Old Kiln Road
A new serial fiction story for your enjoyment about the odd effects of grief. Written by James Rada, Jr. 1: ANIMAL KILLER Her own screams woke her from her nap. That’s how it always was for Betty Douglas. Sleep was a fleeting thing, if it came at all, and it was never a peaceful affair,…
Looking Back - 1838
Catoctin Furnace vs. Thurmont by James Rada, Jr. In September of 1838, a Mechanicstown, Maryland (present-day Thurmont), resident wrote a letter to the editor of the Baltimore Gazette and Daily Advertiser. He told the following story. Earlier that month, shortly before sundown, around a dozen employees of Catoctin Furnace had had too much to drink.…
Discover How the C&O Canal is Connected to the JFK Assassination and Other Secrets
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was the great national project that failed to live up the dream. It never reached its ultimate destination, which was not Cumberland, Maryland (where it wound up), or the Ohio River (as the name implies). The early vision of the canal planners was something far grander and longer, and it’s…
Looking Back - 1956
by James Rada, Jr. Hitchhiking Marines Get a Special Ride Marine Pfc. Harold Payne and Pfc. William Weaver were stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, but when they got a weekend pass near Christmas of 1956, they decided to head home to the Midwest. Payne was from Akron, Ohio, and Weaver was from DeWitt,…
James Rada, Jr. — Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives
Deb Spalding In addition to serving as The Catoctin Banner’s Contributing Editor, and writing the monthly column “Looking Back” that appears in the Banner and four other newspapers, full-time freelance writer James Rada, Jr. is the author of 18 books. These include five historical novels, seven historical non-fiction books, and others exploring a wide range…
