The Garrett County Republican
MCHENRY — The history — and secrets — of Deep Creek Lake will be the topic of 2025’s first Joan Crawford Lecture Series presentation.
James Rada, Jr., a Gettysburg-based freelance writer, will present on that tantalizing topic on Wednesday, January 15th at 6 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Garrett College’s conference center. JCLS presentations are offered free of charge, and the public and community members are invited to attend.
Rada’s non-fiction books include Looking Back: True Stories of Mountain Maryland. He also recently released a blog post entitled 1899: Cursed Land in Garrett County. That blog centered around Joseph Friend, the 19th-century son-in-law of Western Maryland frontiersman Meshack Browning.
Two of Friend’s homes, built on the same site somewhere between Sang Run and McHenry, were destroyed in fires, with the first house fire killing two of his sons.
Friend, according to Rada’s blog, then sold the land. The purchaser’s second home — built close to the foundation of Friend’s original house — was also destroyed in a house fire.
“The unknown plot of cursed land remains waiting for the next home to be built upon it,” Rada’s post concluded.
Rada is also a fiction author and newspaper contributor. His newswriting has been honored by the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, the Associated Press, and the Maryland State Teachers Association.
More information on Rada’s writing may be found on his website, www.jamesrada.com.
The Joan Crawford Lecture Series honors dynamic educator Joan R. Crawford, who died in 2010 after serving the Garrett College community for 30 years in a variety of faculty and staff roles.
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Jay Ferguson
Who I Am
My name is Jay Ferguson, and I am a lifelong resident of the Deep Creek Lake area. I am also co-owner of the real estate side of Taylor Made. I have been in the real estate business for 21+ years now and I LOVE what I do! I have to say, my career really took off when I co-founded the real estate side of Taylor Made in 2014. Its been an amazing experience, building a real estate company from the ground up and achieving so much so quickly! In August 2016, we purchased Long & Foster Real Estate Deep Creek, where I had started my career in 2000. In 2018, we on-boarded virtually every agent from Coldwell Banker Deep Creek Realty as they closed up shop and the real estate family grew even more! We now have over 40 sales agents and have expanded to West Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well. Taylor Made is the #1 vacation rental company at Deep Creek with over 475 vacation rental homes, and over one hundred thousand yearly visitors. Its amazing what we have accomplished using the principles of honesty, teamwork and customer service!
Personally, my wife Jessica and I enjoy traveling and especially spending time in the outdoors, hiking and exploring the many diverse areas that Garrett County is naturally blessed with. We have raised two wonderful children here, Kayleah (22) and Noah (13). In the summer, we love spending time on the water with friends & family and enjoying the lake life! We are both active in our church, our community & local school activities, and we fill our schedule with plenty of volunteer efforts. I currently serve on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity. I am proud to say that I was named Deep Creek Time’s Favorite ‘Community Champion’ in 2019. I was also named Garrett County Realtor of the Year in 2018-19, as well.
I really enjoy promoting my hometown. I am very proud of the resort area that has developed over my lifetime and look forward to growing the area even more! Deep Creek Lake has been described as ‘The Lake Tahoe of the east', and I think that speaks volumes about the potential to own property here! Deep Creek Lake isn't really a town or city by itself; it's comprised of three towns: Oakland, Swanton & McHenry, Maryland. I am very passionate about my hometown and am impressed with how many people know about it as we travel around the country. Deep Creek Lake is an amazing place to visit and even better place to live! During the pandemic in 2020, our market exploded and more and more people left their primary residence in the city to live here permanently. With distance learning in schools and tele-commuting becoming the ‘norm’, many more people were drawn to the area to ‘live where they love to play’.
Why You Want Me Working for You: In addition to being an owner, I am consistently one of the top-producing agents in the entire area and the Associate Broker of record for Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales. I have 21+ years of experience and I am a problem solver. There aren’t many situations that I have not encountered and I have a strategy for almost every scenario that you may encounter. I
have extensively trained in all areas of real estate & emerging technologies, and also have trained as an appraiser, as well as served as a full-time Broker. I have a strong knowledge of the industry, as well as many trusted local contacts & affiliations that allow me to perform at a very high level and deliver results. I have a great deal of respect for my peers in this industry and have strong working relationships that I would love to put to work for you.
Call me to discuss your situation - I know I can be of great service to you & others you care about!
Honesty. Integrity. Results.
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