By:
Sean Truly
Last Saturday, September 15th 2012, marked a landmark in the history
of the small town in Western Maryland that all of Frostburg State University’s
student population have come to view as a home away from their hometowns.
Frostburg, known as Mount Pleasant in its earlier days up to 1820, was founded
in 1812 as one of many small towns to dot the first national Highway-Route 40
by Meshach Frost. Little did Frost know, 200 years after the towns founding and
after being renamed in his honor that the town would thrive and flourish for
one beautiful Saturday afternoon on historic Main Street.
At 10:30 that morning, one of the longest and most remarkable parades the small
town has seen in quite a while embarked at the top of the city, just off of
Armstrong Avenue at the Western Side of Frostburg. Running down the span of
Main Street, the Bicentennial Parade was a magnificent display of American
pride and patriotism as a continuous line of Police Department vehicles, Fire
Trucks, Ambulances and other local Heroes paraded down the central corridor of
the city. Even out of county and out of state organizations took to the streets
to help Frostburg celebrate this joyous time of remembrance and town pride. A
total of 11 Divisions comprised the entire line, including schools, beauty
pageant winners such as Miss Frostburg and other local companies and other VIPs
and patrons who contribute greatly to the area’s well-being. As is tradition
for many parades in towns like this, children clung on to bags and scooped with
tiny hands the candy of dozens of floats that crawled down Main Street, running
with glee and enjoying this historic event with a different perspective then
the more grown-up and older citizens and spectators. People sat on the entire
span of the street to join in for the momentous occasion, many walking from
their side of the city to watch the parade as there was no parking spaces to
speak of and no way to travel down there in any other respect. Off to the side,
a small barbecue of Chili and Hotdogs among other things was made to accommodate
the hundreds of spectators; no doubt making a hefty profit from it all.
Even after the main festivities ended, locals and non-locals alike joined
together and explored a town filled with nostalgia, history, and antiques. One
of many displays was the Lower Level of the Hotel Gunter (Also known as
Fallanger’s and the Gladstone Restaurant nearby). Housed in a Historical
building in its own right, the lower levels included many collections including
a room that proudly displayed it’s former occupation as a depository area for
Coal from the local mines that fueled the Electricity to the old building. Many
of the oldest buildings in the city have long since faded into the annals of
the town’s history book; including its former Opera House (now where Fat Boy’s
Pizza is now located), the Palace Theatre (Now only partially open to private
events and used mainly for local advertising purposes), Prichard’s General
Store (now the Burnt shell of the establishment that once held Gianni’s Pizzeria) and Gandalf’s
(Now the University’s Creative Writing Center)-but the Hotel Gunter has
remained open for business and so had the Princess Restaurant, a famous eatery
where former president Harry Truman once had a meal at.
Another landmark, the old Frostburg Trolley, continued to service people even
into the dusk hours of the day. Especially around the area of Frostburg State’s
campus and other historic locations in the city of Frostburg, where it could be
seen whirring around proudly as it once did so many decades ago in participation
with a trivia/scavenger hunt that ran for the majority of the day. In the
parade, it carried several important politicians and socialites in the town,
including the former Mayor Cotton. As part of the Cultural Event series at FSU,
though not directly involved with the bicentennial, Kathy Mattea performed in
the Main Arena of the PE Center. Born and raised in West Virginia, she admired
the celebration of local customs in the area in the beginning of her
performance-and much of her music about Coal mining and West Virginian history
can be applied here in Western Maryland as the tri-state area shares a similar
history during this time period of Mining. Even though it was not a part of the
main festivities, it should be mentioned as her music and genre echo a simpler
time that harkens from the late 19th and early 20th
century of the Mid-Atlantic area of the United States.
A spectacular display of Pyrotechnics and Fireworks was the cherry on the top
of the Bicentennial, lasting well over 20 minutes and including many
breathtaking effects. Without a doubt, the Parade and the Fireworks Show made a
tremendous opening and closing ceremony of the Bicentennial-an once in a
lifetime event that no one who came to witness it on that day will ever forget,
and will live in History for another century when the 300th Birthday
of the Town happens in 2112.
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