April 6

April First Coldest On Record

Sunday was the coldest April First in Frederick County on record. The temperatures range from 12E to 29E, and Saturday was the coldest March 31st on record, the range was from 12 to 33. These are the official figures from Frederick, but reports from around Thurmont give 10E for the lowest.

Elected Emmitsburg Commissioner

At a meeting of the Emmitsburg Town Council, Francis Matthews was elected to fill the unexpired term of the late Mr. Lewis Rhodes. Mr. Matthews is one of the young prominent merchants of the town and his selection seems to have met with general approval. Mr. Matthews was elected to the office of President of the Emmitsburg Baseball Association last week.

Against The Law

The throwing of broken bottles, chinaware, old nails, carpet tax and other sharp pointed rubbage on the public highways and in private and public alleys used by automobiles, is a violation of the State’s automobile law and is punishable by fines ranging from $10 to $100 and costs. Persons, whether intentionally or unintentionally guilty of this practice, will do well to take heed against violation of the law.

Better Thurmont

The above caption is the slogan adopted by the Civic Club and expresses its desire to cooperate with the town authorities and citizens of all ages and sexes in making Thurmont not only better, but the best town possible.

A joint meeting of the club, the Mayor and Town Council developed a spirit of cordial cooperation and mutual helpfulness. In order to have cleaner streets the town authorities have decided to place metal containers on the square corners and other places in which will be collected papers and other debris, which render the streets unsightly and unsanitary.

It is hoped the collection of peanut shells and store boxes, which have sometimes obstructed the path of church goers on Sunday morning, will also be among the missing. Other phases of town improvements will be taken up later, and articles on them will appear in the paper from time to time. The suggestions are not made in a spirit of criticism, but in a sincere desire to inspire in the people of Thurmont a wish to improve the town in every way and "where there is a will, there is away."

Jailed, Refuses To Go Back To York

William Baker, 35, of Thurmont, was arrested Monday afternoon and charged with a serious offense alleged to have been committed by him on March 14, while he was residing in York, Pa. The York authorities were informed of Baker’s alleged offence by Henry Swietzer, on behalf of his minor daughter, Irene. The girl is said to be 13 years of age.

Since Baker left York, the York authorities have been looking for him. When it was discovered he was back in Thurmont, the York police wired County officials to apprehend him. Baker was arrested in the vicinity of Legore. He was brought to Frederick and lodged in jail. He has refused to go back to Pennsylvania and it will be necessary to prepare requisition papers before he can be taken back.

County To Repair Two Bridges.

Both the bridges at Zora and Willoughby Run are menaces to travelers according to the County Commissioners. The Zora structure, which is located on the State Road connecting Fairfield to Zora was built at least 50 years ago. From time to time it has been necessary to place large beams under the structure to support the main span until now there are 25 such pieces to prevent the danger of a sudden collapse.

A similar condition exist at the Willoughby Run bridge on the Fairfield to Gettysburg Road. Eleven supports have been placed under the structure in order to reinforce it. The bridge was built in 1871. Several trucks have already broken through the flooring of the bridge.

It would be altogether likely, the Commissioners said, in case of high water or much ice, in either Miney Branch or Willoughby Run, that the supporting beams would be washed away again, rendering the bridges unsafe to traffic.

Both bridges will be torn down this summer and new modern reinforced concrete and steel spans raised in their places. At Zoro, two 45-foot spans will be built across Miney Branch and over Willoughby Run two spans, each 44 feet long, will be erected. The roadways at the end of the bridges will be widen to 24 feet.

April 13

For County Commissioner

Roscoe Brown, who has announced his candidacy for the office of County Commissioner for Frederick County, resides between Deerfield and Sabillasville, and has had about ten years experience in modern road building, being one of the pioneers of the "two-to- one" plan of road construction, and it is largely through his efforts that his home district is among the leaders in the county for safe public highways.

Mr. Brown, now in the prime of life, being in his 35th year, is recognized by all who know him, as honest, intelligent and energetic, and if elected, will bring unusual ability and experience to the office for what he aspires, and will fully realize and perform his duty to the people of Frederick County. He has been a party worker for many years, is a liberal in his views and merits your support.

Road Contract Awarded

Work will begin on the construction of the one and 1/16th mile stretch of road from the end of the concrete on West Main St., Emmitsburg to the Pennsylvania State Line within the next 10 days. The state road commission awarded the contract to Irwin Washy, Thurmont who was the lowest better. His bid was $32,324. There was only one other bidder. The link is to be of concrete.

Mules Cause Havoc In Taneytown

Last Saturday evening a mule team belonging to Harry Angel became frightened at the 6 o’clock whistle at the railroad, and broke away from Mr. Angel and ran up Baltimore Street towards the Square. Milton Koons attempted to stop the runaways as they passed his store, but his efforts appeared to have frightened them more, and in the attempt he was struck by one of them and thrown to the ground, two of the wheels of the wagon passing over him. He was severely cut about one eye and otherwise injured about the face and the body, but fortunately, no bones were broken. For several days he was quite ill, but he is now getting better. The mules eventually stopped at the Square, where they proceeded to graze as if nothing had happened.

War On Liquor

The war of the Federal government against bootleggers has cost the lives of 12 men during a six-month period ending in December, according to figures soon to be made public by the Federal Prohibition Commission. In addition, 33 agents were wounded. The figures showing the hazards of prohibition enforcement cover the activities of the federal forces only. In many states the federal agents have received assistance from State and municipal forces. The States having their own enforcement laws, have suffered their own losses of men killed and wounded, according to federal officials.

A compilation of figures covering the activities of federal agents in all parts of the country shows that well over $7 million of property has been seized. The number automobiles seized was 2,211, the value of which was estimated at over $1 million. In addition there were 87 boats and launches valued at $750,000.

Almost 2.5 million gallons of malt liquor was seized, and destroyed by pouring into gutters, & rivers. 5,300 illicit distilleries and 7,180 stills were destroyed.

Harney Road Work Underway

Work has been commenced on the road from Taneytown to Harney again, and that the part commenced last fall will be finished. It should not stop there, but should be completed through to the State line. Strangers tell us that you can easily tell when you get into Maryland, coming from Gettysburg, because that road is kept in fair condition, while ours is in a disgraceful condition. It seems that there is no one to look after the road, anymore.

April 20

More Snow

Fruit grower in the County became very uneasy last Saturday. With snow falling practically all day, and the temperature slightly below the freezing point towards evening, some were planning to protect buds on trees by building fires on the windward side of the orchards. Icicles clung to leaves until late Sunday afternoon when they, together with the snow, disappeared, and another menace to the fruit crop had passed.

14,000 Killed By Autos Last Year

14,000 people were killed in automobile accidents in the United States last year, according to statistics of the National Bureau of Casualty and Security Underwriters.

This is an increase of 1,600 over 1921, and according to the Bureau, the increase is a direct result of women drivers, which every man knows does not have the mental capacity to handle the complexities of maneuvering autocars. Women drivers, more then men, were at fault, according to the statistics. The chief causes of accidents were listed as follows: reckless driving was responsible for more than half of the accidents, improper lights, broken mechanisms, intoxicated driver, weather conditions, and narrow culverts.

During the same period, the number of fatalities due to horse accidents decreased to less then 12, or by 98 percent. The decrease, the Bureau noted, was due to the fact that only experienced horsemen still used horses, and that the horses in use were now "seasoned trusty old souls."

Free Advertising

The Pennsylvania Weekly Publishers’ Association has passed stringent resolutions against the publishing of free write-ups of any sort pertaining to business firms, public service companies, &c., and even limiting church and fraternities to the barest of news facts.

Unquestionably, the demand for free "puffs" is growing, and the practice is especially followed by certain concerns that contract for a paid advertisement, then accompany it with a write up, or publicity matter of some kind for publication, the space of which is worth a great deal more then the space of the paid advertisement. Very often these write ups are so worded as to create the impression that the editor is himself voluntarily giving his personal endorsement, often for matters and movements as to which he is not in the least interested; and often the free write up is attached to the advertising contract itself.

The resolutions’ state that those request are but veiled demands, and are sometimes even insolent, having no regard for a just remuneration for the services of the paper, nor any consideration for how they are to secure revenue sufficient to conduct their businesses.

Our Pennsylvania brethren are all together right, and it rests with the cooperation of the weekly publishers, as to whether they are to continue to be made a dump for all sorts of request of this sort, or whether they will assert their right in the matter, and demand real pay for real services rendered.

This paper has recently dumped a number of those free "puffs" into the wastebasket and expects to continue doing so. Not because of any feeling against those who asked for the favors, but against their policy of trying to gain publicity of this sort; and we especially resent having ready-made editorial expressions furnished to us.

John Wisotzkey Dies

John Wisotzkey, a one time popular baseball idol of Fairfield, and later a farmer, died at his home along the Fairfield-Zora road on Saturday morning following a three week illness of embolism.

John attended Mount Saint Mary’s College, where he attracted attention with his baseball playing, especially as a pitcher. Leaving that institution he played professional ball for several years, and the local fans followed his career closely. He had a good-natured greeting to everyone, and he was a great favorite.

He first went into farming on a fruit farm on the Emmitsburg Road about 3 miles south of that town and later moved into Fairfield to help his father in his grocery store on Chambersburg Street. Later he purchased his farm near Zora and has been conducting farming operations there for several years. His illness startled his many friends, as he was only 38 at the time of his death.

April 27

Horse Gets Away

Monday evening, soon after Elmer Rowe and his hired boy left home, an accident occurred which caused the horse, a young blooded animal, to run. The ring on the bridal bit broke and Mr. Rowe was powerless to stop the horse. He held on as long as possible, then told the boy to jump, and right after, left the buggy himself. The horse continued towards Thurmont. At The crossroads at Harry Simmers’ residence a rear wheel of the buggy was left, and other portions of the vehicle strewn along the road to Thurmont. The horse went west on Main Street and up the Harmon Gap Road.

Several men in automobiles followed the runaway up the mountain, but soon lost trace of the horse in the darkness. Tuesday morning Mr. Rowe and William Forman went up the mountains after the horse and located both horse and what was left of the buggy on the Gates Road near Wigville. The horse was happily munching on green grass showing none the worse for his adventure.

Mountain Fires

A pall of smoke from one of the worst forest fires in the history of Frederick County hung over the County Wednesday night. Fanned by a heavy gale, the fire swept along the eastern slope of the Catoctin Mountains, and practically the entire section from Yellow Springs to Thurmont was affected.

The fire, which broke out on Sunday evening, and which had flared up a fresh in unexpected places in at least a dozen times since, was not brought under control until Thursday night. The origins of the fires are unknown, but all are suspected to have been the work of an arsonist.

Several hundred men were said to have fought the fire. Much difficulty was experienced in getting men to fight the fires, for this reason, the State Forester deputized a number of men, which allowed him to order them to fight it. Soon after, the fire was brought under control. While most of the men have since left the scene of the fire, some have remained on guard as a precaution.

The extent of the fire damage will not be known for several days. It has been estimated that an area of about six or seven thousand acres of timber have been damaged. All the sections in which the fire burned are comparatively thickly settled, but no homes, as far as it can be known, however, have been destroyed.

Mystery Auto Accident

Considerable mystery surrounds the wrecking on Thursday evening of a five passenger Rickenbacker, about one and a half miles south of Emmitsburg. The machine was traveling towards Emmitsburg, when it crashed into a covered one-way bridge.

There were no witnesses of the accident, but a passing motorist stopped a few minutes after the crash and offered aid. He was told that someone was injured and was asked to get a doctor from Emmitsburg as quickly as possible.

A physician was rushed to the scene of the accident, but when he arrived, all the occupants of the car had disappeared. Just what became of these people is not known, nor could it be found whether anyone was seriously injured.

The car was badly smashed. It was left along the side of the road until Saturday morning, when one of the State Police force was dispatched to investigate the affair. The car was taken to the Emmitsburg Motor Company’s garage where it still remains. The machine had Maryland and District of Columbia license plates, and it is thought that there will be little difficulty in tracing it through this medium.

Work On Memorial Park

The sum of $1,000, in addition to what has already been pledged, is needed to complete and beautify Thurmont’s Memorial Park. It will be greatly appreciated if those who have not yet made a contribution to the memorial will do so, so as to help to complete the work this summer.

The pledges made have been the basis upon which the committee has planned and done the work, and incurred indebtedness, which they feel should be paid as soon as possible. It will help them greatly if those who have not completed their payments would see the secretary, Mr. Long, as soon as they conveniently can.

April Weather

April has been remarkable, throughout, for its continuous cold winds and near freezing nights. Very little real Spring weather. The snow that fell last Saturday nearly all day would have given the ground a considerable covering, had it not been for the big rain that preceded it. Evidently, Old Man Winter is not lingering up in Michigan.

Attempted Hold Up In Daylight

Henry Eyler, a Thurmont, a well-known dealer in horses was held up on the public road, near Lewistown, Friday afternoon by two men at the point of a revolver. While it is suppose that the objective was robbery. It is understood that no money was obtained.

For a little information, however, could be obtained about the hold up. It was said that no report of the attempted robbery has been made to the authorities. It was said that soon after the men interrupted Mr. Eyler they made a harried retreat. No description of the pair could be obtained.

But one of the men carried a gun. This man covered Mr. Eyler with the weapon. The attempted robbery occurred at a time when many persons passing along the road in automobiles.

Infant Drowned In Shallow Creek

Russell Plank, the 15-month-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Plank of Emmitsburg, was drowned Sunday afternoon when he fell into a shallow creek near his home. The child was playing with some other children near the house but wandered away from the older ones. In a few minutes he was missed and a search begun.

Some of the older children found the youngsters body in a small creek a short distance from where they were playing. The child had evidently wandered down to the creek, lost his balance and tumbled into the water. The creek is very shallow there, being not more than a few inches of water in it at this time of year. It is thought that the child fell on his face and was unable to extract himself from his position. He was dead when the other children found him.

Read Prior '100 Years Ago this Month'