Voices of Laurel Day at the Races at Laurel Park a Delightful Success
The Voices of Laurel staff, families, friends, readers and supporters enjoyed a fantastic Day at the Races on October 26, 2024. It was our first, but not the last, event we plan to hold at Laurel Park. By all measures, it was a smashing success.
The Maryland Jockey Club was a generous host offering attendees a drink voucher, a $2.00 bet voucher, and the race day program. We had two races named in honor of our newspaper staff and The Laurel History Boys. We even had a photograph taken in the Winner’s Circle after each of our races. Our event was held in the apron lounge tent, which offered views of racing from the rails.
The response from our attendees was universally positive—from the seasoned track goer to the first-time visitor to the track. Some of the comments we received were: “This was so fun!” “We had a great time! When are you going to do this again?” “It is so nice here! We are having a blast!”
There were smiles and laughter all afternoon as new bettors learned how to place a bet, attendees connected with old friends and made new ones, and even as some lost their wagers.
Bringing new people to the track to enjoy the venue and learn about its storied history was a high point for our board members. We thank the Maryland Jockey Club for their hospitality and look forward to planning another Day at the Races in the future.
Grants and Donations
Thank you to Karl Ginter, Melanie McKnight, Ruth Walls, Linda Lemar, Kathie Peterson, James Bowman, and Joan Robison for their monetary donations to Voices of Laurel. We are grateful.
Tony Law, whose father was Robert Law, a Public Information Officer with the Prince George’s County Police during the 1970s, generously donated his father’s folder about the George Wallace shooting at the Laurel Shopping Center in 1972. The folder contains an amazing amount of newspaper clippings from many local newspapers, all of which, with the exceptions of the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun, have ceased publication. See page 20 for an article about the contents of the folder, including some images from long-ago local newspapers.
For our book project on Merriweather Post Pavilion (see below), Merriweather Lakehouse Hotel owner Barbara Costello (a 1976 Pallotti graduate) granted us free reign in her hotel to photograph the dozens of original posters and photos from Merriweather’s history. We are grateful for the hospitality shown by Barbara and General Manager Jeff Sweet. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for a call for artifacts from the public for possible inclusion in the book.
Proactive Councilmember Adds Books to Library
City Councilmember Kyla Clark recently contacted us about an initiative to have more local authors represented in the Laurel Branch Library. She then personally delivered copies of three of our books (Laurel at 150, Postmark Laurel, and Capital Centre: A Retrospective) to Branch Manager Karin Luoma, who initiated the process of having the books catalogued by the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System. We are donating additional books that can be circulated, while one copy of each will remain in the libary system’s reference section—the Prince George’s Room at the Hyattsville Branch.
Book Projects
The Laurel History Boys have two more book projects in the works. Kevin and Rich have been working with Voices of Laurel contributor Rick McGill to update and redesign his book, Brass Buttons and Gun Leather, A History of the Laurel Police Department, which was originally published in 2001. It should be available by Summer 2025. We will publish notifications on our Facebook page when pre-sales are accepted.
A much bigger project is Merriweather Post Pavilion, The First 50 Years. The same team that produced our book Capital Centre, A Retrospective (Rich, Kevin, and Jeff Krulik, along with Voices of Laurel contributor and Board member Angie Latham Kozlowski) is conducting research and interviews. No estimated publishing date yet, but stay tuned.
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