Political, Not Partisan

Fred Taylor has gone by several nicknames throughout his lifetime. He is known most commonly as Squire Frederick since retiring from the federal government in 1996.

The Albany, New York native has enjoyed an active retirement, filling his hours as a hospital volunteer, a tour guide, an actor, an announcer for NCAA basketball, and, of course, a tour guide and Town Crier. He’ll tell you that “Busy hands are happy hands,” which may explain the smile that rarely leaves his countenance.

Squire Frederick has represented Annapolis as its official Town Crier in competitions in England, Canada, and the United States. At home, he has cried for politicians, beauty contestants, President Obama’s Cabinet, Oscar winners, an American League MVP, and former President, and Nobel Prize winner, Jimmy Carter. He is a fixture in local parades, and he welcomes military veterans to BWI airport regularly as a volunteer for the honor flight program.

Squire Frederick participates in many political events as a nonpartisan voice of the past, and a voice for the people.

Now, how exactly does one become an official town crier? Scroll down below the videos to learn the story.

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Learn more about Squire Frederick in this Defense Information School video

Hear him in action at a 2013 Annapolis tree lighting ceremony (cry starts at 50-second mark).

Here is in competition at the 2011 North American Town Crier Championship in Anacortes, Washington.

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How Squire Frederick Became a Town Crier

Mayor Ellen Moyer announced Squire Frederick’s initial appointment as the Annapolis Town Crier by letter on May 24, 2006.  Journalist Nicole Young declared in the Annapolis Capital, “No longer is he just a crier for hire” and shared the news that Squire Frederick had been “quietly appointed to become the loudest man in town by Mayor Ellen O. Moyer.”

Two years later, upon the conclusion of his initial two-year appointment as town crier, Squire Frederick received an indefinite appointment by Mayor Moyer. Soon thereafter, other localities followed suit. 

Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. announced Squire Frederick’s appointment as the Official Town Crier of Baltimore County, Maryland at a ceremony kicking off the county’s celebration of its 350th anniversary, on Jan. 22, 2009.

Sykesville Mayor Michael Miller proclaimed him the official Town Crier of Sykesville, Maryland, his third such appointment, on Jan. 10, 2011.

Finally, his hometown of Catonsville designated him as official Town Crier for life during its renowned Fourth of July festivities in the summer of 2011. (Watch the video)