Sunday Stroll in Riverfront Park

This is the little steel foot bridge fifty yards east of the Avondale Mill site in Riverfront Park. Its metal surfaces have rusted to match February's colors.

We bought a new digital camera. It has more buttons than I can possibly learn to use in a year. So if you see me walking along trying to read a manual and squinting at a camera, you'll know that I'm trying to learn a few more buttons this weekend.

Do you have any interesting pictures of people, places or incidents in or near Laurel? I'd be happy to link to them. Please contact me via g dot rick dot wilson at gmail dot com.

N.B. (You can click here for a much larger image. )

The Tunu Made Me Do It

Have you ever had one of these magical evenings at a new restaurant?

It's a chilly, rainy evening. You're weary of the familiar neighborhood spots. So you decide to try a totally new place that's still close to home. When you arrive you're treated like a favorite regular, shown to a warm table and then served one of the best meals of your life. After finishing off the last of the wine, you sit back totally satisfied and wonder why it took you so long to try this place.

Last night Joanne and I had this kind of magical experience at the Trapeze restaurant in Fulton, Maryland. Although we've been talking about the Trapeze since it opened, we had not yet made the 5 mile trek out rt 216 to the Maple Lawn area. We also had the chance to catch up with a old Laurel friend. But first to the food.

We started with jumbo shrimp, served unusually in a bread cup and drizzled with a lightly spiced, garlic butter sauce. Joanne's main event was the fried monkfish with a balsamic reduction. I had the pepper crusted Ahi Tuna, seared perfectly to medium rare. The sushi grade tuna was paired exquisitely with a delicate wasabi sauce that did not overpower the tuna. A fruity Pinot Grigio was the perfect accompaniment to the shrimp, our fish and our mood.

We also had the chance to catch up with Mark Steckbeck, Trapeze's Director of Operations. Mark, originally from Laurel, is an old friend who we had not seen in years. Mark has been a leader in the fine dining industry for a long time and is associated with the Trapeze and its sister restaurants, Nottinghams in Columbia and the Bluestone in Timonium. We enjoyed reconnecting with Mark and learning about the Trapeze.

Tired of the same old, same old? Looking for reasonably priced but fine food in a casual setting not far from home? Please do yourself a favor and try the Trapeze. Please say hello to Mark, and be prepared for a warm, filling and memorable evening out.

N.B. Be sure to check out the Trapeze website. They have a clever video called "Fish Tales."

Bella Rosa Cafe Opens

Coffee is a necessity. It's simply not optional. It's as important as food or air. Coffee is one of those self-evident truths that made America a great nation. Coffee is vital for public safety, that's why you see so many policemen hanging around donut shops.

I'm happy to announce the grand opening of the Bella Rosa Cafe at 504 Main Street. Meriem and Kass Atouani opened their cafe in the building that previously housed the Something Special Coffee Shop. The Bella Rosa Cafe offers plenty of hot gourmet coffee, fresh pastries and whole beans for your grinding delight.

Members of the Laurel Yacht Club participated in this morning's grand opening festivities. The Laurel Yacht Club, founded in 1995, is an informal collection of Main Street oddballs, malcontents, neo-luddites and occasionally, a few truly decent human beings. Not having any real boats, they hang around coffee shops and speak in nautical terms.

Their literature says that they, "... are a club without pier, concerned with plain folks, interesting people, strange places, insignificant facts, a story well told, fat-free muffins, politics, politicians and other scary things that go bump in the night. But mostly, they savor a good time, a great cup of coffee, and the warm company of friends and trusted shipmates."

Laurel is fast becoming the breakfast capital of the Mid Atlantic. I highly recommend that you check out the Bella Rosa for a cup of coffee with a splash of Oldtown community flavor. Stop in, introduce yourself to Meriem, wave hello to the Laurel Yacht Club and remember that ... Coffee is a civic duty.

The Best Donuts in Laurel

I've never been in law enforcement but I do like a donut now and then. The Little Tavern Donut shop at 115 Washington Blvd has the best donuts I've ever eaten.

The owners don't just truck in bakery donuts from some faraway sugar factory. These donuts are made fresh everyday by hand.

My sins are the glazed donuts. They are soft as a cloud with a just the right amount of glaze.

The whole town is talking about these donuts. The coffee is good too. I'm happy to see the Little Tavern back in operation.

Whiskey Riots 1902 - When Laurel Had Two City Councils

The interregnum between the Christmas and New Year holidays provides quiet time for reading and relaxation.

Today the Laurel Connections Blog offers you a holiday rerun. It was originally printed in the Laurel Leader on Thursday April 22, 1993 on page A-1. This was the old broadsheet style, 50 cent Leader. I bought a dozen copies to send to relatives celebrating my first published article.

It's a long piece, but if you stick with it you'll get a taste of those good old days when Laurel politics was a contact sport. A number of famous old Laurel names are also in the story. They come from a time before these local names were only known as buildings or streets.

Happy New Year, rick


A time when elections weren’t boring

By Rick Wilson

City elections were not always the quiet, civilized, and poorly attended events we have come to expect.

In 1898, more than 72% of the registered voters turned out for a special Saturday election to decide if Laurel would become a dry town. The measure lost, much to the relief of a thirsty electorate.

After the 1902 election, an angry mob descended upon the city hall at Fifth and Montgomery streets, where the Armory is today, to watch two mayors and city councils argue over which had been legally elected by the people. With this kind of excitement, it’s no wonder that election participation averaged more than 80% over the 40 years from 1898 to 1938.

The Cast of Characters

The contested 1902 election was rife with intrigue, mud-slinging rhetoric and a colorful cast of characters right out of an 1890 melodrama:

- The opinionated newspaper publisher, James P. Curley, first owner and editor of the Leader. The Leader’s first masthead billed itself as “the only republican paper in Prince Georges County.” Curley and his partner, F.C. Dezendorf (son of a Virginia congressman) were also attorneys, real estate developers, brokers, bankers, insurance underwriters and merchants. Curley would later serve terms as mayor and state delegate.

- The much loved, seven-time mayor of Laurel, county commissioner and dry-goods merchant, Edward J. Phelps.

- Gustavus B. Timanus, superintendent of the Laurel Cotton Mills who had formerly served as mayor in 1894 and was the arch-rival of both Curley and Phelps.

Our Town

At the time Laurel was a town of retail businesses and commuters. Forty-six stores supported a population of nearly 3000, from Shaffers building supply at the depot to Phelps’ dry goods, groceries clothing and furniture clear across town at Ninth and Montgomery.

Thirty-four trains left Laurel’s depot at the east end of Main Street every day. It was boasted that a man could leave in the morning for Baltimore, transact business until noon, take a 45 minute train ride to Washington, work the afternoon at the capital and be home for a civilized supper at 6 p.m. It was a 10 cent fare each way.

In 1898 the city provided jobs in the cotton and shirt mills. A typical worker earned 45 cents a day. City lots (50 feet by 150 feet) could be purchased for $375 to $1,350.An advertisement in the Leader on March 25, 1898, described a seven-room house on Montgomery renting for $14 a month.

Laurel had eight churches and two schools. The new Maryland Agricultural college, just down the road at College Park, offered tuition, book, room, board and medical care for $154 per scholastic year.

Laurel also had a mayor and city council that worked diligently to keep the town from bankruptcy and from burning. Fire was a major threat.

The mayor and council met monthly to keep the town’s affairs in order. Fines for lawbreakers were levied and bills paid. Here is a peek at some of their tasks from the meeting of March 18, 1898:

- A five-year contract was awarded for 101 incandescent street lights at a cost of $12 per light per year. It was noted that “the lights must burn every night except those moonlit.”

- A bill was considered and approved for $21.50 for “road grading and repair of Montgomery Street above 10th.”

- A bill was approved for payment of “$15 to the deputy bailiff, Walter Robison, for salary.” Walter was grandfather of Laurel’s current mayor, Joseph Robison. A council meeting in 1899 approved a request for $2 to purchase a bicycle for the bailiff to use during night rounds.

- The possibility of establishing a park northwest of Montgomery Street was discussed. “The area is well shaded and watered. It would be good for fishing, boating or picnicking.”

Our Hero: Edward VII

As the 1902 election approached, Mayor Phelps was serving the last days of his seventh one-year term. He was called “Edward the VII” and was known for his large gray mare. Phelps had been born in Laurel in 1861 and attended local schools until age 14. He formed a mercantile partnership with Charles Shaffer in 1877. He was first elected to the City Council in 1888 at the age of 21. Then he was elected to the Prince George’s County Commission at 26 and was instrumental in getting three iron bridges erected over the Patuxent River at Laurel. (Iron bridges had only been in existence since 1872.) He became president of the County Commission in 1888 and mayor of Laurel in 1895, defeating his nemesis, G.B. Timanus.

Election Day, Monday, April 7, 1902.

The roads are muddy and deeply rutted from spring downpours. The polls open at city hall at 2 p.m. Mrs. Luther Brashears comes down the hill on Eighth Street in her wagon. As she negotiates the turn onto Montgomery Street, the wheels stick in the ruts. The wagon rolls over and the poor woman is thrown to the ground. The horse bolts up Montgomery Street past School No. 1 at Ninth Street. Miss Eliza Cronmiller, the principal, hurries some of the boys to harness the horse. The wagon is destroyed, but Mrs. Brashears suffers only superficial injuries to both body and pride.

The polls close at 7 p.m. The gathering crowd is told of an upset. Timanus defeats Phelps by 23 votes! The entire Timanus slate is elected. In one of the greatest turnouts in years, 427 registered voters participate.

But wait! Later in the week it is discovered that Timanus and his colleagues have failed to qualify within the proper time required by the town charter rules (the Leader is fuzzy on exactly what requirement is violated). The Timanus team, discounting the rules and calling for “the rule of the people to prevail,” shows up at city hall to take over city business.

They demand that the existing administration turn over city papers and ledgers. They constitute a council and elect officers. The bailiffs are retained only if they agree to honor the new council’s rule. The Laurel postmaster is ordered to deliver all mail to the new council.

Phelps refuses all of these requests and seeks legal advice. He is told that the only way out of the mess is a new election.

Phelps calls for the special election at the end of April and then makes his most surprising announcement. “In order to avoid expensive litigation that wastes the taxpayer’s money and causes unnecessary controversy, a special election will be held and furthermore, under no circumstances will I put forth my name for consideration.” In the end Phelps puts the town ahead of his own ambitions.

Timanus easily beats the hurriedly substituted W.E. Linn in the special election, 295-94. Phelps runs again against Timanus in 1903 and 1904. Both elections are heavily contested and full of controversy, but Phelps never again regains his office.

Epilogue

Phelps writes about his accomplishments as mayor in April 1902. He mentions that an electric railroad will be coming to town in the fall. A fire department and water distribution system are forming to protect the city from calamity. A high school will soon be built. Roads are in good shape. The town library is growing and will soon need a paid librarian. A number of park projects show promise.

Phelps concludes with a call to the people of Laurel to heed the following advice, even when conditions decline and economies stumble: “When progress ceases, decay begins.”