John Gruber and His Famous Almanack Part 4

or nine years after his death, Gruber’s widow, Catherine assumed the role of editor and publisher, carrying on the publication’s traditions set forth by her husband. She was, in fact, the very first woman to edit and publish an almanac in the United States (several years ago, The Old Farmer’s Almanac named a woman as editor for the first time in its history but The Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack can claim to have had a woman as editor over 150 years prior to that!). In fact, a woman has edited and/or published The Almanack for 148 of its 223 years!

Gruber’s daughters, Mathilda and Frederica then continued as editors from 1866 to 1885. Frederica continued (with Rebecca’s assistance) until 1906. At that time, the Gruber interest in The Almanack was passed to Charles Gutzlaf Fisher, son of Samuel Reed Fisher and Ellen Catharine May, Rebecca’s daughter. Charles, born in Emmitsburg, Maryland in 1837 and a long-time resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was Assistant Superintendent and later Superintendent of the Publication Board of the Reformed Church of the United States. He also served as the editor of Reformed Church Messenger from 1888 until his death in February, 1896.

Though never directly involved with The Almanack, Fisher later passed over his interest to his wife, Margaret Hay Fisher. Margaret became the editor-of record in 1907, though it is believed she had assumed that role several years prior to it being made official. Her son, Charles Worley Fisher continued the tradition from 1926 until his untimely death in 1934 when his wife, Emily Kohler Fisher became editor, continuing in that role for 38 years until her death in 1973. Her only son, Charles Worley Fisher, Jr then became editor. Charles (having dropped the Jr. after his father’s passing) was editor until his retirement in 2000. His son, Charles W. Fisher, Jr., the great-great-great-great-grandson of John Gruber, now edits The Almanack from his home in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  The Almanack is therefore, most unique in that it is the oldest publication of its kind in America still in the same family!

Business management for the Gruber Almanack, Company was also was a responsibility that had been handed down from generation to generation within the same family. In 1910, Mr. W. H. McCardell became the Business Manager for The Almanack, continuing in that capacity for many years until his death. At that time, the responsibility passed to his brother, O.D., who served until 1934. In 1935, Mr. O.D.’s son-in-law, Mr. Frank .S. Leiter handled the business affairs until his retirement in 1959, when his son, Franklin S. Leiter, Jr. and son-in-law, John Hershey, Jr., took over as Sales Manager and Business Manager respectively. John Hershey’s son-in-law, Gerald Spessard then took over as Business Manager in the early 1970s, running only the business operation at first and then handling sales and distribution after the retirement of Mr. Leiter in 2002). Once again, The Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack is truly most unique in that it is the oldest publication of its kind in America still in the same families of its founder and management!

The Almanack has always relied on individuals who used traditional methods of the day when calculating and conjecturing the weather. Each has used basically the same fundamentals and information with an amazing degree of accuracy, which is all the more astounding when it is considered that their predictions were done over a year in advance.  There have been a total of eight Calculators over the past 224 years, the first being Charles Flack (1797-1824). Charles was known locally as the ‘Blacksmith Astronomer’. Other Calculators were Charles F. Egelmann (1825-1861) Lawrence J. Ibach (1862-1888), his son, Will R. Ibach (1889-1918), W.M. Kopenhaver (1919-1929), and W. Shoemaker (1930-1969). In 1969, Prof. William E. O'Toole, III, Professor of Computer Science at Mount St. Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, Maryland began predicting upcoming weather and preparing all of The Almanack’s astronomical calculations. O’Toole attributed his uncanny accuracy to a combination of elements that included using specialized software and computer power to precisely calculate phases of the Moon, close analysis of sunspot activity, and the tracking and noting of El Nino/La Nina cycles.  In 2019, after 50 years as The Almanack's weather prognosticator, O'Toole announced his retirement, making him the longest to serve in that role.  But the search for his replacement proved a challenge and subsequently, he remained in that capacitiy, developing weathre and astronomical content for the 2020 and 2021 editions.  So, actuslly, he was The Almanack weather prognosticator for 52 years!  And as Almanack Prognosticator Emeritus, he plans to stay closely-associated with The Almanack and continues to contribute his unique skills, vast experience, and insights to its evolution.  Chad R. Merrill took over as the 8th prognosticator for the 2021 edition. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology, Merrill has worked as a meteorologist for the past 17 years and has gained considerable experience in local weather broadcast reporting, supporting several local radio and television stations and doing weather consulting for Earth Networks.  For his full biography, click here.

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