Etiquette

Blossom School of Etiquette will host a mother/daughter celebration and luncheon from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 26, at Hagerstown Presbyterian Church, 20 S. Prospect St. in downtown Hagerstown. Tickets cost $15 a couple, and any combination of women is welcome: mom, sister aunt, grandma, etc. Door prizes, speakers and entertainment will be provided, and a catered lunch will be served. Discovery Station activity Saturday, May 26:  Timothy R. Snyder presents his book “Trembling in the Balance ...The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal During the Civil War,” at 2 p.m. A book signing will follow.

The Blossom School of Etiquette will begin new classes starting on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hagerstown Presbyterian Church, 20 South Prospect St.   Young ladies ages 7 to 17 are invited to participate in free workshops. which include a variety of topics such as poise, assertiveness, social skills, table manners, manners, self-confidence, self-esteem and more. For more information, contact Ladetra Robinson at 240-520-5676 or bsetiquette@yahoo.com. Food sale at Second Christian Church There will be a Mix/Match Food Blow Out Sale at Second Christian Church, 65 W. North Ave., on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Choose from several menus.

Blossom School of Etiquette will have a graduation ceremony for the first class of 2012 from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 14, at Homewood Suite by Hilton Hotel, 1650 Pullman Lane, Hagerstown.

"The time has come," the Walrus said, "to talk of many things. " - From "Through the Looking Glass," by Lewis Carroll It's time the world had a serious think about etiquette. When it comes to which fork to use or what to do with our napkins, our parents know everything. As kids, we hear the inevitable from our parents: "Get your elbows off the table!" and "Chew with your mouth closed. You're not a cow. " We dismiss these words as nonsense - and sometimes forfeit dinner.

Post Emily, some parents still put premium on table manners By KEVIN CLAPP kevinc@herald-mail.com Dinner in the Hampton household is a time for fun and fellowship, but patriarch Ed Hampton also makes sure it is a time for respect. continued The television remains dark, and as the family takes seats no one makes a move for food until matriarch Coleen sits down. Food is passed to the right. Again, no one lifts a forkful to their mouths, no matter how hungry they are, until Coleen Hampton places her fork on her plate.

Thanksgiving Day dinner etiquette By JOE ARCH Thanksgiving may be the first time you have dinner with your significant other's family. With this big step, questions begin to surface. What should you wear? How should you act? What should you eat? What if you don't like the food? What if they don't like you? continued To ease your fears and give you some guidance, we talked to Denna Smith of Inwood Performing Arts Center; Karen Yeager Rupprecht, the author of "Miss Prudence Pennypack's Perfectly Proper" and "A Month of Manners"; and Mac Dawson, a guidance counselor at Hancock Middle/Senior High School.

A graduation and first anniversary ceremony for Blossom School of Etiquette is at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, at Memorial Recreation Center, 109 W. North Ave. in Hagerstown. For information, e-mail sisbcwc@yahoo.com.

The Blossom School of Etiquette at Memorial Recreation Center in Hagerstown held its graduation recently.

Blossom School of Etiquette is accepting registration for its second session which starts the week of Monday, May 19, at Memorial Recreation Center. The school is open to young women ages 6 to 18. Classes meet on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the evening. The cost is free. In addition to the classes, the school offers a writing course titled "Creative Expressions. " The school also offers sewing, cooking, crocheting and a variety of other crafts. Blossom School of Etiquette is under the direction of Washington County Commission for Women Vice President Ladetra Robinson.

Thursday evening at LJ's & The Kat Lounge was both a reward for a year of participation and a lesson in etiquette for a group of young women and a young man from the Boys & Girls Club at Noland Village. The group arrived at LJ's in style, pulling up in a limousine provided by E.G. Specialized Limo Service. Once inside, they sat down for their seven-course meal with each setting having a dozen knives, forks and spoons on a wine-colored linen tablecloth. As each course is served, LJ's owner Alex Tiches told them before dinner, the diner goes from the outside utensil inward as the meal progresses.

The Blossom School of Etiquette will begin new classes starting on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hagerstown Presbyterian Church, 20 South Prospect St.   Young ladies ages 7 to 17 are invited to participate in free workshops. which include a variety of topics such as poise, assertiveness, social skills, table manners, manners, self-confidence, self-esteem and more. For more information, contact Ladetra Robinson at 240-520-5676 or bsetiquette@yahoo.com. Food sale at Second Christian Church There will be a Mix/Match Food Blow Out Sale at Second Christian Church, 65 W. North Ave., on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Choose from several menus.

Blossom School of Etiquette will host a program from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, at Hagerstown Presbyterian Church, 20 S. Prospect St., Hagerstown. Participants learn manners, poise and self-confidence. For girls ages 7 to 17. Free. Call Blossom School of Etiquette, 240-520-5676 or email bsetiquette@yahoo.com .

Blossom School of Etiquette will have a graduation ceremony for the first class of 2012 from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 14, at Homewood Suite by Hilton Hotel, 1650 Pullman Lane, Hagerstown.

Next on the agenda for the ladies of Ebenezer is a Good Friday fish dinner sale, beginning at 11 am at Ebenezer AME Church, 26 West Bethel St. The menu includes fried fish, fried potatoes and onions, cole slaw and cornbread. The cost is $8. Eat in, take out or request delivery by calling 301-797-6123 on Friday. Spring jump-off dance planned at VFW hall The “OTB” has planned a spring jump-off dance on Saturday, April 14, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall, 70 East Washington Street.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about our nation's “Pledge of Allegiance” to our flag. I received several kind and supportive comments about the column. Some asked for my reference sources, to which I admit most of the information came from searching the Internet. I usually look at two or three different reference sources to ensure the information is essentially the same before I use it in my column. I was pleased that others found the information contained in my column interesting and informative.

New classes for the Blossom School of Etiquette will start Saturday April 23, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Hagerstown Presbyterian Church, 20 S. Prospect St., Hagerstown. Classes are for girls ages 7 to 17. The classes are free. The classes teach poise, assertiveness, social skills (home and school) table manners, manners, self-confidence, self-esteem, etc. For more information, call Ladetra Robinson at 240-520-5676 or email bsetiquette@yahoo.com. Fitness program meets at Fairgrounds Park Walking and fitness programs are held three days a week at 6:30 p.m. at Fairgrounds Park.

There were no blue jeans or T-shirts, no sneakers or flip-flops and not a single exposed midriff in sight. Even the music was unexpected -- a choreographed waltz performed before an audience of friends and family. It was a night of elegance, complete with white gowns and tuxedos, pearls and shiny shoes. But the 15 young couples who were introduced at the Blossom School of Etiquette's 2010 Cotillion Ball added their own touch to the evening before heading to their tables for dinner.