John Lafarge Helped Expand the Art World by James Rada, Jr. The Statue of Liberty was introduced to her husband by a Mount St. Mary’s graduate. French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi created his first plans and model for the iconic Statue of Liberty in the New York studio of John LaFarge, a Mount St. Mary’s…

by James Rada, Jr. The Mount During the Civil War In the years leading up to the Civil War, Mount St. Mary’s College enjoyed prosperity. The college celebrated its golden anniversary in 1858, and student enrollment was around 200 young men. “The Mount was thriving, as was most of the South thriving before the Civil…

The Year is…1808 by James Rada, Jr. The Mount Seminary Is the “Cradle of Bishops” From a brick cottage in rural Maryland grew an institution that has educated dozens of young men who became Catholic bishops and archbishops. Mount St. Mary’s College began in 1808 when “the Society of St. Sulpice in Baltimore closed its…

Mount St. Mary’s Movie Star Alumni by James Rada, Jr. You probably won’t recognize his name, but Thomas Meighan was once as big a movie star as Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise, and he was an alumnus of Mount St. Mary’s. He was one of the leading actors in the country in the 1920s, at…

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by James Rada, Jr. Early Public Education in Emmitsburg Emmitsburg has always had plenty of schools. Of the 158 one-room schools in Frederick County in 1890, more than 20 were near Emmitsburg. This doesn’t even include the private and parochial schools in town at the time. In a 1908 Emmitsburg Chronicle article, an old-timer recalled…

Deb Spalding As a youngster in Emmitsburg during the 1950s, Robert (Bob) Rosensteel, Sr., attended school at St. Euphemia’s School on DePaul Street. He remembers that the students who were black were treated differently by some, and there were “White” and “Colored” signs, designating separate use of water fountains and bathrooms. Like most youngsters, Bob…

Deb Spalding Young Betty Jean Hixen was raised in a family of Polish and Irish descent, who were coal miners in Jordan, West Virginia. Just three miles away, her future husband, William (Bill) Meredith, lived with his family of Welsh and Irish ancestry. They were farmers. The two were destined to love, and met when…

A Unique Life Experience Michele Cuseo Most people who live in Emmitsburg know or have heard of Mrs. Williams, as she has lived here for 101 years. I know her because I went to high school with her son, Richard, who is also a personal friend. Born in 1914, she is not just unique due…

by James Rada, Jr. Emmitsburg Gets Three Burgesses in Four Months Emmitsburg once went through three burgesses in the span of four months in 1939. It began when Burgess Michael J. Thompson died unexpectedly on May 31. He had gone out walking through Emmitsburg, including stopping at the Hotel Slagle, before heading home. He had…

Deb Spalding In preparation of the annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service that is held in October in Emmitsburg, Maryland at the National Fire Academy, Emmitsburg’s fire personnel and volunteers fill multiple rolls year-round. For this year’s 33rd annual event held on the weekend of October 11 and 12, 2014, the folks at Vigilant Hose…