Finding clues from the past that give us a glimpse into the places and lives of Marylanders who came before us
Kindness didn’t pay for Captain John Carey, Baltimore police night commander, when he treated friends to some ice cream cones when returning from an Ocean City vacation in July 1930. In fact, The Baltimore Sun reported that it inadvertently cost him about $200. “He was returning to Baltimore from Ocean City on vacation and when... Continue Reading →
In 1902, thieves believed to be from Washington, D.C. came to Montgomery County to steal goods of the feathered kind: “Edgar Cashell, near Rockville, Montgomery county, had 100 chickens on Friday of last week. On Saturday morning he found all had been stolen except one. George W. Day, a neighbor, had 25 taken the same... Continue Reading →
For 10 days in March 1922, Baltimore police investigated the suspicious sight of a woman’s bleeding body seen driven in an automobile, according to the Baltimore Sun. But it turns out that this murder mystery was simply a case of mistaken identity: “After 10 days’ investigation to determine the identity of the woman whose bleeding... Continue Reading →
Did you know that for about a decade in the early 20th century Rockville (Montgomery County) was without widespread electricity? According to a 1909 article in The Baltimore Sun, much of the town was without electricity because of a fire years earlier: “Electricity for lighting the residences, churches, business places, etc. of Rockville is now... Continue Reading →
In early January 1903, The Baltimore Sun updated readers on Bruno, a pet bear that had escaped from his owner the previous summer and was making local farmers unhappy: “Bruno, the elusive ex-pet bear, is still at large somewhere in Howard county. The countryside is up in arms. Several regiments of angry farmers are enlisted... Continue Reading →
I had the pleasure of accompanying my daughter on a field trip to Rose Hill Manor in Frederick last week. My husband and I each had fuzzy memories of being served mint tea and some sort of cracker when we had visited Gov. Thomas Johnson's retirement home during our own elementary school field trip days... Continue Reading →
Accidental poisonings seemed to take place often a century ago. One such incident involved the poisoning of Miss Teresa Nierhaus at the hands of her friend in August 1911. The Baltimore Sun reported that the 22-year-old woman, who was living on West Lexington Street in Baltimore, thought she was taking a dose of paregoric, which... Continue Reading →
Mrs. Mary Koerner received quite a surprise when she entered her Highlandtown saloon one late March morning in 1911. ‘...[S]he was greeted with a veritable ocean of beer flowing over the floor. Floating on it were cigars, some whole, some stumps and some that were ‘entirely too young to be left to drown,’” reported The... Continue Reading →
Another Labor Day is upon us, marking the unofficial end to summer. In September 1900, The Baltimore Sun ran a piece on the value of Labor Day. Obviously, times have changed, but much of the sentiment still holds true today: "We are essentially a working people -- every week day in the year, with a... Continue Reading →
In anticipation of the partial solar eclipse in our area tomorrow, here's a look back on the partial eclipse that took place in Baltimore in 1892: “Science has relieved us of the feeling that it is our duty, with the aid of tin pans or human sacrifices, to help the sun out of its trouble.... Continue Reading →
Bygone Maryland 