Frederick is home. My family moved here when I was 3 and still live in the same place, right below the mansion. Ironically I bought the house next door to them a few years back.
The hillside that separates our homes from the mansion has always been a fun place for me and my children. Growing up we hunted for mushrooms in those woods. We’d spend hours upon hours just hiking through them in the summer also.
Frederick is a safe place. As a child, I was able to roam free. My mother and the neighbors would simply yell our names when it was time to come home. The entire town was like one huge family. It still is to some.
My children are notorious for showing up at Julie Ward’s (Mary Jane Davis’s daughter) house without asking and spending the rest of the day there. Her kids do the same at my house. They’ve grown up together and share the same small town bond that I shared with my neighbors growing up. It’s a bond that cannot be found in bigger cities.
Frederick is best described as a spot on the highway when strangers visit. Outsiders often ask why I came back because they don’t understand it. To me Frederick is home. I knew when I began my family I wanted to raise my children where I grew up. I want them to know that even in the craziness of the world, there is still a safe place that can return to.
-Stephanie Mangold
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