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

Sunday, July 12, 2009

1816 Frankenstein and the Year Without Summer

1816 Frankenstein and the Year Without Summer

'Year without summer' killed crops ... and created a monster

(This is the long – unedited version of the column that appeared in the) EAGLE ARCHIVE By Kevin Dayhoff Posted on www.explorecarroll.com 6/21/09

Well, it’s half-way through June and for those of us who love Maryland’s stultifying heat and humidity many are wondering “where’s summer?”

For me, my thoughts wander to the birth of Frankenstein.

Perhaps I need to explain.

So far all we have seen is below average temperatures and above average precipitation. Yeah, we need the rain all right – but enough already.

“News” circulating on the Internet recently has been forecasting that 2009 is going to be the year without summer. While attempting to track down the story at its source, My research led me to I came across an article on livescience.com, “Year Without Summer? Don’t Believe It,” by Robert Roy Britt.

Britt explains that the “year without summer” hype began with a news story on Accuweather.com, and “involves a misconstrued quote” from a long-range forecaster. What the Accuweather article meant was that summer would behas been delayed because the “jet stream has been farther to the south than normal this spring.

In the article, Accuweather Ssenior meteorologist Henry Margusity explained a “‘cold pool of air over Canada for the past two months has delayed summer… We will see some moderation happening…’ meaning summer will get here, but “‘it won't be a real hot summer…’”

In the annals of weather history, in 1816, there really was a “year without summer.” The phenomenon event is known by various names such as “the poverty year.”

In the book, “Legacy of the Land,” by Carol Lee; she explains that “the year without summer” caused quite a bit of hardship in Carroll County. According to Lee: “Farmers in Maryland and elsewhere would remember 1816 as… ‘eighteen hundred and starve-to-death,’” and there were freezing temperatures well into June.

For Carroll County the year without summer followed the equally disastrous economic collapse caused by the “War of 1812,” with Great Britain, which witnessed the naval blockade of the Chesapeake Bay which “cut off trade, stopped the mill wheels, and left the plow still in its furrow.

“Then in 1815, after the Treaty of Ghent restored peace between Britain and the United States, England enacted “Corn Laws” that placed (a) prohibitive tariff on American wheat products… The export market virtually disappeared.”

So you may ask, what in the world caused the year without summer? Well, according to a July 2002 article in Smithsonian magazine, “Blast from the Past,” by Robert Evans; he quoted historian John D. Post to identify that year as the “last great subsistence crisis in the Western world.”

The agricultural and economic catastrophe of 1816 was a volcanic winter, caused by the April 5 – 15, 1815 eruptions of Mount Tambora on the island of Sumbawa, in what we now know as Indonesia.

Evans describes the eruption as the “most destructive explosion on earth in the past 10,000 years” which “blasted 12 cubic miles of gases, dust and rock into the atmosphere,” and killed an “estimated 90,000 people on Sumbawa and neighboring Lombok.”

This caused “Pharaoh Chesney, of Virginia,” notes Evans, to recall that in June, the following year, “another snowfall came and folk went sleighing… On July 4, water froze in cisterns and snow fell again…”

In addition to the resulting crop failure, famine, and economic collapse; the volcanic winter had widespread psychological and sociological impacts that are still felt, to a certain degree, to this very day.

Thomas Jefferson, reports Evans, “having retired to Monticello after completing his second term as President, had such a poor corn crop that year that he applied for a $1,000 loan.”

For one thing, the volcanic winter spurred the westward expansion of the United States: “Thousands left New England for what they hoped would be a more hospitable climate west of the Ohio River. Partly as a result of such migration, Indiana became a state in 1816 and Illinois in 1818.”

In Europe, Great Britain – and Ireland, the disastrous weather caused widespread crop failures and prompted many folks to pack up and leave – for America.

“It rained nonstop in Ireland for eight weeks. The potato crop failed. Famine ensued,” says Evans.

Meanwhile in Switzerland, in 1816, “Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and his soon-to-be wife, Mary Wollstonecraft … sat out a June storm reading a collection of German ghost stories…”

“The mood was captured in Byron’s “Darkness,” a narrative poem set when the ‘bright sun was extinguish’d’… John Polidori wrote The Vampyre, and the future Mary Shelley… began work on her novel, Frankenstein, about a well-meaning scientist who creates a nameless monster from body parts and brings it to life by a jolt of laboratory-harnessed lightning.”

Evans notes that Frankenstein has long-since served as a cautionary allegory that serves “as a warning not to overlook the consequences of humanity’s tampering with nature.” Think about it.

When he is not playing with laboratory-harnessed lightning, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at kevindayhoff AT gmail.com or visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff

www.explorecarroll.com 1816: 'Year without summer' killed crops - created a monster - K Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/krpqny

http://explorecarroll.com/community/3036/year-without-summer-killed-crops-created-monster/ http://tinyurl.com/krpqny

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For other recent columns in Explore Carroll by Kevin Dayhoff:

Bringing Corbit's Charge, and Douglass, back to Westminster
Published July 5, 2009 by Carroll Eagle http://tinyurl.com/mxbkjp
http://explorecarroll.com/community/3099/bringing-corbits-charge-douglass-back-westminster/

DAYHOFF: Margaret Mitchell wrote what she knew; the rest is gone with the wind
Published July 2, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
... And that is all I know for right now. Hope you and your family have a great Fourth of July weekend. Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. …visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net....

Westminster was all abuzz for the great fly roundup of 1914
Published June 28, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... reminds me that it was Groucho Marx who once said, "Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." When he is not swatting flies, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at … or visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net....

DAYHOFF: Hoffa Field and the Sheathing of the Sword
Published June 23, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle
... . Lightner and the June 1922 American Sentinel newspaper article have left us with an extensive and fascinating account of the “The Sheathing of the Sword.” … visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net....

'Year without summer' killed crops ... and created a monster
Published June 21, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle
... village folk that it's not a bad idea to keep a torch handy on these cool summer nights. When he is not playing with laboratory-harnessed lightning, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at … or visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net. ...

Historic Blue Ridge College bell dedicated In Union Bridge
Published June 20, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
UNION BRIDGE — Several hundred folks braved threatening weather June 20 to witness the unveiling and dedication of the historic 1900 Blue Ridge College bell in Lehigh Square, the original site of the college which had thrived in Union Bridge from 1898 to ... ...

When city got 'sole' in the 1920s, it was cause for a celebration
Published June 14, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... be the guest speaker. There will be a retirement ceremony for worn flags. Guests may bring old flags for retirement. When he is not waving the flag, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at… or visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net....

Remember when you could walk to work in Westminster?
Published June 7, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... . When he's not on a "walk-about" in Westminster, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached …

Company H: from the Frizellburg greenhouses to the sands of Omaha Beach
Published June 3, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
… (have) come a long way from the old parade field in Frizellburg.” Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster.

Dayhoff: New councilmember tackles alleged hit and run driver
Published June 1, 2009 by Westminster Eagle, Carroll Eagle
... Westminster city police arrived and took control of the situation The accident is under investigation. All in a day’s work. Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster.

20090705 sdosm Recent columns in Explore Carroll by Kevin Dayhoff
20090621 SDOSM KED SCE Year without summer created a monster.
*****

When city got 'sole' in the 1920s, it was cause for a celebration

When city got 'sole' in the 1920s, it was cause for a celebration

(The long – unedited version of the column) Published June 14, 2009 by Carroll Eagle

A Carroll County cause for celebration in the perilous 1920s

A May 29, 1925 Westminster newspaper described in great detail a huge parade and a daylong celebration to mark the occasion of the opening of the Newark Shoe Factory plant on East Green Street, “an enterprise that is running in full blast and employees over 200 men, women and boys…”

Attracting jobs and economic development in 1925 was considered critical to the future of Westminster and Carroll County. Commuting out of the county for meaningful employment was not a viable option.

Carol Lee observed in her book on the history of agriculture in Carroll County, “Legacy of the Land:” “During World War 1, Carroll County had only 69 miles of paved roads, by 1935 it had 240 miles…”

After the First World War ended, agriculture commodity prices plummeted in the county and Lee reports that “Throughout the 1920s, agriculture got into an increasingly perilous condition.”

The economic decline of the business of agriculture had a far-reaching impact on all businesses in the county. Younger citizens simply moved-out of the county to find work. Not only was the local economy in bad shape, but now the exodus of the younger generation caused social and cultural turmoil to add insult to injury.

It was with this context that one may understand that the opening of a shoe factory in Westminster was greeted with celebration. The now out-of-print Democratic Advocate newspaper described that the “crowd resembled a gathering for a circus that came to witness the parade and visit the Shoe factory…

“The celebration closed with a meeting in the Firemen's hall at 8 p.m., when addresses were made by Congressman Millard E. Tydings, Mayor Howard E. Koontz, Senator Daniel J. Hesson, Guy W. Steele and Dwight M. Burroughs, president of the Better Business Bureau of Baltimore and publicity manager of the United Railways of Baltimore...”

Jamie Wehler recently wrote to me that as a result of her research into the opening of the shoe factory, she was proud to see that the Westminster (Municipal) Band took part in the parade.

The newspaper article also noted that other participants in the parade included: “R. O. T. C. Western Maryland College, Mayor Koontz, Common Council, Officials of Chamber Of Commerce, School Children, Boy Scouts, Union Bridge Fire Company, Taneytown Fire Company, Westminster Fire Company…”

Meanwhile at the other end of Westminster, last week’s Carroll Eagle history trivia question was: “What was the name of the shoe factory at the far end of Pennsylvania Avenue near Vetville? Or, who can tell me the name of the car dealership and garage at 56 Pennsylvania Avenue?”

To my surprise many folks knew the answers. Among the readers that responded was this week’s winner of the Carroll Eagle mug, Gertrude Robertson, who wrote that she once worked in the office at the Kessler Shoe Factory.

Wayne Wrightson wrote from WTTR that “My fiancée’s father Bill Kuhn, a Westminster native of 84+ years seems to remember the shoe factory by Vetville was Kessler's Shoes… This man has an amazing memory for any age.

After a break from the Westminster world of the 1920s, we will go over the many other reader responses about the shoe factories and Wilson’s Garage, the “Willys-Overland” dealership on Pennsylvania Avenue – in a future column.

We will resume the history trivia quiz next Sunday. Meanwhile, please remember that today is Flag Day. It is always heartwarming to see so many flags proudly displayed throughout the county.

------
For other recent columns in Explore Carroll by Kevin Dayhoff:

Bringing Corbit's Charge, and Douglass, back to Westminster
Published July 5, 2009 by Carroll Eagle http://tinyurl.com/mxbkjp
http://explorecarroll.com/community/3099/bringing-corbits-charge-douglass-back-westminster/

DAYHOFF: Margaret Mitchell wrote what she knew; the rest is gone with the wind
Published July 2, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
... And that is all I know for right now. Hope you and your family have a great Fourth of July weekend. Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. …visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net....

Westminster was all abuzz for the great fly roundup of 1914
Published June 28, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... reminds me that it was Groucho Marx who once said, "Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." When he is not swatting flies, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at … or visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net....

DAYHOFF: Hoffa Field and the Sheathing of the Sword
Published June 23, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle
... . Lightner and the June 1922 American Sentinel newspaper article have left us with an extensive and fascinating account of the “The Sheathing of the Sword.” … visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net....

'Year without summer' killed crops ... and created a monster
Published June 21, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle
... village folk that it's not a bad idea to keep a torch handy on these cool summer nights. When he is not playing with laboratory-harnessed lightning, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at … or visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net. ...

Historic Blue Ridge College bell dedicated In Union Bridge
Published June 20, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
UNION BRIDGE — Several hundred folks braved threatening weather June 20 to witness the unveiling and dedication of the historic 1900 Blue Ridge College bell in Lehigh Square, the original site of the college which had thrived in Union Bridge from 1898 to ... ...

When city got 'sole' in the 1920s, it was cause for a celebration
Published June 14, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... be the guest speaker. There will be a retirement ceremony for worn flags. Guests may bring old flags for retirement. When he is not waving the flag, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at… or visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net....

Remember when you could walk to work in Westminster?
Published June 7, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... . When he's not on a "walk-about" in Westminster, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached …

Company H: from the Frizellburg greenhouses to the sands of Omaha Beach
Published June 3, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
… (have) come a long way from the old parade field in Frizellburg.” Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster.

Dayhoff: New councilmember tackles alleged hit and run driver
Published June 1, 2009 by Westminster Eagle, Carroll Eagle
... Westminster city police arrived and took control of the situation The accident is under investigation. All in a day’s work. Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster.

20090705 sdosm Recent columns in Explore Carroll by Kevin Dayhoff
20090614 sdosm KED SCE A CC cause for celebration 1920s
*****

History of McDaniel's Hoffa Field - The Raven's summer practice field

DAYHOFF: Hoffa Field and the Sheathing of the Sword
Published June 23, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle

The dedication of Hoffa Field and the Sheathing of the Sword at McDaniel College in June 1922

On Saturday, June 10, 1922, the formal dedication of the Hoffa athletic field took place on the campus of Western Maryland College - now McDaniel College.

Of course, many know the field as where the Baltimore Ravens hold their summer practices.

Others know the field for the great tradition of tailgating at McDaniel football games. The running track, which circles the field, is always a favorite spot for health conscious walkers and runners.

Today McDaniel College is accepted as presiding prominently in the center, more or less, of Westminster. However, this was not the case until around the 1970s when housing developments began to grow to the west of the campus.

In 1922, the campus was on the outer western edge of Westminster on the brink of a frontier of forest and farmland that stretched for ten miles until one arrived in Taneytown.

According to a definitive history of the college, “Fearless and Bold,” published just recently by Dr. James E. Lightner; the Geiman property, a 65-acre farm contiguously situated to the west of the campus became available to the college, in 1920, upon the death of W. H. Geiman.

As an aside, for anyone who is even remotely interested in the social, economic, political, or academic history of Westminster, McDaniel College, and Carroll County, “Fearless and Bold” is a must addition for your library.

Those of us, who were aware that Dr. Lightner was laboring to write the book, were very eager to lay our hands on a copy after it was printed in 2007.

We were not disappointed. Do not be put off by its sheer volume. At 713 pages, it can easily intimidate. However, it is well segmented. One may open the book to any page and find that Dr. Lightner packs facts together, in an easily read and engaging conversational approach that makes the book quite hard to put down.

It is a spellbinding story of intrigue and success against all odds; that will captivate even the reader who is not easily drawn to tomes of history.

It is chapter six that Dr. Lightner writes that the trustees of the college, “were always alert to possible campus expansion…”

After the death of Mr. Geiman, the property “suddenly came on the market, and the board authorized (college president Thomas Hamilton) Lewis to purchase it for $26,201…

“It was formally deeded on March 31, 1920, using endowment funds. The purchase agreement allowed Charles Geiman to lease back part of the farm, while a portion would be used for new athletic fields.

“At the June meeting (of the board of trustees,) the alumni visitors to the board stressed the urgent need for improving the fields, and the Buildings and Grounds Committee was empowered to act.”

And “act” they did. In the following chapter, Dr. Lightner reports that “on Saturday, June 10, a warm and sunny day, the formal dedication of the Hoffa Field was held before an audience of 5,000.”

The dedication was followed by the “presentation of ‘The Sheathing of the Sword: A Pageant of Peace,’” according to another local historian, Jay Graybeal.

Fortunately, in the late 1990s, Graybeal reprinted a June 16, 1922 front-page article which appeared in the now out-of-print American Sentinel newspaper. According to his introduction: “The community event (which followed the dedication) was written by Miss Dorothy Elderdice of Westminster. Her introduction provides an overview of her production:

“‘In The Sheathing of the Sword, I have endeavored to select from the different ages a few significant historical episodes that lend themselves to pageantry. Peace in panoply has been my quest---Peace heralded by song, attended by art, crowned by humanity.’”

This is where we will pick up the story in a future column. We are fortunate that Dr. Lightner and the June 1922 American Sentinel newspaper article have left us with an extensive and fascinating account of the “The Sheathing of the Sword.”

Kevin Dayhoff may reached at kevindayhoff AT gmail.com or visit him at http://www.westminstermarylandonline.net/

For other recent columns in Explore Carroll by Kevin Dayhoff:

Bringing Corbit's Charge, and Douglass, back to Westminster
Published July 5, 2009 by Carroll Eagle http://tinyurl.com/mxbkjp
http://explorecarroll.com/community/3099/bringing-corbits-charge-douglass-back-westminster/

DAYHOFF: Margaret Mitchell wrote what she knew; the rest is gone with the wind
Published July 2, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
... And that is all I know for right now. Hope you and your family have a great Fourth of July weekend. Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. …visit him at http://www.westminstermarylandonline.net/....

Westminster was all abuzz for the great fly roundup of 1914
Published June 28, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... reminds me that it was Groucho Marx who once said, "Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." When he is not swatting flies, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at … or visit him at http://www.westminstermarylandonline.net/....

DAYHOFF: Hoffa Field and the Sheathing of the Sword
Published June 23, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle
... . Lightner and the June 1922 American Sentinel newspaper article have left us with an extensive and fascinating account of the “The Sheathing of the Sword.” … visit him at http://www.westminstermarylandonline.net/....

'Year without summer' killed crops ... and created a monster
Published June 21, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle
... village folk that it's not a bad idea to keep a torch handy on these cool summer nights. When he is not playing with laboratory-harnessed lightning, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at … or visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net. ...

Historic Blue Ridge College bell dedicated In Union Bridge
Published June 20, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
UNION BRIDGE — Several hundred folks braved threatening weather June 20 to witness the unveiling and dedication of the historic 1900 Blue Ridge College bell in Lehigh Square, the original site of the college which had thrived in Union Bridge from 1898 to ... ...

When city got 'sole' in the 1920s, it was cause for a celebration
Published June 14, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... be the guest speaker. There will be a retirement ceremony for worn flags. Guests may bring old flags for retirement. When he is not waving the flag, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at… or visit him at http://www.westminstermarylandonline.net/....

Remember when you could walk to work in Westminster?
Published June 7, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... . When he's not on a "walk-about" in Westminster, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached …

Company H: from the Frizellburg greenhouses to the sands of Omaha Beach
Published June 3, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
… (have) come a long way from the old parade field in Frizellburg.” Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster.

Dayhoff: New councilmember tackles alleged hit and run driver
Published June 1, 2009 by Westminster Eagle, Carroll Eagle
... Westminster city police arrived and took control of the situation The accident is under investigation. All in a day’s work. Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster.

20090705 sdosm Recent columns in Explore Carroll by Kevin Dayhoff
*****

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Vietnam Veterans of 11th Air Calvary Troop to hold memorial service



Vietnam Veterans of 11th Air Calvary Troop to hold memorial service

Pictured above is the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment patch

News Brief

This Saturday – July 18 -at 1 o’clock in the afternoon members of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment Air Cavalry Troop – the Black Horse Regiment, from all over the country will hold a memorial service to remember the fallen from the Vietnam War at the Carroll County Vietnam Memorial Park at Willis and Court Streets in Westminster. The public is invited to attend.

Find more information in my Carroll Eagle Archives column for Sunday, July 12, 2009 http://www.explorecarroll.com/

20090711 sdosm News Brief 11 ACR to hold memorial service

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Lonely Blue Sweater

Lonely Blue Sweater

As I left a restaurant on June 27, 2009, I noticed this lonely blue sweater hanging by the door. It was if it were to say, take me, take me.

It seemed like a Leonard Cohen song just waiting to happen.

Related: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/search/label/Music%20Cohen-Leonard

Or more specifically, Famous Blue Raincoat Leonard Cohen



20090627 sdosm LonelyBlueSweater
20090711
20090627-LonelyBlueSweater-.gif

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Hideous Man-Beast Washes Up On Shore Of Municipal Pool

Hideous Man-Beast Washes Up On Shore Of Municipal Pool

July 10, 2009 Issue 45•28

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/hideous_man_beast_washes_up_on

SEWARD, NE—Responding to complaints about an awful stench, local lifeguard Matt Frieze, 26, discovered what appeared to be the bloated body of a repulsive man-beast that had mysteriously washed up on the shore of the Dowding Municipal Pool Monday.

Enlarge Image Man Beast

Onlookers were horrified at the sight of the massive, possibly amphibious monster

Frieze, who found the unidentified monstrosity sprawled out on the concrete at approximately 2:30 p.m., said he attempted to inspect the bizarre creature but was repelled by the sight of the putrid mass of flesh and hair.

"I've never seen anything like it before," said Frieze, adding that he first assumed it was just a pile of rotting sewage until he noticed its lower extremities were partially covered by what appeared to be a denim garment. "It looked like some kind of decomposing manatee with these horrible teeth and a face like…."

"Oh my God, I think I'm going to be sick," Frieze added.

Read the entire article here: http://www.theonion.com/content/news/hideous_man_beast_washes_up_on

Cancer Walk Goes Under 15-Straight Miles Of High Tensile Power Lines
7 Million People Direct Descendants Of Single Smooth-Talking Ancestor
[audio] Moment Of Silence Interrupted By New Tragedy
Girlfriend Loves Spending 'Alone Time' With You
Talking To Your Kids About Death: Five Easy Places To Leave This Magazine Lying Around
Mississippi The Fattest State
see more »

*****

Video: Dr. Joseph Murray explains results of Mayo Clinic celiac study

Video: Dr. Joseph Murray explains results of Mayo Clinic celiac study

Hat Tip: Sandra Robins is an Examiner from Washington DC. You can see Sandra's articles on Sandra's Home Page.

July 5, 2009

Celiac Disease Study Findings - Mayo Clinic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKwKQ7W9qlM



More About: celiac disease · gluten free · gluten free online resources · news · celiac awareness

Articles from other Examiners:

Fishing for omega-3s and better health

Prescription assistance programs offered by manufacturers

Legionnaires' Disease symptoms similar to flu, mostly appear in the summer

Poison ivy, oak, and sumac ID guide

Beyond Yogurt: What probiotics can do for you

Gluten Free Resources - DC/MD/NOVA
University Of MD Center For Celiac Research
Children’s National Medical Center’s Celiac Disease Program
National Foundation For Celiac Awareness
DC Celiac Support Group
DC Gluten Free Dinner Club
NOVA Celiac Sprue Support Group
Baltimore Celiac Support Group
Chesapeake Celiac Support Group - Annapolis
R.O.C.K. Maryland-Raising Our Celiac Kids
Harris Whole Health
Celiac Handbook Restaurant Finder
Gluten Free Restaurant List
Gluten Free Shopping
Baltimore Gluten Free Examiner

Gluten Free Blogs - Written By DC/MD/NOVA Residents
Gluten Free Optimist
Celiac Princess
Gluten Free Goodness
Gluten Free Katie
Gluten Free in DC
Gluten Free Homemaker
Gluten Free in Baltimore
Living Green, Gluten Free, & Life in General
I Hate Wheat
Gluten Freebird
Six Food Intolerance Living
The Whole Gang

20090711 sdosm results of Mayo Clinic celiac study
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Police spokesman suspended for sending nude photo to TV newsroom

WMAR

The Baltimore Sun reports the television station that received the email was WBAL.

20090711 sdosm Police spokesman susp 4 sending nude photo 2 TV
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Friday, July 10, 2009

Off Track Art – artist profile: Charlotte Laslo

Off Track Art – artist profile: Charlotte Laslo

Charlotte Laslo

Textile Jewelry

I live in Carroll County where my husband and I have three almost-grown children. With a decade of my childhood spent in Tokyo, a History degree from Swarthmore College, and five recent years lived in Germany, I've been a Japanese translator, fitness instructor, framer, Business English teacher, reading tutor, and now Student-Tutor Coordinator at the Literacy Council of Carroll County.

And now I am creating jewelry! Since my first cross-stitch tea towel at age seven, I've spent thousands of hours absorbed in crochet, sewing, knitting or needlepoint. I am fascinated by combinations of stones, textiles, metals, and glass and am brimming with ideas for projects that contrast and enhance the beauty of these ordinary life elements.



Share on Facebook
*****

Westminster was all abuzz for the great fly roundup of 1914

The trouble with flies
Westminster was all abuzz for the great fly roundup of 1914

The Carroll Eagle Archives column for Sunday, June 28, 2009 by Kevin Dayhoff

On Tuesday, June 16, President Barack Obama was interrupted by a pesky, deranged, and suicidal housefly during an interview with CNBC’s John Harwood.

The ensuing drama was captured on video in a life and death struggle befitting a History Channel segment pertaining to World War II. Moreover, it has since unfolded hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube.

One published account referred to the president as the “Obamazilla.” A Politico writer regaled that the “president has been getting lots of kudos for a lightning-fast, Mr. Miyagi-worthy swipe he employed to slay a pesky house fly that was buzzing him… ‘He stopped the interview to track and kill the fly,’ said talk show host Conan O’Brien.”

Politico wrote a play-by-play description of the president’s performance: “‘Get out of here,’ Obama said as the fly buzzed him during his interview. The pest persisted, and when it landed on his left forearm, Obama smacked it.

“‘Now, where were we?’ the president said without missing a beat. Pleased with himself, he added, ‘That was pretty impressive, wasn't it? I got the sucker.’

“Several observers in the room gave congratulatory shout-outs. Obama pointed to the floor and instructed an obliging cameraman to get a close-up of the corpse.”

“‘It’s like he’s got one of those fly Terminator targeting systems in his eyes,’ said an awed Jon Stewart.”

One published account reported: “He's a Harvard educated lawyer, leader of the free world and has the reflexes of a highly trained ninja. America's enemies, beware.”

Another noted: “Obama dispels claims that he is "soft," showing no mercy to a fly. World be warned!”

Many were impressed. That is, with the exception of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – PETA.

PETA was less than amused. Politico reports that PETA called it an “execution,” and wants the commander-in-chief to show a little more compassion to even “the least sympathetic animals.”

Well, if PETA was alarmed over the president killing one fly, one can only wonder what that august organization would have thought of the 1914 “Swat the Fly” campaign in Westminster.

According to “Carroll County Maryland, A History 1837-1976,” by Nancy Warner, it all began with Westminster’s “first Civic League, organized in January 1913 with Mrs. Charles E. Stewart, president; Mrs. Frank Z. Miller, secretary; and Mrs. George K. Mather, treasurer.

“Some of the concrete accomplishments of the league included the placement of ‘No Spitting’ signs and public garbage cans on the streets, landscaping of school grounds, planting of flowers and trees, and swatting the fly.

“The Swat the Fly campaign sought to improve sanitation. Children were given ten cents for every hundred flies killed.

“The report for 1914 contained the figures of $159 paid and 1,500 movie tickets distributed in return for thirty-five twenty-pound candy buckets of flies. Grocers and butchers were encouraged to provide screens for their doors and windows and protective display cases for their meats.”

It all reminds me that it was Groucho Marx, who once said, “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.”

When he is not swatting flies, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at kevindayhoff AT gmail.com or visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net.
20090628 sdosm KED SCE The trouble with flies

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For other recent columns in Explore Carroll by Kevin Dayhoff:

Bringing Corbit's Charge, and Douglass, back to Westminster
Published July 5, 2009 by Carroll Eagle http://tinyurl.com/mxbkjp
http://explorecarroll.com/community/3099/bringing-corbits-charge-douglass-back-westminster/

DAYHOFF: Margaret Mitchell wrote what she knew; the rest is gone with the wind
Published July 2, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
... And that is all I know for right now. Hope you and your family have a great Fourth of July weekend. Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. …visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net....

Westminster was all abuzz for the great fly roundup of 1914
Published June 28, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... reminds me that it was Groucho Marx who once said, "Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." When he is not swatting flies, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at … or visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net....

DAYHOFF: Hoffa Field and the Sheathing of the Sword
Published June 23, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle
... . Lightner and the June 1922 American Sentinel newspaper article have left us with an extensive and fascinating account of the “The Sheathing of the Sword.” … visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net....

'Year without summer' killed crops ... and created a monster
Published June 21, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle
... village folk that it's not a bad idea to keep a torch handy on these cool summer nights. When he is not playing with laboratory-harnessed lightning, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at … or visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net. ...

Historic Blue Ridge College bell dedicated In Union Bridge
Published June 20, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
UNION BRIDGE — Several hundred folks braved threatening weather June 20 to witness the unveiling and dedication of the historic 1900 Blue Ridge College bell in Lehigh Square, the original site of the college which had thrived in Union Bridge from 1898 to ... ...

When city got 'sole' in the 1920s, it was cause for a celebration
Published June 14, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... be the guest speaker. There will be a retirement ceremony for worn flags. Guests may bring old flags for retirement. When he is not waving the flag, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at… or visit him at www.westminstermarylandonline.net....

Remember when you could walk to work in Westminster?
Published June 7, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... . When he's not on a "walk-about" in Westminster, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached …

Company H: from the Frizellburg greenhouses to the sands of Omaha Beach
Published June 3, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
… (have) come a long way from the old parade field in Frizellburg.” Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster.

Dayhoff: New councilmember tackles alleged hit and run driver
Published June 1, 2009 by Westminster Eagle, Carroll Eagle
... Westminster city police arrived and took control of the situation The accident is under investigation. All in a day’s work. Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster.

20090705 sdosm Recent columns in Explore Carroll by Kevin Dayhoff
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Today in Tapscott's Copy Desk July 10 2009

From Tapscott's Copy Desk

Tapscott's Copy Desk

Fresh and insightful opinion from Tapscott's Copy Desk, by the Washington Examiner's Editorial Page Editor Mark Tapscott. Got a tip or an oped to place? Send an e-mail to mark.tapscott@gmail.com.

Examiner Editorial Section Friday

Political opposition is not a hate crime.

Examiner Editorial

Read the full story

Pelosi allies abuse Panetta to advance Left's agenda.

Newt Gingrich, Examiner columnist.

Read the full story.

White House advisors split on second stimulus.

Irwin M. Stelzer, Examiner Columnist

Read the full story.

Transparency needed to prevent tax dollars going to nowhere

Marta Mossburg, Examiner Columnist

Read the full story.

Congress gives your money to T. Boone Pickens.

Timothy P. Carney, Examiner Columnist

Read the full story.

Will Sen. Lindsey Graham give it back?

Dirty Money Watch by Kevin Mooney

Read the full story.

Why pay millions of dollars to a defense contractor to redesign Recovery.gov.

Examiner OpEd by Jerry Brito

Read the full story.

Iran's shot heard around the world.

Examiner OpEd by James Zumwalt

Read the full story.


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Thursday, July 09, 2009

Pickle Peril

Pickle Peril

Few people realize the peril of the deadly pickle. Consider:

99.9% of all folks who die of a heart attack have eaten pickles;
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99.7% of all those involved in air, auto, boat and bike accidents ate pickles in the preceding 21 days;
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nearly all sick people have eaten pickles;
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among all people born in 1870, who later ate pickles, there has been nearly 100% mortality.
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We simply must do something about this deadly scourge. Write your congress member today. Please tell him or her that enough is enough! Outlaw pickles today! Or at least place a seven-day waiting period on the purchase and possession of a pickle for domestic consumption. It is the least that we can do! Pickle peril must stop now! It must stop with us! It is our civic, human, ethical and moral responsibility.

20011123 Pickle Peril

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Police involved shooting in Carroll County

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

CHARGES PENDING AGAINST MAN WHO TRIED TO RUN DOWN POLICE OFFICER AND WOMAN

(Taneytown, MD) A Carroll County man is under police guard at a hospital where he is being treated for what is believed to be a non-life threatening gunshot wound he sustained when he attempted to run over a police officer and a woman the officer was trying to protect.

Due to the preliminary stage of the investigation, neither the officer nor the suspect is being identified at this time. The officer is an 11-year veteran of the Taneytown Police Department. Criminal charges are pending against the suspect, who is expected to be charged later today.

Shortly before 10:30 p.m. yesterday, an officer from the Taneytown Police Department was dispatched to the 400-block of Baltimore Street, Taneytown, for a report of a woman who needed assistance. When the police officer checked the area, he drove down Break Iron Road, an access road between a grocery store and a strip shopping center.

The officer saw a woman lying in the roadway. He exited his marked patrol car and asked the screaming woman if she needed help.

Within moments, the police officer saw a 1992 Acura Integra, driven by the suspect, accelerating toward him and the woman. The officer, who was in full uniform, ordered the driver to stop. The driver continued to accelerate toward the officer and the woman.

In fear for his life and the life of the woman, the officer fired his police department issued .40 caliber pistol at the driver. The car slowed and the woman and officer were able to avoid being struck.

The car came to rest a short distance away. The officer approached the driver and saw he had been wounded in the arm. EMS units responded and treated the suspect. He was flown by a Maryland State Police helicopter to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. He is expected to survive. Neither the police officer nor the woman was injured.
A motive for the incident is unknown. Apparently the suspect and the woman were acquaintances.

Upon being notified of the incident, Taneytown Police Chief William Tyler responded to the scene. Chief Tyler requested the incident be investigated by the Maryland State Police. State Police investigators from the Homicide Unit are conducting the investigation, with assistance from criminal investigators from the Westminster Barracks. Maryland State Police crime scene technicians responded to process the scene.

While conducting the investigation, Maryland State Police arrested a man who arrived at the scene and became disorderly. Police also did a check on the female victim in this case and found that she was wanted on warrants from Harford County. She was also taken into custody.


As per procedure, Chief Tyler placed the officer involved in the shooting on paid administrative leave while the investigation continues. The Taneytown Police Department has 12 sworn officers, including the chief.

Additional information will be released later including identities and charges against the suspect. The investigation is continuing.


###


CONTACT: Mr. Gregory Shipley
Office of Media Communications & Marketing
410-653-4236 (Office) 410-653-4200 (through Headquarters Duty Officer)

20090709 sdosm Police involved shooting in Carroll County
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Frederick Douglass and Westminster Mayor Michael Baughman


Frederick Douglass and Westminster Mayor Michael Baughman share a light moment as they strolled the streets of Westminster, June 27, 2009 (c) photo by Kevin Dayhoff

Frederick Douglass portrayed by Michael Crutcher, Sr., of Kentucky and Westminster Mayor Michael Baughman, portrayed by Ron Kuehne, outreach coordinator for the Pipe Creek Civil War Roundtable; share a light moment as they strolled the streets of Westminster moments before Mr. Douglas delivered a stirring oration at the 7th commemoration ceremonies of Corbit’s Charge in Westminster on June 27, 2009.

Mr. Douglass’ 45-minute presentation was one of the highlights of the weekend’s living history events which saw “the field across the street of the Carroll County office building was transformed back to the days of June 1863 during the American Civil War.

Douglass was introduced to the audience by Ron Kuehne, outreach coordinator for the Pipe Creek Civil War Roundtable, in his role as Westminster mayor Michael Baughman, 1861-1864.

Also present was Col. Tom LeGore, who has written extensively about Corbit’s Charge, Frederick Douglass and Westminster’s role in the Civil War. Many credit Col. LeGore for being the driving force for bringing the annual commemoration activities to life, after years of advocacy, in 2003.

Over a 100 folks gathered in the “big tent” at the campground to hear Douglass, born in 1818, in Talbot County, on Maryland’s eastern shore, speak of his struggles as a slave, his escape from servitude and his subsequent rise to become a distinguished statesman, editor, author and diplomat; who had the ear of presidents.

This was not Douglass’s first visit to Westminster. Last Saturday, he remarked prior to his oratory, “I’ve returned from my visit to Westminster in 1870.”

He had previously spoken at the Odd Fellow’s Hall – now known as Opera House Printing Company, at 140 East Main Street.

According to Nancy Warner’s history book, “Carroll County Maryland – A History 1837-1976,” an account of his visit was reported in the now defunct “American Sentinel” Westminster newspaper on October 13, 1870.

Read my entire column on the event here: Bringing Corbit's Charge, and Douglass, back to Westminster Published July 5, 2009 by Carroll Eagle

For more information:

Recent history columns in http://explorecarroll.com/ by Kevin Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/nzcv85

http://twitpic.com/9kk79 Frederick Douglass delivers stirring oration at the 7th commemoration ceremonies of Corbit’s Charge in Westminster http://tinyurl.com/nzcv85

Recent history columns in http://explorecarroll.com/ by Kevin Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/nzcv85

Pam Zappardino at Corbit’s Charge http://twitpic.com/9ko3u
http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/2009/07/pam-zappardino-at-corbits-charge.html http://tinyurl.com/mnkfwh

For more information on the 7th commemoration ceremonies of Corbit’s Charge in Westminster, please see: Annual Corbit's Chargehttp://tinyurl.com/nno2af
http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/search/label/Annual%20Corbit%27s%20Charge

20090627 CCChrgBaughDoug (22)

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Margaret Mitchell wrote what she knew; the rest is gone with the wind

Margaret Mitchell wrote what she knew; the rest is gone with the wind

DAYHOFF: Margaret Mitchell wrote what she knew; the rest is gone with the wind By Kevin Dayhoff, Posted on http://www.explorecarroll.com/ 7/02/09

Related: Some of my other favorite writer vignettes from the past.
DAYHOFF: Margaret Mitchell wrote what she knew; the rest is gone with the wind http://tinyurl.com/md3789

On June 30, 1936 the epic novel by Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell, “Gone with the Wind,” was first published. Most everyone is familiar with the story by either reading the book or watching the 1939 movie, which starred Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable.

Certainly Mitchell’s book is fascinating enough, but what has always been of particular interest to me is the life and times of Mitchell, and the story of how she wrote the famous novel.

So the other morning, when Garrison Keillor featured Mitchell in his “The Writer’s Almanac,” on WAMU, I found myself hanging on every word. (Of course, no one tells a story like Keillor.)

[…]

Read the entire column here: DAYHOFF: Margaret Mitchell wrote what she knew; the rest is gone with the wind

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at kevindayhoff AT gmail.com or visit him at http://www.westminstermarylandonline.net/
Margaret Mitchell photograph above:

Margaret Mitchell is all set to launch cruiser after long training as Red Cross launchee / World Telegram & Sun photo by Al Aumuller.

Photograph from 1941 - New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer: Aumuller, Al, photographer. My source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c11609

20090702 WE Margaret Mitchell wrote what she knew weked
20090709 sdosm2 Margaret Mitchell

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