Union Mills Homestead

It was 200 years ago that brothers Andrew and David Shriver began a family dynasty in the Union Mills area.Yesterday, Shrivers from the United States, Germany, Costa Rica and London celebrated that beginning with a family reunion, stamp cancellation, photo exhibit and Historical Bicentennial Pageant at Union Mills Homestead."

It was 200 years ago that brothers Andrew and David Shriver began a family dynasty in the Union Mills area.Yesterday, Shrivers from the United States, Germany, Costa Rica and London celebrated that beginning with a family reunion, stamp cancellation, photo exhibit and Historical Bicentennial Pageant at Union Mills Homestead."

CRISP BREEZES ushered in the FallFest parade in downtown Westminster on Thursday evening.Streets were blocked and crowds huddled in blankets in front of Carroll County Public Library and along Main Street. With red-tipped noses and neighborly smiles, folks greeted each other and shared in autumn's festive spirit.It was the beginning of the biggest fall festival in Carroll County.If you wish you had been there, don't despair -- the county has a few more fall celebrations to offer.Union Mills festivalCheck out the annual Fall Festival at Union Mills Homestead, sponsored by Silver Run/Union Mills Lions Club.

THIS WEEK'S column is particularly meaningful to me because my family and I lost our 11-year companion, and our best friend, after surgery July 28 to save him.Losing Springer has been as hard as losing a child, even though he was our dog.It makes me wonder: How often do we stop to think about our pets?How often do we let them know how important they are to us?Here is your chance to let your pet know he is tops with you.St. John's Lutheran Church is having a Blessing of the Animals service at 10: 15 a.m. Sunday at the Chapel in the Woods.

Union Mills Homestead corn roast set tomorrowUnion Mills Homestead will have its annual corn roast festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow, rain or shine.The roast offers a quarter-chicken, applesauce, sliced tomatoes, roll and butter, iced tea or lemonade and all-you-can-eat roasted corn. Tickets are $8.50 for adults and $4 for children ages 6 to 12.The corn is roasted in its husk and served with melted butter, salt and pepper.As part of its bicentennial celebration, the homestead will feature a photo exhibit focusing on the Shriver family and home history.

EACH YEAR, Union Mills Homestead holds its Flower Mart and Antique Show. But this year the celebration will be expanded because this is the year of the Homestead's 200th anniversary."

SILVER RUN/Union Mills Lions Club has just 25 members, and according to John Hopkins, club president, "Most of the members are retired."Yet this tiny club raised $9,800 for charity during the past year through its annual fall festival, golf tournament, raffles for hams and shopping sprees, bake sales and other fund-raisers,"We had just 23 members until recently," Hopkins said. "We just got two new members."The money the club has raised has gone to many local and national charities. They include:Carroll County Food Sunday, Food Bank of Littlestown, Pa., Shepherd's Staff, Lions Club International Foundation, Special Olympics, Charles Carroll Recreation Council, North Carroll Recreation Council, Resurrection Farm, Union Mills Homestead, Pleasant Valley Fire Company, Littlestown (Pa.)

It will be 200 years next month since brothers Andrew and William Shriver began building a house and grist mill along Big Pipe Creek on Littlestown Pike.Their sixth- and seventh-generation descendants plan to mark the bicentennial of Union Mills Homestead with a yearlong celebration.The Union Mills Homestead Foundation will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. Wednesday to announce its bicentennial plans. The Carroll Commissioners and tennis champion Pam Shriver, the honorary chairwoman of the Union Mills bicentennial celebration, will attend.

HOW OFTEN THESE days do you get an opportunity to sit down and enjoy an old-fashioned, home-cooked breakfast, the kind of meal that features all of your morning favorites?You are invited to join Silver Run/Union Mills Lions Club Fall Festival onSaturday and Sunday at Union Mills Homestead Park. The all-you-can-eat breakfast will be served beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday and from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday.Just how old-fashioned will this breakfast be? One of the featured foods, buckwheat pancakes, will be made from flour ground at the Homestead's working grist mill.

I REMEMBER the first time I visited Union Mills Homestead Park, years ago. It was a crisp fall day, and leaves danced at my feet as I walked across the bridge crossing Big Pipe Creek and linking the park to Lions Club Park next door.The air was warm and rich with the outdoor scents of the country. Birds swooped from branch to branch in the bushes along the banks of the rippling creek.Across the freshly mowed lawn I went, stopping at the pond before wandering on to explore the mill and the house.