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100 Years Ago This Month

April 1909

April 2

How To Make A Curfew Bell

Every family should have a curfew bell which should "ring tonight" and all other nights if needed. These bells are inexpensive and can be made at home. Take a piece of siding 2 feet long and whittle one end into a handle. Take the child that needs a curfew and bend it over a barrel. Now take the siding and use it as a clapper. Put it on hot, dividing the strokes evenly, and see that none misses. Good for a girl or boy up to 18, and three applications are warranted to cure the most pronounced case of street loafing that exists. The music is said to be more effective than singing: "Where is my wandering boy tonight!"

April 9

Horse Easily Clears Five Bars: Occupants Of Vehicle Not Disturbed

Very few horses can jump a five board gate with ease when under saddle. None, perhaps, but the one owned by Mr. Lawrence Mondorff of near Fairfield can do this--and with a buggy attached to it! That "Pet," a saucy little steed owned by this gentleman, can perform feats of this kind and demonstrated so on Saturday just as the 4:50 train was pulling out of Emmitsburg.

Mr. Mondorff and his friend Mr. J. C. Neck were returning to the baseball game at Mount St. Mary's when, just as they were opposite the locomotive drawing the fast express, "Pet" took exception to the smoke and steam and swerved from the pike, bounded over the ditch and the fence. In doing this, the horse dislodged the top two rails and the buggy followed into the field as nicely as you can please. All the time Mr. Mondorff and Mr. Neck sat in their seats as unconcerned as if they were jogging to a funeral on a hot day. When they struck the blue grass, "Pet" described a beautiful wide circle which ended at the starting point, the fence. Here someone removed the remaining bars and when last seen the team was on its way to Fairfield by the usual route, not a bolt or strap out of order.

Musical To Be Given Next Friday

The ladies of the Benevolent Society of the Reformed Church of this place will give a musical in the parlors of the Misses Motter on Friday, April 16 at 8 p.m. A program consisting of instrumental and vocal selections will be given. A silver collection will be received at the door. The proceeds of this entertainment will be used for the "Parsonage Fund."

Very Untimely Amusement

Last Sunday night a number of small boys found amusement in throwing stones at houses and fences in the western part of town and making themselves generally obnoxious to residents of that section. The identity of all the offenders is not known but it is intimated that close watch will be kept so that a reoccurrence of the disagreeable nuisance will not take place.

April 16

Old Home Week At Emmitsburg

That Emmitsburg will have an old home week is an assured fact. Monday night, a very enthusiastic meeting was held in the Fireman's Hall to further the project. An executive committee was then elected, and the date for the big affair was definitively settled. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, July 13, 14, 15 and 16 were the days chosen, as harvests will then be over and everyone from afar will be able to arrange his vacation to include the dates.

The committee elected at Monday's meeting forms but the nucleus of the much larger committees to be chosen hereafter. In fact, it comprised only the chairman of the other committees, each one of whom will invite other citizens to serve with him, making the whole town in the end one large organization to welcome all the old Emmitsburgians back home and provide for their comfort and amusement.

Old Home Week has been informally talked of for some time past, ever since the Chronicle suggested the idea--and many families have already received letters of inquiry about it from those living far away. Indeed, everybody is in sympathy with the proposition; all who live here are more than anxious to see their relatives and friends from whom they have been separated for years, and what now remains to be done is for each and every citizen of this town and locality to broadcast the formal invitations which will shortly be ready for distribution, and to exert every effort to make the occasion a perfect success.

It is to be a big family affair, so to speak. No one is to be overlooked in making preparations for the event, and members of every household are asked to offer suggestions, to make individual arrangements, and to lend every assistance possible.

Home Week, they be emphasized, is a town undertaking. It includes the whole town and surrounding community, and in that light is hopes everybody will consider it.

As for the programs of the numerous events of Home Week, no official information can be given at this time. So many entertainments have been planned, and so many will be added to the list that such a thing is practically impossible. But no one need feel anxiety on this score. There will be any amount of amusement. The town will be elaborately decorated; there will be certain days devoted to special features; there will be parades on each date, including the G. A. R. and visiting post, fraternal orders, firemen and other organizations. There will be a big carnival, a trades exhibit with floats, several ornaments and athletic events, including baseball games and a monster picnic and barbecue, bringing everybody together to talk over old times. Music will form an important feature and several bands will be in daily attendance

In a word, Home Week will be a great week for Emmitsburg--one long to be remembered.

April 23

Grandpa And Grandson Light Heels

Emmitsburg can lay claim to a certain distinction when it comes to dancing. Few places and few people have seen an exhibition like the one given the other evening to a select audience. Grandfather and grandson, one 66 years old, the other two years old, doing a hoe-down in the most approved manner. Michael Hoke and Master Hoke Rosensteel gave their friends a great treat a few days ago.

Call The Game

Local baseball enthusiasm is at a very high ebb just at this time, and it looks as though several Emmitsburg nines would surely be heard from before the season is well advanced. Indeed the interest is this, "The National Game," seems to be widespread. Other towns have already organized for the summer series and, if we are not mistaken, many of them look very favorably upon the Chronicle's idea of forming a regular inter-town baseball league composed of clubs from Emmitsburg, Taneytown, Thurmont, Fairfield, Rocky Ridge, Bruceville, Union Bridge and Gettysburg.

It would seem that an arrangement of this kind could very easily be perfected and that it would be particularly fitting that the Emmitsburg nine take the initiative, but there is no time to be lost. Emmitsburgians are always willing to support a good team and it goes without saying that at 'Old Home Week' baseball will be one of the leading features. If the matter is taken in hand at once by the local team and dates made with the nines suggested, then there is no reason why there could not be a splendid game each day of that week and a substantial sum added to the Home Week fund after all expenses in connection with these games are covered.

April 30

Horse Stolen Last Friday

On Friday night a horse belonging to Mr. John Matthews, hitched in front of Mr. Clutz's store, was taken by two men who drove it out the Waynesboro Road. Mr. Matthews was at the opera house at the time and when he came out for the team and found it gone, he immediately telephoned surrounding towns. On Saturday morning, the horses were found hitched to a fence about a mile and half above Zora on the Pike.

Deputy Sheriff Ashbaugh has been put on the case and as the evidence against two men is pretty well founded, they will very likely be arrested and prosecuted. These offenses are very serious and the conviction of a few disorderly people who sometimes drift into Emmitsburg would be very much appreciated.

Big Automobile Day May 15

Besides the automobiles from Washington which will go through town about two o'clock Saturday afternoon, May 15th, notice of which is given in another place, the Automobile Club of Maryland has selected the same day as the date on which it will hold a sealed bonnet endurance ride. The trip will be from Baltimore to Frederick, to Emmitsburg, on to Gettysburg and back to Baltimore.

The cars will be divided into four classes - touring cars 30 horsepower, touring cars above 30 horsepower, roadsters and turnabouts under 30 horsepower, and roadsters and turnabouts over 30 horsepower. The plans calls for the cars leaving rather early in the morning, and the running schedule will take up about seven or eight hours. The time allowed will be different from high and low powered cars.

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