Friendsville Newsletter
September 2023
Thank You to Girl Scout Troop 10249!
📢 Maryland Food Bank's Mobile Market
🌟 Welcome to your one-stop-shop for free healthy foods and resources! 🌟
Enjoy a variety of boxed dry goods and a “pick your own” produce selection—offered while supplies last. 🥦🍎
Mark you Calendar
Maryland Food Bank's Mobile Market will be visiting Friendsville!
- June 11, 2025 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
- July 9, 2025 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
We are pleased to announce that Friendsville now has four pickleball courts! Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America!
The Friendsville park has two permanent courts and the tennis court is now dual purpose with pickleball lines for two additional courts, ready for players to bring their portable nets.
We are looking into purchasing professional portable nets in the future.
Players/Adults of any level including beginners are welcome to meet up at the Friendsville Park:
Tuesday, Thursday 9am-11am.
Sunday 4pm-6pm.
The courts are available all other day time hours on a first come, first serve basis, including families.
Please be respectful, no bikes, scooters, dogs or hanging on the nets allowed.
Join the group, Friendsville Pickleball in TeamReach app.
Instructions:
Install TeamReach on iPhone : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/teamreach-team-management/id1101253705
Install TeamReach on Android :
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teamreach.app
Enter code: FRIENDSVPB1
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The form will only take a few minutes to complete and will ensure that you are added to our mailing list. Don't miss out on all the exciting things happening in Friendsville! By subscribing to our newsletter, you'll be the first to know about town events, community news, and more. Thank you for your interest in staying connected with the Town of Friendsville!
🌞 Summer Fun at Deep Creek Lake State Park! 🌊🎉
Mark your calendars and spread the word—there’s a lot happening at Deep Creek Lake State Park this summer, and you won’t want to miss it!
🎟️ FREE Admission Days
Enjoy free entrance to the park on these special days:
✅ Saturday, June 21
✅ Monday, July 21
✅ Thursday, August 14
🚤 June 21 – Boat Parade
Want to join the fun? Let us know if your Town would like to participate in the Boat Parade, sponsored by the DCL Lions Club. We’ll help you get a boat—and even a driver if needed!
🎈 July 19 – Birthday Bash!
We're celebrating in a big way with an old-fashioned flair—admission is just 25 cents, just like in 1925!
🎶 Live music all day from 12:30–9:15pm (Remedy, Queen City Funk & Soul, Buckwild & more!)
🎠 FREE KidsZone • 🎨 Craft & Vendor Area • 🍔 Food Vendors
📣 Displays from local non-profits and sponsors
✨ Capping it all off at 9:30pm – a Garrett County First:
🌌 Night Sky Drone Spectacular!
📌 Please help us spread the word!
2024-2025 School Calendar
Garrett County Public Schools
Building Strong Partnerships: Fostering Education and Collaboration Among Garrett County Schools, Families, and Communities.
Friendsville Elementary School
We invite you to explore the school website, where you can access a wealth of information and resources designed to keep you informed about your child's education and our school community.
Exploring Heritage: The Friend Family Association Museum & Genealogical Library
The Friend Family Association Museum houses a collection of 87 books authored by Patrick T. Smith, Patty (Friend) Thompson, and Shirley (Friend) Drent. These publications, available for purchase, document the history of the Friend family and their descendants, including Cornelius Ward Friend, Susannah Friend House, and Elizah Friend.
The museum features a variety of exhibits, including ancestral portraits, early tools, musical instruments, toys, and artifacts from early local businesses, along with cherished family heirlooms.
Located on the upper floor, the Colonel Lester Friend Genealogical Library offers extensive genealogical records on many area families, including Bittner, Coddington, Fike, Frazee, Fearer, Guard, Sines, Ward, and others.
The Friend Family Association Museum and Library is open every Friday from noon to 3 p.m. Special visits can be arranged by contacting Ina Hicks at 301-746-5056 or Carol Squires at 301-501-6020.
If you're visiting Friendsville, Maryland, we warmly invite you to stop by the museum at 261 Maple Street and explore this rich piece of local and family history.
GC Dept. of Social Services Assistance Program ~ 06/11/2025 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Occurring on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at the Friendsville branch, representatives from the Garrett County Department of Social Services will be in the library to serve the community through their assistance outreach program.
Customers can come see a DSS staff person at any of these locations to pick up paperwork, drop off paperwork, apply for services like SNAP, CASH Assistance and Medical Assistance, or just to ask questions about the programs and services offered by our agency. Staff can also provide referral to other community agencies if we do not have a program to address the person’s needs. ANYONE can access ANY of these locations. This schedule provides flexibility to our customers who may be working in communities away from their home, or who may be facing transportation challenges.
These locations also provide support to our customers by making DSS forms available to customers during the location’s open hours of business. Customers can look for the file box labeled “DSS FORMS” to pick up forms, information or a pre-paid envelope in which to return completed forms to our office for processing.
Please note: Please note: If Garrett County schools are canceled due to inclement weather, outreach activity is canceled for that day. For more information on the outreach program, please contact Garrett County DSS at 301-533-3000.
Gardening Classes: Starting a Kitchen Herb Garden 06/12/2025 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Calling all gardening enthusiasts! Join us as we learn about growing perennial food crops and easy small fruits for your garden.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Please contact the Friendsville Library to register or email Melissa Custer at melissa@relib.net for more information.
"Color Our World" Art Stations: Face Painting, Cookie Art, & Colorful Clay Creations 06/26/2025 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Have you ever had your face painted? Did you know you can turn an ordinary cookie into an adorable sloth? What can you sculpt out of colorful clay? Join us at the Friendsville Library for an afternoon of artistic creativity and fun!
Culinary Connections Cookbook Club ~ 07/02/2025 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
If you enjoy cooking, trying new recipes, and eating with friends...then this is the bookclub for you! It's Friendsville Library's Culinary Connections Cookbook Club!
Join us on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 6pm. Each participant will choose a recipe from a selection of cookbooks to prepare at home and bring to share at the next meeting. We'll have fun trying new foods, discussing our culinary successes (or disasters), and sharing cooking techniques and tips. We'll have a different theme each month and a prize will be awarded at each meeting for the tastiest dish!
Only non-alcoholic beverages, please.
Garrett County Enhances Stakeholder Access to Advanced Mapping Tools and Public Property Records
By Melinda Smith-Pritt, LEHS
For the past twenty years, the Garrett County Health Department Office of Environmental Health has digitized all vital well and septic records into a database. This initiative enabled Environmental Health (EH) specialists to efficiently access property records without having to sift through thousands of paper files. Now, under the leadership of EH Director Craig Umbel, these records will be publicly accessible through Garrett County’s online web map.
Property owners and prospective buyers can now access over 20,000 public well and septic records with a few clicks. This service provides users with essential information for servicing their well or septic system, facilitating informed decision-making during property transfers.
“This enhancement provides faster, easier access to some environmental health records for homeowners, contractors, and real estate professionals,” said Siera Wigfield, Senior Planner, Garrett County Planning & Land Management. “By linking directly to scanned well and septic permits, we’re reducing the need for data requests and in-person visits—streamlining services and supporting more informed decision-making across the county.”
While documentation may be limited for properties dating back to the 1960s and earlier, newly generated records will be continuously uploaded.
Further collaboration between the Health Department’s IT staff and the County’s Planning and Land Management Senior Planner has streamlined this process, paving the way for future developments to improve access to public health services.
“The Health Department is very excited to partner with the County to offer these tools to the public,” said Jennifer Hare, Garrett County Health Officer. “We believe it will help the community, saving time and providing additional transparency.”
For more information about this new resource, including a step-by-step guide, please visit the Garrett County Health Department's website at https://garretthealth.org/property-maps-and-resources/.
