower pace at the Sabillasville’s Annual Mountain Fest and 32nd Annual Kenny Clabaugh Car…