Changing of Events
 
The All Souls Day November 2nd project has changed.
 
On November 2nd the CHCO will unveil a monument for World War I veteran Lester Umstot at 2 p.m. in the Saint Patrick Catholic Cemetery. The cemetery is located at Fairview and Furnace streets in North Cumberland. November is the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Umstot was killed in action in 1918 and is finally getting a monument. The Cumberland American Legion will take part in the event.

 

News Releases From 2018

Merry Christmas A.D. 2018
And
Happy New Year A.D. 2019

 

The CHCO Christmas Social will be held on Saturday December 15 at 2:00 PM at the CHCO Headquarters located at 400 S. Allegany Street, Cumberland.

The CHCO Christmas Wreath sale is now on until December 15, 2018. The price is $25.00 per wreath. To order call 240-362-7961.

 

Photos from the December 2018 CHCO Christmas Social held at the CHCO Headquarters at 400 S. Allegany Street, Cumberland, MD.

Cumberland Times-News
November 6, 2018

On All Souls Day November 2, 2018 the CHCO and the Umstot family held a monument unveiling ceremony at the St. Patrick Roman Catholic Cemetery in North Cumberland for World War I veteran Lester Umstot.  Nineteen year old Umstot was killed in action in France.  He has been buried for 100 years and is now in November 2018 getting a wonderful CHCO Designated and Protected gravesite monument.  Below are some pictures of the ceremony with the Cumberland, MD American Legion.

Recently the city of Cumberland installed two street signs to direct tourists to the CHCO Headquarters where the monument for Captain David Lynn stands at the 1801 columns. One sign was placed near the intersection of Greene and Allegany streets. The second sign was placed off of the exit ramp of I-68 W at the intersection of Beall and S. Lee streets. The CHCO thanks the city of Cumberland for helping us promote our great American History.

Fall Cemetery Tour Photos

Pictured at the Flintstone Cemetery are Dale Burgess, Sr., Debbie Rappazzo from the Maryland Office of Cemetery Oversight, and Ed Taylor, Jr.

John McKenzie talks about his restoration project at the cemetery this past summer.

Faye gives a tour of the cemetery.

Faye Snow welcomes everyone to the Hinkle-Snow Cemetery.

CHCO photo display at the South Cumberland Library during October 2018.

Pictured is Kenny Iman at the grave of his father, William Iman located at Greenmount Cemetery, Cumberland. Kenny purchased his father’s monument through the CHCO designated and protected gravesite program in 2018. His father died in 2010.

WoodmenLife, Chapter 6 members Emory Davis, Jr., President and Vicki Capello, Musician presented an American Flag to Susan Jones, CHCO member and representative of the Sumner Cemetery. The ceremony took place at the Sumner Cemetery’s Union Soldiers Monument, erected in 1991 by the Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization. The monument was the first monument to black Union Soldiers in Maryland. Pictured in the photo left to right are: Susan Jones, Emory Davis, Jr., Vicki Capello, Dennis Bittinger, CHCO member, Ed Taylor, Jr., President of CHCO. WoodmenLife is the largest giver of American Flags next to the Federal Government.

CHCO monument for Irene McLaughlin located at Oldtown, MD Cemetery. Installed September 2018.

On July 4th the CHCO held its annual memorial event to honor and pray for the great men of the American Revolutionary War. Here are some photos outside of the CHCO Headquarters. Ed Taylor, Jr. calls the group to order. Francis “Champ” Zumbrun tells about the history of the Liberty Tree.

During the ceremony Iris Sommerlatt Vowell presented Ed Taylor, Sr. with a photo of both of them when they were small children. The picture was taken in August 1945 when the Japanese surrendered to United States at the end of World War II.

Ed Taylor, Jr. reads the Captain David Lynn plaque that was installed ten years ago on the 1801 columns at the CHCO Headquarters. The columns are at the entrance to the old Rose Hill Estate that was owned by David Lynn. To read the complete Lynn history visit our early U.S. History page on the website.

After the ceremony at the CHCO Headquarters the members visited several other Designated & Protected gravesites in Rose Hill Cemetery.

Linda Burgess places a wreath at Captain David Lynn’s Gravesite.

Members gather at the George Calmes family Mausoleum where in 2016 the CHCO installed an information monument.

Ed Taylor, Jr. reads the CHCO monument for Rev. John Butler.

Dale Burgess fires a three gun salute for the American Revolutionary War dead. In the left of the picture is a 2014 CHCO monument to the founder of Cumberland, Thomas Beall.  In the right of the picture is the CHCO monument to Confederate Civil War soldier William McKaig.

Ed Taylor, Jr. reads the CHCO monument of Lt. Colonel Moses Rawlings.

June 2018 – During the past year CHCO member Tom Smith from Annapolis, MD has worked through the organization’s Designated and Protected Gravesite program to erect his monument on his family lot in Philos Cemetery in Westernport, MD. To date this is the largest CHCO monument to be placed under this program.

In June CHCO President Ed Taylor Jr. visited longtime member Eleanor Hutson Knotts in Grantsville, MD.  Eleanor has been a CHCO member through the Hutson Cemetery since 1989.  Eleanor will be 100 years old this November.

Cumberland Times-News Editorial

June 13, 2018

Maybe so

Some might have scoffed at the idea of the Allegany County commissioners granting an easement to protect the status of the Ten Commandments monument on the courthouse lawn.

Edward Taylor Jr. asked them to deed a few feet of the land for that purpose. He is president of the nonprofit Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization, the only organization so far to publicly say the monument should stay where it is. (See: “County asked to defend Ten Commandments monument,” June 11 Times-News, Page 1A.) A historic easement is a legal agreement — a deed — that assures the property owner its historic character will be preserved.

We have taken no position on the matter, but have found that Taylor makes a valid point.

Dr. Jeffrey Davis, a Garrett County physician, sued two years ago in federal court to have the monument removed on grounds it violates the First Amendment clause that forbids government from respecting an establishment of religion.

The Supreme Court has ruled that Ten Commandments displays must be removed from public property if they demonstrate a religious intent on the part of the officials who put them there. One such monument can stay on the grounds of the Texas state capitol because it serves “a mixed but primarily nonreligious purpose.”

It’s only partly true that the Supreme Court building has representations of the Ten Commandments. Moses is shown holding a tablet that has commandments 6 through 10 (written in Hebrew letters), which concern murder, adultery, theft, perjury and covetousness — secular commandments. The religious commandments are not visible. He is joined by several other historical lawgivers, including Hammurabi, Solomon, Octavian, Solon and Confucius.

The entry to the court’s chambers contains two tablets bearing Roman numerals I through V on the left door and VI through X on the right door, and no wording. They can be interpreted as representing the first 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights.

Our monument was donated by the local Fraternal Order of Eagles aerie in 1957, when other Eagles clubs were doing the same as part of a nationwide promotion of the “Ten Commandments” movie.

Davis subsequently withdrew his suit without comment, and so far as we know hasn’t said or done anything publicly about the matter lately.

Taylor told the commissioners he was there because Davis or someone else may eventually try to have the monument removed.

“Something needs to be done,” he said. “Because in the future, we may have three commissioners that may be in favor of removing this treasure of Allegany County. This monument is the basis of our American judicial system.”

County attorney William Rudd said the issue is complex and he will take the issue under advisement.

Complex it is, as you will see … just as we found out after referring to an article written by Paul McGreal in 2008 for the Northwestern University Law Review: “The Case for a Constitutional Easement approach to Permanent Monuments in Traditional Forums.” It is available for reading online.

McGreal speculates that a veterans group is allowed to place a veterans monument in a public park, but a political group is denied permission to hold a rally there because the park “is for peaceful recreation and not for noisy demonstrations.”

The political group’s First Amendment rights are found to have been violated because the park is a public forum and at least some assembly, speech and debate must be allowed there.

Subsequently, a religious group wants to place a monument in the park that represents the tenets of its faith. This is denied on grounds that the only permanent structures allowed are those that serve the park’s recreational purposes.

The religious group counters that the veterans group has a monument there, and exclusion of the religious group’s monument prevents its speech in a place that is a public forum.

McGreal wrote “Rights in the traditional public forum have the same structure as easements. The traditional public forum has a land owner (the government) whose real property (the traditional public forum) is burdened by the right of third parties (the public) to use the property.”

The article is 10 years old and the courts have had much to say since then. The Supreme Court has since ruled that permanent monuments in public parks are not subject to the same free speech protections that apply to speeches and rallies.

McGreal’s analysis does apply here because our courthouse lawn has been the site of protests, political gatherings and other events. This makes it a public forum that is owned by the government.

It also is home to our Ten Commandments monument, which is definitely religious in nature, and is located near a statue of George Washington, who was definitely a veteran. Both were put there by private citizens with the government’s permission.

Copyright (c)2018 Cumberland Times News, Edition 6/13/2018

Cumberland Times-News
June 12, 2018

County asked to defend Ten Commandments monument
President of Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization seeks easement at courthouse

CUMBERLAND — A Cumberland resident requested the Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Allegany County Courthouse be preserved at the site through an action by local government.

Edward Taylor Jr., president of the nonprofit Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization, raised the subject at last week’s meeting of the Allegany County Board of Commissioners.

Taylor spoke during the public input portion of the meeting on Kelly Road.

“Since 2004 there has been multiple requests by a Garrett County citizen to remove the Ten Commandments monument from the grounds of the Allegany County Courthouse. The last time that issue was raised by this gentleman was two years ago in 2016,” Taylor said.

“So far we have been the only organization ever to go public with our objection to the removal of this monument and to defend it.”

The monument has been the center of controversy. In 2016, Jeffrey Davis, a Garrett County physician who owns property in Allegany County, filed a federal lawsuit requesting Allegany County Commissioners Creade Brodie Jr., Jake Shade and Bill Valentine remove the monument placed on the courthouse grounds decades ago.

Davis abruptly filed to withdraw his case days before it was to be heard in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. The lawsuit was not Davis’ first public effort to question the validity of the monument.

Following his lawsuit withdrawal, Davis refused to offer comment when phoned by Cumberland Times-News.

Taylor said it is not likely to be the last time someone will try to remove the monument.

“It is not an issue now, but I feel in the future it will be again … if not by this certain individual, by others,” Taylor said. “Even as far away as 20 to 30 years from now, I may not be here and I’m certain all three of you won’t be in office at the time.

“Two years ago I asked the commissioners to consider an alternative to perhaps deeding out three to four feet of property, that monument currently sits on, and put it in a historic easement.”

County attorney William Rudd said it was “a complex issue,” but would take Taylor’s request under advisement.

“I personally don’t know what the answer is. I’m hoping Mr. Rudd might legally be able to come up with something,” Taylor said. “Something needs to be done. Because in the future, we may have three commissioners that may be in favor of removing this treasure of Allegany County.

“This monument is the basis of our American judicial system. It’s the basis of our Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Constitution of the United States of America. It is our duty as citizens to protect and make sure it remains there,” he said.

Follow staff writer Greg Larry on Twitter

GREG LARRY

GLARRY@TIMES-NEWS.COM

Copyright (c)2018 Cumberland Times News, Edition 6/12/2018

EDWARD TAYLOR JR.

On May 25, 2018 CHCO President Ed Taylor Jr., gave a tour to students of Allegany High School of the designated and protected CHCO gravesites and monuments located in the SS. Peter & Paul and Rose Hill Cemeteries.

Memorial Day Season 2018. All of the CHCO designated and protected gravesites were decorated during the month of May for Memorial Day. They are located from Wilmore, PA to Micanopy, FL. This year’s Sumner Cemetery Memorial Day Event was rained out.

President Ed Taylor, Mary Bialas, and Christina Taylor decorated the grave of member Dr. Jean Bialas located in the St. Bartholomew Catholic Cemetery, Wilmore, PA.

Judy Haines decorates the grave of Civil War Union Soldier John Hughes at the Hughes Burial Plot located in Cumberland’s North End. The monument was installed by CHCO in 2003.

Simon Taylor decorates the gravesite of Civil War Union Major Alexander Shaw at Hutson Cemetery, Rawlings, MD. The plaque was installed by CHCO in 1992.

Simon Taylor decorates the gravesites of his Great, Great, Great Grandparents at Euesbia Church and Cemetery near Fort Ashby, WV.

The gravesite of member Leon (Buck) Knotts located at the Maryland Veterans Rocky Gap Cemetery near Cumberland. This is the only grave in the cemetery that is marked with a CHCO urn.

Cumberland Times-News
May 23, 2018

On May 5, 2018 CHCO members President Ed Taylor, Jr. and his son Simon Taylor attended the annual Coalition to Protect Maryland Burial Sites meeting in Baltimore, MD. The CHCO is a charter member of the Coalition.

CHCO member Simon Taylor placed a flag and flowers at the Confederate Monument in Loudon Park Cemetery, Baltimore, MD.

Cumberland Times – News
May 5, 2018

Fr. Alister C. Anderson died April 22, 2018 in Frederick, MD. Fr. Anderson retired from the U.S. Army as a Chaplain with the rank of Colonel. He was a true American Hero. He was awarded a Bronze Star Medal, a Meritorious Service Medal, and a Vietnam Service Medal. He was considered Maryland’s greatest Confederate Historian and was a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans – Trimble Camp of Maryland. Fr. Anderson was also a board member of the Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization since 2010. He was buried in St. John’s Cemetery in Frederick, MD. May the Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on his Soul and all Souls. Amen.

On Saturday April 28, 2018 members visited the Seymour-Brady Cemetery that was restored by the CHCO in 2004 to hold a Confederate History month memorial service. The cemetery is located in Seymour Bottom, WV just across the Potomac River south of the Allegany County Fairgrounds. After the memorial service members traveled to Rose Hill Cemetery in Cumberland, MD to unveil two information monuments. The monuments were for deceased CHCO members Harry and Sally Stern and Confederate Soldier William McKaig.

CHCO members at the Cemetery sign.

Members at the CHCO plaque that was engraved on the Brady monument in 2007.

Leo “Buddy” Rowan fires a three gun salute for all Confederate soldiers.

 

President Taylor explains about the new McKaig information monument.

 

 

Reverend Michael Mudge talks about the McKaig family history and their participation in the Civil War.

 

 

William McKaig Monument in Rose Hill Cemetery, Cumberland.

New information monument for CHCO members Harry and Sally Stern in Rose Hill Cemetery, Cumberland.

 

On Saturday April 21, 2018 members and family gathered at the CHCO Pollock Confederate Cemetery in Mexico Farms, south of Cumberland for the annual Confederate History Month Ceremony. Pictured below, Mary Ann Eckard and President Ed Taylor, Jr. call the event to order.

Linda Burgess places a wreath during the ceremony.

 

 

 

Leo “Buddy” Rowan fires a three gun salute for the Confederate Heroes.

 

 

 

Members and Guests

 

 

 

 

Simon Taylor and his father Ed Taylor, Jr.

On March 31, 2018 CHCO members set up and repaired several old monuments in Cumberland cemeteries. Pictured are Leland Taylor and Bill Taylor.

 

Cumberland Times-News — March 7, 2018

 Leo “Buddy” Rowan is member of the Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization.