Fort Hill Class of 1980

Fort Hill Class of 1980 Welcome to the Fort Hill Class of 1980 page. Dedicated to sharing memories of days gone by as well as up coming events for our class. Enjoy our class home page.

In a fast packed world it is nice to have a place to go and reconnect with our fellow classmates. For 4 years we shared laughs, tears, lunchroom conversations, parties, concerts, pep rallies, football games and dances. We believe the individuals who make up the FH class of 1980 are some of the most wonderful, caring and considerate folks you would ever want to meet. We hope you use this page to sh

are a post of encouragement, something of interest in our community, perhaps just passing along some information or sharing a positive memory.

08/20/2025

Cumberland, MD

George Allen Ott, 81, of Cumberland, died August 17, 2025, at home.

Born May 27, 1944, in Cumberland, he was the son of the late George Holland Ott and Vivian Alverta (Stewart) Ott.

George was a graduate of Ridgeley High School. He attended Potomac State College and went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree in Music from West Virginia University. George earned his Master’s degree in Music from Frostburg State University.

He was a beloved teacher, offering his knowledge and support to many students. He had taught students at Smithsburg Middle School, Ridgeley High School, Frankfort High School, Fort Hill High School, Bishop Walsh School, Calvary Christian Academy, Lighthouse Christian Academy, and the Maryland Salem Children’s Trust.

For over 50 years, he, Millie and his parents operated Ott’s Music House. Through lessons, instruments, and encouragement, they helped generations of people in our community discover the joy of making music.

His family also had the Ridgeley Dairy Queen.

His participation in the community included conducting the September Singers and the Cumberland Choral Society. He also enjoyed being the choir director at St. Johns Lutheran Church and later Cornerstone Baptist Church.

Survivors include his beloved wife, Mildred “Millie” (Beyer) Ott; three children, Dana Halverson (Scott), Melissa Holderby (Kevin), and Michael Ott (Tia); grandchildren, Kylee Whiteman Fiordelise (Ben), Shane Holderby (Jaci), Chase Holderby (Grecia), Tysen Ott (Jessica), Keegan Ott (Leah), Owen Ott, and Audrye Wing; and great grandchildren Noah Fiordelise, Alba Holderby, Otto Holderby, and Avery Holderby.

Friends will be received at the Upchurch Funeral Home, P.A., Cumberland, on Thursday from 5-8 PM.

The funeral service will be held at Cornerstone Baptist Church at 11 AM, with Pastor David Hattenfield, officiating. Friends will be received an hour before the service.

Interment will be in Davis Cemetery, Davis, WV.

Memorial contributions may be made to either Cornerstone Baptist Church, 930 Frederick Street, Cumberland, MD 21502 or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

THE POEM THAT ONCE WAS USA little house with three bedrooms,One bathroom and one car on the street;A mower that you had ...
09/30/2024

THE POEM THAT ONCE WAS US
A little house with three bedrooms,
One bathroom and one car on the street;
A mower that you had to push
To make the grass look neat.
In the kitchen on the wall
We only had one phone,
And no need for recording things,
Someone was always home.
We only had a living room
Where we would congregate;
Unless it was at mealtime
In the kitchen where we ate.
We had no need for family rooms
Or extra rooms to dine.
When meeting as a family
Those two rooms worked out just fine.
We only had one TV set
And channels, maybe two,
But always there was one of them
With something worth the view
For snacks we had potato chips
That tasted like a chip.
And if you wanted flavor
There was Lipton's onion dip.
Store-bought snacks were rare because
My mother liked to cook,
And nothing can compare to snacks
In Betty Crocker's book
Weekends were for family trips
Or staying home to play.
We all did things together,
Even go to church to pray.
When we did our weekend trips
Depending on the weather,
No one stayed at home because
We liked to be together.
Sometimes we would separate
To do things on our own,
But we knew where the others were
Without our own cell phone.
Then there were the movies
With your favorite movie star,
And nothing can compare
To watching movies in your car
Then there were the picnics
At the peak of summer season,
Pack a lunch and find some trees
And never need a reason.
Get a baseball game together
With all the friends you know,
Have real action playing ball
And no game video.
Remember when the doctor
Used to be the family friend,
And didn't need insurance
Or a lawyer to defend?
The way that he took care of you
Or what he had to do,
Because he took an oath and strived
To do the best for you.
Remember going to the store
And shopping casually,
And when you went to pay for it
You used your own money?
Nothing that you had to swipe
Or punch in some amount,
And remember when the cashier person
Had to really count?
The milkman used to drive a truck
And go from door to door,
And it was just a few cents more
Than going to the store.
There was a time when mailed letters
Came right to your door,
Without a lot of junk mail ads
Sent out by every store.
The mailman knew each house by name
And knew where it was sent;
There were not loads of mail addressed
To "present occupant”
There was a time when just one glance
Was all that it would take,
And you would know the kind of car,
The model and the make
They didn't look like turtles
Trying to squeeze out every mile;
They were streamlined, white walls, fins and “skirts”,
And really had some style
One time the music that you played
Whenever you would jive,
Was from a vinyl, big-holed record
Called a forty-five
The record player had a post
To keep them all in line,
And then the records would drop down
And play one at a time.
Oh sure, we had our problems then,
Just like we do today
And always we were striving,
To find a better way.
Oh, the simple life we lived,
Still seems like so much fun.
How can you explain the game,
“Just kick the can and run?”
And all us boys put baseball cards
Between our bicycle spokes;
And for a nickel, red machines
Had little bottled Cokes?
This life seemed so much easier;
Slower in some ways.
I love the new technology,
But I sure do miss those days.
So time moves on and so do we,
And nothing stays the same;
But I sure love to reminisce
And walk down memory lane.
With all today's technology
We grant that it's a plus!
But it's fun to look way back and say,
Hey look, guys, THAT WAS US!

Let's keep the family in our prayers 🙏
09/25/2024

Let's keep the family in our prayers 🙏

View John Edward Tracy, Sr.'s obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

"Many have passed away, and those who are still here are called"the elderly.""We were born in the 40s-50s-60s.We grew up...
09/22/2024

"Many have passed away, and those who are still here are called

"the elderly.""

We were born in the 40s-50s-60s.
We grew up in the 50's-60's-70's
We studied in the 60s-70s-80s.
We were together in the 70s-80s-90s.
We got married or not and discovered the world in the 70s-80s-90s.
Adventuring into the 80s - 90s
We're settling in to the 2000s.
We became wiser in 2010s.
And we’re going strong into 2020 and beyond.
Turns out we went through EIGHT different decades...

TWO different centuries...
TWO different millennials...

We've gone from phone with operator for long distance calls, pay booths, video calls worldwide.

We’ve gone from slides to YouTube, vinyls to online music, handwritten letters to emails and Whats App.

Live games on the radio, black and white TV, color TV, then HD 3D TV.

We went to the video store and now watching Netflix.

We've known the first computers, punch cards, disks and now we have gigabytes and megabytes on our smartphones.

We wore shorts all through our childhood, then trousers, ep pants or mini-skirts, Oxfords, Clarks, Palestinian scarves, jumpsuits, and blue jeans.

We avoided childhood paralysis, meningitis, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, swine flu and now COVID-19.

We've done roller skating, roller skating, tricycle, bicycle, moped, gasoline or diesel and now we drive hybrids or electric.
We played with the little ones
horses and checkers, ostrich and marbles, 1000 threshold and monopoly, now there's candy crush on our smartphones
And we read... much
And our schoolmates religion was not a subject...
We used to drink tap water and lemonade in glass bottles, and the vegetables on our plate were always fresh, today we get meals delivered
Yes, we have been through a lot but what a beautiful life we have had!

They might describe us as “ex-annuals”; people who were born in this 50s world, who had an analog childhood and digital adulthood.
We should add the Biological Revolution that we have witnessed. In 1960, biology was very descriptive. We have witnessed the event of Molecular Biology: the molecules of Life have been discovered: DNA, RNA etc. When you see everything that has come from it: gene therapy, gene fingerprints, and others the progress is considerable.

We kind of have "seen it all"!

Our generation has literally lived and witnessed more than any other in every dimension of life.
This is our generation that has literally adapted to "CHANGE".

A big congratulations to all the members of a very special generation, which will be UNIQUE.. "

06/28/2024

Reminder 🔔

06/28/2024
06/14/2024

Next class dinner details from JoLynn & LuAnn.

Address

500 Greenway Avenue
Cumberland, MD
21502

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