I’ve been searching for the perfect pumpkin for nearly my whole life. Surely, since I could walk and talk. I started young because my father felt the need to grow giant pumpkins in our front yard—the kind of pumpkins that win…

What happens when people come together to focus on their health, and it turns into something much bigger? Fun is had, lifelong friendships are forged and obstacles are overcome—in this case, literal ones, like…

In a deep baritone voice, Don Barrett starts singing the classic American blues song “Working in the Coal Mine.” That would seem out of place if it weren’t for the fact that Barrett is a guide at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. Before long, almost everyone on…

Seniors in Washington County have access to several specialized, lesser-known programs that go beyond basic senior services to support independence, health and financial well-being. Finding information about these programs is as simple as…

Down the center of South Main Street, the neon glow of the Capitol Theatre Center has cut through the Pennsylvania dusk like a beacon for nearly a century. In an era where historic American movie palaces are…

An official blueprint of the original course design (then known as Hagerstown Golf Club) hangs framed in the far corner of the modest pro shop and lounge along the Dual Highway. Dated July 1930, it reveals the line drawings for a…

In Washington County alone there are at least 3,000 residents living with some form of dementia. While most of us are familiar with the late stage of dementia when a person may no longer know who they are, where they are or who their family and…

I’ve reached that stage in my life when I say, “I used to” a lot. I used to be able to run a marathon. I used to drink a few beers and get myself into trouble. I used to hike. I used to hike quite a lot. I have done most of the Appalachian Trail in…

Entrepreneurs Brandon Green and Christian Salinashave reimagined a historic Washington County property once known as Stoney Creek Farm into a luxurious venue for weddings, corporate retreats, and luxury vacations. Green is a…

I have a habit of chasing things, and I can’t sit still. If there’s a minute, I’m going to fill it with activity. When I was younger I filled those minutes with typical kid things—kicking a soccer ball, riding my bike, dealing a game of solitaire on a…

Franklin County residents know July is packed with a dynamic lineup of fairs, festivals, and celebrations with opportunities almost daily to attend one event or another. As usual, the month kicks off with the Franklin County Fair (July 5 to 12). This is the annual…

As the tiring Friday evening in May gradually withdrew from sunny skies to rays of artificial stadium lighting, enduring firework fanatics (mostly youngsters) anxiously awaited their favorite outfield attraction. But well before the bangs, booms, and pops of the…

As Washington County and the United States celebrate their semiquincentennial, the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts presents the 2026 Cumberland Valley Photographers Exhibition, a juried display featuring…

Rae Tucker has noticed a pattern whenever she’s out around Hagerstown in a Girls Inc. van. Strangers will run up to her in excitement. “I was a Girls Inc. girl!” they tell her. In many cases these girls are now the age of having…

How did the project originate? 

The National Mural Awards partnership originated through Jason Tetlak, the executive director for the National Mural Awards. He participated in 2025 Hagerfest Music & Art Festival as a…

The senior population of Hagerstown has grown by more than 20 percent during the last two decades, a shift that is placing new demands on the city’s social fabric. As this demographic continues to expand, there is an increasing need for a more…

At the peak of his artistic talents, American landscape painter Frederic Church was one of the most influential and popular painters in the United States. To celebrate his work and the 200th anniversary of his birth, the…

The Washington County Chamber of Commerce hosted its 27th Annual Business Awards event on February 25 at The Maryland Theatre. More than 460 community members and local businesses leaders were on hand to help honor this year’s…

I’m not going to lie to you and say the river doesn’t change. I’ve heard that. I’ve heard people say it all my life. I disagree. In my lifetime, I think the river will change probably just as much as I will, if not more. I might not see it easily with my own eye, but I know…

Malia Briggs may be graduating from Chambersburg Area Career Magnet School this month, but she leaves with much more than an impressive 4.0 grade-point average and an athletic scholarship to Tulane University in…