20-40-100 Years Ago -- Jan. 26

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

Jan. 26—100 Years Ago

Jan. 26, 1923

One of Frederick county's historic landmarks was endangered by fire Wednesday morning when a defective flue caused the upper story of the house of Mr. and Mrs. O.C. Gilbert, Lewistown, to catch fire. Both were confined to the bed with grip. Mrs. Gilbert was carried to the lower floor, while Mr. Gilbert got out of bed and helped to fight the fire. The family is now living on the lower floor. The building is two-story, was formerly the house of George E. Clem and was known as the Clem Hotel. It is over a century and a half old. Edgar Allen and John Poe, famous Indian fighters, were born there.

Madame Petrova, the famous movie star and opera singer, was in Frederick for a few hours Thursday. She stopped at the Francis Scott Key Hotel en route from Winchester, Va., to Hanover, Pa.,and remained at the hotel until the afternoon. She was accompanied by a troupe who are participating in a series of operas she is presenting in different parts of the country.

There is little change in the seasons year in and year out, according to Montrose W. Hayes, meteorologist of the St. Louis station of the Weather Bureau. Forecaster Hayes declared the frequent expression "It doesn't get as cold as it used to; we don't have heavy snows any more" possibly is due to the fact that experiences of childhood are more vivid.

40 Years Ago

Jan. 26, 1983

Frederick County Sheriff Robert C. Snyder will administer a new state law aimed at discouraging young people from drinking in public, the Frederick County Commissioners decided at Tuesday's public meeting. The law, passed last year in Annapolis, requires 18- to 20-year-olds caught drinking in public to pay civil fines, much like traffic tickets, rather than hitting them with criminal charges. It also could apply to persons 21 or over caught buying alcoholic beverages for those under 21, Snyder said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Tuesday reopened its Frederick office at Fort Detrick. The local FBI office was closed three years ago, after operating here for more than 20 years, according to Special Agent Dana E. Caro. After assessing the area's population growth, crime rate and recent narcotics investigations, the FBI recently decided to reopen the Frederick office, Caro said.

(Editor's Note: The News-Post does not have access to archives from 50 years ago for August 1972 through March 1973. The "50 Years Ago" summary will return April 1, 2023.)

20 Years Ago

Jan. 26, 2003

During his working years, Joe Davis hopscotched around the country. Now retired, he's catching up on all the family dinners he missed. Nearly every Saturday night, his home on Lee Place in Frederick is filled with family and extended family, all gathered in the kitchen over a meal that everyone helps prepare. The menu is always the same — spaghetti, salad and bread. Dessert is usually one of Mr. Davis' homemade pies.

The FBI has apparently taken a break for the weekend, but its search of a heavily wooded area in the Catoctin Mountains is likely to continue this week. On Friday, the county issued a request to its volunteer fire and rescue personnel to provide the FBI with stand-by assistance Monday through Friday of this coming week between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. The request said an ambulance and a truck to supply pressurized air and lighting were needed.

City officials asked organized residents Saturday to give them the inside scoop on neighborhood issues. Mayor Jennifer Dougherty told a half-dozen members of the recently created Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC) — dubbed the "voice of the neighborhood" — that they would help keep public servants in touch with the issues. "The vacuum in City Hall tends to distort your vision if you don't get out," the mayor said. "You are our way out."