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Health & Fitness

History indicates that this time of the year has always been busy.

Thanksgiving has always been a special holiday in Carroll County. Of course, most Carroll countians are a fan of any holiday in which food is involved, especially turkey.

By Kevin Dayhoff, Saturday, December 7, 2013

Let’s briefly revisit Thanksgiving before it fades into a distant memory. The rise of ‘Black Friday’ and the over-commercialization of Christmas in recent years has hastened the gradual disappearance of Thanksgiving. 

Many folks can still fondly recall a time not too many years ago when Thanksgiving was still a holiday all to its own and not ‘the day before Black Friday.’

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I recently introduced the Thanksgiving holiday, “… as the first day of the winter solstice holiday season. Others know it as the ‘Harvest Festival Bowl,’ and celebrate by gathering together and arguing over football.”

On November 26, 2011, the Scripps Howard News Service said it best when it editorialized, “Thanksgiving (is still) around, but not so you'd notice it. Pilgrims and Indians are being replaced by door busters and rolling sales. The traditional Thanksgiving dinner is less a family feast than an opportunity for carbo loading for the rigors of the morrow's shopping marathon.

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“The weekend after Thanksgiving has always been the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, but the Christmas ads began right after Halloween with darn little mention of Thanksgiving.

“America's hypercompetitive retailers began hyping their Black Friday sales, and America's hypercompetitive shoppers responded. Stores began opening earlier; for a few brief years, 4 a.m. Friday was the tacitly agreed-upon opening time. But then some stores moved it back to midnight, others followed and now some are opening at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve...”

Thanksgiving has always been a special holiday in Carroll County. Of course, most Carroll countians are a fan of any holiday in which food is involved, especially turkey.

That said, as an aside I should note that the Thanksgiving holiday is even better if you have many family members who are vegetarians. This is a great concept. Every family ought to have as many vegetarians in it as possible.  It means that there is much more turkey to go around. 

We were delighted to serve our vegetarian family members roasted pinecones in a béarnaise sauce; a side plate of dandelion greens in a fat-free raspberry pureed dressing, some anorexic carrots, and squash that tasted like spiced mud, topped with mulch. It is a little-known fact that “squash” is actually a native-American word for ‘dried mud.’

History indicates that this time of the year has always been busy. Winter is just around the corner and the weekend after Thanksgiving was often celebrated by getting out the Christmas decorations.

The December 3rd, 1920 edition of the Union Bridge Pilot newspaper reported: “A pair of trousers was stolen early in the evening from the wash line of Mrs. John Pittinger about a week ago.”

The November 27, 1897 American Sentinel carried an article that all of the thirty-two Chesapeake and Potomac Company telephone subscribers in the county had the opportunity “of hearing … a phonographic concert, over the long distance telephone, at the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Exchange, in the Wantz building, on Monday evening.”

The Democratic Advocate reported on November 24, 1922:  “On Friday evening an alarm of fire was sent in for a leaf fire at Western Maryland College. On the arrival of the fire company they were notified not to throw any water on the fire as they were initiating a student, it is said. Chief Shaeffer ordered the firemen to put the fire out at once, as it was close to a building.”

“As the nozzlemen were throwing water on the blaze some students started throwing stones, one striking Fireman Harry Cootes in the head causing the blood to flow freely from his injury. This angered the members of the fire company and the students were chased with the stream of water…  Two of the students were handled a little rough but no serious harm was done to either.”

The big news in the fall of 1945 were reports that the wartime rationing of nylons, tires and radios were about to end. An August 24, 1945 article in the then-local newspaper, the Democratic Advocate reported, “Nylon stockings may be back in circulation by Thanksgiving, or at least by Christmas. The Government … said 3 1/2 million radios may be on the store shelves by Christmas. This was a surprise. The reason: An 80 per cent cut in military orders for radar and radio.”

Years ago, newspapers, the library book-mobile – and later, the radio were very important to the Carroll farming community. Agriculture in Carroll has historically been greatly affected by national and world events and keeping up the news was a necessity. Long days with farm chores and the time needed to travel long distances between farms – and town over developing roads were a problem.

According to then-Carroll County newspaper reporter Kelsey Volkmann, in 2006 a state education department report revealed that Carroll had the highest library readership levels in the state. 85 percent of all Carroll countians have a library card.

In my Baltimore Sun column on December 2, 2013, I noted, “A large audience tuned-in to the importance and long history of radio in Carroll at a recent box lunch talk by the Historical Society of Carroll County by local historian Dr. Sam Brainerd; who also reported upon his extensive research in the Carroll History Journal publication in early 2012.”

“Baltimore’s first radio station was WKC, which began broadcasting on March 23, 1922. Within three months the city had two more: WCAO (still in operation today) and WEAR (now using the call letters WJZ). WNAY began in 1923, followed soon after by WCBM and WGBA…,” recalled Dr. Brainerd.

In 1930, according to Dr. Brainerd, “A notice in the April 4, 1930, Carroll County Times announced the upcoming schedules of Westminster's two experimental stations. Station WEST, operating on a frequency of 1340 kilocycles (kc) in the standard broadcast band, would be on the air every Sunday at 2 P.M., featuring ‘local talent.’

“Anyone wishing to air their talent was told to write to the Studio and Program Manager of WEST by the Tuesday before the broadcast. Local acts had been performing this way on nearby radio stations for at least six years. In May 1924 the Jesters and the Powder Puffs, two performing troupes from Western Maryland College, presented a concert aired by radio station WGBA in Baltimore.

“Westminster's other experimental station, W3XAP, operated in the shortwave band and so could be picked up only on the minority of radio sets able to pick up those frequencies.”

Carroll County, according to Dr. Brainerd, “did not have a permanent radio station until WTTR went on the air in July 1953…”  

For the upcoming holiday season, remember that Jesus is the permanent reason for the season and that Christmas. The holiday, whatever your faith, is time that should be centered upon the family.

For this holiday season hopefully we can join together in the compassionate support of our fellow citizens who are less fortunate.  Let us reach out with care to those in need of food, shelter, and words of hope.  Please remember our men and women in uniform, who are in harm’s way, defending our freedom to enjoy this great country and a safe holiday. 

Happy halidaze!  Please remember to place a lemon slice in the dog's water bowl.

When Kevin Dayhoff, a practicing vegetarian is not sneaking a slice of turkey at the Thanksgiving dinner table, he may be reached at kevindayhoff@gmail.com

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