Hagerstown Magazine - September/October 2023

HAGERSTOWN :: September/October 2023

Lesser-Known Places of Washington County :: Professional Baseball Will be Back in 2024 :: The Flavor of Fall

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Three sisters drawn to convenience, high-quality education at USMH

W

hen sisters Megan McQuillen, Lauren Henry, and Caitlin Kim decided to pursue careers in nursing, they turned to the University System of Maryland Hagerstown (USMH).

The nursing program is identical to the one offered at the Towson main campus and clinicals are all completed in western Maryland and greater Baltimore areas. Only nursing courses are offered as a part of this program.

McQuillen initially pursued classes in physical therapy but later realized she wanted a more hands-on approach with patients.

She reached out to USMH about their Towson University nursing program and became a part of their first spring cohort class in January 2010. McQuillen graduated from the nursing program in December 2011 and worked in the emergency room at Meritus Health for more than a decade before leaving her position after the birth of her fourth child.

With an interest in biology, science, and the human body since high school, Kim decided to pursue a career in nursing as well.

After graduating from Towson University at USMH in December 2017, she has worked in the emergency room at Meritus Health since February 2018.

Henry was drawn to nursing because of her sisters’ love for their professions. After earning a bachelor’s in exercise science and psychology in 2010, she decided to go back to school to earn a degree in nursing. “I live in Hagerstown and I wanted to be close and I didn’t want to have to move away from the community that I have here,” she says. Henry graduated this past Spring and received a job offer from Mertius Health shortly after.

Henry and McQuillen both received scholarships from USMH to help with their education. The financial aid “really helped me be able to focus on my studies and not have to work and worry about student loans,” Henry said. Students enrolled in programs at USMH have the opportunity to apply for and receive scholarships from both the home institution and USMH. All three cited USMH’s convenient Downtown location as one of the main reasons they chose the institution. “We all grew up in downtown Hagerstown,” Kim says. “…I really wasn’t interested in going away to school and paying all those extra fees. I love that (USMH is) in my hometown.”

USMH 32 West Washington Street, Hagerstown, MD 21740 (240) 527-2060 • www.https://hagerstown.usmd.edu/

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VOLUME XX, ISSUE 1

MANAGING EDITOR

Guy Fletcher

ART DIRECTOR

Alexandra Werder GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Ian Sager

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Chuck Boteler | Ext. 115 • cboteler@hagerstownmag.com Stephanie Dewees | Ext. 120 • stephdewees@fredmag.com Terri Davis | Ext. 113 • tdavis@fredmag.com Debra Tyson | Ext. 111 • dtyson@fredmag.com BUSINESS & CIRCULATION

Stephanie Dewees | Ext. 120 subscriptions@hagerstownmag.com WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

HighRock Studios

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Ken Buckler Maryann Fisher Charles Jeffries

Mike Marotte III Deborah Smith-Fiola Jeff Thoreson

PHOTOGRAPHY

Bill Kamenjar Turner Photography Studio BUSINESS OFFICE

Hagerstown Publishing 6 N. East St., Suite 301 Frederick, MD 21701 SEND MAIL TO:

P.O. Box 2415 Hagerstown, MD 21741

HAGERSTOWN PUBLISHING Telephone: 301.662.8171

www.hagerstownmagazine.com

Hagerstown magazine (ISSN #1555-337X), is a bimonthly publication of Hagerstown Publishing, LLC. ©2023 by Hagerstown Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. The magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.

Subscription price: $18.87 per year. Single issues $3.71. Prices include 6% Maryland state sales tax. To subscribe, send a check or money order to the business office payable to Hagerstown Magazine, call 301-662-8171 or visit www.hagerstownmagazine.com. Periodicals Postage Paid at Frederick, MD, 21701 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to P.O. Box 2415, Hagerstown, MD 21741. Distributed through subscriptions, advertisers, and sold at newsstands and other locations throughout WashPrinted on Recycled ington County, Md., and the surrounding area.

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contents

VOLUME XX, ISSUE 1

THE BEST OF LIFE IN WASHINGTON COUNTY

FEATURES

22 Unique, Unusual And Strange Places From an underground cavern near Boonsboro to a mountaintop hang gliding launching pad, here are 10 places that add character to Washington County.

BY JEFF THORESON

32 Refurbished Antietam

The new visitor’s center at Antietam National Battlefield is open and brings America’s bloodiest day into a new perspective.

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BY GUY FLETCHER

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DEPARTMENTS 8

CONTRIBUTORS

10

IN SHORT

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BIZ BUZZ

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CALENDAR

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GROW-IT-ALL

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Did your Yoshino Cherry trees drop their leaves early? Deborah Smith-Fiola explains why this might have happened and addresses other plant questions.

DINING

FINISHING TOUCHES Maryann Fisher discusses approaches to making dining rooms both functional and elegant with details and touches like wallpaper.

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BASEBALL IS BACK With a new stadium under construction, professional baseball returns to Hagerstown with a new team, a new name and a new direction.

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Destination restaurant Hickory Bridge Farm in Adams County, is good food in an historic and elegant setting with a country store and a bed-and-breakfast.

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DINING GUIDE THE TIME TRAVELER Local historian Mike Marrotte takes us back to the small village of Richmond Furnace, Pennsylvania, on State Route 75 north, a short distance from Fort Loudon.

IN RETROSPECT In 1976 the United States celebrated its bicentennial. An article written in 1976 reflects on the heritage of the area.

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A DOSE OF SATIRE A local conspiracy theory says the annual-and-harmless act of leaves gently descending from trees is all part of an elaborate government surveillance plot.

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CONTRIBUTORS WRITERS April Bartel

April is a freelance writer working under the business name Media Might since 1998. She loves her job because she gets to explore many topics and meet interesting people.

Ken Buckler

A lifelong resident of Washington County, Ken is a cyber security and risk management professional. In his spare time, Ken writes informational and satirical articles about local issues.

Maryann Fisher

Maryann, owner of Decorating Den Interiors, is an awardwinning interior decorator who has been improving/ updating her client’s homes and businesses for over 30 years in the surrounding area. Her designs have won topranking awards & two of her room makeovers were included in the decorating book “LOVE YOUR HOME,” by Carol Donayre Bugg.

Mike Marotte III

Mike is the author of a series of books about Chambersburg and the many facets of its local history. His columns run in USA Today as well as many other publications throughout the U.S.

Deborah Smith-Fiola

CELEBRATING 15 YEARS

Deborah is a professional horticultural consultant who lives in Keedysville. A former university professor and extension agent, she has a B.S. in horticulture, and an M.S. in entomology/ pest management.

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Jeff Thoreson

Jeff has based his media career from Frederick County for more than 30 years.

He has edited and written for Marylandand Washington, D.C.-based magazines and newspapers, including Washingtonian and Frederick magazines. His career has spanned both sports and lifestyle magazines.

PHOTOGRAPHY Bill Kamenjar

Bill is a Washington, D.C.-based photographer who has shot pictures for area magazines, newspapers and web sites for more than 30 years. He has won numerous awards for sports and lifestyle photography. He is a Maryland native now semi-retired, living Northern Virginia and Ocean City.

Turner Photography Studio

Jamie Turner, awardwinning photographer who specialize in imagery that tells a story. To view the wedding, commercial, and photojournalism he is known for, visit www.turnerphotographystudio.com.

Live here. Learn here.

Stay here.

The University System of Maryland at Hagerstown (USMH) is a regional higher education center that offers upper-division-undergraduate and graduate academic programs of the universities within the University System of Maryland at its state-of-the-art facility in downtown Hagerstown.

ATTENTION! Freelance contributors interested in writing for Hagerstown magazine, please contact us at jthoreson@hagerstownmag.com.

We welcome your story ideas and would love to hear from you!

To learn more about programs offered at USMH, visit Hagerstown.usmd.edu 32 W. Washington Street, Hagerstown, MD 21740

hagerstown.usmd.edu | 240.527.2060 FIVE UNIVERSITIES. ONE LOCAL CAMPUS.

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In Short

what’s news in washington county & beyond

BRETHREN MUTUAL CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT RAISES $26K

Brethren Mutual’s 24th Charity Golf Tournament, held recently at Black Rock Golf Course, Hagerstown, raised $26,000 for community nonprofit organizations, this year splitting proceeds between the Brad Browning Memorial Scholarship Fund benefitting graduates of Grace Academy, Hagerstown, and Brethren Mutual’s Relay for Life Employee Team, benefitting the American Cancer Society.

Established in 1897, Brethren Mutual Insurance Company is headquartered in Hagerstown with business in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, and Washington, D.C.

A Historic Gem: Maryland DNR Plans to Preserve Old South Mountain Inn

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources recently purchased a parcel of land adjoining South Mountain State Park to bring additional recreational opportunities to residents in Washington and Frederick counties. Formerly the location of the Old South Mountain Inn, which will be used as a visitor’s center, this 3.15 acres of mostly forested and historic land will be managed by the Maryland Park Service.

“Maryland is continuing to meet the growing need for more public spaces and parks by purchasing and conserving properties through Program Open Space,” says Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz. “The addition of the Old South Mountain Inn property will add a historic gem to state lands near Boonsboro that already includes several popular parks in the South Mountain Recreation Area.”

The department also plans to expand recreational opportunities and add interpretive exhibits about the Battle of South Mountain to the former inn, which was previously recognized as one of the oldest restaurants in Maryland. It was founded as early as 1732, served initially as a

wagon stand for traffic passing on the National Road, as a private residence from the 1870s to 1920s, then later as a tavern and restaurant, according to the Boonsboro Historical Society. The property is near well-visited sites, such as Antietam Battlefield and Washington Monument State Park.

“The department is proud to purchase this historic Maryland property to ensure it’s accessible to visitors and preserved for future generations,” says Land Acquisition and Planning Director Hilary Bell. “The new land will buffer the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, expand the area of South Mountain State Park, and provide more forest habitat for birds and other wildlife.”

The department purchased the property from owners Chad and Lisa Dorsey through Program Open Space funding for $1.97 million.

“We fell in love with this property and are proud to have been a part of its history for over 20 years,” says Chad Dorsey. “We are grateful to the many patrons, supporters, and friends of Old South Mountain Inn and we are delighted that the property will be protected for future generations.”

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biz buzz A roundup of business news in the Hagerstown and Washington County communities.

TEDWomen 2023 Set for Oct. 13

Re-Opening of Kellgard General Contracting

LaunchUX Acquires 25Penn Marketing

TEDxHagerstownWomen will gather women from across the tri-state area to amplify inspirational ideas at an event on Oct. 13 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kepler Theater at Hagerstown Community College, 11400 Robinwood Drive, Hagerstown. Organizers say there is still much work to be done regarding global gender equity.

Kellgard General Contracting, LLC, recently celebrated the opening of its new offices at 10226 Governor Lane Boulevard, Unit 4009, Williamsport. Kellgard is a full-service general contractor licensed in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The company specializes in kitchen and bath design and remodeling, living space conversions, additions, and light commercial projects.

LaunchUX, a leading web development, search optimization and hosting firm based in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, recently acquired 25Penn Marketing, a seasoned web development and online marketing provider that served the local community surrounding Hagerstown, Waynesboro, Greencastle, Chambersburg, and Shippensburg.

“We’ll joyfully celebrate those taking bold strides into the future and those working unapologetically to make big dreams become reality. We will set the stage for speakers to demonstrate luminous new thinking and ideas designed to uplift and inspire us all,” the organization says. For questions, email tedxhagerstownwomen@gmail.com or visit www. tedxhagerstownwomen.com. Apply to attend

by Sept. 10.

Kellgard has a full office staff, field staff, and in-house designer.

The LaunchUX team cuts the ribbon on the acquisition of 25Penn Marketing.

Kenny and Tiffany Gardner, owners of Kellgard General Contracting, opened a new office in Williamsport.

The owners are Kenny and Tiffany Gardner.

Kenny is a native of Hagerstown, a graduate of Goretti High School. Tiffany is involved in the local community, serving on numerous boards and committees, including as president of Sunrise Rotary, and as a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Kellgard supports the Boys and Girls Club, Washington Goes Purple, Reach, Habitat for Humanity, the Hagerstown Rescue Mission, and more.

Founded in 2017, LaunchUX’s clientele extends across a wide array of industries, serving everything from small local businesses to ecommerce giants. Founder Nathan Neil takes great pride in the company’s local roots.

“This region is a perfect breeding ground for businesses, offering potential, momentum, and abundant resources for prospective entrepreneurs,” he says.

The acquisition of 25Penn Marketing “represents an opportunity for growth and innovation, and we are committed to ensuring a seamless transition,” says LaunchUX manager Michael Banks. Bryan Rotz, previously of 25Penn Marketing, joined LaunchUX as a senior developer.

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CALENDAR september to october MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

7th

SEPTEMBER 12

REMEMBRANCE IN THE PARK Hagerstown City Park, 501 Virginia Ave., Hagerstown

The memorial ceremony will serve as a powerful reminder of the courage, sacrifice, and resilience displayed by our service members, law enforcement officers, and emergency responders as well as pay tribute to the citizens who selflessly contribute their time and effort to ensure the safety and preparedness of our community. It will also honor our fallen heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty to keep our community safe and protect the citizens of Washington County. 6 p.m. 240-313-2776. For more information, visit www.washco-md.net

OCTOBER 7

QUAD STATE BEER FEST: HALLOWEEN HYSTERIA Washington County Agricultural Education Center, 7313 Sharpsburg Pk., Boonsboro

Join in the Halloween Spirit with more than 30 regional breweries sampling their seasonal beers, plus there will be a handful of wineries, cideries, and distilleries on hand. Come in costume and dance, play crazy games, enter fun contests, and party with live music by Club Medics, Triple Trail Turn, and, of course, all-day music from Rock Steady Sound. And don’t forget the dozens of local vendors there to show you their latest goods or feed you some rockin’ grub. 2:30-9:30 p.m. 240347-1477. For more information, visit www.ifg-events.com.

OCTOBER 14-15

CATOCTIN COLORFEST Thurmont Main Street, 11 Water St., Thurmont

Explore more than 700 arts and crafts vendors throughout the town of Thurmont. In Community Park at Catoctin Colorfest, you will find more than 250 well-known and respected artists from the across the United States. Catoctin Colorfest has been recognized in Sunshine Artists Magazine and ranked in the top 35 shows in the United States, and one of the largest festivals on the East Coast.

You will also enjoy a wide variety of delicious food vendors throughout the town guaranteed to satisfy everyone’s appetite. Be sure to visit the American Legion, Main Street, Thurmont Carnival Grounds, and Criswell Chevrolet for hundreds of unique vendors. Be sure to visit the Octoberfest Beer Garden and food at the Thurmont American Legion. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 301-2717533. For more information, visit www.colorfest.org 14

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SEPTEMBER 3

BOONSBORO FOOD TRUCK FESTIVAL

23rd

Shafer Park, 37 Park Dr., Boonsboro

This family friendly festival features several local food trucks, live music all afternoon, musicians and performing arts for the kids, a corn hole tournament, garden tractor pull, axe throwing, and beer, wine, and craft cocktails garden. 12-7 p.m. 301-432-5141.

For more information, visit www.town. boonsboro.md.us.

SEPTEMBER 8

CULTURE & COCKTAILS: CLARA BARTON

Miller House Museum, 135 W. Washington St., Hagerstown

Clarissa Harlowe Barton was a hospital nurse during the Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk who founded the American Red Cross. Join Assistant Secretary for the Maryland Deprtment of Commerce Tom Riford and sculptor Toby Mendez as they share exciting developments about the Clara Barton Memorial sculpture to be erected on the Hagerstown Cultural Trail near City Park. This month’s cocktail is the Red Cross, a red colored drink for the non-profit Barton founded. 6-8 p.m. 301-797-8782. For more information, visit www.washcohistory.org.

SEPTEMBER 9

WINGS & WHEELS EXPO

Hagerstown Aviation Museum, 14211 Basore Dr, Hagerstown

WINGS! Featuring the Hagerstown Aviation Museum’s extensive collection of vintage aircraft made right here in Hagerstown, plus other military and civilian aircraft from all over the region. WHEELS! Featuring antique and classic cars, trucks, antique tractors, and motorcycles. That’s not all. Tractor trailers, cranes, law enforcement vehicles, and so much more will be on display. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 301-733-8717. For more information, visit www.wingsandwheels expo.com.

SEPTEMBER 23

COLOR SPLASH 5K WALK/RUN

Fairgrounds Park, 351 N. Cleveland Ave., Hagerstown

This is a unique family event where participants run or walk through five color stations, two wet stations, and a bubble station. This “fun run” is geared toward all fitness levels.

There will be a clock but no timing chips.

Each participant receives a T-shirt and a finisher’s medal. After the race, enjoy a healthy post-race festival with healthy food samples aligned to the USDA MyPlate, and other helpful resources. This event benefits the HEAL (Healthy Eating, Active Lifestyles) program of the YMCA of Hagerstown. 9 a.m. 301-739-3990. For more information, visit www.ymcahagerstown.org.

his daughters Miranda Scarlett Schneider and Elle King as well as Jackie Sandler, Monica Huarte, Migel Ángel Muñoz, and John Cleese. The three-time Emmy-nominated writer for SNL is having the best time of his life, enjoying raising his 9- and 5-year-old girls, Miranda and Madeline, with his wife Patricia. Schneider is also the father of singer/songwriter Elle King. 7 p.m.

301-790-3500. For more information, visit www.mdtheatre.org.

OCTOBER 7

HAGERSTOWN OUT OF THE DARKNESS WALK Hagerstown City Park, 501 Virginia Ave., Hagerstown

This is a walk to raise awareness for mental health and suicide prevention. Funds raised will benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Maryland Chapter. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) mission is to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide through research, education, advocacy, and support of loss survivors. 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

202-770-8973. For more information, visit www.afsp.org/maryland.

OCTOBER 13

ROB SCHNEIDER

CULTURE & COCKTAILS: VICTORIAN SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY

Rob Schneider is an accomplished actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director. A standup comic and veteran of the award-winning NBC sketch comedy series “Saturday Night Live,” Schneider has gone on to a successful career in films and television and continues his worldwide stand-up tour. Schneider can currently be seen performing around the United States on his stand-up comedy tour and in Daddy Daughter Trip, which he directed, stars in, and produced. It also stars

Thought to capture ghosts and other spiritual entities on film, Spirit Photography was a popular Victorian trend. This Halloween, join Culture & Cocktails as historians and spirit photographers Susan and Doug Stull present and complete a haunting demonstration!

This month’s drink is the Sherry Cobbler, an American cocktail of sherry, sugar, and citrus, shaken, served over ice, and sipped through a straw. 6-8 p.m. 301-797-8782. For more information, visit www.washcohistory.org.

OCTOBER 6

The Maryland Theatre, 21 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown

Miller House Museum, 135 W. Washington St., Hagerstown

SEPTEMBER 16

CITY PARK FALL FEST

Hagerstown City Park, 501 Virginia Ave., Hagerstown

Come celebrate the fusion of arts, entertainment, and history. Enjoy free, fun family activities, including pony rides, museum tours, art activities, and recreation opportunities. Food and craft vending will run all day from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. leading up to the fireworks show on City Park Lake! 301-739-8577. For more information, visit www.hagerstownmd.org.

9th

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september to october OCTOBER 14

3rd

THRILLS & CHILLS HALLOWEEN FEST

Hagerstown Aviation Museum, 18450 Showalter Rd., Bldg. 8, Hagerstown

This will be a fall party to remember. A line up of stellar music that has something for just about everyone. The event begins at 2 p.m. with a huge focus on family fun. Kids activities galore. The opening band will be “The Little Mermen: NYC’s Premier Disney Cover Band!” It’s sure to be a heck of a show. There will be so many fun activities for the entire family. Local homemade craft vendors and shopping for everyone. The food row will be lined with local food trucks and specialty drinks. Local distilleries will be on hand to grab a taste of some local bourbon or whisky.

Plenty of beer and wine available. 2-10 p.m.

240-347-1477. For more information, visit www.wiynn.com.

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OCTOBER 26

THE FAB FOUR– THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE

The Maryland Theatre, 21 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown

If you want to experience the best Beatles tribute ever, you won’t want to miss this show.

The Emmy Award Winning Fab Four is elevated far above every other Beatles Tribute due to their precise attention to detail. With uncanny, note-for-note live renditions of Beatles’ classics, such as “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Yesterday,” “A Day In The Life,” “Twist And Shout,” “Here Comes The Sun,” and “Hey Jude,” the Fab Four will make you think you are watching the real thing. Their incredible stage performances include three costume changes representing every era of the Beatles ever-changing career, and this loving tribute to the Beatles has amazed audiences in countries around the world, including Japan, Australia, France, Hong Kong, The United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, and Brazil. 7:30 p.m. 301-790-3500. For more information, visit www.mdtheatre.org.

26th

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finishing touches Decorating, renovating, and updating advice from Maryann Fisher

NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER’S WALLPAPER THERE ARE MANY ASPECTS OF THE FEATURED DINING ROOM THAT MAKE IT SPECTACULAR: a long mahogany table with gold leaf accents; black-framed side chairs with gold leaf details; tall host chairs with cane backs; an eight-light chandelier in black with gold accents; elegant drapery panels in rich velvet with a slight sheen; an area rug in light to medium tones on the dark hardwood floor; and extremely well-placed accessories, including the wall art pair that was placed so it looks like the birds on the wallpaper are looking down on them.

All of these lovely details are surrounded by incredible wallpaper. It’s mural style in shades of gray, white, and black delicately portrays tree trunks with leaves, blossoms, and birds. As elegant as this room would be, the addition of the wallpaper made it exceed the client’s expectations.

So, what was the client’s goal? This room is open to the foyer and hallways, and it was desired to have it stand out with quiet elegance. It also has an awkward inset wall. Using smokey mirror tiles and placing a buffet in this space adds depth and function while separating the beautiful wallpaper mural.

I’m happy to say that wallpaper is back, and there are all kinds of spectacular options. Their patterns are up to date with current color trends in soft pallettes, strong bold colors, and

everything in between. There are a lot of classic patterns showing a larger scale. There are fun and whimsical patterns for children’s rooms or playrooms. There are patterns of brick, rock, shiplap, grass-cloth, etc. They look so genuine you have to touch it to know it’s not the real thing. Grass-cloths are still popular and are now offered in many color choices and with classic patterns. Along with the patterns, there are so many incredible textures in most styles with many color choices.

Choosing the right wallpaper product could be key to a successful installation. In a commercial space, it’s important to use the correct commercially-rated wallpaper for wearability. I find it holds up better than paint in a lot of cases.

If you want to add a focal wall to your home or place of business, consider using wallpaper rather than an accent paint color. There are plenty of options available.

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grow-it-all Gardening advice from horticulturist Deborah Smith Fiola

Q:

Why did my Yoshino cherries drop their leaves so early? On Labor Day weekend my trees looked bare. What’s going on? (P.D., Hagerstown)

A:

Remember the rainy weather back in April and May? That’s when cherry leaf spot fungus infected the leaves, producing tiny, purple spots (initially). Eventually, many spots turn brown and the center falls out, giving a “shot-hole” appearance to the foliage.

This scenario generally happens every year. However, summer rain and wind cause reinfection and increase disease severity. Heavily infected leaves turn yellow and drop prematurely (six to eight weeks after infection), causing complete or partial defoliation by late summer.

Cherry leaf spot rarely kills healthy trees. Rake or mow up fallen spotted leaves to reduce potential infection next year (because the disease overwinters on infected leaves). Increase tree vigor by watering and fertilizing, which helps prevent winter injury.

By the way, ‘Kwanzan’ cherry is leaf spot disease tolerant. Also leaf spot disease attacks cherry laurel shrubs. Akebono, Okame, Snowgoose, and Dream Catcher, are somewhat tolerant.

Q:

I love perennials, but I’m getting too old to divide them every year. Are there any that don’t need to be divided?

(S.R., Sharpsburg)

Deborah Smith Fiola is a professional horticultural consultant who lives in Keedysville. A former university professor/ Extension agent, she has a B.S. in horticulture and an M.S. in entomology/ pest management (from the University of Maryland). Email your questions to: landscapeipm@gmail.com.

Disclaimer: The information presented in this column may contain cultural and pesticide recommendations that are subject to change at any time. These recommendations are provided only as a guide.

It is the reader’s responsibility by law to read and follow all label directions for any specific pesticide or product being used. Due to constantly changing labels and product registrations, if any information herein disagrees with the label, the recommendations must be disregarded. The use of brand names and any mention or listing of commercial products or services in this column does not imply endorsement

by Landscape IPM Enterprises, nor discrimination against similar products or services not mentioned.

Landscape IPM Enterprises assumes no liability from the use of these recommendations.

A: Yes, some perennials only need to be divided occasionally (every four or five years): Bleeding heart, Bergenia, bugbane; cranesbill geranium, daylily, Goatsbeard, goldenrod, hosta; Jacob’s Ladder; Lady’s mantle; Liatris; Ligularia, Lungwort; Oriental Poppy, Rudbeckia; Russian sage; Siberian iris; Turtlehead.

Only a few perennials rarely need division (although I can never say “never”). Some of these plants have tap roots and don’t divide well, others spread slowly and are moved if they get too large and begin taking over their neighbors. Look for: Baptisia, Balloon flower, Butterfly Weed; candytuft; Clematis; hellebores, lavender; Peony; and Solomon’s Seal.

Remember, fall is the perfect time to divide most spring and summer blooming perennials.

Q:

I just moved and want to plant a red Japanese barberry at my new house, just like my old place. But I can’t find them.

Any ideas? (E.S., Hagerstown) A: Japanese barberry is a compact two- to five-foot low-maintenance shrub that tolerates droughty, poor soils, sun, or shade. It’s also pest and deer resistant. Homeowners like cultivars with red or golden foliage.

But Japanese barberry is an invasive plant from Asia. Wildlife disperses its prolific seeds to woodlands, fields, etc. to form dense thickets, crowding out native plants. They are banned in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia as an Invasive Species and should be avoided.

(Even so, researchers have developed four sterile varieties that have been approved in Pennsylvania as exemptions to the Japanese barberry ban. Be aware that other states are delaying approval to make sure these are seedless: “Crimson Cutie”, “Lemon Cutie”, “Lemon Glow”, and “Mr. Green Genes”) Instead, consider Northern BAYberry (think: bayberry candles). This semi-evergreen, three- to eight-foot tough native shrub grows in any soil, in full sun to part shade. Plant it in groups in a border for screening or informal hedges, on slopes, even in wet areas and rain gardens.

Google your state invasive species list for a complete list of invasive plants to avoid.

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Unique, Unusual

and Downright

Strange PLACES IN WASHINGTON COUNTY

By Jeff Thoreson

osh Goldman has stuff.

Lots of stuff. Lots and lots of old stuff. He loves stuff.

He keeps it all in his 20,000-square-foot shop he calls Junkworks, an American Pickers type of place brimming with tens of thousands of items that an untrained eye might classify as junk. Like you would see on the History Channel show, Goldman has signs, old gas pumps, furniture, knick-knacks, and stuff so quizzical that you have to ask what it is and what it was ever used for.

“I just always liked old stuff,” Goldman says. “My mom used to drag me around antique hunting, proba-

J

Antiques collector Josh Goldman stands amid some of the stuff he has collected and sells from his shop called Junkworks in Hagerstown. bly not knowing it would one day lead to this. I developed my love of old stuff from that.”

His stuff comes from all over the place—yard sales, private estates, farms, old barns, attics, garages. “Sometimes I doorknock and find things that haven’t been touched for a R ENJA

BY BILL KAM long time,” he says.

Asked what kind of budget he operates with, his father, Mark, chimes in: “If we got money in the bank, we buy.”

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Goldman says he’s loved antiques and things since 2003, but opened Junkworks in Charles Town, W.Va., in 2014. They moved the shop to East Baltimore Street in Hagerstown in 2017. Goldman does all the buying, but selling is a family effort, including Mark, his brother and partner Dan, and his mother Lynne Erting, who was an original partner and came up with the catchy name.

“We specialize in good, old stuff,” says Josh. “I used to focus mainly on automotive collectibles, but now it’s a little bit of anything that is old. Rule 1 is it has to be good. Rule 2 it has to be old.”

Goldman initially thought he would be an automobile restorer, and even sought out McPherson College in Kansas, the only place where one can pursue a career in restoring cars. He earned a bachelor’s degree in automotive restoration, but his drive changed one day, and he told his dad he really liked the idea of collecting antiques.

Like American Pickers stars Jersey Jon and Robbie Wolf, who visited Junkworks in 2022, Goldman is “100 picker.”

“Judging the value of something is very subjective,” he says. “If it’s a mass-produced item you can just look up comps online. If it’s a one-of-a-kind item, I just use my gut and my years of experience buying and selling unique items.”

Customers come from all over. Travelers along Interstate 81 pull off to browse,and locals come back often to see what’s new in Goldman’s old junk. Instagram is a big sales tool.

“I’d like to think Junkworks has a reputation as a destination because of the wide variety of items we sell,” Goldman says.

If you’re looking for the Walmart of stuff—old stuff—Junkworks is probably your place.

Signs and more in the Junkworks store in Hagerstown.

BY BILL KAMENJA R

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On a Wing and a Prayer

Rich Hiegels once soared off High Rock Overlook at the top of Mount Quirauk in Smithburg’s Pen Mar Park and climbed to 12,000 feet on a hang glider.

Another time he launched from High Rock and flew to Baltimore. For decades High Rock attracted experienced hang-gliding pilots from throughout the Middle Atlantic and beyond.

“High Rock was right up there with the top three or four spots for hang gliding on the East Coast,” says Hiegels, who started gliding there in the late 1970s as equipment became safe and affordable. At 1,800 feet above sea level and more than 1,000 feet above the usual landing site, the sheer drop-off allowed gliders to soar over the scenic Hagerstown or Middletown valleys and float safely back to Earth.

“On a good day back then you couldn’t even have your car up there because every inch of that area would be filled with 50, 60, 70 gliders preparing for launch and sometimes even the access road would be full of gliders,” Hiegels says.

Gliding began at High Rock in 1975. At first, gliders ran off a rudimentary launch pad of planks attached to pillars. But because they were essentially launching off a cliff, a platform was installed. Then a lower platform was built where other pilots would help the launching pilot control the nose of the glider in the strong winds, updrafts, and thermals that made High Rock such a desirable (and difficult) launching site.

These days, launches have dwindled to just a handful a year, and though some say hang gliding has been outlawed from High Rock, there doesn’t appear to have ever been an official decree forbidding it.

Instead, a number of variables factor into the decline of High Rock gliding. There is less interest in hang gliding as paragliding has grown in popularity.

Because launching from High Rock was difficult, it took a small group of pilots to help the launching pilot. Without being able to count

Rich Hiegels launching from High Rock in 1981.

on that aid, High Rock fell off the radar of pilots.

Airspace is more restricted. If a glider wants to do a long flight from High Rock, the pilot has to first fly

BY LEATH HI EGELS north to navigate around the restricted airspace of Camp David. Flying “cross country” to Baltimore or Washington, D.C., is also limited now because of restricted airspace. And the landing field changed ownership. The previous owner was more welcoming to landing pilots.

Without regular activity at High Rock, it became a space for kids to hang out and party. Now the launching area is covered in graffiti—not urban art type of graffiti but just reckless paint that makes the rock more slippery and even more dangerous for gliders.

Hiegels, 66, says he went to High Rock with a few other pilots last year to try to get one more flight in before he quit gliding, but the conditions weren’t right, so he didn’t launch, although others did.

In 2025 it will be 50 years since gliding began at High Rock. There’s talk of a re-gathering of pilots to celebrate, but whether there will be enough interest is a big question.

Magically’ Saving the Link Between East and West In the early days of the 19th century, travel to the settlements cropping up in Western Maryland was

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anything but easy, with mountain passes to negotiate, creeks and rivers to ford, and danger from wildlife and uneasy indigenous people to avoid.

Commerce moving from Baltimore and Washington crossed South Mountain and descended into the peaceful and easily negotiated Hagerstown Valley until seven miles west of Hagerstown wagon trains encountered Conococheague Creek. A shallow-butwide section of the creek just south of where the Hagerstown Speedway now stands could be forded.

As commerce grew, it became clear a bridge was needed, and in 1819, the county commissioners budgeted $12,000 for the project. Local mason Silas Harry built the bridge with limestone quarried locally.

When it opened it was celebrated as a major milestone in Maryland commerce, a link between the east and west. As a marker

ously damaged the Wilson Bridge. When the water receded, structural engineers determined it needed to be permanently closed to traffic.

A new bridge was built less than 200 feet downstream, and now the National Pike (U.S. 40) veers slightly left creating a “Y” with Wilson Bridge Park Lane to flow traffic across the “new” bridge, now half a century old.

With no regular maintenance to Wilson’s Bridge, stones began falling from the 210-foot span and eventually an entire section collapsed, forcing a decision to be made on the future of the now-historic five-arch bridge, the longest stone bridge in Washington County.

The Washington County commissioners had public safety issues and budgetary

Wilson’s Bridge, built in 1819, was a major improvement for travel between Baltimore and Cumberland.

at the bridge now commemorates, “It was a major improvement to the road system between Baltimore and Cumberland, providing a continuous smooth surface from the eastern seaboard to the western wilderness.”

The five-arch bridge continued to serve the ever-changing flow of commerce for more than 150 years, accommodating everything from horses in the early days to 18-wheelers much later. In 1972, Hurricane Agnes ripped through Maryland, turning the Conococheague into raging flood water that seri-

constraints to consider as the volume of the discourse on what to do with the historic structure turned louder. The Washington County committee of the Maryland Historical Trust fought to save the bridge, but the commissioners, facing a $600,000 estimate to rebuild it, were set to vote to tear it down.

Then, almost magically, a local mason named LeRoy Myers, stepped up and said he would rebuild the bridge for $100,000. The commissioners were on the verge of voting to spend $30,000 to raze the bridge, but when they discovered Myers was serious, voted to spend the $30,000 on Myers’ renovation.

State and federal funds, as well as private donations, made up the other $70,000, and now the rebuilt structure, standing in full view of traffic passing on its

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replacement, is on the National Register of Historic Places. If bridges can have fairytale endings, Wilson’s Bridge certainly does.

The Bast of Boonsboro (Boonsborough?)

When Doug Bast was 9 years old, one of his mates brought an old bottle to school. Fascinated by it, Bast bought it for $1.

“I brought it home and my father said, ‘You paid a dollar for that thing?’ I said, “Yeah, look at it. Look at the color. I really got excited over it,” Bast said in an interview before he died in 2021.

Another story Bast often told was about a trip with his mother to the Smithsonian Institute. On the way home the young Bast proclaimed that, one day, he wanted a museum just like that one.

Those events turned into a lifelong obsession with collecting historic artifacts and documents, the result of which is the tens of thousands of items now in the Boonsborough Museum of History. Bast opened the museum in 1975 and continued to collect for the rest of his life.

“Doug never had a TV,” says museum board of directors president Charles Schwalbe. “He lived in a small apartment above the museum and spent all his time studying, researching, writing, and consulting

with people. It was the entire focus of his life.”

Consequently, Bast’s museum isn’t a dinky, smalltown stop to look at a few interesting artifacts. It is an enormous treasure trove of historic significance.

Bast had collected many

BY BILL KAMENJAR thousands of documents, many of which he hadn’t gotten to read thoroughly before his death. Now the board of directors, with the help of a consultant, is going through everything piece-by-piece to classify everything.

“Until two-and-a-half years ago when Doug passed away, this was a private collection,” Schwalbe says.

“After his death, it became the stewardship of Doug’s non-profit organization. At that point, we started studying the collection and going through it with a very, very fine-tooth comb, and we discovered things that were heretofore unknown to anyone. As these documents become accessible to the public, they will add to the narrative of what we know worldwide.”

The museum is only open Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. because that was the only time Bast had to offer tours. He managed the family furniture store next door called Bast of Boonsboro, which closed in 2011 after 175 years. At the time, it was the longest operating furniture store in the state.

Now the board has plans to turn that building into a museum annex, not only to house more of Bast’s artifacts and documents but to provide meeting and community space. “We want to leave the original museum the way Doug left it and renovate the building next door to expand on his vision for the benefit of the community,” says James Rogers, who sits on board of directors. “We don’t want to change this because

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this is the way the founder developed it. Everything in here he placed by hand.”

Schwalbe says Bast’s collection includes “boxes and boxes and boxes” of documents that Bast may have perused but never talked about. As the inventory progresses, the board is uncovering interesting documents like maps of proposed routes for the National Pike and documents reflecting the very early history of Washington County, many of which have been unseen for decades.

“A museum is where you go to look at things behind glass,” says Schwalbe. “But what we have are thousands and thousands of documents that came out of people’s attics and various other places. Doug was an avid collector of paper material, books, records, ledgers, and such, and when you start studying these things carefully, you get some fine-grain detail on what came before us. These are important insights into our past. We really want to make a contribution to a more scholarly inquiry into Washington County’s past.”

But why is the name of the museum spelled differently than the town? The town was incorporated as Boonsborough in 1831, but local newspapers and villagers preferred the name Boonsboro. The former name was used on some documents as late as 1903.

A Cave of Civil War Desperation

An illustration that appeared in the Oct. 25, 1862, issue of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, a noted weekly periodical of the time, shows a crowd of people huddled in a cave opening near the Potomac River and more headed to the cave on horseback. News didn’t travel quite as fast in those days. The genesis of the illustration occurred a few weeks earlier on Sept. 17, when the Battle of Antietam was unfolding near Sharpsburg.

As the battle raged near Sharpsburg, area residents grew concerned and sought safety. Many gathered at the Killiansburg Cave near the Potomac River, which faced away from the battle, protecting citizens. Still, it had to be a hollow feeling to listen to the sounds of not-so-distant war while having no idea what might

be happening to their homes, farms, and crops.

Killiansburg Cave is rather small, actually not much more than an overhang, and certainly would not have been hospitable for any length of time for such a large group. The battle lasted only one day, though it was the bloodiest single-day battle of the war.

The cave is near milepost 75.7 on the C&O Canal and sits about 25 feet above the Potomac.

Defending WaCo through Four Wars

The 18th century genius of the star-fort design developed

by French military engineer Sébastien de Vauban played a significant role in Maryland’s military history as his design standards were deployed in the construction of Fort McHenry in 1798. But as famous as McHenry is, that wasn’t the first star-shaped fort built in Maryland. Fort Frederick, begun at the outset of the French and Indian War in 1756 near Big Pool, uses the star design of Vauban, then considered the father of modern fortification.

Alarmed by reports of bloody insurrections on the colony’s western front, Gov. Horatio Sharpe urged the general assembly to fund the fort, one of the largest fortifications built by English colonists in North America, and then oversaw much of the construction himself. The fort’s exterior walls are 355 feet from bastion point to bastion point and the stone wall is about 18 feet high. When it was complete in 1758 at least three major buildings stood within its walls. Two years later, concerned by cost overruns, the assembly cut off funding, though it is believed the fort was largely completed by that point.

Oddly, though in service for four wars, the fort was never directly attacked. After the French and Indian War, Sharpe reactivated the fort in 1763 when Otta-

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wa chief Pontiac led a rebellion against the English.

Sharpe armed the fort with weapons and militia but the only action it saw was settlers flocking inside for protection when turmoil seemed apparent.

Reactivated again for the Revolutionary War, Fort Frederick ended up housing as many as 1,000 British prisoners following the battles of Saratoga and Yorktown. The structure lay abandoned again until the Civil War when it was rearmed to protect the C&O Canal and the B&O Railroad.

There was a minor skirmish in the area between Maryland’s 1st Infantry and Confederate raiders on Christmas Day 1861, but the military usefulness of the fort had all but vanished by 1862 and the fort was again abandoned.

In 1922, the fort, now somewhat deteriorated, and the surrounding area was acquired by the state and put into service as Maryland’s first state park. Thanks to archaeological investigations and the discovery of the original plans, the fort was restored to its 1758 condition in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corp. Now more than 260

years old, Fort Frederick is one of the longest-standing structures in Washinigton County.

Scribes and War

Ever wonder where the name Gathland State Park came from? The park straddles the Washington-Frederick County line along the top of South Mountain, but unlike many of Maryland’s parks it is not named for a geographic feature.

Gath was a pen named used by George Alfred Townsend, who added an H to his initials because of the Biblical passage Samuel 1:20: “Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askalon.” Born in 1841, Townsend wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer and later the New York World and was believed to be the youngest war correspondent during the Civil War. He was the World’s Washington correspondent in 1865 and his dispatches in the month following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln were eventually complied into the book The Life, Crime, and Capture of John Wilkes Booth.

Townsend became one of the most respected journalists in the nation, later writing for the Chicago Tribune, the New York Evening Graphic, and becoming the founding editor of The Capital in Washington, D.C., with Ohio journalist and politician Donn Piatt.

In 1884, Townsend began building a compound of buildings on South Mountain. The estate, which Built by Civil War correspondent George Alfred Townsend, this monument in Gathland State Park pays tribute to combat journalists.

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is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in his native Philadelphia, thus his mausoleum remains empty.

Coffee, War, and a Future President

BY BILL KAMENJA R

he called Gapland, eventually included several buildings, including Gapland Hall, Gapland Lodge, the Den and Library Building, and a mausoleum, which would forever go unused, but still stands with the inscription “Good Night Gath.”

In 1896, Townsend added to his estate the War Correspondents’ Memorial Arch, a tribute to war journalists. Displayed on the monument is a statue of the Greek god Hermes (Roman god Mercury), the messenger of the gods and the gold vane of a pen bending a sword. Quotations appropriate to the art of war correspondence are inscribed on the monument, as are the names of 157 correspondents and war artists. Although in the late 1990s, local historian Timothy J. Reese analyzed the list and asserted that only 135 served as war correspondents or artists.

Townsend’s wife, Elizabeth Evans Rhodes, died in 1903 and in 1911 Townsend left Gapland for New York City, where he died three years later. He

When the Confederate states seceded from the Union and the Civil War began in 1861, thousands of Ohio men rushed to enlist.

Among them is a 19-year-old schoolteacher named William McKinley.

He ended up in the 23rd Ohio Infantry, which famously ended up near Sharpsburg on Sept. 17, 1862. As the bloodiest single-day battle of the war raged, young McKinley, the commissary sergeant in charge of feeding the soldiers, was safe at the rear, two miles behind the fighting.

As he listened to the sounds of battle, he saw soldiers, scared and confused, coming back seeking a respite. McKinley had the idea of bringing food to the soldiers and started brewing coffee and putting food on two wagons, rounded up a couple of old mules, and headed by himself toward the battle.

Gen. J.L. Botsford of the 23rd Ohio Regiment would later write: “When you consider the fact of leaving his post of security, driving right into the middle of a bloody battle with a team of mules, it needs no words of mine to show the character and determination of McKinley, a boy at this time about 20 years of age.”

When McKinley entered politics, the tales of his bravery became a political asset, the story told and retold on the stump, including the campaign for the presidency.

A 33-foot-high monument commemorating McKinley’s act, erected just south of what is now the Burnside Bridge parking area, was dedicated by Ohio veteran’s organizations in the Antietam Battlefield on Oct. 13, 1903, two years after McKinley was assassinated in Buffalo, New York. The inscription on the monument says McKinley “personally and without orders served hot coffee and warm food to every man in the Regiment, on this spot and in doing so had to pass under fire.”

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Steamboat Credit Where Credit is Due

If American engineer Robert Fulton is credited with inventing the steamboat, why is there a 75-foottall monument to a guy named James Rumsey overlooking the Potomac River in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, claiming he invented a steam engine capable of propelling a boat with hydraulic jet propulsion? And why should we in Washington County, Maryland, care?

Rumsey, born in Cecil County, Maryland, was a bit of a jack-ofall-trades. He was a successful miller, mill mechanic, mill designer, canal builder, blacksmith, and a capable architect. He moved to Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, where he met and designed a house for George Washington, who was surveying the town. The two remained acquaintances although Washington probably wasn’t interested in Rumsey’s milling or blacksmithing. Eventually, Rumsey began work on an engine he claimed would propel a boat without wind power.

A 75-foot-tall monument to James Rumsey overlooks the site on the Potomac River where Rumsey demonstrated a scale model of the steamboat in 1787, 20 years before Robert Fulton is credited with inventing the steamboat.

Others called him “crazy Rumsey” but apparently Washington took note, writing in his diary on September 6, 1784, that Rumsey’s model and “its operation upon the water… not only convinced me of what I before thought…quite impractical, but that it might be turned into the greatest possible utility in inland navigation.”

A few years later, “crazy Rumsey” turned out to be quite sane, demonstrating on Dec. 3, 1787, a scale version of what would become the steamboat.

Washington urged Rumsey to seek financial support for his invention, and Rumsey was able to enlist Benjamin Franklin and others, who created the Rumseian Society to help fund the invention.

Needing a patent but no U.S. Patent Office yet (that wouldn’t come along until 1836), Rumsey headed for England. On Dec. 20, 1792, the night before he was to demonstrate his invention, he was suddenly stricken by severe head pain. He died the next morning with doctors attributing his death, according to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, “overstraining his brain.” He was buried at St. Margaret’s Church on the grounds of Westminster Abbey.

A sad loss, but Shepherdstown’s gain. In addition to the monument, the bridge leading into Shepherdstown over the Potomac from Washington County is named in Rumsey’s honor, and at the Rumsey Steamboat Museum, opened in 1988, visitors can see a working replica of his model steamboat, which was built by the Rumseian Society to celebrate the bicentennial of his demonstration on the Potomac.

That’s all well and good for Shepherd-

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BY BILL KAMENJAR

stown, but the little-known fact of this matter is that the Potomac River is owned almost entirely by Maryland. Therefore, Rumsey’s little demonstration officially took place in Washington County.

A Cavern that’s Crystal Clear

When Crystal Grottoes Cavern was discovered and turned into a tourist attraction, owner Ralph Downs said the cavern was so spectacular it would make money for 100 years. He was wrong. It’s now been 101 years that the cavern just southwest of Boonsboro has been making money, and there are many more to come.

There are, perhaps, thousands of cave systems in Maryland—and who knows what’s out there that hasn’t been discovered—but the only cave open to the public for tours is Crystal Grottoes.

It was quite by accident that the cave was discovered. During a quarrying operation to mine gravel to build Md. 34 southwest of Boonsboro, a crew drilling holes to place explosives on land leased from a local farmer went a little too deep and their bit fell through a hole and disappeared. Air poured out of the hole. A blast opened up an entrance to a cave.

The farmer, who history records know only by his last name of Hurtzell, asked the state to find another

place to search for gravel. Unfortunately, Hurtzell died with no heirs and in his will gave the land to his closest friend, Downs. He worked on the cave for two years, running electrical lines and building a log cabin around the entrance. In 1922 he opened Crystal Grottoes to tours for 7-cents a person.

The original wooden structure burned in 1938 and was rebuilt, only to burn again in 2008. It has been replaced by a stone building—the stones quarried from the cavern—that now serves as the entrance way. Little has changed inside the cavern, other than the development of a walking path that connects several rooms full or geological formations perhaps millions of years old.

Visitors get a tour of about 30 minutes and a question-and-answer session follows. Guides discuss geological facts and point out formations that resemble people, animals, and inanimate objects. Stalactites that hang from the ceiling and flowstones— sheetlike deposits of calcite or other carbonate minerals that have built up where water flows down on walls are prominent and impressive features.

Crystal Grottoes is now on the fourth-generation of ownership in the Downs family. Ralph passed it to his son, Gerald, who passed it to Gerald Jr., and now Cassie Downs runs the business on the threshold of its second century.

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History’s

New Look Renovated Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center Opens Doors, Eyes to the Past

By Guy Fletcher Photography by Bill Kamenjar

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F

or decades, staff and many visitors at Antietam National Battlefield knew too well about the notorious support column that stood inside the front entrance of the park’s visitor center.

The pole’s awkward placement, in the middle of a busy lobby, was more than an eyesore.

“People ran into it,” says U.S. Park Service Ranger Keith Snyder, the battlefield’s chief of resource education and visitor service.

It was no surprise, then, that when staff discussed what they wanted to include in the planned renovation of the center, one of the first comments was: Get rid of the pole. To their relief, it was removed and replaced by a support beam that now stretches across the building, unseen, above the ceiling.

Removing the pole illustrates that the main focus of the nearly completed $8 million visitor center renovation—a massive project that rebuilt and expanded the building and reimagined its telling of the Battle of Antietam through new exhibits, stories, and interpretations— was simply making the battlefield more accessible.

Just a few feet from the site of the former lobby pole is an elevator that can take guests to a lower-level exhibit area or upstairs to an observation deck offering an expansive view of the battlefield.

Snyder points out that visitors who struggled with steps were once directed by staff to walk around the building on the sloping ground as their only means to reach the observation area.

“The biggest driver in the rehabilitation of this building was to make it more accessible,” he says.

HALLOWED GROUND

Antietam National Battlefield is among the crown jewels of the U.S. Park Service’s Civil War catalog, with its 3,200 acres of finely preserved or restored grounds. In fact, except for the ubiquitous monuments, markers and statues that dot the park, the battlefield’s rolling grounds appear very much the way they did on Sept. 17, 1862, when U.S. and Confederate armies clashed in what is considered the bloodiest day in American history.

On that day, Confederate soldiers under Gen. Robert E. Lee battled with U.S. Gen. George B. McClellan’s federal forces in fighting that would rage from dawn until late afternoon. It was the Civil War’s first major engagement on Union soil and resulted in nearly 23,000 dead, wounded or missing. Though the Union forces suffered more casualties, the battle is generally considered a victory for the federal army because of its strategic and political implications.

Today, the Antietam battlefield represents something of the gold standard in Civil War

A lighted, interactive board helps visitors understand the massiveness of the causalities of the battle. (Below)

A newly discovered map shows the mass graves on the battlefield. (Above)

preservation. Two-thirds of the current park didn’t even belong to the U.S. Park Service before 1990. But an aggressive effort to save, expand, and protect the battlefield—buffered by restrictions on local development—have given it the reputation as one of best restored battlefields in the nation. Unlike some other loca-

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tions, there are no motels or strip shopping centers nudging up against hallowed ground here.

But while the battlefield has grown and flourished— now greeting some 300,000 visitors a year—its 60-yearold visitor center has had its struggles. A leaky roof gave the building a damp, musty feel, while a faulty septic system was known to back up from time to time. The trademark wood trellises in front of the building rotted after years of exposure to the elements. Exhibits and artifacts were informative, but narrowly focused.

“We loved the building, but it had a lot of problems,” Snyder says.

Planning for the renovation was years in the making, beginning with an advisory group of historians, academics, park staff, and others, including the NPS’s

chief historian and former chief historian. “We basically locked ourselves in a room, twice, for three days” to put together a vision of what a new center would look like, Snyder says.

Construction began in January 2021, with the building already closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. The building had all its outdated mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems removed, along with everything else.

“Basically, every inch of this building was stripped to the walls,” Snyder said.

Dunker Church was the focal point of a number of Union attacks against the Confederate left flank.

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From the top of the visitor’s center, visitors have a panoramic view of the battlefield, where they can relate the distant geography to a relief map on the table.

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To accommodate visily 6,000 soldiers were tors during construction, originally buried at a temporary center was Antietam before being built. Offices, artifacts, re-interred at cemeterand staff were moved ies and other locations. across the parking lot to But it wasn’t until 2020, a block of seven trailers. when researchers found An important factor the map in the New in the project was the York Public Library, battlefield’s listing on that its existence was the National Register of even known. “This Historic Places, which burial map had never A new map helps visitors understand the geography of the battle view of the battlefield. prevents any changes been seen before,” to “character-defining Snyder says. features.” For example, the trellises in front of the buildWork to improve access through the exhibit area ing had to stay, but they are now made of metal. “It will required cutting through three feet of concrete, never rot,” Snyder says. Inside, particular attention was since part of the lower level was designated a fallout given to the limestone walls and slate floors because the shelter during the Cold War. The former shelter lobby was expanded, and new materials had to match. now serves to highlight five themes of battlefield: conflict, terror, survival, freedom, and memory.

TELLING A BROADER STORY While in the past the park might have stressed The renovated visitor center keeps many of the artifacts the actual battle very well, the five themes allow in updated exhibits, but others were added, with an emit to address larger, broader questions about the phasis on accessible, interactive, and hands-on displays. battle’s cause and consequences, as directed by the For example, the observation deck now includes a raised advisory group. relief map of the battlefield that visitors can touch to “We are trying to have the broadest possible story understand the topography that soldiers fought over. reach the broadest possible audience,” Snyder says.

One new exhibit uses the lighted images of bodies That’s because Antietam is part of a larger story that that illustrate the number of casualties at Antietam; is centuries in the making. It begins with the growth of visitors push buttons to indicate the number of killed, slavery in the colonies and continues with key events in wounded, and missing from various phases of the battle. secession, the war itself and construction and long after Behind the light display is an 1864 map that shows that. Antietam can be credited with inalterably changing burial locations on the battlefield. The bodies of nearthe moral path of the war. The battle’s result gave Presi-

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dent Abraham Lincoln the political leverage to issue, just five days later, the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation—re-directing the war from conflict to preserve the Union to a crusade to free enslaved people.

“We decided this is the appropriate place to get into these broader concepts,” Snyder says.

NOT THE SMITHSONIAN

The idea, he explains, is for visitors to first learn the themes in the artifacts and exhibits so they have a fuller understanding when they explore the actual battlefield. “This isn’t like the Smithsonian,” Snyder says. “You don’t come in here [to the center] just to walk around and go home.”

In fact, visitors begin learning the story even before they walk through the center’s doors. The long, serpentine walkway from the parking lot—built to improve accessibility up a steep hill—is embedded with a timeline of Civil War battles and other important events.

The second-most popular question visitors ask staff is whether the Battle of Antietam took place before or after the Battle of Gettysburg, so the sidewalk provides that answer—Antietam took place nearly a year before Gettysburg—even before they walk through the front door. (The most popular question directed to battlefield staff is, “Where are the restrooms?”)

“We knew we had to do this long, winding sidewalk, so we wanted to make it interpretative,” Snyder says.

About halfway up the walkway, visitors are greeted by a new wayside marker and sculpture of a Confederate and Union soldier titled, “Exposed to the Fire of Slavery and Freedom.” They tell the story of Sgt. William H. Paul of the 90th Pennsylvania Infantry, who risked his life to recapture his unit’s flag in Miller’s Cornfield, site

of some of the deadliest fighting of the battle.

As Snyder looks around the gleaming new center, he laments there are still some small jobs that need to be done after the “soft opening” in August. There is also some landscaping work needed and the site of the temporary visitor center needs to be restored. “We are not 100 percent,” he says, pointing to a small nick in the panel in need of paint.

The goal is to be as close to finished as possible by the middle of September. Anniversary weekend typically draws thousands of visitors from across the county. Arriving that day will certainly be many people who are repeat visitors to the battlefield, who knew the old visitor center very well. Some might have had a literal run-in with the pole.

“We basically brought this historic building into the 21st century,” Snyder says.

Antietam National Battlefield

5831 Dunker Church Road, Sharpsburg 301-432-5124 www.nps.gov/anti

The park and visitors center are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Special programs throughout the year include Memorial Day Commemoration (Monday of Memorial Day weekend at the National Cemetery); Independence Day Commemoration (first Saturday in July); Anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, Sept. 17; and Memorial Illumination (first Saturday in December).

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Play Ball!

Again!

Baseball will be back in the Hub City next spring when the Flying Boxcars take the field in a new downtown stadium

By Jeff Thoreson Hagerstown’s love affair with baseball spans nearly the entire history of the sport, although like most relationships, it has been a somewhat upand-down affair.

Next spring, the umpire cry of “Play ball” will once again ring in Hagerstown, this time in a spanking-new downtown stadium that may well be the envy of minor-league towns throughout the country. The Hagerstown Flying Boxcars will take the field in the Atlantic League, reigniting the passion for professional baseball in Washington County.

“Minor league baseball towns stand out,” says Daniel P. Spedden, president of the Hagerstown/ Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It is a relatively rare commodity and should be valued for the impact it has on the economy An architect’s rendering of the The Western Maryland Historical and the sense of community it creates.” finished ball park.

Library tells us the Hagerstown Base Local interest already seems to be Ball Club was holding regular meetstrong. When organizers announced ings and playing “spirited contests” against rival town a name-the-team competition, they received more teams as far back as the Civil War, and a professional than 1,600 entries. Other top contending names were baseball organization played in the Cumberland Valley the Haymakers, Diezel Dogs, Tin Lizards, and Battle League for a short period in the 1890s.

Swans. More than 2,500 people voted in the contest.

Since then, various professional teams have come The winning name pays tribute to the Fairchild C119 and gone, most recently the Hagerstown Suns, which Flying Boxcar that was produced at a plant in Hagerdisbanded in Major League Baseball’s consolidation stown between 1949 and 1955. The fuselage was the size after the Covid-canceled season of 2020. of a train boxcar and designed to carry cargo, personnel,

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PHOTO CREDIT: BILL KAMENJAR

PHOTO CREDIT: BILL KAMENJAR

equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute. The planes were used by the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Hagerstown civic officials now hope the Flying Boxcars can soar into the space vacated three years ago by the Suns, which were the city’s largest tourist attraction.

“The loss of the Suns meant that there was no commerce generated at the stadium, year-round and seasonal employment opportunities were gone, and the city’s profile as a preferred destination was diminished,” Spedden says.

Flying Boxcars general manager David Blenckstone overlooking the That commerce should return with construction site for the new downtown Hagerstown stadium. a $70 million downtown stadium under construction at Summit Avenue and West Baltimore Street. The Maryland General Assembly voted then, the 92-year-old Municipal Stadium has been to fund the project in 2021, meaning no local tax dollars razed and a new $22 million indoor sports facility is unare being used to build the stadium, which has been der construction on the site, scheduled to open in 2024. designed to reflect Hagerstown’s history as a railroad hub.

“The new Hagerstown stadium will be America’s Both Spedden and Boxcars’ general manager David newest and most innovative ballpark and will attract Blenckstone say the stadium will bring visitors to Hagfans who just want to experience the new venue,” Spederstown and hope it will help revitalize downtown in a den says. “Independent professional baseball will be free city where the economy is struggling. of the disappointment we experienced with affiliated “That, in turn, will provide a huge boost to downbaseball, and a local ownership group will create a sense town businesses and will encourage new businesses to of permanence that will allow local residents to commit invest in the city,” says Blenckstone. to the team for many years to come.”

The Suns played their last game in Hagerstown in the The investment group that owns the team, Downfall of 2019, so it’s been three full seasons since minor town Baseball LLC, includes Hagerstown businessleague baseball has been played in Hagerstown. Since men Howard “Blackie” Bowen, Don Bowman, and James Holzapfel.

“Hagerstown lost its franchise…leaving a void in the community both on the field and through the economic impact that was lost with the team,” Blenckstone says. “Baseball has been a huge part of the fabric of Hagerstown and Washington County for decades, dating back to the 1940s when minor league baseball first called Hagerstown home.”

Adds Spedden: “Professional baseball’s return to Hagerstown will restore and enhance the commerce and sense of community lost with the Hagerstown This will be the view from behind home plate showing the Suns departure.”

Hagerstown skyline in the background.

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FALL FLAVORS

Grapes, Grains, and More

By Charles Jeffries

Washington County’s wine, beer, and spirits scene keeps getting bigger and better

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decade ago, if you wanted a bottle of wine, a six-pack of beer, or smooth whiskey in Washington County, you headed to a liquor store and bought something from France, Milwaukee, or Scotland. Today, your options aren’t limited to mass-produced bottles or cans from far-away places. No matter where you live in Washington County, it’s only a short drive to great samplings of local wines, craft brews, or distilled spirits. Washington County is emerging as a player in Maryland’s expanding scene of grapes and grains.

Not long ago, Maryland was written off as a state where quality wine could be produced, but it is now roughly following the plan neighboring Virginia started 30 years ago en route to becoming one of the most respected wine producing states in the country. Rather than just growing the grapes that make good wine in other parts of the world, Washington County wine makers and viticulturists are looking closely at land, climate, and geography crucial to successfully growing vitis vinifera, the varietals of grapes that produce wine.

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So instead of just growing popular varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc, there are some lessheard-of grapes that are producing quality wine in the county. Big Cork Vineyards grows Italian varietals Barbara and Nebbiolo, among others. Antietam Creek Vineyards grows an Austrian white grape called Gruner Veltliner and the hybrid white Vidal Blanc. Red Heifer Winery grows an obscure Hungarian grape called Blaufrankisch and a lesser-known French grape Petit Verdot.

Experienced wine makers are now working in Washington County and a pool of young up-and-comers is scattered throughout the county. Last year the Best in Show medal at the Maryland Governor’s Cup wine competition came from Washington County’s Big Cork Vineyards. Wines from Big Cork, Antietam, and Blue Mountain all won medals in the Governor’s Cup. Washington County wine is being noticed beyond the county line. Wine critic James Suckling, one of the most respected wine reviews in the world, gave Cool Ridge Vineyard’s red blend called Cool Red a 91-point rating, calling its flavors “a swathe or rich plums, blueberries, cassis, Whiskey aging in oak barrels at the Meinelschmidt Distillery.

and mulberries framed in attractively spicy oak.”

At least one new vineyard in Washington County is preparing to open. Vince and Tami Gesikie have been growing grapes for a few years on a 58-acre farm they bought in Clear Spring in 2018.

They have planted 10,000 grape vines with the hope of one day making their own wine at their Three Sisters Vineyard.

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Above: Final packaging of craft beer at ThickN-Thin Brewery. Left: Grape vines at Three Sisters Vineyard.

Washington County. In August the Hip Hop 50th Anniversary and Wine Fest took place in downtown Hagerstown. The 2023 Quad State Beer Fest: Halloween Hysteria takes place October 7 at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center just south of Hagerstown.

Then in November, the 2023 Fall Back Ciders, Spirits & Wine Fest takes place at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center just south of Hagerstown.

This will be the eighth annual event and more than 125 varieties of libations will be represented by more than 25 wineries, cideries, distilleries, and breweries.

More Washington County craft alcohol producers are participating in state-wide promotional events like the Maryland Wine Festival, now approaching its fifth decade. The Maryland Wine Festival has grown into a day of showcasing exceptional wines, food, and

entertainment at the Carroll County Farm Museum.

“The 2023 Maryland Wine Festival has been reimagined with our attendees and participating wineries in mind, ensuring a great blend of entertainment, relaxation, and discovery,” Kelly Dudeck, executive director of the Maryland Wineries Association, said in a story posted on the Maryland Wine website. “From the moment you step onto the Farm Museum’s grounds, you’ll be transported into a world where the best of Maryland’s wine, food, and art converge.”

The craft beer industry has expanded nationwide, and Washington County is not being left behind. Young brewers have jumped in, opening brewing companies and farm breweries and attracting beer enthusiasts tired of the same old beer

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Pets are an Important Part of Our Families!

GIVE THEM THE BEST POSSIBLE CARE

BY VISITING ANY OF THE PRODUCT AND SERVICE PROVIDERS SHOWN HERE.

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from a can.

Farm breweries are different from breweries in that all the hops and agricultural products used in producing the beer are grown onsite. In Washington County, Upper Stem Brewery northeast of Hagerstown is a Maryland-designated farm brewery that produces ales, Belgians, IPAs, stouts, and more. At Upper Stem guests can taste their beers on a farm setting as opposed to the more urban setting of a typical brewery.

The craft brewery industry in Washington County can be traced back to 2012 when Antietam Brewery in Hagerstown opened as western Maryland’s first craft brewery. Its handcrafted small-batch ales have become a must-taste on the local brewery circuit.

Thick and Thin Brewing Company on Spark Drive in Hagerstown offers something a little different. Its app allows visitors to pick-and-pour their own brews. Guests pay by the ounce and can monitor their tabs and note favorites on the app.

Coming soon, the owners of Hub City Brewery hope to bridge the gap in local adult beverages by making both beer and distilled spirits in the old Hagerstown City Farmers Market building. A spring 2024 opening is planned.

The distillery side of local craft beverages is just getting started in Washington County. Cort and Chelsea Meinelschmidt took advantage of Maryland’s new Class 9 Limited Distillery License law and opened Meinelschmidt Distillery on Potomac Street in Hagerstown in 2020.

Washington County natives, the couple opened the distillery downtown hoping to be part of the revitalization of the city.

Using locally sourced rye, winter wheat, corn, and honey, Meinelshcmidt offers several types of whiskies and a handcrafted vodka, which they call Pretty Girl. On New Year’s Eve this year the couple plans to introduce their first bourbon.

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SENIOR LIVING

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Every Wednesday CONTEMPORARY RETIREMENT 9:06 a.m. to 10 a.m., WJEJ Radio

Tune in for topical discussions on issues affecting retirees.

Wednesdays, September 6 and October 4 NEW TO MEDICARE WORKSHOP 1 p.m.–3 p.m., 6 p.m-8 p.m. 535 E. Franklin St., Hagerstown

Hosted by the Washington County Commission on Aging. To register call 301.790.0275.

Tuesdays, September 5 and October 3 ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP 4:30–5:30 p.m., Somerford Place

Hosted by Somerford Assisted Living and Alzheimer’s Care. For more information, call 301.791.9221.

Tuesdays, September 5, 12, 19 & 26 and October 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31 HEALTH MATTERS RADIO SHOW 9:30–10 a.m., WJEJ radio (1240 am)

KYLE | HAGERSTOWN

Tune in for information on health topics that matter. Call 301.739.2323 during broadcast times with your health questions.

Thursdays, September 7 and October 5 PARKINSON’S SUPPORT GROUP 11:45 a.m.–3 p.m.

Western Sizzlin Steakhouse, 17567 York Road, Hagerstown Parkinson’s Disease patients and caregivers meet to hear a variety of speakers and enjoy lunch and conversation. Call Art Guyer at 240.625.2722 or visit www.fareshare.net/ Parkinsons.

Mondays, September 11 and October 9 CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP

2–3 p.m., LIFE Lutheran Services, 840 Fifth Ave., Chambersburg, Pa.

WANT A BEAUTIFUL SMILE?

WE’LL GIVE IT TO YOU STRAIGHT.

Covers a new topic each week. Free; light refreshments served. Call 717.709.2342.

toothmanorthodontics.com Hagerstown 301.791.1770 Frederick 301.662.3366

2021 Platinum+ Provider

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Mondays, September 11 and October 9 BREAST CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

7 p.m., Breast Cancer Awareness — Cumberland Valley, 12916 Conamar Dr., Suite 201, Hagerstown

Call 301.791.5843 or visit www.bcacv.org.

Mondays, September 18 and October 16 SPINAL CORD INJURY SUPPORT

3–4 p.m., Robinwood Medical Center, Suite 201

Education and support for those who have suffered a spinal cord injury and are now adjusting to their disabilities. Call 301.714.4070.

Tuesdays, September 19 and October 17 SMART SENIORS

11 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Diakon Senior Living — Robinwood Campus

Educational forum about topics of interest to older adults; sit-down meal served. $9. For reservations, call 240.420.4119.

Tuesdays, September 19 and October 17 LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA

6 p.m., Robinwood Medical Center, Suite 129

Open to those affected by leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, MDS or myeloma. Call 301.665.4650.

Thursdays, September 7 and October 5 ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP

6–7 p.m Brookdale Senior Living, 20009 Rosebank Way, Hagerstown

Family and friends of those suffering from dementia are invited to network with others who are experiencing similar situations in a safe, non-judgmental setting. Call 301.733.3353.

Tuesdays, September 26 and October 24 55 UP 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., Cortland Mansion 19411 Cortland Drive, Hagerstown

Lunch and educational seminar for people ages 55 and UP. $13. Call 301.790.8907.

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DINING

Second-generation Hickory Bridge Farm proprietor Mary Lynn Martin in front of the restaurant’s stone fireplace.

Hickory Bridge Farm

By April Bartel

Mingling hospitality and heritage with downhome cooking

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ettysburg is hallowed ground. Pilgrims come to honor its important role in our country’s history, retracing the footsteps of great leaders and everyday heroes, but the area’s deep roots are intertwined with our broader culture, too. If visitors are lucky, they get to experience part of the American story that is still being written; through generations of families, among stoic farmhouses, surrounded by patchwork fields; recorded in handwritten recipe cards and etched into our enduring traditions.

Just nine miles from the tourists’ hub the hamlet of Orrtanna in Adams

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County, Pennsylvania, lies at the eastern foot of South Mountain. It has a population of just a couple of hundred people, but is home to the venerable Hickory Bridge Farm, a unique restaurant, bed-and-breakfast, event venue, and Americana “museum” all rolled into one. The establishment recently celebrated its 46th year under current ownership with live music, classic car rides, and open house tours.

It is also a regional draw for folks who want to indulge in a sumptuous meal that harkens back to Sunday dinners at grandma’s (or great-grandma’s) house, sprung straight from a Norman Rockwell painting.

The restaurant is a converted barn that’s nearly 200 years old, with hulking beams above and underfoot, where the wide, chestnut floor planks shine and warble with age. Around the dining room, knotty pine paneling nearly glows golden in the lamplight. The ceiling soars in the main dining room, hung with wagon wheel chandeliers and old railway lanterns. A stone fireplace dominates the far wall, and a little electric trolley zips around on a track overhead. Abundant antiques decorate the walls, and a small balcony houses a full-sized sleigh, a wicker baby buggy, and other rustic items.

A sunken, smaller room continues the aesthetic. The rough-hewn timbers spanning the ceiling make it feel like a cozy cabin. You’d never guess this was once the stables, except for pieces of horse tack as rustic décor among the cast-iron muffin pans and speckled kettles. There’s even a magnificently preserved wood stove that would look right at home in great-great grandma’s kitchen.

For all its picturesque romanticism, the biggest draw here is the endless feast served every weekend, Friday through Sunday. Reservations are a must and all the food is prepared fresh. In season, tomatoes, cucumbers,

Above: Settler John Carrick bought 250 acres and established the farm and built the farmhouse with local bricks.

Below: More than just a restaurant, Hickory Bridge Farm offers bedand-breakfast accommodations in a centuries-old setting.

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Items lining the shelves of the Will Eever’s Country Store are not props. The shelves are filled with items from decades ago, all in their original packaging.

onions, and squash are plucked from the kitchen garden. They star in the parade of dishes from an all-scratch kitchen.

Meals are served family style at each private table. No need to choose from a menu, you can have a taste of everything and as much as you care to eat. The house specialty is Crab Imperial. The signature dish (a secret recipe) is served regularly alongside two other hearty entrées. These could be tender roast beef, roasted turkey, baked ham with pineapple, or open-pit brisket.

Our recent Sunday meal consisted of the specialty—creamy, indulgent crab— which was topped with cheese and baked to a golden brown. One longtime fan sheepishly admitted, “My son

and I love this place, especially the crab.

We can probably finish two or three servings by ourselves.”

There were fork-tender, boneless pork ribs bathed in apple butter barbecue sauce and oven-fried chicken breasts, lightly breaded and judiciously seasoned.

We sampled honeyed yellow squash, roasted potatoes, broccoli spears with cheese sauce, quick-pickled cucumber with onion, fresh green salad with garden-ripe tomatoes, and farmhouse potato bread, baked onsite. We especially savored the sweet corn fritters dusted with powdered sugar, another menu-staple throughout the decades.

They are a delightful excuse to enjoy dessert and call it dinner. The cinnamon stewed apples were also delicious, the best part of any pie. Then there is an

actual dessert course with seasonal goodies like fruit cobbler, ice cream pie, fluffy angel food cake, or indulgent sugar-free chocolate mousse.

Mary Lynn Martin (nee Hammett) and her husband, Robert, are the current proprietors. She says it’s important to support local industry and agriculture by using locally supplied Weikert’s eggs and products from the Musselman’s Apple/Lucky Leaf/ Knouse Foods fruit co-op.

“We like to promote our local industry…The apple butter that we serve here is made in our county, (as are) the apple juice and the stewed apples,” she says, noting that the farm also serves local wines. “To me, the American farmer needs to be represented. Our food still comes from a farmer somewhere.”

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It’s part of her commitment to preserving the cultural food traditions of the earliest town settlers, those German/Deutch or Scotts-Irish folk, and their descendants who remain here. “We serve a typical American Sunday dinner.”

Selections change daily but are posted online well in advance, including bonus weekday meals, seasonal luncheons, dinner theater performances, or holiday celebrations. The website lets guests know when there may be line dancing in the Red Shed Barn behind the main building or classic country performances by the Forever Young duo. The anniversary festivities featured a lively show by a favorite local quartet, the Bluegrass Chapel Band.

The Martins carry on a tradition started by Mary Lynn’s parents, Nancy Jean and Dr. James Hammett.

“My father was an authentic country doctor with a three-piece suit who made house calls until midnight and my mother loved history,” Mary Lynn says. The family’s first foray into historic renovation started with the nearby Fairfield Hotel in 1970.

They transformed the beer joint and adjoining apartments into a respectable inn that is still a local destination.

When they sold that place they chose another project, a waning restaurant in a converted barn started by Margaret Scott in the early 1960s.

As Hickory Bridge Farms’ secondgeneration steward, Mary Lynn inherited both her mother’s passion for preservation and her father’s respect for the farmer’s way of life. Antiques and collectibles showcased here are treasures entrusted to her care. There is even a country store onsite that sells penny candy and local crafts, interlaced with more museum-worthy pieces.

What is now the bed-and-breakfast, built c. 1750, was her family’s home.

Above: Strawberry Ice Cream Pie. Below: Hickory Bridge Farm specialty Crab Imperial.

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Hickory Bridge Farm specializes in family style meals.

She happily points out the lanterns on the property that her dad made by hand and showcases a sample of the original clay brick used to build the house.

Inside the Hickory Bridge Farm bed-and-breakfast, the oldest part of building enters into a well-used stone hearth and an inviting dining nook where guests can enjoy their breakfast.

The space flows into a formal dining room and a Victorian-style parlor where many brides choose to prepare for their on-site ceremony. The rooms are loaded with antique furnishings.

There is a farmhouse suite with three bedrooms, whirlpool bath, living room with fireplace, and all the conveniences of a modern home. The other guest rooms and cozy cottages feature similar amenities, including microwaves and refrigerators. There are several streams on the property, lush green spaces, porches to enjoy the view, and at least one actual wooden bridge. While the rustic décor may tug at the heartstrings, there is no “roughing it” here.

With the newer Red Shed Barn open (it’s only about 100 years old), the Martins hope to host even more

weddings, banquets, and special events in the space that can accommodate up to 125 guests. They are even happier to have their son, Bert, on board to write their next chapter as the third generation.

For all that Hickory Bridge Farm represents a family’s labor of love, Mary Lynn doesn’t look for accolades, only happy faces. “We just want to let our guests know that we appreciate them coming and making Hickory Bridge work.”

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Some of the BEST BUSINESSES in town are found at

MULBERRYLOFTS

HOTLIST VOTING IS OPEN NOW! SEE PAGE SIX FOR MORE INFO!

22 MULBERRY STREET

Education

Health & Beauty Hair Cuts • Coloring Waxing • Pedicures

Suite 312

Barber Your Hot List Favorite every year!

Walk-ins welcome.

(240) 382-7602

Suite 321

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HAGERSTOWN, MD 21740

FEATURED THIS MONTH

Education for Life Ages 2 thru K | Montessori staff and materials Half and Full Day schedules (301) 739-6886 www.HagerstownChildrensSchool.org

2024

|

Shelly at 717.331.1505 http://balmshell-beauty.square.site Booth rentals available!

Suite 322

Bakery Follow us on Facebook

@lilliansbakehouse Instagram

@lillians_bakehouse To order specialty cakes, pies and other treats, call (301) 383-9879

Suite 101

8/23/23 10:04 AM

DINING GUIDE 28 SOUTH

28 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown, 240.347.4932 Locally sourced contemporary American fare. $–$$$

$ entrées $10 and under | $$ entrées $10–$19 | $$$ entrées $20 and up

BROTHER’S PIZZA

75 Eastern Blvd. N., Hagerstown, 240.625.9215 Fresh, fast, and affordable pizza, sandwiches, and Italian classics. $–$$

ALEKOS 2 GO

511 Northern Ave., Hagerstown, 240.313.4976 Freshly prepared and cooked Greek food made daily. $

AMERICAN PIE PIZZERIA

17520 Virginia Ave., Hagerstown, 301.582.6281 Family run business that serves not only pizza but serveral authentic Italian dishes as well. $$

BENNY’S PUB

49 Eastern Blvd. N., Hagerstown, 301.791.5915 Relaxed venue serving specialty burgers and other pub grub, plus bespoke beers in convivial surrounds. $–$$

BULLS & BEARS

38 S. Potomac St., Suite 1, Hagerstown, 301.791.0370 American cuisine in a New York style atmosphere. $$–$$$

CACIQUE

1101 Opal Court, Hagerstown, 301.739.7207 Fresh, creative, and classic Mexican, Spanish, and Latin American cuisine. $$

CAFÉ DEL SOL

1481 Salem Ave., Suite 1, Hagerstown, 301.739.3072 Gourmet pizza, flatbreads, and pasta with a California twist. $$–$$$

CAFÉ ITALIA

935 Pennsylvania Ave., Hagerstown, 240.420.6677 Classic Italian dishes, and they offer one of the biggest pizzas in town. $–$$

CHIC’S SEAFOOD

300 Summit Ave., Hagerstown, 301.739.8220 Daily specials featuring some of the freshest seafood around. $–$$$

BISTRO 11

13208 Fountain Head Plaza, Hagerstown, 301.733.2222 Relaxed and refined cuisine. Full menu of specialties, steaks, and seafood. $$–$$$

BISTRO GRILL

67 Eastern Blvd. N., Hagerstown, 240.203.7860 A hidden gem of a Mediterranean restaurant featuring salads, gyros, awesome appetizers, a full kid’s menu, and fully stocked bar. $$

BJ’S RESTAURANT & BREWHOUSE

17318 Valley Mall Road, Suite C, Hagerstown, 240.513.4040 Handcrafted beer, Chicago-style pizza with a Southern California twist, and Pizookies. $$-$$$

BLACK ROCK BARBECUE

11205 John F. Kennedy Drive, Hagerstown, 21742, 240.346.8649 Spice rubbed ribs, pit beef, brisket, pulled pork, chicken, and more! $$

BLACK ROCK BAR & GRILL

17301 Valley Mall Road, Hagerstown, 240.850.3365 An award-winning steakhouse specializing in Certified Angus Beef steaks served and cooked to perfection by you on a 755-degree volcanic sizzling rock. $$-$$$

BONNIE’S AT THE RED BYRD

19409 Shepherdstown Pike, Keedysville, 301.432.5822 Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are covered with a wide selection of sandwiches and entrees. $–$$

THE BROAD AXE

28 W. Franklin St., Hagerstown, 301.733.8454 Daily specials featuring top-notch pub fare and a quickly rotating tap list. $–$$

COLONIAL SPORTS BAR AND GRILL

GREENLEE’S FIRESIDE RESTAURANT & LOUNGE

1716 Underpass Way, Hagerstown, 301.733.4800 A full menu of steaks, seafood, and other American specialties. $$–$$$

FOSTER’S ON THE POINT

1437 Salem Ave., Hagerstown, 301.739.7182 Soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, and a rotating list of entrées and specials offered in an inviting rustic atmosphere. $$–$$$

FRATELLI PIZZERIA AND GRILL

120 E. Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, 301.393.8733 Italian specialties like pasta, pizza, in addition to Mexican options. $–$$

FREE RANGE CAFÉ

520 Northern Ave., Hagerstown, 240.513.6070 Food that makes you feel good! $-$$

FUJI ASIAN FOOD & SUSHI BAR

11205 John F. Kennedy Drive, Suite 205, Hagerstown, 301.393.9099 Authentic traditional Chinese cuisine options and sushi. $–$$

THE GRILLE AT RUNWAYS

18421 Henson Blvd., Hagerstown, 240.707.6996 Traditional American dining with a quiet and relaxing view of the airstrip. $–$$

14130 Pennsylvania Ave., Hagerstown, 240.203.6206 The best game-day food at the best prices around. $–$$

HAGERSTOWN FAMILY DINER

DISTRICT PROVISION & SUPPLY CO.

HOFFMAN’S ALL AMERICAN GRILL

6 Rochester Place, Hagerstown, 301.791.1717 Open for breakfast and lunch, featuring gourmet sandwiches, salads, and soups. $

431 Dual Highway, Hagerstown, 240.707.6330 Great hidden gem of Hagerstown. $

18203 Mason Dixon Road, Hagerstown, 240.707.6600 Casual dining at its finest featuring burgers, steaks, salads, and seafood. $$–$$$

THE DOG HOUSE CAFÉ

53 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown, 240.850.2883. Family-owned and operated restaurant that specializes in dozens of unique hot dog creations, great fries, and more. $

DOLCE PIZZA GOURMET

792 Frederick St., Hagerstown, 301.745.6300 Italian flavors complemented by Eastern European dishes. $–$$

EL CASTELLO PIZZERIA & TEX MEX

15616 National Pike, Hagerstown, 301.582.4727 Pizza, salads, lunch specials, and a spicy array of Tex Mex. $–$$

EL RANCHERO MEXICAN RESTAURANT

1481 Wesel Blvd., Hagerstown, 240.420.2842 1715 Dual Highway, Hagerstown, 301.797.7589 Fresh, authentic Mexican cuisine using the highest-quality ingredients available. $$

FAJITA GRANDE MEXICAN RESTAURANT

12818 Shank Farm Way, Hagerstown, 240.707.6333 Where the fiesta never ends. $

HUMMUS MEDITERRANEAN GRILL

11205 John F. Kennedy Dr., Unit 108A, Hagerstown, 240.513.6020 A blend of authentic Mediterranean recipes with modern flavors. $–$$

HONG KONG CHINESE RESTAURANT

1075 Virginia Ave., Hagerstown, 301.733.1292 Veteran eatery serving familiar Chinese dishes in an informal setting. $$

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To be featured on our dining page, email cboteler@hagerstownmag.com for more info!

NIKKO JAPANESE STEAK & SEAFOOD

1580 Wesel Blvd., Suite F, Hagerstown, 301.714.0005 Bento combo box lunches, tons of a la carte sushi options, and hibachi lunch and dinner options. $–$$

POKÉ & SUSHI

11205 John F. Kennedy Drive, Hagerstown, 301.714.1397 Seafood and sandwiches are served in a casual setting with polished wood tables and a bar. $$–$$$

HOUSE OF KOBE

757 Dual Highway, Hagerstown, 301.797.6979 Fine dining featuring sushi and hibachi cooking right in front of you. $$–$$$

HUB CITY DINER

190 Railway Ln., Hagerstown, 240.707.6638 Comfort food served hot and fresh in a family friendly atmosphere. $

LEDO PIZZA

1423 Dual Highway, Hagerstown, 301.766.4900 Creative flavor combinations and lots of sandwich and gluten-free options. $–$$

LOS AMIGOS MEXICAN RESTAURANT

29 N. Burhans Blvd, Hagerstown, 240.420.8000 18330 Spark Dr., Hagerstown, 240.707.6250 The finest authentic Mexican food prepared just the way you like it. $

LOTUS MOON CAFÉ

16 Conococheague St., Williamsport, 240.366.1335 Unique sandwich and salad creations to please any taste. $-$$

MAMA LULU’S DINER

2 East Potomac Street, Williamsport, MD, 301.223.8010 Fresh made diner favorites in a fun, 50’s atmosphere. $-$$

MANGO GRILL INDIAN & THAI CUISINE

11205 John F. Kennedy Drive, Suite 201, Hagerstown, 240.707.6220 Experience the flavors of India and Thailand with daily lunch buffet deals. $$

MISSION BBQ

17301 Valley Mall Road, Hagerstown, 443.491.8777 Authentic, mouth-watering all-American food that’s done right. $$

NICK’S AIRPORT INN

14548 Pennsylvania Ave., Hagerstown 301.733.8560 More than 50 years of serving quality cuisine from scrumptious seafood to delectable desserts. $$

Longmeadow Shopping Center, 1551 Potomac Ave., Hagerstown, 301.790.5040 Fine coffee, espresso drinks, organic teas, with a full breakfast and lunch menu. $

11347 Robinwood Dr. Hagerstown, 301.393.8833 Refreshing Asian alternative. Choose your own ingredients for soups, Poké, rice bowls and sushi. Boba (bubble) tea. $$.

SAKURA JAPANESE RESTAURANT

PRETZEL & PIZZA CREATIONS

SARDI’S POLLO A LA BRASA

PRIMANTI BROS.

SCHMANKERL STUBE

20 W. Washington St., Hagerstown, 301.733.7795 Calzones, sandwiches, hot dogs, and of course pizza featuring pretzel dough as the star. $–$$

SCHULA’S GRILL AND CRAB HOUSE

ROOSTER MOON COFFEEHOUSE

17301 Valley Mall, Hagerstown, 301.228.0933 High-piled sandwiches equipped to quell the heartiest of hungers. $

102 Railway Lane, Hagerstown, 301.393.8680 Part Japanese steakhouse, part sushi bar, featuring hibachi dining. $$–$$$

100 Railway Lane, Hagerstown, 240.382.1214 Casual Peruvian chain serving charbroiled chicken, ceviche, and other traditional dishes. $–$$$

58 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown, 301.797.3354 Old World-style Bavarian dining with an emphasis on German traditions. $$$

PUBLIC SQUARE CAFÉ

2 W. Washington St., Hagerstown, 240.707.6440 Perfect for a quick bite or a much needed caffeinated pick-me-up. $

PURA VIDA COFFEE

14035 Pennsylvania Ave., Hagerstown, 240.707.6540 Costa Rican inspired coffee shop/ restaurant featuring craft coffees/teas, onsite baked goods, breakfasts, and lunches. $

RAD PIES

10210 Governor Lane Blvd., Williamsport, 240.366.8634 Unique, wood-fired pizza options for the adventurous. $$

REAL DEAL JAMAICAN RESTAURANT

71 W. Franklin St., Hagerstown, 240.513.6393 A concise menu of classic Jamaican comfort foods & soft drinks amid casual digs. $

TACOS CARLITOS

Food Court, Valley Mall, Hagerstown, 240.452.1888 100% authentic genuine Mexican food – the best in town! Daily specials and delivery available. $

RHUBARB HOUSE

12 Public Square, Hagerstown, 301.733.4399 Sandwiches, burgers, wraps, salads, and soups with a unique touch. $–$$

RICE THAI DINING

40 N. Potomac St., Hagerstown, 301.766.9559 A taste of authentic Thailand, without needing a passport $$-$$$

RIK’S CAFE

1065 Maryland Ave., Hagerstown, 301.302.7541 California-inspired contemporary American cuisine featuring sandwiches, hearty soups, small plates, and salads. $$–$$$

ROCKY’S NEW YORK PIZZA

907 S. Potomac St., Suite 1, Hagerstown, 301.791.6810 Great pizza in addition to other classic Italian fare. $–$$

ROCKY’S PIZZA ROBINWOOD

11351 Robinwood Drive, Hagerstown, 301.790.3853 Delicious Italian cuisine at an affordable price $-$$

SILK THAI RESTAURANT AND BAR

1580 Wesel Blvd. K, Hagerstown, 240.267.2142 Spreading good vibes of Thai culture by introducing the wonderful food and scenery of the land of smiles. $$–$$$

SITAR OF INDIA

110 Railway Lane, Hagerstown, 301.733.8223 A contemporary atmosphere that complements their traditional Northern Indian specialties. $-$$

STADIUM TAVERN

401 S. Cannon Ave., Hagerstown, 301.714.0849 Crabs and steam buckets, shrimp, and oysters, and don’t forget the wings. $–$$

TAQUERIA JALISCO AUTHENTIC MEXICAN GRILL

1037 Maryland Ave., Hagerstown, 301.797.2000 Authentic Mexican cuisine with the experience of being in Mexico. $

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the time traveler

By local historian Mike Marotte

The “Time Traveler” takes you to the small village of Richmond Furnace, Pennsylvania, on State Route 75 north, a short distance from Fort Loudon. This area was originally known as Mt. Pleasant, where in 1783 the Chambers’ brothers built Franklin County’s first iron furnace. This scenic area at one time was a bustling area that featured a railroad, icehouse, grain elevator, and a lumber business. All of those operations have long been removed as time changes everything...

THIS PHOTOGRAPH OF THE OLD FURNACE DAM AT RICHMOND FURNACE was taken in 1908 by the celebrated photographer Clyde A. Laughlin of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. If you look to the left of the picture you can see a man standing on one of the tree limbs.

WINTER HAS ARRIVED, YOU CAN ALMOST FEEL THE FRIGID AIR in this picture. Cumberland Valley Railroad steam engine No. 30 with conductor John McClellen standing by the passenger train leaving Richmond Furnace in 1910.

THIS IS A VIEW OF THE NEW STATE ROAD THAT WAS BUILT DURING THE EARLY 1900’s that passed through the village of Richmond Furnace. Many travelers have passed this way over the years enjoying Franklin County’s beauty.

IN THIS VIEW FROM 1908 TRAVELING NORTH ON STATE ROUTE 75 through Richmond Furnace was the well-known Diehl’s Warehouse. It was a short distance in this picture that the railroad tracks crossed Route 75 in the direction of Cowan’s Gap where a lot of trees were cleared for the making of railroad ties and telegraph poles for the Cumberland Valley Railroad.

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in retrospect looking to the past of Washington County and the Hagerstown Valley

The shape of Washington County closely resembles the shape of the state of Maryland without the Eastern Shore.

IN 1976 THE UNITED STATES CELEBRATED ITS BICENTENNIAL. THIS ARTICLE WRITTEN IN 1976 REFLECTING ON THE HERITAGE OF THE AREA. Two hundred years ago this September 6, Washington County was formed out of western Frederick County. The crest of South Mountain, over which the pioneers climbed along foot paths made by the indigenous people to settle in a rich and fertile valley (the Hagerstown Valley, as it is known today) was designated as the line between the two counties.

On the north was the Mason-Dixon Line— surveyed by the English astronomers Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon between 1763 and 1767. On the western side, the county was

bordered by Allegany County. About 83 miles of the Potomac River formed the southern border of Washington County. The Hagerstown Valley of today is 45 miles long and in some places 25 miles wide.

Hagerstown, founded in 1762 by the German immigrant Jonathan Hager, became the county seat. It was, and still is, known as the “hub” city because it became a railroad trading center for agricultural and industry.

The eight incorporated towns of Washington County and the 16 unincorporated towns and villages have played their role in the onward march of civilization. Historians have referred to Washington County and the Hagerstown Valley as a “Valley of History,” and a “Treasury

of Americana.” For more than two centuries, Hagerstown and the county have been the scene of history-making events. Many prominent men and women—including presidents Washington, for whom the county is named, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Johnson-left their marks on Washington County.

Washington County and Hagerstown are inhabited by proud people. They are proud, especially in this bicentennial year, of a record of progress, advancing from a small wilderness village to the urban region of today.

“In Retrospect” is courtesy of the Maryland Cracker Barrel magazine, the Sentinel of Washington County’s Heritage. Since June 1971, the quarterly publication has focused on local history and may be purchased at any of the more than 30 sites in Maryland and Pennsylvania or by subscription. Subscriptions ($17 annually) may be obtained by calling 301-582-3885 or writing to: Maryland Cracker Barrel, 7749 Fairplay Road, Boonsboro, MD 21713.

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a dose of satire Kenneth Buckler offers a satirical look at the leaves that fall in autumn in Hagerstown.

all birds with federal surveillance drones. The leaf drones are simply the next evolution of this organic-based technology, allowing more compact audio and video surveillance in the stem of the leaf, with the antenna array embedded inside the leaf itself.

City officials responded to inquiries with a heartfelt chuckle. In a lighthearted statement, they quipped, “While we appreciate the creativity, we assure residents that our code enforcement efforts remain firmly rooted in conventional practices. Rest assured, our inspectors do not require assistance from leaves, no matter how vigilant they may seem.”

FALL LEAVES: NATURAL PHENOMENON OR GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY? ACCORDING TO A LOCAL CONSPIRACY THEORIST, THE HARMLESS ACT OF LEAVES GENTLY DESCENDING FROM TREES IS NOT AS INNOCENT AS IT SEEMS. In fact, it’s all part of an elaborate government surveillance plot.

The conspiracy theorist, who goes by the name “LeafWatcher301,” claims that the leaves falling from trees are actually intricately disguised miniature drones equipped with cameras and microphones. These “spy leaves,” as LeafWatcher301 affectionately calls them, are allegedly deployed by an elusive government agency to monitor the activities of unsuspecting citizens. The theory is related to the Hagerstown’s recent investment into their aerial drone program, allowing law enforcement to locate suspects, monitor traffic, and even search for lost and missing persons.

So, what is the ultimate goal of these leaves? According to LeafWatcher301, these leaf drones have been employed by Hagerstown code enforcement. He claims that the leaves cascading from trees are sophisticated mini-drones, each equipped with high-resolution cameras and sensors, employed by city officials to catch citizens red-handed in the act of violating city codes.

LeafWatcher301 claims his theory is supported by a collection of curious photographs showing leaves suspiciously hovering over properties that have reportedly received code violation citations.

In addition, the conspiracy theorist claims to have intercepted encrypted transmissions resembling hushed conversations between the leaf drones and a supposed city code enforcement “command center” located in an underwater data center underneath Hagerstown City Park. This technology is not new, according to LeafWatcher301, and, in fact, the same technology was used in the 1960s to replace

And while city officials are denying any possibility that leaves are being utilized for code enforcement surveillance, local residents had mixed reactions, with some residents even claiming that they also have evidence of leaves being used for code enforcement purposes.

“This explains so much,” said a local resident who wished to remain anonymous.

“How else would the city have known about the chickens I used to have in my backyard? I mean, sure, my neighbors complained about the rooster, but they wouldn’t have turned me in, they ain’t no snitches.”

Upon taking several leaf samples to Hagerstown Community College, experts in the Information Technology department declined comment. It is unknown at this time if the experts simply believed the accusations too laughable to respond to, or if they are possibly part of the conspiracy. We will continue to investigate the possibility of government surveillance drones disguised as leaves and update our readers as new information comes to light.

Birds Aren’t Real, and if you don’t believe in something, you’ll fall for anything. This is a satire article by Ken Buckler.

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