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

Monday, August 24, 2015

Life in Carroll County midway through August meant riding shows and tractor pulls


Life in Carroll County midway through August meant riding shows and tractor pulls http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/carroll/westminster/ph-ce-archives-ridingclub-0812-20150816-story.html

In a longer version of my story that did not make it to publication in The Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/carroll/westminster/ph-ce-archives-ridingclub-0812-20150816-story.html, I wrote, “Of course, not to be overlooked, it is also Madonna’s birthday. The pop singer was born in Michigan on August 16, 1958. Now you know.


Nationally, it was on this day in 1966 that over 50 people were arrested when they disrupted the proceedings of the House Un-American Activities Committee as it began investigating Americans who were believed to be actively engaged in aiding the Viet Cong. In an unrelated matter, the first color cartoon, “Fiddlesticks,” was made by the American animator Ubbe Eert Iwerks, a friend of Walt Disney’s and a co-creator of Mickey Mouse. 

In the mid-1950s, the Westminster Riding Club abandoned its horse activities and began the construction of a swimming pool. The clubhouse in the background of this picture was dedicated May 13, 1939, by Westminster Mayor Frank Myers. The swimming pool was built around 1957. Photo courtesy of Evelyn and Caroline Babylon.


On this date, August 16, 1946, in years past, a tractor pull at the county fair, a horse show at the Westminster Riding Club, and the opening of the Carroll County Vocational Technical Center were all in the news.

In 1946, the Democratic Advocate observed that a large crowd attended the twelfth annual horse and pony show at the Westminster Riding Club. "There were 76 ponies and horses shown on the picturesque show grounds…”

[…]

Immediately beside the Riding Club is the historic location of the storied 'Fair Grounds' where agricultural fairs took place in the second-half of the 1800s. This was the site of large and long horse stables which lined North Colonial Avenue and East Main Street — and the location of a large racetrack. Yes, that is the origin of what we now know as Fair Avenue.

[…]

Today, most folks associate the Riding Club with the swimming pool or a social occasion at the "club house" banquet hall. The roots of the club are in horses and equestrian activities, just as the name implies. The grounds of the Riding Club were once the location of a nice riding arena located just beyond the edge of town — the focal point of the club's social and equestrian activities.

In 2010 I wrote about the Riding Club for The Baltimore Sun. In that story I wrote, “The swimming pool was built around 1957, and I should note that retired local physician Dean Griffin, now a gentleman asparagus farmer, was the first lifeguard and taught many classes. He also started the club's first swim team…


The riding club's history goes back 75 years to March 14, 1935, according to Reifsnider. She wrote that it was on that date that "a group of horse lovers under the guidance of Mrs. John L. Bennett and (Reifsnider), organized the Westminster Riding Club. ... (T)he Charter membership list (included) F. Kale Mathias, Eleanor C. Babylon, John L. Reifsnider, Jr., Joseph L. Mathias, Sr., Dr. Charles H. Kable, George R. Mitchell, Ralph S. Reifsnider, Catherine Baumgartner, Mrs. Paul M. Wimert, Albin N. Duvall, Sidney Hausman and Bruce T. Blair."

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Life in Carroll County midway through August meant riding shows and tractor pulls
Life in Carroll County midway through August meant riding shows and tractor pulls
KEVIN E. DAYHOFF, KEVINDAYHOFF@GMAIL.COM
On this date in years past, a tractor pull at the county fair, a horse show at the Westminster Riding Club, and the opening of the Carroll County Vocational Technical Center were all in the news.
Official: Westminster fires intentionally set
Official: Westminster fires intentionally set
MICHEL ELBEN
Two shed fires that occurred in close proximity and just a few hours apart early Thursday morning in Westminster were intentionally set, likely by the same person, according to a spokesman of the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
Westminster mayors often had short terms in office
Westminster mayors often had short terms in office
KEVIN E. DAYHOFF, KEVINDAYHOFF@GMAIL.COM
Though it had happened more than a week earlier, in early August of 1981, the greater Westminster and Carroll County community was still mourning the death of Joseph (Jack) Hamilton Hahn, Jr.
Roots of a county fair in Carroll hard to follow before the Civil War
Roots of a county fair in Carroll hard to follow before the Civil War
KEVIN E. DAYHOFF, KEVINDAYHOFF@GMAIL.COM
All last week, preparations were in full swing for this year's annual Carroll County 4-H and FFA Fair that set up at the Agriculture Center, just south of Westminster. This year's fair will continue to Saturday morning, Aug. 8.
Fire damages vacant cabin in New Windsor
Fire damages vacant cabin in New Windsor
TIMES STAFF
A fire that burned late Tuesday night in the 1300 block Western Chapel Road in New Windsor damaged a vacant cabin that was being prepared for demolition according to a State Fire Marshal's office press release.
Sheriff's Office took long road to leading role in Carroll County law enforcement
Sheriff's Office took long road to leading role in Carroll County law enforcement
KEVIN E. DAYHOFF, KEVINDAYHOFF@GMAIL.COM
The idea to develop a Carroll County police force began as a whisper campaign in the mid-1960s. It would take a half a century of studies, commissions, elections, and acrimony to finally decide to make the county sheriff's department the lead police agency in the county.
Memories of Henryton State hospital fading with buildings demolished
Memories of Henryton State hospital fading with buildings demolished
KEVIN E. DAYHOFF, KEVINDAYHOFF@GMAIL.COM
It was 30 years ago that Henryton State Hospital was closed by the state of Maryland. The sprawling facility included 19 buildings with a total footprint of 30 acres in Marriottsville, about seven miles from Sykesville in southern Carroll County.
Annual commemoration brings home Carroll County connection to Civil War
Annual commemoration brings home Carroll County connection to Civil War
KEVIN E. DAYHOFF, KEVINDAYHOFF@GMAIL.COM
By July 5, 1863, the horrific results of one of the most cataclysmic events of the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, were really settling in on that small town in southern Pennsylvania.
Remembering Carroll's statuesque and statue sculptor
Remembering Carroll's statuesque and statue sculptor
KEVIN E. DAYHOFF, KEVINDAYHOFF@GMAIL.COM
Many would be surprised to learn that Blaze Starr, who passed away on June 15, is not the only creative statuesque figure with a Carroll County connection.
Shrine in New Windsor honors site where Methodism got its start
Shrine in New Windsor honors site where Methodism got its start
KEVIN E. DAYHOFF, KEVINDAYHOFF@GMAIL.COM
On June 18, 1937, the Strawbridge Shrine Association was formed just outside of New Windsor, where many historians believe the origins of Methodism in America are located.
Study of schools in Carroll provides an interesting education
Study of schools in Carroll provides an interesting education
KEVIN E. DAYHOFF, KEVINDAYHOFF@GMAIL.COM
The first weeks of June are a time when many young adults in Carroll County look forward to the end of the school year and graduation ceremonies.
Memorial Day and memories of native son killed in Vietnam nearly 50 years ago
Memorial Day and memories of native son killed in Vietnam nearly 50 years ago
KEVIN E. DAYHOFF, KEVINDAYHOFF@GMAIL.COM
On May 25, the 148th Carroll County Memorial Day observances in Westminster were once again organized by Carroll Post 31 of the American Legion.
Carroll County pays last respects to emergency responder [Eagle Archives]
Carroll County pays last respects to emergency responder [Eagle Archives]
KEVIN E. DAYHOFF
Friends, family, colleagues and law enforcement officers from throughout the central-Maryland region filled Legacy Hall at the Sykesville Freedom District Volunteer Fire Department recently to pay their last respects to fellow firefighter and EMS provider Robin Flater Chenoweth.
Westminster band in third century together
Westminster band in third century together
KEVIN E. DAYHOFF
Eagle Archives
Fire department dinner meeting an annual tradition in Westminster [Eagle Archives]
Fire department dinner meeting an annual tradition in Westminster [Eagle Archives]
KEVIN E. DAYHOFF
Westminster Fire Engine and Hose Co. No. 1 recently held its 136th annual meeting and banquet at the fire station at 28 John Street in Westminster.

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Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: 
Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:
Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com

My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/


See also - Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art www.kevindayhoff.com: Travel, art, artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalists and journalism, reporters and reporting, music, culture, opera... Ad maiorem Dei gloriam inque hominum salutem. “Deadline U.S.A.” 1952. Ed Hutcheson: “That's the press, baby. The press! And there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing!” - See more at: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/#sthash.4HNLwtfd.dpuf
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Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Famed Vietnam combat photographer Catherine Leroy was in Vietnam from Feb 1966 to March of 1969.



Famed Vietnam combat photographer Catherine Leroy was in Vietnam from Feb 1966 to March of 1969.

Kevin E. Dayhoff, August 18, 2015 www.kevindayhoff.net

I was recently reminded of the legendary combat photographer Catherine Leroy. I was not aware that she had died… She died unexpectedly July 8, 2006.

According to a tribute to her written by Jay Defoore and published in Popular Photography on December 19, 2008, “Leroy first arrived in Saigon in February of 1966 without ever having published a photo. She had in her possession a Leica M2 and a mere $100. Just 21 years of age, she had no formal photographic training and had never been more than a few hundred miles from Paris. Through pluck and luck, she would go on to become the most famous female war photographer of the Vietnam era.

The standard rate for a Vietnam photograph that moved on the wire in those days was $15.00 per photograph. She had many of her photos published in Look and Life.

She was the stuff of legend with Marines. She spent a great deal of time in theater with Marines.

According to her obituary by Phil Davidson that ran in The Independent on Monday, July 17, 2006, “She was the first newsperson, male or female, to parachute into combat with US forces, and the first to photograph the Vietcong behind their own lines after she was captured during the Tet offensive but charmed her way to freedom. When she was wounded by a mortar round, she believed it would have killed her had her sturdy Nikon F2 not stopped the biggest piece of shrapnel.

In that story, retold by Defoore, “Leroy's legend was only aided by her independent spirit and resilience. On May 19, 1967, Leroy was injured by a mortar while on patrol with a group of Marines. "We were being mortared again and again, and there was nowhere to hide," she recounted to American Photographer. ‘I remember lifting my camera up to take a picture when there was a huge bang and I went down in the grass. I was conscious but couldn't move, and I was completely covered with blood -- and terrified that nobody would see me because I was covered by grass.’

“A month after suffering the worst of the mortar round, Leroy was back to tackling some of the most dangerous stories imaginable. In January of the next year Leroy and fellow French journalist Francois Mazure were captured by the North Vietnamese and she photographed her captors for a cover story in Life magazine.”

Many of her photographs have iconographic of the war in Southeast Asia. First among equals was ““Corpsman in anguish,” in which Corpsman Vernon Wike, 2/3rd Marine, looks in anguish when he realizes that his buddy is dead. Battle for Hill 881. 1967

According to her obituary by Phil Davidson that ran in The Independent on Monday, July 17, 2006, “Her most famous pictures were three shot in quick succession, but without a motor-drive, showing a young US marine corpsman (medic), Vernon Wike, crouched in tall grass in 1967 during the battle for Hill 881 near Khe Sanh. He is cradling a comrade who had just been shot by a Vietcong guerrilla.

In the first frame, Wike, still smoking the cigarette he had lit before the shooting, has both hands on his buddy's chest, trying to staunch the wound. In the second, he is trying to detect a heartbeat. In the third, perhaps her most famous, image, known as Corpsman in Anguish, he has just realised his buddy is dead. Leroy later recalled that Wike then ran from cover, shooting and yelling, ‘I'm gonna kill them all!’ He survived.”

Leroy remained in Vietnam until March of 1969.

According to Defoore, “Leroy's sudden death -- many of her closest friends didn't even know she was sick -- has left many unanswered questions, such as what will become of her vast collection of negatives…”
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Betty Yingling Geiman, 91, of Westminster, died Sunday evening, August 16, 2015

Betty Yingling Geiman, 91, of Westminster

Betty Yingling Geiman, 91, of Westminster, died Sunday evening, August 16, 2015, at the Dove House.  Born June 4, 1924 in Westminster, she was the daughter of the late Arthur Yingling and Helen Seipp Yingling.  Her husband of 60 years, David C. Geiman, Sr., died September 28, 2003.  

Before retiring, she was a secretary at West Middle School and also helped her husband at the J. Stoner Geiman and Sons Furniture Store.  She was a member of Grace Lutheran Church where she taught Sunday school.  She was a former member of the Civinette Club.  She enjoyed traveling with her late husband and family was everything to her.

She is survived by a son David C. Geiman, Jr. and wife Judy of Westminster, daughter Katie Geiman Baker of Westminster, 7 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren, Dr. Beth Ferri and husband Steve (Elena and Sienna), Bonnie Campbell and husband Bobby (Luke, Morgan, Casey, Eddie and Paul), Dr. Sandra Ruby and husband Mark (Blake, Anna, Carter  and Mae), all of Westminster, Bridget Dickensheets and husband Mike (Ian, Paige and Ivy), of Baltimore, Dr. Joe Geiman and wife Dr. Gina Henderson of Annapolis, Trent Baker of Westminster and Grant Baker of Warwick, R.I.

She was predeceased by a sister Doris Koerner and a son-in-law Gary Baker.

The family will receive friends on Friday, August 21, 2015, from 10 a.m. until time of memorial service, 11 a.m. at the Fletcher Funeral & Cremation Services, 254 E. Main St., Westminster, with Don Myers officiating.  Interment will follow in Westminster Cemetery.


Memorial contributions may be made to Carroll Hospice, 292 Stoner Ave., Westminster, MD 21157. http://www.fletcherfuneralhome.net/obits/obituary.php?id=655516
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Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: 
Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:
Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com

My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/


See also - Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art www.kevindayhoff.com: Travel, art, artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalists and journalism, reporters and reporting, music, culture, opera... Ad maiorem Dei gloriam inque hominum salutem. “Deadline U.S.A.” 1952. Ed Hutcheson: “That's the press, baby. The press! And there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing!” - See more at: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/#sthash.4HNLwtfd.dpuf
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