The Jinx of Old Frederick Road
by James Rada, Jr.
Old Frederick Road used to be the main thoroughfare between Thurmont and Frederick in 1917. It wasn’t the safest roadway, though. The Catoctin Clarion claimed it had a “jinx” on it. As evidence, it offered four different mishaps suffered on the road during a September weekend. Not only were they different accidents, they were different types of accidents.
The first problem happened Saturday evening when a car struck Thomas Baker while he was crossing the road. Baker was thrown back over the front-wheel fender, and the only injuries he suffered was when he scratched his face on the road surface. The apparent cause of the accident was that the driver of the vehicle couldn’t see Baker, because the lights from oncoming traffic were too bright and blinded him.
Near midnight on Saturday, Charles Fogle was driving a seven-passenger Overland automobile, carrying Archie Elrode, Clarence School, Grayson Schell, and Arthur Clabaugh. He crashed into a carriage carrying Mr. and Mrs. Frank Angle and Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Cramer, all of Walkersville.
No one was seriously hurt, although the carriage was completely destroyed and the car badly damaged. According to the Clarion, “The tires were stripped from both right wheels and the front axle forced back under the center of the car. The fenders on the right side were crushed.”
On Sunday during the day, two cars hooked their front wheels together somehow while traveling down the state road about a half mile south of Thurmont. Because neither car could drive properly, they both wound up in a ditch.
The drivers weren’t injured, and the cars were driveable once they were pulled from the ditch and disconnected.
The final incident was the most-unusual of the four. Late Sunday afternoon, G. W. Shoemaker was driving a car carrying Harry Trout, Earl Heifleigh, Hallie Crum, and Bertha Crum. Near Catoctin Furnace, a cow made a sudden turn and walked into the road before Shoemaker could avoid it. The car hit the cow, knocking it down, and the front tires of the car passed over the animal.
“Objecting to being underneath, the cow gave a hump and tossed the car to the side of the road and into a ditch,” the Catoctin Clarion reported.
One of the female passengers flew through the roof of the car while Shoemaker was trapped beneath it.
- W. Lidie was passing nearby and saw the accident. He stopped his own car and rushed over to help Shoemaker out from beneath his vehicle and administer first aid. The car was damaged, although it was salvageable. No one was seriously injured except the cow.
Lidie sent his family home to Thurmont while he drove the passengers of the wrecked car to their homes in Liberty.
Car vs. person, car vs. carriage, car vs. car, and car vs. cow. The road jinx didn’t discriminate. Luckily, no one was killed in any of these accidents, which may be because the cars weren’t traveling at the speeds they do nowadays.
