Celebrant

The choral performance of “This Could be the Start of Something Big” on Friday night by Barbara Ingram School for the Arts students kicked off “A Celebration of Firsts” presented by the school's foundation at Hager Hall in Hagerstown. The fundraising event featured performances by the school's seniors and recognized the work of retiring principal Michael T. Thorsen. Through ticket sales and sponsors, the performance-packed event raised about $30,000 for the school and the artist-in-residence program, said foundation executive director Mimi Dickinson.

Mr. and Mrs. James A. Longmore celebrated their 60th anniversary on May 5. The couple, who wed at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Old Town Alexandria, Va., on May 2, 1953, marked the day with family and friends at Dutch's Daughter Restaurant in Frederick, Md. Mr. Longmore was born Feb. 10, 1928, in Elmer, N.J., the son of James Albert Longmore and Lilliam M Fox. He grew up in New Jersey and enlisted in the U.S. Army during the final months of World War...

Student achievement was recognized at the annual Washington County Public Schools Celebration of Excellence on May 15 at North Hagerstown High School. The highest achieving students in the Class of 2013 were recognized. Students honored have achieved a 3.7 or higher grade-point average through the halfway mark of their senior year, with 146 students having achieved a GPA of 4.0 or higher. A total of 298 students were recognized and are listed below: Brianna Adams - South Hagerstown High School Victoria Albert - Clear Spring High School Serge Aleshin-Guendel - Boonsboro High School Zeyzhan Aliyeva - Washington County Technical High Ethan Allnutt - Boonsboro High School Dylan Appel - Clear Spring High School Sydne Arnold - South Hagerstown High School Lisa Artz - Williamsport High School Morgan Bain - Washington County Technical High Khalib Baker - South Hagerstown High School Khyri Baker - South Hagerstown High School Alexandrine Bakuaya - South Hagerstown High School Jared Banzhoff - Smithsburg High School Daniel Barr - Smithsburg High School Hudson Barrett - Hancock Middle-Senior High School Ashleigh Baxter - Smithsburg High School Halima Bayoh - North Hagerstown High School Scott Bennett - Boonsboro High School Nicholas Berchock - Williamsport High School Shayna Bickford - South Hagerstown High School Shannon Bishop - Clear Spring High School Meghan Blair - Washington County...

In 1949, Anna Brugh Singer traveled to Hagerstown to dedicate the addition of two wings to the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, including the Singer Memorial Gallery. She and her husband, William, had originally given the museum to Hagerstown and Washington County in 1930. To establish the museum's collection, the Singers gave generously of their own art collections and encouraged gifts from friends and associates who helped to foster the museum's growth over its first 25 years.

On Sunday at 2 p.m., the community is invited to an outdoor Sunday afternoon worship service, Blessing of the Seeds, to celebrate and bless the 2013 Growing Project at the farm near Wolfsville, Md.  In its eighth year, the project is supported by nine churches: Grossnickle, Hagerstown, Welty, Harmony, Beaver Creek, Myersville and Manor Churches of the Brethren, Holy Family Catholic Church and Christ Reformed United Church of Christ, Middletown, Md. ...

Mildred Hays never set out to make it to 100 years old. But then, as a mother of 10 children and widowed in her mid-30s, she didn't have much time to think about it. “I was just doing everyday living,” she said. “But I'm thankful to be 100.” Hays hit that milestone April 28, and on Saturday, about 160 family members gathered at Virginia Avenue Church of God to celebrate with her. Many were locals, while others traveled from Montana, Massachusetts, Michigan and Florida.

The six-year wait for a conference title is over for Waynesboro's baseball team. For six years, the Indians have been nesting in the depths of the Mid-Penn Colonial - always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Now, the Indians stand taller than anyone else in the Colonial as they clinched their first division title since 2007 with an 8-1 victory at James Buchanan on Friday afternoon. “It feels good,” Waynesboro coach Greg Chandler said. “It's a great win for our whole school, not just our baseball team.

The band played, many of the students wore Boonsboro Warrior blue and white, and dignitaries, including the state superintendent of schools, praised the young people for their academic, athletic, and extracurricular accomplishments. Maryland State Schools Superintendent Lillian M. Lowery visited Boonsboro High School on Thursday morning to applaud its students and staff for the school being recognized as a Maryland Blue Ribbon School. Boonsboro High was one of six Maryland schools, and one of two high schools, to receive the 2013 designation in December.

It was a day of education and fun Saturday at Renfrew Institute's Earth Celebration Day and Festival of Art. Now in its 23rd year, about 40 exhibitors and environmental artists set up on the lawn at Renfrew Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. About 500 people attended Saturday's event. Renfrew Park is the most beautiful park in Waynesboro, said Melodie Anderson-Smith, executive director of Renfrew Institute, and she said it's the perfect place to bring people outdoors to celebrate the Earth.

"Rediscover America 1976 Bicentennial Celebration, United States of America-Washington County, Maryland, 1776-1976" was the full name of an event that would involve most of the members of the Washington County Historical Society and the community, as a whole, for most of 1976. An executive committee and large sub-committees were established to manage the events and coordinate with the state and other area venues. On the executive committee were Robert and Marianne Zeigler and Paul and Ruth Horst, as general co-chairmen; Edward O'Brien, treasurer; Robert Statton, secretary; Robert Hill, assistant secretary; Franklin Miller, headquarters chair; Robert M. Hedges, Rediscover America Shoppe manager; John and Betty Seburn, student activities coordinators; Jim Wilson, decorations; Howard Kaylor, operating capital; Al Twiss, insurance; and Ted and Janice Reeder, revenue division.