At this year’s Appalachian Festival there were symposiums that talked about the different walks of life for the people in the Appalachian region. One symposium was the produced by the students of the Mass Communication department. The presentation given by the Mass Communication department was on the history of Maryland’s Mountain Region. The history was given through different clips of historical moments that help shaped the culture today.
In the first clip the audience was introduced to a Lonaconing; a town that was plague with disaster, from floods to fires. Despite the traumatic disaster Lonaconing had Allegany county first coal mines in 1751. By 1839 the population of Lonaconing had grown. The coal industries ran everything employing many people and putting the mountain region on the map. In the 1950s the first furnace company was built. The furnace company produced pig iron and gave employment to over two-hundred and fifty people. However, a fire caused the furnace plant to close and in 1980 it was turned into a Park. Besides firers there were floods that destroyed the little community, the flood of 1936 and winter of 1996. The flood in 96’ was caused by melting snow and a nearby creek that overflowed.
With in coal mines producing most of the money to the towns there had to be a way to import and export the goods; this formed the Cumberland and Ohio canal. The C&O canal was a transportation system that allowed the citizens of the Appalachian region to import and export goods easier and faster. The canal is a water way that goes through the Western mountain region to southern states. The first idea about a canal was introduced by George Washington in 1754. Washington saw that this would be a way to move goods and make a greater profit. However Washington was never able to get the canal under construction. The construction started in July 1828. The canal stretched one hundred and four miles, through the Chesapeake to the Ohio River. It took over twenty four years to build. The canal had big competition with the construction of the Baltimore- Ohio railroads. Even with the construction of the B&O railroads the canal was still able to succeed and last longer than the railroad.
By giving the audience the past the students also gave a present day look at Western Maryland Mountain Regions. The students went around downtown Cumberland and Frostburg. In downtown Cumberland the students went to historic Curtis Famous Wieners. This establishment was built in 1918 and is still around today. In Frostburg the students went to Palace Theatre, a nonprofit organization owned by the Frostburg people. The Palace Theatre has been around for eighty seven years, the staff that works their work for free. One of the workers explains the payment arrangements as a “labor of love.” The theatre shows foreign, classics, and independent films. Most of the films they receive are from small distributors because small businesses support other small businesses. The Palace Theatre has a film club that cost twenty five dollars to join for twenty four films a year. Anyone can join the film club.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Meet William Watson
William Watson is a twenty-four year old super senior from Deep Creek, Maryland. Watson graduated from Southern High in 2003. Since then Watson has been attending Frostburg State University. Watson still lives in Deep Creek and commutes daily by his 2003 Hyundai Sonata. He was raised in a household with three sisters. Two of his sisters now live in San Diego, while the other lives in Frostburg. Watson is an animal lover who owns four dogs. He enjoys basketball, poker, snowboarding, skiing, and swimming. Watson’s biggest interest is playing the guitar. He’s been playing for six years and is in a band named Halo Blue, but the name could be changed at any time. The lead singer made the name up, but has since left the band. The band has been together for about a year and is now looking for a lead singer. If you are into rock, then you can catch them at the Honi Honi bar this summer, located in Deep Creek. Watson favorite musician is Adam Jones from the group Tool. Watson favorite album is “Fade to Black” from Metallica. With all this musical experience William still says “I hate rap.” Guess it’s an acquired taste that William just doesn’t have the taste for.
While at Frostburg Watson is an English major with a minor in Pre-Law. After graduating from Frostburg William plans to attend graduate school in San Diego next year. While in his down time, Watson loves to watch the cartoon South Park. He calls himself a “South Park freak.” When he’s not playing in his band, in class, or watching South Park, Watson is working at the Uno’s in his hometown. Here Watson is the self proclaimed, “Best server,” He has perfected his craft and has been working there since his high school days. Back home Watson has a friend who made it to the finals of the World Series of Poker. Needless to say he’s proud of him. This summer Watson attended the tour Crew Fest where he saw some of his idols and one day maybe he will be on the stage and will be able to be someone else’s idol.
While at Frostburg Watson is an English major with a minor in Pre-Law. After graduating from Frostburg William plans to attend graduate school in San Diego next year. While in his down time, Watson loves to watch the cartoon South Park. He calls himself a “South Park freak.” When he’s not playing in his band, in class, or watching South Park, Watson is working at the Uno’s in his hometown. Here Watson is the self proclaimed, “Best server,” He has perfected his craft and has been working there since his high school days. Back home Watson has a friend who made it to the finals of the World Series of Poker. Needless to say he’s proud of him. This summer Watson attended the tour Crew Fest where he saw some of his idols and one day maybe he will be on the stage and will be able to be someone else’s idol.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Kurt Geisler:True Writer
True Writer
Meghan Purdy
Kurt Geisler, who turned 20 on September 18, probably didn’t have much trouble with this assignment. Kurt has written for Bottom Line his first two years at Frostburg State; starting as a staff writer and then later a music writer. Kurt is also an English Creative Writing Major along with Journalism minor.
Kurt attended Catonsville High School, graduating in 2007. Growing up Kurt spent most of his times with his grandparents, “They’re my best friends,” Kurt said. In high school Kurt appeared in eight plays with his drama class but didn’t think he was much of an actor. During high school Kurt worked at a Pep Boys. While working there Kurt injured himself once racing a go-kart. His other driving experiences include running another car off the road on his first try driving.
After moving here from Catonsville, Maryland his freshman year Kurt lived in the dorms. Now his resides in an apartment over a chiropractor and seamtress on Main Street in Frostburg, MD. Living there is very convenient since he also works in the Main Street Book Store. Living on his own he tries to eat healthy, when teased about the unhealthy eating habits of young guys he said, “Hey, I resent that.”
Kurt hopes to travel more someday. He traveled to Michigan for a writers’ conference and said, “It’s a really beautiful state; you should definitely visit sometime.” Along with writing Kurt also enjoys listening to music including folk artists such as Laura Marling and Andrew Bird along Sugene Stevens. Kurt really enjoys Stevens fifty states album with Michigan being his favorite of the albums. Kurt also has a cat named Drew, who he adopted from a waitress at the Princess Restaurant; he said he had to take him once he saw the cute kitten. Kurt also enjoys participating in a film club. One his favorite movie genre is horror, such a Repulsion and 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days. Kurt has led a very colorful life that will surely help him with his creative writing.
Meghan Purdy
Kurt Geisler, who turned 20 on September 18, probably didn’t have much trouble with this assignment. Kurt has written for Bottom Line his first two years at Frostburg State; starting as a staff writer and then later a music writer. Kurt is also an English Creative Writing Major along with Journalism minor.
Kurt attended Catonsville High School, graduating in 2007. Growing up Kurt spent most of his times with his grandparents, “They’re my best friends,” Kurt said. In high school Kurt appeared in eight plays with his drama class but didn’t think he was much of an actor. During high school Kurt worked at a Pep Boys. While working there Kurt injured himself once racing a go-kart. His other driving experiences include running another car off the road on his first try driving.
After moving here from Catonsville, Maryland his freshman year Kurt lived in the dorms. Now his resides in an apartment over a chiropractor and seamtress on Main Street in Frostburg, MD. Living there is very convenient since he also works in the Main Street Book Store. Living on his own he tries to eat healthy, when teased about the unhealthy eating habits of young guys he said, “Hey, I resent that.”
Kurt hopes to travel more someday. He traveled to Michigan for a writers’ conference and said, “It’s a really beautiful state; you should definitely visit sometime.” Along with writing Kurt also enjoys listening to music including folk artists such as Laura Marling and Andrew Bird along Sugene Stevens. Kurt really enjoys Stevens fifty states album with Michigan being his favorite of the albums. Kurt also has a cat named Drew, who he adopted from a waitress at the Princess Restaurant; he said he had to take him once he saw the cute kitten. Kurt also enjoys participating in a film club. One his favorite movie genre is horror, such a Repulsion and 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days. Kurt has led a very colorful life that will surely help him with his creative writing.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Frostburg State Holds MAT Informational Workshop
On Wednesday November 4, 2009 Frostburg State University Coordinator Vicki Mazer held an informational workshop for aspiring MAT applicants. The MAT program is a graduate program at Frostburg State that graduates students with a Masters of Arts in Teaching degree in 12 short months. Mazer summed up the program by declaring, “We teach you how to teach.”
Mazer also says, “We take as many applicants as we can, but there are some restrictions. It’s much easier to get into the program if you already have or are planning on having a degree in a specific content area.” When Mazer talks about the content area degrees she is referring to a Bachelors degree in a field such as Math, English, Biology, etc. The program is set up to quickly acclimate students who have a vast knowledge of their content area to the world of teaching.
The program starts in the summer immediately following the commencement of the university in June and runs until the following May. In the summer, Students on the secondary (middle and high school) side of the program take 15 credit hours of coursework. Then in the Fall the coursework is cut down to 12 credit hours, but students begin their placement in the local schools. Students can expect to be in public schools for approximately 100 days Fall through Spring. However, the coursework does not stop. There are 3 more credit hours of coursework in the winter and 12 more in the spring. As Mazer says, “This is a very intense program. You go to school a full school day, and then you are expected to come home and go to class until eight or nine o’clock at night sometimes. Most Students have no time to keep a job, except for occasional part-time jobs on the weekend.”
However the program is not as bad as it seems. For those intent on becoming teachers, it only takes 12 months to become fully certified and accredited by the NACATE. Not to mention there is Financial Aid available. Students can earn the Teach Scholarship, worth up to $8,000, if they agree to take a teaching position in a high need low income school in the State of Maryland. Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans are also available to help with the costs of the program which totals around $15,000 - $16,000. The cost of each credit hour is $399 at Frostburg State, and $327 at Hagerstown Community College.
As Mazer, piled all this information on the plate of 13 students sitting in attendance in Pullen Hall room 107, not a word was spoken. Not until the end of the presentation at least, at which time a few hands shot up. All of them had questions about the application process or the interview scheduling and those questions were handled relatively quickly and the entire workshop lasted about 45 minutes, but 45 minutes was all it took to put a couple bewildered looks on students’ faces and send then scrambling to the registrar’s office for applications. Mazer concluded her workshop by announcing that the MAT committee will be holding a Portfolio/Interview Training session on Thursday November 12 at 5PM, which put a small sign of relief back into most of the faces in the room.
Mazer also says, “We take as many applicants as we can, but there are some restrictions. It’s much easier to get into the program if you already have or are planning on having a degree in a specific content area.” When Mazer talks about the content area degrees she is referring to a Bachelors degree in a field such as Math, English, Biology, etc. The program is set up to quickly acclimate students who have a vast knowledge of their content area to the world of teaching.
The program starts in the summer immediately following the commencement of the university in June and runs until the following May. In the summer, Students on the secondary (middle and high school) side of the program take 15 credit hours of coursework. Then in the Fall the coursework is cut down to 12 credit hours, but students begin their placement in the local schools. Students can expect to be in public schools for approximately 100 days Fall through Spring. However, the coursework does not stop. There are 3 more credit hours of coursework in the winter and 12 more in the spring. As Mazer says, “This is a very intense program. You go to school a full school day, and then you are expected to come home and go to class until eight or nine o’clock at night sometimes. Most Students have no time to keep a job, except for occasional part-time jobs on the weekend.”
However the program is not as bad as it seems. For those intent on becoming teachers, it only takes 12 months to become fully certified and accredited by the NACATE. Not to mention there is Financial Aid available. Students can earn the Teach Scholarship, worth up to $8,000, if they agree to take a teaching position in a high need low income school in the State of Maryland. Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans are also available to help with the costs of the program which totals around $15,000 - $16,000. The cost of each credit hour is $399 at Frostburg State, and $327 at Hagerstown Community College.
As Mazer, piled all this information on the plate of 13 students sitting in attendance in Pullen Hall room 107, not a word was spoken. Not until the end of the presentation at least, at which time a few hands shot up. All of them had questions about the application process or the interview scheduling and those questions were handled relatively quickly and the entire workshop lasted about 45 minutes, but 45 minutes was all it took to put a couple bewildered looks on students’ faces and send then scrambling to the registrar’s office for applications. Mazer concluded her workshop by announcing that the MAT committee will be holding a Portfolio/Interview Training session on Thursday November 12 at 5PM, which put a small sign of relief back into most of the faces in the room.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Meet Tracey Taylor
Tracy Taylor
Tracy Taylor is an English major here at Frostburg State University. Tracy is 34 years old, a single mom, and a current resident of Frostburg. Tracy’s concentration is in Creative Writing, and for good reason. Tracy has had lots of experiences to write about, having lived in nine different states thus far, including California and Montana. She was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia and graduated high school from Chesapeake High School in Essex, MD in 1993. But as Tracy says, “If I told you in which order I lived in all those states and why, you would have way more information than what you need.”
Now, when asked what her favorite place to live was, Tracy replied, “Baltimore, because a lot of my friends are there.” However, Baltimore has not always been kind to Tracy, as she goes on to explain one of the scariest moments of her life. “I was in a bad neighborhood one night, and as I was walking down the street a guy came up to me and put a gun in my ribs and asked for all my money. Luckily I was able to get away.”
Ms. Taylor goes on to explain how she simply took off running after she told the man she did not have any money to give him. As she came to the next intersection a few good Samaritans noticed she was frightened and in a panic and they willingly gave her a ride back to her car that was parked several blocks away.
It is a good thing she was able to escape, because Tracy has a 16 year old daughter and a 9 year old son that she has to take care of. Tracy is a caring mother. She lights up when she quickly talks about her kids. “My kids are brats sometimes, but I still love ‘em and I manage to get all my work done.”
Tracy is aspiring to become a professional writer, either as a journalist or a fiction writer. However, she is still a student and makes mistakes as all student writers do, but when she does, she turns to her father who is a successful playwright. Her father lives in Ohio, and when Tracy runs into a problem, she communicates with him via e-mail to see if she is doing things the right way.
If creative writing does not work out, Tracy says she would like to be a teacher of English; and with two students of her own at home, she will have plenty of time to practice.
Tracy Taylor is an English major here at Frostburg State University. Tracy is 34 years old, a single mom, and a current resident of Frostburg. Tracy’s concentration is in Creative Writing, and for good reason. Tracy has had lots of experiences to write about, having lived in nine different states thus far, including California and Montana. She was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia and graduated high school from Chesapeake High School in Essex, MD in 1993. But as Tracy says, “If I told you in which order I lived in all those states and why, you would have way more information than what you need.”
Now, when asked what her favorite place to live was, Tracy replied, “Baltimore, because a lot of my friends are there.” However, Baltimore has not always been kind to Tracy, as she goes on to explain one of the scariest moments of her life. “I was in a bad neighborhood one night, and as I was walking down the street a guy came up to me and put a gun in my ribs and asked for all my money. Luckily I was able to get away.”
Ms. Taylor goes on to explain how she simply took off running after she told the man she did not have any money to give him. As she came to the next intersection a few good Samaritans noticed she was frightened and in a panic and they willingly gave her a ride back to her car that was parked several blocks away.
It is a good thing she was able to escape, because Tracy has a 16 year old daughter and a 9 year old son that she has to take care of. Tracy is a caring mother. She lights up when she quickly talks about her kids. “My kids are brats sometimes, but I still love ‘em and I manage to get all my work done.”
Tracy is aspiring to become a professional writer, either as a journalist or a fiction writer. However, she is still a student and makes mistakes as all student writers do, but when she does, she turns to her father who is a successful playwright. Her father lives in Ohio, and when Tracy runs into a problem, she communicates with him via e-mail to see if she is doing things the right way.
If creative writing does not work out, Tracy says she would like to be a teacher of English; and with two students of her own at home, she will have plenty of time to practice.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Uno, Dos, Tres...SUCCESS!
Andres Lara better known as “The Cuban Guy” paid a visit to Frostburg State University on September 17th 2009. The intention of his visit was to enlighten students of the University the key to success. Audience members could not ask for a better individual to give a motivational speech on success. Andres is a highly successful individual in many aspects. At the age of sixteen, he escaped from Cuba and came to the United States. Having grown up in Cuba, Spanish was the only language that he knew. No family of his lived in the states either. This lead Andres to be stranded in the United States. No family, no shelter, no understanding of the English language and no money. Ten years later, Andres was a millionaire. Currently, he is the CEO of A. Success Training, an author and a world renown motivational speaker. At one point he was also the president of Inspiration Magazine. He has been the feature in numerous radio shows and newspapers as well.
The atmosphere upon entering the ARMAH was mellow. Music was playing while Andres was making rounds to students and other audience members. Calmly and confidently he approached different people and struck up conversation. By glancing at him, one might think he was a college student dressed up for a formal occasion. His whole aura was that of a strong, confident, successful individual, though he was not intimidating. Approaching him before his speech the question, “what do you think the key to success is?” was presented. Calmly and without a bit of hesitation he answered, “I will tell you in the first five minutes of my seminar, it will hit you, one word. You don’t even need to write it down.”
That one word was “goyaata”. Immediately after revealing the word of truth he announced, “Get off your ass and take action.” That is exactly what Andres did. He decided he needed to better his life and leave Cuba, even knowing the risks that it entailed. Only having been in the states for ten years, he had already took action to learn English, find a home and become a successful young man. Andres provided books to the audience members that he is the author of. The Finish Line includes a series of motivational quotes, insights and inspirations. The book is categorized into different types of messages, for example complaining, remain focused and rise above to name a few. On the opposite page are quotes that obtain to the message. Andres gave specific instructions to audience members as to how to use the book, “It helps, it really does” he stated to members of the audience.
Audience members has rave reviews of Andres. Emily Fucello, a junior at Frostburg State University stated, “I was anticipating the greatness this gentleman had to offer. After hearing him speak it was everything I hoped that it would be and more.” Genesis Martinez, a sophomore at Frostburg State University stated, “I see exactly why this guy is a millionaire!”
Michael "Bunni" Sicilano
Since Michael Sicilano was been eleven, he has not cut his hair once. That means, over a span of seventeen years, not once have clippers, scissors or anything been taken to his long locks. To be able to successfully avoid a barber for seventeen years is truly a talent, the reason behind this incredible effort was just the lack of desire. After not having cut it for a long enough time, nature began to take its course and now his hair is thinning. Michael believes that there is not reason to cut his hair at this point. Intriguing, motivated and loyal are three attributes that are prominent in twenty eight year old Michael, better known outside the classroom at "Bunni." There nickname was given to Michael years ago by a close friend that drew a picture of a rabbit wearing a yamaka. Underneath of the picture read "bunni rabbi." Upon presenting the drawing to Michael the friend stated that this was a portrait of him. Ever since that day, the nickname has stuck.
Michael is currently a student at Frostburg State University. He has been enrolled in college over a span on ten years and in this time frame, attended three different colleges. Michael stated, "If a super senior is five years, I have no idea what to call myself." He used the phrase "touring majors" to justify why he has been in college as long as he gas. From an education major to everything in between, liberal arts is now his declared major. throughout his lifetime he was moved about fifteen to twenty times. How much longer he will be a student at Frostburg State University is a wild guess. Michael stated, "I like to say corporate nomad" when describing his father and the reason as to why he moves around so much. Thus far, four years has been the longest for his family and himself to reside in one destination and that place is the friendly town of Cumberland, Maryland. Having finally settled down in a location, Michael has been given the opportunity to participate fully in something that he is passionate about, "Church should be called a fellowship," stated Michael. This is a strong fact in which Michael is a thorough believer. With such a strong opinion, there is no doubt as to why he is the vice president if his church board. He is also involved on the Frostburg State University campus; he created a live action improvisation club.
Something else that Michael enjoys doing in his free time is debating; he considers this a hobby. He believes that his helps him to better address issues though he is embarrassed by the fact he debates so much. In his free time, role playing games also strike much of an interest in Michael. Friends that he plays with often find themselves calling one another by the names used in these games. This is only when they are trying to discretely something in the presence of others. At times, the other individuals present could be his two siblings, a brother and a sister, both younger than himself. Although Michael is the oldest, he does tend to envy a certain aspect about his brother. The fact that his brother studies video game design in Baltimore, Maryland leads to the classes that he takes being much of an interest to Michael. Though, his brother does have a reason to be envious of him. Other talents of Michael's include ballet and martial arts. Martial arts is one sport which Michael understands fully. When Michael was living in Switzerland as a younger child, he missed the whole time period in which sports came of interest to male teenagers. For a young teenage boy, the appreciation and understanding for American sports never exactly set in.
Having lived in such exotic places in other countries and many different states, Michael keeps an open place in his heart for New York. That is by far his favorite place. Much of the passion he feels towards New York may be due to the fact that he played Columbia, a female role and Riff Raff is the Rocky Horror Picture Show. So, if you ever travel to New York or decide to join the live action improv club, keep an eye open for this "bunni" hopping along.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Bruno Yoffe
Nearly twenty years ago, a boy by the name of Bruno Yoffe was welcomed to the world. Bruno, born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is now a junior at Frostburg State University, impressively double majoring in Political Science and Law and Society. After graduating from FSU, he plans to attend law school, or, if that doesn’t work out, join the Peace Corps.
There is much more to Bruno, however, than his academics. Choosing to talk on the steps outside of Dunkle Hall on a warm, sunny day, Bruno sat down to tell his story, revealing the many memorable happenings in his life, including an unforgettable trip to Paris when he was a kid that had an itchy outcome. “I was watching an eclipse and I looked up, and then scratched my head, and my hair had lice in it!” he recalls, then adds with a smile, “But don’t worry, I got rid of them.”
Dressed in shorts and a red sweatshirt, Bruno grew warmer and warmer each minute under the shining sun as he unfolded the many layers of his life, starting with his childhood. Because he was born to a father from Latvia and a mother from Russia, Bruno’s first language was Russian. He regrettably lost the language however, when he started public school and began to speak English. “I was kind of ashamed of it,” he comments. “I didn’t want kids to think I was a foreigner.” But that didn’t stop him from socializing and becoming very active as a child. Bruno began snowboarding at the ripe age of eleven, and continues to do so every winter, purchasing a pass to the Wisp in Garrett County. In addition, he remarkably earned a black belt in Tai Kwan Do when he was only thirteen years old.
When Bruno was two years old, both his mother and father received separate jobs at the Library of Congress, forcing the family to make a move to the Washington D.C. area on Christmas day. His parents are no longer together, but his mom has since remarried her boss at the Library of Congress, causing Bruno to humorously note, “That worked out well for me, because he has a lot of money.”
Bruno currently lives on Maple Street in Frostburg with three roommates and their dog, Bemis, named after Max Bemis, the lead singer of the band Say Anything. Since attending Frostburg State University, Bruno’s standout memories include an outrageous prank pulled on him by his friends in his former dorm, in which he was tied up and placed outside the R.A.’s room, and a trip with roommates to Philadelphia for a hockey game, where he ended up being “the only Capitols fan sitting in the middle of a bunch of drunken Flyers fans.” In addition to being a Capitols fan, Bruno is a passionate fan of teams in the D.C. area, including the Redskins, Nationals and Wizards.
Bruno is a man who loves to have fun and will take whatever life throws at him. Whether he furthers his education in law school, or becomes a proud member of the Peace Corps, Bruno hopes to have a successful future where he ultimately has a positive effect on the lives of those around him.
There is much more to Bruno, however, than his academics. Choosing to talk on the steps outside of Dunkle Hall on a warm, sunny day, Bruno sat down to tell his story, revealing the many memorable happenings in his life, including an unforgettable trip to Paris when he was a kid that had an itchy outcome. “I was watching an eclipse and I looked up, and then scratched my head, and my hair had lice in it!” he recalls, then adds with a smile, “But don’t worry, I got rid of them.”
Dressed in shorts and a red sweatshirt, Bruno grew warmer and warmer each minute under the shining sun as he unfolded the many layers of his life, starting with his childhood. Because he was born to a father from Latvia and a mother from Russia, Bruno’s first language was Russian. He regrettably lost the language however, when he started public school and began to speak English. “I was kind of ashamed of it,” he comments. “I didn’t want kids to think I was a foreigner.” But that didn’t stop him from socializing and becoming very active as a child. Bruno began snowboarding at the ripe age of eleven, and continues to do so every winter, purchasing a pass to the Wisp in Garrett County. In addition, he remarkably earned a black belt in Tai Kwan Do when he was only thirteen years old.
When Bruno was two years old, both his mother and father received separate jobs at the Library of Congress, forcing the family to make a move to the Washington D.C. area on Christmas day. His parents are no longer together, but his mom has since remarried her boss at the Library of Congress, causing Bruno to humorously note, “That worked out well for me, because he has a lot of money.”
Bruno currently lives on Maple Street in Frostburg with three roommates and their dog, Bemis, named after Max Bemis, the lead singer of the band Say Anything. Since attending Frostburg State University, Bruno’s standout memories include an outrageous prank pulled on him by his friends in his former dorm, in which he was tied up and placed outside the R.A.’s room, and a trip with roommates to Philadelphia for a hockey game, where he ended up being “the only Capitols fan sitting in the middle of a bunch of drunken Flyers fans.” In addition to being a Capitols fan, Bruno is a passionate fan of teams in the D.C. area, including the Redskins, Nationals and Wizards.
Bruno is a man who loves to have fun and will take whatever life throws at him. Whether he furthers his education in law school, or becomes a proud member of the Peace Corps, Bruno hopes to have a successful future where he ultimately has a positive effect on the lives of those around him.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Meeting Tiffany Dicks
Many things can be said about Tiffany Dicks, although she carries a laid back persona, a closer look reveals there are many unique assets that promise a very flavorful lifestyle. Tiffany is as local as it gets. She attended Fort Hill all four years of high school. During her time there she played softball and was a cheerleader. Tiffany graduated from Fort Hill in 2007, and shortly after she attended college at Frostburg State University and is currently of junior status. She is an employee at American Eagle Outfitters at the Lavale Country Club mall. Tiffany would claim she has no direct hobbies, but after brief acquaintance it is evident there is a longing for adventure and thrill behind her calm and collected front. There are uncountable assets that contribute to Tiffany’s warm personality, however her love for an active lifestyle, traveling, and family are above all most important to her.
Tiffany has always been an active person. She says “Ever since I was little I’ve been very curious, longing to know and experience as many joys as I can out of life!” Her claims hold true as she proceeds to admit her love to do anything and everything recreational. She loves to play mini golf whenever the opportunity presents itself, even claiming she cannot be defeated. Her sun kissed complexion may give it away, but Tiffany spends a lot of time on vacation at the beach. When she can, she loves to go banana boating, jet skiing and parasailing. Tiffany does not limit her activity when she isn’t at the beach. She keeps herself busy with shopping and going out to eat whenever she gets the chance. Her favorite places to eat include: the Olive Garden and Buffalo Wild Wings.
When asked if there was one place she would love to visit, where would it be, Tiffany simply states, “That’s a tough one, probably Hawaii? I would love to see it all. There is so much out there to experience and so little time.” During her past summer, Tiffany had the opportunity to cruise to numerous beautiful places. The stops she encountered included Costa Rica, Panama, and Cozumel. Thinking one of those exotic places particularly enticed Tiffany was a mistake. When asked where her favorite place was she has visited, she replied without hesitation, “Jamaica.” Winter holds no exceptions for Tiffany. She loves to go skiing and tubing at the Wisp. She comes off modest, but the tone in her voice reveals she shows the slopes no mercy as she cuts and dices them any chance she gets.
Tiffany is a personable young woman, speaking freely of her interests. As conversation continues she explained the things that mean the most to her. After talking of her interests and pleasures, there is obviously more to be said. A deep look into the blue and green of her eyes shows there is still a more profound love in her life, her family. Tiffany is the kind of person who puts her siblings’ needs in place of her own. She has spent much of her life enjoying time with her parents, brother Colton, and older sister Brittany. Tiffany’s dad is pilot certified. He owns a Piper Cherokee Lance airplane, making travel easy and convenient. Tiffany’s boyfriend Dane Christopher is considered to be part of the family, often accompanying them on any outing or trip he can possibly partake in.There are uncountable characteristics of Tiffany’s personality that give he. None of which are less notable than others. Tiffany displays a positive outlook on life stating that she “always tries to find the best out of any situation. Everyone has hardships but those are simply learning experiences that can be worked out.” There are many unique interests that hold priority in Tiffany’s life. Tiffany’s desire to be active, travel, and find joy and love in family is all most important to her. She does not hide that her family members are the closest people in her life. She stated “Without my family there would be no flavor to life. They have always provided the warmth and care any child could possibly be blessed with.”
Tiffany has always been an active person. She says “Ever since I was little I’ve been very curious, longing to know and experience as many joys as I can out of life!” Her claims hold true as she proceeds to admit her love to do anything and everything recreational. She loves to play mini golf whenever the opportunity presents itself, even claiming she cannot be defeated. Her sun kissed complexion may give it away, but Tiffany spends a lot of time on vacation at the beach. When she can, she loves to go banana boating, jet skiing and parasailing. Tiffany does not limit her activity when she isn’t at the beach. She keeps herself busy with shopping and going out to eat whenever she gets the chance. Her favorite places to eat include: the Olive Garden and Buffalo Wild Wings.
When asked if there was one place she would love to visit, where would it be, Tiffany simply states, “That’s a tough one, probably Hawaii? I would love to see it all. There is so much out there to experience and so little time.” During her past summer, Tiffany had the opportunity to cruise to numerous beautiful places. The stops she encountered included Costa Rica, Panama, and Cozumel. Thinking one of those exotic places particularly enticed Tiffany was a mistake. When asked where her favorite place was she has visited, she replied without hesitation, “Jamaica.” Winter holds no exceptions for Tiffany. She loves to go skiing and tubing at the Wisp. She comes off modest, but the tone in her voice reveals she shows the slopes no mercy as she cuts and dices them any chance she gets.
Tiffany is a personable young woman, speaking freely of her interests. As conversation continues she explained the things that mean the most to her. After talking of her interests and pleasures, there is obviously more to be said. A deep look into the blue and green of her eyes shows there is still a more profound love in her life, her family. Tiffany is the kind of person who puts her siblings’ needs in place of her own. She has spent much of her life enjoying time with her parents, brother Colton, and older sister Brittany. Tiffany’s dad is pilot certified. He owns a Piper Cherokee Lance airplane, making travel easy and convenient. Tiffany’s boyfriend Dane Christopher is considered to be part of the family, often accompanying them on any outing or trip he can possibly partake in.There are uncountable characteristics of Tiffany’s personality that give he. None of which are less notable than others. Tiffany displays a positive outlook on life stating that she “always tries to find the best out of any situation. Everyone has hardships but those are simply learning experiences that can be worked out.” There are many unique interests that hold priority in Tiffany’s life. Tiffany’s desire to be active, travel, and find joy and love in family is all most important to her. She does not hide that her family members are the closest people in her life. She stated “Without my family there would be no flavor to life. They have always provided the warmth and care any child could possibly be blessed with.”
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
O'Dellshae TruVarsha Wiles
From first glance, O’Dellshae Wiles was polite, carried herself well and spoke with a smile. She had a colorful personality and a positive way to look at life; you just get that kind of vibe when speaking with her from the beginning and it stayed that way throughout the interview. Also known as Shae, she was born in Durham, North Carolina at Duke University Hospital on April 23, 1989. Whether she is or is not a Duke fan she keeps a mystery. Raised all her life in Ringgold, Virginia she described herself as a “little country bumpkin.” How she was drawn to Maryland and the Frostburg State University campus was confusing at first, but after finding out she is a country girl it made sense. The pictures on the school site attracted her to come up and take a look for herself. When she saw the mountains she automatically fell in love. Majoring in English literature, she plans to become an English teacher or professor right out of college and someday attend law school to pursue a position as a lawyer. She has strong ambitions to be successful, travel the world (her favorite place being Brazil), and publish her first poetry book.
Back in high school she was quite the athlete, playing basketball and running track, competing in shot put, discus, and the 100 meters. Her taste in music is broad, listening to anything that sounds good at the time and any genre. Her favorite color, green, signifies growth, rebirth, and fertility. She loves working with colors as she experiments with designs and doing nails. She also loves writing poetry and short stories, which hint to her major in English literature. Miss Wiles is also an older sister to two siblings, a brother and sister, mentioning that being the oldest has its perks but she “Wouldn’t trade ‘em for the world.”
When a question came up about cars, they were not her biggest interest, but if she could have one, a 1957 Bel Air would be the first on her list. She explained that the car resembles the original batmobile (Batman being her favorite superhero) and is a classic. So she may not have a love for cars but she most certainly has got taste. She did indicate that she likes big rigs and wanted to eventually drive one for fun in the future.
Towards the end of the interview, Shae was asked if she could describe herself in 3 words what would they be and she responded with colorful, creative, and indecisive, which after twenty minutes of interviewing became noticeable as her sweet and optimistic qualities began to show. She then proceeded to add about herself that “If I were alone seventy-five percent of my life, I would be happy,” explaining that she likes to spend time alone and quickly added that “Everybody knows me as a loner.”
It was interesting to get to know Miss Wiles and how truly intriguing a personality can be. I hope that future individuals who get to know O’Dellshae TruVarsha Wiles sees what I saw, a kind and intelligent person who enjoys the beautiful things in life.
Back in high school she was quite the athlete, playing basketball and running track, competing in shot put, discus, and the 100 meters. Her taste in music is broad, listening to anything that sounds good at the time and any genre. Her favorite color, green, signifies growth, rebirth, and fertility. She loves working with colors as she experiments with designs and doing nails. She also loves writing poetry and short stories, which hint to her major in English literature. Miss Wiles is also an older sister to two siblings, a brother and sister, mentioning that being the oldest has its perks but she “Wouldn’t trade ‘em for the world.”
When a question came up about cars, they were not her biggest interest, but if she could have one, a 1957 Bel Air would be the first on her list. She explained that the car resembles the original batmobile (Batman being her favorite superhero) and is a classic. So she may not have a love for cars but she most certainly has got taste. She did indicate that she likes big rigs and wanted to eventually drive one for fun in the future.
Towards the end of the interview, Shae was asked if she could describe herself in 3 words what would they be and she responded with colorful, creative, and indecisive, which after twenty minutes of interviewing became noticeable as her sweet and optimistic qualities began to show. She then proceeded to add about herself that “If I were alone seventy-five percent of my life, I would be happy,” explaining that she likes to spend time alone and quickly added that “Everybody knows me as a loner.”
It was interesting to get to know Miss Wiles and how truly intriguing a personality can be. I hope that future individuals who get to know O’Dellshae TruVarsha Wiles sees what I saw, a kind and intelligent person who enjoys the beautiful things in life.
The Devin Salley
Laidback, Passionate and Heart-ful were the words Devin Lawrence Salley used when asked in his interview on September 3 to describe himself in three words. He added “Deep down inside I got heart, although I am a hard person to understand – a hard case to crack.” This could possibly be foreshadowed by his preference of dark and basic colors such as white and black. When it comes to colors Devin says his motto is “Keep it simple.” Devin is a very quiet person. He stated that his friends nicknamed him Kenny from the cartoon South Park, solely because of Kenny’s quietness in the show. “I don’t talk unless spoken to or I have something to say,” said Devin.
When ask about his birthplace and home Devin replied, "DC born, Maryland raised." Devin was born on March 13, 1989 at the Sibley Hospital in the District of Columbia. He currently resides in Montgomery County in Germantown, Maryland. Devin is also an only child which could also explain his quiet nature. He graduated from Seneca Valley High in 2007, where he ran track and played his favorite sport football. Devin’s tall, slim athletic build possibly hints toward his interest in sports. Devin is the son of former Shepherd University player Larry Salley. His father played for the university 1975-1978, where he and his team became the first team WVIAC All-Stars from ’76-’78. Larry Salley led the team in sacks in ’77 with five and eight in ’78 and was voted All-American the same year. Salley later played two years for the Houston Oilers. Devin’s father’s years playing football shed more light on why Devin has a love for the game of football.
“I like to live a carefree life that school doesn’t allow” Devin followed this statement later in his interview saying, “I think childhood, elementary school, was the best time of my life, because there was nothing to worry about.” He is currently a junior at Frostburg State University and an Exercise and Sports Science major. He would like to obtain a certification in strength and conditioning and also become a collegiate or professional football coach after graduating college. To date Devin feels his greatest accomplishment came in the spring of 2009 when he ended the semester with a 3.0 GPA. “I was in a hole mid-semester, but I pulled it off.” Although Devin is like so many students who are not excited by school, he expressed that he enjoys history. He is especially fond of learning about wars and the history of the United States.
Despite his quiet nature, Devin possesses a subtle humor. When asked if he liked animals he quickly responded, “Me and animals have an understanding” he added that he has a dog, a Doberman, named Titan. The one item that Devin could not live without is his iPod, which goes in hand with his enjoyment of music. One of Devin’s favorite pastimes is listening to R&B Soul, Motown and Old Skool. Other times he can be found lifting weights, working out to stay in shape and hanging out with his “people.” From the fourth to the ninth grade Devin was dead set on joining the Air Force and becoming a fighter pilot, suggesting that he has an adventurous side. Devin has a love for cars, especially American muscle cars. He would like to restore at least two muscle cars. Along with his love for music and cars Devin has a desire to travel. The Vatican in Italy, because of its beauty and magnificent structures, is one place Devin would love to visit. He also would like to visit Puerto Rico in the future as well as re-visiting Jamaica.
Devin Salley at first glance appears to be just the average, quiet college student with a nice smile; however, like Marvel’s Transformers “there is more than meets the eye.” Devin’s goals and determination set apart from many. His direct and thoughtful speaking is a sign of greatness in the making. His interests showcase versatility ranging from his love of history, to music and eye for vintage muscle cars, leading anyone to believe that Devin is possibly a jack of all trades. Although Devin would prefer to keep it simple when choosing colors he is far from simple when examined more closely.
When ask about his birthplace and home Devin replied, "DC born, Maryland raised." Devin was born on March 13, 1989 at the Sibley Hospital in the District of Columbia. He currently resides in Montgomery County in Germantown, Maryland. Devin is also an only child which could also explain his quiet nature. He graduated from Seneca Valley High in 2007, where he ran track and played his favorite sport football. Devin’s tall, slim athletic build possibly hints toward his interest in sports. Devin is the son of former Shepherd University player Larry Salley. His father played for the university 1975-1978, where he and his team became the first team WVIAC All-Stars from ’76-’78. Larry Salley led the team in sacks in ’77 with five and eight in ’78 and was voted All-American the same year. Salley later played two years for the Houston Oilers. Devin’s father’s years playing football shed more light on why Devin has a love for the game of football.
“I like to live a carefree life that school doesn’t allow” Devin followed this statement later in his interview saying, “I think childhood, elementary school, was the best time of my life, because there was nothing to worry about.” He is currently a junior at Frostburg State University and an Exercise and Sports Science major. He would like to obtain a certification in strength and conditioning and also become a collegiate or professional football coach after graduating college. To date Devin feels his greatest accomplishment came in the spring of 2009 when he ended the semester with a 3.0 GPA. “I was in a hole mid-semester, but I pulled it off.” Although Devin is like so many students who are not excited by school, he expressed that he enjoys history. He is especially fond of learning about wars and the history of the United States.
Despite his quiet nature, Devin possesses a subtle humor. When asked if he liked animals he quickly responded, “Me and animals have an understanding” he added that he has a dog, a Doberman, named Titan. The one item that Devin could not live without is his iPod, which goes in hand with his enjoyment of music. One of Devin’s favorite pastimes is listening to R&B Soul, Motown and Old Skool. Other times he can be found lifting weights, working out to stay in shape and hanging out with his “people.” From the fourth to the ninth grade Devin was dead set on joining the Air Force and becoming a fighter pilot, suggesting that he has an adventurous side. Devin has a love for cars, especially American muscle cars. He would like to restore at least two muscle cars. Along with his love for music and cars Devin has a desire to travel. The Vatican in Italy, because of its beauty and magnificent structures, is one place Devin would love to visit. He also would like to visit Puerto Rico in the future as well as re-visiting Jamaica.
Devin Salley at first glance appears to be just the average, quiet college student with a nice smile; however, like Marvel’s Transformers “there is more than meets the eye.” Devin’s goals and determination set apart from many. His direct and thoughtful speaking is a sign of greatness in the making. His interests showcase versatility ranging from his love of history, to music and eye for vintage muscle cars, leading anyone to believe that Devin is possibly a jack of all trades. Although Devin would prefer to keep it simple when choosing colors he is far from simple when examined more closely.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Charles Benjamin Gearhart III
Charles Benjamin Gearhart III is a 21 year old student at Frostburg State University. He is a very open and friendly person. He was born on July 15, 1985 at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. His friends often refer to him as Chucky, Mr. Gearhart is an English major with a minor in literature: “I get to read books all day.” When deciding on which university to attend, he had many different reasons why he chose Frostburg State: “I had a friend there, the English department definitely impressed me, I figured why not? It was cheap, it was in state, it was just close enough to drive to.” Speaking of transportation, Charles currently drives a Honda CRV, “All I know is that I can fit a keg in the back and I can get to Baltimore and Frostburg in one tank and back.”
His extended family resides along the east coast, with his mother’s side from New England and his father’s family is from Pennsylvania: “My grandmother makes great squirrel stew.” Although he was born in Maryland, Chucky has lived many different places throughout his life. At the age of three he moved to Minnesota and then moved to California at age ten: “It was nice at first but I need seasons.” He has a little brother who is a freshman at Virginia Tech this year.
Charles has a variety of hobbies including playing guitar, drums, and bass. As for his taste in music, he claims to listen to everything but his favorite genres are modern indie, experimental alternative, early American punk, prewar blues, and funk. His favorite artists include the Beatles, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin, Minuteman, New York Dolls, Pink Floyd, the Raconteurs, the Ramones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Replacements, the Rolling Stones, Sonic Youth, the Stooges, Vampire Weekend, Velvet Underground, the White Stripes, and Yes. His other interests consist of reading and playing old school video games such as Super Mario and Donkey Kong; “I beat Donkey Kong for the fifth time this past summer.” His favorite movies are Be Kind Rewind, Blazing Saddles, Spinal Tap, Pulp Fiction, and Citizen Kane. He is a fan of Stanely Kubrick whose famous works include Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Mr. Gearhart is also highly fascinated with the American independent filmmaker, Jim Jarmusch, creator of The Way of the Samurai.
Charles does not consider himself an ambitious person: “I’m not really goal oriented; I’m just blowing in the wind. I want to graduate and see where I land.” Considering his father is the vice president of a winery, it does not come as a surprise that Charles is interested in prohibition era cocktails as well as attending bartending or mixology school: “I want to keep my options open.”
His extended family resides along the east coast, with his mother’s side from New England and his father’s family is from Pennsylvania: “My grandmother makes great squirrel stew.” Although he was born in Maryland, Chucky has lived many different places throughout his life. At the age of three he moved to Minnesota and then moved to California at age ten: “It was nice at first but I need seasons.” He has a little brother who is a freshman at Virginia Tech this year.
Charles has a variety of hobbies including playing guitar, drums, and bass. As for his taste in music, he claims to listen to everything but his favorite genres are modern indie, experimental alternative, early American punk, prewar blues, and funk. His favorite artists include the Beatles, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin, Minuteman, New York Dolls, Pink Floyd, the Raconteurs, the Ramones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Replacements, the Rolling Stones, Sonic Youth, the Stooges, Vampire Weekend, Velvet Underground, the White Stripes, and Yes. His other interests consist of reading and playing old school video games such as Super Mario and Donkey Kong; “I beat Donkey Kong for the fifth time this past summer.” His favorite movies are Be Kind Rewind, Blazing Saddles, Spinal Tap, Pulp Fiction, and Citizen Kane. He is a fan of Stanely Kubrick whose famous works include Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Mr. Gearhart is also highly fascinated with the American independent filmmaker, Jim Jarmusch, creator of The Way of the Samurai.
Charles does not consider himself an ambitious person: “I’m not really goal oriented; I’m just blowing in the wind. I want to graduate and see where I land.” Considering his father is the vice president of a winery, it does not come as a surprise that Charles is interested in prohibition era cocktails as well as attending bartending or mixology school: “I want to keep my options open.”
Appalachian Film Festivities
This weekend the Appalachian Festival hit Frostburg by storm, bringing fourth crowds of bystanders to see what the fuss was about. Friday night held no exceptions for Appalachian Festival attendants as they flocked to the Palace Theater. The film, Harlan County, USA by Barbara Kopple started at 8 p.m and was just shy of two hours long. I waited outside the Palace's antique doors patiently as the movie played inside. I wanted to see people's reactions and hear their feedback firsthand with no biased opinion of my own. As the doors opened suggesting the end of the film, the majority of the audience made its way outside, where many stood about to talk of the film. I approached a group of gentleman that seemed to be discussing the film by the curb side bench that lay directly in front of the Palace. I asked the man closest to me what the film was about and if he enjoyed it. He said the film was about the 1974 strike that mine workers in Kentucky formed after being neglected by the union. Conditions and pay were not meeting the workers needs, therefore they formed a strike. The gentleman continued to exclaim his praise of the movie saying, "The documentary was phenomenal. I had already known about the strike, however the movie went so in depth that I felt like I was actually there!" before I could even ask about the quality of the film compared to its prestigious reputation, he said "This movie without a doubt met and exceeded all expectations I had. I would recommend it to anybody interested in the history of the Appalachians."
I wanted additional feedback so I decided to continue walking through the crowds of people searching for opinions and views on the film. I eventually came across a familiar face standing with a group of friends just beyond the Palace ticket booth. An old friend from high school, Jason Pohl was very open to discuss his thoughts on the film. I asked if the documentary put a spotlight on the lives of the miners rather than just the strike that occurred. He was quick to confirm my assumption as he began to talk about the foundation the film created around the events during the strike. "It focused a great deal on the lives of the miners before, during, and after the strike." stated Pohl. "I honestly did not have any interest in seeing the film until my girlfriend convinced me to tag along. But I'm glad I did." After a little more probing through the feelings of the audience members, I decided that the film had been a success. If there would be a festival next year, I would definatly seek out this documentary for myself based solely on the positive feedback that accumulated that night amidst the doors of the historic Frostburg Palace theatre.
I wanted additional feedback so I decided to continue walking through the crowds of people searching for opinions and views on the film. I eventually came across a familiar face standing with a group of friends just beyond the Palace ticket booth. An old friend from high school, Jason Pohl was very open to discuss his thoughts on the film. I asked if the documentary put a spotlight on the lives of the miners rather than just the strike that occurred. He was quick to confirm my assumption as he began to talk about the foundation the film created around the events during the strike. "It focused a great deal on the lives of the miners before, during, and after the strike." stated Pohl. "I honestly did not have any interest in seeing the film until my girlfriend convinced me to tag along. But I'm glad I did." After a little more probing through the feelings of the audience members, I decided that the film had been a success. If there would be a festival next year, I would definatly seek out this documentary for myself based solely on the positive feedback that accumulated that night amidst the doors of the historic Frostburg Palace theatre.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Coal at a Cost
On friday September 18th professor Kara Rogers Thomas presented a power point about a practice called mountain top removal. Assisted by students Ben, Patrick and, Michelle, Dr. Thomas presented a power point presentation on the common mining practice. The group began by asking the audience if they knew what mountain top removal is. A student tried to be humorous by mumbling, “Um, the act of removing mountain tops?” The presenters explained that mountain top removal is a coal mining practice that devastates forests in Appalachia. During this process a mountain top is flattened in order to access coal seams.
The presenters defined mountain top removal as, “Mountaintop coal mining is a surface mining practice involving the removal of mountaintops to expose coal seams, and disposing of the associated mining overburden in adjacent valleys.” Not only does removing the mountain tops destroy delicate wild life, the waste produced is poured into the valleys which causes more destruction to the environment down below.
Advocates of this type of mining offer that there is a new effort to produce what is referred to as clean coal. Contrary to what the name implies clean coal isn’t so clean. The mining companies wash the raw coal to produce clean coal. The by product of washing coal is a concoction of toxic chemicals which is then dumped into dams. These dams are trusted to contain this mess however they sometimes fail. Dr. Thomas’s group told the story of a dam in Buffalo Creek, West Virginia which did just that. In 1972 the dam buckled under the pressure and sent all 132 million gallons of toxic wasting through the city killing 125 people.
The group explained laws and efforts that attempt to restore the destroyed landscape to its original state. Federal requires mining companies to repair the broken territory however it is impossible to restore it to how mother nature intended. The struggle lies between the need for coal as a main energy source and ruining one of the most diverse habits in America.
As the presentation concluded the group let the audience know how everyone can take part in restoring Appalachia from Mountain top removal. Patrick added that anyone that is interested can get information at www.ilovemountains.org.
Music at the Appalachian Festival
Well fall is definitely here, the colors are starting to turn on the trees, there's a cool breeze in the air and the Appalachian Festival was just held this past weekend. Food, music, and fun was what one could find as the festivities kicked off on the upper part of campus. One particular area was of interest as a not so common sound came from the white tent in front of the Compton Science Center. Although it doesn't get more country then playing the banjo (no offense to anybody who's a fan), but her name was Rachel Eddy from Morgantown, West Virginia and she was an old-time folk singer who's skilled ranged from playing the banjo, fiddle, or guitar. As she played under the tent, her voice was very unique and the sound was comforting, a sound most people are not used to with rap, pop, R & B, or modern day country music flowing from their iPod to their ears. As she played, the audience took into appreciation her music as all eyes were concentrated on stage. I too was attentive towards the stage, and at one point found myself tapping my foot to the melody.
As Rachel left the stage, The Barnstormers with the RockCandy Cloggers were up next. They performed traditional American folk music using a range of instruments such as banjo, a jaw harp, bass, fiddlesticks and spoons. They played with a fast and upbeat sound that truly captured the sound of American folk music. Included in their performance were the cloggers who entertained the crowd with their fun and outgoing personalities as they danced on the wooden stage. Clogging, like tap dancing, is done by the dancer who hits either their heel or toe against the floor to create a musical rhythm. This group was able to really draw the crowd in as I herd one audience member shout, "Waahhoooooo," as well as another scream, "Yeeehaaaaaaawww," in unison.
There was definitely a diverse range of music held at the Appalachian festival, even at one point a faint sound of bagpipes was heard but all in all, for anybody who wanted to experience the day there, would not have been disappointed. The music certainly was a plus if you have an interest in enjoying new things, and at the same time learn a little history about a type of American music that necessarily isn't that mainstream. But if the music is just not your thing, the Appalachian Festival has more to offer, so if you missed it you'll just have to wait until next year to find out.
As Rachel left the stage, The Barnstormers with the RockCandy Cloggers were up next. They performed traditional American folk music using a range of instruments such as banjo, a jaw harp, bass, fiddlesticks and spoons. They played with a fast and upbeat sound that truly captured the sound of American folk music. Included in their performance were the cloggers who entertained the crowd with their fun and outgoing personalities as they danced on the wooden stage. Clogging, like tap dancing, is done by the dancer who hits either their heel or toe against the floor to create a musical rhythm. This group was able to really draw the crowd in as I herd one audience member shout, "Waahhoooooo," as well as another scream, "Yeeehaaaaaaawww," in unison.
There was definitely a diverse range of music held at the Appalachian festival, even at one point a faint sound of bagpipes was heard but all in all, for anybody who wanted to experience the day there, would not have been disappointed. The music certainly was a plus if you have an interest in enjoying new things, and at the same time learn a little history about a type of American music that necessarily isn't that mainstream. But if the music is just not your thing, the Appalachian Festival has more to offer, so if you missed it you'll just have to wait until next year to find out.
Playing at the Appalachian Festival
The actors from the short play, "Witches, Britches, Rings ‘n Things" were wonderful to watch, their enthusiasm and knowledge of their roles kept an audience of all ages captivated through its entirety. They should, however keep to acting. The program of this play read that "Witches, Britches, Rings ‘n Things" was written by Dale Barton, when Dave Barton is the correct author.
"Witches, Britches, Rings ‘n Things" is a uniquely gathered collection of Folk and Fairy Tales which was featured in Cook Chapel during the Appalachian Festival at Frostburg State University. The play featured several stories, the first called "Billy Goats Gruff" was about a small family of goats trying to cross a bridge. As the family began to head across they were each confronted by a troll who wanted to eat them. The goats each told him that there was a party 50 feet below the water's surface. He became confused by animals being underwater and was distracted enough to let the goats pass. When the last goat was passing she said there would be a cave with an air bubble and all of the animals would be inside having a party. The troll wanted to eat them so he put rocks on himself and jumped in the river. The actors did not have a river or a large area for the troll to jump into but they had a bridge painted on a board so that when the troll jumped from behind the it he sat down and looked as though he fell in.
The play was presented by Front and Centre Stage and included eight actors in interchangeable roles. The company has only been in existence for four years but all of the actors have previous experience in performing in plays. The director, Kimberly Rowley was found in the back of the Chapel sitting calmly in a chair twirling her blonde hair. She graduated from Frostburg State University with a degree in Theater.
Rowley said she was asked by the company to select a theatrical play. She looked around to her peers and proudly responded, "I looked on Google for plays about Appalachian Folk Tales and this one came up." The play was relatively easy for the group to perform because the costumes were mostly home made or already owned and with each person having several roles, the group was left small so they could change minor costume details for a great effect.
http://www.mdmountainside.com/attraction.php?attraction=953
http://www.pioneerdrama.com/searchdetail.asp?pc=WITCHESBRI&id=
"Witches, Britches, Rings ‘n Things" is a uniquely gathered collection of Folk and Fairy Tales which was featured in Cook Chapel during the Appalachian Festival at Frostburg State University. The play featured several stories, the first called "Billy Goats Gruff" was about a small family of goats trying to cross a bridge. As the family began to head across they were each confronted by a troll who wanted to eat them. The goats each told him that there was a party 50 feet below the water's surface. He became confused by animals being underwater and was distracted enough to let the goats pass. When the last goat was passing she said there would be a cave with an air bubble and all of the animals would be inside having a party. The troll wanted to eat them so he put rocks on himself and jumped in the river. The actors did not have a river or a large area for the troll to jump into but they had a bridge painted on a board so that when the troll jumped from behind the it he sat down and looked as though he fell in.
The play was presented by Front and Centre Stage and included eight actors in interchangeable roles. The company has only been in existence for four years but all of the actors have previous experience in performing in plays. The director, Kimberly Rowley was found in the back of the Chapel sitting calmly in a chair twirling her blonde hair. She graduated from Frostburg State University with a degree in Theater.
Rowley said she was asked by the company to select a theatrical play. She looked around to her peers and proudly responded, "I looked on Google for plays about Appalachian Folk Tales and this one came up." The play was relatively easy for the group to perform because the costumes were mostly home made or already owned and with each person having several roles, the group was left small so they could change minor costume details for a great effect.
http://www.mdmountainside.com/attraction.php?attraction=953
http://www.pioneerdrama.com/searchdetail.asp?pc=WITCHESBRI&id=
Taking the Festival by Storm
"Taking the Festival by Storm"
Meghan Purdy
Meghan Purdy
A beautiful sunny day graced visitors of the Appalachian Festival this Saturday. Visitors meandered around enjoying the many vendors and entertainment. The festival boasted chicken barbeque sandwiches as well as wagon selling many varieties of old-fashioned soda. Another booth sold apple butter while the Lay family sold herbal supplements and tea.
Many performers graced the stage but at one-thirty I wandered upon a very different type of performing group that hit the stage offering a myriad of entertainment. The Barnstormers were a jovial group offering folk style music and clog dancing. The Barnstormers group was a four group including two musicians and two dancers who also played instruments, including the banjo, fiddle, violin, xylphone, and cello. Each member of the group had their own stage presence but did not hog the spotlight; they made sure their unique personalities would leave a lasting impression on any audience member's memory.
Maggie Sansone and Rock Howdell, a flat-footing duo, started out the performance and said despite they're age they still love to dance. In fact, Howdell is seventy-three years old but continues to dance because as he joked, "I dance fast because I know I don't have much time left." Howdell claims to have taken up clogging when his doctor told him running, an old hobby, was bad for his legs. While Howdell wowed the audience with his dancing skills he was also musically talented, boasting talent on the fiddle in many of the bands other numbers.
Howdell's dancing partner Sansone was also equally personable and comedic. As well as being an exceptional clogger Sansone also exhibited musical talent on the cello. Other band members included Slim Harrison, sporting a cowboy hat and playing the banjo. Slim joked around with his musical talents, playing "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" by slapping out the beat on his cheeks. "Hey, am I in tune?" he joked when he started the song. Tom Jolin, our last member, was multi-talented exhibiting skills on both the xylphone and the banjo; Jolin was a more subdued member of the group but was an amazing musical talent.
Something that really stood out about the group was their unusual attire. As mentioned earlier Harrison sported a cowboy hat and a western style shirt while Howdell donned a plaid shirt and clogging shoes; while Jolin wore a plaid shirt and cowboy hat. Sansone had her own unique style with a Western style denim skirt and flowered top while also wearing clogging shoes. Sansone laughs about the groups attire, "I feel a little funny hanging out with you guys off stage, in these outfits. We look kind of like a cult."
The group was charismatic and entertaining while they joked with many of the veteran audience members and happily bantered with each other, audience members enjoyed the outgoing and easy attitude the group had with everybody, "This is a different experience. The jokes really keep your attention in between the songs." said audience member Michael Smith. The group has really built up a strong following because of their wonderful stage presence. Before the performance Howdell joked with returning audience members, "I see some of our old friends out their so I know I don't need to give any introductions."
Many performers graced the stage but at one-thirty I wandered upon a very different type of performing group that hit the stage offering a myriad of entertainment. The Barnstormers were a jovial group offering folk style music and clog dancing. The Barnstormers group was a four group including two musicians and two dancers who also played instruments, including the banjo, fiddle, violin, xylphone, and cello. Each member of the group had their own stage presence but did not hog the spotlight; they made sure their unique personalities would leave a lasting impression on any audience member's memory.
Maggie Sansone and Rock Howdell, a flat-footing duo, started out the performance and said despite they're age they still love to dance. In fact, Howdell is seventy-three years old but continues to dance because as he joked, "I dance fast because I know I don't have much time left." Howdell claims to have taken up clogging when his doctor told him running, an old hobby, was bad for his legs. While Howdell wowed the audience with his dancing skills he was also musically talented, boasting talent on the fiddle in many of the bands other numbers.
Howdell's dancing partner Sansone was also equally personable and comedic. As well as being an exceptional clogger Sansone also exhibited musical talent on the cello. Other band members included Slim Harrison, sporting a cowboy hat and playing the banjo. Slim joked around with his musical talents, playing "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" by slapping out the beat on his cheeks. "Hey, am I in tune?" he joked when he started the song. Tom Jolin, our last member, was multi-talented exhibiting skills on both the xylphone and the banjo; Jolin was a more subdued member of the group but was an amazing musical talent.
Something that really stood out about the group was their unusual attire. As mentioned earlier Harrison sported a cowboy hat and a western style shirt while Howdell donned a plaid shirt and clogging shoes; while Jolin wore a plaid shirt and cowboy hat. Sansone had her own unique style with a Western style denim skirt and flowered top while also wearing clogging shoes. Sansone laughs about the groups attire, "I feel a little funny hanging out with you guys off stage, in these outfits. We look kind of like a cult."
The group was charismatic and entertaining while they joked with many of the veteran audience members and happily bantered with each other, audience members enjoyed the outgoing and easy attitude the group had with everybody, "This is a different experience. The jokes really keep your attention in between the songs." said audience member Michael Smith. The group has really built up a strong following because of their wonderful stage presence. Before the performance Howdell joked with returning audience members, "I see some of our old friends out their so I know I don't need to give any introductions."
Sarsaparilla Surprises at the FSU Appalachian Festival
Cola has com
e a long way. A long, long way from sarsaparilla and orange cream, today’s soft drinks can’t really compare to the beverages of yore. But Sheila Mayfield, the proprietor of the “Old Fashioned Soda” booth that recently made its tasty entrance into the Frostburg State University Appalachian Festival seeks to change that.
Soft drinks have been in the mainstream for quite some time now: the first commercial soda fountain was opened in 1806, and bottled soda has been produced for nearly that long as well. However, as the tastes of the nation have changed dramatically, so have the flavors of soft beverages.
“You can’t find a sarsaparilla anymore really” said Mayfield. “I don’t know why that is, because it’s really quite good. It’s the cowboy drink, and people have heard of it. You’d hear John Wayne in the movies going ‘Give that boy a sarsaparilla!’”
Mayfield offers a look at the past with the different drink flavors: sarsaparilla, cream, root beer, birch beer and black cherry. She has taken up the role of soda purveyor after purchasing her soda apparatus from a fellow at the Cumberland Heritage Festival. She doesn’t make the syrup herself.
The apparatus itself stands out, even at a event such as the Appalachian Festival. It is a standing replica of a Conestoga wagon, a concept some might remember from playing “the Oregon Trail” or recalling history courses on the settlers heading out west.
“It’s actually modeled off one of their chuck wagons” said Mayfield, showing the varied intricacies of the wagon. “They would have stoves and cook up their food here and pull out the tables and eat it”.
One might ask what you really get out of selling old-style drinks at large festivals, but Mayfield describes her experiences as generally positive. She does have a Monday-Friday job, but quite enjoys the sales.
“I meet all kinds, and all types” said Mayfield. “But, people are generally nice. I don’t know who I get more kind words and smiles from though, the adults or the kids.
The adults and kids kept coming as well. Judging just from the amount of people hanging around the booth, Mayfield was a big hit, even though there was a bit of a ice malfunction.
“We don’t have any ice right now, but we are getting some real soon,” said Mayfield to some students who were gawking at the wagon. Some were a bit disappointed for it, but promised to return when their beverage would be offered cold.
Really, all in all, the story about Old Fashioned Soda wagon boils down to one thing. How did it taste? Was it worth the wait for ice, and was Mayfield’s blast from the past to stay?
“I think it’s great. It’s refreshing and extremely tasty” said Zachary Valley, a visitor. “It’s sad they don’t bottle it up and sell it, because I’d like another on to take with me.”
e a long way. A long, long way from sarsaparilla and orange cream, today’s soft drinks can’t really compare to the beverages of yore. But Sheila Mayfield, the proprietor of the “Old Fashioned Soda” booth that recently made its tasty entrance into the Frostburg State University Appalachian Festival seeks to change that.Soft drinks have been in the mainstream for quite some time now: the first commercial soda fountain was opened in 1806, and bottled soda has been produced for nearly that long as well. However, as the tastes of the nation have changed dramatically, so have the flavors of soft beverages.
“You can’t find a sarsaparilla anymore really” said Mayfield. “I don’t know why that is, because it’s really quite good. It’s the cowboy drink, and people have heard of it. You’d hear John Wayne in the movies going ‘Give that boy a sarsaparilla!’”
Mayfield offers a look at the past with the different drink flavors: sarsaparilla, cream, root beer, birch beer and black cherry. She has taken up the role of soda purveyor after purchasing her soda apparatus from a fellow at the Cumberland Heritage Festival. She doesn’t make the syrup herself.
The apparatus itself stands out, even at a event such as the Appalachian Festival. It is a standing replica of a Conestoga wagon, a concept some might remember from playing “the Oregon Trail” or recalling history courses on the settlers heading out west.
“It’s actually modeled off one of their chuck wagons” said Mayfield, showing the varied intricacies of the wagon. “They would have stoves and cook up their food here and pull out the tables and eat it”.
One might ask what you really get out of selling old-style drinks at large festivals, but Mayfield describes her experiences as generally positive. She does have a Monday-Friday job, but quite enjoys the sales.
“I meet all kinds, and all types” said Mayfield. “But, people are generally nice. I don’t know who I get more kind words and smiles from though, the adults or the kids.
The adults and kids kept coming as well. Judging just from the amount of people hanging around the booth, Mayfield was a big hit, even though there was a bit of a ice malfunction.
“We don’t have any ice right now, but we are getting some real soon,” said Mayfield to some students who were gawking at the wagon. Some were a bit disappointed for it, but promised to return when their beverage would be offered cold.
Really, all in all, the story about Old Fashioned Soda wagon boils down to one thing. How did it taste? Was it worth the wait for ice, and was Mayfield’s blast from the past to stay?
“I think it’s great. It’s refreshing and extremely tasty” said Zachary Valley, a visitor. “It’s sad they don’t bottle it up and sell it, because I’d like another on to take with me.”
Coal is Careless
The presentation “Voices Against Mountain Top Removal” occurred Friday afternoon in the Lane Center. Patrick, Ben, and Michelle, students of Dr. Kara Rogers Thomas (assistant professor of the sociology department at Frostburg State University), assembled a PowerPoint presentation to raise awareness of the mining practice that is destroying Appalachia. Before the students began the presentation, Patrick inquired if any audience members had any knowledge of mountain top removal, “The name says it all.” replied a young female student in the audience. Drawing from previous experiences of witnessing mountain top removal first hand, Patrick expresses that “This is pretty pertinent to all our lives” as the presentation begins. Mountain top removal involves the removal of mountain tops to expose coal seams and then dumping mountain top waste into neighboring valleys, ultimately destroying one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world, the Appalachia.
The students first became aware of this horrific practice in the spring of 2009 on a week long field trip with Dr. Kara Rogers Thomas. They traveled across the country exploring the Great Smoky Mountains, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina, and Kayford Mountain. Kayford Mountain is located near Cabin Creek, approximately 35 miles south east of Charleston, West Virginia. That is where they met Larry Gibson, an environmental activist who specializes in speaking out against mountain top removal. Larry’s family has lived on Kayford Mountain since the 1700’s and has over 300 relatives buried in the cemetery on the mountain: “Mountain top removal is practically raising the dead while burying the living.” He regularly gives tours to citizens who have not witnessed a mountain top removal project in person. The students show a picture of the “Gate to Hell”, the gate located in Mr. Gibson’s backyard that separates his property from that owned by coal companies. Larry and his family lived on the lowest part of the mountain prior to the mountain top removal project. Since the destruction of the Kayford Mountain he now occupies the highest point of land, looking down on what was previously a mountain range. There is a constant movement of huge trucks filled with rubble and coal and continuously dumping, Ben explains, “A normal Ford F-350 would go about half way up the tire compared to these trucks.”
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“Clean coal” is a widely advertised concept coal companies use to market their product. Coal washing creates thousands of gallons of contaminated sludge filled with toxic chemicals that is stored behind earthen dams. Coal companies are known for disregarding the environment as well as the local community. An extreme instance of coal company negligence happened in Buffalo Creek, West Virginia in 1972. A dam collapsed and approximately 132 million gallons of black waste sludge rushed through Buffalo Creek killing 125, injuring 1,000, and leaving 4,000 homeless. Pittson coal company, owner of the dam, referred to the flood as “an act of God.” Ben refutes the statement, “this is not a natural disaster, this was human doing.”
Countless streams have been buried and destroyed making it impossible for indigenous plants and animals to survive. Although federal law requires mine sites to restore the property to the original contour, many fail to come even close, thus making MTR illegal. The progress of the nation depends on energy and coal corporations are putting pressure on politicians to make sure they get their way. Our state and federal agencies in charge of protecting our environment are liquidating out mountains. Al Gore has stated that MTR is illegal under the Clean Water Act. The Bush administration supported the illegal valley fills partly because of the funding received by the coal companies during his 2000 election. Coal companies continue to buy political support, Larry Gibson agrees, “West Virginia has the best politicians money can buy.”
If you would like to actively participate in the anti-mountain top removal campaign and for further information, visit www.ilovemountains.org or www.moutainjusticesummer.org. Patrick states that getting involved is important in order to unify and strengthen the effort, “Larry isn’t an elected official, he’s just someone who cares.” You can donate to Larry's Keeper of the Mountain Foundation to support his ongoing effort to stop the destruction of Kayford Mountain and the surrounding community as a result of mountain top removal.
Jean Ritchie Performance
The Palace Theater was packed Saturday night as people drank root beer and ate popcorn in anticipation for blue grass legend Jean Ritchie and her sons. Ms Ritchie, age 86, performed traditional bluegrass and folk songs dating back to the 1920’s on her dulcimer, while her son, Jonathan Pickow, played banjo and dulcimer, and her other son, Peter Pickow, played guitar.
Although Ms. Ritchie admitted to having bronchitis for the past three years, this did not stop her from entrancing the audience with her knowledge of traditional church songs and classic folk.
Having written down the songs of her family since age 12, Ms. Ritchie explained and performed songs with only her voice that seemed to mimic the power of the Kentucky mountains she was raised on.
When she did sing along with her dulcimer, the mood of the theater would go from a quiet somber to a slightly more upbeat tempo. Many of the song she played had been the same ones she grew up playing on the front porch of her house, many years back, with her family. Several of the songs where in the style of stories, with heros and heroines and “everyone getting their heads chopped off at the end,” Ms. Ritchie jokes. “My mother never liked those songs,” she explains, “she only liked the ones with happy endings.”
During the performance, along with Ms. Ritchie’s singing, you could hear quiet verses sung under the breaths of audience members around you. Some close to Ms. Ritchis’s age, but ,surprisingly, many younger audience members. Ranging from late 40’s to early 20’s, the soft whispers of folk songs seemed to surround you on all sides. People reciting what they knew from songs that had been passed down from generation to generation, coming together as a hushed praise for tradition.
Before performing a church hymn, she explained that while entering church, people where given single slips of paper that had the line of a song on it and during the song, when it got to your line, you would sing only your part and wait for someone to sing the line after yours. While you waited, you would hum, which kept the pitch and the pace of the song going. She asked the audience to follow this tradition for her as she sang the song and within seconds, the tiny theater began to hum like a beehive vibrating the air around it’s queen.
Soul of The Appalachia - Music
Four year old Noah could not contain his excitement; he jumped on stage and began dancing along with the Clear Creek String Band as they preformed “Anything.” The crowd and by-standers were awed by the band’s quick strumming fingers, steady wrist and old-timey voices. Armed with microphones, a bass, a fiddle, a guitar, a mandolin and a bantar Adam Crayne, Luci Lynn, Justin Lecuyer, Lucian Burns and Joe Degenaro entertained the crowd with an array of Old-Time songs from the Compton Stage. “It couldn't have been a nicer day for this” stated Amanda Barger as she and Amy Fabbri prepared to perform at the 4th Annual Appalachian Festival, hosted at Frostburg State University. The festival featured artist and performers from Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and other Appalachian states. Highland Grass, “That’s It!,” Frostburg State University’s own Chorale and Dr. Greg Latta along with many others each graced the musical stages with unique performances. Various vocal, instrumental and dancing performances could be seen throughout the eventful day. The Compton and Sowers tents were packed with listeners and viewers excited to see the festival’s veterans as well as this year’s newcomers. From Old-time and country music to Irish clogging and traditional Folk music the Appalachian Festival had something for everyone to pat their feet to or hum along with.
“I never thought I’d enjoy Appalachian music, but I did,” said Crystal, a junior at Frostburg State University on Saturday during the performance of Amy Fabbri and Amanda Barger. Fabbri and Barger’s performance was all but dull, consisting of singing, dulcimer and guitar playing by Fabbri and dancing, singing and fiddle playing by Barger. Amy Fabbri, a graduate of Frostburg State University and Amanda Barger, a Frostburg native have been playing together for a year and a half and say they always enjoy every moment of performing. The seats in front of the Sowers Stage were filled with people taking pictures, singing along and patting their feet to the music of the duo. Many people were drawn to the few empty seats throughout the performance by the beautiful music filling every inch of the tent. Others people stood under the tent or around it just to catch a quick glimpse or listen to the sounds flowing effervescently from the tent.
“There’s something about dancing it puts a little spirit into the music,” Barger said smiling as sat down her fiddle and stood to begin Appalachian flatfooting. Her quick flatfooting steps and fluid turns captivated the audience. Barger danced smiling whole heartedly as a Fabbri sang and played. The enjoyment on duo’s faces as they smiled at each other was priceless; likewise, was the audience’s enjoyment. Caleb, 7, joined his mother, Fabbri, and Barger on stage as they performed their own rendition of the timeless 18th century folk song “Shady Grove.” Caleb surprised his mother with his willingness to sing and further intrigued the audience with his budding talent and confidence.
“It was wonderful!,” exclaimed Matt Radcliffe after the performance of Amy Fabbri and Amanda Barger. “It was fun,” Amy Fabbri said of her experience as she was packing up her instrument, “I like this festival, it’s really relaxed.”
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Fishers and Bobcats and Bears, Oh My!
Frostburg’s annual Appalachian Festival started off with a bang on Friday afternoon as graduate students Zoe Hanley and Julia Smith of Frostburg State University’s Department of Biology led an in-depth presentation entitled “A Closer Look at Habitat Use and Detectability of Carnivores in Western Maryland.” Hanley and Smith conducted this research project with Dr. Thomas Serfass, who is also a part of FSU’s Department of Biology, but was not present for the presentation.Due to human-related factors that led to a change in the distribution and density of carnivores in Maryland, Hanley, Smith and Serfass developed and put into action a project to observe sites in a 120-km2 region of Savage River State Forest in Garrett County. The goal of the project was to ultimately determine the occurrence of carnivores in the area, particularly bobcats and fishers, and to identify seasonal patterns of detection success.
Though there was a thirteen minute delay due to computer difficulties, fifty-three people waited patiently for the presentation to begin as the presenters apologized for the set-back. Soon enough, the computer was up and running and the lights were shut off, signaling that Smith and Hanley were ready to begin. Projecting a power point presentation onto a large screen in the front of the room, Smith spoke first, describing what the bobcat and fisher are in attempt to give the audience a better understanding of exactly what they were looking for. Though the power point presentation listed correct definitions of the animals, Smith drew a laugh from the audience by adding her own portrayal of a fisher. “I usually describe it as a mink on steroids,” she declared.
Hanley soon took over to discuss the study design. She first spoke about the motivating factors of the study. “Very few studies have been done on these species in this area,” she reveals. “Also, there has been limited research on seasonal detectability.” This surprising information makes their study unique and refreshing for those who take the time to study it.
In order to attract the fishers and bobcats to the regions where cameras were set up, the researchers placed certain items in the area. Deer meat, skunk tincture and beaver castor were used to draw the fishers in, while bobcats were pulled in with feathers, bobcat urine and one more interesting item. Smith explains, “As you know, cats are really prone to liking catnip, so we thought we would use catnip oil to try to attract these animals.”
While they were only targeting detection of bobcats and fishers, the researchers detected a total of thirty-five different species in the area tested, including a numerous amount of bird species, turkeys, white tail deer and black bears. Hanley revealed to the audience that there was no significant difference in seasonal detection of carnivores such as the fisher and bobcat; however, they found that there was a severe drop-off in black bear sightings during the winter months due to hibernation. In addition, many more fishers total were detected than bobcats, but Hanley made sure to note that this interesting piece of information does not necessarily reflect total bobcat numbers in the area. “That doesn’t mean there are more fishers living,” she informs. “Bobcats are just shy, so they don’t come out a lot.” Finally, they found that the carnivores mainly occupy deciduous forests, and that fishers are occupying twice as much evergreen forest as bobcats.
After the results of the one year project were revealed, Smith and Hanley allowed question and answer time with the audience. One curious audience member wondered if Smith and Hanley were cautious of leaving their own scent in the area when initially setting up the camera. Hanley stated that they were “probably not as cautious as they should have been,” but they did wear gloves and avoided touching the camera too much.
Though the year long observation period has come and gone, and a sufficient amount of results have been determined, Hanley stated that the project is not quite finished. “We’re going to continue analyzing the data and try to find more patterns in occurrence.” Saying they are dedicated to this study is a definite understatement.
"They ate my shirt!"
“Those kids are really good at bike riding!” says Mike Tabb. “Earlier he was riding down
While observing the festival, Kadeem Reynolds, a member of the local fraternity, noticed the Apple Butter Station, which was run by people of what he assumed of Amish culture. “And it’s right next to the wagon from the Oregon Trail Days!” Reynolds laughed. This station was set up with lots of treats one would find at a bakery called the Apple Butter Station.
All along the upper quad, stations were set up. What was assumed as an 
Continuing the walk through the festival, Andrew Wilk and Sorley Bouton were spotted trying to walk on stilts. “I am trying to work on my skills, I am getting a little better,” says Wilk. “There is someone around here making bullets,” says Bouton as he got very excited at the thought. One station over was almost a flash back in history. A man by the name of David Zaladonis was portraying a ranger from the 1750’s during the French and Indian War. His outfit involved a large tan shirt with a low v-neck that had a knife hanging from it. Zaladonis had long darker pants that were also very baggy. Many of the supplies in front of him he said, “These would all be put right here in my satchel.” He has a partner, who was not there, named Jackie Miller. They have been doing this since the 1980’s, close to thirty years, and they call themselves the Raestown Rangers. Looking throughout his stand, there is animal skin from many different animals and a section of where he is cooking meat. When asked exactly what is he doing, he answered “I’m just cookin’ some beef. They ate a lot of deer back then, but they really preferred beef. So that’s what I’m doin’.”
Bees of Appalachia on Display at FSU
Frostburg State University's Fourth annual Appalachian Festival began on Friday, September 18th with a few scattered presentations. Saturday proved to be a better day with many tents assembled and more merchants available than last year. Anything from homemade root beer to handcrafted furniture can be purchased from these Appalachian merchants who were arranged on the lawn of the upper quad. A particular display drew the attention from each passerby who marveled at the sight of honeybees, thanks to Steven and Ruth Martin, of Church View Farm (http://churchviewfarm.blogspot.com/).
Mr. and Mrs. Martin live on their working farm in Romney, WV which is situated in Hampshire County. They brought with them a small transparent box with a colony of bees inside so everyone can observe their habits. Ruth often works with the bees and admits "It's not smart beekeeping practices to handle them without proper protection. Although I have done so," she snickers, "I know it is important to remain very calm while I handle the bees to prevent the release of a fear pheromone that causes them to sting."
Mrs. Martin discusses the life of a bee and how it spends the first three weeks of life working in the hive. "During the larva stage, the bee must work to clean the cell that it occupies." she explains. A week later, the bee will transform and have the duty of repairing the "comb" and packing nectar (handed off by worker bees) into various cells and "capping" those cells with wax when they become full. The third week a young bee guards the hive and protects it from intruders while becoming familiar with it's surroundings. Finally, the fourth week of life consists of gathering nectar. They gather a load of nectar and drop it off to the young bee who is waiting to fulfil his obligations to the hive.
Male bees are called drones and their only duty is to gather nectar and mate with the queen. Some drones will live their entire life without ever mating. If they are lucky enough to mate, the drone will quickly fall to the ground and die minutes afterward. Worker bees are female bees and they carry a stinger unlike the male bee. Mrs. Martin wrings her hands while deep in thought "I believe there are six different jobs in the hive, if I can remember correctly, and the bees work together to get those jobs done"
Realistically there are only a few types of bees to be afraid of. Stay away from the queen bee in any circumstance. Although they rarely travel away from home, the queen bee is protected by the entire hive. She is groomed, fed and made comfortable by the other bees in order to lay eggs. This behavior has taken place for millions of years.
Other dangerous bees include the yellow jacket. "Yellow jackets can sting multiple times unlike honey bees" Mrs. Martin explains. She also tells us that bumble bees are "harmless and do not have stingers or bite at all."
Bees must be protected because they produce many usable products. Honey is used to sweeten foods or make candies while beeswax is used for lotions, wood polish, and candles among other things. More importantly bees pollinate plants and crops. Think twice before killing that bee in the house because apples, cherries, cucumbers, blackberries and watermelon are only a few examples of fruits that are possible because of our friend, the bee.
Detectability of Carnivores in Western Maryland
The symposium of A Closer Look at Habitat Use and Detectability of Carnivores in Western Maryland was held in the Lane Center in room 211 at Frostburg State University on Friday September 18, 2009 at 1:00pm. Zoe Hanley, Julia Smith, and Thomas Smith showed a PowerPoint, while they discussed the natural history and their findings of these carnivores. They focused in on two main animals—the fisher and the bobcat. The family of the fisher is mustelidae and they mainly live in the forest. Whereas, the bobcat family is known as felidae and it is known to be more adaptable living in fields and forests. Both the fisher and the bobcat have similar diets with both of them eating squirrels and mice. However, the bobcat also eats white-tail deer, while fishers eat porcupines. Julia said, "Fishers circle around the porcupines a few times and then attack their faces to consume them."In December of 1977, the first fisher was trapped in Maryland, while 45 fishers were trapped in Maryland between 2006 and 2007. On the other hand, bobcats are labeled as species of special concern. “Whatever technology you use to find these animals, think about what season you are finding them in most often” said Zoe. Before the department of biology went out on a quest to find these two animals, they set a main objective: to access whether habitat related factors predict the occurrence of bobcats and fishers, and to identify seasonal and circadian patterns of detection success. The members of the department of biology used the Savage River State Forest as their study area where they did a sample every month for one year. They put one remote sensory camera at each of the 40 sites to try to capture an image of these animals. To attract the bobcats they used feathers, catnip oil, and bobcat urine because they are visual hunters. In contrast, they used skunk tincture, beaver caster, and deer meat to attract the fishers. At the end of their experiment, they got 35 species total after one year with their camera. The species they got pictures of included coyotes, birds, a grey fox, white-tail deer, bears, and their main priority—bobcats and fishers.
By looking at the chart in image above that was on the PowerPoint, it’s easy to see that bears were detected the most overall, and especially in July through October. This results from bears hibernating in the winter, and coming around more in the summer, spring, and fall months. The chart also showed that bobcats were detected more than fishers in every month. “I want to point out that just because our data shows more bobcats, does not mean there are more bobcats than fishers. Bobcats are just more inquisitive animals, while fishers are more skittish” clarified Zoe. Lastly, the members of the biology department used mapping programs by using buffers to determine where they were finding these carnivores the most. Their results showed 97% were found in the deciduous forest. “Fishers were found in evergreen forests twice as many times as bobcats were because fishers use traverse logs were their skin can blend in and they can catch their prey. Bobcats skin is a lighter shade, where they would stand out” explained Zoe. At the end of the presentation, Zoe and Julia said that they were going to continue looking for more prints and further their search in 2010.
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