Blast from the past

May 04, 2005

Week of May 1, 1955

Seven years ago, Dawn Keckler won two peeps at a Legion Easter party. One, a rooster, was dyed blue and was named, "Boy Blue." The other was dyed pink and was named, "Pinky." They became mates.

Mrs. Virgie Marteney of Funkstown, grandmother of Dawn, installed the two peeps in her backyard. "Pinky" was a well-behaved chicken, but "Boy Blue" was just plain mean, according to Mrs. Marteney. Each washday, every time her back was turned, the rooster seemed to take delight in pulling the washed garments and clothespins from the basket and strewing them across the yard.

Yesterday, "Boy Blue" died at the age of seven. "Only "Pinky" and myself attended the burial, Mrs. Marteney said. "In spite of his meanness, I'll miss him."

Dr. W. Ross Cameron, county health officer, today advised parents in the southern section of the county to examine their children closely for the presence of ticks after three suspected cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever were reported in the Sharpsburg section.

The new agriculture building at Williamsport High School was presented to the community at the annual banquet of the Williamsport Chapter, Future Farmers of America.

Paul Barnhart, administrative assistant for the county school system, made the presentation at the event in the elementary school cafeteria.

Week of May 1, 1980

It came as a shock to many when Bob Rankin, who worked as youth director of the YMCA, announced several months ago that he was leaving the Y career for something with a future.

He is becoming a mortician.

Rankin was interviewed this week at the Minnich Funeral Home on East Wilson Boulevard where he is learning the ropes of the funeral business. Soon, he will go back to school to get a degree in mortuary science at Catonsville Community College in Baltimore.

Union workers at Mack Trucks, upset over the Hagerstown City Council's decision to buy three fire trucks from another manufacturer, are planning to boycott city businesses, an official of UAW Local 171 said Wednesday.

The Hagerstown Park Arts Festival, which attracted thousands of people to its two-day crafts and performing art show for the last 11 years, is dead for this year and possibly for good.

Organizers of the ill-fated tradition say the festival's demise comes because it has become increasingly difficult to get the help needed throughout the year to plan the event.

- Compiled by Jean Baraclough

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