The story is familiar. An African American woman boards a bus in the segregated South and sits in the back, as required by law. The bus fills and the driver demands that she give up her seat to white riders. … Continue reading →
In the dense woods east of Richmond, Virginia is a notorious ghost town–an empty grid of grown-over streets lined by sidewalks that sprout trees and sewers choked with decades of leaf litter. An idle and rust-crowned water tower looms high … Continue reading →
No telling what John Lennon thought when he hopped out of his Rolls Royce at Poplar Grove and saw the tide mill off in the distance. Perhaps the structure’s rustic charm inspired some nascent song lyrics or signaled the peace … Continue reading →
There’s nothing like those tried-and-true remedies when life throws an ailment your way: plenty of rest; chicken noodle soup; a tonic of meat juice in your rear end. Okay, maybe those first two have survived the ages, but that last … Continue reading →
What could possibly compel you to live alone on a remote island for the better part of three decades? For Charles Hardenberg, it was the very water that is now washing the last traces of him into the Chesapeake Bay. … Continue reading →
I wasn’t sure what I’d find on Mockhorn Island. I knew there was a chance there would be odd artifacts since Mockhorn had once been the secluded retreat of the Cushman family, heirs to a New York bakery fortune, and … Continue reading →
You’d not think to look for traces of John Wilkes Booth in Portsmouth, Virginia. Sure, the city has witnessed its share of extraordinary episodes, but the bustling port town is a long way from Washington D.C. and the quiet, rural … Continue reading →
There were once hundreds of them, just about any spot a country road dead ended at tidewater. They were the lifeblood of communities, a portal to the world beyond. Folks once planned their days, their seasons around them. But now … Continue reading →
It’s easy to appreciate sacrifice at Yorktown Battlefield, where Americans secured their independence. Visitors there find historic fortifications, artillery and cemeteries containing the remains of hundreds of soldiers who fought and died for a cause. But sometimes folks render service … Continue reading →
When photographer Meredith West and I arrived at the train depot in Capeville on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, an unexpected visitor had gotten there ahead of us. Meredith and I were on assignment for another article and made the brief detour … Continue reading →
Every October, tens of thousands of spectators show up in Fayetteville, West Virginia to watch several hundred brave souls leap from the 876-foot-high New River Gorge Bridge. Just as stunning as the parachutists’ courage on Bridge Day, however, is the … Continue reading →
It’s not too often that a bona fide celebrity comes to town, and even rarer that one shows up to kill himself. In 1894, however, Robert Frost—yes, that Robert Frost, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet laureate who penned “The Road Not … Continue reading →
Mutton-chopped Ole King Cole still stands over the Enchanted Forest, beckoning passersby to stop. Those who accept his invitation, though, will find it a false gesture, the turreted castle locked tight, the fantasy land behind shrouded by tangled overgrowth. Today … Continue reading →
They’re not much to look at. Pads of cracked concrete and rusted steel. Squat cinder block buildings that could pass for some 50s-era strip mall. Aged and rusty chain-link fences are usually involved, too. It takes a broad stretch of … Continue reading →
The farmers of west-central Maryland panicked when the German military spilled out of the woods. The invasion had begun. World War II was entering a new phase, or so they thought. But there was something different about these Nazis. Their uniforms … Continue reading →
Would you know a dew drop if you saw one? What about a muckle? A daisy cutter? While your nineteenth century lingo might need some freshening up, odds are good the ballists of the Capitol Conference would have no trouble … Continue reading →
Caring for our neighbors who happen to be mentally ill is among society’s most challenging responsibilities. In fact, during World War II, the federal government deemed it “work of national importance.” Conscientious objectors–draftees who refused military service but were willing … Continue reading →
In a grassy clearing on the forested grounds of Patapsco Valley State Park in suburban Baltimore are a couple stone staircase supports that go nowhere. Men once trudged down these steps on their way to a long day’s work. These … Continue reading →
Centralia, Pennsylvania is readying for its swan song. The cursed borough’s dramatic saga is coming to a close and media giants no longer come calling as they once did. But time’s approaching for an event that’ll be a measure of … Continue reading →
If ever you wanted a taste of our forefathers’ hardiness, you’d find it at Wash Woods. There, in thickets of low-slung evergreens, far from any human population, are the hidden ruins of a community that had no roads in or … Continue reading →
