On January 20, 1872, a public meeting was held in Mechanicstown to discuss the formation of a new county to be called Catoctin. On January 20, 1872, Milton G. Urner, who would later become the first president of the Frederick County Bar Association, was installed as the superintendent of the Sunday School of Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church in Frederick. On January 20, 1874, Charles Byerly, who succeeded his father, J. Davis Byerly, and his grandfather, Jacob Byerly, in the photographic business in Frederick, was born. On January 20, 1885, Frederick lawyer and philanthropist Leo Weinberg was born. He died September 17, 1942, in Philadelphia. On January 20, 1885, Capt. Joseph Groff proposed a new skating rink for colored people be built on West Fourth Street in Frederick. It opened on March 14, 1885, at Groff Hall. On January 20, 1900, Richard Doddridge Blackmore, author of the historical novel Lorna Doone, died. Lady Ellen Thompson, who with her husband operated Glenellen Academy in Ijamsville from 1878 to 1888, claimed that she was the actual author of Lorna Doone. Blackmore was born June 7, 1825, at Longworth, Berkshire, England. On January 20, 1921, whiskey valued at $60,000 was seized at Ridgeville. On January 20, 1941, The Ritchie Lodge at Catoctin Furnace, which had been host to President Herbert Hoover on numerous occasions, was heavily damaged by fire. The property was owned by Lawrence Ritchie, who was Hoover's personal secretary. On January 20, 1951, Army Sgt. Joseph Hayes Trail, of Frederick County, died of malnutrition and exposure to the cold while in the hands of North Korean soldiers near Such'on. He was captured on December 2, 1950, as U. S. forces retreated through heavy fighting. He was a combat engineer. His remains were never identified. On January 20, 2005, Randy Cubbedge, a U. S. Park policeman assigned to Vice President Dick Cheney and a resident of Thurmont, and Sgt. Thomas Yocklin, of Frederick, a member of the "Commander-in-Chief's Guard" (a ceremonial unit of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division), took part in the inaugural festivities for President George Walker Bush. If anyone can add information to these History Moments, or would like to suggest an item for another calendar day, please contact me privately. John W. Ashbury Wasps1965@comcast.net <mailto:Wasps1965@comcast.net>