20051116 Business Associations, Marines and Veterans

Business Associations, Marines, and Veterans

(Includes a brief history of the beginnings of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce)

This column first appeared in the Westminster Eagle on November 16, 2005

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=978&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1147786&om=1

This version is only different in that I added the footnote for the July 25th, 1924 Democratic Advocate article that I reference in the column…

November 16, 2005 by © Kevin Dayhoff (646 words)

There have been several events in the last several weeks that have kept me busy answering questions. In this short amount of space I’ll try and answer everyone’s questions.

“When did the Chamber of Commerce begin?” The first meeting of the Westminster Chamber of Commerce took place on Wednesday, July 23, 1924. This organization became the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce on January 1, 1973.

According to an article in the Democratic Advocate on July 25, 1924[1], T. W. Mather, Jr., Charles W. Klee and C. Edgar Nusbaum called a meeting of “75 citizens” at the Westminster Fire Hall on Wednesday afternoon, July 23, 1924 “to consider and hear the views of the business men as to the advisability of forming a Chamber of Commerce for this city.” Officers elected during the meeting were: President, C. Edgar Nusbaum; Vice President, Miller Richardson; Executive Committee, Joseph Mathias, Carroll Albaugh, D. S. Gehr, W. H. Davis, William N. Keefer, Joseph E. Hunter and T. W. Mather, Jr.

Yes, according to a history of the Chamber written by Diana Scott, the Chamber did, at one time, maintain an office in Westminster City Hall. I should also note that the Carroll County Public Schools also maintained their offices in City Hall many years ago.

More research is needed as to what was the first “business association” in Carroll County? The Chamber was formed 26 years after another business organization in Westminster called the “Retailers' Association of Westminster, Maryland” formed on April 6, 1898 “for the purpose of the development and growth of the city and for mutual protection” against the railroad.

On April 9, 1898, the Democratic Advocate mentions that after the first meeting of the Retailers’ Association, a second meeting was to take place Monday, April 11, 1898. Of note is the fact that members of the “Merchants and Manufacturers Association” were invited. Apparently this association pre-dated the Retailers’ Association? A quick review of a Westminster directory published on January 1, 1887 by the Democratic Advocate, has no mention of any merchant’s association.

As for the many questions about Veteran’s Day: For this column, all this writer has to say about protesting for or against any war is that such protests are a cherished American right, for which men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice. Our First Amendment rights are their rights, too.

On Friday, October 3, 1862, The American Sentinel wrote a lengthy editorial commenting on the number of Carroll citizens who were seeking medical deferments to avoid the Civil War draft. The Sentinel referred to this phenomenon the "Democratic Anti-War Fever" and remarked: “It has never been known to prove fatal, nor even affect the appetite, but always resulting in a total destruction of the organ of patriotism.”

On the other hand, it was in April 1898 that the tension over the fate of Cuba erupted into the Spanish-American War. In an April 19, 1998 article in the Carroll County Times, Jay Graybeal wrote that “local reformer” Mary B. Shellman, Georgia Buckingham and Denton Gehr promoted the cause of “Free Cuba” in 1898 “in a play at the Westminster Odd Fellows Hall.”

As for a question about the U.S. Marine Corps birthday: it is the day before Veteran’s Day. On November 10, 1775 the Continental Congress commissioned Samuel Nicholas to raise several Battalions of Marines. Nicholas established a recruiting station at “Tun Tavern” in Philadelphia.

Yes, Carroll County does have a place in Marine Corps history. According to a July 7, 1996 article by Jay Graybeal in the Carroll County Times, on June 11, 1898, the first Marine killed in the Spanish-American War was from Carroll County. Sgt. Charles H. Smith was killed during the capture of Guantanamo Bay and “… buried with full military honors in Deer Park Methodist Cemetery near his parent's home in Smallwood…. More than 2,000 people attended the funeral.”

Next question?

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

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[1] To Have Chamber Of Commerce—At the call of T. W. Mather, Jr., Charles W. Klee and C. Edgar Nusbaum, well known business men and boosters of Westminster, about 75 citizens from this city gathered at the Firemen's building, Wednesday afternoon to consider and hear the views of the business men as to the advisability of forming a Chamber of Commerce for this city. The meeting was opened by electing William T. Mather, Jr., temporary chairman, and J. Thomas Anders secretary. The chairman asked for the men to express themselves on the subject, which brought forth opinions of a number, which lead to the election of officers. The officers elected are to make plans and set the wheels in motion for a successful beginning of the organization. They are President, C. Edgar Nusbaum; Vice President, Miller Richardson; Executive Committee, Joseph Mathias, Carroll Albaugh, D. S. Gehr, W. H. Davis, William N. Keefer, Joseph E. Hunter and T. W. Mather, Jr. Democratic Advocate, July 25, 1924.