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SAYING GOODBYE TO THE SHAMROCK RESTUARANT, A LANDMARK FOR MORE THAN FIVE DECADES

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James Rada, Jr.

With the announcement that a Thurmont landmark, the Shamrock Restuarant, will end its 56-year-run on December 30, 2019, The Catoctin Banner thought it would share some of its reader’s memories of the Irish-themed restaurant.

The late Mike Fitzgerald opened the Shamrock in 1963. He said in a 2014 interview that the restaurant had a rough start, “There were days and nights in a row that I wouldn’t go home. I would be working here doing whatever needed to be done, and then I would sleep here.”

The Shamrock Restaurant building has been around since the 1950s. It was originally a dance hall that didn’t have the best reputation, resulting in Fitzgerald being able to purchase it at an affordable price.

It also helped that the Shamrock Restaurant was a family business. Fitzgerald, his wife, his mother, and his nine children (as they grew old enough) all worked in the restaurant. Two of the Fitzgerald children, Dawn Knox and Donna Demmon, took over the business in 2016, but they are ready to retire.

The Shamrock was known for its St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, and it won a national award for having the best St. Patrick’s Day party in the nation years ago. It was also the first restaurant in Frederick County to get a liquor license in 1965.

The website announcement of the closing reads in part: “We have worked with hundreds of employees, many of whom have been as close as family. It will be very hard to part with some who have worked with us five to thirty years; others who worked here many years ago and came back as the seasons of their lives have changed. And more recent, workmates who already fit into our operation just like the old-timers. What a wonderful gang!! We have met and become friends with thousands of patrons. The warmth and affection that permeates this business is the root cause of our longevity. We cherish the kindheartedness and loyalty we’ve been blessed to know from our staff and customers.”

Shown below are postings on the Shamrock Facebook page of what some had to say about the restaurant closing, sharing their memories and speaking their own personal “goodbye.”

“I have been coming to the Shamrock since President Nixon stayed at Camp David as a member of the White House Press. Mike and I became friends, camped, and rode horse back in the mountains. My family and children enjoyed Mike’s cabin and wonderful food at the Shamrock, watching Mike’s family grow up. I have known Donna since she was a little girl and their dogs chased me on top a table.”

                          –Ron Bennett

“I was so happy to have the opportunity to eat there last month…and am so glad I bought my t-shirt as a remembrance. The first time I ate there was at our EMI class graduation dinner back in 2009. Living in Texas, it took a decade to get back again. My husband and I were traveling in the area, and I couldn’t wait to introduce him to a place that held such a special place in my heart.”

                          –Deb Doyle

“I read this with mixed emotions. Sorry to lose an icon in Frederick County but am happy for you, Donna and Dawn. You have worked hard. Your parents would be so proud of you both.”

                          –Nancy Ferrell Piper

“So sad to hear this, but it is time for you to get to relax and enjoy quality time together. Will miss being able to talk with you, Donna, about Ireland and Irish relatives. And the cozy atmosphere of the restaurant. Also the delicious food.”

                          –Kathleen Cogan

“What a wonderful place! We always stop by there and eat on our way up to PA. Will be missed! Always had great fresh food and wonderful service! Bought several baubles over the years in the front part of the restaurant.”

                          –Gail Glassmoyer

“Great place! I will always remember the good times at the Shamrock when I lived in Thurmont during the 1970s. Happy retirements!! Who gets the crab cake recipe?”

                          –Marty Madden

“May you all enjoy your new lease on life! My husband and I discovered the Shamrock a few years ago as we drove to Herndon, VA; it was the best discovery we ever made. Whenever we made that trip, we would plan our time so we were at the Shamrock by afternoon or mid-day. We certainly agree that you all have done wonderful work and we do appreciate your hospitality!”

                          –Judith Hansen

When Irish Eyes Are Crying

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James Rada, Jr.

In early March of this year, Mike Fitzgerald’s children performed a sad duty in honor of their father: they made his casket from standing dead trees that Mike had harvested years earlier.

Donald “Mike” Fitzgerald passed away on February 28, 2016, in the log home that he built himself. He was eighty-five years old.

The Shamrock Restaurant, which Mike opened in 1963, closed for a few days when it was learned that Mike had died. It reopened a week later, and now stands as a legacy for Mike’s hard work and love of family.

About Shamrock Restaurant in a 2014 interview, Mike Fitzgerald said, “There were days and nights in a row that I wouldn’t go home. I would be working here doing whatever needed to be done and then I would sleep here.”

The Shamrock was created out of an old dance hall. The walls were stripped and redone, turning the dance hall side of the building into the dining room. Only two rows of tables had tablecloths, originally, and a smaller dance floor was left in place for weekend dances.

On the bar side, Mike raised the price of beers to encourage the troublemakers, who used to come to the dance hall for cheap beer, to go drink elsewhere.

The Shamrock was a family business. Mike, his wife Doris Jane, his mother, and his nine children (as they grew old enough), all worked in the restaurant.

Mike had been a machinist with Moore Business Systems, but he had advanced as far as he could without moving out of state. He had grown up in a restaurant family, though. His parents had owned Fitzgerald’s in Emmitsburg until his father died in 1940. Mike and Doris Jane had decided that they could open a new restaurant and make it successful.

The Shamrock was the first restaurant in Frederick County to get a liquor license in 1965.

The restaurant also won a national award years ago for having the best St. Patrick’s Day party in the nation.

Mike’s living legacy, however, is his family. He is survived by his wife of sixty-eight years, Doris Jane (Wastler), and nine children: Donna (and TJ) Demmon of Thurmont; Dennis (and Dianne) Fitzgerald of Huntsville, AL; Dawn (and Donald) Knox of Taneytown; Diane (and David) Stottlemyer of Thurmont; Debra Oster of Thurmont; Daniel (and Heather) Fitzgerald of Emmitsburg; David (and Bonny) Fitzgerald of Emmitsburg; Darrell Fitzgerald of Frederick; and Dean (and Cecilia) Fitzgerald of Frederick. He also has seventeen grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren who will all remember him.

The Town of Thurmont owes him a debt for helping establish the Thurmont Community Park and donating it to the town while he was president of the Thurmont Jaycees. He also helped in the creation of Catoctin Colorfest, which allows many non-profit organizations in town to raise a lot of money each year. He was the charter president of the Thurmont Colt’s Corral Chapter 12. Fitzgerald and his friend, Vernon Myers, also launched the Catoctin Youth Association.

He was interred in St. Anthony’s Catholic Church Cemetery.

Reminiscing…

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Mike Fitzgerald’s Emmitsburg

James Rada, Jr.

Editor’s note: This is a reprint of a 2014 story we ran about some of Mike Fitzgerald’s early memories of Emmitsburg.

It might be Rube’s Crab Shack now, but in the 1930s, the building that sat on that piece of property was a chicken house…literally.

“My father got a tractor and dragged a chicken house down the road to there,” said Mike Fitzgerald.

Two gas pumps were added and the site became a gas station for travelers going north to Pennsylvania and Gettysburg. Mike remembers that the station sold Atlantic gasoline and that a person could buy five gallons for just 90 cents. That same amount costs about $16.00, nowadays.

“When Prohibition ended in 1932, my dad replaced the chicken house with an inexpensive six-sided building,” said Fitzgerald.

The business also started offering food, which Naomi Fitzgerald (Mike’s mom) prepared. Advertisements proclaimed that Fitz’s had “Maryland’s Finest Hamburgers.” Diners could also get steamed crabs and soft-shell crab sandwiches there, which is something many Emmitsburg residents had never eaten before.

Pretty soon, Mike’s father, Allen, was expanding that business to include a dining room and bandstand. He also added slot machines in the bar area.

“People on the road would stop in to play the slot machines in the bar and buy a hamburger for 10 cents and a beer for 15 cents,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitz’s soon became a popular off-campus place for Mount students to go and have fun.

“In 1963, a guy came in who knew dad,” said Mike. “He was an attorney in New York. He said that when he went to the Mount and would run out of money, my dad would give him credit.”

That surprised him a bit, but it also answered a question that Fitzgerald and his mother had been wondering about.

“When Dad died in 1940, we found a cigar box filled with class rings,” recalled Mike.

While Allen was willing to extend credit to the Mount students, he would hold their class rings as collateral. Judging by the number of class rings in the box, a number of students never paid off their bar tabs.

Naomi took the rings and gave them to someone at the college in the hopes that they might be reunited with the owners. The Catoctin Banner inquired at the Mount about what happened to the rings. We were told that someone would check and get back to us about it, but that didn’t happen. So once again those rings are “out of sight, out of mind.”

Mike Fitzgerald’s Emmitsburg

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James Rada, Jr.

It might be Rube’s Crab Shack now, but in the 1930s, the building that sat on that piece of property was a chicken house…literally.

“My father got a tractor and dragged a chicken house down the road to there,” says Mike Fitzgerald.

Two gas pumps were added and the site became a gas station for travelers going north to Pennsylvania and Gettysburg. Mike remembers that the station sold Atlantic gasoline and that a person could buy five gallons for just 90 cents. That same amount costs about $16.00 nowadays.

“When Prohibition ended in 1932, my dad replaced the chicken house with an inexpensive six-sided building,” says Fitzgerald.

The business also started offering food that Naomi Fitzgerald, Mike’s mom, prepared. Advertisements proclaimed that Fitz’s had “Maryland’s Finest Hamburgers.” Diners could also get steamed crabs and soft-shell crab sandwiches there, which is something many Emmitsburg residents had never eaten before.

Before long, Mike’s father, Allen, was expanding that business to include a dining room and bandstand. He also added slot machines in the bar area.

“People on the road would stop in to play the slot machines in the bar and buy a hamburger for 10 cents and a beer for 15 cents,” Fitzgerald says.

Fitz’s soon became a popular off-campus place for Mount students to go and have fun.

“In 1963, a guy came in who knew Dad,” Mike says. “He was an attorney in New York. He said that when he went to the Mount and would run out of money, my dad would give him credit.”

That surprised him a bit, but it also answered a question that Fitzgerald and his mother had been wondering about.

“When Dad died in 1940, we found a cigar box filled with class rings,” says Mike.

While Allen was willing to extend credit to the Mount students, he would hold their class rings as collateral. Judging by the number of class rings in the box, a number of students never paid off their bar tabs.

Naomi took the rings and gave them to someone at the college in the hopes that they might be reunited with the owners. The Catoctin Banner inquired at the Mount about what happened to the rings. We were told that someone would check and get back to us about it, but that didn’t happen. So, once again, those rings are “out of sight, out of mind.”

Editor’s note: This is a new feature that The Catoctin Banner is introducing, where we tell the stories of the Northern Frederick County communities through the eyes of the older generation. If you have an interesting story that you would like to tell, contact us at news@thecatoctinbanner.com.