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Children swam, cycled and ran to the cheers of friends and family on Saturday morning during the third annual Nottingham Kids' Triathlon, a local family-friendly event open to children ages 6 to 14.

"All around it was just a great day," said race organizer Brian Lausch, who put together the event with wife Christy.

The race's popularity is increasing: while about 40 children participated the first year, last year about 60 competed, and this year numbers jumped to 102 children registered. He said about half of those are from out of Mount Airy.

"The number Christy and I are most proud of is of those 100 kids, more than 40 of them, for them it was their very first triathlon," Lausch said. "That is really what is behind the Mini Cow Tri Club we started."

The club is a youth triathlon club based in Mount Airy, also founded by Christy and Brian Lausch.

New to the event this year were two race distances: 6- to 9-year-old triathletes swam 50 meters, biked 2 miles and ran half a mile, while 10- to 14-year-old triathletes swam 100 meters, biked 4 miles and ran 1 mile. The races were run consecutively, and both started and finished at the Nottingham Swim Club.

Lausch said many of the kids swim at the pool, ride bikes and run around already. "They don't think of that as being a sport," he said. Triathlons have grown in popularity and children's triathlons have exploded in the past few years, he said.

Brian and Christy Lausch started the event years ago to get kids to have fun while exposing them to the sport and helping them recognize they could achieve it.

Each participant receives a finisher's medal. Lausch said they have opted to not time the event, which would add logistics and cost, but have considered it for next year.

Lausch said they will be putting on another event before the end of the year — a duathlon, where athletes bike and run, omitting the swim portion of a tri. "We removed the swim; it seems the one thing the kids are most anxious about," he said.

The event, called a "boo-athlon" will take place Oct. 23 at Knill's Farm Market in Mount Airy, and will include adventures, such as navigating a corn maze between biking and running activities. "We're anticipating somewhere between 150 and 175 kids in that," he said.

For more information and event registration, visit www.minicowtriclub.com.

History 101 event celebrates town's heritage

The Mount Airy Main Street Association will celebrate History 101, an annual event designed to commemorate the history of the town and the area. The fourth annual weeklong event stretches from Tuesday to Sept. 14.

Among other events, the Mount Airy Historical Society will present the story of Carl Hood, lifetime resident of Harrisville at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company's lower level meeting area, 702 N. Main St.

Originally, Hood was set to be a guest speaker, but he recently died, according to association's promotions chair, Ellie Bonde.

"A neighbor took a video class and she made Carl the subject of her videos," said Bonde. "She's got him on tape: what was life like, what do you remember, what year did such and such happen... it's really cool to hear."

Among what Hood remembers were three bars and a "girly house" at the intersection of Harrisville and Buffalo roads, a nearby abandoned graveyard and the "vacations" growing up, where once a year his family would get in the car and drive to Mount Airy, then Unionville, and then come back home.

Video's of Hood's memories will be shown, along with a possible spoken portion from someone who knew him.

On Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. noted Civil War Author Bob O'Connor will speak on genealogy at the Mount Airy Branch Library, 705 Ridge Ave.

On Friday and Saturday, re-enactors from the Signal Service, Living History Unit of Central Maryland will be at Pine Grove Chapel. During the Civil War, communication was often done through flags, Bonde said. The dangerous job included standing and signaling.

"You're becoming a target just by doing your job," she said.

The re-enactors, who will be in character all weekend, will camp on the grounds and provide demonstrations. They will also be available to speak to the public.

At 1:30 p.m. Sept. 11, long time residents Oscar Baker and Helen Simpson will discuss the history of Mount Airy at town hall, 110 S. Main St.

Self-guided walking tours of historic downtown and a scavenger hunt will take place all week. Tours of Howard Parzow's Mount Airy Country Store Museum, 10 S. Main St., will be available Sept. 9 and 10 for $8 a person. The one-hour tour will be on the hour 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The tour is available by reservation only. Contact Parzow at 301-351-6544 or hparzow@aol.com.

At 7 p.m. Sept. 14, George Wunderlich, executive director of the National Civil War Medicine Museum, will speak at Pine Grove Chapel, located on South Main Street.

For more information on this or future activities, visit the Mount Airy Main Street Association's website, www.mountairymainstreet.org. Information is also available at Blossom and Basket Boutique, 3 N. Main St.

Linganore High grad

awarded scholarship

The Joanne Grossnickle Scholarship Committee of the Union Bridge Church of the Brethren recently awarded scholarships to nine college students for the 2010-2011 school year.

Among the recipients is Lindsay Schaub, a graduate of Linganore High School. Schaub is double majoring in marketing and general business at the University of Maryland.

The scholarships are awarded each year to honor the memory of Joanne Grossnickle, daughter of Byron and Virginia Grossnickle of Johnsville, who was murdered in 1984 while working with an interdenominational task force dealing with violence against women.

Urbana resident wins

libraries' reading challenge

Isabelle Vetter, 5, of Urbana, is one of two grand-prize winners in this year's "Make a Splash – Read" summer reading program sponsored by Frederick County Public Libraries. Two grand prize winners were randomly selected through a system-wide drawing.

She won a trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, Va.

Each of Frederick County Public Libraries eight branches also distributed elementary age prizes of $100 Dancing Bear Toys & Gifts certificates. System-wide elementary prizes of one Samsung 10.2 Megapixel camera and two 2-GB iPod Shuffles were awarded. Each branch also distributed prizes of Samsung 10.2 Megapixel cameras and 2-GB iPod Shuffles to 16 teens.

According to a press release from Frederick County Public Libraries, the participating in this year's summer reading program was the highest ever.

"We could tell immediately when schools got out that the library was this summer's destination point," said Robyn Monaco, children's services supervisor at C. Burr Artz Library, in the release. By early July, the number of teen registrants had passed the previous year's total by 15 percent. By early August, total participation was close to topping 10,000 — an all-time high for Frederick County.

Do you have an item for News & Notes? Contact reporter Angie Cochrun at 301-846-2117 or e-mail acochrun@gazette.net.