Mountain City
Traditional Arts to host, “Lore and Legends about the Hagerstown Almanack”
Prognosticator Bill O’Toole will give the talk, “Lore and
Legends about the Hagerstown Almanack,” on Saturday, November 16 at 2 pm at
Mountain City Traditional Arts in Frostburg. A Washington County native,
O’Toole has been the Prognosticator for the Hagers-Town Town and Country
Almanack since 1969. He has also written for two other almanacs, one for the
entire continental USA and the other for Quebec Province in Canada. He’ll share
highlights of the fabled almanac’s prestigious history and discuss its
predictions, and share some intriguing regional weather-lore.
John Gruber’s name still appears on the cover of his
best-known publication, The Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack that first
made its appearance in the Hagerstown, Maryland area in 1797. It is the second
oldest almanac in the United States and in fact, the oldest almanac that is
still published today by heirs of its founder.
Gruber’s Hagerstown Almanack has been a mainstay tradition
in the Mid-Atlantic Region for well over two centuries, providing farmers with
seasonal weather forecasts as well as critically important astronomical information
considered to be vital to agricultural success in the region. This regional publication has been an
important resource for many folks for more than 200 years. It is also one of
the most talked about almanacs around the world providing some of the most
accurate weather predictions available, as well as health, home and gardening
tips. There are even predictions of the gender of unborn children.
With a strong background in mathematics, (he spent 41 years
teaching Math and Computer Science at Mount Saint Mary’s College), and
long-time interest in astrophysics, O’Toole’s work reveals that prognosticating
can be a complex endeavor.The Almanack has
always relied on individuals who used traditional methods of the day when
calculating and conjecturing the weather. Each has used basically the same
fundamentals and information with an amazing degree of accuracy, which is all
the more astounding when it is considered that their predictions were done over
a year in advance. There have been a total of seven Calculators over the past
215 years. O’Toole attributes his uncanny accuracy to a combination of elements
that include using specialized software and computer power to precisely
calculate phases of the Moon, close analysis of sunspot activity, and the tracking
and noting of El Nino/La Nina cycles. His methods have produced impressive
results year after year, outscoring Old Farmer’s, Almanac and even the National
Weather Service.
This is part of a series of presentations hosted by FSU
students enrolled in "Folklore in Appalachia" as part of their
participation in the Appalachian Regional Commission's Appalachian Teaching
Project.
Friday Night Mountain Music Jams are Back!
Quilted Table Runners- Demonstration with Laura Hunter
We've had a change in the lineup for this event. Ghost in the Head, a Huron hailing from Pennsylvania, will share and demonstrate a treasure trove of museum quality hand-crafted reproductions of traditional Huron artifacts. Dedicated to the preservation of Huron heritage and practices, Ghost in the Head has appeared in multiple movies and TV shows. He works for a large variety of museums, teaching classes on Native American traditions, and has twice been recognized by Congress for his efforts to maintain Native Heritage. 
“Hagerstown
Town and Country Almanack” prognosticator Bill O’Toole will present
“Lore and Legends About the Hagerstown Almanack” at Mountain
City Traditional Arts, 25 E. Main St., Frostburg, on Saturday, Nov. 16,
at 2 p.m. This event is part of a series of presentations hosted by
Frostburg State University’s students enrolled in “Folklore in
Appalachia” as part of their participation in the Appalachian
Regional Commission’s Appalachian Teaching Project.
