THURMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETY WWW.THURMONTHISTORICALSOCIETY.COM Inside This Issue Historical Society of Frederick Visiting THS Donations from Dottie Who, What, When, Where 2 2 3 Upcoming Events 3 Christmas House Tour Thank you, Thank you Membership Application SPONSOR FOR SPRING 2012 NEWSLETTER Catoctin Labs, Inc. 8609 Apples Church Thurmont, MD 21788 301-663-5323 800-H2O-LABS 4 6 7 Monitoring the environment is critical to our safety and health. - H. Allen Haines President Volume 3, Issue 1 Annual Thurmont Historical Society Meeting and Dinner 2012 Membership Dues Winter/Spring 2012 The Thurmont Historical Society Annual Meeting and Dinner will be held on Thursday, March 29th at the Cozy Restaurant. We will be having the buffet like last year. Social hour will be at 6:00pm with dinner beginning at 6:30pm. Our guest speaker will be Michael Hillman of the Emmitsburg Historical Society. They have a wonderful website at www.emmitsburg.net. We are looking forward to having Mr. Hillman at our meeting. We will also be having a short business meeting with the election of Board members. Nominations will be taken during the meeting and we will be anticipating some new volunteers this year. If you would like to have your name added to the list prior to the meeting, please contact Donna Voellinger. The cost is just $15/person for members and $20/person for non-members. It would be helpful if you could put your money in an envelope with your name on it or else have the correct change. Please make your reservations before March 24th by calling Carol Ford at 301-271-7608 (you may leave a message) or by emailing her at candjford1@verizon.net. We hope to see you there! It s that time again! Don t forget to renew your membership in the Thurmont Historical Society. Dues are based on the calendar year January-December and are still just $15 for Individual or $20 for Family Membership. You will find an application at the back of this newsletter or just contact Pat Weddle at 301-271-4236.
Page 2 Sweatshirt Sale What a wonderful idea and it was just in time for Christmas. Donna Voellinger came up with a winner when she suggested having some sweatshirts made! After 3 orders Donna ended up selling 66 shirts. Please let us know if you have any fund raising ideas! Rebecca Crago from the Historical Society of Frederick will be visiting on March 16th We will have an important visitor at the Creeger House soon. On March 16 th at 1 p.m. Rebecca Crago from the Historical Society of Frederick County will be visiting us. Rebecca is Coordinator of the Research Center located in the Museum of Frederick County History. During her visit Rebecca will review our paper files and holdings of historical nature. Hopefully she will then be able to give us some suggestions and guidance on restoration and preservation of these important items. We urge you to join us, not only to learn about the Society s paper preservation, but also to pick up a few hints on keeping your personal historical papers safe for future generations. Come join us, Carol Newmann Donations from Dorothy Kline Thanks to contact made by Pat Weddle, the items pictured here were donated to the THS by Dorothy (Dottie) Kline. Both she and her mother taught in our public schools. **Gone with wind lamp (given to her Step- grandmother in 1898) ** Winding toy elephant (belonged to Dr. Gray) **Painting (Done by Dottie which shows both the lamp and the elephant) ** Album (Belonged to Julia Knott Beard and contains some photos) **Crocheted tablecloth (Made by Blanche Beard Strine) Thank you Dottie and you too Pat!
Volume 3, Issue 1 Page 3 WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE? By John Kinnaird Gall and Smith (top picture) This photo is provided courtesy of Brian Smith and shows the inside of the Gall & Smith Grocery on Water Street sometime around 1945, the grocery was located in the building that was used most recently as the Thurmont Public Library. This building was erected in 1874 as the Moravian Church and served as such until 1918, D. S. Weybright purchased the building in 1926, added a basement and second floor and opened his grocery there. The property was sold to Gall & Smith in 1932 and housed their grocery until it was leased to the American Stores chain until about 1967. After hosting Teen Town for a short period it was deeded to the Thurmont Library Board for use as the Thurmont Public Library. Gall and Smith (center) In this detail of the photo we can see Ross Smith Sr. at the left in the white coat and Lee Martin at the right also in a white coat. To the left of Ross Smith you can just see his Mother, Lottie Gall looking through the small office window. The other man and woman are not identified. Gall and Smith (bottom) Can anyone help to identify the man and woman shown in this detail of the Gall and Smith Grocery photo? Please contact John Kinnaird if you know who they are. UPCOMING EVENTS YOU WON T WANT TO MISS REBECCA CRAGO @ CREEGER HOUSE (preservation demonstration) THS ANNUAL DINNER/MEETING/ELECTIONS March 16th 1pm. March 29th 6pm @ Cozy Restaurant 2012 BUSINESS EXPO @ CATOCTIN HIGH SCHOOL March 23, 2012 6-9pm SPRING IN THE VILLAGE 12607 CATOCTIN FURNACE RD. May 5th 9am-5pm
Page 4 Newsletter Title CHRISTMAS HOUSE TOUR - BIG SUCCESS TOLD IN PICTURES The 2011 Christmas House Tour was a wonderful success this year. We teamed up with our friends from the Lions Club again and sold over 270 tickets. The weather even cooperated both days! As you look at these pictures we hope it will bring warm feelings and a smile to your face. If you see the following people, please remember to thank them and their families for opening their homes, hearts and their helping hands. Hosts and Hostesses: Susan Favorite, Jennifer Hankey, Becky Brashear, John and Carol Ford, Steve and Gina Lindahl, Robert Morrow, David Hunt, Jeff and Brenda Adamovicz, Lisa and Jim Humerick and Cheryl Wiles. Also, we would like to thank all of the volunteers who staffed the homes, the ticket takers and the Committee Members. Of course we don t want to forget our sponsor Stauffer Funeral Homes for helping with our printing expenses OR our local shops Hobb s Hardware, Timeless Trends Boutique, Brown s Jewelry and Gift Store and Hillside Turkey Farm for selling so many tickets. As always, it was a lot of hard work but boy was it fun!
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Page 6 WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT YOU! A Very Special Thanks to our Volunteers and Helpers: John Nickerson (Gnarly Artly) for his speedy and expert printing of the Sweatshirts. When we found a need to reorder twice, he complied and he graciously replenished our supply All the Elves who helped decorate the Creeger House for Christmas An Angel named Donna at Bollinger s Restaurant. After purchasing a sweatshirt, she volunteered to sell them for us. Stop by to thank her and have some great food too! Claire Vietri who arrived on the scene to help UN-decorate the Creeger House Sean Vietri who did his usual Great Job of leaf removal prior to the Christmas House Tour Kristen Williams who gave us 4 hours of hard labor - the basement is now swept, organized and cobweb free. Flowers are trimmed and all the books in the library are stamped with our seal Mike Adkins for fixing the shingles and giving us some breathing room as we look for someone to do roof repairs. Karen Gardner from the Frederick News Post. For the wonderful article on the Christmas House Tour - it really helped our sales! All Our Friends at the Thurmont Lions Club for another Great Christmas House Tour YOUR HELP IS ALWAYS NEEDED! We need volunteers to serve on the following committees: Membership, Community Show, Colorfest, Christmas in Thurmont, and Fund-raising. Please contact Donna Voellinger at 301-271-0309 if you can spare a little or a lot of time. All committees must have at least one board member in addition to general members. News from the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society Please Join Us for a Traditional Spring in the Village Featuring Craft Demonstrations, Flowers, Plants, Herbs and Refreshments With Wonderful Mother s Day Gifts and Decorations for Sale Saturday, May 5, 2012 Collier s Log House, ca. 1810 12607 Catoctin Furnace Road 9am to 5pm Sponsored by the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, Inc. The Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, Inc. is hosting a Traditional Spring in the Village at the ca. 1810 Collier s Log house located at 12607B Catoctin Furnace Road in Catoctin Furnace. On Saturday, May 5, from 9 am to 5 pm the public is invited to visit the log house which will be decorated with Spring flowers, plants and herbs and filled with traditional crafts and foods. Craft demonstrations will include pottery making, basketry, plein air painting, leatherwork, and weaving. Traditional music and foods will complete the ambiance of a village Spring celebration more than 200 years ago when the Catoctin Furnace was in blast. Spring fruit punch and baked goods made from village recipes handed down over multiple generations will be available for sale as well as handmade crafts such as soaps, baskets, pottery, crocheted and sewn items, spring wreaths, plants, herbs and flowers in handmade small garden pots. Period furniture and reproductions will also be for sale. Admission is free. Proceeds from the event will be utilized for the replacement of the hand split cedar shake roof on the historic structure, a critical need. For information, please call 410-243-2626 or visit www.catoctinfurnace.org
Volume 3, Issue 1 Page 7 Thurmont Historical Society Officers and Board of Directors President - Donna Voellinger President Emeritus - Sterling Kelbaugh Vice-President and Membership - Pat Weddle Treasurer - Robin Haines Secretary and Hospitality - Carol Ford Program Chairman - Bill Zentz Photographer - Irene Matthews Newsletter - Sharon Martin Library and Gardens - Carol Newmann Photos and Troubleshooter - John Kinnaird IF YOU HAVE AN ARTICLE OR PICTURE YOU WOULD LIKE FEATURED IN THE NEWSLETTER PLEASE CONTACT SHARON MARTIN 301-606-8680 OR SJMARTIN100@ COMCAST.NET YOUR IDEAS AND COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME Dues are based on the calendar year January-December. An Individual Membership is $15.00 and a Family Membership is $20.00. THURMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION/RENEWAL FORM Name Phone Address E-Mail Address @ Make checks payable to: Thurmont Historical Society Mail to: Pat Weddle 125 Cody Drive, Unit 22 Thurmont, MD 21788 I AM INTERESTED IN HELPING WITH: Interior projects at the Creeger House Exterior projects at the Creeger House Fundraising activities Archiving/Classification Clerical/Date Entry Gardening Projects Other
Thurmont Historical Society P.O. Box 251 11 North Church Street Thurmont, MD 21788 EMAIL ADDRESSES NEEDED!