Hello, Frederick 2020

52 Things You Might Not Know About

WHO WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.?

WHEN THE CITY WAS HELD FOR RANSOM

JULY 25, 2020 SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF

FREDERICK’S FIRST BLACK DOCTOR WHO COINED ‘CLUSTERED SPIRES’?

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Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

lonza

MRW Systems Inc

Michael Wolinski’s workspace in 1997, when he founded the company.

Just off of Biggs Ford Road in Walkersville, nestled on 100 acres of farmland, sits Lonza Walkersville, Inc. The original building opened in 1974 and additional buildings have been added several times over the years, with about 40 acres still being leased for farming.

The company known today as Lonza Walkersville, Inc. has a long history of developing innovative biology-based solutions which dates back to 1947, when it was known as Microbiological Associates. In the 1950’s, it was the first site to manufacture and sell HeLa cells, which became the cornerstone for the development of the polio vaccine and several other advancements in medicine.

In the 1970’s, the site began manufacturing endotoxin detection kits. These kits, derived from the blood of horseshoe crabs, have become the standard in the medical industry for detecting lethal endotoxins in injectable drugs and medical devices.

Microbiology Associates eventually split into two companies, one of which later became known as BioWhitakker and subsequently Cambrex. Throughout its history, the company continued to develop cell culture media, supporting cell biology research and developing endotoxin test kits. In 2006, Lonza acquired the life science research and endotoxin divisions of Cambrex and it became what is now known as Lonza Bioscience Solutions.

Today, Lonza Walkersville is the headquarters and largest manufacturing location for Lonza Bioscience Solutions.

With conservation in mind, it was recently the first to commercialize PyroGene™ rFC, a reliable method for endotoxin testing that is not dependent on horseshoe crabs. Lonza Walkersville continues to be a leading innovator of biology-based solutions to life science customers, offering a range of manufacturing and process development services for research organizations and biopharmaceutical companies worldwide.

8830 Biggs Ford Rd, Walkersville, MD 21793 (301) 898-7025 Pharma.lonza.com July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

To say technology has changed drastically over the past two decades would be an understatement.

Michael Wolinski founded MRW Systems in 1997 to fill a need within small businesses who struggled to keep up with basic computer systems, but his company has since grown exponentially, as people need more assistance with technology to run their businesses.

“I’d been in tech for about 10 years in 1997. In those days, people were using technology sparingly,” Wolinski said. “But I saw companies relying on technology more and more, and numerous people would ask me how to do things.”

MRW Systems, based in Westminster, services small businesses and nonprofits throughout Central Maryland, as well as the surrounding region. Wolinski always enjoyed working with small businesses because he’s community-focused, he said, but small businesses also have a greater need for tech support, as they typically can’t afford huge, inhouse IT teams.

Unlike many tech companies in the ’90s that primarily existed to sell hardware and software, MRW Systems focused on services for its clients from the beginning by offering support for all of their technology.

Instead of using the “break-fix” model, MRW Systems tailor their services to each individual client.

Wolinski firmly believes that every

Current office in Westminster. business is different; therefore, IT management must reflect those differences to help the business thrive.

This approach to technology has paid off. As technology improved over the years, the demand also grew. Computers are no longer tools for just accountants.

“Now, even blue-collar jobs like construction rely on computers,” Wolinski said. “Computers drive business today.”

Another difference is security.

In the ’90s, there was little talk about cybersecurity. Antivirus and firewalls started to gain traction in the late 1990s, but now, they are tools of the past.

In today’s era, small businesses tend to be the most vulnerable to cybercrime.

During the past five years, MRW has seen a huge increase in cybersecurity requests. MRW Systems is a Qualified Maryland Cybersecurity Seller which, as an added perk, means clients receive tax credits when using these services.

To keep up with the latest threats, MRW employs an entire department of dedicated staff members with highlevel cybersecurity certifications.

The company receives high ratings on a daily basis. As one client put it, “Computer security is one of the few business risks that keep me up at night. Knowing that MRW Systems is protecting our systems gives me a sense of security.”

MRW Systems 115 Airport Drive, Suite 150, Westminster 410-751-7111 www.mrwsystems.com

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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

History’s rough draft starts here

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ewspapers, so the old saying goes, are the first rough draft of history. Though the origin of the quote is somewhat in dispute, it’s most often attributed to the late Washington Post publisher Phil Graham.

Regardless of who said it first, the sentiment is pretty hard to dispute, though nowadays, that “rough draft” also comes from other media — television, radio, social — as well. The key, as with everything, is to make sure that source of news is a place you can trust to tell you the facts.

For nearly 137 years now, the news here in Frederick County has been chronicled by what’s now The Frederick News-Post. Originally established as the Frederick News by William T. Delaplaine, in 1916 The News acquired its competitor, The Frederick Post, with the News publishing in the evening and the Post in the morning. Finally, in 2002, the papers were combined into what’s now the News-Post.

From those humble beginnings of working out of a small print shop in downtown Frederick to today with our current facility, the staff of The Frederick News-Post has chronicled that first draft of Frederick history. We’ve been here to cover not just the big stories but the ones that are important to the community. Of course, we do so today not just in print, but also online and with video, with our subscribing members not only getting the news on their doorstep, but also on their laptops and mobile phones.

Today, in the midst of Frederick’s 275th anniversary, this edition of Hello, Frederick brings you what some might consider some lesser known bits of local history. Stories about famous faces, dates and places here, in no particular order, might not be well-known, but are nonetheless important accounts of the fabric of Frederick County.

— Paul Milton

EDITORIAL PUBLISHER, GEORDIE WILSON EDITORS, PAUL MILTON, ALLEN ETZLER DESIGN, ANNA JOYCE CONTRIBUTING WRITERS JEREMY ARIAS | STEVE BOHNEL | JOHN CANNON | HANNAH HIMES SUSAN GUYNN | RYAN MARSHALL | PETE MCCARTHY | MALLORY PANUSKA KATRYNA PERERA | ERIKA RILEY | JOSHUA R. SMITH | GREG SWATEK PHOTOGRAPHERS BILL GREEN | DAN GROSS | TRAVIS S. PRATT | SAM YU

ADVERTISING REVENUE DIRECTOR, CONNIE HASTINGS CREATIVE DIRECTOR ANNA JOYCE SALES SUPPORT MANAGER, NOELLE HALLMAN MULTIMEDIA MARKETING CONSULTANTS JAMES CONSTANTINE | DAWN DAYHOFF | MIKE SANTOS | TALIA VALENCIA

ON THE COVER

www.sharpesquare.com

The Frederick City Bicentennial Parade passes through the intersection of Market and Patrick streets on Monday, Sept. 3, 1945. Courtesy of Mary Mannix, Frederick County Public Libraries Maryland Room.

“Hello, Frederick” is published by and distributed through The Frederick News-Post and through selected outlets.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY COPYRIGHT. Prices, specials and descriptions are deemed accurate as of the time of publishing. This publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of the publisher. Advertising information has been provided by the advertisers. Opinions expressed in “Hello, Frederick” are those of editors or contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of Ogden Newspapers of Maryland, LLC. All terms and conditions are subject to change. The cover, design, format and layout of this publication are trademarks of Ogden Newspapers of Maryland, LLC and published by The Frederick News-Post.

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Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

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DATES

Days to remember

1921: The first public school for Black students under segregation was founded. 2001: When the Pentagon was hit on 9/11, there was a need for a fire • engine • that was small enough to get through the wreckage. Only one in the state was small enough. 1974: Several million grackles, blackbirds and • starlings invaded Graceham pine grove every evening, making world news! +14 more

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SEPT. 11, 2001

1906

The little fire engine that could

By ERIKA RILEY eriley@newspost.com

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Extra!

Extra!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

The Woodsboro Volunteer Fire Co. Ladder Truck 16 was sold to Hagerstown Fire Department Chief and antique truck collector Kyd Dieterich in December 2001. Due to its small size, the truck was called on as part of the rescue mission at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

Other larger apparatus were unable to negotiate the around the inner Pentagon walls.

“Everyone was very quiet, there was no hollering or chaos,” Fyock previously told the News-Post. “Something of such a large magnitude puts you in a zone where you’re — it’s just so calm among the chaos.”

The truck entered the tunnel and followed a hose that had been laid down for them. Once they were inside, they hooked up to the hose.

The crew took turns climbing the 65foot ladder and directing a water screen, trying to keep the fire from spreading any further.

While inside the Pentagon, things were quiet. Fyock saw the Boeing 757

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

that had crashed into the building’s southwest side. Other workers were coming in and out with body bags.

By the time they were out of the building, the sun was rising. The volunteers hung an American flag from their truck, and later in the day, another flag was hung from an undamaged side of the building.

“Something just came over me,” he said. “I knew right then and there that we would be all right.”

The following February, the Woodsboro Fire Rescue Co. received a later from President George W. Bush thanking them for their service, which now hangs in the Woodsboro fire station.

The truck now belongs to the Hagerstown Fire Department, but is still used during special events in Woodsboro.

“This is our company’s legacy,” Fyock said. “We had the little truck that could and did.”

Follow Erika Riley on Twitter: @ej_rileyw

First published in 1906, The Frederick Hornet served as the first African-American newspaper in western Maryland and a sister paper to prominent Black publications across the state.

The paper was “published every Saturday in the interest of the Negro race and humanity in general,” the masthead proclaimed. It covered not only local news, but national topics as well.

–Pete McCarthy

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Sept. 14, 1814

The penning of our national anthem Frederick native and amateur poet Francis Scott Key watched the British bombardment of Fort McHenry and became inspired. Watching the American flag still standing, he penned the first verse of our national anthem on Sept. 14, 1814, and then finished the rest not long after — thus completing The Star-Spangled Banner.

–Pete McCarthy

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

FLAG: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE; NEWSPAPER: COURTESY IMAGE

When the Pentagon was hit by a hijacked plane on Sept. 11, 2001, a fire erupted from inside. In order to stop the fire, an engine would have to go inside the building itself. But the entrance tunnels, standing at 10 feet, provided a challenge for fire engines, which were all too large to pass through.

There was one firetruck small enough in the area to make it through the entrance tunnels. It happened to be in Woodsboro.

Micky Fyock, deputy chief of the Woodsboro Fire Rescue Co., received a call at 1:30 a.m. from emergency responders asking about the department’s 1955 Mack Ladder truck. Without hesitation, Fyock geared up to take the truck down to Arlington.

The truck was a true antique and was just the right size to get through the 10foot tall entryway.

Fyock, with the help of four other volunteer firefighters Michael Cornell, Robert Compton, Michael Strasbough and Steve Devilbliss, drove down to Arlington in the middle of the night.

“I said, ‘We’re going down. I don’t care if they bring the firetruck back on a tow truck and bring me back in a hearse.

We’re going down,’” said Fyock in a previous News-Post article.

Interstate 270 was near-empty, Fyock said, as most people were at home with their families following the attacks. But as a firefighter, he was used to leaving his family to protect others.

The scene at the Pentagon was quiet and calm, which Fyock attributed to the mental zone the volunteer and career firefighters had to put themselves in to keep the fire under control.

DATES

When was Frederick’s oldest building erected, and who was the only Frederick native to compete for the U.S. in the Olympics?

5 MARCH, 1858

4 1964

Wyomia Tyus, second from left, of Tennessee State University, wins the women’s 60-yard dash final in the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden in New York on Jan. 28, 1965. Debbie Thompson, right, of Frederick, came in second.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Debbie Thompson Brown competed in the ’64 Olympics

By JOSHUA R. SMITH jsmith@newspost.com

A track and field legend who later coached the sport, Debbie Thompson Brown is the only Frederick County native to compete for the United States in the Olympics.

She earned a spot on the U.S. track and field team for the 1964 Games in Tokyo after

placing second in the 200-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic Trials in New York. At age 17 and still a student at Frederick High School, she was one of the youngest members of the U.S. Olympics team.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Brown was eliminated in the first round, falling four-tenths of a second short of qualifying

for the semifinals with a time of 24.6 seconds in the third heat.

Brown, who died in 2019 at age 72, retired at the height of her career in 1965 to start a family. After a comeback attempt in 1969, she coached at Frederick High School for years and was founder and head coach of the Frederick Striders youth track club.

STAFF PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

United Steam and Fire Engine Company No. 3 is located on South Market Street.

Creation of the United Guards In March 1858, Captain John T. Sinn of the United Fire Company organized the “United Guards,” a fire company militia unit that later joined the “Junior Defenders” and “Indepen-

dent Riflemen” to respond to John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859.

The Uniteds guarded John Brown after his capture. Sinn resigned from his post in 1860.

–Pete McCarthy

1732

6 Building the Beatty-Cramer House Described as “one of Maryland’s most unique historic homes,” the Beatty-Cramer House dates to the 18th century.

The original portion, built around 1732, is the oldest known house in Frederick County, and is one of the earliest in the state.

It’s one of the few buildings left that merged Dutch, English, and early American carpentry techniques.

It now requires extensive and much-needed repairs in order to ensure its preservation.

–Pete McCarthy July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

HELLO, FREDERICK

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DATES

The problem of racism in America — and Frederick County — is far from resolved.

7 1921

The Lincoln School on Madison Street in Frederick opened in 1923. Prior to integration, Black students attended Lincoln School from elementary to high school. Meanwhile, white students attended nearby Washington Street School. Lincoln School became known as the “B” building and Washington Street School became known as the “A” building.

FILE PHOTO

By JEREMY ARIAS jarias@newspost.com

Frederick County Public Schools currently has 67 schools and an operating budget of $637,141,096, but things were quite different when the county’s first public high school for Black students opened in 1921.

Originally a one-room stone building at 170 West All Saints St. in Frederick, the school was founded by Mr. John W. Burner, the supervisor of Black schools in Frederick County at the time, while Maurice Reid served as both the school’s principal and teacher, according to a plaque that commemorates the site where the building once stood.

Known only as the “colored school,” the building presented the first high school option for Black students in the county’s history.

Similarly, not all businesses and even

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public spaces were accessible to Black residents, sometimes until the 1950s or ’60s.

For example, when Joseph Dill Baker helped the city purchase the original plot for what would later become Baker Park in 1926, the park was only open to white residents when it opened a year later. An article published April 3, 1934 in The Frederick Post outlined Baker’s views on segregation in no uncertain terms while lauding his contributions to Blacks in the community.

“We cannot refrain, however, from pointing out the fine point of view which [Baker] has held toward colored people many of whom Frederick people have known as loyal servants and faithful friends,” the article reads in part.

“Mr. Baker has agreed in the principle of segregation without discrimination.”

Indeed, Baker’s charity also funded a

The idea — or rather, the delusion — of “separate but equal” would be officially abolished in 1954 for public schools when the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education ruled that segregation was unconstitutional. separate wing at the hospital for Black residents as well as the land that would become Mullinix Park, which was accessible to African American residents, in 1929, but segregation continued as the norm in Frederick County for many years after Baker’s death in 1938.

The idea — or rather, the delusion

— of “separate but equal” would be officially abolished in 1954 for public schools like the “colored school” when the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education ruled that segregation was unconstitutional.

By that time the school had moved to the 200 block of Madison Street and had changed its name to Lincoln High School, which eventually become Lincoln Elementary School after the public school system was completely integrated.

But while African Americans today can enjoy Baker Park and minority students at some Frederick County public schools outnumber white students, the protests following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in May stand as proof that the problem of racism in America — and Frederick County — is far from resolved.

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

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Located just minutes from Downtown Frederick, off 144 near Spring Ridge July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

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In 1920, as a Yankee, Babe Ruth hit more homers than any other team in the majors except the Phillies.

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‘THE BABE’ DISCOVERED IN EMMITSBURG

SEPT. 6, 1937

McCurdy Field hosted the newly minted Redskins

9 1921

The Redskins moved from Boston to Washington in 1937. But before they played football in the nation’s capital that year, they took the field for their first contest, an exhibition, in Frederick on Sept. 6, 1937.

It was against the wildly overmatched Frederick American Legion All-Stars.

The Redskins, boasting six former college All-Americans, threw just one pass and won 50-0 before about 1,000 people at McCurdy Field.

Read the News-Post story: “Never before and probably never again shall this city be host to such a football powerhouse. The Redskins smothered the willing All-Stars beneath an avalanche of touchdowns.”

They later won the NFL title that season.

jsmith@newspost.com

Babe Ruth’s Maryland roots are well-known.

But it’s not so commonly known that George Herman Ruth’s prodigious baseball talent may well have been discovered at Mount St. Mary’s University.

Legend has it that, while playing in an exhibition with his St. Mary’s Industrial School baseball team in Emmitsburg, a young Ruth caught the eye of Washington Senators pitcher and Mount grad Joe Engel, who was participating in an alumni game.

Engel later told Jack Dunn, owner of the minor league Baltimore Orioles, about Ruth. Dunn signed Ruth, who went on to take the sport by storm.

Over the years after he became a star, Ruth returned to stage hitting exhibitions at the Mount, including once on May 7, 1921 ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Yankees’ Babe Ruth takes a big swing at Yankee Stadium on June 18, 1929.

–Joshua R. Smith

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By JOSHUA R. SMITH

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1818

Church has served black community for more than 200 years Asbury United Methodist Church, one of the oldest African-American churches in Frederick, was founded in 1818 after a free Black man named William Hammond purchased a lot on East All Saints Street.

The church was built by a white congregation, though free Blacks were permitted to worship there. In 1864, they took over full possession of the church. That building, known as “Old Hill Church,” served its congregation until 1921, when the present church was built on West All Saints Street. The old building was demolished in 1945.

–Joshua R. Smith

NOV, 23, 1765

Frederick rejects the Stamp Act Repudiation Day is Nov. 23 in Frederick, celebrating the day in 1765 when 12 Frederick County judges rejected the Stamp Act in one of the first official acts of defiance against the British government.

British Parliament imposed the act on all 13 colonies to raise revenue for British troops in America through direct taxation, in the form of stamps,

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on many commercial and legal printed materials.

The dozen Frederick judges met at a house on Record Street and voted to not charge the tax. Repudiation Day predates by eight years the more memorable Boston Tea Party, but it helped set in motion events that led to the Revolutionary War. –Joshua R. Smith

The 250th anniversary of Repudiation Day at City Hall in Frederick Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

REPUDIATION: FILE PHOTO BY SAM YU; CHURCH: STAFF PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

DATES

DATES

Those tasked with estimating the number of birds eventually gave up saying “there’s just millions here!”

12 The birds flock to Graceham SPRING 1974

By SUSAN GUYNN sguynn@newspost.com

Ann Burnside Love’s 10-yearold son rushed into the kitchen of their home in Graceham.

“You’ve got to come out and see the birds!” he said with urgency.

Reluctantly, she followed him outside where thousands of blackbirds, grackles, red-winged blackbirds and starlings literally darkened the sky as the sun set.

For weeks in the spring of 1974, the birds descended on the small town every evening to roost in Edgar Emrich’s 60-acres of pines. The noise, the bird droppings, the smell and the traffic jams created by curious bird-peepers had residents in a flap.

“I remember that,” said John Kinnaird, mayor of Thurmont.

“I was 20 years old. The biggest thing I remember, it was on the national news. A couple million birds is a lot of birds.”

The murmurations of the flocks was mesmerizing, he said.

“It was like watching waves on the ocean,” he added.

Eighty-year-old Mike Miller, of Thurmont and a Graceham Moravian Church member, said his grandmother lived across the road from the roost

Thousands of birds descend on Graceham in 1974.

PHOTO COURTESY FCPL MARYLAND ROOM

“It was like watching waves on the ocean.”

–John Kinnaird, mayor of Thurmont site. “She was concerned about the waste of the birds, the mess and the noise. There was a lot of cheeping!” he said. “Finally, [the birds] left.”

Love was a frequent contributor to the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post. After her first bird story published in The Frederick News-Post on March 2, 1974, her phone started ring-

ing off the hook as she became known as the “Birdwoman of Graceham.” Media outlets from around the country and the world would arrive at her house mid-day to see the birds.

The birds, however, kept to their own schedule of arriving at sunset and dispersing at sunrise.

Estimates ranged from about 2 million to 10 million.

Farmers complained the birds were feeding on recently planted seeds in the fields and eating livestock feed during the day.

Meetings were held at the Moravian church for residents

to voice concerns and experts to address health concerns about copious amounts of bird droppings. Soil tests were made.

Dispersing the birds with loud noises, thinning the pines and laser beams were among the proposed solutions.

The Thurmont post office was flooded with letters addressed to “Graceham City Hall” or simply “Birds,” offering solutions.

One 10-year-old boy suggested rounding up as many cats as possible and “turn them loose in the pine grove. But when the birds are gone you might have a

problem with the cats,” he wrote.

On March 14, the birds were given a week to get out of town.

They didn’t. On March 22, Operation Sanity began with three nights of audio harassment to “unwelcome” the birds.

It was deemed a success. A News-Post March 28 article noted that most of the birds had flown the coop, with estimated nightly flocks down to about 10,000.

In August, the Maryland Forest Service began thinning the pines. By October, the birds had returned to Graceham, an estimated 50,000. Experts concluded that, relatively speaking, that was not “a whole heck of a lot of birds.”

In November 1975, an estimated 800,000 had returned to roost. Residents started a petition calling for officials to get rid of the nuisance birds.

By December, the birds numbered an estimated 1.2 million.

After several weeks, most had migrated south.

A Nuisance Bird Bill was introduced and passed in the state legislature in 1977 to give the State Secretary of Agriculture authority to manage future hordes of birds such as the invasion of Graceham.

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Logs and other debris are trapped against the upriver side of the Monocacy Aqueduct as the Monocacy River flows toward the Potomac River.

1833

Monocacy Aqueduct hailed as one of America’s best canal features The Monocacy Aqueduct, the largest of the C&O Canal’s 11 stone aqueducts, was completed in 1833 after four years of construction by a trio of contractors.

It was designed by Benjamin Wright, who is hailed as a legend of American civil en-

gineering, and is made largely of granite quarried from the base of Sugarloaf Mountain.

The aqueduct is 516 feet long and is at the southern tip of Frederick County, where the Monocacy River meets the Potomac.

–Joshua R. Smith

July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

FILE PHOTO BY DAN GROSS

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DATES 14

Seminal buildings in Frederick: Some have endured, some have been transformed.

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MAY 15, 1800

Frederick’s churches date to 1700s

APRIL 26, 1861

STAFF PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

The building at the corner of North Market and East Church streets known as Kemp Hall. In 1861, Frederick became the only town other than Annapolis to host the Maryland General Assembly.

ASSEMBLY IN FREDERICK

By JOSHUA R. SMITH jsmith@newspost.com

The cornerstone of St. John The Evangelist Catholic Church — Frederick’s first Catholic church — was laid

by Rev. John DuBois on May 15, 1800. The church began in 1763 in a small brick home on Second Street. After The Penal Laws were repealed, the con-

gregation soon outgrew the dwelling, and a new church was constructed on the north side of the street. That building was torn down in 1833 and another one was built on the south side. The original cornerstone was unearthed in 1904, and it now sits in the plaza to the right of the church’s front doors.

FILE PHOTO BY TRAVIS S. PRATT

St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church is the oldest Catholic church in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Lord Baltimore, who founded the colony of Maryland, first brought the Roman Catholic faith to this area in 1634 with the help of Jesuits, according to Visit Frederick.

To secede or not, that was the question Maryland legislators faced in early 1861. With the Civil War on the horizon, Maryland needed to decide on which side it would fight. Rather than convene in occupied Annapolis, the governor turned to Frederick.

They first met in the Frederick County Courthouse on April 26, but then moved to the larger

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Kemp Hall. A bill and a resolution calling for secession both failed. On Aug. 7, the General Assembly adjourned, intending to meet again in September, but troops and police arrived in Frederick with orders to arrest the pro-Confederate members. That marked the end of the special session in Frederick.

–Pete McCarthy

SEPT. 11, 1846

1770

15 Calvary United Methodist founded

Calvary United Methodist Church, which now stands on West Second Street in downtown Frederick, got its beginning in 1770 when Robert Strawbridge, considered one of the great early Methodist preachers and a pioneer of Methodism in America, accepted an invitation to preach in “Frederick Towne.” That visit established the congregation

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HELLO, FREDERICK

now called Calvary United Methodist Church.

In 1792, a log building was built on the corner of West Church and Bentz streets, and it served the growing Methodist congregation for a number of years. As the congregation grew, it continued to build, and eventually grew to where it is today.

—Pete McCarthy

STAFF PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

VISITATION ACADEMY OPENS

COURTESY PHOTO

For 170 years, the massive campus in the heart of downtown Frederick on East Second Street served as an all-girls Catholic school that was opened on Sept. 11, 1846, when Visitation Sisters from Georgetown settled in Frederick. It even served as a hospital

during the Civil War. For much of the time, the Visitation Sisters ran the school, until the last ones left in 2005. Declining enrollment led to its closure in 2016 and the property is now being transformed into a boutique hotel and condos.

–Pete McCarthy

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

FACES

History’s who’s who of Frederick

•

•

LORD NICKENS, a contemporary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was a prominent civil rights leader who helped integrate Frederick High.

Was Frederick resident JOHN HANSON the real first president of the United States? George Washington thought so.

Camp David aside, many presidents have ventured through Frederick County, including JOHN F. KENNEDY. +15 more

•

18 LORD NICKENS

Prominent Frederick civil rights leader

By KATRYNA PERERA kperera@newspost.com

Lord D. Nickens spent his lifetime working for racial equality, particularly in Frederick.

The prominent Civil Rights leader, who has often been called the “Martin Luther King of Frederick”, helped integrate schools, combat the Ku Klux Klan, and fought for change within the county.

The son of a former slave, Lord Nickens was born in Virginia on Aug. 6, 1913, as the seventh of 13 children. He moved to Frederick with his family as a child in 1919.

He was one of the first five Frederick County residents to be drafted into World War II where he served in the Pacific theater and attained the rank of sergeant. After returning to the United States, Nickens married and raised three children in Frederick while working as a laboratory technician at Fort Detrick.

As a long-time Frederick resident, Nickens is reported to have been “baffled” by the racism he experienced in his own hometown. At age 6, he was kicked by a conductor at the Point of Rocks train station after mistakingly entering a “whites only” bathroom.

He was fired from his job at C. Thomas Kemp’s department store on the Square Corner in Frederick after a complaint from a customer about his race and received multiple death threats from the Ku Klux Klan.

Documents obtained in 2013 from Nickens’ FBI file chronicled the threats and abuse he received as part of his battle for equality. One such threat included a phone call where someone claimed to have details of a plot in which a hitman had been picked to kill Nickens.

At age 6, he was kicked by a conductor at the Point of Rocks train station after mistakingly entering a “whites only” bathroom.

BELOW: A mural of Lord Nickens by Jack Pabis and Tony Owens is on the side of the Bernard W. Brown Community Center.

FILE PHOTO BY TRAVIS S. PRATT

Despite the challenges though, Nickens was a force of change within the county. He led the Frederick chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for over 20 years and received a lifetime achievement award from the organization in 2009.

He led the effort to integrate Frederick High School and other public spaces such as parks and restaurants.

He advocated for fair housing laws in the 1960s and 1970s and helped the NAACP sue the Frederick County gov-

July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

FILE PHOTO BY SAM YU

ernment in federal court for issuing the Ku Klux Klan permits for public rallies — a case which the NAACP won.

Battling the Klan’s racism resulted in death threats against him on several occasions.

In 1968, Nickens organized a boycott of Frederick County businesses that supported presidential candidate George Wallace, the Alabama governor who ordered police to stop civil rights marchers in 1965. That same year, he also co-founded the Frederick Community Action Agency, which provides food, shelter, medical care, prescription drug assistance, housing, and other help to low-income and homeless individuals and families.

In 2007, the street that connects North Bentz Street with North Market Street in downtown Frederick was named “Lord Nickens Street” as a testament to his life’s work.

Nickens died in 2013 at the age of 99 at Frederick Memorial Hospital after complications from pneumonia.

Gazing up at the mural of Nickens that graces the side of Bernard W. Brown Community Center downtown, it is clear the Civil Rights leader’s legacy continues to live on — both through the county’s history and the change that continues to be fought for.

Follow Katryna Perera on Twitter: @katrynajill

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This is one face you probably don’t want to run into .............................

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FACES

19 LEFTY KREH

20 SNALLYGASTER

What lurks in Frederick folklore

A life of ‘reel’ adventure Bernard “Lefty” Kreh fished the waters of the Monocacy and Potomac rivers. He fished with U.S. presidents, royalty and celebrities. He fished all around the world and he’s known all around the world.

Kreh (1925-2018) grew up in Frederick.

In a 2002 interview with The Frederick News-Post, Kreh said he had quite a rep-

utation as a Potomac River bass fisherman in the 1940s.

That’s how he met Baltimore Sun sports editor Joe Brooks, who introduced him to fly fishing. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Kreh pioneered many of the techniques and fly patterns now used by saltwater fly fishers. His Lefty’s Deceiver may be the best-known saltwater

fly pattern in the world.

His books have taught many sportsmen the howtos of casting, knot-tying and more about fly fishing.

Kreh’s writing career began at The News-Post where he wrote two outdoor columns in the 1950s and ‘60s, Maryland Afield and Field & Stream.

–Susan Guynn

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Daniel Dulaney is credited as the founder of Frederick. According to a Preservation Matters column printed in April 2019 in the News-Post, Dulaney was “an esteemed lawyer from Annapolis” who in 1744 bought 1,000 acres of Taskers Chance

— which would encompasses a large portion of the city’s existing historic district — from the heirs of Benjamin Tasker.

The next year he laid out 340 lots and named the area Fredericktown.

–Mallory Panuska

DANIEL DULANEY

FREDERICK’S FOUNDER 14

metallic beak, razor-sharp teeth and enormous wings that will drive screeching from the sky to carry off its victims.

The myth grew so large that President Theodore Roosevelt reportedly considered going on a hunt to find the creature.

–Paul Milton

22 JACOB ENGELBRECHT

The keeper of Frederick’s history Much of Frederick’s history would not be known without Jacob Engelbrecht. The tailor, city councilman, mechanic and mayor kept a daily diary of pretty much everything that happened in Frederick from 1819 to 1878 ranging from trials, executions and parties to the weather, Civil War activity and politics.

–Mallory Panuska

–Paul Milton

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

SNALLYGASTER: COURTESY PHOTO; ENGELBRECHT: FILE PHOTO

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY SUSAN GUYNN; FISH: GETTY

Legend says that if you’re out near Middletown one night, you should keep your eyes to the skies or you might become the latest victim of the snallygaster.

Frederick County folklore has differing descriptions of this beast. Most say it’s a half-reptile, half-bird with a

Woodsboro Bank

Roy Rogers in the foreground at an event at the Route 40 location.

From its founders and first location to its mission that still holds today, Woodsboro Bank is a modern community bank through and through. The bank is the oldest continually running bank and one of the oldest businesses in Frederick County, having just passed its 121-year anniversary.

Starting in the 1990s, the bank branched out — literally. The bank opened branches in Frederick and Thurmont, in addition to the Woodsboro location. The bank also expanded its operating model to become a commercial bank to better serve the Frederick County community and changed its name to Woodsboro Bank. The bank continues to advance its business model; most recently, it went through a rebranding in 2018, expanding its commercial and mortgage banking operations and putting into action its mission of “being the best partner for banking services and expertise for businesses and individuals.”

In 1899, a group of people with diverse backgrounds — doctors, pharmacists, farmers and merchants — founded Woodsboro Savings Bank of Frederick County. Before they had their own building, the bank operated out of the Rosebud Building in Woodsboro, famously known for its medicinal salve.

“We’re focused on the people and When their original building in businesses of Frederick County Woodsboro was constructed, it not just through banking,” Heine housed the local post office, a points out. “We are also investing general store and the Woodsboro back into the community.”

Opera House, where residents Now with seven convenient enjoyed theatrical events, movies branch locations in Frederick and dances. On the second floor County, Woodsboro Bank of the bank, you can still see the continues to thrive as it serves theater’s wooden proscenium, the community, albeit in new painted murals and the original ways, as times change. Today Opera House piano. the bank operates a recently “Our priority focus has always expanded commercial office in been serving the needs of our downtown Frederick, and clients community,” says Steve Heine, have the ability to bank from president and CEO at Woodsboro anywhere with quality online and mobile banking. Woodsboro Bank.

Bank is committed to local Through the Great Depression, decision making and strongly the bank was able to operate in supporting the overall quality of the black and was viewed as the life and economic vitality of our community. most stable bank in the state.

Woodsboro Bank 5 N. Main St., Woodsboro Additional locations in Frederick and Thurmont 301-898-4000 • www.woodsborobank.com July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

Peter Plamondon Jr., Peter Plamondon Sr., David Marriot, and James Plamondon The family-run Plamondon Companies, headquartered in Frederick, has become the largest hotelier in Frederick and one of the leading hospitality firms in Maryland.

The company’s story dates back to 1979, when Pete Plamondon Sr. left his executive position at Marriott Corporation, where he’d headed the Roy Rogers division, and became a franchisee, opening his first Roy Rogers restaurant in Frederick on Aug. 5, 1980. His sons, Pete Jr. and Jim, have since taken over the company as co-owners and now own 23 Roy Rogers restaurants and oversee 25 franchise locations throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. They also own and operate several hotel properties under the Marriott and Hilton brands.

This year, Plamondon Companies celebrates the 40th anniversary of the opening of its first Roy Rogers on Route 40.

As kids, sons Pete Jr. and Jim helped with the restaurant. Jim hosed down the parking lot and cleaned before the grand opening. Pete Jr., meanwhile, helped manage the restaurant in its first few weeks of opening.

Jim remembers his father inviting the Rotary Club to eat there just 48 hours before they opened, as a way to spread the word and get feedback. They loved it, and the opening was a huge success.

James Plamondon, Peter Plamondon Sr., and Peter Plamondon Jr. at the Route 40 Roy Rogers, their first store.

More memorable occasions came when the movie star Roy Rogers visited Frederick Roy Rogers restaurants three times in the 1980s.

“The crowds were enormous,” Jim remembers. “Roy and Dad presented then-mayor Ron Young with a Stetson hat at one of the appearances.”

In 1998, Pete Jr. and Jim bought the Plamondon Companies business from their father and expanded to the hotel industry, in the footsteps of their father.

They currently run 13 hotels in three states (Maryland, Pennsylvania and Georgia), including Frederick’s Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott and the TownePlace Suites by Marriott.

Plamondon Hospitality Partners also has hotel operations in Hagerstown. They recently acquired the Homewood Suites

by Hilton and the Home2 Suites by Hilton in Frederick.

They also continue to run eight Roy Rogers in Frederick County.

“We credit our success with the wonderful Frederick community and how they have embraced our brand and our family business over the years,” Jim said. “They are incredibly loyal. We have been committed to giving back to the community as much as we can to show our appreciation.”

The Plamondon Companies

4991 New Design Road, Suite 109, Frederick • 301-695-5051 RoyRogersRestaurants.com and PlamondonHospitalityPartners.com

15

FACES

The infamous. The beloved. The legendary.

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23

BILL MORAN ROGER BROOKE TANEY

Elite legendary bladesmith

FILE PHOTO BY DAN GROSS

Roger Brooke Taney bust at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Frederick.

Supreme court justice lives on in Frederick infamy The political career of Roger Brooke Taney, the fifth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, started in Frederick where he took up residence shortly after receiving his law degree. Taney soon ran for the Maryland House of Delegates.

His wife, Anne Phoebe Charlton Key, was sister of Francis Scott Key. Taney is most noted for delivering the majority opinion in the Dred Scott case, which held that Black people could not be considered citizens and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories of the United States.

A Taney bust in downtown Frederick was removed from city hall in 2017 and moved to Mount Olivet Cemetery.

–Paul Milton

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At the 1973 Knifemakers’ Guild Show in Kansas City, Missouri, something happened that set the world of knifemaking on its edge.

Bladesmith Bill Moran was known for his custom work on the forge; only about a half dozen bladesmiths of the day were known for their custom knives and most of them were doing stock removal. Moran introduced his knives with Damascus blades at the ’73 guild show.

Used in the Medieval period, forging Damascus steel had become a lost art. That established Moran as the “father of modern Damascus,” notes bladesmith Jay Hendrickson and Steve Shackleford in their book “William F. Moran Jr.: Forever a Legend.”

The Frederick County native’s first forge was on the family farm at Lime Kiln. He later built a forge along Alternate U.S. 40, at Middletown. He founded the American Bladesmith Society and the Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing, with classes held at Texarkana College. Moran died in 2006. He was 80. Learn more at www.williammoranmuseum.com.

–Susan Guynn

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NEWS-POST FILE PHOTO

Bill Moran

MARGARET SCHOLL HOOD

HOOD COLLEGE’S NAMESAKE Frederick’s Hood College would not have been possible without the generosity of Margaret Scholl Hood.

An 1849 graduate of the Frederick Female Seminary, Hood provided a substantial endowment for the college, including her stake in 28 acres of farmland in northwest Frederick that she inherited from her father.

The college eventually bought the entire farm and acquired more land in advance of the construction of the buildings. Margaret Hood’s estate provided more funds to the college when she died in 1913, and as a result, the institution’s name was changed to Hood College.

–Mallory Panuska

FILE PHOTO BY DAN GROSS

Andrea Chapdelaine, Hood College president, places flowers on the grave of Margaret Scholl Hood.

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

FACES

Fair fashion. Fair fun. Fair game.

26 Photos of renowned Frederick designer Claire McCardell perched on an easel.

CHALLEDON

FILE PHOTO BY DAN GROSS

27 CLAIRE MCCARDELL

A FASHION ICON PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MARYLAND THOROUGHBRED HALL OF FAME

How a famous racehorse got the Weinberg air conditioning Thanks to the racehorse Challedon and some betting advice from a local surgeon, Frederick’s Tivoli Theater became the first air-conditioned building in Frederick in the early 1940s.

Dr. Edward P. Thomas, a Frederick surgeon, was at the Hollywood Gold Cup race at California’s Hollywood Park on a summer day in 1940 with Jack Warner, the boss of Warner Bros.

Studio and Challedon’s owner, W. L. Brann.

Thomas convinced Warner to bet $50,000 on Challedon, not the favorite as Warner had planned. And when Challedon won the race, Warner wanted to give Thomas a gift as a way of saying thanks. But, instead, the doctor suggested Warner install air-conditioning at the Tivoli, what is now the Weinberg Center, at a cost of $100,000 ($1.8 million today).

–Paul Milton

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Inspired poet Frederick’s clustered spires, the view of church steeples that make up the city’s skyline, were immortalized by New England poet John Greenleaf Whittier in his poem, “Barbara Frietchie.”

“The clustered spires of Frederick stand/ Greenwalled by the hills of Maryland.”

Whittier’s poem credits Fritchie, a Frederick resident, with displaying the Union flag as Southern soldiers marched into the city on Sept. 10, 1862.

–Paul Milton July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER

STAFF PHOTO BY BILL GREEN; WHITTIER: BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Claire McCardell was a renowned Frederick fashion designer credited with several major fashion innovations, including inventing ballet flats, sewing pockets in dresses, popularizing fabrics like jersey and cotton, and inventing the Monastic dress.

She grew up in Frederick and lived from 1905 to 1958. A bronze statue of her likeness is planned for a piece of land along the banks of Carroll Creek.

–Mallory Panuska

29 THE SCHLEYS

FAMILY FOUNDS THE GREAT FREDERICK FAIR Dr. Fairfax Schley, the son of prominent Union Army Maj. Henry Schley, was instrumental in setting up the Frederick County Agricultural Society and the Great Frederick Fair. The Schleys were one of Frederick’s leading families into the late-20th century and family members helped organize and raise funds for the fair, which is one of the two largest in the state. Schley Avenue commemorates the family’s role in the city’s heritage.

–Mallory Panuska STAFF FILE PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

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FACES

Historical afterthought or the real first president of the U.S.? George Washington suggested the latter.

30 JOHN HANSON

America’s real first president?

To some, he’s a forgotten founding father; to others, a mere footnote in the history of a forgettable era in the country’s history.

John Hanson was not a native Fredericktonian, but as a link to the founding of the republic, he’s one of the city’s most illustrious residents.

Born in Charles County in 1715, Hanson moved to Frederick County in 1773, and served as the county’s treasurer in 1775.

In 1769, he had been named deputy surveyor of Frederick County, which at the time included parts of what are now Carroll and Montgomery counties, and west to what is now Garrett County.

As a delegate to the Continental Congress, Hanson helped resolve a dispute over the plans for western lands to the interior of the original 13 colonies, helping to clear the way for the adoption of the Articles of Confederation, according to the website for the Architect of the Capitol.

Along with one in the plaza in front of the Frederick County courthouse, a statue of Hanson resides in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Although the Articles of Confederation would ultimately be seen as an inefficient system of government and help lead to the creation of the U.S. Constitution, the early leadership of Hanson and others helped build the young nation in its current form.

Hanson served as “President of the United States in Congress Assembled”

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under the Articles from 1781 to 1782, overseeing the establishment of the country’s first consular service, establishing a postal department, and chartering a national bank.

Hanson’s term as president also saw the country make progress toward the first national census, and develop a standard system of coining money.

Little more than a week into his term as president of the Congress, Hanson described the role in a letter to his son-in-law as “irksome.”

But Hanson’s role in the government wasn’t necessarily to his liking.

Little more than a week into his term as president of the Congress, Hanson described the role in a letter to his son-in-law as “irksome,” and complained about the toll it was taking on his health, historian Thomas Fleming wrote in “The Perils of Peace,” his book on America between the Revolution and the Constitutional Convention.

Hanson’s title as the first U.S. president may not be recognized by everyone, but George Washington — while still the commander of the Continental Army — addressed him in letters saved in the National Archives as “Mr. President.”

FILE PHOTO BY DAN GROSS

John Hanson statue outside of the Frederick County Courthouse

“While I Congratulate your Excellency on your Appointment to fill the most important Seat in the United States—I take the same Opportunity to thank you with great Sincerity for the very polite Maniere [sic] in which you are

pleased to tender me the Advantages of your Correspondence,” Washington wrote in one letter.

Along with his statue in the courthouse plaza, near the site of where his home stood, and busts of him and his wife Jane at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Hanson was also the namesake of Frederick’s John Hanson Apartments housing project, which was demolished in 2005.

It is now the site of the North Pointe neighborhood.

Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter: @RMarshallFNP

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

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Irene Richardson • 301-524-9572 July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

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FACES 31

Meet some of the folks who were first in Frederick at their professions and crafts.

32 THEOPHILUS AUGUSTUS THOMPSON

LESTER BOWIE

STAFF PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

An homage to Frederick native Theophilus Augustus Thompson, who is documented as the first Black chess player in Frederick.

Checkmate!

An homage to Frederick native Theophilus Augustus Thompson, the earliest documented African American chess player, can be found right in the middle of Carroll Creek.

A kinetic sculpture erected several months ago is dedicated to Thompson, who was born into slavery in Frederick in

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1855. He was freed after the Civil War and went on to work as a house servant in Carroll County from 1868-70. After that, he returned to Frederick got involved in the chess scene beginning in 1872, published game problems, competed against other players and even traveled to a tournament in Chicago.

–Mallory Panuska

BORN FOR JAZZ Lester Bowie, once called the most important trumpeter of the late 20th century, was born in Frederick in 1941. After serving in the Air Force, Bowie moved to Chicago where he was a popular member of the jazz scene for more than three decades. He died in 1999.

–Paul Milton

34 ULYSSES GRANT BOURNE

Frederick’s first Black doctor Dr. Ulysses Grant Bourne, the first African-American physician in Frederick, was unable to practice medicine at the original Frederick City Hospital so he founded a 15-bed hospital that was open to whites and blacks at 173 W. All Saints St. This hospital operated from 1919 to 1928. In addition, Bourne founded the Maryland Negro Medical Society in 1931 and, in 1934, he co-founded the Frederick County NAACP, serving as its president for 20 years.

–Paul Milton

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FILE PHOTO

HELLO, FREDERICK

Ulysses Grant Bourne was the first Black physician in Frederick.

COURTESY PHOTO

JOSEPH DILL BAKER

‘Frederick’s first citizen’

Every time a bell rings from inside Frederick’s Baker Park bell tower, one should think of “Frederick’s first citizen,” Joseph Dill Baker. That was the idea when the 70-foot tower of carillon bells was erected in 1941 in his memory.

Baker was a banker, philanthropist and civic leader. He is credited with donating the initial funds to establish Baker Park in 1926 among a number of other charitable donations within the city.

–Mallory Panuska

COURTESY OF THE THOMAS BENNETT FAMILY

Baker built Citizens National Bank in downtown in 1886.

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

FACES

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George Washington slept in Frederick many times.

U.S. PRESIDENTS

Marine One carrying President George W. Bush prepares to land at Frederick Municipal Airport

Welcome, POTUS! Starting with George Washington, presidents beat a well-traveled path to Frederick

PHOTO COURTESY JOHN ASHBURY

John F. Kennedy, left, is seen at Routzahn’s Appliance Store on East Patrick Street in May 1960 during his campaign appearance in Frederick. He was interviewed by an unidentified man, right.

sguynn@newspost.com

John Ashbury was 15 when Harry and Bess Truman stopped at the Gulf station on West Patrick Street on a hot June day in 1953. The Trumans were on a three-week road trip. While station owner Carroll Kehne filled the tank of Truman’s 1953 Chrysler New Yorker, the two men chatted, posed for photographs and shared a cold Coke.

Ashbury was among the curious onlookers and managed to

Every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has traveled to, through or over Frederick on his way to the presidential retreat in Thurmont that President Dwight D. Eisenhower christened Camp David.

(See Presidents 22) July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

MARINE ONE: STAFF PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

By SUSAN GUYNN

STAFF PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

George H. Bush and his wife Barbara board a helicopter after attending a Frederick Keys game in 1992.

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FACES

Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train passed through Frederick County.

PRESIDENTS (Continued from 21)

STAFF PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

George H. Bush tips his hat to the crowd at Harry Grove Stadium during his second visit in 1992 to attend a Frederick Keys game.

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shake hands with Truman, who occupied the White House from 1945 to 1953.

A former newspaper columnist, Ashbury, now 81 and living in Thurmont, says he also shook hands with Lyndon Johnson on a Sunday morning at a church in Thurmont. Ashbury recounts presidential visits in his book “... And All Our Yesterdays: A Chronicle of Frederick County, Maryland,” published in 1997. Richard Nixon and Dwight Eisenhower also attended services at least once in Thurmont.

Every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has traveled to, through or over Frederick on his way to the presidential retreat in Thurmont that President Dwight D. Eisenhower christened Camp David. Prior to establishment of the retreat, Herbert Hoover enjoyed fishing on

NEWS-POST FILE PHOTO

President Clinton pulls closer Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as the three walk together for the first time through the grounds of Camp David as they head toward Laurel cottage to start negotiations in the July 2000 Middle East Peace Summit.

Little Hunting Creek at Trout Run. Frederick’s brush with presidents actually dates back to George Washington. And, yes, Washington did sleep at the “Sign of the White Charger” in Woodsboro, Ashbury writes. As a colonel, Washington met with Benjamin Franklin and British Gen. Edward Braddock in a tavern on West All Saints Street to plan the British assault on Fort Duquesne in 1755.

“Washington was all over Western Maryland before he was president and

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

FACES he slept in Frederick City many times,” said Al Weinberg, professor emeritus of journalism at Hood College and author of “Frederick County Trivia: 700+ Fun Facts About the County, Its People and Its History” (1998).

Andrew Jackson spent the night at a hotel on West Patrick Street in 1829. He visited again eight years later at the end of his two terms on his way back to his home in Tennessee. Martin Van Buren is said to have stopped at Robert’s Tavern in 1837. According to legend, President-elect William Henry Harrison caught a cold while staying at Dorsey’s City Hotel in Frederick on Feb. 5, 1841.

Lincoln visited in Frederick after the Battle of Antietam in 1862. Three years later, his funeral train passed through the county.

Among the presidents who visited the Frederick County Cattle Show (now the Great Frederick Fair) are Ulysses S. Grant in 1868 and ‘69, visiting for two days and watching a new event, harness racing. He arrived by train and headed a carriage procession to the fairgrounds. Rutherford B. Hayes visited in 1877. Eisenhower paid a brief visit in 1952 while campaigning for president.

In 1912, presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt spoke to a crowd of 2,000 at the Frederick courthouse. Warren G. Harding visited Richfield in 1922, the birthplace of Admiral Winfield Scott Schley, a hero of the Spanish-American War. Franklin D. Roosevelt and his entourage took a pleasure ride through Maryland in 1933, stopping briefly on Jefferson Boulevard in Braddock to admire the view of Middletown Valley. Weinberg notes that FDR visited Vindobona, “apparently to cheer up his personal secretary who was recovering from an illness.”

In 1912, presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt spoke to a crowd of 2,000 at the Frederick courthouse.

FDR and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill traveled to Frederick in 1943 with the Barbara Fritchie House as their destination. While Roosevelt was confined to the car, Churchill roamed about reciting John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem “Barbara Frietchie” from memory.

FDR and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill traveled to Frederick in 1943 with the Barbara Fritchie House as their destination. While Roosevelt was confined to the car, Churchill roamed about reciting John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem “Barbara Frietchie” from memory. In May 1960, then-Senator John F. Kennedy campaigned for the presidency in Frederick.

Richard Nixon visited Fort Detrick in 1971, announcing the creation of the Cancer Research Facility of the National Cancer Institute in Frederick.

In 1992, George H.W. Bush shopped at J.C. Penney in the Fredericktowne Mall. He purchased a pair of socks. Bush was also a spectator at Frederick Keys games in 1991 and ‘92.

Bill Clinton visited the construction site of Fredericktowne Village in 1993 to promote his affordable housing program. In 1999, the Clintons were among the guests at a private birthday party at Carriage House Inn in Emmitsburg. He also played golf at local courses.

George W. Bush visited Wright Manufacturing Inc. in 2008 to announce his economic stimulus package.

July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

PHOTO COURTESY JOHN ASHBURY

President Harry S. Truman visits a local gas station in Frederick.

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24

HELLO, FREDERICK

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

HELLO, FREDERICK

25

PLACES

The foundations of Frederick

WAS HELD FOR RANSOM during the Civil War. A Confederate general threatened to burn down the town if he wasn’t given $200,000.

• FREDERICK UNSOLVED MYSTERY: For whom was Frederick named? A royal heir? A Prussian king? The last Baron Baltimore?

• AMMO FROM CATOCTIN FURNACE was used in the last land battle of the Revolutionary War. +14 MORE •

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ALL SAINTS STREET

HESSIAN BARRACKS

37 Meriwether Lewis visited for expedition supplies

A hub for Black community In segregated Frederick All Saints Street served as a bustling hub for the Black community.

When Black doctors couldn’t practice at the primary hospital in Frederick, two of them formed their own in 1919 at 173 W. All Saints St. Six years prior, Dr. George J. Snowball, a schoolteacher from Jamaica, started a dentistry

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practice on the first block of All Saints St. He worked there until he was 92.

The street also became the location of Asbury United Methodist, a still popular church that primarily serves the Black community. On Friday and Saturday nights the street became a festive location for the city and the county population.

–Allen Etzler

CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN PARK

The predecessor of the CIA, forerunner of Special Forces In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Office of Strategic Services, part of whose mission was to sabotage the efforts of enemy military nations during World War II. Recruits were trained in national parks in Maryland and Virginia. Catoctin Mountain Park (then called Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area) was one of those secret training centers.

According to newsreel footage on the park’s

26

HELLO, FREDERICK

website (www.nps.gov/cato), hand-picked military recruits arrived “somewhere in America” with nothing but the clothes on their back and were given a fictitious student name.

Recruits occupied cabins at what is now Camp Greentop. OSS is considered America’s first centralized intelligence agency, the predecessor of the CIA and the forerunner of today’s Special Forces.

– Susan Guynn

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other weapons to Pittsburgh.

The driver did not arrive as planned so Lewis hired another.

Heinrich notes that Lewis may have purchased supplies from the Hessian Barracks, one of the state’s armories of the day.

The U.S. Army Center for Military History lists Pvt. John Collins, born in Frederick County, as a member of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery.

He was a good hunter, but had a drunk and disorderly side, and was often disciplined.

— Susan Guynn

THE CARILLON

The bell tolls for Frederick The Joseph Dill Baker carillon, a 70-foot, 49-bell instrument, in Baker Park was constructed in 1941. The bells weigh between 22 pounds and 3,500 pounds each and make the tower the largest instrument in Maryland.

The structure, made of granite from Baltimore County, originally included a chime featuring 14 bells. In June 1967, ceremonies were held to celebrate the addition of nine new bells to the tower.

–Allen Etzler

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

LEWIS: PUBLIC DOMAIN PORTRAIT BY CHARLES WILSON PEALE

COURTESY PHOTO

Second block of All Saints Street in the 1970s

Before setting off on May 14, 1804, to explore and map the recent Louisiana Purchase and find a passable water route west to the Pacific Ocean, Meriwether Lewis stopped in Frederick in April 1803 to gather supplies for the expedition, writes Chris Heidenrich, in “Frederick: Local and National Crossroads.”

On July 5, 1803, Lewis spent the night in Frederick where he hired a teamster to travel to Harpers Ferry (then in Virginia) to transport arms and

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

Rice Tire

time in the family business. Their youngest son, Ken, after marrying, worked as a store manager for Kimmel Tire Co. and joined Rice Tire two years later, in 1968.

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A year later, the company moved to the previous Alban Tractor location at 909 East St. Ken was able to use his acumen gained as a buyer for the May Co. to start an import/export and wholesale business at Rice Tire. The company became known in many countries for its ability to source tires in large quantities from various companies.

Donald B. Rice stands at a gas pump at the original Rice Tire.

By 1990, the business began to evolve into a regional commercial and retail tire business, with 10 locations added in Maryland and Virginia. The company trade name became Rice Tire in 2014.

Rice Tire began nearly a century ago in Frederick at the Gulf Oil service station on South Market Street, in the building that is now Battery Warehouse.

All the while, the business has The company was founded in remained a family affair. Ken’s 1933 by Donald Rice, a well- two children became involved known local baseball pitcher for in the business: his daughter the semi-pro team the Frederick Angela’s husband, Chris Chase, Hustlers, and business partner is now president of Rice Tire, Babe Krantz. It quickly gained and his son Ken II is in charge of a reputation for personal and safety and training of 200-plus exceptional service. A few years employees. Ken’s stepdaughter, after its opening, Rice bought out Erin Guyton, worked in the his partner and expanded to tire business for 17 years and started sales as well. its HR department. Most recently, Being a popular local sports a fourth generation — Ken’s figure and a Frederick native, Rice grandson, Brian Chase, has joined was soon encouraged into local the company in management. politics and was elected to the Frederick City Board of Aldermen and subsequently became mayor of Frederick in 1951.

In 1956, the business expanded to an additional location across the street, which became a tire retreading plant. The business was incorporated in 1959 to become Donald B. Rice Tire Co Inc. It became the first Earthmover tire servicing dealer in the area and, a few years later, expanded From left, Brian Chase, to a larger facility at 704 East St., regional sales manager; Chris where it continued to thrive.

Chase, president; Angela Donald and his wife, Mary, had Chase, owner; Ken Rice II, vice three sons who worked part- president.

Family owned and operated since 1967

Antietam Tree & Turf

301-662-0500 • 800-368-2380

www.antietamtree.com July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

Rice Tire 909 N. East St., Frederick 301-662-0166 www.ricetire.com

27

PLACES

Frederick was the third local town to be offered a ransom by the Rebel army.

40 THE BANKS OF 1864

$200,000, or the city burns ~The story of the Confederacy’s ransom on Frederick~

By STEVE BOHNEL sbohnel@newspost.com

Those who walk around downtown Frederick may admire its historic nature, and overall feel of a small town that has evolved and grown greatly since it was founded in 1745.

But in July 1864, if it weren’t for the quick work of then-Mayor William G. Cole and a handful of local banks, Frederick and history after the Civil War might look much different.

At that time, the city faced a ransom from Confederate Maj. Gen. Jubal Early, who demanded $200,000 from Cole and the city— or the Confederate Army would burn the town to the ground.

“The ransoming of Frederick and the accompanying Battle of Monocacy were two of the most important events in Frederick’s Civil War history,” said John Lustrea, education coordinator at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in downtown Frederick.

According to “Battle of West Frederick,” a book penned by Joseph V. Collins which has a chapter about the ransom,

28

FILE PHOTOS BY SAM YU

This is the receipt for the ransom from the Confederates.

Frederick was the third local town to be offered a ransom by the Rebel army, after Hagerstown and Middletown.

On July 9, 1864, Early instructed one of his officers, Maj. Wells J. Hawks, to write a

letter to Cole with the $200,000 ransom. Cole, after receiving the letter, immediately called a meeting with the Board of Aldermen and other officials.

The mayor initially tried to negotiate with Rebel Army offi-

cers, as he and others believed local banks didn’t have the ability to raise the ransom. But the Rebel Army doubled down, and Cole and others eventually collected the $200,000 from five local banks.

It was delivered in wicker baskets to Early’s staff, and the town was saved.

The $200,000 ransom was considerably more than the ransoms paid in Hagerstown ($20,000) and Middletown

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

PLACES

The ransom was delivered in wicker baskets.

The Confederates also provided a receipt to the banks that contributed to the ransom payment, listed here in the Historical Society’s display.

This is part of the display of the original Confederate ransom documents for Frederick City at the Historical Society of Frederick County.

($5,000) earlier in July, according to “Determined to Stand and Fight,” a book written by Ryan T. Quint about the Battle of Monocacy.

According to the book, initially $200,000 had been demanded in Hagerstown, but Brigadier Gen. John McCusland, working for Gen. Early, misplaced a decimal, so only $20,000 was collected. Because of that mistake, Early and other Confederate officers kept a close eye on the Frederick ransom.

After it was paid, there was great debate about how to repay the five banks who contributed to the ransom. “Battle of West Frederick” stated that city officials discussed repayment over the next four years, before deciding they would issue $100,000 in bonds, with a term of 30 years and a 6 percent rate.

That eventually was refinanced and the original loan to the banks greatly increased.

For decades afterward, city officials argued that federal officials should pay Frederick back for the loan, believing their actions saved United States government goods and property.

That failed for many years, and state officials repaid the bonds in 1951, according to Collins’ book.

Still, federal officials, including U.S. Sen. Charles Mathias, tried to convince Congress to pay Frederick back for the original loan. He first introduced the “Frederick Reimbursement Bill” in 1969 and did so annually through 1986, according to “Determined to Stand and Fight” and other congressional documentation.

But Congress and the U.S. government, more than 150 years after the ransom, has never paid Frederick a cent for the ransom.

Follow Steve Bohnel on Twitter: @Steve_Bohnel

July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

This is a demand for supplies from the Confederates.

29

PLACES

Patriots, landmarks, saints and one recalcitrant owner

41

SETON SHRINE

42 TYLERSPITE

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

A shrine for a saint A national shrine stands in Emmitsburg to memorialize Elizabeth Ann Seton, the native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized as a saint.

Seton established the first Catholic girls’ school in the nation in Emmitsburg, and also founded the first American congregation of religious sisters, the Sisters of Charity.

The Shrine complex, at 339 South Seton Ave., features “The Stone House,” “The White House,” which each served as hubs for the community, St. Joseph Cemetery and a basilica and museum and the mortuary chapel where Seton’s remains were entombed.

More information can be found at https:// setonshrine.org.

–Allen Etzler

43

The home of a patriot Visitors to Frederick have a chance to stay in the home of one of America’s great patriots.

Well, sort of.

The Barbara Fritchie house at 154 West Patrick St. was built in 1927, based on the original home of Fritchie, a Frederick resident who became famous as a Unionist during the Civil War. The original structure was washed away in a flood.

But the landmark is of note, as it’s the scene of where Fritchie garnered fame in a John Greenleaf Whittier poem where Fritchie waved the U.S. flag out her window and pleaded with a Confederate general “shoot if you must this old gray head, but spare your country’s flag.”

In 2018, the home became an AirBnB and features a host of artifacts of Fritchie’s, including a teapot from which she served President George Washington in 1791 during one of his visits to Frederick, according to the Barbara Fritchie House website.

–Allen Etzler

30

BARBARA FRITCHIE

NEWS-POST FILE PHOTO

The downtown, 9,000-square foot Tyler-Spite home includes seven bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms.

SPITING THE CITY In 1814, Dr. John Tyler found out the city of Frederick planned to extend Record Street to West Patrick via a road next to his home, he made sure that would never happen.

Like, ever.

Tyler, irritated by the city’s plans, did what any reasonable homeowner would do when threatened by development too close to his property: he protested. Only the good doctor took it to a completely different level. He bought the land, found a contractor, and in the dead of night they started the work on the home that now stands at 112 W. Church St. When road crews arrived the next morning to begin work, they found a giant hole in the ground.

Tyler never lived in the home.

–Allen Etzler

44

NEWS-POST FILE PHOTO

SCHIFFERSTADT

Frederick’s oldest house

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

Designated in 2016 as a National Historic Landmark, Schifferstadt is the oldest standing house in Frederick.

Built in 1758, it sits near the intersection of Rosemont Avenue and West 2nd Street and is known for its distinct German-Georgian colonial architecture.

In 1974, the house was purchased by the Frederick County Landmarks Foundation, which restored it and currently operates it as a local architectural and history museum.

–Greg Swatek Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

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PLACES

Memorials for the fallen. A girls’ school evolves.

47

45 NATIONAL FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS MEMORIAL

46

WINCHESTER HALL

GATHLAND STATE PARK

Emmitsburg honors heroes lost in duty Constructed in 1981 on the campus of the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial pays tribute to firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

When a firefighter dies on duty, the United States Fire Administration is notified and then places a notice on the memorial grounds. The flags over the memorial are flown at half-staff to honor the fallen firefighter.

The memorial was designated in Congress by 1990 as The National Memorial for career and volunteer firefighters who have died while serving and is open to the public year-round.

–Greg Swatek

STAFF PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

Winchester Hall was built by Hiram Winchester to serve as a school.

From girls’ school to college to county seat

FILE PHOTO

The War Correspondents Arch is located at the entrance to Gathland State Park in Western Frederick County.

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

Honor guards stand at attention by the stone monument during the 25th annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in 2016 at the National Fire Academy campus in Emmitsburg.

Plaques surrounding the memorial, which was established in 1981, contain names of more than 3,000 firefighters.

32

HELLO, FREDERICK

WAR CORRESPONDENTS MEMORIALIZED Spread over 140 acres on South Mountain, Gathland State Park is a public recreation area and historic preserve near Burkittsville.

It is home to the War Correspondents Memorial Arch, which is a National Historic Monument maintained by the National Park Service. The arch is one of the few remaining original structures from the estate of George

Alfred Townsend, a correspondent during the Civil War who wrote under the pen name “Gath.”

Completed by Townsend in 1896, the War Correspondents Memorial Arch was the first monument in the world dedicated to journalists killed during combat.

–Greg Swatek

Prior to becoming the seat of Frederick County government in 1930, Winchester Hall served as a girls school that housed students and a hospital during the Civil War. Winchester Hall was founded by Connecticut native Hiram Winchester in 1845 to provide educational opportunities for women at a time they were rare.

The architecture of the building was inspired by the Greeks, who valued education in their culture.

The popularity of the school forced Winchester to build a nearly identical structure in 1857 to adjoin the original structure.

In September of 1893, Winchester Hall was renamed the Women’s College of Frederick, which would later become known as Hood College in May of 1913.

The outside appearance of Winchester Hall has remained largely unchanged over the years.

–Allen Etzler

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

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PLACES

You said you wanted a revolution. Well, you know, Catoctin Furnace helped change the world.

48 CATOCTIN FURNACE

Supplying ammunition during the

By HANNAH HIMES hhimes@newspost.com

The last major land battle of the Revolutionary War was the Siege of Yorktown, where ammunition from Frederick County’s own Catoctin Furnace was used by General George Washington’s army.

At the end of the battle, on Oct. 19, 1781, about 8,000 British soldiers surrendered, according to the American Battlefield Trust website. This is widely acknowledged as the battle that started negotiations and two years later, the Treaty of Paris was signed.

The Catoctin Furnace was built in 1774 by brothers James, Thomas, Baker and Roger Johnson. It was created to make pig iron from ore, found in the Catoctin Mountains.

The forest was also used as a source of charcoal, which fueled the furnace until 1873, when they switched to using coal.

Some sources report that Catoctin Furnace supplied both cannon and cannonballs, while others only specifically report shells.

“Henry Knox, Washington’s Colonel Commandant of Artillery, noted in his 1781 inventory that they had on hand 950 ten-inch shells cast at Catoctin Furnace,” wrote Frank Mentzer in a March 1972 edition of The News, founded in 1883 and

34

a precursor to The Frederick News-Post.

The same article says that “it is extremely doubtful that any cannon were ever cast at Catoctin Furnace; as yet there is no evidence to prove there were.”

This is because when the Council of Safety asked for “60 cannon, 40 swivels (smaller than regular cannon and mounted to swing on a pivot), and 200 iron pots,” according to Mentzer’s article, the Johnsons wrote back offering pots and kettles but said, “We shall also attempt to cast such guns as are wanted but cannot contract for them in all Events because the metal may not suit, though we have every Reason to expect it will.”

When Jacob Kunkel owned Catoctin Furnace, iron produced there may have been used to make plates for the USS Monitor, a Civil War ship, according to Preservation Maryland, but some researchers argue against that theory.

In addition to ammunition, Catoctin Furnace also produced tools and household items. These included the Ten Plate Stove or the Catoctin Stove.

Enslaved people were a source of labor for the furnace. According to the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society

(See Furnace 36)

COURTESY PHOTO

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

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Morgan-Keller Construction

Morgan-Keller’s headquarters is located on Thomas Johnson Drive in Frederick For 65 years, family-owned Morgan-Keller Construction has built a solid reputation throughout the four-state region.

The history of Morgan-Keller Construction is a story of successful growth and flexibility, made possible by focusing on changing markets and client needs. Over the years, Morgan-Keller transitioned from a high-quality custom homebuilder to one of the region’s most respected commercial builders.

Ralph W. Morgan and Lawrence Keller founded Morgan-Keller in 1955 as a residential construction company in Wolfsville. Morgan handled the interiors, carpentry and office work, assisted

by Keller, who looked after masonry operations. Only four people were on the payroll when the company began.

Morgan-Keller concentrated on singlefamily “spec” homes and completed entire developments, including Woodmere in Middletown and College Estates II and West Hills I and II in Frederick.

Ralph Morgan’s son-in-law, Gail T. Guyton, began working for the company while a college student in 1958 and joined the firm full-time in 1962, handling business operations, including estimating, purchasing and sales.

By 1965, Morgan-Keller had started doing commercial work, including preengineered metal buildings. In the mid1970s, Morgan-Keller began building retirement communities, such as Homewood in Williamsport.

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Guyton became President of MorganKeller in 1980, and his first major decision was to move away from custom residential construction and concentrate on commercial, industrial and construction management operations, including multifamily residential construction.

Guyton purchased the company in 1981, and his son, Brad, joined the company in 1983, bringing new and innovative ideas,

Morgan-Keller staff at the original Wolfsville location. such as MK Concrete, which he created in 1996 to fill an important market niche.

Darrell Guyton, Gail’s younger son, joined Morgan-Keller in 1987 after graduating from Western Maryland College. In 1994, Darrell took over the Specialty Contracts Department, which handles Morgan-Keller’s fast-track projects under $2 million.

Brad became President and CEO of Morgan-Keller in 1997, and his strong leadership has created a level of confidence reflected in the company slogan, “Our Reputation Is Building Every Day.” Morgan-Keller now has offices in Frederick and Hunt Valley, customers throughout the region, and looks forward to continued growth. The firm’s future rests on a solid foundation of past success with both negotiated and design-build projects in a number of construction categories, including Class A office, retail, senior housing, multi-family housing, educational facilities, warehouses and manufacturing, financial institutions and public sector service buildings.

Morgan-Keller Construction 70 Thomas Johnson Drive, Suite 200, Frederick 301-663-0626 www.morgankeller.com

35

PLACES FURNACE (Continued from 34) website, Johnson had more than 80 enslaved people who worked as founders, foremen, blacksmiths and colliers. Additionally, some enslaved people worked on surrounding farmers or as domestic servants.

By the middle of the 1800s, fewer slaves worked at the furnace because European immigrants were available for cheap labor.

“Some enslaved Catoctin Furnace workers may have been sold to buyers in south-

The furnace was last blown out in 1903, but not before inspiring the growth of an entire town.

ern states where the demand for and resultant monetary value of enslaved workers remained high,” according to the Historical Society website.

The furnace was last blown out in 1903 but not before playing an important role in the history of the country and inspiring the growth of an entire town, including a church, a store and housing for those that lived there.

Today, the Catoctin Furnace is located in Cunningham Falls State Park and serves as a frequented tourism site.

Follow Hannah on Twitter: @hannah_himes

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

The historic site of Catoctin Furnace today. In the 1770s, the furnace was built to take advantage of a good grade of hematite ore and produced pig iron, which was used to make cannons and cannonballs during the Revolutionary War.

49

THE TIVOLI

COURTESY PHOTO

THEATER OF SILENCE When the Tivoli, now called the Weinberg Center, opened its doors in 1926 it was the second largest structure built in Frederick.

The theater signaled an era of refinement in movie theaters, as ushers wore tuxedos and chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The theater originally became known for its showing of silent films.

While the theater was a boom-

36

COURTESY PHOTO

The ruins of the Iron Master’s house as it looked in the 1980s

ing success for the city, it operated with a segregation policy that required Black people to sit in the “colored seats” in the balcony. That policy ended in the 1960s. In 2018, the Weinberg Center showed a documentary featuring Frederick’s oldest Black residents — many of whom lived that policy. The city had them enter on a red carpet and they sat, this time, in a VIP section.

–Allen Etzler

Before it became the Weinberg Center, the venue operated as Tivoli Theatre.

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PLACES

Our county could have been named for any of three men.

50 FREDERICK

How did Frederick get its name?

Well, that’s up for debate.

By JOHN CANNON jcannon@newspost.com

The last Baron Baltimore, an heir apparent to the British throne and a Prussian king.

What did these three men have in common?

They all were named Frederick, and each of them might be the person Frederick city was named after.

Most sources claim Frederick was named for Frederick Calvert, the 6th Baron Baltimore. But other possibilities mentioned by various sources are Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and Frederick the Great, the king of Prussia.

A pair of stories in The Frederick News-Post penned in the 1990s by Calvin Schildknecht say

Daniel Dulany the Elder named the city, originally called Fredericktowne, after Frederick Calvert, who was the last baron of Baltimore.

“Apparently in honor of young Frederick Calvert, the last Lord of Baltimore,” Schildknecht wrote about Dulany’s inspiration for naming the city. “It was not possible to predict at that time that Frederick Calvert would lead a scandalous life of little use to MD and best forgotten.”

Frederick Calvert had a harem in Turkey, according to Schildknecht’s article. J. Thomas Scharf ’s book, “The History of Western Maryland Volume I” reveals more tantalizing details about Calvert.

“In 1768, he was indicted and tried for commit-

ting rape, but notwithstanding he was acquitted by the court, he was most severely censured by the press and people for his act, and the conviction of his guilt was universal,” Scharf wrote.

Still, Scharf states firmly that Frederick County was named after Calvert.

But Chris Haugh, the community relations and historic preservation manager at Frederick’s Mount Olivet Cemetery, believes Frederick was named after Frederick Louis, the Prince of Wales.

After delving into the city name’s origins while making a documentary on Frederick’s history in the mid 1990s, Haugh revisited the topic later and focused on what strategy Dulany likely would’ve have employed when forming his new town.

STAFF PHOTO BY BILL GREEN

38

HELLO, FREDERICK

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

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51 EVEREDY CO.

Frederick’s largest employer through the 1970s

COURTESY PHOTO

An 1862 illustration of Frederick that was published in Harper’s Weekly.

At the time, Haugh said the bulk of Maryland’s population dwelled in areas near the lower Potomac and Chesapeake Bay. Conversely, Frederick was in the hinterlands, and Dulany needed hard-working residents to flock to his new town.

Germans were a promising target group. Known for their family farms, German immigrants helped towns flourish in nearby Pennsylvania, in what came to be known as the Pennsylvania Dutch area.

As it turns out, the Prince of Wales was born in Germany and spent most of his childhood in that country. He was from the House of Hanover.

So, Haugh believes Dulany named his town after the prince to help attract people who immigrated from

When naming his new town, Dulany might’ve been more concerned about flattering King George II — Frederick Louis’ father — than Charles Calvert, Frederick Calvert’s father.

Germany as well as Pennsylvania Dutch residents looking to move elsewhere.

“If you were a German coming, that name Frederick would seem a little bit more inviting to you,” he said.

July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

Also, Haugh said the Calvert family’s sway in Maryland was waning by 1745. So when naming his new town, Dulany might’ve been more concerned about flattering King George II — Frederick Louis’ father — than Charles Calvert, Frederick Calvert’s father.

It’s unclear why the Prussian king Frederick II — also known as Frederick the Great — is considered a candidate for inspiring the city of Frederick’s name. However, this king had a connection of sorts to Frederick Louis.

There supposedly were negotiations for Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia, Frederick the Great’s sister, to marry Frederick Louis, but the marriage never happened.

The Everedy Co. was one of Frederick County’s largest employers for more than 50 years before it closed in 1977.

The company was founded by Larry J. Lebherz in 1923 and manufactured bottle cappers, including the nationally popular Everedy Bottle Capper that was widely used during Prohibition. The company also produced stainless steel pots and pans, chrome-plated utensils and other items that can be found in homes today.

During World War II, it produced munitions.

The buildings that once housed The Everedy Co. now serve as shops, restaurants and business offices over three blocks of East Street in downtown Frederick.

Everedy Square and Shab Row is downtown Frederick’s largest cluster of eateries, specialty shops and services.

–Greg Swatek

PHOTO COURTESY FCPL MARYLAND ROOM

Everedy Co. served as a nationally prominent business in Frederick HELLO, FREDERICK

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Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

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July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

HELLO, FREDERICK

41

PLACES

There was something fishy about Frederick.

52 ‘GOLDFISH CAPITAL OF THE WORLD’

In the ’20s, 80 percent of U.S. goldfish were raised in Frederick

By SUSAN GUYNN sguynn@newspost.com

42

HELLO, FREDERICK

Three Springs/Lilypons

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LILYPONS WATER GARDENS

FISH: GETTY

“Do you know that Frederick County produces more goldfish than any other part of the United States?,” so begins a story published Dec. 7, 1929, in The Daily News.

Numerous ponds still dot the county and help tell the story. Some are still in operation, though emphasis has expanded to include other fancy fish and water plants. Stephen Eaton, of Eaton’s Fish Hatchery near Lewistown, owns the business started by his grandfather, Samuel.

Dru Klinger’s grandfather, Frederick Tresselt, started Hunting Creek Fisheries in 1924, near Thurmont. Her son, Matthew Klinger, is the fourth generation owner.

Margaret Thomas Koogle is the fourth generation at Lilypons Water Gardens, near Adamstown. The name was changed by her father in the 1970s to reflect the expanded emphasis on water lilies.

A June 6, 1920, article in the The Frederick Post claims that “about four-fifths of the goldfish in the U.S. are raised” in the county with about 50 different persons engaged in the industry. A July 23, 1921, article in The Post noted approximately 1.5 million goldfish were produced that season.

Most were sold to five-anddime stores. They were popular pets.

Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

HELLO, FREDERICK

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~ 15 years of friendship, business and supporting Frederick ~

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Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

~ 15 years of friendship, business and supporting Frederick ~

July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

HELLO, FREDERICK

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Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020

July 25, 2020 ~ FrederickNewsPost.com/Hello

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Special Supplement to The Frederick News-Post ~ July 25, 2020