Issuu

THE LAUREL LIGHT

1994

Walking Tour Revisited

Thirty years ago this December the Laurel Historical Society sponsored a historic tour of Main Street led by former mayor and Laurel Fire Department Chief Joe Robison. The tour started at the First United Methodist Church and stretched almost the en re length of Main Street. Joe, who was born in Laurel and lived his en re life here, was a passionate historian and supporter of the Laurel Historical Society, and it was under his tenure as mayor that LHS ﬁnally had a place to call home - 817 Main Street, now the Laurel Museum.

VolumeXV,NumberIV

Inside this Issue:

2 From the Execu ve Director

3 Annual Appeal

4 Holiday Open House

4 2024 Collec ble Ornament

5 2025 Annual Gala

6 Intern updates

7 Membership form

7 2025 Laurel Train Exhibit

8 Upcoming events

This fall, a er thirty years of dedicated research, collec ng, and organiza onal growth, we launched a new walking tour - “Updated & Revised: Main Street Laurel” - and uncovered the interes ng history that surrounds some of Laurel’s favorite establishments, telling a much more complete story than we could in 1994!

Oliver’s Tavern was one of the main stops featured on the tour. Built in 1902 as the Laurel terminus for the Rhode Island Avenue trolley, the building served as a trolley sta on un l 1925 and then it was rotated to sit parallel to Main Street in 1937. It has remained an eatery and restaurant of various types over the years. We hear that there are even tales of horseshoes and alligator surrounding the establishments that have called the building home!

History happens every day, and the Laurel Historical Society works hard to capture, preserve, and share as much of the full story as we can in our museum exhibits, programs, and special events. We invite you to keep an eye out for special-topic tours taking place next spring. We also invite community members to contact the historical society to share their memories of Joe’s Walking Tours! In speaking to past par cipants we have thoroughly enjoyed hearing about Joe’s passion for history and his ﬁre anecdotes that he added while guiding people through Laurel. And as always, stop by 817 Main Street to view our exhibits, currently displaying “Awkward Family Photos” and “Picture This! History of Photography.” Open with free admission on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 12-4pm through December 22, 2024.

t believe we are almost at the end of 2024 already! This year has seen many changes in our community and organiza on, and I remain op mis c about our future growth and impact in Laurel.

Last edi on, I highlighted some of the most important accomplishments from our ﬁrst year of strategic planning; this newsle er, I want to focus on our organiza on values and how we live those in our ac ons.

Community - We collaborate with many great partners in the Laurel area, including hos ng the Pallo Early Learning Center students for a Museum tour and diving into the history of Laurel Park with the Maryland Jockey Club. Inclusion - We want everyone to feel like they belong here and are included in the history we tell. This fall, we introduced updated and revised walking tours, telling more complete stories than we could in 1994. These events also con nued the tradi on of a fall fundraiser based on history, community, and walking, a er the discon nua on of the McCeney March for the last 8 years. Learning - We want visitors to the Museum to have fun and learn new things. Awkward Family Photos has brought a lot of laughter and learning to our galleries - stop by before December 22nd if you haven’t seen it yet!

Preserva on - We share our resources and knowledge with the public, and presented two workshops on photograph preserva on at the Prince George’s and Anne Arundel county libraries. Find out more about our strategic planning online (About Us| Mission/Vision/Values).

These were just a few examples of what we have been able to accomplish with the support of our members and donors. As we approach the end of the year, I ask that you make a special contribu on to our Annual Appeal. Any amount is greatly appreciated and is put to use throughout the year to support our programs, educa onal ac vi es, outreach events, and exhibits.

Thank you for your generosity! As always, feel free to contact me or stop by the Museum to say hi! Wishing you a holiday season of peace, hope, and joy!

Yours respec ully, Ann Benne

director@laurelhistoricalsociety.org

Board of Directors

Denise Redmond President*

Amy Dunham

Vice President*

Bob Mignon Treasurer*

Beth West Secretary*

Melanie Dzwonchyk

Larry Eldridge

Marlene Frazier*

Maggie Hubbard

Jackie Ringgold Jones*

Michelle Kea ng

Elizabeth Ysla Leight

Jhanna Levin

Cindy Long

Karen Lubieniecki, Chair Emerita

Margie McCeney

Cheryl Poulos*

Dave Singleton

Mariam Thakkar

Dawn Turney

Elizabeth Compton Co-founder

The Hon. Keith R. Sydnor (Ex oﬃcio)

* Member of the Execu ve Commi ee

Ann Benne

Execu ve Director

Abby Carver

Educa on and Outreach Coordinator

Luis Vaca-Soto

Museum Administrator

Maria Gonzales Jackson

Visitor Services Associate

Picture this: A vibrant future for Laurel, built on the stories preserved today.

As I reﬂect on this past year at the Laurel Historical Society, I also am looking forward to 2025 – our 50th anniversary year that will be ﬁlled with celebra ons and remembrances. Thanks to your generosity, 2024 has been a year of growth, discovery, and community connec on. LHS has been able to bring Laurel’s stories to life in new and engaging ways, strengthening our impact across the community.

As we look ahead to our 50th anniversary, I’m excited to build on this momentum and explore even more ways to connect with our community. This anniversary year will be ﬁlled with events, new exhibits, and celebra ons, all aimed at honoring Laurel’s rich history and envisioning a vibrant future. But we can’t do it without your con nued support.

Would you consider a gi to help us jumpstart this special year? As 2024 draws to a close, I urge you to con nue your generous support. Your dona on will ensure we have the resources needed to make our anniversary truly memorable and impac ul. You may use the QR code or donate securely online at www.laurelhistoricalsociety.org/annual-appeal.html.

YOU can help us preserve Laurel’s past for the future! Please demonstrate your commitment to the work of the Laurel Historical Society by giving to the Annual Appeal today. Send your best gi before December 31st .

Thank you to all of our new volunteers!

We’d like to thank all of our new volunteers this year. We could not func on without all of your help and we’re excited to con nue seeing all of your friendly faces in the museum. We are always in need of more volunteers to help us fulﬁll our mission. If you’d like to volunteer, please sign up or email us at info@laurelhistoricalsociety.org

Thank you to: Khadija Ba, Laila Clarke, Ryan Eager, Kathy Greenwald, Ali Jablonksi, Alexandra Jones, Sarah Mark, Owen Phillips, Kevin Pierce, Ally Ramsey, Mikey Somerville, Emily Swain, Nina Umrani, and Charissa Wiltshire

2024 Holiday Open House

The Laurel Historical Society is excited to welcome you to our annual Holiday Open House where we’ll be celebra ng the holidays and the end to another wonderful year here at the Laurel Museum. Join us for some light refreshments, homemade treats, and shop for everyone on your holiday gi giving list on December 6th-8th. Also available will be our new 2024 collec ble ornament.

Make sure to stop by before we close for our winter break on December 22nd to catch the traveling exhibit “Awkward Family Photos” before it’s gone! We’re looking forward to seeing all of you there.

2024 Collec ble Ornament

We’re excited to announce our new ornament for 2024. In support of our upcoming exhibit, Laurel Rides the Rails: Tales of Trains and Trolleys, this new ornament highlights the 1902 “Columbia” trolley car. Route 82, known as the Rhode Island Line, had its terminus in Laurel and ran from Main Street and down Sixth Street to Washington D.C. The ornament will be available soon in the Museum and online. Also make sure to come see our new exhibit when it opens in February to learn more about the Rhode Island Line and much, much more!

Holiday Recipe

Here is a holiday recipe from Frances Brooks, a former LHS volunteer and board member. Her legacy lives on with this fantas c biscuit recipe and they will be perfect for your next holiday party!

Cheese Biscuits

1 s ck bu er

2 cup sharp yellow New York cheese

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. red cayenne pepper

1 cup ﬂour

Pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream bu er in a medium-sized bowl. Add cheese, followed by salt, red pepper, and ﬂour.

Roll dough into small balls. Press a half pecan on each ball to ﬂa en.

Place on cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes.

Makes 40-45 biscuits.

Cocktail

Congratula ons to Jose!

We’d like to give a huge congratula ons to one of our summer interns, Jose Zavala, for being accepted into graduate school and the University of Maryland College Park! Jose helped us by going through and categorizing some of the items in our collec on and library, as well as prepping the library for the arrival of our new bookshelves that are due to be presented during our Holiday Open House next month. We wish you the best of luck with your studies and we hope to hear from you soon!

Noah gives us a li le insight into his experience

Throughout my short me at the museum, I have had the opportunity to work on a lot of different projects. Firstly, I volunteered to help reconfigure and organize the museum’s library. While that project is s ll ongoing, I have been able to catalog each book we hold in the museum and then organize them into specific categories. I hope by the me I head back to school in August, I will be able to finish the project and have all the books available for access. Secondly, I have been assis ng with the facilita on and prepara on for the museum’s annual summer camps. I have thoroughly enjoyed my me at each camp and helping every student make the most their experience. I have also had the opportunity to complete research requests from various community members. This was a great experience because it allowed me to conduct in-depth historical research into very specific parts of Laurel’s history. Also, I have been working with the online database and have learned how to enter new items into the museum’s online archive. I have greatly appreciated all of the support and guidance from the museum’s staff this summer and have learned valuable informa on regarding the ins and outs of a museum. I am very grateful that I was able to intern here for the summer and look forward to helping the museum in any way possible in the future.

Noah Cohen-Mitchell

Please send my receipt by email. Please use my email for electronic communication. Payment: Check Credit Card

Please return this form and payment to:

Laurel Historical Society, PO Box 774, Laurel, MD 20725 -ORJoin Online https://www.laurelhistoricalsociety.org/join-or-renew.html

If you weren’t able to attend our previous webinars, subscribe to our YouTube channel to view the recordings! www.youtube.com/@laurelhistory

Laurel Rides the Rails: Tales of Trains and Trolleys

We’re looking for anyone in the community who would be willing to loan us some examples from their model train collec on for display in our upcoming 2025 exhibit. If you have anything you might be able to lend us please send us a photo and informa on to info@laurelhistoricalsociety.org. You can also stop by the museum, Friday-Sunday from 12-4pm.

Laurel Historical Society PO Box 774

Laurel, MD 20725

Address Service Requested

Is your membership expired? Want to become a member and support LHS? JOIN OR RENEW TODAY!

Upcoming Events

September 14 December 22: Awkward Family Photos Traveling Exhibit AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com

December 1: Children’s Day, 1-3pm

December 6: Holiday Happy Hour, 4-5pm

December 6-8: Holiday Open House

December 23: Museum closes for winter break

February 2025: Exhibit opening: Laurel Rides the Rails: Tales of Trains and Trolleys

May 4, 2025: Annual Gala at the Great Room at Savage Mill

Laurel Historical Society 817 Main Street Laurel, MD 20707

Tel: 301-725-7975

Email: info@laurelhistoricalsociety.org

We’re on the web: www.laurelhistoricalsociety.org Laurel Museum Hours Friday, Saturday, Sunday 12 - 4 pm