Reported sightings of a mysterious veiled lady roaming around the small town of Williamsport (Washington County) at night frightened residents for years in the 40s and 50s.
Jousting: Maryland’s State Sport
Jousting has been Maryland’s official state sport since 1962 (and was the first state ever to adopt an official sport), but Marylanders were passionate for the sport for hundreds of years before that designation. According to the Maryland Manual On-Line, jousting has taken place in our great state since the colonial times, but interest in... Continue Reading →
Palmists in Frederick … And Beyond
The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines palmistry as “the art or practice of reading a person’s character or future from the lines on the palms.” Several palmists passed through Frederick in the early 1900s. For example, “Zingarra and her Troupe of Expert Palmists and Life Readers” came to town in 1903. Their newspaper advertisement in The... Continue Reading →
Ocean City: an 1800s Destination
It may be hard to believe now, but Ocean City used to be a small fishing village before it was transformed into a place for summer frolicking in the late 19th century. Ocean City started to gain in popularity in the late 1870s, in part due to the availability of the resort by rail and... Continue Reading →
Lost Ads from the 1800s
The folks in the 1800s used the newspaper as one way to communicate about lost belongings, with notices looking for items ranging from lace veils to spectacles to animals. Check out a few below: A Happy Reunion Mrs. Flossy DeGrange lost her canary, “bright with top-knot on head and black tip on wings” and placed a... Continue Reading →
Mennen’s Borated Toilet Powder
What better way to promote your wares than painting a huge advertisement on the side of a mountain? The manufacturers of Mennen’s Borated Talcum Powder did just that in the early 1900s outside Harper's Ferry. In 1906, the advertisement, created by a milk and whitewash mixture, was painted on the side of the mountain to... Continue Reading →
Flies: ‘More Dangerous than Rattlesnakes’
Today, we generally think of flies as more of a nuisance than a health hazard. But in the early 20th century, flies spreading typhoid, cholera, tuberculosis and other diseases was a true public safety concern. In 1912, government officials encouraged farmers to keep stables clean, use screens in doors and windows and fly-catching devices to protect... Continue Reading →
Ceresville Flour Mill
Driving through the blink-and-you'll-miss-it community of Ceresville, one can’t help but notice the beautiful limestone shell of a mill that has the distinction of being the first mill in Frederick County. Known as the Ceresville Flour Mill, or Kelly’s Mill after its last owners, the building sits near the intersection of Route 26 and Route 194... Continue Reading →
Summer Heat Remedies
Hot. Humid. Sticky. Miserable. If you’re like me, you’re not a fan of Maryland’s oppressive heat. Ads and information in local papers had remedies and recommendations for dealing with Maryland summers: The Heat Does All This? We're In Trouble The medicine advertised in the August 25, 1880 Herald and Torch Light (Hagerstown) claimed to cure a... Continue Reading →
Five Things I Love About Summer
Summer has been my favorite season for as long as I can remember. Here are five things I love about Maryland summers: The Beach. I’ve been going to Ocean City ever since I can remember. Bayside, oceanside, oceanfront, it doesn’t matter to me. Yes, I’ll admit there were some years that my feet never... Continue Reading →
Bygone Maryland 