On Monday, November 25, 2019, Thurmont Grange #409 held its annual Community Citizen Award Banquet. The evening began with a welcome from Grange Master, Bob Wiles, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. Grange member, Sandy Moser gave the invocation before a meal and fellowship was shared by all in attendance.
This year, Bollinger’s Restaurant was recognized for its years of service to Thurmont. The award presentation began with Grange Lecturer, Niki Eyler, explaining that in order to understand why Bolllinger’s is so dedicated to our community, you must first understand how deep the Bollinger roots run in Thurmont. In 1946, Eva Bollinger opened a small sandwich shop just down from the town square. Within a few years, Bollinger’s Dairy was established and the restaurant moved out to the farm. The restaurant quickly grew into a gathering place for many town folk where there was always good food and good conversation. 1970 saw the expansion of the Route 15 highway, which forced the restaurant to close. But not for long. Soon after, Junie Bollinger reopened the restaurant in what is now the CVS Shopping Center. Donna Bollinger purchased the restaurant in 1989 and continued until their lease was lost and they were forced to close in 2003. But you can’t keep a Bollinger down for long, in 2007, Donna and her children bought the restaurant that we all know today as Bollinger’s.
Bollinger’s generosity to our community is well deserving of recognition. Not only has Bollinger’s fed generations of local residents, they have gone over and above to lend support whenever asked. Each year Bollinger’s donates a free dinner to each Grand Champion winner at the Thurmont/Emmitsburg Community Show. That is over 40 dinners! They donate cole slaw for the Community Show BBQ lunch and donate all the food for the Annual Rob Seidel Golf Tournament. Bollinger’s provides food at cost to the Little League and CYA. They have sponsored Wing Night benefits and given countless bottles of Josh’s famous bbq sauce and restaurant gift certificates whenever they are asked to make a donation. No organization, charity or cause is ever turned away. The Bollinger Restaurant Family was chosen for the 2019 Grange Community Citizen Award for their endless support of our community and their generosity given without question or hesitation. Donna Bollinger and her son, Josh Bollinger, were present to accept the award.
In addition, several Grangers were recognized for their years of membership. Rodman Myers (70 years), James Royer (50 year), David Harman (40 years), Robert Wiles (40 years) and Carolyn Wiles (40 years). If you are interested in learning more about Thurmont Grange, please contact Rodman Myers at 301-271-2104 or Niki Eyler at 301-471-5158.
Pictured from left are Grange Overseeer Rodman Myers, Community Citizen Award recipients Donna and Josh Bollinger, Grange Master Bob Wiles, Grange Lecturer Niki Eyler.
