Gary Yoder

Gary Yoder, like his older brother Olin, was born into a family with talent. His father, Claude, was honored by the Smithsonian Institution for his wood carving ability; Gary was a five-time world champion: four times in the "miniature" category and once for a life-sized carving.
His contributions to Western Maryland were many. He was a decades-long employee of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, served as the first manager of Deep Creek Lake Stae Park and relocated to Annapolis where he was instrumental in the long effort to build the Rocky Gap Lodge and Golf Resort.
He enjoyed hunting and fishing; one of his important accomplishments was acquiring public fishing access to the North Branch of the Potomac River. Many of those fishermen are ferried by professional guides. That project mirrored his program to lure large groups to Garrett County where they would fish the Savage, Potomac and Youghiogheny rivers - in the meantime being able to consider Garrett County for future investment opportunities. That Youghiogheny River was, we're told, his favorite stream; he was a member of the Youghiogheny Chapter of Trout Unlimited.
Like Olin, Gary was a gifted story teller, and that ability - and his sense of humor - endeared him to those who met him; he had friends throughout the state, and that was important as he worked to protect and share the natural environs of Western Maryland.
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from West Virginia University, and his Master of Arts degree in counseling from the same institution. He was a member of the Garrett County Development Corporation, Board of ASCI and Board of Susquehanna Bank. Gary passed away while at a deer hunting camp on November 29, 2009.

Eddie Deezen

Allegany High School student Eddie Dezen knew what his future was, and he lost no time in pursuing an acting career in Hollywood. Born on March 6, 1958, (Some biographies list his birth as occurring in 1957) he hit the road after graduation, landing in the Golden State, adding another "E" to his last name for emphasis, and embarking on his chosen path. For Eddie Deezen, work has been steady for the Cumberland native; he's appeared in numerous movies and found a true home in the voice-over business, lending his nasally inflections to several cartoon features, including a present job as Mandark on the popular Children's Cartoon Network's "Dexter's Laboratory."
As a 20 year-old, he was a Beatles fan in "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," released in 1978. It was an easy role; he truly is captivated by the Fab Four and their successes. He played the ultimate techno-geek in "War Games" in 1980, and has appeared in dozens of films since: Polar Express, Spy Hard, 1941, Desperate Moves, Million Dollar Mystery, Silence of the Hams, Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights, Teenage Exorcist, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, and both "Grease" movies, to name just a few.
He earned more popularity on television, playing, again, nerdy, geeky roles, one of which was the portrayal of zany maintenance man Eddie Malven on the "Punky Brewster" series in the mid-80s. He even served as guest host on a Saturday Night Live segment. Deezen is another area native who's scored big in Hollywood; his web site is a popular location, featuring trivia of all kinds.

David Grimes

David Grimes passed away in 2005, but he left behind a legacy any of us would be proud to call our own. He was a graduate of Allegany High School with the class of 1955 and embarked on a career that would see him, by 1980, Project Manager for Delta Launch Vehicle NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center. By that time he had worked at Goddard for 17 years, and had accepted responsibility for launching most of the free world communications and meteorological satellites. He was a charter member of the Senior Executive Service for the Federal Government. He had received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1974 for managing the Atmosphere Explorer series of spacecraft. Travel to the far east was on his agenda in the fall of 1980; India, Indonesia and Australia were all flying Delta missions into the mid-80s - as far as his information was projected at that time. He was, as you can see, a true rocket scientist.
A few years later - in 1997 - David co-founded Telfonet Communications. The company is listed on the American Stock Exchange. The business distributes high-speed internet service over 60 cycle power lines in homes and commercial buildings. At this writing the company was about to get certified for government and miltary work, especially the Navy/Marine internet. David received the patent as the system's inventor.
As an aside, David and his wife, Susan, were the parents of two sets of twins, who are in their mid to late 40s today.

Major General Joe Franklin

Major General (ret) Joe Franklin was born and raised in Cumberland and graduated from the McDonogh School in Owings Mills in 1951. He went on to the the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, from which he graduated in 1955. He played football at the academy, and once wrestled with Norman Schwarzkopf - and won.
His latest achievement is being named a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Military Academy; he was nominated for the honor by retired Army Major General Carl McNair Jr., the president of Joe's class. "Throughout his military and civilian business careers, Joe Franklin has shown the qualities of selfless service and dedication to his country and to West Point," McNair wrote.
Franklin's nomination recognized him for his academic skills, including master's degrees he earned in both civil and nuclear enginering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
After graduation from MIT, Joe reported for duty with the Army's Nuclear Power Program, then completed the Engineer Officers' Advanced Course and was selected to be an instructor in the department of military art and engineering at West Point. He also completed a year at the School of Naval Command and was assigned as commander of the 299th Combat Engineer Battalion in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal and two Air Medals.
His next assignment was to the Office of plans and Policy, the J-5 of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was selected for the Army War College and reassigned to the JCS as the Army staff group executive to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he was recognized with a second Legion of Merit award and the Joint Service Commendation Medal.
In 1976, he was selected to command the 4th Basic Combat Training Brigade at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was recalled to the JCS to be the first Army officer to serve as the special assistant to the director of the Joint Staff. He was one of the first members of his graduating class to be promoted to Brigadier General, in 1979.
Soon afterward, Joe Franklin was appointed to be the commander of cadets. He and his wife, Constance - a Cumberland native as well - formed a team that provided an inspiring climate for the first young women to enter and graduate from the Academy. Cumberland's Mike Lewis was present at West Point during the Franklins' tenure there, and gratefully recalls being taken under the couples' wings; he even went on skiing trips with them, and their nurturing made a tough time much smoother for the future doctor.
When Joe left West Point, he became the assistant division commander of the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii during 1982-83, then was assgned as chief of the Joint Military Assistance and Advisory Group in Madrid, Spain. When his tour of duty ended, he was awarded Spain's highest decoration for military service and the Army's Distinguished Service Medal.
After his military retirement in 1987, he remained in Spain and began his service in the corporate world, forming FSA - Franklin Sociedad Anonima, and consulted for U.S. corporations involved with the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and the World's Fair in SeVille.
Joe was recruited in 1992 to lead Frequency Electronics Inc., a contributor to the U.S. defense, space and telecommunications industries. He stepped down as CEO in 1999 but remains chairman of the board.
In his nomination, General McNair credited General Franklin as the author of a recently published book, "Building Leaders the West Point Way." All royalties from the book are being donated to the Military Academy.
Franklin drew on personal anectdotes from his career; the principles are designed to unlock the reader's full leadership potential.
Joe and Connie (Smith) are the proud parents of four sons and eight grandchildren. Many Cumberland residents will recall the couple; Ada Lu (Snyder) McCord remembers Joe (Sonny) and his sister (Sissy) being baptized in church the same day as she and her twin brother, John.

William H. Macy, Jr.

William H. Macy Jr. entered the world on March 13, 1950, in Miami, Florida. He was born to Lois, a war widow whose first husband died in 1943, and he has a half-brother, Fred.
Macy's father was a Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal winner for piloting a B-17 FLying Fortress bomber during World War II.
He lived in Georgia for a while, then moved with the family to Cumberland, at the age of nine, when his father took over the reins of a local insurance agency.
A shy young boy until Fred taught him to play the guitar, W.H. sang a song onstage for a school assembly, and the crowd went wild. He served as president of his class in his 11th and 12th grades, although, in his words, he was a terrible student.
He began his veterinarian studies at Bethany College in West Virginia, then transferred to Goddard and became involved in the theatre, graduating in 1971.
His entry into the "real world" came with a move to Chicago, where he toiled as a bartender and, with good friend David Mamet and others, formed the St. Nicholas Theatre Company.
He spent some time in Los Angeles, then moved - in 1980 - to New York City where he appeared in more than 50 Off-Broadway and Broadway plays.
At last count his face, or his voice, has appeared in at least 63 films - some on the big screen and others on television. He's been nominated for an Oscar, and he's won two Emmy Awards for both acting and directing "Door to Door", the story of a handicapped salesman intent on making his living in the real world.
Since 1997 he's been married to Felicity Huffman, a successful actress herself who currently stars in the very popular "Desperate Housewives" tv series.

Lee Teter

Lee Teter is a convoluted person; his talent and ability are well-known, but the man behind the brush chooses to stay in the shadows. Naturally withdrawn, he prefers to let his brush speak for himself, with his "Reflections" painting perhaps the most vivid description of the Viet Nam era's controversial aftermath.
Raised in Flintstone, his early life was one of poverty, but still he was able to draw - and draw well. Most of his early works were given to those whose influence dictated their creation. He painted portraits, t-shirts, cars, signs and billboards, and he drew pictures. He had to take a menial job to support himself and his new wife, eventually moving to Cumberland to do so.
His Cumberland house was run-down on the outside, but Teter stripped the interior, converting it into his studio. He ignored the exterior, claiming it didn't matter in the long run. "We live on the inside" he said. It was here where "Reflections" would be painted.
His "paying" job lasted all of three months; Lee quit because it interfered with his painting interests. He felt that he was drying up, having little time to create. By this time he was working completely in oils - teaching himself the intricacies and concentrating on Native American and frontier culture. The paintings sold and his future began to take shape.

Deaths of prominent people in Lee's life helped shape his "Reflections" effort. His cousin, Rick, was killed heading home from work, at age 28. His mother-in-law, then his grandfather, Jacob, passed away; they both played influential roles, but Lee's life was shrinking.

Visiting a cemetery, he realized he wasn't seeing stones and inscriptions, but names and events. Slowly the idea for the painting took shape and, over a few campfires, he decided to proceed. Local people would be featured in the work, including Mickey Bands, who was killed in Viet Nam. A family friend, Bill Custer, was another, as was Jim Williams, a veteran and a member of the local Viet Nam Veterans Association.

Lee had previously painted a portrait of a soldier in Viet Nam, and, at a mall art show, it drew little attention at a time when few cared to discuss the war; he gave it to a veteran who showed interest in it, Bill Farrell, a member of the small veterans group. He decided to give "Reflections" to the chapter for their own use - and the rest, as they say, is history.

Lee had a lot of respect for Viet Nam veterans, but the final design was understandably difficult to put together. It took months to finish - more months to introduce and promote - and his financial problems mounted. In his mind the most important priority was the work he was producing. Finally he wrote a license to reproduce and distribute the prints to the "Reflections" committee of VVA Chapter 172; he was pleased to be a part of the effort to do a good thing. He signed over 23,000 prints, and the veterans used the proceeds to enable many other chapters throughout the United States to get started. Lee received enough money to pay most of his debts, bought a used car and moved back into the hills, essentially ending his painting career, except for a few, occasional efforts, for the next 10 years.

He restricted himself to drawing while continuing his intense study of America's frontier years. Eventually that genre began a slow climb to popularity, and he was contracted to work with Michael Mann's 1991 version of the film "Last of the Mohicans." He designed major portions of the film and had a hand in every visual aspect as historical and frontier culture advisor and visual arts consultant.

After the film was introduced his print sales climbed, to the point he was able to move his family to Wyoming, one of the nation's least populous states, where he lived simply and quietly.

His daughter, Shawnee Rachael, has begun her journey into the world of art; she operates a small gallery named "The Little Art Gallery On The Prairie" and it contains primarily original paintings and drawings made by her father, as well as some bronze work by a neighbor. Lee contents himself with watering the flowers and helping out, and neighbors don't hesitate to call on him when some cowboy work is needed, but he avoids the public as much as possible.

Recently he made the move to Missouri.

In Lee's words: "There are two worlds; a real one made by God as a gift to those He loves, and a world of lies and deception made by men. I find wonder in the one and I hide from the other. I don't know any other way to keep my heart intact."

This explains why a painting can be so famous while its author remains so obscure.

Pictured, above left, is Lee with his horse, Ashley, on their homestead in Wyoming, where Lee and his family retreated - in part due to its dearth of people; it's one of our least populated states. To the right is one of his paintings, "A Perfect Day."

Tiffany Claus

Tiffany Claus is making a name for herself in the entertainment world by imitating one of the world's most popular actresses, Angelina Jolie. The Allegany County resident has capitalized on her striking resemblance to Angelina, and her place in the entertainment business is flourishing.
She's made appearances on the Chelsea Handler and Tyra Banks television shows, as well as Access Hollywood and News Clones Documentary on the Current TV network. She guest-starred on the Maury Povich show.
Tiffany made her film debut in the "Hunting and Fishing" parody, by the writers and directors of the "Scary Movie" sequels. She was featured as well in "300" and has a couple of others awaiting release. She played Jolie's Laura Craft role from "Tomb Raiders" in a Geico Insurance television commercial and has been seen in several magazines: Stuff, Maxim, Marie Claire, Globe Weekly, the New York Times, New York Post "IN" magazine, (Germany) Hot Star - People, and the Las Vegas Palms News.
Other projects to date include the Best Buy - Trade Show Convention, the San Patricias Cinemas - Puerto Rico, and a themed banquet event at the 2006 Oscar ceremonies. She was a special invited guest at the New York City premiere opening of Madame Tussaud's wax museum, posing alongside waxen Jolie - Pitt figures. Several journeys to Las Vegas and Hollywood are among her itinerary; she's been to Europe and South Korea as well.

Tiffany was recognized on Friday, June 20, 2008, as the first Cumberland Friday after Five Celebrity of the Month for her success in her field, and for representing the area in a positive manner as she travels around the world. She spent the evening greeting her many local fans, posing for photos amid a gathering of Corvettes assembled on Town Centre as well as over 200 pictures taken with event attendees, even as she was scheduled to leave early next morning to film an appearance in another movie, this one being shot in nearby Harrisburg, PA, and featuring Mickey Rooney.

A photo above is of Tiffany posing with my brother, Ted Haines, alongside his white 1992 Corvette.
Not yet thirty, Tiffany and her two children enjoy the relaxed setting our area provides; she paints in her spare time.