Dayhoff Soundtrack: Rising number of Latinos spurs English language debate in Carroll County By Julie Scharper, The Baltimore Sun

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Rising number of Latinos spurs English language debate in Carroll County By Julie Scharper, The Baltimore Sun

Rising number of Latinos spurs English language debate in Carroll County -

Hispanic population, though still relatively small, has more than tripled since 2000 By Julie Scharper, The Baltimore Sun October 6, 2012

Adrian Barrera leads a crew of migrant farm workers from Mexico who pick apples at Baugher Farms. The migrants work on the farm for 8 months out of the year, then move on to work somewhere else or return to their native country until the next growing season. (Barbara Haddock Taylor, The Baltimore Sun / October 6, 2012)

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/carroll/bs-md-ca-latinos-in-carroll-20121006,0,4715149,full.story

Amid the quaint brick storefronts of Westminster's Main Street, Lily's Mexican Market sells Virgin of Guadalupe statues, sacks of dried beans and paddle-shaped cactus leaves. A mile away, the aisles of Las Palmeras grocery store are stocked with Salvadoran cheeses and pastries. A nearby Catholic church draws more than 200 people to a Spanish Mass each Sunday.

Mexican and Central American immigrants have flocked to Carroll County over the past decade, drawn by pastures and orchards that remind them of the rural villages in which they were raised. Some followed family members here; others sought to live among those who share their traditional values. Many say they felt welcome here, at least until a commissioner began a push to make English the county's official language… http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/carroll/bs-md-ca-latinos-in-carroll-20121006,0,4715149,full.story

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Also see related:

Hearing on county's English language bill set for Oct. 30

October 20, 2012 http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/ph-ce-newsbriefs-1021-20121020,0,1472763.story

The Board of County Commissioners will hold its public hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 30, regarding the proposal to designate English as the official language of Carroll County.

The hearing will be held at 7 p.m. at the New Windsor Community Building, Community Meeting Room, 1100 Green Valley Road, New Windsor.

This ordinance, if passed, would recognize English as the language in which all official county business will be conducted.

The ordinance, as proposed, can be read HERE

For commentary on the proposed ordinance, from an historic point of view, by Kevin Dayhoff, go to: Eagle Archive: Strictly speaking, Carroll's predominant language was once German by Kevin Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/8hvbfy2

Press 1 for German http://tinyurl.com/8hvbfy2 http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2012/10/eagle-archive-strictly-speaking.html

By Kevin Dayhoff October 20, 2012 http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/neighborhoods/westminster/ph-ce-eagle-archive-1021-20121020,0,7714126.story

Labels: Carroll Co Commissioners, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Diversity, Diversity Hispanic, English only

In October 1833, in the area we now know as Carroll County, a vote was taken as to whether or not we should form a new county in Maryland from portions of Baltimore and Frederick counties.

A bill authorizing the vote passed the General Assembly on March 2, 1833, according to "Carroll County Maryland, A History 1837-1976," by Nancy Warner, and "Advocates of the new county sprang into action" to help promote the vote.

They formed committees to write pamphlets containing arguments advocating a vote in favor of a new county. Several of my ancestors, the Warfields were members of this committee.

Some of the pamphlets were even printed in English — a special consideration, since the predominant language in Carroll County at the time was German.

Anecdotal accounts indicate that German was the predominant language in Carroll up to around the time of the Civil War, especially in the northern and western portions of the county… http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/neighborhoods/westminster/ph-ce-eagle-archive-1021-20121020,0,7714126.story

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