"Good evening, I'm Ric Cottom. Welcome to Your Maryland ." Since 2002, when he first delivered his now-classic radio segment on Maryland history, Ric Cottom has narrated hundreds of little-known human interest stories. Collected here are 72 of his favorite on-air pieces. From accused witches and the murderous career of gunsmith John Dandy in the earliest days of the colony through tales of Johnny U and the greatest game ever played, Your Marylandcovers nearly four centuries of the Free State's heroes and scoundrels.
Entertaining listeners of all ages while sparking their interest in the past, Cottom's beloved Your Marylandis a unique blend of carefully researched regional history and narrative nonfiction. He deftly emphasizes the human dimension of Maryland's colorful past: its athletes (two- and four-legged), beautiful spies, brilliant writers, misunderstood pirates, and ghosts. All of that color, suspense, and humoras well as the author's unusual talent for discovering interesting historical facts and personagesis part of your Maryland.
Preface 1. Voyage of Discovery 2. Avalon 3. The Murderous Career of John Dandy 4. Witchcraft in Maryland 5. The Monster 6. The Blood-Red Flag 7. The Summer of '76 8. The Revolutionary 9. Privateers 10. The Mermaid 11. Mr. Smith's Ball 12. The Most Hated Man in Maryland 13. The Scourge of the Chesapeake 14. A Frolic with the Yankees 15. The Cool Hand and the Hothead 16. Defenders 17. The Chasseur 18. The Battle of the Ice Mound 19. Jacob Gruber 20. The Bear 21. The Slave Breaker 22. Moses 23. Gidu 24. The Vineyard Tournament 25. The Rose of Westminster 26. Christiana 27. John Brown 28. April 19, 1861 29. Clara's Boys 30. Lost Sons 31. Barbara Frietschie 32. The Despot's Heel 33. The Glorious Fourth... 1863 34. The Orator 35. Color Guard 36. The Music of Point Lookout 37. Hetty Cary 38. The Great Patapsco Flood of 1868 39. Ghosts of Western Maryland 40. Early Racing at Pimlico 41. Preakness 42. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Part I 43. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Part II 44. Gus Rice 45. The Maestro 46. The Heiress and the Medical School 47. The Pennant 48. The Evil Empire 49. Mouse 50. Goliath 51. The Jungle 52. The Explorer 53. The Aviator 54. Diamond Jim 55. The Babe 56. Titantic 57. The Great Bathtub Hoax 58. The Last Man 59. Maryland, the Free State 60. Leander 61. The Schneider Cup Race of 1925 62. Cab and Thurgood 63. Wallis 64. Hatrack 65. The Crack-up 66. King Kong 67. Omaha Beach 68. Canajoharie at the Gut 69. Tunnel Joe 70. Johnny U 71. The Greatest Football Game Ever Played 72. Silent Spring Acknowledgments Essay on Sources
