 On April 14, 2016 the Thurmont Historical Society, with Wes Hamrick leading the group and serving as Tour Guide, hosted a 5K VolksWalk for the York/White Rose Wanderers group on an educational tour of some of the historic sites of Thurmont, MD. Starting at the 7-11 parking lot on Frederick Road the group proceeded past the former Cozy Inn to Water Street. A quick trip up the hill brought them to the Town Square with Mr. Hamrick pointing out sites of interest and providing the history of each as they walked. From the Town Square the group headed west on Main Street, with stops at the Match House and a tour of the Weller House, before proceeding up Altamont Avenue. After an information stop at the Weller United Methodist Church they reached Church Street and, with stops at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church and the Creeger House, returned to the Town Square. The group then walked east along Main Street past the Memorial Park until they reached the Trolley Trail. Following the Trolley Trail took the group to Moser Road where a quick right led them past the Thurmont Regional Library. A short walk further found them again at Frederick Road. At this point the members of the group headed to the Mountain Gate Restaurant for lunch and then returned to their waiting bus thus concluding the trip which everyone enjoyed despite the cool weather encountered. (Photos © Russell C. Poole)    ...And the job is done!
With the help of numerous volunteers today the job of digging out the area for the Personalized /Memorial Bricks went quickly and smoothly. A special thank you to Mr. Thad Bittner for his generous donation of time, materials, and expertise in installing the completed bricks. Another special thank you goes to Mr. John Kinnaird and R.S. Kinnaird Memorials for engraving the bricks. Thad and John's combined craftsmanship has added a great new focal point for visitors to the historic Creeger House. For more photos please click on the "Photo Gallery" link at the top of this page. Notice : Unfortunately the sale of Memorial / personalized bricks is suspended at this time due to some production problems. The Thurmont Historical Society will be addressing this issue at their Board of Directors meeting later this month. Please check back at the end of April to determine whether THS is again able to offer these items. The memorial bricks are finished and are ready to be put down on either side of the front entry.
Thad Bittner has volunteered to lay the bricks in front of the Creeger House at no cost to the Society. He has also offered to cover the cost of the stone and sand that will be needed to do the job. However, the Historical Society needs to remove 6" of dirt from the current flower beds in order to make room for the bricks. If you can spare a small amount of your time on Sunday, April 3, at 1 p.m. The task will not take very long and should not be a burden on anyone. Please take a few minutes out of your day to come “dig it” with your friends at the Thurmont Historical Society on Sunday, April 3, at 1 p.m. When the job is done and the front of the house is beautiful, you’ll be able to say proudly, “I helped do that!” Please help out. Bring your favorite digging tools when you come. Thank you in advance for your help. Dear Members and Friends,
As most of you are aware we were involved in a dispute with a contractor regarding repairs to the Summer Kitchen. When he refused to acknowledge that we had problems and would not talk with us the contractor filed with District Court for the total amount he billed us. It was very evident that the concrete pad he installed was directing storm water into the Summer Kitchen and the new support pole was causing the overhang between the Creeger House and the Summer Kitchen to pull away from the Summer Kitchen.Since we were aware we would need to fix these problems, The Board of Directors decided to file “A Notice of Appeal”. Also this was Grant Funded “taxpayer’s money” so this seemed to be the ethical thing to do. Yes we did incur expenses but ultimately his bill was reduced. Total billed was $9,000 which the Judge reduced to $4,270 to be paid to the contractor. Back at square one now as we get estimates to fix the Summer Kitchen. The remaining funds will definitely not cover the repairs which need to be done. Asking for your help. Renew your membership and hopefully add something to help with our expenses and the repairs needed to save this historical structure. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding this matter. Sincerely, Donna Voellinger President, Board of Directors Thurmont Historical Society
 Recently the Cozy Inn donated a few more items to the Thurmont Historical Society's collection. We have received a lady's evening dress and matching hat along with and a man's suit jacket.
Other happenings around the Creeger House include some ongoing repairs and improvements to the Summer Kitchen located immediately behind the main house. Improvements included a new concrete pad in front of the Summer Kitchen along with replacing the support post. Inside the old, deteriorating wallboard was removed, existing wall studs were reinforced, and new water resistant wallboard was placed over them. The Summer Kitchen improvements are part of an effort to preserve and incorporate the area into the overall history of the house.
The new concrete pad and support post (above left) and on the right the repaired and refinished interior wall of the Summer Kitchen.
 Starting with a beautiful day on Thursday, May 28, 2015, a crew from W.F. Delauter and Son moved the Tourist Cabin carefully from the Cozy Village along Frederick Road, Water Street, across the town square, and finally to a new home on the Thurmont Historical Society property.   The Tourist Cabin was originally built by Wilbur Freeze, father of Cozy Inn owner Jerry Freeze, in 1929 as the then Camp Cozy transitioned to more permanent shelters. During the closing of the Cozy Inn this past spring Jerry Freeze offered the cabin to the Historical Society as a way of keeping some of Thurmont’s history alive and local to where it occurred. The Thurmont Historical Society enlisted the aid of volunteers to build a frame for a stone filled pad to set the building on near the back of the Society’s property.   Many thanks to the guys from W.F. Delauter and Son for a professional job well done!! Shown above from left to right are
Wayne Smith, Carol Newman - THS, Satch Smith - in doorway, Donna Voellinger - THS, Michael Lauder, Adam Merrbaugh, Bob Fogle, and Jack Merrbaugh.
Pictured above from left to right - Nancy (Hoke) Turner, Ronald Hoke, John Hoke, and Susan (Hoke) Hahn,
|
AuthorThis page is maintained by members of the Thurmont Historical Society and includes news of recent events, donations, and acquisitions to our collection Archives
April 2016
Categories |
RSS Feed