Laurel To Share A Look Back
The New Year Will Bring A Unique Presentation Of Laurel History
Story and Photos By Raoul Dennis
Laurel Historical Society Executive Director Ann Bennett may have half a dozen children clutching at her ankles on any given day but her head is squarely set on presenting the history and growth of Laurel in 2023.
Twice yearly, the Society hosts an outdoor children’s event. The most recent was Children’s Fall Harvest Day. Bennett took a moment from the busy afternoon to talk with Prince George’s Suite Magazine about the society’s upcoming programming.
“The goal is to get out into the public and expand beyond the walls of the museum,” she says of the autumn event (see photos here). “It gives us a chance to reach different audiences and different age groups. The museum is a fairly small physical space – so we’re limited as to how much we can do there. If we are able to have bigger activities in different spaces, we can reach more audiences and they can be more comfortable to learn and create at their own pace.”
Ann Bennett of the Laurel Historical Society. PHOTO RAOUL DENNIS// PRINCE GEORGE’S SUITE MAGAZINE & MEDIA
As children and parents work and play through the pumpkin-themed harvest day, Bennett turns the discussion to the new exhibit coming in February that she hopes will spark even greater understanding of the quiet, bedroom community.
Entitled: “It’s All Laurel: City Limits And Beyond,” the upcoming exhibit will focus not just on the city’s Prince George’s County boundaries but also expand toward the broader reaches of the state including Montgomery, Anne Arundel and Howard counties. The idea is to draw in those whose Laurel roots span across Maryland.
“It’s been a great learning process to go to these lifelong residents: people who have lived in Montpelier, Russett and Scaggsville, for example, since the very beginning -- the original homeowners --- and to get their experiences and bring that into the exhibit,” Bennett says. “We are hoping that people will reconnect and that it will help people to expand their ideas of what Laurel is, how it began and how it came to be what it is today.”
The museum organizers are hoping that residents will also bring artifacts and stories to contribute to the exhibit. “It’s All Laurel: City Limits And Beyond.” will run for 16 months.
