My small town of Clear Spring, MD (population 479 – salute!) celebrated a big milestone this past weekend. It was the town’s 200th anniversary. Now, it’s not every day you get to live in a town that has been around long enough to celebrate its own bicentennial, but for an “older” gal, I have to say she still looks pretty good. This past weekend was celebrated with home tours, scavenger hunts, and panckake breakfasts. Lots of folks were popping in…
The last months of summer can mean only one thing in my neck of the woods – it’s time once again for the annual Clear Spring Volunteer Fire Company Carnival! For the week of August 5th through August 10th, the carnival grounds just south of town are the place to be and be seen, as every local civic organization and school group will have a stand or gaming tent in place for the biggest local fundraiser of the year. The…
If you’re familiar with my columns, then you know I live in Clear Spring, MD – a very small town in Western Maryland. How small, you ask? Well, as of 2016, we were at a whopping 350 residents (for those of you keeping score, that’s pretty small). As a matter of fact, we’re the smallest incorporated town in the county. It’s a quaint little village, with a main street, two stop lights, three schools (elementary, middle, and high) at the…
I’ve written previously about how hard it is for a small-town, rural school to compete in athletics and other extra-curricular activities against larger, more populous institutions – where there is a larger pool of talent to choose from and use each and every year (click here to link to that article). But every now and then, lightning strikes – even in a small school. The town where I live (Clear Spring, MD) is a tiny hamlet (only 350 residents, according…
This past Saturday night, a special celebration was held in the town where I live. Called “Christmas in Clear Spring”, it was an evening of old-fashioned, small-town, holiday events (the town has population of only 399 people) that is held once every three years and put on by the local Garden Club. All of the local residents took special care putting up their Christmas lights this year (to help decorate for the event – plus there were prizes for the…
Yes, it’s time once again for the annual Clear Spring Volunteer Fire Company’s annual summer carnival, taking place this week (7/31-17 – 8/5/17) at the carnival grounds just outside of Clear Spring, Maryland. In what’s become a sort of tradition at the Snyder household, we have driven by the grounds on several occasions on Sunday to see what sort of thrill rides and other delights the amusement company in charge of this year’s rides has brought to town for the…
Local residents often take for granted that the four-state area is steeped in history, dating all the way back to the days when this country was founded. One event that celebrates the transportation systems of an earlier time is coming up this weekend – National Pike Days. One of the first major “improved” highways funded by the federal government (and authorized by President Thomas Jefferson in 1806), the National Pike (also known as the “Cumberland Road” or its more common…
All over the four-state area, summer means it’s time for the local carnival, an annual tradition that exemplifies small town, family entertainment. Throughout the region, each community has its own “carnival week”, a time when the local community gets together to eat, play, raise money for various civic organizations, and mingle. This week marks the annual Clear Spring Volunteer Fire Company Carnival, a local entertainment institution that’s been going for over 75 years. Generations of families have experienced what is…