The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1938-02-24
MT. LAKE PARK

Baseball fans of the old days should
get "kick" out of this letter. We are
going to give it to you just as it was
handed to us by Mr.. A. T. Buck
White:
Remember when the baseball
grounds were down at the railroad
station? Home base was about where
the postoffice building now stands.
There was a porch along the side of
the old postoffice structure which some
of the ladies used as a grandstand to
watch the game when c. J. "Nibs"
Rathbun pitched. James Paugh was
the catcher; Phil Cough, first base; Ed
Burley, second base; Warren "Hick''
Rathbun, third base; Bob Burley, the
short stop; Johnny Bonney, left field;
Bill Armstrong, right field; Lew Arm
strong, center field.
Later site of the ball diamond was
moved to the lake and for a number
of years as soon as Johnny Bonney ar
rived for the summer the baseball sea-
son was officially opened. Benney was
always the captain and manager (and
by the way he was one of the finest
fellows who ever came to the Park
He had team composed of Pop
Hurst, of Yale; Bill Bowman, of West
Va. u; Floyd Parsons, of Cornell; jim
Brewer, of University Of Virginia;
Doodle" Sanks, Lew Armstrong, Ed
Johnson, Harry Beck, Bill Armstrong,
Joe Johns, Creel List and many others
to draw from. Perhaps some of you
will recall them later"
Well, we must admit that some of
those named are little before our
time, but not all of them. Anyhow,
thanks, Mr.. White.
Now we give you one that we can
remember, and it did not come from
Oakland, but from Washington, D. c.:
"Do you remember when Blaine Giess-
man, lad from near Mountain Lake,
drove a surrey for his father, who had
a livery in Oakland? He was SO very
nice; we have often wondered what be-
came of him. Our drive was usually
from Oakland to the bennett Hotel,
where we stopped, and the way was
that lovely back road from Oakland"
blaine Giessman, that $50 nice
boy" is now County Commissioner
of Garrett county,.
From Fairmont, w. Va, comes: eve
recall when the Loeb Lynn Hotel was
the high spot The Consolidation Coal
Company officials held a meeting
there in August one year. We believe
it was the first year the casino had
been built, but we are not sure. Mrs.
List was hostess, and what a hostess.
We remember that most of our party
came in on the B. & o. which reached
Mountain Lake around two or two
thirty. Was it called No. As? Our rec
objection is that it was"
We looked at an old post card. 1t
pictured the station on a Saturday
afternoon. Ladies with parasols were
numerous. They were waiting for the
afternoon trains. Their husbands,
sweethearts and friends were coming
in to spend Sunday.
Excursion days were big events in
the life of summer and winter resi-
dents. All trains were met, and al
ways there was some one unexpected
arrived. Then it become a time to fig
ure out where they were going to stay
and we began to wonder if there was
room enough at the house.
Next week we hope to be able
to furnish some programs of those
days. Anyhow, they have been prom
Used.
Seems too bad that we can not have
at least little of that "old glamor" in
Mountain Lake. After all it has not
changed much. What is the trouble
Perhaps it is ourselves; yet nature
has remained the same and there are
no material changes that we can see
Of course, the days of Chautauqua are
passed, but there surely must be some
thing to take the place of that. Noun
tain Lake is too grand a place to sink
into just a place in which to live. We
need something-what is it?
An article just came in with a pic
ture of the first kindergarten in the
old Assembly Hall. Miss Minnie
Daugherty, of Baltimore, a guest a
the Braethorn last summer, and Miss
Pollack (she has passed on) were the
teachers. We ourself went to this kin
dergarten, but not at this time. In the
group picture we saw Hugh Carr, Hal
lie and Harry Sanks, Gay Hayden
John Hayden, Ellen Hayden, Mrs
Mamie Carr Martin, the Miller sisters
Earl Enlow and his sisters, Miss Hell
en-, Mrs. Gertrude Enlow Utterback