May Whittington, the most senior member of the CVFD Old Timers Club, was born in Hughesville, Maryland on May 1, 1917. May has resided in Clinton, Maryland for most of her life. She attended schools in Hughesville, White Plains, Bryantown and Surrattsville.

May is a life member of the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary and on February 18, 2006 she became an honorary member of the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department. May joined the CVFD Ladies Auxiliary in February 1939, where she became quite active in organizing and/or assisting the auxiliary with fund-raising events to benefit the fire department.

May has been a member of St. John’s Catholic Church since December 1930, the J. Paul Duke, Jr. Memorial Post 9376 VFW since 1967, the Clinton American Legion Post 259 since 1968, and the Columbia D.C. Lodge 126 Loyal Order of Moose in Clinton, Maryland since 1986.

May has served the various organizations in many capacities. She has been elected President of the Ladies Auxiliary eight times and, in addition, she has held the office of Vice President, Treasurer, Chaplain, Vice Chaplain, Historian and Guard to name a few. May has been named chairperson for various committees and has organized and assisted with many fund-raising events. She continues to be an active member in all of these organizations as well as the Old Timers Club.

May has received numerous prestigious awards for the time she has spent volunteering and for the unselfish generosity she has shown to the Clinton community.

Those are some of the facts about May the volunteer, but the May we all know and love best is the smiling, happy lady who lights up any room she enters.

It is a pleasure to sit and chat with May about her life and to hear her reminisce about the past. She always has a kind word or an interesting story to share.

When asked to share some of her memories, May says she recalls when “Woodyard Road was a two-lane dirt road and the town of Clinton had only two food stores, two gas stations, one bank and a Ford dealership. There was only one doctor in town and the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department had only two truck bays. Gasoline was 17 cents a gallon, bread was nine cents a loaf and you could buy a new Ford for $500.00.”

As a member of the Clinton VFD Ladies Auxiliary, May recalls organizing a bingo with Mrs. Peggy Penn for the benefit of the fire department. They used buttons in place of chips. They didn’t make much money, but had a lot of fun and managed to buy a broom for the fire department at B.K. Millers for 39 cents.

May has been a member of the “Old Timers Club” since it was organinized in 2003 and she regularly attends the meetings that are held at the fire department. She is very important to all of the club members and we look forward to her presence at our meetings.

May will be celebrating her 91st birthday on May 1.

Happy Birthday, May. We Love You

The following is a prayer written by May Whittington and Rev. James Taltavull for the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary:

Oh, Heavenly Father,
We gather here in the name of your Son Jesus Christ,
To ask your loving help and care on us in all we do
in the service of our members in this Fire Company.
Look kindly on our work.
Give us the Strength and Loyalty to duty that we need and
Shield all whom we serve from all harm.
In the name of your Son.
Amen