100 Years Ago This Month

January 1923

January 5

One Mile Of Cigarettes In Six Years

How long would a mile of cigarettes last a man? Not half as long as you might think. Most cigarettes are two and 3/8 inches long so that 23,040 of them would go into a mile. If you are a moderate smoker, consuming only 10 a day, you will require more than a furlong of cigarettes a year, reaching the full mile in six years and four weeks. A chain smoker, with an average of 40 cigarettes a day, would burn his mile in 18 months.

The moderate man with his ten smokes a day, will use about 8 1/4 miles in 50 years. The total weight would be 500 pounds and the paper in which the cigarettes are rolled would be sufficient to cover a wall 100 yards in length and 28 feet in height. If this 50 year ration was served out at one time to a 40-a-day-man he would require a cigarette about 85 miles in length and weighing almost a total ton.

Most smokers get about 50 puffs, each containing a quarter of a cubic foot of smoke from a cigarette. If we take that every cigarette represents 12 ft.³ of smoke, we find that even a moderate man will have blown into the air at the end of his 50 years, a cloud of smoke containing no less than 2,184,000 ft.³. The smoke would fill a building 35 yards long, 100 feet wide and 20 feet high, or cover 5 acres of ground with a dense fog 10 feet in depth.

If all the matches use by one person could be made into one huge safety, it would be a foot square and 5 feet in length where the head as big as four footballs rolled into one.

10th Anniversary Observed

Rev. Heimer observed his 10th anniversary on Sunday morning as pastor at St. John’s Reformed Church in Creagerstown in the presence of a large congregation. The pastor preached a sermon and reviewed the work accomplished, which is of an unusual character because the congregation was about to disband when Dr. Heimer came. They now have 100 members, a new church, an organized Sunday school, and flourishing catechism union and Kings Daughter society.

Frederick Mehring Dies

Frederick Mehring died at Myrtle Hill, his home, in Bruceville. He spent his entire life at the home where he was born and died. He was a successful businessman and much loved and respected by his friends. The community has lost one of its greatest and best men. Locally he was always loyal and helping to promote the best interest of the Bruceviile community, and was a liberal contributor of his means in many directions.

A Bargain For A Quick Buyer

A farm of 133 acres near Union Bridge, along a hard road, with good cropping, good buildings and plenty of running water can be had for $12,500.

January 12

Ice Thin And Slippery

Last Sunday the temperatures were just below the freezing point - just enough to freeze the small amount of mist falling from early morning until evening. The pavement and streets became so smooth that walking was next to impossible. Persons traveling in automobiles found their chains had but little effect on the hard frozen surface. A number of automobiles skidded back and forth across our streets, and at night many machines slid into the ditches along public roads and were either left there until morning or had to be pulled back onto the road.

Fire At William Fair’s Farm

A narrow escape from a serious fire was made at the William Fair farm, near Taneytown, on Thursday morning. Mr. and Mrs. Myers, who live in the house, where awoken by the smoke and fought the fire as best they could until help arrived. In some mysterious way the fire seems to have originated in the cellar and communicated to the kitchen and upstairs rooms. A large lot of clothing and bedding burned. The building was damage perhaps to the extent of $500 or more.

The Myers suffered considerably from exposure and their efforts. By their work, and remarkable good luck, the house was saved from complete destruction. No exact cause has yet been discovered for the fire.

Recollections of Bruceville

I noticed Mr. Fred Mehring’s death in the last issue of the record. I lived at Bruceville from 73 to 75. The town then had eight houses, a mill, a blacksmith shop, a school house of stone on the hill where Mrs. Joanne and Margie Mehring would take turns teaching. I believe everyone like Miss Joe best as she always use the short end of the slate frame, while Miss Margie used the longer portion. The attraction of the village were very limited; you could see a wood-burner cross on the higher railroad bridge twice a day, and a runaway horse once in a while. The Bruceville band at that time consisted of Mr. Dayhoff with a board across one of Mrs. Mehring’s four horse wagon beds, playing an accordion, as old Tom Willis the driver came home to the mill.

January 19

Given 1,500 For Death Of His Son.

Henry Wetzel, of Johnsville, was awarded $1,500 to be paid in weekly installments, as compensation for the death of his son, William, who was killed at the Tidewater Cement Plant in Union Bridge last August. It was brought out at the hearing that Wetzel was dependent upon the help rendered by his son, and that when he was killed, his death cut off a large part of the family’s income.

It will be remembered that Wetzel was burned to death as a result of an explosion said to have been caused by spontaneous combustion. At the time the accident occurred, Wetzel is said to have been working on the job with which he had not much experience and that he did not fully realize the danger he was in until it was too late. He was said to have been working in a tunnel through which great quantities of dust pass and in which the heat is extremely great. It was in this tunnel that Wetzel met his death.

Pneumonia Increasing

With influenza figures still remaining high, pneumonia increased on Wednesday, according to the statewide report of contagious diseases issue daily by the State Board of Health. There where 23 new pneumonia cases reported and 44 new cases of influenza. This brings the influenza total for the month to 467 and the pneumonia total 274. There were 13 new cases of scarlet fever, 14 of diphtheria, 29 of measles and 20 of chickenpox.

Prosperous Frederick

The population of the county is 52,500. There are 3,800 farms in the county, totaling more than 354,000 acres, both the greatest number of farms in any county in Maryland and the greatest acreage devoted to agricultural in anyone county. The percentage of improved land is 80, also the highest of any county in the state.

Frederick has the greatest number of horses; produces the greatest quantity of milk; sells more cream and milk; raises more chickens than any other county. The value of all its crops, cereals, of its hay and foraged, amount to more than that of any sister county. It has more acreage of corn, produces more wheat, more acreage of rye and production, the same of clover and timothy. In fruits it ranked third in the role of counties. It has 134,000 fruit bearing apple trees.

Some of the farms add to the production by breeding goldfish. Indeed, Frederick produces more goldfish than any other part of America. Farmers raise them like any other crops. About 370 acres in the county is given up to this underwater farming and more than 100 million fish are shipped from Frederick County every year.

January 26

Commits Suicide By Shotgun

Apparently despondent over domestic difficulties, Melvin Buhrman, about 24 years old, of Creagerstown, shot and instantly killed himself sometime between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. He had shot himself through the chest with a 20-gauge shotgun and death was instantaneous.

Buhrman and his wife had separated about three weeks ago and since that time he had been living alone. It is thought that worry over his domestic affairs caused him to end his life.

Buhrman’s nearest neighbor was his father, who living only about 500 feet distant from him, failed to hear the shot, which ended his son’s life. Buhrman was accustomed to going to his father’s house each day for water and when he failed to appear, the father became alarm and made the investigation, which resulted in the finding of the dead body of his son.

Buhrman had apparently placed the butt end of the gun against the wall, the muzzle against his chest and then succeeded in exploding the charge. There was no way of telling the exact time at which the suicide occurred. He had been employed as a laborer in the vicinity of his home. His wife and two small children survive him.

Train Hits Auto Near New Midway.

Austin Fogle, 17, had both legs broken and suffered internal injuries, and Raymond Daugherty 27, suffered a sprained shoulder and was bruised about the body when the Ford touring car in which they were riding was completely demolished when it was struck by a train at a railroad crossing near Union Bridge.

The two, who live near Woodsboro, where returning from Detour, where they had taken some milk, and we’re coming towards New Midway over the dirt road. High embankments being on both sides of the crossing where the accident happened made it impossible to see the train coming. The lay of the land is said to be such that it is often difficult to hear a train approach.

It is understood that the automobile was too close to the train to avoid the accident before the men were aware of it. Following the accident, the men were placed on the train and word was sent to Frederick to have the ambulance meet the train upon its arrival there. Both where considered fortunate in escaping with their lives.

Union Bridge Light Plant

A number of citizens and taxpayers of Union Bridge have gone to the public service commission with a large number of complaints regarding the service they get from the municipal electric plant, and the charges from the same. The commission is holding up consideration of the case, on the statement of the authorities that the proceeds of a $5,000 bond issue are now being spent on improvements, after which, a more satisfactory service is expected.