Westminster Eagle columns September 19 through November 28 2007
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Posted Tuesday, December 11
Singing with one voice for a worthy cause
11/28/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff
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On Nov. 17, members of our community packed St. John Catholic Church to hear the talented and beautiful voices of artists who came together and donated their time for our community -- and for a worthy cause.
Musical groups including the McDaniel College Madigal Singers, Old Line Statesmen Barber Shop Chorus (under the direction of Jeff Liebknecht), the Children's Chorus of Carroll County, New Life for Girls Choir, Masterworks Chorale, Westminster Trombone Choir and the Coram Deo performed a benefit concert for Carroll County Domestic Violence Safe House.
Connie Sgarlata, director of the Office of Family and Children's Services, said both the audience and the performers were moved by "the solidarity that the music and words created in our effort to address domestic violence."
Sgarlata's comments were echoed by McDaniel College professor of music Dr. Margie Boudreaux and Diane Jones, the Children's Chorus of Carroll County artistic director. Both noted that the music was wonderful -- the message was clear.
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Visiting the CIA for an Iron Chef Thanksgiving
11/20/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff
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Happy Thanksgiving. We have so much for which to be thankful, and of course friends, family -- and food -- come to mind.
Over the recent Veterans Day weekend, Miss Caroline and I ventured to Hyde Park, N.Y., for a two-day conference on "The Presidency and the Supreme Court."
The conference took place at The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and examined the relationship between past presidents and the Supreme Court, the political process of Supreme Court nominations and the court's influence on social issues, civil rights and governmental power in times of war and crisis.
The conference was fascinating. We had the opportunity to meet and chat with a number of published historians and presidential and Supreme Court scholars.
We also met folks like former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, former White House counsels John W. Dean, C. Boyden Gray and Beth Nolan, former U.S. Senator from Maryland Paul Sarbanes and National Public Radio Senior Correspondent Juan Williams.
Legal Affairs Correspondent for National Public Radio Nina Totenberg was the moderator for the event.
However, I must say the highlight of the weekend was catching up with Rudy Speckamp
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One more helping of grits, with a Dr. Pepper and a side of fruitcake
11/15/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff
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Most people who know me know that I like to eat.
And regular readers of this column know that one of my favorite foods is grits.
After the Aug. 1 column in The Eagle, "Song of the South: No grits, no glory," I heard from many folks who also like grits.
Mike Shaw of Shaw Farms wrote that he "j...
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Jerry Barnes: county state's attorney and veteran
11/07/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff
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As Veterans Day fast approaches -- it's this Sunday, Nov. 11 -- it's appropriate to remember that service to our country is a cherished tradition in Carroll County.
And so it was that in May 1968, Jerry F. Barnes joined the U.S. Army.
Today, we know Mr. Barnes as Carroll County State's Attorney.
But it was back then that the Westminster High School graduate, class of 1966, received his draft notice.
According to a biographical sketch written by Carmen Amedori, Mr. Barnes joined draftees from Carroll County "on a school bus at the (Westminster) Post Office downtown," and headed for Fort Holabird in Baltimore -- and then promptly to Fort Bragg, N.C.
Mr. Barnes noted that fellow Carroll countians Mark Main, Eddie Sensabaugh and Sam Greenholtz were at Fort Bragg at the same time.
Mr. Barnes eschewed being drafted for two years and, instead, enlisted for three years. At first he wanted to be a helicopter pilot, but after a series of events he signed up for Special Forces -- the Green Berets.
Barnes' Vietnam experience is one of a number of profiles by Ms. Amedori appearing in a new publication from the Historical Society of Carroll County, "Tours of Duty: Carroll County and the Vietnam War," by Gary D. Jestes and Jay A. Graybeal. (The book will be released this Sunday at a book signing, 1 to 3 p.m. at the Historical Society, 210 E. Main St., Westminster.)
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Billy Bob threw something off the Route 140 bridge
10/31/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff
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It was 40 years ago, the late summer of 1967 that we first learned from "Mama" that the nice young preacher, Brother Taylor "said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge. And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge."
I first heard that song, "Ode to Billy Joe," by Bobbie Gentry that summer on WCAO on the AM dial of the car radio.
It was also in this time period that I became firmly hooked on the existential "Southern Gothic" genre of storytelling. (To refresh your memory, the song can be found on the Web at www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZt5Q-u4crc.)
Other examples of authors of the Southern gothic genre of writing include William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, Eudora Welty, Truman Capote and Harper Lee.
Tennessee Williams once described the genre as stories that reflect "an intuition of an underlying dreadfulness in modern experience."
Who can forget: It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day. And mama hollered at the back door "y'all remember to wipe your feet."
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OK, so who was Herb Ruby?
09/26/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff
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That's the question we posed last week when we talked about the placement of the Ruby Field sign at Westminster High's football field.
Let's begin this way -- when was the last time you attended a Friday night local high school football game?
We all know that local sports teams are one of the strongest glues that bind our community together. For hot dogs, pizza, entertainment and getting together outside in the fresh air with your family, friends and neighbors, there is hardly anything better than Friday night high school football games.
Well, we have Coach Ruby to thank for our Friday night high school football traditions in Carroll County.
Yep, it all started in 1947 when he became the first high school football coach in Carroll County.
After Coach Ruby graduated from Bridgewater College in 1941, he actually played semi-professional baseball for the Staunton Presidents of the Virginia Baseball League.
Read the entire story here: OK, so who was Herb Ruby?
Resetting a local gem to mark Ruby Field
09/19/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff
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I had the pleasure of attending the "rededication" of the Ruby Field sign under the scoreboard at the Westminster High School football field right before the Westminster v. Francis Scott Key football game on Friday evening, Sept. 7.
A gathering of friends and family of the late Coach Herb Ruby was in attendance.
In the tradition of Coach Ruby himself, it appears the sign rededication was the result of folks working together as a team to benefit the community as a whole.
It got downright humorous as everyone gave the credit for the effort to someone else. This, too, is fitting as a tribute to the late Coach Ruby -- he was known for putting athletes, the team and the community above himself. He abhorred having attention drawn to him individually.
The little ceremony wasn't a splashy affair. It was essentially a small group of folks gathered to pay their respects. A few stories were traded back and forth -- in somewhat hushed tones. A photo was taken and everyone quickly went about their business.
Coach Ruby would have approved.
Over the roar of opening night, the pre-game excitement from the large crowd, football players warming-up and cheerleaders and the band practicing, my conversation with Carroll County Superintendent Dr. Chuck Ecker and Jim Head (my high school football coach, by the way) turned to the history of Ruby Field.
When "new" Westminster High School opened in fall 1971, the sign did not accompany the move from the school's former football field on Longwell Avenue, the "old" Westminster High grounds where the school operated from 1936 to 1971.
Read the entire story here: Resetting a local gem to mark Ruby Field
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Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.
www.kevindayhoff.net
E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com
His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com, Winchester Report and The Sunday Carroll Eagle – in the Sunday Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun. Get Westminster Eagle RSS Feed
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