DEEPCREEKDISPATCH ➠

Newsletter of theProperty Owner’s Association

of Deep Creek Lake, Inc.

Summer 2013

MESSAGE FROM THE IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENTIt has been a privilege serving as the DCLPOA President for the past two years.However, it is time to hand the reins overto a younger leader who has a betterchance of keeping up with the energetic

and proactive committees that the POA now has—they aredoing a great job. I feel like the person who said, “Therethey go and I must follow because I am their leader.”

NOTES FROM THE POLICY AND REVIEWBOARD MEETING—JULY 29, 2013:Watershed Management Plan1. Bob Gatto, County Commissioner, advised the Memo-

randum of Understanding between the Garrett CountyCommissioners and the Secretary of the Department ofNatural Resources setting forth agreement for the de-velopment of a Deep Creek Lake (DCL) WatershedManagement Plan should be signed by the Commis-sioners during a public meeting on August 13th.

Bob also advised the Thayerville water project continuesand a Sewage project that will begin on Marsh Hill Roadis still in the design phase. There will be public meetingsin the future on this project and everyone impacted will bepersonally notified.Canada Geese2. There was some discussion about the Canada Geese

problem and what could be done furthering the effortsalready taken this year. David Myerberg (PRB Chair-man) will prepare a letter for Paul Peditto of DNR ad-vising we wish to prepare a comprehensive plan todeal with the geese and requesting assistance in creat-ing such a plan. There was also agreement that a sub-committee could be formed to assist with this effort,composed of PRB representatives and members ofthe public.

Laws Impacting DCL3. The draft Compendium of laws and regulations that

impact DCL that has been prepared by W. ChrisShepherd was discussed and David Myerberg relatedhe would like as many people as possible to reviewand comment on this document. It will be sent tosome POA Board members and, hopefully, will soon

be available on a DNR website for public review.Bathymetry Mapping Presentation4. Pete Versteegen (POA Member) provided a most inter-

esting presentation concerning bathymetry mappingwork he has been doing with regard to DCL that can befound on his web site at www.deepcreekanswers.com.In addition, there is a wide variety of other interestingand factual data concerning DCL on the site, so a visitwould be most worthwhile.

5. The next meeting of the PRB will be on October 28,2013, at 6:00 PM at the Discovery Center.

Bob Hoffmann, your newly elected president, has demon-strated this energy and innovation that will serve you well. Ihave the utmost confidence in Bob and look forward to con-tinuing on the POA board this year under his leadership.Paul Weiler, a POA member, and I will try to live up to thestandard that Bob has established for the Dispatch. Bob re-mained in charge for this issue and I think that it is very in-teresting and informative.

Sincerely, Troy Ellington

“FAMOUS BOATS OF DEEPCREEK LAKE”Ed King is a long-time member of our POA Board and a trueenthusiast of Deep Creek Lake. He has authored numerousvignettes under the general title “I Love Deep Creek Lake …Another in a Series,” which have been published in “The Re-publican” newspaper from time-to-time. About five yearsago he decided to research and write about the boats of DeepCreek Lake, beginning when the lake was created in 1925and moving forward to boats of the present day.

Ed asked Paul Durham, former lake manager, to write theForeword for his book. Paul mentions the adage that “boatsare holes in the water into which we put our money.” Hegoes on to say that Ed has altered that adage to “boats areholes in the water into which we put our memories.”

In each photo of boats, Ed has attempted to stimulate the

(Continued on page 2)

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The editorial below appeared in the July 4, 2013, edition of The Republican and is reprintedhere with the permission of Don Sincell, Editor of The Republican and the writer of the edito-rial. I think it captures how we in the POA feel about DCL.

Bob Hoffmann

PARAMOUNT TO OUR FUTURE ...Over the years this newspaper has carried photographsof hundreds of proclamation signings, symbolic ceremo-nies designed to either extend congratulations or to raiseawareness of everything from heart disease to Flag Dayto any number of special events. The general, overall ef-fectiveness of proclamation signings is likely minimal;however, we single out one signing this week because ofthe immense importance that lies behind it.

July has been proclaimed National Lakes AppreciationMonth by a national organization and the governor ofMaryland, and this week the Garrett County commission-ers issued a local version. (See photo in this section.)While the proclamation is designed to cover all lakes—and Garrett County has about a dozen lakes—the focus ofthis corner today is on the mother of them all, Deep CreekLake.

The importance of DCL to Garrett County cannot beoverstated, even though it has been touted on numerousoccasions and by many different entities. One figure thatis reported on a fairly regular basis is the percentage ofGarrett County’s budget that is funded by property taxesof lake and lake watershed owners. That number is astaggering 60%, which alone is sufficient to emphasizethe importance of Deep Creek Lake.

However, when one takes into account the many othereconomic benefits of the lake, and the proverbialdomino effect, it takes on an even greater significance.One can only try to imagine Garrett County withoutDCL, and how much worse off our general economywould be in that scenario. Because, besides the manymillions of dollars in tax revenue that would be lost,

millions more would be lost in revenue generated by therestaurants, motels, marinas, recreational facilities, andgas stations that are only in existence because of thepresence of DCL. The hundreds of jobs, both seasonaland fulltime, for local young people and the not soyoung, would not exist were it not for the lake. The ac-commodations tax revenue into the county cofferswould be maybe 10% of what it is today. Tourism intoour county would be slashed to shreds, meaning everyother business that is not located around the lake wouldsuffer. We likely lose our “destination point” designa-tion. This very newspaper in which these words appearwould likely be unable to survive financially were it notfor DCL.

So the preservation of Deep Creek Lake is paramountfor the future of Garrett County, plain and simple,whether one lives in Shallmar, Oakland, Finzel, orCrellin. Therefore, the various issues involving the lakemust be taken seriously and addressed over the next sev-eral years to keep the lake the gem that it is today. Thesewould include problems of water levels, shoreline ero-sion, flow of silt into the lake, invasive plant life, lakeaccess issues, possible overuse of the lake surface, andothers. The lake is not crippled by any of these problemstoday, but all of these conditions need to be addressedrelatively soon in a comprehensive, coordinated, teameffort by the state of Maryland (owner of the lake),county government, lake property owners, lake businessowners, and, well, all of us who live in this county. Thelake is just way too important to our future.

Don Sincell, Editor

“FAMOUS BOATS OF DEEP CREEK LAKE”Continued from page 1

reader’s memories of what they perceive as a famous boat.It might be a simple canoe or grandpap’s mahogany ChrisCraft of days-gone-by.

The book Ed has written is a hardbound, coffee table, col-lectable featuring more than a hundred boats in color pho-tos. He interviewed more than eighty people during his fiveyears of research. The book is currently in the printing/binding process and, hopefully, will be available in Septem-ber 2013. Priced at $29.95, it would be an excellent gift toconsider for the holiday season.

Several signing sessions are planned, however, you mayreserve a copy by e-mailing edjeanking@verizon.net.Please provide your name or name of a recipient and Edwill be happy to write a note to that person and, of course,sign it.

The Swan and the Ark of Holy Cross are featured in thebook along with numerous other vessels, including severalrefurbished antique boats, sailboats, fishing boats, and ca-noes, along with some stories about boating on DeepCreek Lake.

Ed King

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VOLUNTEERINGBy Lou Battistella, Past President

The POA dues monies subsidize the expenses of whichmembership communication takes a large portion. The POAselectively supports the Garrett Memorial Hospital Founda-tion and co-sponsors the wonderful fireworks for the Fourthof July celebration which benefits all lake residents, locals,visitors, and guests. The POA made a significant contribu-tion in the funding of the DNR Sedimentation Report beingconducted by the Maryland Department of Natural Re-sources which will be of great usefulness, insuring a futurefor our lake. The POA has subsidized gypsy moth sprayingwhen the state couldn’t find sufficient funding to effectivelyimpact the control of the moths. The POA made a signifi-cant contribution with a donation of fifteen Automatic Elec-tronic Defibulator (AED) units for each of the Sheriff’sroad deputy cars and for many years contributed to theWildlife Conservation Fund which provided for cell phonesfor improved public safety communication with the NaturalResource Police. Lastly, the POA maintains significantfunds in case there is ever a need to seek expert, legal opin-ion, or representation to assist us, the lake residents, shouldwe ever be faced with an issue that would significantly im-pact us all.

This is just a brief recap of the inner happenings of the POAduring my time on the Board and now it is time for me tostep aside and make way for new energy for the board tocarry on with the many goals and objectives for the benefit ofall those who love Deep Creek Lake, just as much as I do.

I have life long memories of Deep Creek that date back tothe 1950’s. I have witnessed a quiet summer vacation lakethat was enjoyed primarily by steel mill workers from Pitts-burgh grow into a world class four season resort, catering tovisitors and lake second home owners from all over theworld. Much has changed, but the beauty of the landscapeand people of Garrett County lives on.

All of us who own a piece of land around the lake, whetherwe live here full time or not, “have a stake in the lake” andhave an obligation to protect it and preserve it for genera-tions to come. Volunteers are getting hard to find for any-thing. Everybody these days, seems to have more and moreto do. The POA from time to time needs volunteers. I urgeyou to participate. There are several ways. For instance, go-ing to one or both of the Summer General MembershipMeetings that are held in June and August which only takesa couple of hours on a Saturday morning. We need to see afew new faces there. It is a great opportunity to meet yourstate and local officials and affords an opportunity to askquestions in a public forum. Or, you can come and sit in onone or all of the quarterly board meetings, also held on Sat-urdays. Or, better yet—VOLUNTEER and throw yourname in the “hat” to become a board member. Remember, ifyou sit back and let someone else do it, the value of criti-cism is limited.I have met a lot of wonderful people during my time on theboard that share my passion for Deep Creek Lake. The

I would just like to offer a few words as I step down fromthe Board of Directors of the Property Owners’ Associationof Deep Creek Lake, Inc.

Volunteering is something I like to do. There are manypeople in communities that volunteer their time and, if itwere not for volunteers, especially in the fire service, ourtaxes would be much higher than what we are presentlyfaced with. Many times I see organizations are forced topay out monetary stipends just to accomplish goals andagendas. Once this happens, the spirit of volunteering dete-riorates to the extent the task becomes a job.

In our community here in Garrett County, the livingaffordability would be much more onerous without all thevolunteers. I am a business person in commercial real estate,development, and excavation. I have been associated with thevolunteer fire service for over forty years. I have also volun-teered my entire working life as a board member of variousbusiness, institutional, and community organizations and as-sociations. I sometimes spend more time on my volunteer ac-tivities than I do on my own business. Reasons for this typeof behavior are that I find great satisfaction in giving back toa community I love and I recognize the huge economic valuethat volunteering has on a community. Unfortunately, thereare too many people these days that tend to sit back and letothers do it. For me, when I see that there is work to be done,I can’t sit by and let it “smolder” unattended.

For the past eleven years, I volunteered as a board memberof the POA. I served as secretary and president, the POA’srepresentative on the Deep Creek Lake Policy and ReviewBoard (PRB) and the POA’s representative to the GarrettCounty Chamber of Commerce. The vast majority of uswho have second homes within the Deep Creek Lake Wa-tershed are not full time residents of the county and, there-fore, cannot vote in local elections. The POA gives us avoice in our vacation home community. The POA has alsobeen extremely successful in communicating the points ofviews shared collectively by us—the members, to both stateand local government officials.

Right now, the POA has one of the best and most activeBoard of Directors in its history. The eighteen member boardis volunteering an unprecedented amount of personal time inorder to effectively represent us “part-timers”. Just some ofthe recent items the board has been working on include up-dating the membership database and a mapping project of thelake watershed to improve membership communications. ThePOA is extremely active in following the Marcellus Shale in-dustry to insure we do everything possible to protect ourproperty and the lake. The POA participates as a member ofthe PRB and we follow legislation as it affects the member-ship as well as keep close ties with the local Chamber ofCommerce. We are involved in issues on boating safety andwe continue to be involved with public safety. Our biggestproject right now is our involvement in bringing togetherstate and local government agencies in the interest of the wellbeing of the lake and adjacent watershed. (Continued on page 7)

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4 Residents1 Forestry

9 Member Board 1 RecreationRepresentatives 1 Business

1 Agricultural1 Power plant

DEEP CREEK WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN STEERINGCOMMITTEE—9 MEMBER BOARD—AUGUST 13, 2013

David Myerberg—ChairResident Representative237 Lebanon StreetMorgantown, WV 26501304.284.4105 Office301.290.3310 Celldmyerberg@jacksonkelly.com

Robert HoffmanResident RepresentativeP.O. Box 168Oakland, Maryland 21550703.975.8485 Cellrahoffmann93@gmail.com

Peter VersteegenResident Representative144 Lake Pointe DriveMcHenry, Maryland 21541301.387.4967 Home240.285.1400 Cellpete@deepcreekanswers.com

Lulu GonellaResident Representative662 Crows Point RoadSwanton, Maryland 21561240.475.4131 Celllulu@lwgconsult.com

John FormanForestry Representative510 Third StreetOakland, Maryland 21550301.334.8457 Home301.616.1021 Celljforman@verizon.net

Steve GreenRecreation RepresentativeP.O. Box 85McHenry, Maryland 21541301.387.4199 Office301.501.4199 Cellsteve@highmountainsports.com

Bob BrowningBusiness RepresentativeP.O. Box 172McHenry, Maryland 21541301.616.6997 Cellcptbob@deepcreekoutfitters.com

Willie LantzAgricultural RepresentativeUniversity of Maryland Extension1916 Maryland HighwayMtn. Lake Park, Maryland 21550301.334.6960 Officewlantz@umd.edu

Mike Sabad,Operations ManagerPower Plant RepresentativeBrookfield Renewable Energy Group11966 Midland TrailGauley Bridge, WV. 25085304-981-6504 Office865-314-2209 Cellmichael.sabad@brookfieldrenewable.com

MARCELLUS SHALE UPDATEA July E-Blast indicated that the MDE/DNR “best prac-tices” report—the second report tasked by the Governor’s“Safe Drilling Initiative” (SDI)—had been released forpublic comment and that your Marcellus Shale commit-tee would submit comments by the specified deadline(now September 10).

The comments were submitted by the Committee on Sep-tember 4. They are available for your review on the POAwebsite. They are organized as:

• Selective section-by-section comments on recom-mended best practices (mandated industry plans,engineering standards, setbacks, etc.)

• Broader comments which identify related issuesand activities (risk analysis, regulatory resourcesand expertise, adopting “safer” technology. etc.)

Our comments are not explicitly prioritized. However, wenoted that those who treasure the rural character and sce-nic beauty of the Deep Creek Lake (DCL) area have par-ticular concerns about “industrialization” as well as envi-ronmental and health impacts (traffic, noise, visual/physi-cal profile, etc.).

The general view of the committee is that the MDE/DNRreport—and the UMD-CES Appalachian Laboratory re-port which provided a valuable foundation—are gener-ally comprehensive and represent substantial progress to-ward a robust set of best practices. These are viewed asdeserving the “gold standard” characterization in severalareas.

However, there is of course no such thing as “zero” risk.This begs the question of how to address the levels of

risk remaining once best practices are adopted and thento determine whether the remaining risk levels are ac-ceptable (or not), given also a view of the potential gains.We applaud the fact that the state agencies have recentlycommitted to executing a structured risk analysis as partof the Safe Drilling Initiative.

The Committee welcomes any input regarding our com-ments or the best practices report itself. Further, indi-viduals may submit their own comments by e-mail(Marcellus.Advisory@Maryland.gov.).

Turning to a related topic, the July E-Blast also describeda study of local “community and economic impacts” bythe Regional Economic Studies Institute (RESI) ofTowson University. Participation by POA Board mem-bers in a series of stakeholder interviews was noted. Thestudy team is now conducting a survey of individual citi-zens to better understand their priorities and concerns.Some 150 people have been interviewed “on the street”(e.g., at the Farmers’ Market in Oakland). The survey canalso be taken on-line, through the end of September, byaccessing it through the Garret County website. At thePOA General Meeting on August 24, CommissionerRaley—also a member of the Marcellus Shale AdvisoryCommission—encouraged members to use this opportu-nity to provide input.

Please contact John Quilty, the chairman of the Com-mittee, about any of the above or related matters(jquilty@mitre.org). Committee members are Tom Cra-ven, Morgan France, Smiley Kessler, Chris Nichols, andPete Versteegen.

John Quilty

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DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES“STATE OF THE LAKE” MEETING SUMMARYOn July 24, 2013 Secretary Joe Gill, Department ofNatural Resources (DNR), made opening remarks andadvised DNR moved the meeting from the fall to thesummer in order to accommodate the summer lake resi-dents and visitors. He set the stage for presentations ofthe science, water quality, lake vegetation, and path-ways to planning for the future of the lake and the wa-tershed.

Mr. Bruce Michael, DNR, went over the history of wa-ter quality monitoring in the lake and tributaries. Thewater quality remains good, and supports swimming,boating, fishing and recreation. In fact, the quality ofthe water is much like it was in the mid 1970’s. He re-ported that the spring water temperatures were two tofour degrees cooler than the 2009-2012 average tem-peratures for the period. He noted that aquatic plantsare important to provide nursery areas as well as foodand cover for predators and prey species, and improvewater clarity.

The DNR aquatic vegetation sites studied in June, Au-gust, and September (2010–2013) found the EurasianWater milfoil (EWM) population to be stable and inonly six percent of the lake shallower than six feet.Both lower water temperatures and increased turbidityretard the growth of EWM.

As to fish populations, Mr. Michael reported that fishin the lake are healthy, particularly yellow perch andlargemouth bass.

Phase I of the Sediment Study compared the degree ofsedimentation in the lake with data from the 1972-74timeframe. It found that, depending upon the area ofthe lake, some water actually got deeper whereas otherareas stayed the same or became shallower.

The scientific portion of Phase II of the SedimentStudy is complete, reported Michael. This phase of thestudy focused on ten coves with greater than one footof sedimentation. The portion of Phase II that analyzesthe alternatives for sediment removal and develops asediment reduction and prevention program for govern-ment and landowners is to be ready by the end of 2013.The analysis will identify costs, methods, and impacts.Once completed, the findings will be presented to theDCL Community.

Mr. John Grace of the Maryland Department of the En-vironment addressed the rule bands and the attempts ofBrookfield Power to reduce the leakage through theplant when the generators are off. The current measure-ments of the leakage indicate a rate of 18 cubic feet persecond. That equates to 0.3 feet per month of lake draw

down. Mr. Grace advised there does not appear to havebeen any appreciable reduction in the leakage fromBrookfield’s efforts.

Ms. Cathy Shanks, DNR, addressed the creation of thewatershed management plan. She noted that the water-shed is small compared to the surface area of DeepCreek Lake. She described the purposes for the cre-ation of a watershed management plan as:

• Provides structure for resourcemanagement

• Provides focus and balances interests

• Provides a framework for prioritizingfinancial resources

• Prioritizes management actions

• Provides a venue for citizen input

• Provides educational opportunities

• Having a plan will improve opportunitiesfor funding

The approach to develop the plan will evolve from alook at the county land use plan and characterize thewatershed. Goals will be set for the plan and issues willbe identified that relate to the goals. Options to addressthe issues will then be identified. An action plan will bedeveloped to include identifying who is responsible forvarious parts of the plan.

The process will build partnerships, which will be criti-cal to accomplishing plan goals. The plan will providea management road map, which will be a “living docu-ment,” so it must be adjusted as it grows, and be re-sponsive to input from stakeholders. To initiate the de-velopment of the DCL Watershed Management Plan,the Garrett County Commissioners and DNR have en-tered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) andengaged a facilitator to manage the meetings. A Steer-ing Committee will be established and public meetingswill be held in September 2013 and July 2014. TheMOU can be found on the Garrett County websitewww.garrettcounty.org.

Secretary Gill closed the meeting with a reminder thatall of Maryland’s focus to date has been on the Chesa-peake Bay because the bay does not meet clean waterstandards. However, DNR is focused on helpingGarrett County create a watershed management planthat protects the quality of Deep Creek Lake into thefuture.

Morgan France

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6 www.deepcreeklakepoa.com

Several years ago a community leader introduced a uniqueprogram to The Episcopal Church in Garrett County thatsupports the nutritional needs of children. Today this pro-gram has grown over ten times with the additional supportof St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and The North GarrettUnited Methodist Parish. It’s in the Bag http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnTmPAUtUj0 providesbackpacks full of nutritious food for at-risk elementaryschool children in Garrett County who do not get enoughof the right types of food at home on the weekends.

Why back packs? Most students use a ubiquitous backpackso adding one more on Friday afternoons is hardly notice-able and therefore less stigmatizing to the student and theirparents. Keeping this a low profile program is so importantthat local fund raising is done very quietly.

The need for this program is validated many ways. Stu-dents perform better if they have had a nutritious meal.This is why the United States Department of Agriculturefunds the FARM [Free and Reduced Meals] program inschools around the county. Likewise, teachers report betterperformance on Monday mornings if students have hadproper food on the weekends. It’s in the Bag fills that need.

It has been reported that the pro-gram could fill over 600backpacks each week forGarrett County students iffunds were available.

Funding for this programcomes from support from thethree local churches, individualdonations, a few grants, sup-port from local groups suchas The Oakland Women’s

Golf Association Invitational Tour-nament and an ongoing series of live Maine Lobster din-ners. Several times each year a volunteer visits familymembers in Maine and brings back many baskets of livelobsters which are then cooked and served in a localchurch or fire hall. The income from the Nearly NewShop operated by volunteers and located in the parishhall of St. Matthew’s on Liberty Street is dedicated to thisprogram. Volunteers and financial support are always ap-preciated and you can learn more about those opportunitieshere: https://www.wepay.com/donations/197781?widget

_type=donations&widget_donation_id=197781&widget

_auth_token=c72ec617788b310a7ce8cdc7e11d1

4839d4e6b53&widget_show_description=0&widget

_show_thermometer=1&widget_show_donations=1, orby contacting St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. Sincethis is a church sponsored program, some fundingsources like the United Way are not available to supportthis program.

Garrett County is a study of contrasts in that Tax District18, where most of the POA members’ homes are located,is very affluent and supports the majority of the GarrettCounty programs. The balance of the county is signifi-cantly less well off and It’s in the Bag fills a large andotherwise unmet need.

From a modest beginning of 16 backpacks that were‘processed’ in the second floor parish hall to 181backpacks filled this past school year, the programhas now moved to dedicated ground level spacewhere, weekly, a truck load of food is delivered andunloaded by volunteers. The nearest affordable foodsupplier is in Morgantown, so two volunteers makethe run with a donated panel van. Facebook Pictureshttps://www.facebook.com/episcopalchurchofgarrettcountyof the process can be found at The Episcopal church ofGarrett County Facebook page. The routine, managed andrun by volunteers, is repetitive but never boring. Pick upfood. Unload & shelve food. Put out the week’s supply.Pack backpacks. Deliver backpacks. Pick up empty back-packs. Advance to Go and collect $200.00. Actually$280.00 is currently the amount needed to sponsor onechild for the year.

Each week a backpack contains the following items: mixedjuices, Chef Boyardee microwaveable stew, canned tunafish, packages of fruit or fruit cup, chocolate & vanillapudding packs, mac ’n cheese packages, dry cereal,oatmeal packs, packaged apple sauce, cookies, energy barsand seasonal items like Halloween candy treats. As youcan see, home preparation is minimal; a microwave, a canopener, water and milk are all that is needed.

As the new school year begins, the needs will be metagain and the program will be expanded to serve moreschools and students as additional funds become avail-able. As with most charitable programs, various types ofsupport are always welcome such as donating time, pro-viding items for the Nearly New Shop, supportingfundraisers, and, of course, making financial donations.You can view the You Tube Video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnTmPAUtUj0 for more in-formation about this program. We thank all of those whohave supported this program in the past.

Ed Neff

IT’S IN THE BAG

DID YOU KNOW?County. In 1753 Colonel Thomas Cresap and ChiefNemacolin of the Delaware Tribe opened Nemacolin’s Pathfor pack horses to travel from Wills Creek in Cumberland tothe Monongahela near Brownsville. It most likely ran justnorth of present day Grantsville. The very next year ColonelWashington (yes, that Washington) surrendered to theFrench on the very same path at Great Meadows (Fort Ne-cessity) in Pennsylvania.

Braddock’s Road built in 1755 ran just a half mile south ofGrantsville. Both General Braddock and Colonel Washing-ton used the road to retreat from the French to the safety ofWills Creek. Old Grantsville grew up along Braddock’sRoad on a tract of land owned by Daniel Grant called Cor-nucopia. It was, however, to be short lived. Soon after theGrantsville section of the Cumberland or National Roadwas completed in 1817 north of the village of OldGrantsville, it was abandoned in favor of a location alongthe National Road.

Construction of the Casselman Bridge was completed inNovember of 1814. The Casselman Inn which opened in1842 as the Starner House and was later known as theFarmer’s Hotel, is recognized as the oldest hotel and restau-rant in continuous operation in Garrett County. Both theCasselman Bridge and Inn are worth a visit.

Information for this article was gathered from “GarrettCounty 125th Anniversary Photo Album” and a variety ofinternet sites. Let us know if you’d like to read more aboutGarrett County’s communities and past in future issues ofThe Deep Creek Dispatch.

Scott Johnson

friendships that have been formed as a result of my involve-ment on the board have done nothing but enhance my per-sonal experiences on Deep Creek Lake. I have given 110%to the association with the best interest for all in mind. Ihighly recommend it.I will continue to be part of the board, not as a board mem-ber, but in a non-voting emeritus position afforded to pastpresidents. After this August, I will share emeritus statuswith Roger Titus and Scott Johnson, along with MikeBelmonte (1993-1996) and Jan Finkel (1990-1993).I am continuing my volunteer fire service in my home townof Greensburg, PA. I will continue to be on the GarrettCounty Emergency Services Board, a commissioner ap-pointment position, where I am presently serving as Chair-man and I will continue to be on the Garrett County LocalPlanning Committee, again as a commissioner appointment.So, even though I won’t be on the POA Board any longer, Iwill still be volunteering. I urge you to try a little volunteer-ing service if you haven’t already. I assure you, there is abig sense of accomplishment in it.See you around the Lake! Lou

In the 2013 Spring Edition of The Dispatch we wrote aboutthe towns of Oakland, McHenry and Swanton. In this, theSummer Edition, we will look into the origins of the townsof Accident, Friendsville and Grantsville. All three locatedin the northern part of Garrett County have interesting, iflittle known, facts concerning the origin of their settlement.We hope you will enjoy knowing more about the towns inour special part of Maryland.

Accident

Accident was no accident, but it was. It seems according tolegend that George Deakins was granted in 1751 by KingGeorge a tract of 600 acres of any land he wanted in west-ern Maryland. This grant was payment of a debt. In 1774Lord Baltimore opened the land in western Maryland forsettlement. At the same time Deakins was selecting hisland, Brooke Beall selected the same land. Deakins agreedthat Beall should have the land and they named the tract,“Accident.”

Beall, a few months later, assigned the tract to Deakins,who in 1778 sold the land to Captain Lynn. In 1817 Lynnsold the original 600 acres plus 370 additional to WilliamLamar for $3,000.

James Drane was the first permanent resident. If you havenot visited the Drane House in Accident, you should. It isjust east of Zion Lutheran Church.

In 1875 Melchior Miller opened a distillery. Have youheard of Distillery Lane? Later his sons purchased the com-pany and marketed Melky Miller Rye Whiskey only to havethe 18th Amendment put them out of business.

Friendsville

Yes, you guessed it. Friendsville was named after the Friendfamily. Brothers Andrew, Charles and John Friend came tothe Yough River in the spring of 1765 where upon Johnbuilt a small log cabin, naming his tract “Friend’s Fortune”.

In the early 1820’s the area’s first iron furnace was operat-ing on the Youghiogheny near the mouth of Bear Creek.Most of its production was hauled by wagon toBrownsville, PA on the Monongahela River. It closed in1839.

Lumbering was a booming business and the driver for eco-nomic growth in the late 19th century and into the early 20th

century. The Meadow Mountain Lumber Company at onetime had 25 miles of narrow gauge track running from itstimberlands on Negro and Meadow Mountains and BearCreek to Friendsville. The little town of Kendall grew up ata southern terminal of the Confluence and Oakland Rail-road. It was the headquarters of two lumber companies: A.Knabb and Company and Kendall Lumber Company. Todaythere is a beautiful trail along the Yough on the abandonedtracks from Friendsville to what was once Kendall.

Grantsville

The Glades Star in its June 1950 edition reports that the vi-cinity of Grantsville is the most historic part of Garrett

VOLUNTEERINGContinued from page 3

www.deepcreeklakepoa.com 7

POA BOARD MEMBERSTom Craven ...................... ’15 ...................... 301-387-6202

tom_craven@hotmail.comSusan Crawford ................... ’16 ........................... 301-387-4510

First Vice President scrawfor7@verizon.netTroy Ellington, ..................... ’14 ........................... 301-387-9232

Past President troyellington@verizon.netEditor of Dispatch

Morgan France ..................... ’15 ........................... 301-616-5097silverdagger@gmail.com

Katheryn Gemberling .......... ’16 ........................... 301-387-7404kgember@aol.com

Barbara Hafer ....................... ’16 ......... barbara@haferassoc.comBob Hoffmann ..................... ’16 ........................... 301-387-4839

President rahoffmann93@gmail.comEd King ................................ ’14 ........................... 301-387-5702

ed.king@longandfoster.comTony Lombardi .................... ‘16 ... lombardi.tony.jr@gmail.comLauren O’Brien .................... ‘16 .............. lnobrien0@gmail.comJohn Quilty ........................... ’16 ........................... 301-387-2499

jquilty@mitre.orgKrista McGowan .................. ’14 ........................... 301-698-2312

Assistant Secretary kristamcgowan@verizon.net

W. Tom Myers ..................... ’14 ........................... 301-387-9162Treasurer tom@mountaineerlog.com

Ed Neff ................................. ’14 ........................... 301-387-5449VP Communications neff.ews@gmail.com

Chris Nichols ....................... ’15 ........................... 301-387-5134VP Membership, Assistant Treasurer dimesy23@gmail.com

Gary Shafer .......................... ’15 ........................... 301-616-9940rxshaf@yahoo.com

Karen Smith ......................... ’15 ........................... 301-387-0251Secretary karen@st-law.com

Robert Sutton ....................... ’14 ........................... 301-387-4957rsutton166@comcast.net

Emeritus Board Members—Past PresidentsLou Battistella ......................................................... 301-387-2094

Lbatt859@aol.comMike Belmonte ...................................... mfbelmonte@gmail.comJan Finkel .................................................... jfinkel1@comcast.netScott Johnson .......................................................... 301-387-8547

sboyumj2@verizon.netRoger Titus ............................................................. 301-344-0052

rwtitus@hotmail.com