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Marguerite Snyder turned 102 years old on July 21. She credits her longevity to the active farm life she led for several years on her Knoxville property.

Snyder has lived at Golden Living Center in Frederick since 2007, but originally arrived in the region in 1930, relocated from Illinois to work at the Census Bureau for the 1930 census. As of April, she has been counted in the United States Census 11 times.

She moved back to Illinois after working for the census but came to Washington, D.C. again to work for the Bureau of Public Roads in 1934. She and her late husband, who also moved from Illinois to work at the Home Owners' Loan Corporation, met in the District and married in 1935. They later bought their farm in Knoxville with intentions to move there after they retired.

"We fell in love with this area ... the mountain country," she said. They had views of Virginia and West Virginia from their property.

The couple never had any children because of The Great Depression, Snyder said. They postponed trying to conceive until their finances were more secure and by the time that happened it was too late, she added. But "we were happy to have had a good retirement."

The two of them "were weekend farmers" until they moved to Knoxville permanently in 1969, she said. When their home was first built, it was off what was then U.S. Route 340. When the new road was built, she, her husband and the neighbors were asked to meet and come up with a new name for their street.

Snyder was the one who suggested "Keep Tryst Road," which is still the name of the street today. It was a name she came across upon doing research on early settlers in the area, she said. "That was such a romantic name," she added.

She and her husband had a great time living in the country until he passed away in 2001, Snyder said.

There were "good neighbors up there" and the couple enjoyed taking walks through the countryside and raising animals, she added.

Shortly after his death, she broke her hip and has lived in a nursing home ever since, she said.

The couple's retirement home was sold, as were most of their possessions. The proceeds went to The Nature Conservancy, an ecological charity that serves to protect land and water worldwide. "We were so pleased with the kind of work they did," she said.

Although she is happy to have donated to the conservancy and is appreciative of the staff at Golden Living Center, "I have nothing connecting me except my memories," she said, looking fondly at pictures of her, her husband and the Knoxville farm.

Guardian Hose Company carnival parade winners announced

The annual Guardian Hose Company carnival was held in Thurmont July 19 to 24. The first-place trophy winners of the event's annual firemen's parade and competition, held on July 22, were:

- Best Appearing Adult Float: Heritage Days

- Best Appearing Youth Entry: Girl Scout Council/Brownies

- Best Appearing Commercial Entry: Ace Hardware

- Best Appearing Color Guard: Amvets Post 7

- Best Appearing Marching Unit: Catoctin High School Marching Band

- Best Appearing Majorette Unit: Catoctin-Aires

- Best Appearing Antique Non-Fire Vehicle: Golden Gears Car Club

- Best Appearing Antique Fire Vehicle: Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company

- Best Appearing Brush Unit: Lewistown Volunteer Fire Company

- Best Appearing Pumper (1000 GPM and under): Walkersville Volunteer Fire Company

- Best Appearing Pumper (1250 GPM and over): Wolfsville Volunteer Fire Company

- Best Appearing Pumper/ Tanker: Graceham Volunteer Fire Company

- Best Appearing Tanker: Walkersville Volunteer Fire Company

- Best Appearing Squad: Walkersville Volunteer Fire Company

- Best Appearing Special Purpose Unit: Catoctin Mountain Park

- Best Appearing Ambulance: Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company

- President's Award for Best Appearing Fire Company: Walkersville Volunteer Fire Company

Walkersville student earns place

on dean's list

Shaun Baldwin, son of David and Karen Baldwin of Walkersville, earned a place on the spring 2010 dean's list at Ithaca College's School of Health Sciences and Human Performance.

To qualify for the honor, students must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.5 and complete a minimum of 15 credit hours.

Thurmont residents become American Angus Association members

Rusty and Ginger Rice, both of Thurmont, recently became members of the American Angus Association, according to a press release.

The association has nearly 31,000 active members and is the largest beef cattle registry in the world, the release said. Its records, which include ancestral and production information on individual animals, hold information on more than 16 million registered Angus.

This helps "members select and mate the best animals in their herds to produce high quality, efficient breeding cattle which are then recorded with the American Angus Association.  Most of these registered Angus are used by the U.S. farmers and ranchers who raise high quality beef for U.S. consumption," the release said.

Send items for North County Notes to reporter Courtney Pomeroy at cpomeroy@gazette.net. Call 301-846-2121 for more information.