History Crumbs

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.

1871

At a “meeting of the citizens of Laurel,” a Young Men’s Christian Association was organized. The minutes of the meeting listed the signers of the group’s constitution: Rev. Wm W. Reese, Rev. Arthur Foster, George Earle (President), Thomas D. Bond, Walter Brown, William N. Divan, George N. Roberts, James Nichols, Robert Bond, and James Whitesides.

1900

The first high school in Prince George’s County, the old Laurel High School on Montgomery Street, held its first commencement. The five graduates were all women: Laura Bentley, Annie Carroll, Emma Flester, Anna Hill, and Eve Phelps.

1912

In June, the Laurel City Council passed an ordinance requiring all dogs running at large to be “muzzled with a substantial wire muzzle of approved design.” The ordinance specified that any dog caught without a muzzle would be held for 48 hours, after which, if the owner didn’t appear to pay a fine, the Town Baliff would kill the dog.

1915

In May, “Mr. O.W. Phair has purchased the Academy of Music and is remodeling it for use as a garage, but it is understood the second floor will continue to be used as a public hall.”

1918

In January, it was reported that “electric lights have been installed in the homes of Messrs. Julian White, Frank Beaver and Claude Morrison on Prince George Street, showing the use of electricity is greatly increasing among our residents and which are found to be very convenient these winter mornings and evenings. A large number have also connected with the water and sewerage system while a large number will do so this spring.”

1940

In April, Laurel’s Mayor published the following letter in the Leader: “To the Tax payers of Laurel: I am sorry to inform you that the sewage disposal plant of Laurel has collapsed. Forty years ago, a great mistake was made in placing the Septic tank on the banks of the Patuxent River. The tank was subject to its rising and overflow. This overflow completely put the tank out of commission. Our sewage goes straight in the river! The State Board of Health is writing us polite but emphatic letters regarding this condition. Surveyors recommend the abandonment of the old Septic Tank, and the building of a new one on higher ground. I am in full accord. And the cost! Now hold your breath -- $62,000! If I were younger, I would like to have taken hold of this problem to solve it. But I am too old, and must leave it to other hands. –Everard E. Hatch, Mayor”

1951

In June, the St. Louis Cardinals conducted a two-day tryout camp in Laurel. “All those who plan on taking advantage of this splendid opportunity to see if they are qualified for professional baseball are reminded to bring their own gloves, uniform and shoes.”

1959

In April, the first “dual-operation Bendix Coin-O-Mat” opened in Laurel. The Laurel Self-Service Laundry advertised that customers could “wash nine pounds of clothes for 15 cents and dry those clothes in one of these automatic wonders for only 5 cents for each five minutes.”

1968

In February, the Laurel Post Office hired its first female letter carrier. Louise Patterson, an “attractive brunette” according to the News Leader, “is confident that she will be able to perform her job as efficiently as a man, especially with modern post office equipment including three-wheeled mail carts. ‘Of course,’ she said, ‘I expect a certain amount of teasing.’”

1971

In February, Laurel native and Marine Sgt. Karl Taylor was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Richard Nixon. In Vietnam, Taylor charged an enemy machine gun bunker with a grenade launcher to allow his rifle company to rescue wounded Marines. He took out the machine gun before being killed by enemy fire. He was the second Laurel resident to win the Medal of Honor, after Capt. George Albee in 1894.

1982

In August, a woman driving on Montgomery Street pulled over when the driver behind her flashed his car lights. A man, apparently intoxicated, approached her car and tried to open the door, telling her she was under arrest. “I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is,” he told her. “Wait right here.” She left when he walked back to his “police car”—a Volkswagen Beetle.

1999

After a string of robberies throughout the Laurel area by a man “dressed in a suit coat, stovepipe hat and false beard seemingly intended to evoke the image of Abraham Lincoln,” Prince George’s County Police arrested a 35-year-old South Laurel man. “Dishonest Abe,” as he was referred to by police, held up gas stations and restaurants in Laurel, Columbia, Maryland City, and Ellicott City. He was especially creative when he held up the Friendly’s restaurant in King’s Contrivance Village in Columbia, sporting an Abe Lincoln get-up down to his shoes. Charges were also filed against the man in Howard and Anne Arundel counties.

2000

In May, the Laurel Police Memorial was dedicated at Ivy Hill Cemetery. The dedication was attended by about 100 people, including Mayor Frank Casula, Laurel City Council members, and officers from Laurel, Maryland State Police, Howard County, Prince George’s County, and Anne Arundel County. The memorial was designed by a committee of policemen and led by then-Sgt. Rick McGill of the Laurel Police Department. McGill has been a columnist for Voices of Laurel since its inception with his “We had a guy...” stories.

2007

After two years of debate, and conducting a parental vote on the issue, Laurel High School students were required to wear approved uniforms starting with the 2007-2008 school year.

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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.