Page:Brunswick 100 Years of Memories.pdf/39

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unload. Duck in turn delivered the wares to the

merchants. TheHathawayhousewasaroomingandboarding house. A large fireplace in the basement, with ground-level entry, had a swinging arm to hold large cooking pots. The 17-foot wide rooms have been arranged into six apartments. This is now owned by Gary and Kay Cooper.

built, move in and sell the first. He is now on his sixth house following this pattern. Meanwhile, he acquired Baxter's Apartment, the old East End School, gutted it, then completely renewed all utilities and renovated. Next he turned to the Potomac Furniture Company, which one cannot miss passing through town. He then put into first-class condition the former Dailey Funeral Home two doors west. Payne's Pharmacy, next to Bank of Brunswick on the Square Comer, was his fourth building. At present he is (or will soon be) preparing apartments in the building recently owned and vacated by Junior Moler. The Siglers deserve commendation for their beautification efforts, which in tum provide much needed housing in Brunswick.

W - MMM

THE "HUDSON" STORY

Remember Hudson Row? It was a row of connected frame dwellings on the south side of Potomac Street between Virginia and Delaware Avenues. Upon examing Arthur Lutman's plats of Berlin, one sees "Hudson-Bakery 1892" beside the Opera House, Lot 60; Edward Hudson 1896, Lots 11 and 10, where the Ambulance building now stands and the adjacent lot; and Edward Hudson 5-30-92, Lot 71. He and his wife, Rose, also owned lots down the east side of Delaware Avenue to Walnut Street including the Nicodemus house. Further research is needed to learn how much more of that block he owned. Richard Hudson of Frederick recalls his father's accounts of life in early Brunswick- taking horses to the canal for water and falling into the canal because of of the difficulty getting near the water. His father remembered driving their wagon to Harpers Ferry to deliver bread from their bakery. The son is in the process of examining papers from his grandparents, who were in Brunswick by 1892.

S - Naomi Sigler W-MMM

TRANSIENT CENTERS

During the depression, the Transient Center used the Hotel Potomac building to house some of the transients and to feed all of them. Another building for the travelers was a large house, since razed, at the bottom of Virginia A venue, west side. African-Americans were housed in the Masonic Lodge building that once stood on Center Street, across the creek from the Frank Brooks home at 707 Petersville Road. Of the three Transient Centers in town, there were cooks only at the hotel; transients at the other places werit to the hotel for meals. The stove used is reported to have been the very latest model with the newest features. The men at the center were given a small amount of spending money per day. If the money did not arrive from Washington when needed, script was used and repaid when the money did arrive. The unpaid amount frequently climbed to huge sums. At one high point in this "loan" account, the manager of the local center absconded with the government money when it arrived and a generous Brunswick businessman was left holding a bag of worthless script. Dr. Thomas Strother was the center's physician. Upon the men's arrival, he examined them for general health as well as social diseases. He would require the men to have a steaming hot bath in case they were carrying lice. If the nits remained, he would give them medicine, with in- . structions to return in two days for further treatment. Some men developed pneumonia and other conditions needing hospitalization. In such cases, Dr. Strother would send them to Frederick City

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SIGLERS BEAUTIFYING BRUNSWICK

Thomas E. Sigler means two persons when building is mentioned in Brunswick. Thomas, Sr., began learning the trade with his brother Paul, became dedicated to building and continued with him. Since he launched out on his own in 1969, he has not only built houses, but has also built the streets to put them on in many cases. He constructed "H" Street, put in water, sewer, then bought the taps and paid to tap in! All the parts of "E," and "G" Streets that he developed also followed this method. Tommy's son, Thomas, Jr., is now making a name for himself by beautifying existing properties as well as constructing houses. Young Thomas would build a house, live in it until another was

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