Allegany County Maryland--Biography

Alice Darr - Recording Artist, Song Writer, and Composer, (1930-2024) 

Kia Corthron, 1961 -

(The following narrative on Kia Corthron was revised/updated in Spring 2014 at the request of the Maryland Women's Heritage Center as part of an upcoming Fall 2014 exhibit on Women in the Arts.)

Jane Avery, 1947-2016

The following excerpt is from an obituary which appeared in the Cumberland Times-News, September 15, 2016. It pertains to Jane Avery, Garrett County Educator and founder of the Our Town Theatre:

Jane Bement Avery, 68, Oakland, died of accidental drowning on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016, near her home at Deep Creek Lake.

Rebeca Arthur was born in Cumberland and graduated from Fort Hill High School in 1978. Rebeca went on to star in the ABC television comedy, “Perfect Strangers” from 1986 to 1993. She has also appeared in numerous other television shows and movies since that time including, “Get Shorty” and “The Watcher”.

The following is excerpted from an article that appeared in the October 28, 2016 edition of the Cumberland Times-News. It provides an update on the actress:

City native, actress Rebeca Arthur Golden thankful for upbringing

Vickie Doolan-Fearon, Iraq War Veteran

The following article, written by Greg Larry, appeared in the December 21, 2013 edition of the Cumberland Times-News. Doolan-Fearon shares within the article the Iraq War experience that resulted in her injury.

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Army veteran hurt on duty in Iraq given gift of greater mobility

Pair of 'walking angels' deliver electric wheelchair to woman’s Cresaptown home

Shannon Lee Workman

Shannon Workman of Cumberland graduated from Fort Hill High School in 1984 and the United States Naval Academy in 1988. She is officially considered a pioneer in women’s aviation. Shannon flew patrols over the “no-fly” zone in Iraq during the first Gulf War.

Jane Schwab, 1922 - 2010

Jane Schwab is typical of many local women during World War II. She wanted to do “something for my country”. Schwab entered the Coast Guard after her sophomore year in college. She received basic training in communications and learned Morse Code, worked in ordnance and chemical warfare, and in the administration, training, and deployment of recruits to lifeboat stations and lighthouses.

During WWII thousands of women worked in local industries which had been converted to wartime production. These “Rosie the Riveters” worked the assembly line at Celanese producing material for parachutes, while others “manned” the production of pontoon boats, .50 caliber ammunition, and eight-inch shells at the Kelly-Springfield Tire plant.

From: Work & Wait – Allegany County: The Home Front Years, 1941-1945, , Allegany High School, 2003)
 

M. Kathleen "Katie" Ruppert Mikowski, 1920-2016

Dorothy Mellotte, Rosie the Riveter

It was during World War II that the Kelly-Springfield Tire Company in Cumberland, Maryland was involved in the production of 8-inch M106 and .50-caliber shells. Dorothy Mellotte of Ridgeley served as a shell inspector at the factory. She, along with her late friend Emma Jean Smith, were among the twelve women who served as shell inspectors during her time at Kelly-Springfield.