Looking Back: True Stories of Mountain Maryland

Looking Back: True Stories of Mountain Maryland

From the unsolved to the unusual. From the historical to the hysterical. From the famous to the friendly. This is life in the Maryland mountains.Did you know that a Russian prince once worked as a priest in Cumberland?Have you heard the story about the German POW camp near Flintstone during WWII?Do you know about the mining wars that were fought to try and unionize the coal mines in the Georges Creek region?Do you know the story behind Cumberland's only lynching?Have you heard the story about the baseball game played between the Cumberland Colts and the New York Yankees?These are the stories of Allegany and Garrett counties in Maryland found in old newspapers, history books and other places. It's the stories of people who tamed the mountains, established cities, raised families and lived their lives.Journey back in time and look beyond the photos that so well document the region's history. This collection of 40 stories spans 220 years of life in Western Maryland. Originally published in the Cumberland Times-News and Allegany Magazine, some of these stories have been expanded as new information has been uncovered and new photos accompany some of the stories. Did you know .. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and the rest of the New York Yankees played an exhibition game in Cumberland, Md., against the Colts minor league team? Luke, Md. had one of the first car manufacturing companies in the country? A Russian prince used to conduct Mass at a Cumberland church? Ridgely, W Va., only became incorporated because of a single vote? Mobbers forgot to bring a rope to Cumberland s only lynching? A coal strike in the Georges Creek region had people shooting at each other like in an old western? A Civil War hero survived the war, became an editor in Cumberland, only to be shot down by an angry reader? These are the stories of Mountain Maryland that have been told over the years in James Rada, Jr. s award-winning Looking Back column in the Cumberland Times-News. Now, in this first collection of history articles from Rada, you ll get not only his Looking Back columns, but articles from Allegany Magazine and other publications. Some of them have been updated with new information that Rada uncovered since their initial publication. James Rada, Jr. is the author of seven novels. These include the historical novels Canawlers, October Mourning, Between Rail and River and The Rain Man. His other novels are Logan s Fire, Beast and My Little Angel. He works as a freelance writer who lives in Gettysburg, PA. James has received numerous awards from the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, Associated Press, Maryland State Teachers Association and Community Newspapers Holdings, Inc. for his newspaper writing.