By Ronda Wertman
tribune correspondent
WESTERNPORT — The search for history is never ending and members of the Westernport Heritage Society are hoping that their new exhibit, “Westernport: Then and Now,” will help to fill in missing facts and encourage others to join in the quest.
The Westernport Library was the setting for the first presentation by Jack Fazenbaker and Pat McCarty showcasing Main Street Westernport from its earliest day to present.
Upon entering the meeting room, visitors got a glimpse of the exhibit wall showcasing important events in Westernport’s history, items from early businesses, pictures, a model street car, information on the 1982 fire, and more.
The year 2008 marked the sesquicentennial for the Town of Westernport and the Heritage Society began planning its part in the observance in the spring.
First came the book “Reflections: Memories of a Beloved Hometown,” then an informational display at the Creekside Park festivities, and now its exhibit.
The society has sold nearly 400 copies of the book and more are available for purchase and gift giving, along with the society’s array of collectible items at the museum.
“We took some of the profit from the book and invested it in our very first exhibit,” said McCarty.
The exhibit will remain
at the Westernport Library until early February and visitors are urged to share their ideas with the society.
“If we stimulate your thinking about something, write it down,” said McCarty. “It’s kind of fun to be a history detective.”
Jack Fazenbaker is Westernport’s unofficial historian. Having worked as a postman and with the funeral home, he’s known most all the families in recent years.
Fazenbaker and McCarty were joined in preparing the presentation by Mike Cleveland, with special help from Tom Clayton, Milt Hart, Leonard Biggs, Shirley McCarty, Nancy Sudine and Walt, Diane and Robbie May.
Traveling state Route 135 to Westernport’s Main Street today, many people have no idea that the river once ran in front of St. Peter’s Catholic Church and that the area of Maryland Avenue was known as Poplar Island.
“One of the first public roads built in Maryland was 135,” said McCarty.
Today there are lots of open spaces on Main Street, but in the early days it was lined with buildings side by side. Buildings back then were only 25 to 30 feet and Westernport had most all the services residents would need right there on Main Street.
Over the years there was a shoe shop, barber shop, dry cleaner, stores, bakery, confectionary, meat market, saloons, restaurants, theatre, newsstands, a hotel and more.
The Heritage Society has an original towel sterilizer from one of the shaving parlors/barber shops. McCarty explained that for two bits, or 25 cents, patrons could get a shave and a haircut.
“The day of the shave ended about 1915,” said McCarty noting that with World War II came the invention of safety razors.
Transportation in the early years was a street car that took residents to Frostburg and to Cumberland and back when needed. The Cumberland/Westernport Electric Railway ran up and down George’s Creek from 1903 to 1926 and was responsible for many attending school to become teachers in Frostburg.
Westernport has had two big fires - one in 1936 and another in same area in 1982 that changed the streetscape.
“Buildings in Westernport changed a lot over 150 years,” said McCarty, adding that in many cases buildings were moved. In one picture the structure would be on one street and in another it would be on a different street.
McCarty told residents to watch for telephone poles when looking at old pictures, saying that they are a “tell tale sign of how old a building is.”
Residents have many special memories including the glass blocks that were in the Washington Street sidewalk. Over time the glass took on a purple cast.
Many remember Wimp Springer’s Hot Dog Stand. The recipe for his famous hot dog sauce is in the society’s book and McCarty says it wasn’t unusual for them to sell 850 hot dogs on Friday and Saturday nights.
One piece of history that has left the town is a World War I fountain placed near the Main Street intersection by the Westernport and Luke Civic Clubs to honor WWI veterans. The fountain was moved to the area of then Bruce High School, now Westernport Elementary School, but during World War II it was donated for the war effort.
The Heritage Society meets at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at the museum and new members and interested residents are always welcome as part of the society motto, ““So the old can remember and the young may learn.”
The museum is open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. the second and fourth weekends of each month. Tours and group visits are encouraged.
