Gathering

HAGERSTOWN - Arlene Gipe paid tribute Sunday to her husband, a U.S. Air Force veteran, who is buried at Cedar Lawn Memorial Park. There she honored the men and women who have died serving in the United States military during Cedar Lawn's fourth annual Memorial Day service. Gipe was one of about 130 people gathered there - most holding small American flags or wearing red, white and blue. Gipe, of Hagerstown, said she comes to the event each year. Sunday she was with her daughter-in-law, Carol Gipe, and her two sons, Dennis and Rodney Gipe, who both served in the military.

A group of retired and former Chemical Leaman Tank Lines Inc. drivers, owner-operators and mechanics met Aug. 21 for lunch at Bubba Boucher's Diner at 200 W. Howard St. In attendance were Charles "Sonny" Weddle; Joseph Robosson; Kenneth Boswell; Norman Vickery; Joe Sours; Leroy "Buck" Renner and his friend Sharon; Bob Davis and his wife, Doris; Allen Hilliard and his wife, Phyllis; and Al Lane. The group celebrated Joseph Robosson's 78 birthday. The group meets at the diner several times a year.

Walking into The Station Grill is like walking into a neighborhood gathering place, the kind of place where you feel comfortable even if you don't live in the neighborhood. The grill has the kind of atmosphere I like - casual, comfortable and easy to be in. On this night, there was a mixed crowd of young, old and everything in between. Blue collar and white collar workers fit easily into the same space. At the Station Grill, you can sit with your friends at the massive bar or in the dining area.

katec@herald-mail.com Over the river and through the woods you went to the long-anticipated holiday family gathering. Or maybe you didn't make the trip for Thanksgiving, but you'll be headed home for the December holidays. The storybook visions of family togetherness have been dancing in your head like sugarplums for weeks, but there's another scenario in that dream of home. You walk in the door and give your brother a hug. "Is that a new hairdo?" he asks.

WILLIAMSPORT - Grace Edlund of Hagerstown was diagnosed with throat cancer 16 years ago. That was one year before her husband, Murph Edlund, learned he had prostate cancer. "We supported each other," the 82-year-old man said. The Edlunds were among about 1,280 people who attended Sunday's John R. Marsh Cancer Center picnic for cancer survivors at the Williamsport Red Men Lodge. The 20th annual event was expected to draw 564 cancer survivors. Irene Petrie, 58, of Greencastle, Pa., is a 10-year breast cancer survivor.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com Scattered along a mulch road amid the campsite for Confederate soldiers, small signs of something big were everywhere Wednesday afternoon. The signs were made of wood, attached to stakes and pounded into the ground. A few read "1st Division Gen. Clark," "Cavalry," "Artillery Gen. Travis," and "Civilians. " Re-enactors used them to determine where they should set up. It's all part of the 140th Commemoration of the Battle of Antietam, set to begin Friday, with battle re-enactments scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Dinner for the Washington County Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Homecoming was supposed to begin at 6:30 Saturday night. But, that time came and went as the graduates continued to mill about the dining room at the Four Points Sheraton, hugging, taking pictures and remembering their nursing school years. "I'm seeing faces that are wonderful and I think we still look pretty good," said Rosie Layman, 65, of Hagerstown. The nursing school educated 932 graduates from 1906 to 1971 before it closed as nursing evolved into a profession taught in an academic setting rather than as part of a hospital, according to a history published by the school's alumnae association.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - Beginning today at noon, area residents will have the opportunity to avoid the 300-plus-mile trip to Charleston, W.Va., to gain a little insight on just how the state Legislature works, if only in the off-season. In addition to the 60-day regular session that begins each year in January, lawmakers are expected to take part in interim committee meetings, which are held to study issues and potential legislation. All of the meetings, which will be held today through Tuesday afternoon at the Holiday Inn in Martinsburg and other locations in the Eastern Panhandle, are open to the public, and elected officials are hoping area residents attend and participate in the sessions.

Members of the South Hagerstown High School class of 1963, their spouses and guests are invited to a pregame tailgate party Friday at 5 p.m. at Doub's Woods Park. There will be steamers, homemade vegetable soup, and hot and cold drinks. Those attending the tailgate party are asked to bring a chair, $2 and a covered dish; or bring $5 if not bringing a covered dish. Game time for the North Hagerstown-South Hagerstown game is 7 p.m. Tickets to the game will be available for $5.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. Most of the Republican names that will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot in Franklin County gathered at the Waynesboro Ambulance Squad on Monday night to exhort party members to get out the vote in the remaining two weeks of the campaign. U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, Pennsylvania state Senate candidate Rich Alloway and state Reps. Rob Kauffman, Todd Rock and Dan Moul met with about 90 Republicans at an event sponsored by the Franklin County Reagan Coalition, a political action committee.