SILVER IMAGE Antique Shop stands by the traffic light at Washington Road and East Main Street in Westminster. The building, an old home, has a large picture window in the front, which serves as a display case for the antique shop.
A pine tree, surrounded by snow and covered with yellow ribbons, is on display. Placed near a soldier's duffel bag under the tree is a sign with bold black letters that reads: "WE PRAY FOR THEM."
"We started doing this a few years back for Desert Storm," said Tom Gordon, owner of Silver Image Antique Shop, "and we just kept doing it for the soldiers in Bosnia and all of our troops around the world."
Gordon said that his family helps him set the tree up each year at Christmas, "as a reminder that we have troops away for the season."
"We should all remember our troops," he said.
This year his daughter, Carrie, 16, could not help because she is in Scotland as an exchange student. But his son, Tommy, 21, a student at Western Maryland College, and his wife, Carolyn, helped put the tree in place.
The Gordon family lives next to the shop in a house that was hit by gunfire during the Civil War. Tom Gordon has collected antiques and Civil War memorabilia since he was a young man.
The tree in the window at Silver Image Antique Shop will stay in place a few more weeks.
"It's time to put up a new window display," Gordon said.
It is hoped that those who see the sign will be encouraged to think about those we tend to take for granted.
WMC Monday Night Music
"Seven Times a Year," an improvisation group that uses influences from modern jazz, 20th-century music, African and Latin American grooves and Islamic music, will perform at 7 p.m. Feb. 3 in McDaniel Lounge at Western Maryland College.
"Seven Times a Year" wasn't supposed to open the 1997 musical season for the college, but an earlier concert cancellation has made it the act to launch WMC's Monday Night Music Series.
The series features performers from the college's music department, placing them in a concert/lecture setting and allowing exploration of topics that might not be covered in a classroom.
"Seven Times A Year" features WMC music lecturer Jon Seligman on the drum set, frame drums and percussion, and New York musicians Tom Chess on saxophone, flutes, electric guitar and percussion, and Drew Gress on bass and percussion.
100th birthday celebration
Katie Matrone Shelton, known to all who love her as Matrone, turned 100 Jan 10.
Born in Carroll County in 1897, Shelton spent almost all her life in the Westminster area.
"Except for a short time she lived in New York just after she was married," Shelton's sister, Anna Ray Hunter, recalled. "She loves quilting and sewing, and used to walk all the time.
"She has a home here in Westminster, and she used to walk over a mile to the shopping center at least a few times a week. Sometimes she would walk downtown. When you walk, you stay healthy, and it makes you feel good," Hunter, 92, added.
Shelton is a member of St. John's Lutheran Church. She has two sons -- Reaver Shelton of Long Island, N.Y., and Frank Shelton of Durham, N.C. A few close friends and relatives joined Shelton in her home for a birthday celebration this month.
Hunter recalled that their father, John Reaver Sr., a well-known local auctioneer, lived to be 101.
Happy birthday, Katie Matrone Shelton.
Lions Club ham raffle
Silver Run/Union Mills Lions Club has announced the kick off of its annual ham raffle.
"We are offering five Kuntzler hams," said John Hopkins, Lion's Club president. "The drawing will be held on March 13, and tickets are being sold for $1 each."
Ham raffle tickets can be purchased at the Union Mills branch of Westminster Bank and Trust and the branch next to Weis Markets in Westminster. They're also available at Munch's Court Street Cafe in Westminster, and can be purchased from Lions Club members.
Pub Date: 1/27/97
