“The First Armistice”Carroll County Times Article for 10 November 1996 By Jay A. Graybeal Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day, a holiday originally known as Armistice Day since 1918. After fours years of fighting, “The Great War” ended at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of that year. Armistice Day was last observed in 1953; President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared that the holiday would become Veterans Day beginning in 1954. The first Armistice Day was selected as the topic for the Historical Society of Carroll County’s annual dinner meeting held, appropriately enough, on November 11, 1954. Board members or their representatives from each county election district were asked to share their recollections of that memorable day. A. Earl Shipley, a former officer in the 111th Field Artillery and the Historical Society’s President from 1947-1951, presided over the meeting. Speakers representing most of the county election districts read personal recollections or local newspaper articles about how the first Armistice Day was observed in their area. The following descriptions of activitiesin Winfield, New Windsor, and Union Bridge are representative of local reaction to the Armistice.
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Mrs. Edgar Pickett, Franklin District, No. 9 |
Mrs. Robert S. Cairns, Jr. New Windsor District, No. 11 |
Union Bridge Pilot November 15, 1918 Submitted by Miss Pauline Fuss, Union Bridge District, No. 12 |
A. Earl Shipley closed the meeting with a personal statement: |
Praise those who lived for ideals of | |
liberty, freedom, democracy- | |
Hope springs eternal- | |
The 1st Armistice showed that hope. |
Photo caption: | A. J. Stem published this post card “View Looking North, Winfield, Md.” in c.1915. The residents of Winfield celebrated the end of World War I on November 11, 1918. Historical Society of Carroll County Collection. |