Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Showing posts with label People Schroers-Ron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label People Schroers-Ron. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

DAYHOFF: All of Westminster got fired up over 'Defense Day' in 1924

DAYHOFF: All of Westminster got fired up over 'Defense Day' in 1924

Eagle Archives

By Kevin Dayhoff 

Posted 9/12/10


On Sept. 12, 1924, Carroll County celebrated "Defense Day" in Westminster with singing, parades, a prettiest baby contest, speeches and a beauty contest, of which the prize was $25. (No one entered.)

Much of the day's festivities took place on the Hoffa football field at what was then Western Maryland College -- now McDaniel College.

And oh, by the way ... one of the highlights of the day featured shooting up the field with machine guns. (Maybe it was the machine guns that inhibited the county's most beautiful women from entering the beauty contest?)

More research is needed to understand what "Defense Day" was all about. We obviously no longer celebrate it.

On Aug. 4, 1924, a piece in Time magazine notes that: "The project of holding a National Defense Day on Sept. 12 has met considerable opposition from pacifist bodies. President (Calvin) Coolidge undertook last week to uphold the propriety of the proposed 'Day' in a letter to the National Council for the Prevention of War ..."


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Monday, September 22, 2008

Eyesore slated to house civic groups by Bryan Schutt

Eyesore slated to house civic groups by Bryan Schutt

By Bryan Schutt, Carroll County Times Staff Writer Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Westminster Playground Community Building will be demolished in the coming months and a new building will be built that’ll serve as the headquarters for two community organizations.

The new building will become the joint headquarters for the Optimist Club of Westminster and Westminster Fallfest Inc., according to Ron Schroers, Westminster’s director of parks and recreation. He said the project should be done by next year’s Fallfest and it will allow both groups to have a central location amid the heart of activity in the city.

Schroers said the majority of the $149,000 needed to pay for the project will come from Maryland Project Open Space grant money and fundraising by Fallfest. The ongoing electric costs will be covered by the Optimist Club.

A face-lift for the fixture wouldn’t have been practical, according to Schroers, so the building, which is located between the basketball court and baseball field at the city park, will be torn down and a new two-story structure will be erected.

The first floor will be the home of the Optimist Club. It will have a meeting room and a new concession area so the Optimist Club can operate a snack shack again during events. The current concession stand is inoperable, so the club abandoned the use of it.

The second floor will be the home to Fallfest, and it’ll have an office and multipurpose room. The building will also have a basement, which will serve as storage rooms for both groups.

Schroers said the fundraising took off after a donation from the Babylon family. The family donated $50,000 during the Fallfest Gala last April. Because of that, the new playground building will be renamed the David S. Babylon Memorial Community Building, in honor of Babylon and his contributions to the city.

Babylon, a lifelong Westminster activist, passed away in August 2006. He served as a councilman in Westminster for 25 years, was a volunteer in the Westminster fire company and was involved with several other community organizations.

Darlene Dorsey, president of the Optimist Club of Westminster, said she was floored when the idea was floated to her, and she still gets energized when she thinks about the project.

“That building now is an eyesore and needed so many repairs … we haven’t really used that shack for years,” Dorsey said. “It’s going to be useful again and that, in itself, is wonderful.

“I’m really excited. This is a great thing and the area will look much nicer, too.”

The Optimist Club used the building for years, but it’s mainly used as a storage shed now because it is so run down, she said.

Dorsey said that with all the club does, operating a good-looking building in the park will serve as a reminder to the community of their services and they hope it will further their outreach to the community’s children. Tom Canon, board member for Fallfest in charge of the capital campaign for the project, said he believes in the project’s practicality.

He said the groundbreaking will take place Sept. 24, the day of the Fallfest parade, and people will be able to see the redesign concept then.

“Making it bigger will enhance its service to the community,” Canon said. “Certainly, city [officials] and citizens take great pride in the facilities and [the area]. That’s what’s getting this done and it’ll be a nice thing to finish.”


Reach staff writer Bryan Schutt at 410-857-7886 or

bryan.schutt@carrollcountytimes.com.

20080913 Eyesore slated to house civic groups by Bryan Schutt

Saturday, December 06, 2003

20031200 Westminster City Recreation Office: New Programs Since 1994



Westminster City Recreation Office: New Programs Since 1994

Photo caption: Westminster Recreation and Parks’ Ron Schroers

Westminster City Recreation

July 1994 – December 2003

Westminster City Recreation Office New Programs Since 1994


1. Westminster Family Center

2. Westminster Skate Park

3. Creation of full day Summer Camps

4. Creation of Dutterer’s Family Park

5. Upgrade 3 city parks

6. Creation of Mother Son Dances

7. Creation of Tea Parties and Fashion shows

8. Fallfest to new levels (midnight madness shopping, more money for nonprofits)

9. Flower and Jazz to new levels

10. Creation of Lock – Ins and all night parties for teens

11. Creation of Youth Leadership Carroll

12. Creation of Year Program Guide

13. Creation of Month of Sundays

14. Creation of Movie Nights

15. Summer Slam Car Show

16. 5k Walk Run

Activities office currently operates

1. Family Center

2. Skate Park

3. City Pool

4. Swim Team

5. Fallfest

6. Flower and Jazz Festival

7. Daddy Daughter Date

8. Swim Lessons

9. Music on Main Street

10. Outdoor Movie Nights

11. 3 on 3 Summer Basketball League

12. Summer Day Camp

13. Summer Tot Camp

14. Month of Sunday Concerts

15. Mother Son Dance

16. Veterans Day Service

17. Holiday Sports Camp

18. Mother Daughter Tea

19. Holiday Workshop

20. Holiday Luncheon

21. Retirement Parties

22. Annual Tree Lighting

23. Easter Egg Hunts

24. Annual Store Front Decorating (Mayors Cup)

Partnerships For Events and Activities

Human Service Programs Inc

Kiwanis Clubs of Westminster

Carroll County Recreation and Parks

Optimist Football & Cheering

Westminster Jaycees

Girls Jaycee Softball

Circle of Friends

Red Cross Blood Drives

Christian Home School Group

Konigsberg Tennis Tournament

Carroll County Tennis Association

Corbit’s Charge

Carroll County Health Department

Eric Byrd Day

Carroll County Arts Council

Carroll County Farm Museum

Heroin Action Coalition of Carroll County

Mrs. Maryland

Women’s Club of Westminster

The Arc of Carroll County

Greens Homeowners Association

Holiday House Tour

Junction Inc

Aging Grace

Cystic Fibrosis

West End Place

Four Square New Life Church

New Hope Fellowship

Core Service Agency

Westminster Speed and Sound

Mental Health Fair

Stand For Children

Carroll County Public Schools

Change Inc

St. Johns Catholic Church

Westminster Area Lacrosse

Charles Street Community

Timber Ridge Summer Playgroup

Carroll County Chamber of Commerce

Bands For Benefit

East Middle School

Carroll Hospice

Carroll County Public Library

The Rotary Club of Bonds Meadow

Downtown Promotions Committee

Carroll County Youth Service Bureau

Family and Children’s Services

Pray in the Park

Sunday in the Park

Estonian Partnership

Relay of Life

City Police Department

Recreation Office Accomplishment

Attorney Generals Award

Heath Department Award

Best Park Playground

Best Community Festival

Outstanding Recreation Professional Maryland Recreation and Parks

Silvia Canon Humanitarian Award

Creation of the first camp medical program

State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

The Recreation Office Has Represented The City Of Westminster In The Following

Skate Park Development: Manchester, Hampstead, Mt. Airy, Taneytown, Sykesville, Annapolis, Dallastown, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County,

Armory Development: Caroline County and City of Frederick

Maryland Municipal League: Speaking at annual convention, Treasure (Recreation and Parks Branch)

Maryland Recreation and Parks Association: State Convention, Strategic Planning

Community College of Baltimore: Chairman, Recreation, Parks and Tourism Advisory committee, Guest Speaker

Other Related Office Duties

Supervise 22 year round staff

Supervise 34 part time summer staff

Furnish capital and operating budgets

Manage over $1,000,000,00 operating and capital budget

Supervise 10 parks

Supervise 5 tot lots

Parks Board

Support Estonian Partnership Fundraising

Hiring and firring

Supervise rentals of Community Building, parks and pavilions

Manage Web Site

Marketing of Programs and Events

Prepare daily deposits

Future Plans

Already added to dates at Martins for additional dances.

More involvement with other communities in Westminster.

Over see all activities that are happing in Westminster.

Develop additional events on Main Street and Pennsylvania Ave.

Continue involvement with existing communities because of change in board members.

Continue to develop Open Space for the growing sports programs in Westminster.

Continue to monitor the value of each program and event offered to the public.