Currently viewing the tag: "January 1920 100 Years Ago"

by James Rada, Jr.

January 1920, 100 Years Ago

Fine Auto Smashed

Last Friday night about 2 o’clock a,m a large Paige Touring Car, said to be about as complete as ever seen in this section of the county, smashed into the concrete side of the bridge over Owen’s creek on the State Road at Franklinville two miles north of Thurmont.

From what could be learned, the car belong to some party in Brunswick, everything done to conceal the identity of the owner. It is stated that there were three men in the car at the time of the accident, and all were injured.

A car following close was forced to turn from the road and plow its way through a bed of large stones near the bridge to avoid trouble.

From reports of those who live near and visited the scene, considerable blood was found in the car, and hat pins, hair pins, quart bottles, and other articles found in and about the wreck.

                                          – Catoctin Clarion, January 1, 1920

Death Still A Mystery

During the past week officers of Carroll county have been trying to solve the cause of the death of Miss Mertle Marie Staub whose body was found along the B. & O. railroad at Sykesville, Carroll county, Md., on Wednesday morning of last week, her head and right arm being severed from her body.

Miss Staub for the last several months had been employed as a domestic to the home of Mr. and Mrs. James Hughes of Sykesville. It is stated that the girl was in very good humor all the day previous.

On Wednesday morning when the Hughes family arose they found that the girl was not about the house, and on going to her room found that she had not occupied her bed during the night.

Sometime later her body was found along the railroad.

                                          – Catoctin Clarion, January 1, 1920

January 1945, 75 Years Ago

Mr. and Mrs. E.M. Hobbs Married 50 Years

Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Hobbs celebrated their golden wedding day last Saturday, Dec. 30, at their home on Water street.

The day was spent quietly with their children present throughout the day. In the evening the three-tier bride’s cake was served, with other refreshments to the family.

Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs received sixty cards and many beautiful and useful gifts as well as gifts of flowers and money.

Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs were married in Emmitsburg at St. Joseph’s rectory by Father White, and lived on a farm at Tom’s Creek until 1920 when Mr. Hobbs retired from farming and moved with his family to Thurmont.

                                          – Catoctin Clarion, January 5, 1945

Severely Injured 12-Year-Old Girl

Janet, 12-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Calvin S. Lohr, north of town, is suffering from a severely lacerated scalp, sustained last Thursday morning in a sledding accident.

Janet and Betty Ross Smith were sledding back of the Smith home, on a crust almost as smooth as glass, when Janet’s sled headed for the turkey pen. Because of the speed which she was traveling and the smoothness of the ice, she was unable to guide her sled and she ran under the pen. As she did so, her head struck a plank above, which cut a gash across her scalp. Eleven stitches were required to close the wound.

                                          – Catoctin Clarion, January 5, 1945

January 1970, 50 Years Ago

12-Inch Snow Paralyzes Area

Frederick County Saturday began the Herculean task of digging out a snowbound populace and several hundreds of miles of primary and secondary roads, some of which had drifted shut by a 50-mile-an-hour wind that piled up snow in some places 12 feet high. One-way traffic was maintained for several days on sections of county and state roads.

All state and county owned equipment was brought into service and several private firms were engaged to complete the task of digging out. One break in the “blizzard” was that power lines and telephone service remained practically intact.

                                          – Emmitsburg Chronicle, January 2, 1970

Four Homeless After Fire

A fire left four members of an Emmitsburg area family homeless late Saturday, when their two-story dwelling on Bull Frog Rd., four and a half miles east of Emmitsburg, was extensively damaged.

They were Douglas Soper, his wife, 12-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son. Soper rented the house from Archie Sipe of Kensington, Md.

Approximately 60 firemen, led by the Vigilant Hose Co. of Emmitsburg, assisted by Harney and Taneytown fire companies, responded at 4:40 Saturday afternoon with eight pieces of equipment.                                      

                                          – Emmitsburg Chronicle, January 1970

January 1995, 25 Years Ago

Tower Truck Arrives

Fire service in the Emmitsburg area has been enhanced with the addition of the new tower truck recently purchased by the Vigilant Hose Company. Chief Frank Davis and several company members went to Wisconsin to bring the truck home.

                          – The Emmitsburg Regional Dispatch, January 1995

Multi-Service Center Planned for Emmitsburg

The Town of Emmitsburg, Up-County Family Center, and the Frederick Community Action Agency are working together to build and operate a new Emmitsburg Multi-Service Center in downtown Emmitsburg, MD. Construction for this new building will begin this summer.

This facility will be built and operated by the Town of Emmitsburg. It will house a variety of nonprofit human service agencies including Up-County Family Center, Catholic Charities, an outreach office for the Frederick Community Action Agency, and others. The new Multi-Service Center will offer “one-stop shopping” for families. It will be the center of a wide range of services that address crises and emergencies. There will also be facilities for teaching preventative skills, adult education, and job training.

                          – The Emmitsburg Regional Dispatch, January 1995