This nice 1964 matchbook cover from Redding Chevrolet on Water Street in Thurmont is in pretty good shape for being 59 years old. This dealership was owned by Fed Redding from the mid-1950s until the mid-1960s. The dealership building remains and is now occupied by the NAPA auto parts store and the coin-op laundry. With a line-up featuring Chevrolet, Chevelle, Corvair, Chevy II, Corvette, and Truck models, 1964 was a good year for Chevrolet!

This view shows the Rambler Motel when it was associated with the Best Western chain. I remember this sign, but I don't know when it went in or when it was removed.

This one of two popular images of Royer's Restaurant. This view was taken by Joe Durick probably in the early 1970's. Royer's Restaurant was a great family restaurant and they specialized in fresh hot turkey and gravy sandwiches. Joe was a regular here as was Dave Late, Jim Brown, John Creeger and may others. I have fond memories of 'old' Sam Royer and his lovely wife. The restaurant had a large horseshoe counter surrounded by tables. a back dinning room for meetings and one of the largest collections of knick-knacks you would ever see. Many local kids got their first work experience at Royer's. Joe must have sold thousands of his postcards at Royer's. For those wondering where Royer's was located, Sheetz now occupies the approximate foot print of the restaurant.

Last weekend Teresa Sunday gave me some post cards of local scenes. These are not old but they do include a coupe of things we can no longer see. The most interesting thing about these are that many of the photos were shot and the cards published by Joe Durick, Jr. of Thurmont. Joe lived on East Main Street and later moved to Moser Road. Joe worked for the NIH and spent most of his time photographing medical topics and accidents. In his spare time he took portraits and published tens of thousands of postcard views from around Thurmont. My parents were good friend of Joe and remember him visiting our house after the big plane crash on Tenerife on March 27, 1977, Joe had been involved in photographing injuries and he was quite upset about what he saw. I think the portraits and outdoor scenes he shot gave him the opportunity to share his talents with others. One of Joe's other hobbies were cars, he had lots of neat vehicles over the year including a Delorean. Surprisingly he had been severely injured in an automobile accident as a teen but that didn't seem to interfere with his love of cars!

The back of Joe's card features a little info about Royer's Restaurant. You can see Joe's tag line at the bottom left of the card.