History on some business churches and professionals in Brunswick during 40's and 50's
By Fred Brown Class of 1944
Former educator in various capacities during his career

To ask an old geezer English teacher type to correct spelling is giving him just what his heart always desires....Anyway, as I recall, there are some changes you might want to make.

 

Under Grocery Stores, my Aunt Clara spelled her last name "Calhoun."

 

Doctors--Dr. William Schnauffer, who later moved to Frederick into what is now a bed and breakfast on Court Square called "Spite House," built and operated a hospital at the corner of N. Va. Ave and A Street (?)  Anyway, it was at the top of the hill leading up from what is now a traffic circle, and is now used as an apartment house, I believe.

Dr. Schnauffer was the brother of  West Schnauffer, who operated the garage you listed.  Their uncle was Dr.Levin West, for whom West Schnauffer was  named.

 

Dr. Thomas G. Strother was an excellent doctor, but unfortunately was locked up for operating an abortion hospital in rural Fauquier Co., Va., along with his wife, the former Ruth Howie, one of my teachers at BHS.  Ruth made the cover of Life magazine and was publicly disgraced--for an operation that is perfectly legal now.

 

There was another doctor whose main office was in Lovettsville, but who also had an office in what had been the Schnauffer Hospital.  His name was Thomas Carpenter, and he delivered my first son.

 

Peoples' Bank was actually called "Peoples' National Bank,"  later a part of F & M of Frederick.

 

Litten Westend was actually Litten Chevrolet Sales, and my uncle Russell Litten and his brother Bill (who died as a result of auto accident in 1946) sold Chevrolets and Oldsmobiles and had a service station, auto repair shop, and auto body shop there.  At that time this was the largest retail operation in Brunswick, and it operated from 1933 until my uncle sold the business to a fellow from Frederick in 1971.

 

The Coates night club was called "Coates' Corner," and was operated by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Coates.

 

The Litten bus service, originally running from Brunswick to Hagerstown to transport war workers to the Fairchild aircraft plants in Hagerstown, was called "L and L Motor Lines," and was sold several years after the end of the second World War, (the late 40's or very early 50's to Harold C Summers, who worked at the old Brunswick Mill (Co-Op)).

 

Bowling alley--I don't remember a "Masons Alley."  Where was that?

 

Drugstores--About 1957 Sid Fribush and his wife Edie bought what had been Barnett's, and it became Fribush Pharmacy.  It was located on the north side of the first block of West Potomac Street.

 

There was another furniture store operated on E. Potomac Street by two brothers, one of whom built a house out on R. 340 near the Hawaiian Night Club. The brother who lived in Frederick was named Nat Winters, and his brother who built the house on Route 340 was Irv. Kolker. Can't remember what they called the store, but it was at least half again as large as Potomac Furniture.

 

Baseball Field--It was Scheer Stadium, named for E. W. Scheer,  who had been head of the YMCA.

 

Milk delivery--At first it was Souder, later becoming Souder and Chick when the two formerly separate operations were joined.  You may remember the Souder girls and their brother (Tommy??) and Charlotte Chick, all of whom were at BHS about the time we're discussing.

 

Gas Station--as previously stated, it was Schnauffer's. 

 

Bar/Restaurant--A man named Kehne operated the one in what at one time was the Post Office.  I don't know how he spelled the name of his tavern.  The liquor store first operated by his father and mother and later by their son Irving Ephraim, who married Jeannette House (Erma House's sister) was called just Ephraim's, I believe.  Irving was a member of Mensa, the organization for people who got high scores on a certain IQ test.

 

Churches--On West Potomac St., directly opposite People's National Bank, was what was originally called the Evangelical and Reformed Church, which later was merged on the national level with the United Brethren Church and was thence called the United Church of Christ.  The Brunswick church closed a number of years ago, and the building has been mostly neglected/boarded-up since, I believe.  The Reformed Church was of Germanic origin and probably predated Methodism as a denomination.  As now named (United Church of Christ) it continues today as one of the mainline churches.  Don't know why it died out in Brunswick, but believe its sister church in Lovettsville continues to operate.

 

Grace Episcopal Church ( the stone church on A Street ), continues to operate. 

 

The downtown Methodist Church used to be First Methodist (later changed to First United Methodist to reflect Methodism's uniting of what were once several branches, including Methodist Episcopal and Methodist Protestant.  The downtown church had been really a Methodist Episcopal Church and the New York Hill Methodist had been Methodist Protestant.  I think the two churches in Brunswick have lost members in recent years to the point where their church officials forced them to merge into one congregation.

 

You mention a Church of God, and I don't remember now whether that is what they called the church on the hill behind the West Brunswick Elementary School, or if that was the name of the small brick church that used to operate on West Brunswick Street in the next block or two west of West Brunswick Elementary.

 

I don't recall a Presbyterian Church at all, but there could very well have been one somewhere around town.  We had lots of churches and bars.

 

I've already told you more than you probably wanted to know, but if I can react to any other material, just let me know.  As you already know, I'm very much interested in history, particularly the history of the old home town

 

You're doing good work.

 

Thanks,

 

Fred

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I have a lot of old BHS pictures I'll send when ( and if) I ever figure out how to operate my scanner. 

 

You certainly got those earlier comments into the program in a short time. 

 

I did miss a another couple of things, I now realize.

 

Fuel oil dealer was Irving Weil, who also sold DeSotos in the 300 block of North Market St., Frederick.                      

 

Dentists--I remember some of the dentists' names-- Stanley Meadows.  Can't remember Doc Watson's first name, but his son, Harwood, ran the drug store/soda fountain on the first floor of what is now the Brunswick RR Museum (the building formerly belonged to a fraternal order having something to do with Indians, and the wives were members of the Order of Pocahontas).  Upstairs was the only public auditorium in town, and when I was in elementary school the principal, Carolyn Compton, would have us kids acting in little plays, etc. which were staged in what we called Redmen's Hall.  I believe that BHS classes were held there for a while after the fire which destroyed the first  BHS building.

 

Can't remember Dr. Lloyd's first name now, but it may have been William.  He married Nellie Hoar, who taught for some years at East  Brunswick and later BHS.

 

The doctors whose names I remember were Levin West, William Schnauffer, Charles Pruitt (His father Eugene Pruitt, whose name is probably on your BHS diploma, was Supt. of Frederick County schools for 25 years.), A. Talbot Brice (who actually practiced in Jefferson),  J. G. Fowble Smith, and Arlington Grove Horine.  Dr. Horine's son ran their drugstore in the front corner of their home on the Square Corner.  Grandson Dix Horine was in BHS when we were there, as was granddaughter Virginia Lee Horine.

 

Another whom I had totally forgotten was actually a friend of my first wife and me.  We went to U. of M. football games with him and his wife.  He was a Brunswick native whose father was a railroad man, and his parents converted a part of their home on North Maple Avenue to serve as his office when he finished his medical training..  His name was Werner Orrison.  He later moved to and practiced in Kansas, where his sister Ruth Orrison later joined them.  He told me he had to move because the patients had known him as a kid and didn't feel obligated to pay.   He couldn't support a family on the little they did pay!  Dr. Orrison died a few years ago now, and so did his sister, I believe.

 

I remember four appliance dealererships--Harry Y. George (Part of his hardware store), Potomac Edison, Litten (located in their Eastend garage mainly during WW II when they couldn't get cars to sell), and Gross Brothers, whose store was opposite J.P. Karn on South Maryland Avenue.  One brother, William, was at one time the town magistrate and a former teacher in the county.  He taught a short while at BHS the year I was principal.  His brother Charles continued to operate Gross Brothers. 

 

Restaurants--Was the Maryland Restaurant the one we mostly called Mrs. Himes's, located on West Potomac St. in a front room of her home and about opposite Newberry's?

 

Movie theater--Imperial, now razed after being destroyed by a fire.  Just a hole in the ground now.  One owner was Stanley(?) Goldberg, and the last one remembered was Sonny Cannon, who ran it along with his wife Louise.  Movies every day of the week except Sundays, with Saturday matinees where there was always a cliff-hanger serial along with whatever was the feature film of the week.  The feature was usually a Western on Saturdays, and the matinee was always full of kids.  Bets Mills's drugstore/soda fountain was very handy next door.  When I was very young there would be door prizes certain  nights, and there were special promotions when dishes, etc, were given.  Sonny Cannon later devoted most of his attention to the Firemen's Hall, and he brought in outstanding acts with people who either were already well known or who became famous later.  They included the Guy Lombardo orchestra, who often played there for New Year's Eve dances, Patsy Cline, and, I believe, Jimmy Dean.  How he ever attracted such talent to our little town I never knew, but he certainly was a great entrepreneur/promoter.

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Curt--Please don't feel any obligation to print any of this info.  It's just fun for me to try out my memory of things I'd mainly forgotten years ago.  It's odd that the names I remember are not necessarily the people I knew better.