Lindsay Brandt
The season of giving kicked off early at Lawyer’s Farm and Moonlight Maze, located on Creagerstown Road in Thurmont. On Sunday, October 26, 2014, all admission proceeds for the farm were collected to benefit the American Brain Tumor Association in honor of Jan Lawyer, who passed away from brain cancer on December 15, 2013.
Jan was the mastermind behind the property, which includes a farm, maze, sculptures, teepee, and pumpkin cannons that he built himself. The corn maze was one of the first and largest in the state of Maryland.
“When my dad passed away, I had a really hard time dealing with it. But being surrounded by everything that my dad created, and being able to hold a fundraiser in memory of him really gives us the encouragement to get by and to keep working hard. There is a reason why we do it. It’s fulfilling.”
“He was always creative. He could do anything. That’s just how his mentality through life was—whatever he set his mind to, he could accomplish, and he did,” said Jan’s daughter, Taylor Huffman. “I wanted to keep my dad’s memory alive. I wanted to do something that would let people know that this place exists because of this man and his ideas, and his motivations to create a unique place to bring families. We lost a really good man to something as awful as brain cancer, and we aren’t going to give up; we are going to keep raising money for research.”
When Taylor and her husband, Brandon Huffman, set out to have a fundraiser, they set a goal of raising $5,000 for a donation. With an estimated 450 people in attendance that day, they ended up raising $11,350 to donate to the American Brain Tumor Association. About half in attendance came specifically for the fundraiser—friends, family, and locals—but the other fifty percent of business at the farm that day was regular farm customers.
“Everyone had a really good time,” Taylor stated. “A lot of people came up to me and said they were touched. Some people had stories to tell of friends and family who have been affected by brain cancer, so it was really good to gather and talk to everyone.” The Huffman’s hope is to continue fundraising every year.
“We set a high bar,” Taylor expressed, adding, “So we hope that we can keep going up and up.”
For the month of October, the Town of Thurmont sponsored a “Think Pink” fundraising campaign, during which many businesses and residents contributed to the Patty Hurwitz Breast Cancer Fund at Frederick Memorial Hospital. “Think Pink” resulted in an impressive response. Through the cooperation of residents and businesses in Thurmont, the Town of Thurmont presented the Patty Hurwitz Fund at Frederick Memorial Hospital with a check for $5,287.10 at the town’s November 18, 2014, meeting. 
The Eyler Stables in Thurmont now hosts weekend flea markets. The idea for opening the stables for weekend markets was that of owner, Niki Eyler, and her friend, Emily Kemp, who has been working a similar operation in Virginia.
When the residents of Sabillasville, Maryland, travel to their local post office, they won’t be seeing the familiar face of their resident postmaster, Sharon Burd, kindly waiting to help them. Sharon Burd (pictured right) of the United States Postal Service retired from her post on September 28, 2014, after almost thirty-one years. “I like working here, because you get to see all local people you know every day,” said Burd.
ugar Free: Champion—Jill Holler (Chocolate Kaluha Cake); Reserve Champion—Roxanna Lambert (Diabetic Bread).
The incessant rain on Saturday morning, October 11, 2014, gave way to a cloudy day in the afternoon, transitioning into a sunny, more pleasant day on Sunday for the 51st Annual Colorfest weekend in Thurmont.
“We’ll have to sneak all this stuff into the house so our husbands won’t see,” Randall said.
“It’s a big crowd here, and they seem like they’re in a spending mood,” O’Connor said. “I mean when you see people walking around with wagons and carts, they are obviously looking to buy.”
A new face was added to the Emmitsburg Board of Commissioners on Monday, October 6, 2014, when Joseph Ritz, III, was sworn in.
On Saturday, October 18, 2014, the 90th Banquet of the Emmitsburg High School Alumni was held at the Emmitsburg Ambulance activities building on Creamery Road in Emmitsburg. Emmitsburg High School’s first graduating class was the class of 1898. Their last graduating class was the class of 1968. The late Ada Hollinger Sperry began the alumni banquets in 1921. During World War II, there were three years during which no banquet was held. Thus, 2014 is the 90th year anniversary of Emmitsburg Alumni banquets.
In preparation of the annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service that is held in October in Emmitsburg, Maryland at the National Fire Academy, Emmitsburg’s fire personnel and volunteers fill multiple rolls year-round. For this year’s 33rd annual event held on the weekend of October 11 and 12, 2014, the folks at Vigilant Hose Company washed a huge U.S. flag then hung it to dry in the four-story stairwell at the station on West Main Street in Emmitsburg. Witnessing the flag, Wayne Powell, Executive Director of the National Fire Heritage Center (located within the Frederick County Fire and Rescue Museum on South Seton Avenue in Emmitsburg) said, “It was something to see.”
A rather inauspicious opening day of MountainFest at Sabillasville Elementary School in Sabillasville, Maryland, deterred many visitors due to the chilly, misty weather.
