Travelers

What started as the Doleman family's personal collection of artifacts in 1972 has grown into an untold story of African-American history and culture in Hagerstown and Washington County. Alesia Parson-McBean, administrator of the Doleman Black Heritage Museum, said Hagerstown is the perfect location to continue growing the young organization that got a jumpstart from many artifacts - some that date back to pre-Civil War 19th Century - collected by Charles and Marguerite Doleman, highlighting and preserving the rich African-American culture in the area.

Far from this idyllic town, Zane Steward traveled the globe to help others. The assistant manager of E.L.M. Shoes in the square of downtown Greencastle, Steward, 25, said it was just coincidence that his first humanitarian trips involved shoes. It was the shoe store's partnership to collect donated shoes in the past that raised Steward's awareness of the group. Steward said they have run a short donation period in exchange for a discount on new shoes once a year, every other year.

Labor Day might be an American holiday, but Hagerstown resident Jack Martin, who has traveled to every state in the country except for North Dakota, will be leaving the country for part of the holiday weekend with his wife. “We're going to Nova Scotia (in Canada) to see the Bay of Fundy,” he said. “We're going up to New Hampshire, check in there, and then we're going to drive from there up into Maine, and go across and drive the back side into Nova Scotia.” Martin, 72, will be one of about 659,000 Marylanders projected to travel at least 50 miles round trip away from home during Labor Day weekend, according to a news release from AAA online at http://midatlantic.aaa.com . More than 571,00 of those traveling are expected to do so by automobile, which Martin, who travels frequently, said he does not mind doing.

Hagerstown City Councilman Forrest W. Easton, whose name was to be one of five Republicans on the November general election ballot, has withdrawn from the city council race, according to the Washington County Board of Elections. Easton, 37, of 24 Willard St., who was elected to the five-member city council in 2009, said there were several factors that went into his decision to withdraw from the race, including a recent promotion at work that will require more time and travel. “That was probably the final decision-making process for me,” Easton said, “but overall, the underlying issue ... I'm no longer interested in living in the city of Hagerstown, for multiple reasons.

The first time Barbara Steiner plugged her tape recorder in at the old Boonsboro Middle School, she blew out the electrical circuit for half the second floor, including her class. For the past two decades, her French II students were rewarded at the end of the week with a 10-minute episode of “Tele Francais,” a French-language television show featuring a talking pineapple. “The kids enjoyed watching those episodes,” Steiner said. Steiner has 41 years worth of memories from teaching French in Washington County Public Schools, including the French food students made and brought to class.

With the Fourth of July holiday on Wednesday this year, the number of Maryland travelers is expected to increase, according to a news release from AAA. “The holiday is falling midweek and gas prices are on the decline, so more people are expected to travel,” AAA Public and Government Affairs Manager Ragina Averella said. “The travel period is defined as July 3 through July 8, but many people will be leaving before July 3.” A total of 846,000 Marylanders are expected to travel 50 miles or more during that period, a 5.3 percent increase from 2011, according to the release.

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.

Travel lanes have been shifted on the south side of the intersection of Williamsport Pike (U.S. 11) and Edwin Miller Boulevard (W.Va. 9) in Martinsburg, the West Virginia Division of Highways said in a news release. This shift is necessary due to construction for the Raleigh Street extension project. Work is being performed by Pro Contracting Inc. and is expected to last for several weeks, according to the release. Motorists should be aware of construction workers and equipment in the area.

Six members and two staff members from Girls Inc. of Washington County traveled to New York City March 14 to attend the Girls Inc. Celebration Luncheon. The luncheon is a gathering of nearly 1,000 business and community leaders committed to the Girls Inc. mission of inspiring all girls to be strong, smart and bold. The luncheon is an opportunity for Girls Inc. to recognize individuals who, by their work and example, are creating a better future for girls. The luncheon awards are presented by Girls Inc. scholars, who are outstanding young women who have demonstrated leadership in their communities and schools.