Clothes

Getting dressed is different for my kids as they grow up than it was for me. Sure, they pull their shirts over their heads just like I did. But I'm talking about the kinds of clothes and the quantities of them. I went to a private school and wore a uniform five days a week. My mom's approach to clothing the rest of the time was sensible - a couple dressy outfits for church and special occasions, a casual outfit or two, and a few sets of play clothes. I didn't get a lot, so acquisitions generated a lot of excitement.

By RICHARD F. BELISLE / Staff Writer, Waynesboro photo: JOE CROCETTA / staff photographer WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The wide hall in front of the principal's office in Waynesboro Area Senior High School was made narrow Monday with great piles of clothes stuffed into plastic bags, the result of efforts by nearly all of the school's 1,350 students to help the people of hurricane-ravaged Honduras. The clothes, enough to fill a tractor-trailer, were collected by the students, most of whom cleaned out their family's closets in search of T-shirts, blouses, sweaters, light jackets, jeans, skirts, dresses and shoes.

By CLYDE FORD Staff Writer, Charles Town CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia flood victims as well as those at homeless and domestic violence shelters will receive donated clothing from a national mail order company with a distribution center in Jefferson County. Norm Thompson, the national mail-order business with a corporate distribution center in Kearneysville, W.Va., is giving $800,000 worth of new clothes and shoes to the West Virginia Commission for National and Community Service, company officials said.

photo: RICHARD T. MEAGHER / staff photographer Deafnet delivered several truckloads of used and new clothing to the Adventist Community Service Center and to the Salvation Army on Monday. Unloading the truck at the Adventist Community Service Center are, from left, Dorothy and Glen Anderson, Adventist Community Service Center Director Sandra Martin and Cindy Spielman. Men's, women's and children's clothing were donated by friends of Deafnet. Deafnet Association Inc. is a nonprofit agency that was established in 1987 to promote the concerns of the deaf and hearing impaired.

Clothes stuck at cleaners may be claimed By DAN KULIN / Staff Writer Anderson Cleaners in downtown Hagerstown, which closed last month with some customers' clothes inside the store, will reopen for several hours Saturday so customers can pick up their clothes, a spokesman for the Maryland Attorney Generals' Office said Monday. The cleaners at 104 E. Washington St. will be open Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., under an arrangement the Attorney General's Office worked out between the landlord, store owner and the business' court appointed trustee.

You know your children are growing up when they'd rather have gift cards to clothing stores than clothes that you pick out for them. It seems to happen overnight. Season after season you go shopping and bring home some clothes, and your children wear them. Then one day you bring home clothes that seem to be worn more by the hanger than the child. "Why don't you wear this?" you innocently ask. The preteen gazes at the garment, the floor, the ceiling and, eventually, you. "Well, Mom, it's just not me. " Oh. Since when did that "me" that you've known since birth develop such a unique style?

The 165 Jefferson High School students enlisted in the Air Force Junior ROTC program marked the season of giving in a big way Wednesday, as they donated nearly $8,000 to buy new shoes and warm clothes for about 150 disadvantaged children in Jefferson County. It was the most money collected in any year since the cadets took up supporting the Jefferson County Shoe and Coat Fund in 2004. Over the seven years they have raised nearly $30,000, school Principal Howard Guth said. "Their commitment to this is incredible," Guth said.

Cleaners closes; plan in works to return clothes By DAN KULIN / Staff Writer Anderson Cleaners in downtown Hagerstown closed recently, and some customers have been unable to retrieve clothes they left to be cleaned. Representatives of the owners, the landlord and the Attorney General's Office say they will work to return the clothes to their owners. Larry Munson, with the Attorney General's Office, Consumer Protection Division, in Hagerstown, said "there's lots of clothes" in the cleaners at 104 E. Washington St. "We don't have a solution yet," Munson said.

Boonsboro PTA, students collect clothes for needy Editor's note : This is the third in a series of stories running on the 12 days before Christmas to recognize individuals and groups who make the holidays better for others. By TARA REILLY / Staff Writer photo: RIC DUGAN / staff photographer The mounds of clothes piled on the stage at Boonsboro Elementary School is a common site at Christmas time. continued Students and community members, with the help of the school's PTA, bring in clothing for those who need it, according to LaRhonda Eslick, the school's PTA president.

Name of business: Alter Ego Owners: Aaron Mace and Katie Trent Address: 4 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown Opening date: October 2007 Products and services: Denim, designer dresses, outerwear, handbags, jewelry, accessories, hats, sunglasses and photography Market area: Young men and women, professionals, anyone who wants to deal with a knowledgeable staff. How did you get into your business, or what motivated you to start it? Saw a desperate need for a hip young men's and women's boutique, wanted people to have an option for designer clothing, not the same old mall and outlet bulk that is sent to thousands of stores.

A clothing drive in Washington County Public Schools to benefit Children In Need will be conducted through April 26. Students and staff at the following schools have been asked to make and generate contributions of gently used clothing, coats, jackets and shoes in sizes 3T (toddler) to 2X (adult): Clear Spring, Conococheague, Fountain Rock, Hancock, Hickory, Lincolnshire and Williamsport elementary schools; Clear Spring and Springfield middle schools; Clear Spring and Williamsport high schools; and Hancock Middle-Senior High School.

Cloth diapers are having a back-to-the-future moment. Sure, 95 percent of American families who use diapers purchase the throw-away variety. But as a result, says the Environmental Protection Agency, 3.5 million tons of used diapers are put in landfills each year and will take as many as 500 years to decompose. Those are the kind of statistics that have many green-minded parents rethinking their choices. And they're choosing cloth diapers. "People definitely would consider cloth if they knew just how damaging to the environment disposable diapers are," said Jennifer Guenther.

Harry “Buck” Cline of Williamsport turns 90 years old Thursday. Cline is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army 475th Infantry Group in the Pacific Theatre -   China, Burma and India - under Gen. George Stillwell. Pvt. Cline was awarded a commendation medal from the Republic of China for his service to that nation. He came home from the war, married his childhood sweetheart, Elaine, and raised four children. He worked two jobs, including part time at Harold's Sunoco on Potomac Street in Hagerstown and 35 years at Pangborn Corp.

Santa and his reindeer might make a clatter, but the man in red and his elves created a rumble Sunday morning as they drove into downtown Hagerstown on Harley-Davidson, Kawasaki, Honda, Triumph and BMW motorcycles to deliver donations to a food and clothing bank. Santa led the procession aboard his sleigh, a Kawasaki Vulcan Voyager. Sunday marked the 20th year the local chapter of ABATE of Maryland has brought donations to the ACTS 9 clothing and food bank, which went by the name Adventist Community Services Center when the partnership started, according to Sandy Martin, ACTS 9 executive director.

Candy apple fundraiser to benefit WHS choral dept. The Williamsport High School Choral Department will hold a fundraiser for selling candy apples beginning Monday, Oct. 1, and running through Oct. 14. Apple selections include red candy and red candy with nuts, caramel and caramel with nuts, caramel with toffee bits, caramel dipped in chocolate and dribbled in white and milk chocolate, and pumpkin apple spice. To order, call Wendy Loveless at 240-527-9256 or send an email to wlbaskets@myactv.net.

There will be something for everyone in Byron Memorial Park on Wednesday, as Williamsport holds its annual Independence Day celebration. The Williamsport pool will be open special hours, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for the holiday. The Williamsport Volunteer Fire and EMS will have food ready for purchase at 2 p.m., including pit-beef sandwiches. The Rhythm Kings will entertain beginning at 3:30 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., the Williamsport Community Band will perform a patriotic concert, leading up to a fireworks display at dusk.

The Mountain Man is gone. After more than 40 years, the image of a West Virginia blacksmith hammering on an anvil that graced the sign promoting the Mountain Heritage Arts & Crafts Festival has been replaced by a new image showing an impressionistic mountain range. ”We wanted to update things a little bit, get a new look,” said Heather Morgan McIntyre, executive director of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce which has been sponsoring the festival for 41 years. The event attracts about 7,000 patrons to a large vacant field near Harpers Ferry every June and September, McIntyre said.

Now that students are out of school, many families are looking forward to summer vacations. My husband and I have been through this routine for 17 summers now. It is to the point that I can't recall what vacations were like before we had kids. (Haven't we always had kids? I can't remember. Raising kids has wiped out that part of my memory.) However, I do remember the early days of diaper bags, car seats, strollers, playpens, bottles, four changes of clothes for each day, etc., etc. There was just enough room in the van for us to sit. I have to admit that traveling with teenagers is so much easier than traveling with toddlers.

The First-Friday Classic Car Cruise-in will be Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. on Potomac Street in Williamsport. Music will be by the band Chubby. There will also be door prizes and 50/50s. A donation of $3 is requested. The event benefits Kahlil Butler, the 12-year-old grandson of River City barber Donna Himes. Kahlil is a leukemia patient at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he is receiving chemotherapy. The rain date is June 8. For more information, call Jimmy Black at 301-573-1501.