Showing posts with label Westminster File Belle Grove Square. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Westminster File Belle Grove Square. Show all posts

Sunday, April 27, 2008

20080426 The Sunday Carroll Eagle


Sunday Carroll Eagle on "Soundtrack"

Saturday, April 26

Westminster came of age by following railroad tracks

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=978&NewsID=895826&CategoryID=19662&show=localnews&om=1

04/21/08 EAGLE ARCHIVE by Kevin Dayhoff

One of my fondest memories of growing up in Westminster is the railroad. More than 50 years later I still live within easy earshot of the train whistle as the train chugs its way through town.

The railroad is interwoven throughout much of the fabric of Westminster history.

Joseph... [Read full story]


Fire in Westminster and a hunk-a hunk-a burning love in Hampstead

04/13/2008 by Kevin Dayhoff


King’s sad anniversary reminds us of Carroll’s own history

04/06/2008 by Kevin Dayhoff


Parades, impact fees, mail service ... and Dwight Dingle in a bathtub?

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=978&NewsID=890542&CategoryID=19662&show=localnews&om=1

04/02/08 by Kevin Dayhoff

EAGLE ARCHIVE

Time for a little spring-cleaning, in which we'll catch up with answering some readers' questions.

Recently I was asked about Easter parades in Westminster. I have no recollection of any such parades, but local historian Joe Getty noted in an article he wrote a number of years ago for the Historical Society of Carroll County that, "Easter Monday parades were held in Westminster in 1884, 1885, and 1887. After a short lapse, a large parade was held in 1892"


Rolling out a few good eggs, and our Easter Sunday best

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=978&NewsID=888582&CategoryID=19662&show=localnews&om=1

03/26/08 by Kevin Dayhoff

EAGLE ARCHIVE

Happy Easter. Yes it's not quite warm outside, although warmer weather should be around the corner. And yes, it seems like Christmas was just yesterday.

We all have favorite Easter memories. For those of us who grew up in a church, Easter marked the opportunity to wear our "Easter Sunday best," i.e. new clothes.


Palm Sunday 1942 was a time of high snow and higher anxiety

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=978&NewsID=885695&CategoryID=19662&show=localnews&om=1

03/14/08 by Kevin Dayhoff

EAGLE ARCHIVE

Many people have been commenting about how early Easter is this year. In fact, the last time Easter was as early as March 23 was 1913.

But a later Easter doesn't ensure good weather for Holy Week. I wonder how many readers remember the Palm Sunday blizzard of 1942. It was the fifth worse snowstorm in Carroll County history, as folks were greeted by 22 inches of snow on March 29, 1942.

20080316 The Carroll Sunday Eagle: Palm Sunday 1942 was a time of high snow and higher anxiety by Kevin Dayhoff

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2008/03/20080316-carroll-sunday-eagle-palm.html


20080309 The Sunday Carroll Eagle: “History will know us by our trash”

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2008/03/20080309-sunday-carroll-eagle-history.html

Sunday Carroll Eagle: “History will know us by our trash”

Sunday Carroll Eagle March 9, 2008 by Kevin Dayhoff

I cannot find my March 9th, 2008 Sunday Carroll Eagle column on the Westminster Eagle web site.

Pasted below, please find the column as it was written. It is my understanding that the column was altered for publication…

Ever since the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, many of us has felt that the best management approach to solid waste was source reduction and recycling. It would take 18 long years to get the Maryland Recycling Act passed in 1988. That legislation required a recycling rate of 20 percent.

Twenty years later, getting the recycling rate increased is still illusive. In 1998, on the 10-year anniversary of the law, the Baltimore Sun ran a lengthy analysis in which the Maryland General Assembly member who spearheaded the recycling initiative, Montgomery County Sen. Brian Frosh, admitted “that recycling has been costlier than expected. His 1988 bill predicted significant cost savings…”

Later in the article, the $250 million cost of recycling 2.5 million tons was compared to the $83 million it would’ve cost to landfill it instead. The rest of the article went downhill from there.

Those of us who are opposed to landfilling were less than pleased. Four decades after the first Earth Day, the recycling rate in Carroll County is only around 30 percent.

20080309 The Sunday Carroll Eagle: “History will know us by our trash”

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2008/03/20080309-sunday-carroll-eagle-history.html


Traffic always made us see red

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=978&NewsID=881679&CategoryID=19662&show=localnews&om=1

Traffic always made us see red

02/29/08 By Kevin Dayhoff

EAGLE ARCHIVE

The concern over traffic congestion, safety and speeding tend to surface with every discussion of growth and quality of life in Carroll County. I was recently approached by folks and asked how I felt about red light and speeding cameras, and it got me thinking about Carroll County's past attempts to marry growth and speed control.

Perhaps the first mention of an effort to address the problem of speeding in our county came on or about June 20, 1839. According to a history of the Westminster Police Department, it was then that a speeding ordinance was passed stating:

"No person shall run or drive through the town of Westminster at an improper gait except in case of necessity."


The life, and the lasting local influence, of Robert Moton

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=978&NewsID=873699&CategoryID=19662&show=localnews&om=1

02/01/08 EAGLE ARCHIVE by Kevin Dayhoff

Construction continues these days at the site of the 28,000-square-foot former Robert Moton School on S. Center Street in Westminster -- it's across from the Carroll County Health Department.

After approximately $2.3 million in renovations, the Carroll County Board of Elections, Carroll Department of Recreation and Parks and Change Inc., a nonprofit that works with the developmentally disabled, are slated to move their offices there.

Questions about the old school building are posed to me from time to time, but the question I'm asked most frequently, especially from younger folks who are new to Carroll County, is "Who was Robert Moton, anyway?"


For 115 years, Westminster's band of brothers ... and sisters

January 13, 2008 EAGLE ARCHIVE by Kevin Dayhoff

20080113 Westminster Municipal Band: For 115 years, Westminster's band of brothers ... and sisters

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2008/01/20080113-westminster-municipal-band-for.html

For 115 years, Westminster's band of brothers ... and sisters

Sunday Carroll Eagle

01/11/08 by Kevin E. Dayhoff

EAGLE ARCHIVE

Below please find the long – unedited version of the column…

Just before the holidays got into full swing, I had the pleasure of attending the Westminster Municipal Band’s end of the year Christmas party and annual meeting.

It is certainly not a very well kept secret that this former Westminster Mayor and his family are madly in love with the Westminster Municipal Band. And it's not just because I'm a washed-up trumpet player.

Usually when one thinks of the Westminster Municipal Band, visions of “Mom, Country, and Apple Pie” come to mind.

The purpose of leadership today is to build community. Certainly one of the chief builders of our community has been the Westminster Municipal Band.

However, the rich history of the band includes being part of rapid deployment force to hotspots around the globe, a machine gun section, and a rumored reputation of being a heavy metal grudge-garage band. Who knew?

If a Greek mythologist were to write the history of the Westminster Municipal Band, they would write the Band's Mother is the history and tradition of the Westminster Community and the Father is the 29th Division National Guard Regimental Band. That Greek mythologist would also want to write that the band's ancestral home is Belle Grove Square and that it's midwife was Mayor Joseph L. Mathias.

The roots of the present Westminster Municipal Band are found in 1920, but “there are records of a Westminster Band dating back as far as 1860,” according to the band’s director, Sandy Miller, in a July 2004 interview.

However, to the best of our knowledge, it was 1893 when it was first incorporated as the Westminster City Band of Carroll County.

It was around this time that Company H First Infantry Maryland National Guard was organized in Frizzleburg in 1898. This unit later evolved into the famous 29th Division of the Maryland National Guard. Part of the Westminster Municipal Band's lineage can be traced back to the First Maryland Infantry Band consisting of the Westminster Units of the Maryland National Guard.

20080113 Westminster Municipal Band: For 115 years, Westminster's band of brothers ... and sisters

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2008/01/20080113-westminster-municipal-band-for.html


Shedding a little light on early Christmas tree decorations

December 23, 2007 EAGLE ARCHIVE by Kevin Dayhoff


Christmas reminds us of worry, and glory, of downtown business

December 16, 2007 EAGLE ARCHIVE by Kevin Dayhoff


20071104 The Sunday Carroll Eagle column of October 28 2007

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2007/11/20071104-sunday-carroll-eagle-column-of.html

Gist worried about being forgotten but not quite gone

The Sunday Carroll Eagle column of October 28 2007

Below please find my October 28th, 2007 column and it was submitted.

Sunday Eagle

Ghost Stories in Carroll County

October 28th, 2007 by Kevin Dayhoff

Of the horror stories of Carroll’s yesteryear, none was greater than the very real fear of being buried alive. In today’s world, society’s collective faith in the modern advances of the medical arts has gone a long way in alleviating the fear of being buried alive; a fear which was rampant in the 1800s.

A few years ago, local historian Jay Graybeal retold an account by Ruth Gist Pickens about the fear of being buried alive held by one of Carroll County’s most prominent citizens in the 1700s, Colonel Joshua Gist.

It seems that Colonel Gist maintained a coffin in a portion of his bedroom for the last years of his life; “into which he would have his personal servant lay him out and then call the family to comment on his appearance. Each time he would ask them to promise not to bury him until the third day after his death.”

20071104 The Sunday Carroll Eagle column of October 28 2007

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2007/11/20071104-sunday-carroll-eagle-column-of.html



When it comes to beets, timing is everything

IN THE GARDEN WITH MR. BEE

I haven't grown beets for a while. So when I mentioned to Judy, my wife, that I'd learned of a variety -- "Lutz Green Leaf" -- that remains tender as it grows larger, she suggested that I sow some seeds right away.

Timing is important, you see, especially when it comes... [Read full story]


Two for the Show

They come from opposite ends of the county and their sports are as different as night and day, but Tyler Mullen of South Carroll High School and Cammeron Woodyard of Winters Mill have one thing in common -- they each ended their high school careers as state champs.

And without their leadership and... [Read full story]


Stream is proving ground for healthy water

On a chilly late March morning, Ted Hogan, an environmental scientist with Hunt Valley-based URS Corp., threads his way through briar patches, bogs, locust groves and back yards as he follows a meandering stream that runs through several Eldersburg subdivisions.

Now and then, Hogan, a cont... [Read full story]


Spring is a great time to get kids reacquainted with outdoor Carroll
MOM ON A MISSION

It's taken some time, but spring appears to finally be arriving. The days are getting warmer, my weeping cherry is turning into a beautiful fountain of pink and the birds are flocking to our feeders.

Hearing the kids' faint voices outside on the swing set while I'm making dinner...
[Read full story]


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Rolling out a few good eggs, and our Easter Sunday best

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Oh deer, spring is here

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Fighting the urge for an Easter bonnet and all the thrills upon it

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Captain Dan rides on the seafood wave

'Sitting' pretty means having faith in who's watching the kids

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Palm Sunday 1942 was a time of high snow and higher anxiety

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Birthday gifts? Tread lightly ... in high heels and boxing gloves

A turtle's pace, but a day of reckoning for Solomon

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Maggie's continues to grow on Westminster

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The life, and the lasting local influence, of Robert Moton

Sportsman's Hall ... and airplane hangar

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Friday, January 18, 2008

20080113 Westminster Municipal Band: For 115 years, Westminster's band of brothers ... and sisters

Sunday Carroll Eagle

01/11/08 by Kevin E. Dayhoff

EAGLE ARCHIVE

Below please find the long – unedited version of the column…

Just before the holidays got into full swing, I had the pleasure of attending the Westminster Municipal Band’s end of the year Christmas party and annual meeting.

It is certainly not a very well kept secret that this former Westminster Mayor and his family are madly in love with the Westminster Municipal Band. And it's not just because I'm a washed-up trumpet player.

Usually when one thinks of the Westminster Municipal Band, visions of “Mom, Country, and Apple Pie” come to mind.

The purpose of leadership today is to build community. Certainly one of the chief builders of our community has been the Westminster Municipal Band.

However, the rich history of the band includes being part of rapid deployment force to hotspots around the globe, a machine gun section, and a rumored reputation of being a heavy metal grudge-garage band. Who knew?

If a Greek mythologist were to write the history of the Westminster Municipal Band, they would write the Band's Mother is the history and tradition of the Westminster Community and the Father is the 29th Division National Guard Regimental Band. That Greek mythologist would also want to write that the band's ancestral home is Belle Grove Square and that it's midwife was Mayor Joseph L. Mathias.

The roots of the present Westminster Municipal Band are found in 1920, but “there are records of a Westminster Band dating back as far as 1860,” according to the band’s director, Sandy Miller, in a July 2004 interview.

However, to the best of our knowledge, it was 1893 when it was first incorporated as the Westminster City Band of Carroll County.

It was around this time that Company H First Infantry Maryland National Guard was organized in Frizzleburg in 1898. This unit later evolved into the famous 29th Division of the Maryland National Guard. Part of the Westminster Municipal Band's lineage can be traced back to the First Maryland Infantry Band consisting of the Westminster Units of the Maryland National Guard.

Around 1900, there were a number of bands in the Carroll County community that played a prominent role in the development and maintenance of the community's character and depth.

Between 1857 and 1952 there were 40 bands incorporated in Carroll County. Names such as the “Carroll County Concert Band”, the “Warfieldsburg Brass Band” and the “Double Creek Cornet Band” to name just a few. Of all those community bands, The Westminster Municipal Band is the one band that marches on.

Ms. Miller explained that in 1916, “many members of the band went into the Maryland National Guard under the heading ‘First Regimental Band of Maryland National Guard,” and shortly after that they were deployed to the Mexican border to participate in an undeclared war between the United States and Mexico.

United States Army Center of Military History officially refers to the conflict as the “Mexican Expedition,” with the “official” beginning and ending dates of March 14, 1916 to February 7, 1917.

In 1918, the band was deployed to France for World War I. After the members of the band returned home from France, the returning veteran band members, those who had remained stateside and folks from a “Boy Scouts band” formed “The Westminster Band, Inc.” in 1920. In 1950, the name was changed to “The Westminster Municipal Band” when Westminster Mayor Joseph L. Mathias took a particular interest in the band and the band re-organized.

At the event last December, there was no mention as to whether or not the Westminster Band still maintains a “rapid deployment” force. If anyone has that information, please be in touch.

According to a November 18, 1921 newspaper article, the Westminster Band led the community in a parade and subsequent daylong celebration of “Armistice Day.” The festivities included Western Maryland College Military students and Westminster Fire Department and machine gun demonstration on Liberty Street. Yes, you read that correctly. I’m not making this up.

The article says, “A demonstration was given with machine guns on Liberty street extended which was interesting to the crowd that watched the machines in action. A target was placed on the hill below Dr. Fitzhugh's which was riddled by bullets from the guns, showing the good marksmanship of the men.”

To the best of my knowledge, the current band does not have a “machine gun” section. Or do they?

At last December’s event, Westminster Band president Greg Wantz gave an extensive year in review in which he noted that several members of the Westminster Common Council were in attendance and Mayor Ferguson shared a few words of appreciation.

President Wantz said the band participated in 32 engagements in 2007 with an average of 38 members participating in each event. Years of Service awards were handed out to several band members, including Karen Wantz for 5 years, Rob Rollins for 20, Charlie Simpson for 25, Ron Charnigo and Jim Mora for 30, and Ray Shipley and Delbert Myerly for 45.

The President’s top ten awards were given to the members that attended the most jobs and they were as follows, making 42 total appearances – Dan Carl. Dan received a gift certificate from Harry’s Main Street Grill. Also making 42 – Sue Mora, who received a certificate from Frisco Pub.

Making 44 – Eric Utermahlen, who received a certificate from Applebee’s.

Coming in at #8, with 44, it was Bette Shepherd, who received a certificate from Frisco Pub.

#7 with 45 appearances, it was Mike Buffington, who received a certificate from Stu’s Music.

# 6 was Chris Crofoot with 45 appearances. He received a certificate from Rafael’s.

# 5 was Mike McQuay with 50 appearances. Mike received a certificate from Applebee’s.

#4 was Brandy Simpson with 51 appearances. She received a certificate from House of Liquors. #3 was Tony LaRose making 52 appearances. Tony received a certificate from Time Out sports grille.

#2 was Larry Myers with 53 appearances. Larry received a certificate from Bullock’s Beef house.

#1 was Dave Miller making 56 appearances. Dave received a certificate from Baugher’s restaurant. The #1 Color Guard attendee was Raymond Bankert, who received a certificate from Davids Jewelers.

The officers for the 2008-09 were introduced and they are as follows, President - Greg Wantz, Vice President – Scott Flohr, Secretary – Chris Crofoot, Asst. Secretary – Mike Buffington, Treasurer – Delbert Myerly, Asst. Treasurer – Larry Myers, Director – Sandy Miller, Asst. Directors – Ellen Martin and Paul Ricci, Drum Major – Steve Wantz, Asst. Drum Majors – Dave Miller, Scott Flohr.

The band serves as an ambassador of the citizens of Westminster in concerts and parades all over the mid-Atlantic region. And once again, the band represented Westminster at the annual Maryland State Firemen's Convention in Ocean City last summer.

A lengthy July 17, 1931 newspaper article describes the band and the Westminster Fire Department arriving home from participating in the convention earlier that July; “in a jubilant mood, as the band brought home the bacon, $100, for the best band in line of parade.”

The parade extended over 2 miles long that year. The band also gave concerts on the boardwalk and at the Del-Mar-Va Hotel and Hastings Hotel. The article also mentions “a pajama parade by the Westminster Band at 11 o'clock at night which was followed by several hundred people cheering as they passed down the board walk.”

A February 15, 1946 newspaper article gives us a great deal of insight into the names of many of the community leaders who participated in the band in the mid-1900s with its detailed description of the band holding its “first ladies' night since the war.”

At the time, John Schweigart was the director of the band. Other names mentioned are James Earp, John W. Peltz, J. Daniel Smith, Orville Earhart, Samuel P. Calrider, Walter Bell, Raymond H. Bennighof, Glenn A. Miller and Edgar Weigle, Francis Keefer, and J. Pearre Wantz, Jr.

For over 100 years the Westminster Municipal Band has truly been a part of the fabric of our close-knit village we call Westminster. The band was important 100 years ago, and it is even more valuable today as they serve as our city's ambassadors, and cheerleader as they share their music not only here in our community but throughout Maryland and our neighboring states.

Indeed, Westminster is not the only community to experience that thrill as the Band marches down their streets.

In order for a community an individual or an organization to remain meaningful, relevant and vibrant it must constantly re-invent itself and adapt to the context in which it serves. Hardly any organization in our community epitomizes this more than the Westminster Band. They are certainly the pride of our community. We are very proud of the Westminster Municipal Band.

The Westminster Municipal Band is always looking for new members to join during its Monday night rehearsals at 40 John Street. You can check the band out at its website, www.westminsterband.com.

_____

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

Monday, August 27, 2007

20070826 Westminster Municipal Band plays Marine Hymn





Westminster Municipal Band plays Marine Hymn

August 27th, 2007

This video clip portrays the Westminster Municipal Band playing a portion of the Marine Hymn, “From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli” at this year’s annual Belle Grove Square summer concert on August 26th, 2007 – in Westminster, Carroll County, Maryland USA.

For more information on the history of Belle Grove Square go to: “20040825 WA History of Belle Grove Square in Westminster” or find it here: 20040825 WA History of Belle Grove Square in Westminster

According to an article, “The Marines' Hymn,” on the U.S.M.C. Band website, http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/: “The author of the words to the hymn is unknown.”

“The music to the hymn is believed to have originated in the comic opera Geneviéve de Brabant composed by the French composer Jacques Offenbach. Originally written as a two-act opera in 1859, Offenbach revised the work, expanding it to three acts in 1867. This revised version included the song “Couplets des Deux Hommes d’Armes” and is the musical source of The Marines’ Hymn.”

“From the Halls of Montezuma” refers to the Battle of Chapultepec during the Mexican-American War.

“The Shores of Tripoli” refers to actions during the First Barbary War and the Battle of Derne.

More information can be found under the “Westminster Municipal Band” label at www.kevindayhoff.net. Kevin Dayhoff August 26, 2007

Labels: Westminster Municipal Band, YouTube KED

For Corps and Country

Semper Fi, and as always… check six

Lyrics:

From the halls of Montezuma

To the shores of Tripoli,

We fight our country's battles

In the air, on land, and sea.

First to fight for right and freedom,

And to keep our honor clean,

We are proud to claim the title

Of United States Marines.

Our flag's unfurl'd to every breeze

From dawn to setting sun;

We have fought in every clime and place

Where we could take a gun.

In the snow of far-off northern lands

And in sunny tropic scenes,

You will find us always on the job

The United States Marines.

Here's health to you and to our Corps

Which we are proud to serve;

In many a strife we've fought for life

And never lost our nerve.

If the Army and the Navy

Ever look on Heaven's scenes,

They will find the streets are guarded

By United States Marines.

####