Welcome to Allegany Magazine -- the area's premier lifestyles magazine celebrating life, people, events and places in Allegany County, Maryland.

It's hard to believe another old year has come to an end and a brand new year has started. 2010.

With the end of the year and beginning of the new here at Allegany Magazines comes our annual Fascinating People feature. In this edition, you get to meet the people selected by our readers to be honored in our yearly tribute to some unsung heroes of our community. Find out why and how these amazing individuals have made such an incredible difference. Also in this issue, what does it take to plan and build a road? A group of 80 business leaders are making the North South Corridor project a priority and intend to keep the idea on the minds of many for months for come. This edition gives an update on that project and brings you up to date with what s being planned when the group attends the PACE reception in Annapolis in January. And you might as well sing your way into a New Year. After reading the story, you will feel like you have listened in on a rehearsal of the Cumberland Choral Society and you will learn what makes this all volunteer choir an in demand performance in our area. Every January, a local surgeon ventures to the Philippines to restore the smiles of hundreds of children born with a birth defect that labels them social outcasts. Meet a plastic surgeon who says he believes God has called him to this type of mission work and learn what he has in store for his 2010 trip. More here at home, meanwhile, a Flintstone photographer claims to have found his own "Man in the Mountain" among the rock formations of Green Ridge State Forest. Take a look at the photo for yourself and see if you can find the face staring back at you. And while we are in that area, go inside a house off the beaten path that used to be a popular rest stop for weary travelers on Route 40. And meet the couple who restored a classic structure. Have you heard of the Civil War battleship The Cumberland? Find out what role it played in a pivotal part of our nation's history. Plus, if that wasn t enough in this edition, find out the best Italian inspired films ever made, warm up with some homemade soups, and learn how to better prioritize and stay organized in the coming new year. It s all inside the December/January edition of Allegany Magazine -- on sale now!

Copies still available...

Allegany Magazine publishes second holiday treasury

Special Edition contains reader submissions and a personal journal space

There is something uniquely different about this year's special Allegany Magazine Holiday Treasury Edition. There is one entry that not every reader will get to see. Yours! The special holiday edition of Allegany Magazine -- contains a "journal" section in which the reader can add his or her own memories and recipes. "The entire edition is nothing but wonderful contributions from our readers, their memories, recipes and photos of the holidays in Western Maryland," said Allegany Magazine managing editor Shane Riggs. "We thought it would be a great idea to reserve some space in the magazine this year for the reader who gets it to put in his or her own entry." Readers are encouraged to fill out the "blank" pages by answering a series of questions thereby creating a personalized keepsake treasury book that can be passed down and cherished by future generations and for holidays to come. The space can also be filled out, copied and mailed to Allegany Magazine for inclusion in next year's special holiday keepsake edition.

For the journal entry that can be mailed in to us,click here...

The edition suspends the usual arts and entertainment, lifecoaching, medical and cooking columns that appear in regular issues and fills the pages up instead entirely with holiday stories, poems, recipes and photos -- all submitted by readers of Allegany Magazine. "The magazine itself this issue appears more like a collectible coffee table book than a magazine," said Riggs. "I think it's one of the most beautiful issues were have ever done. And where else can you pick up a collectible holiday treasury where all the stories have been written by your friends and neighbors and loved ones for $3.95. It's the best Christmas card on the market if you ask me." The edition is limited and will only be for sale during the holiday season. It is available at fine retailers and booksellers throughout the tri-state region as well as at the offices of Allegany Magazine and the Cumberland Times-News and can also be ordered by phone by calling 301-722-4600...

And don't forget the special edition and a subscription to Allegany Magazine makes a great holiday gift!click here for your order form...

The October November 2009 Edition -- now on sale!

A very colorful season and an issue to feel good about

Once again, it's autumn in Western Maryland. One of the most scenic times of the year here in our region. And Allegany Magazine is making the most of it in the new hard copy version of our October November 2009 edition. To celebrate the 20th season of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, we are taking readers on a mile by mile pictorial autumn ride on board the Mountain Thunder. With views along the way of the mountains washed in fall colors it's a trip you'll want to take in person once you see our feature. Speaking of fall colors, for the fourth time in five years, the new Miss Maryland has been a local pageant holder in Western Maryland first. This year is no exception. Brooke Poklemba was crowned Miss University City in Frostburg last October and captured the state title in June. And for the fourth time, Allegany Magazine has a cover exclusive with Miss Maryland. Meet her and other current pageant holders in our annual fall fashion show. Many people in the area know Dr. Peter Halmos either from his work as a prominent physician or as a philanthropist. But Dr. Halmos has an unusual personal collection that he shares for the very first time with us. Our usual cartoonist Olin Yoder has contributed a very humorous editorial piece on what it was like to experience the local Turkey Day game from a player's point of view...and you won't believe what he endured from "enemy territory" back in the late 1940s. Correspondent Mark Vernarelli reports on a special program from WCI on how some inmates there are making a difference in the lives of children with cancer. It's a heartwarming and inspirational piece. Ever wonder who puts together those amazing window displays at the M &M Bakery in downtown Cumberland? We introduce you to the "designer" hired exclusively to decorate that space...and do it with baked goods...every season. It's a lost art for sure. We will also introduce you to a Cumberland man who now writes about his hometown while living in Russia and while we're traveling to that continent, cooking columnist Bill Hand gives us some Russian recipes. We also spend some time at the Corner Tavern, learn why laughter really is the best medicine, celebrate Sweetest Day with the cinema, and go behind the scenes of a fundraiser centered around the late king of pop. As the temperature starts to dip and the days get a little shorter, there is no better time to settle in with your favorite magazine and feel good about where you live, work and play.

If you would like to become a subscriber to Allegany Magazine,click here...

SPECIAL EDITION ISSUE

Home is where the heart is:

The Allegany Magazine Home and Design Special Edition!

Here's a look at just a few of the many features you'll find in our latest special edition...

Art's In Their Blood: How a former pathologist and interior designer set the trend for others. Keeping a Small Space Simple: This couple practices what they preach in their hideaway haven. Forget almost...for one couple, this is heaven: Perseverance pays off and present day pioneers find their own paradise. Welcome to Maison du Soleil LeVant € A taste of the Orient and beyond. And on the third day, she rested € Why one home purchase was right on the money for a world traveler. A lifetime of collecting, designing and decorating: Enter the Brooke Whiting House of Art. "It was love at first sight:" How Hollywood came home to Cumberland. The historical house the dog in the funny outfit protects: A look inside LaVale's Five Mile House. Steeped in tradition and a walk through time: An exclusive pictorial look at life inside the Gordon Roberts House.

If you would like to become a subscriber to Allegany Magazine,click here...