These short bits of history tend to pile up as I do more research on various topics. Unless otherwise credited, all quotes are from the Laurel Leader.
1864
Francis H. Pierpont, Governor of the “Restored Government of Virginia” formed for counties sympathetic to the Union during the Civil War, moved his family to Laurel for safety reasons. His youngest daughter, Mary Augusta, died in Laurel in June 1864. His eldest child, Anna Pierpont Siviter, wrote a 1938 memoir, titled Recollections of War and Peace 1861 – 1868, which contains an entire chapter about the family’s time in Laurel. They heard “a long, low rumbling Boom, boom, boom! Just then people running down Main Street were shouting, ‘The Rebels are coming!’” As Siviter wrote, “Straggling soldiers went by at a swift run. Many wounded men were carried past, and for a time the booming of the cannon grew louder.” According to Civil War historian Daniel C. Toomey, author of The Civil War in Maryland, the cannons she heard were from a skirmish in Beltsville where the Department of Agriculture buildings are today.
1870
In August, the first treasurer’s report for the new city of Laurel showed a balance in hand of $6.72.
1905
Drs. Jesse Coggins and Cornelius DeWeese purchased a farm from George Gambrill to build the Laurel Sanitarium. The property extended from Route 1, between Laurel Lake and what would later be the original L-shaped Laurel Shopping Center, and what is today the grounds of Laurel High School. Fourth Street ended just past Greenhill Ave. What would later become Cherry Lane was a dirt road leading to the sanitarium. The doctors needed another dorm so they could separate the men and women patients. They had the radical idea to move the old Brewster Park Hotel to the grounds of the Laurel Sanitarium, instead of constructing a new building. The hotel was jacked up onto pilings so it could be pulled forward on a greased track and slid onto greased telephone poles laid across the commuter trolley tracks. A team of horses then slowly pulled the structure along the greased poles, using the tracks as a guide. The hotel was moved a little over a half mile to its new location in this fashion.
1913
During this era, circuses stopping in town would stage a massive parade down Main Street before the show. In May, Sanger’s Greater European Combined Shows offered “A Mighty Arenic Wonderland” that featured “500 People and Beautiful Horses” and elephants. In September, Wyoming Bill’s Historical Wild West Show featured “The Real Rough Riders of the World,” which included “American Cowboys, American Cowgirls, Mexican Vanqueros, Sharpshooters, Russian Cossacks, Bedouin Arabs, and Real Red Men of the Plains.”
1914
In November, a car crash on Route 1 just south of Laurel resulted in an offer of help from a surprising source passing by—the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson. Three doctors from Laurel were changing a tire on the side of Route 1 when another car ran into theirs. The occupants of the second car “were spilled out when their vehicle upset, but no one was seriously hurt.” It was at this point that Wilson, returning to Washington from Baltimore, came upon the scene and ordered his chauffeur to stop. “Mr. Wilson made inquiry as to whether anybody was hurt ... and asked whether he could help out. He offered the use of his machine, but they declined the offer. The President then re-entered his automobile and went on to Washington.”
1918
In July, the city’s 4th of July celebration was a huge affair. A “Big Street Parade Composed of Soldiers and Civilians” was captured on film and “shown on the screen in Laurel.” Organizers hoped it would “induce many to participate in the parade who otherwise would not do so.” Highlights of the celebration included “A Large U.S. Airplane Will Land at Laurel Park,” as well as horse, motorcycle, and “freak” races.
1926
In July, the Leader editorialized, “Criticizing women who bob their hair is entirely out of harmony with modern ideas. If women want to bob, we say let them bob, and let conscience be their guide about the length of their skirts.”
1945
In April, three soldiers from Laurel arrived home after harrowing experiences in the war. Army 29th Division Staff Sgt Charles Tuttle was taken prisoner soon after D-Day and sent to a German concentration camp, where he remained until the Russian advance liberated it. His brother, Marine Corporal William Tuttle, was home after recuperating from injuries he sustained on Iwo Jima. A mortar shell exploded in front of him, severely injuring his chest and legs. The shell killed two of his comrades. The third soldier, Army Pfc James Merson, was also released from a German concentration camp after being confined for months.
1957
In August, Police Chief J.W. O’Brien reported that Laurel Police are on the lookout for a nude prowler described as a boy about 13 years old. “A half dozen reports of the nude boy have been registered with police by local residents and one man said he actually had hold of him but the boy slipped from his grasp and escaped through the bushes.” His sense of modesty was misplaced, however. “He usually carries a T-shirt or towel with which he covers his face when observed, police said.”
1969
In December, two Laurel women, Shirley Carey and Mrs. Fred Hiller, were among the 100 winners of free 3-minute telephone calls to a relative serving in the Armed Forces outside the continental U.S. The program, called HI-MOM, was sponsored by the National Capital USO and the Communications Workers of America.
1972
In April, the WSSC opened the Supplee Lane recreation area, which provided boat access to the T. Howard Duckett (Rocky Gorge) reservoir. Picnic tables were available and shore fishing was permitted from the area.
1980
In January, Ray Vigliotti, a 1977 graduate of Laurel High School, signed a contract with the New York Arrows, the defending champions of the Major Indoor Soccer League. At Laurel High, he was an All-American soccer player and went on to the University of South Carolina on a scholarship. He was originally drafted 5th overall in the North American Soccer League by the Dallas Tornados, but opted for the Arrows who allowed him to play while he maintained his amateur status for the upcoming Olympic Games. He made the Olympic team, but the U.S. led a boycott of the games to protest the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. He played for the Miami Americans of the American Soccer League after the Olympics, and then three other teams in the pro indoor league, including the Baltimore Blast, before his final season back with the Arrows in 1984, after which he retired.
1990
Laurel High School graduate Marty Friedman was hired as the lead guitarist for heavy metal supergroup Megadeth. The first album he recorded with them was 1990’s Rust in Peace, which was nominated for the Best Metal Performance Grammy. After recording five albums with Megadeth, Friedman announced his departure from the band in December 1999. With Friedman as lead guitarist, Megadeth sold over ten million albums.
Kevin Leonard is a founding member of the Laurel History Boys and a two-time winner of the Maryland Delaware District of Columbia Press Association Journalism Award.
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