20-40-100 Years Ago -- Nov. 15

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

Nov. 15—100 Years Ago

Nov. 15, 1922

The decomposed body of a man was found in Wildwood Park, Mount Airy, Tuesday afternoon. It was identified as Frank Phebus, near New Market, who had been employed at Montevue Hospital. A Mr. Bare, near Mount Airy, while hunting found the body and reported to Justice F.M. Lewis of Mount Airy. The man had been dead for about three weeks. Some years ago, portion of Phebus' feet were amputated. This made identification possible. Examination of the body by Dr. Carl Van Poole, Mount Airy, failed to show any evidence of foul play.

While it is a little early, according to one of the largest dealers in the city, to figure the price of Thanksgiving turkeys, the same persons stated that he thought the price, alive and dressed, would be about the same as last year. If this holds good, Mr. Gobbler will bring anywhere from 45 to 50 cents per pound alive and from 55 to 60 cents per pound dressed.

40 Years Ago

Nov. 15, 1982

Surgery at Frederick Memorial Hospital is a team effort. Each team member contributes his share of the work to ensure proper health care for patients. That was the theme of the operating room open house at the Frederick hospital Sunday afternoon. It was Operating Room Nurse Day, sponsored by the Association of Operating Room Nurses.

Fires destroyed a New Market house and a Woodsboro barn over the weekend, officials said. The New Market house, a vacant two-story wood structure just west of the town's middle school on Md. 144, was engulfed in flames before firefighters arrived on the scene at 1 a.m. Saturday, said Jerry Chipley of the State Fire Marshal's Office. At about 8:30 p.m. Friday, a fire at 1108 Dublin Road, Woodsboro, destroyed a two-story barn containing about 2,000 bales of hay, Chipley 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

Nov. 15, 2002

Because Frederick city's reservoirs are back up to capacity, officials have downgraded restrictions, bringing them in line with the state's. "We got a tremendous amount of rain in the past couple of months that we just didn't expect," said Nancy Poss, the city's public information officer. City water supples are back to normal, she said. However, officials could not lift restrictions entirely because the governor has not yet lifted Level 2 restrictions blanketing the central regions of the state.

Maryland Forest Ranger Kevin Moore heard a challenge in the recent measurement of what Virginia foresters think is the largest honey locust tree in the country. But Mr. Moore knew the largest was actually growing right here in Frederick County. And though he hadn't measured the tree on Fingerboard Road near Urbana since 1999, he thought he should try again just to make sure. The result? Maryland's tree, which has stood by Mr. Moore's best estimate "at least 200 years," is still the nation's biggest. On Thursday the tree had a 19-foot, 8-inch circumference, stood 114 feet high and held a crown spread of 98 feet.

Faced with a court test over the legality of a building moratorium, Frederick city cut a sweetheart deal with Riverside Technology Park and then didn't tell anyone. This development gets first dibs on recently increased water allocation — an estimated 25,000 gallons per day exclusively for them, according to a settlement agreement between the city, Riverside Corporate Park and MTE Properties located at 8424 Progress Drive near Monocacy Boulevard. The Frederick News-Post used a Freedom of Information (FOI) request Thursday to obtain copies of the City/Riverside agreement and the June 28 order signed by the Maryland Department of the Environment boosting the city's water take from the Monocacy River. Frederick Mayor Jennifer Dougherty on Thursday denied any other secret or nonpublic deals had been cut concerning the city's water.