Joy Hall Onley clearly remembers her first day at Frederick High School, just not very fondly. Four years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling integrated public schools across the nation…

EMMITSBURG—As the first person born in what would become the United States to be named a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, Elizabeth Ann Seton led a remarkable life. 

Want to work out, even if you have physical limitations? Consider boxing. Repeated punches work up a great sweat and release dopamine in the brain. But do boxing and Parkinson’s disease go together? At Rock Steady Boxing, they sure do.

For the past seven years, Jessica Underwood has scratched an itch for people seeking a home that is not cookie-cutter, but instead causes them to stop in their tracks when they see a project with a JR Capital Build sign out front. Her most recent project is the Mews on Maxwell, five townhouses between East 4th and 5th streets with rooftop terraces paired with three floors of amenities below.

For many people, winter is truly the season of discontent. But instead of letting the cold, gray days get you down, ever think about taking your own detours around the malaise? How about learning a language or trying a new recipe? Or mastering a new skill or art? We’ve reached out to local experts and found some relatively easy ways to beat the winter blahs.

Throughout the 1990s, Hood College experienced growing debts that almost forced the institution to close. Ronald Volpe, who served as Hood’s president from 2001 to 2015, recounts this tumultuous chapter in the college’s history and the events that led to its remarkable turnaround.

The new year promises a broad range of events, from a likely contentious U.S. presidential election campaign to the celebration of the Summer Olympics in Paris. Here in Frederick County, a new year is being welcomed with cautious optimism by business and political leaders who are hoping for healthy, sustainable growth.

A slip of paper is carefully wrapped around one small piece of flatware. The note, in the handwriting of Ruth Carty Delaplaine, reads. “My father’s fruit spoon.” The silver-plated spoon, made in 1883, is marked with the retailer’s name, George E. Myer, a Frederick jeweler. It has an elongated and pointed bowl for scooping out segmented fruit, like oranges. Even without the note it might be possible to guess the item’s owner by the “CCC” monogram on the handle. This amazing, small piece of history is just one of the artifacts from a large collection of items recently donated to Heritage Frederick by the family of Frances Delaplaine Randall.

Jaime Romero, 30, a loving and doting uncle, an adored son and brother, a man planning a wedding with his fiancee, was nowhere to be found. His car was parked at his home with the keys in the ignition. Also inside the car were his wallet with cash inside and his cell phone. But no Romero.

The Christmas lights at the Harley home may have gone dark, but the legacy of a couple’s love for Christmas and their joy in decorating for it shines on—a house and a neighbor at a time.

It’s back. Following a three-year break that began in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Frederick’s Candlelight House Tour returns this year. One of the community’s most anticipated holiday events for more than three decades features as many as eight homes whose owners generously open the doors of their beautifully decorated homes to the waiting public for two evenings.

Downtown Frederick wears the holidays like no other season. From decorated homes and businesses to shimmering white lights wrapped around trees and popular events like the Kris Kringle Procession, the season of cheer is all around. Look at some of the colorful ways the holidays are on display in the streets.

Some pampered cats might enjoy the luxury of living nine lives, but many others lead a hardscrabble life outdoors. They face injury, disease and predators. Sadly, they also suffer cruelty at the hands of humans. 

When the Community Foundation of Frederick County asks for nominations for its annual Wertheimer Fellow Awards, CEO Elizabeth Y. Day is always impressed by the outstanding submissions. “It makes you proud to be part of a community that places so much value and commitment on volunteer service.”

There are few Fredericktonians who have as great an impact as did Edward Schley Delaplaine. He practiced law, was elected to public office and served as a prominent judge. Today, however, he is best remembered as the leading historian in Frederick County over the last 100 years.

Feb. 4, 1967, offered clear skies above the green, mountainous region north of Hanoi, North Vietnam. It was perfect FLying weather for U.S. Air Force Capt. John Fer, who at age 29 had already successfully piloted 53 missions jamming enemy radar and ground equipment and conducting reconnaissance. The 54th flight would be his last.

John Cetrone began playing ice hockey at 6 years old on a frozen pond near his Massachusetts home. Now 69, Cetrone is still playing. On Friday mornings he meets up with other 60-and-older players at Skate Frederick. The senior group, appropriately known as Frederick Friday Hockey, moves fast and hits the puck hard. Still.

You are likely to have never seen the tiny northern long-eared bats, given their size and reticent behavior. But they are here, flying all around us. More importantly, they play an important role in the ecosystem, feasting on flying pests.

The collections of Heritage Frederick are focused on items produced, used and owned by people from Frederick County. This watercolor painting reveals three great local stories in just one object.

Diversity brings many benefits: expansive ideas, complementary strengths, broadened knowledge and so much more. It’s also great on a plate. American burgers and loaded pizzas are awesome, but Frederick’s gifted food scene embraces plenty of world cuisines celebrating our population’s diverse food heritages. So, what’s for dinner? Today it’s Thai.