20-40-100 Years Ago -- August 12

Susan Guynn, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
·3 min read

Aug. 12—100 Years Ago

Aug. 12, 1922

Unusual conditions were disclosed in the case of Mrs. Ella M. Davis, recently granted an absolute divorce from her husband, Charles W. Davis. Their marriage was brought about through an advertisement in a matrimonial newspaper, following some correspondence on the part of Dr. Davis, which was filed in the proceedings. The wedding took place in Thurmont about 11 months ago, and three days later, the husband left "ostensibly" for Hagerstown but did not return. Search was instituted, but he was not located. It was subsequently learned he married a Mrs. Rockey, York, Pa., whom he also deserted. After deserting his second wife, it is understood that he went to New Jersey and married again. While no evidence was adduced in court to establish his present whereabouts or status, so far as matrimony is concerned, it is said that altogether he has been married 16 times.

Col. D. John Markey, chairman of the military affairs committee of the American Legion, left Frederick Thursday evening for Port Newark, N.J., where in company with an officer detailed by the Secretary of War and the commanders of the Legion for the states of New York and New Jersey, he will inspect about 500,000 captured war trophies of the World War. The military affairs committee of the Legion has been engaged in taking up the matter of having the war trophies stored there, distributed pro rata among the respective states for use as ornaments for the public buildings and parks. The trophies allotted to Maryland will be distributed under the direction of Governor Ritchie by a statewide committee. The trophies include guns, howitzers, trench mortars, rifles, helmets and a miscellaneous lot of military paraphernalia of almost every description.

40 Years Ago

Aug. 12, 1982

Feelings were mixed at a public hearing Wednesday night in City Hall concerning proposed expansion of the Frederick Municipal Airport. According to Ed Seale of Delta Association, consultants in the proposed project, the Frederick setup is the third largest in the state, and the "existing facilities can't meet the demands" of the future as laid out in the airport master plan. On the other hand, argued one of the proposal's opponents, Frederick attorney Richard Burgee, who represents four generations of the Renn family, the proposed expansion could have an adverse effect on the Renn's dairy operation. The farm is west of the airport.

Dorothy Ruth Pirone, 62, Babe Ruth's daughter, is the perfect spokesperson for Babe Ruth Baseball and the Babe Ruth 13-year-old World Series that begins in Frederick this Saturday. She is gregarious, easily joking with reporters she's never met. She enjoys herself. She and her father are very much in the same mold.

(Editor's note: The archives for this date in 1972 are not available.)

20 Years Ago

Aug. 12, 2002

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A bioweapons expert under scrutiny for the anthrax attacks fiercely denied any involvement with the tainted letters and said Sunday he had cooperated with the investigation only to see his life and work destroyed through speculation and innuendo. Dr. Steven J. Hatfill said he understood that his expertise in germ warfare would force him to answer questions about last fall's attacks, but he said he had never worked with anthrax and there was not "a shred of evidence" he was involved. Dr. Hatfill worked at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute at Fort Detrick.

The 309 Confederate soldiers buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery are being honored with a Memorial Flag Garden by Kevin Spillane, 17, a Boy Scout with Troop 476. The Middletown teen developed the project to fulfill a requirement to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. A total of 17 flags will be installed for the soldiers who died in various hospitals in and around Frederick, including the Hessian Barracks, now the Maryland School for the Deaf.