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The opening of Oklahoma on April 11 at Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater, marks a special milestone for owners Laura and Shawn Martin. The last time the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic graced the…
The Hagerstown Flying Boxcars soar into their third season with a new manager, a new schedule structure, and new hopes to shed the expansion team label and offer fans a competitive team in the Atlantic League. The Boxcars struggled on…
Trans Ova has been paving the way with dairy and beef cattle genetics for more than 40 years, with the original office opened in 1980 in Sioux Center, Iowa. It was not until 2012 that the livestock reproductive company also…
As a teenager, ambitious Herman Benjamin Mellott volunteered to serve in World War I. But the U.S. Army told the boy he was too young to fight and sent him home to Fulton County, Pennsylvania. Disheartened, the boy known locally simply as…
Pickleball remains the fastest-growing sport in America, and the opening of a new indoor, multi-court facility on Sweeney Drive will make access to the sport much easier here in Hagerstown. Dill Dinkers, a rapidly growing…
Maine has its lobster fests. In Wisconsin, the town of Ellsworth hosts the Cheese Curd Festival, and every September New Orleans celebrates Beignet Fest as visitors brush powdered sugar from their clothes and enjoy the…
It is a story as old as time itself—the spouse, the lover, a murder. And it is one James Rada, Jr., an Amazon.com bestselling author, tells in his most recent book Blood on the Badge. The book explores the…
The roots of the Valley Art Association date to 1938, and for the better part of a century the VAA has given local artists of all mediums a place to work, display, and sell their art. This year the VAA celebrates its 35th year in the…
From a rickety steam train, newly deployed Ron Twentey beheld the devastation of a war-ravaged Korea. Shellshocked survivors lived in shacks, shanties, and even cardboard boxes. Later in his deployment, the toll of the conflict would…
Culture and Cocktails isn’t just a lecture. It’s an immersive engagement as soon as you step through the front door of the Miller House, a pristinely restored and well-kept home dating back to the 1860s that has served as the…
Hagerstown resident Jim Garrett calls Arlington National Cemetery his family cemetery. And rightfully so. His own mother and father rest there as do both sets of his grandparents and their siblings. And when he adds in relatives through marriage the…
When local officials and dignitaries gather for the dedication of the renovated Springfield Manor this month, the quiet town of Williamsport, it will be more than just the opening of another renovated historic building. It will be a symbol of renewal for the…
For more than 50 years Fort Ritchie was closely guarded by mountains, stone-turreted gates, and secrecy. The 638-acre Army installation in Washington County, tucked just beneath the Pennsylvania border, served as the World War II training site for…
This summer’s opening of Hitachi Rail’s next-gen factory brings more jobs, an expanded tax base, and yet another shot in the arm to the resurging Hagerstown and Washington County economy. “The overall economy in…
The saying, “It takes a village,” often refers to people in a community helping children. The phrase also means the collective effort and community support of specific projects and that’s exactly the case for the…
Beyond local circles, the myth of the Snallygaster may be one of Maryland’s best-kept secrets. “I remember when I moved here and first heard about it, I was surprised,” says Ken Houldsworth, a resident of Middletown who hosts the…
In 2013 when Bill Gaertner was released from prison, he knew that he had more to give society. By 2014 he established Gatekeepers in Washington County with the goal of helping current and ex-offenders successfully transition back into…
Through the heart of Main Street in Boonsboro, Funkstown, Hagerstown, Clear Spring, and Hancock runs a road that carries the history of America in a way few of us recognize. It’s a road that goes by many names on its cross-country…
Our elder years shouldn’t be lonely, and retirement should be a time of life that is fun, exciting, and social. But after losing the schedule and friends that went along with a career, what initially feels like freedom can become bleak and…
It was sometime in 2020 that Naomi Pike hit rock bottom, mired in addiction and helplessly trying to figure out what would come next.“I had nothing, no one, nowhere else to turn to but God,” she recalls of that dark and…
My oldest daughter, who is close to being my clone, started school this year. It’s both an exhilarating and nerve-wracking time not just for her but me, too. There’s so much that’s new. So much that’s changing. So much that’s coming. She’s growing up, and…
As Washington County’s baby-boomers and leading-edge Gen-Xers advance into retirement, community support for seniors and their families is taking center stage. One local nonprofit is making a difference for those navigating the challenges of…
At a recent giveaway event through Senior Services Network, founder Paul Brown noticed something unusual. He had thousands of pounds in food and household supplies to give away, and he was…
More babies than usual were born at Meritus Medical Center in the fiscal year 2024, which might lead one to think Washington County is bucking the national trend toward lower birth rates. But officials say other factors likely…
In the midst of World War II two young men forged a friendship. One was a Native American named Albert “Al” Haschke from Nebraska. The other was Wilbur J. “Jack” Myers from Williamsport, Maryland. Both were members of the 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion fighting in…
The Maryland Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is hitting a high note with the launch of the full-time Maryland Symphony Youth Orchestra (MSYO), showing its deepening commitment to arts education across the region. MSYO is an audition-based ensemble for…
The vintage military aircraft flying above Hagerstown this month will ring nostalgic for Hagerstown’s older generations and should pique the curiosity of younger generations. The old planes will fly in commemoration of Hagerstown’s aviation history, which is one of the…
When my son moved back from California last fall, he introduced me to pickleball. It’s not that I didn’t know about the sport, but I thought it was too the 2020s what the Hula-Hoop had been to the 1960s. I told him I’d give it a…
Last summer, more than 500,000 visitors enjoyed swimming, camping and hiking at Greenbrier State Park. Ranger Emily Bard talks about the park’s history and its amenities.
The only thing constant, or so “they” say, is change. And like everything else, our annual readers’ poll has evolved. New categories, new winners—for a small city like Hagerstown and a rural county like Washington, the favorite things about our area is in a constant state of flux.
So, look on the following pages and see for yourself. What are your opinions about this year’s winners?