Frederick County Leader, The (Newspaper) - January 8, 1999, Frederick, Maryland Please send your calendar items in a timely manner to The Frederick News Post Box 578 Frederick Md 21705 Calendar of Events Fax or e-mail Dance The Alternative Inc singles dances Fit Jan and 29 9 p.m at the Knights of Columbus Pike Hagerstown Mix n mingle p.m Postponed Special New Year's Dance Walkersville Ballroom Dance Club Jan 16 at Walkersville Town Hall Dances every 1st 3rd and 5th Sat p.m Waltz featured All levels welcome or and enter code 6985 Spaghetti Jan 16 8 at VFW Post 10076 111 South Main St Mount Airy Dinner p.m Music by Orvil Magers DJ Dress casual person Open to all Benefit Dance Frederick Horseshoe Club Jan 16 9 Woodsboro north of Walkersville on Md 194 Woodsboro Music by Kevin Casey of Must be age 21 Adv tickets single couple at the door each Bluemont Oldtime Country Dance Jan 16 8 p.m Beginner's workshop 7.30 pm Old Bluemont School Bluemont Va and or reach us at our Web Dance with the Country Western Dance Connection every Mon p.m at Green Valley Elementary School near Md 75 and 80 Music by Country John DJ and or ask for CJ Frederick County Western Dance Association dance new location every Wed at the Independent on Lane Frederick Doors open 7 p.m open 30 p m members others or Gateway Swingers Square Dance Club every second fourth and fifth Fn pm Walkersville Town Hall Caller Art Lavigne Square Dance with the Frederick County Promenaders every first and third Fri p.m Ballenger Community Hall Mainstream with announced plus tips lines and rounds Frederick Singles dances held every first third and fifth Sun at Holiday Inn Md 85 at the FSK Mall Frederick p.m Doors open 6.30 p m No denims DJ music and up or Over 30 Singles and Social Club meets every Wed and Fri at the Oldies Music Legends Hampton Inn Frederick 3486 or reach us at our Web www Friendly Folks Square Dance Club dance every second and fourth Sat pm at Walkersville Town Hall Primarily Plus dancing with Rounds Plus Square Dance with the Yellow Rockers every first and third Fri p m at Elementary School June 18 1999 Caller Bob Falconi Beginners Square Dance Lessons continue at South High School Winfield Music Free Concerts in January at Borders Gaithersburg Jan 8 10 15 16 22 24 and 29 times vary 534 N Frederick Ave From the Dave Sharp Duo to Michelle Swan Free Kim Reggie Harris and Magpie Mountain Green Concerts Jan 9 at 8 p.m at Kepler Theater Hagerstown Community College Hagerstown Tickets and The Madrigal Feaste by the Frederick Chorale Jan 9 at 6 p.m Jan 10 at 3 p.m Coblentz Hall Hood College in Frederick person Jan 9 person Jan 10 Carillon Recitals at the Mercersburg Academy continue Jan 10 17 24 and 31 from the Barker Tower of the my chapel 3 p.m Mercersburg Pa Free and visitors are welcome to climb the tower to view the bells and chat with the featured carillonneur 2151 Monday Night Jazz with the Chuck Underwood Trio continues Jan 11 and p m Borders Gaithersburg 534 N Frederick Ave Free Shenandoah Coffeehouse Series fine acoustic music concerts Sat Jan p.m War Memorial Building 102 W German St Shepherdstown Features Susan Graham White Randy Barrett and Jennie Avila Admission or visit our Web Continued on Page 4 This is a partial list of entertainment events in and around the Frederick County area A complete list appears every Friday in The Frederick BADE a publication of Covering cities towns and communities throughout Frederick County Md and nearby counties Winter wonders Page 2 Vol 14 No 46 Frederick Maryland 21705 Friday January 8 1999 250 Cowboy entertainer lives the part By KAREN GARDNER Assistant Entertainment Editor Ron McGinley can twirl ropes spin pistols and crack whips with the Kest of em He pans for gold and when he's relaxing it's often on his horse Traveler Mr McGinley is a Westerner at heart although he was born and raised in Washington and has lived near Frederick more than 30 years He has performed his Western act before a Frederick Keys game at a local nursing home at the opening of a Western wear store and at a Wild West show in New York Now he's doing parties and tions He can envelop three fads in his twirling rope and got his picture m The Baltimore Sun doing just that trick I like to he said It just takes a little practice I keep the ropes with me constantly and practice maybe 10 hours a week in the winter and 20 hours in the summer On a bitter cold winter day he demonstrated his technique for about 20 minutes before declaring his hands numb Then he reminisced about ters in Arizona where he and his wife like to travel at least once a year Temperatures are about 70 during the day and it gets down to about freezing at night Mr McGinley 55 drives a tour bus in Washington D C for a living and acts as a tour guide at some of the major tourist sites He fell m love with the West as a child watching Roy Rogers Gene Autry and Tom Mix on the big screen There's something about the he said You get a different sensation out there The farther I can see the happier I am He has ridden horses through Monument Valley traced the steps of Wyatt Earp at the OK Corral met the son of and stayed in the town of Wickiup Ariz which bills itself as the rattlesnake capital of the world All of this got him featured on a cable TV show Cable in Winchester Va last year After the opening credits Mr McGinley is shown performing his act to music from the old John Wayne classic She Wore a Yellow Ribbon I know that the West is not guns Mr McGinley said Still he said Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp are my favorite heroes I think they were men of courage Besides watching old movies and iting such Old West landmarks as Old Tucson and the Roy Rogers Museum Mr McGinley has read serious of many Western characters including Jesse James Billy the Kid Gen George A Custer Sitting Bull Chief Joseph and The West was wonby brave men but brave men killed other brave he said referring to the Indian massacres It was also more a state of mind than a geographical location he said The West starts right he said Lewis and Clark picked up weapons in Harpers Ferry and gold was discovered in Virginia and Georgia He has panned for gold in such unlikely places as Maine Staff photos bv Jacobsen Cowboy Ron McGinley twirls two ropes in a mirror image of themselves He has a whole repertoire of rope tricks including the handshake and the butterfly The chaps he's wearing weigh 20 pounds Flanking Mr McGinley are posters he's collected advertising early Wild West shows where he once found 24 flakes Gold he said can be found in 35 states The West is nothing but a group of frontiers mining cattle and he said Cowboys with their independent attitude and sense of adventure added to the image He's not a cowboy however Cowboy work is hard he said They work days I like being an entertainer I like to travel I like the outdoors camping and fishing He also likes to ride He and his wife Louise recently bought horses and he rides whenever he can Traveler his horse is not named after the well-known mount of Confederate Gen Robert E Lee however He's named for Mr love of travel It was five years ago while riding es near Front Royal Va that Mr McGinley first saw rope tricks performed He began practicing and now does tricks including the butterfly and the handshake I was told by another entertainer that the hardest thing about the butterfly is learning it and the second hardest thing is learning how to make money while you're doing he said His ropes have weights and counter weights that help in balance He has three ropes all made of cotton which must be One is 15 feet long one is 30 feet long and one is 55 feet long Each is looped at one end and the edge of the loop helps to determine the kind of twirling that can be done One of his ropes has a slow burner loop which gives better control A string of wax thread is sewn through the rope with pliers His guns are the shiny metal firearms that one imagines a cowboy wearing in his holster They won't be used in any fights however He keeps them unloaded Occasionally he's asked to perform with blanks He's also called upon to crack a whip which explodes in a noise loud enough to break the sound barrier Learning that wasn't easy he said Wear goggles when you're learning and make sure nobody's behind you he said Besides entertainment Mr McGinley has published a magazine of short stones called Rest of the West and a novel From Nowhere The plot follows a cal Western It centers on a man a woman rancher and an orphaned boy and their attempts to succeed at ranch life in Arizona Writing those was a way to pay for a trip across the country he said It worked I broke he said He plans a sequel to the magazine and a new novel in the next year If you know the start and finish of a story everything else is he said What's going on in the Frederick Area Senior Fellowship activities The following activities will be held Jan at the Frederick Senior Fellowship Center 520 N Market Monday Jan ll Exercise 11 Table games Farkle p m No art class until March Tuesday Jan 12 Strength exercise 11 am Only Food p.m Wednesday Jan 13 Strength Exercise class 9 exercise 11 Brown Bag Pharmacy 10 Movie Matinee Odd Couple Part II p.m p.m Thursday Jan 14 Strength exercise 11 Dental speaker Dr Michele Wear p.m quilting 9 p.m Friday Jan 15 Strength exercise 11 Musical Fun Canasta p.m shopping 1 p.m Center hours are -5 p.m with lunch at noon and ner at 4 p.m Saturday 10 a m -2 p.m with lunch at noon and Sunday 11 3 p.m with lunch at 1 p.m For more information call 1048 Meal reservations and tions are required 24 hours in advance January Bloodmobile schedule Monday Jan 7 p.m Frederick Moose Lodge 828 E Patrick Street Frederick Monday Jan 11 Noon 6 p.m Holiday Inn Francis Scott Key Ballroom A 5400 Holiday Drive Frederick Thursday Jan 14 4 8 p.m Libertytown Vol Fire Department 12027 South Street Libertytown Monday Jan 8 p.m Frederick Jaycees at FSK Mall First Floor Center Court Monday Jan 5 p.m St John's Catholic Church 114 E Second Street Frederick Thursday Jan 2 p.m F M National Bank 110 Thomas Johnson Drive Frederick Friday Jan 22 9 3 p.m Jefferson School 2940 Point of Rocks Friday Jan 4 Life Technology Co 7335 Executive Way Frederick Saturday Jan 23 8 am Noon Frederick Area Community Drive 182 Thomas Johnson Drive Frederick Tuesday Jan 26 l 7 p m American Legion FSK Post 11 1450 Taney Ave Frederick Tuesday Jan 26 p.m County of Frederick at Evangelical Lutheran Church 35 East Church Street Frederick Tuesday Jan 26 11 5 p.m Mount SL Mary's College Emmitsburg Thursday Jan 28 1 p.m 7 p.m Brunswick CV at American Legion Steadman 96 18 S Maple Ave Brunswick Thursday Jan 28 2 p.m 8 St Timothy Catholic Church 8651 Biggs Ford Road Walkersville Call to make an appointment so the best possible service is provided Schedule is subject to change Please call to con firm hours location etc Libertytown Rec Council The Libertytown Recreation Council has scheduled its spring registrations for girls Softball ages baseball ages and soccer ages 14 Registrations will be held at the Liberty Elementary School cafeteria on Continued on Page 3 This is a partial list of community events in and around the Frederick County area A complete list appears every Monday and Thursday in The Frederick
