Discover rich and fascinating history from previous Box Lunch Talks and Talks at the Tavern by clicking.

Please enjoy the following presentations created in partnership with the Community Media Center 

Recently, Civil War scholars have finally begun revealing in detail how our colossal American tragedy turned the nation into a “Republic of Suffering.” Burt Kummerow, director of Maryland’s Four Centuries Project, discusses three famous Americans—Clara Barton, Walt Whitman, and Louisa May Alcott—who were eyewitnesses to what Barton called the war’s “mischief and misery.” Their brilliant accounts of the suffering they witnessed “brings the war to our doorsteps.”

Before 1744, the predominant government in Carroll County was the Haudenosaunee Nation – the “Six Nations.” The Haudenosaunee played a key role in the evolution of American democracy. Much of our current way of life is owed to the heritage and legacy of the Haudenosaunee Nation. Several main roads in Carroll County have their beginnings as Haudenosaunee trading routes. And several towns in Carroll County – Patapsco for example – had their beginnings as Haudenosaunee settlements. Please click the image to watch the presentation.

Carroll County contributed a large number of its free and enslaved African American men to fight for the Union during the Civil War. Most ended up in the infantry, but some were assigned to the cavalry and others to the U.S. Navy. Join Mimi Ashcraft in exploring the stories of these men, the challenges they faced in segregated military service, the battles in which they fought, and their families’ efforts for pensions after the war ended. Please click the image to the left to watch the presentation.

This presentation takes a look back at the 1936 August Olympics in Berlin. Alex’s talk will be a PowerPoint presentation featuring photographs from the 1936 Olympic Games. The Olympic festival in Berlin was the Nazis’ first big international show, a crucial part of regime’s domestic and international mobilization. It was also the occasion for dazzling athletic feats, including Jesse Owens’s four gold medal performances.  Please click the image to watch the presentation.

In 1938, the Mercury Theater of the Air’s dramatization of H.G. Welles’ War of the Worlds frightened millions, triggered a FCC ruling, became a case study in the power of the media, and is now a Halloween staple. How and why did it work so well? Join Frank Batavick as he plays excerpts from the historic radio program and discusses its continuing power and appeal. Please click the image to watch the presentation.

Dr. Glass, writer, artist, and editor, is Professor of American literature and history and of comparative literature at Meikai University in Chiba, Japan. Raised outside Westminster, Maryland, he holds degrees from Western Maryland College (B.A., 1979), Johns Hopkins University (M.A., 1980), and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Ph.D., 1988). Dr. Glass shares ghost tales and folklore about Carroll County. Originally published in 1982 and updated in 1998, Ghosts and Legends is scheduled for a new edition in 2020. Please click the image to watch the presentation.

Steve Bowersox, a history teacher at Westminster High School, began researching the connection of Westminster High to World War II in 2007. He has been able to place over 650 Westminster High students, male and female, in the service during World War II.  The students served all over the world and participated in every major campaign of the military.  He will share some of the stories. Please click the image to watch the presentation.

It was on June 15, 1861, that the blast of a train whistle was first heard in Westminster as the Western Maryland Railroad arrived in town. The presentation explores the development and history of the line, its impact on Carroll County and the state of Maryland, and it place in the era of America’s railroad expansion. Please click the image to watch the presentation.

Sam Riley will share the interesting history of the first major turnpike through the area that became Carroll County, the road’s important role in developing settlements along the Maryland-Pennsylvania Border, and the ties to the Shriver family at Union Mills. Please click the image to watch the presentation.

Join Dave Flora and other Master Gardeners in the Kimmey House Garden, for a virtual tour of native plants. Early settlers from Europe tended to disregard the native plants they encountered in favor of familiar species from home. There is now an increasing awareness of the advantages of using natives that are at least as appealing and are often better adapted to their home environment. Please click the image to watch the presentation.

Innovator, entrepreneur and artist, Doug Heck was one of the founders of the Taneytown Historical Museum. He has served as its president, treasurer and secretary and has taken on many other roles over the past 15 years. Doug will share the museum’s history, current events, including the 2020 baseball exhibit, and future plans.  Please click the image to watch the presentation.

Herb gardens have for centuries been essential features of households.  Explore the newly-renovated herb gardens behind the Sherman-Fisher-Shellman House in a discussion of historic Pennsylvania German practices. Information on the use of herbs will be presented.  Please click the image to watch the presentation.

Most studies of Civil War battles focus on soldiers and tactics. Little attention is paid to the civilians who found themselves caught up in these fights. Jay Graybeal, chief curator at the Army Heritage and Education Center, traces his great-great grandfather’s 36-year legal fight to recover damages from the Union Army’s destruction of his crops during the Antietam and Gettysburg Campaigns.  Please click the image to watch the presentation.

Digital Maryland, a statewide digitization program of the Maryland State Library Resource Center, Enoch Pratt Free Library works collaboratively with cultural organizations throughout Maryland to facilitate the digitization and digital exhibition of historical and cultural documents, images, audio and video held by Maryland institutions, including HSCC. Jodi Hoover, digital resources manager will present an overview of the holdings.  Please click the image to watch the presentation.

2020 is “The Year of the Woman,” commemorating the 100^th anniversary of women’s suffrage. Jim Lightner explores the lives of three exceptional Carroll County women of the early 20^th century: author and activist Mary Shellman, author and dramatist Dorothy Elderdice, and photojournalist Sadie Kneller Miller. Each became a trendsetter in her chosen field. Please click the image to watch the presentation.