Former Laurel Mayor and local historian Joe Robison responded to my previous post with the following story about lamplighters. Joe explained that he was reading the Laurel City Council meeting minutes from the 1880's and he learned that care of gas street lamps was the responsibility of the nearest property owner. Joe learned that the nearest owner was required to light the gas lamp at dusk and douse it at sunrise. If an unreliable owner failed to do this, the street lamp would be physically moved to be in front of a more responsible property owner.
Many readers liked the idea of a street lamp celebration. Ice cream, band music, and someone in a lamplighter costume to officiate. Sounds like a great time and a fitting celebration for all the hard work from the Mayor, City Council and the Public Works Department. I hope the Laurel Board of Trade and the Friends of Historic Main Street will take up the idea and sponsor it. Does anyone know a local Barbershop Quartet?
From the reliable source, rumor file - I've learned from that a bakery may be coming to Laurel in the near future. It might not be on Main Street, but if they have sticky buns and sourdough, I just won't care.
3 comments:
re your poll. I'd like the Rt 1 corrider (and Main St!) to look like Ellicot City :-)
--Sue Z
Love the idea of a local bakery and ice cream shop - remember Gavriles?
The audio snippet to which you linked for "Barbershop Quartet" is for the Wheelhouse quartet, soon after their original bass singer, who lives in West Laurel (Howard County), was replaced. Coincidence, or already known? To find a local quartet, see this Mid-Atlantic Quartet Search page.
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