On December 17, 1861, Frederick County political parties met to decide the county's position on slavery and secession. The Union was supported three to one. On December 17, 1890, the Mt. Zion United Brethren Church in Myersville was destroyed during a storm. A new church was dedicated in May 1892. On December 17, 1893, the Presbyterian Church of Brunswick was dedicated in a ceremony conducted by Masonic Lodge No. 191. The church was disbanded in 1917. On December 17, 1935, Alfred Brown was convicted of the first degree murder of Manuel Silva Varela, the common law husband of his mother, after a one-day trial. He was later sentenced to life in prison. On December 17, 1965, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey made a surprise two-hour visit to Camp Catoctin, the nation's first Job Corps Center, near Thurmont. On December 17, 1977, G. Richard Boyer, 44, of Walkersville, was electrocuted when an antenna he was helping to install at a home on Walter Martz Road touched a power line. Injured in the same mishap were Samuel D. Boyer, Donald R. Cecil, Frances M. Cecil, and Bradley W. Cecil. On December 17, 2004, The Randall Family LLC, owners and publishers of The Frederick News-Post, announced plans to build a new $36 million facility on a 44-acre tract off Ballenger Creek Pike in Frederick City. 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 <mailto:Wasps1965@comcast.net> Wasps1965@comcast.net