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.
1899
In July, the City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting “any person to ride or drive any horse, or other beast of burden, or any cart, wagon or buggy on the sidewalks in the town of Laurel.” It also applied to bicycles, with conviction resulting in a fine “not less than one ($1.00) dollar nor more than ten ($10.00) dollars.”
1909
In January, Laurel’s Post Office was burglarized, and thieves made off with between $300 and $400 in cash and stamps. “The front of the safe was blown off” with dynamite, creating a blast so powerful that “a piece of the iron passed through the door of the inner office and through the upper part of both front windows, smashing the glass and cutting the wire of a pendant electric light, landing on the other side of the street.” The explosion left “the side of the room near the safe a mass of wreckages.” Curiously, the 2:00 a.m. robbery was not reported by any neighbors, even though many heard the explosion. “None of them thought it of enough importance to make inquiry in regard to it.”
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.”
1915
In May, the Prince George’s County Board of County School Commissioners upheld the ruling of the Aquasco School in southern PG County in denying a nine-year-old admission to white schools because “the boy’s blood was tainted.”
1918
In April, the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company saw the need to take out an ad to instruct users on the proper way to use a phone. “Give Your Telephone a Chance. It is possible to construct a telephone that you could talk into from the other side of the room, but it would also pick up all the other noises in the room, including the click of the typewriters and other conversations going on. Your telephone, therefore, is designed for ‘close up’ use. In giving a number to the operator and in telephone conversations with others, you should speak directly into the transmitter. This will do away with misunderstandings and make the conversation smooth and satisfying.”
1946
In April, the Laurel Leader merged with the Bowie Register and College Park News and changed its name to the News Leader.
1954
In February, Master Sergeant Earl W. Sherman, who lived on Main Street in Laurel, was declared dead by the Defense Department after being missing in action in Korea since July 1950. Sherman had also been reported as missing in action during World War II when he was captured and held by the Germans for nine months. Between the wars, he was stationed at Fort Meade.
1961
In August, an anonymous ad in the News Leader blared “Roller Rink for Laurel?” The ad asked “Does any individual, civic club or citizens [sic] organization wish to join me on this venture? I feel that there is an opportunity to make money and at the same time give Laurel some badly needed recreation.” Replies were to be sent to a PO Box.
1963
In June, Gov. J. Millard Tawes appointed Laurel Mayor P.G. Melbourne to the Maryland Commission for the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The Commission provided advice in the planning, construction, and operation of the Maryland pavilion at the World’s Fair.
1964
In April, the New York World’s Fair opened. Among the many attractions was the Maryland Pavilion, which depicted “the woods, the water, the mountains, the counties and cities of Maryland in a complete pictorial panorama of the State.” The 120-seat theater continuously showed a movie with “a dramatic presentation of the Battle of Fort McHenry and the writing of The Star Spangled Banner.”
1971
In September, State Roads Commission representative Tom Hicks met with Mayor Merrill Harrison and the Laurel City Council to discuss highway road improvements in Laurel. In a sign of the times, the headline in the News Leader was “City Hall Rap Session Covers Laurel Highways.”
1980
In March, Laurel High School won its only boys’ basketball state championship, defeating Suitland High School in the final, 55-49.
2005
In an exceptional year for St. Vincent Pallotti High School sports, Tim Jennings became the first wrestler for the school to win first place at the National Prep Championships. A week earlier, he won a state title at the Maryland Independent High School Wrestling Championship. Later that same year, Pallotti’s baseball team compiled a perfect 24-0 season, winning the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference championship.
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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