Open, inclusive, and affirmative, the Torch Club of Frederick is a congenial, multidisciplinary group interested in lifelong learning, companionable inquiry, and exploration of interesting topics. We meet on the fourth Monday of the month for a buffet lunch at Dutch’s Daughter and listen to a stimulating presentation by a fellow Torch member or a guest speaker from the Frederick community.
Next Meeting
Presenter: Nancy Whitmore
Topic: Ghosts and Legends of Frederick
Date: Monday, October 26, 2026
Time: Noon—2:00 p.m.
Location: Dutch’s Daughter
Cost: $30 per person
Contact: reservations@fredtorch.org
Reservations are required
Nancy Whitmore is the coauthor of Ghosts and Legends of Frederick County, published in 1979, and now in its seventh printing. The book includes interesting folklore as well as stories of gentlemanly ghosts, phantom buggies, bleeding tombstones, and strange flying beasts. She is also the coauthor of Pictorial History of Frederick, Maryland: The First 250 Years, 1745–1995, originally published in 1995 in celebration of the city’s 250th anniversary and revised in 2009. This book contains more than 500 photographs from rare Maryland collections depicting people, places, and events in Frederick history.
2026 – 2027 Presentations
September 28 – Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor on “The State of the City”
October 26 – Nancy Whitmore on “Ghosts and Legends of Frederick”
November 23 – Ed McMahon on “Frederick Growth by Fault or Design”
December 14 – Ed Seidewitz on “Edwin Albert Seidewitz (1866–1918): A Family Legacy in Maryland”
January 25 – John Gardner on “Peaceful Beekeeping: 50 Years with Honeybees”
February 22 – Dorothy Bonnett on “Circles of Women: A Discussion of Chinese Women’s Lives”
March 22 – Karl Bickel on “The Feasibility of a County Police Department”
April 26 – Peter Michael on “Other Humans: The Revelations of Ancient DNA”
May 24 – Lois Jarman on “Art and the Brain”
June 28 – Annual Frederick Torch Picnic