It was a treat to create this book for our very dedicated “Casual Historian’. And now he has made it available to anyone who wants to purchase one. Volume 1 of Bahoukas.NET is now available. Limited prints make it pricey but the value is well… priceless.
Since the printed books don’t come with page numbers, we’ve created this Table of Contents, to make it a bit easier. The episodes (titles in blue) and interviews (titles in orange) are in order as you’ll find them in the book. We hope this helps. Browse the Table of Contents below:
Eps 1 Welcome to the Casual Historian of Havre de Grace
Meet George Wagner and join him as he shares the stories he’s gathered as the “Casual Historian of Havre de Grace” and builds his Havre de Grace Museum at Bahoukas Antique Mall.
Eps 2 Chesapeake Hotel and the Monkey
Sometimes we learn to be careful what we ask for. Enjoy this humorous tale of how “Banana Girl’ – the monkey – became part of the Grubb family at the Chesapeake Hotel!
As the ‘casual historian,’ I especially enjoy finding and studying old maps of Havre de Grace and Harford County. I have a decent collection and have been able to glean a lot of info from them.
Eps 4 Havre de Grace Advertising/Pitcock Bros.
1940s Card Table with advertising This card table has 75+ businesses mentioned on the top. George, the ‘casual historian’ of Havre de Grace has used it many times to find business names no one knew about. He also has a similar table from the 1950s….
Eps 5 Havre de Grace Pharmacies/Drug Stores
Learn a cute story as you read the history of pharmacies/drug stores in Havre de Grace from our ‘casual historian.’
Eps 6 Bayou Restaurant – 73 years of history
73 years of Havre de Grace History from the Bayou Restaurant perspective! Listen to the casual historian of HdG tell of his treasured collection.
Eps 7 “The Graw” – Havre de Grace’s Racetrack
The Havre de Grace Race Track, affectionaltely known as “The Graw,” operated from 1912-1950. Many famous horses ran here including Man ‘O War, War Admiral, Seabiscuit, Citation, Sun Beau, and Exterminator – to name a few!
Eps 8 Ice Houses, Icy Ball, and Havre de Grace History
Ice on the Susquehanna River at Havre de Grace could be treacherous with ice jams, could offer recreation when it frozen over (skating/horse drawn sleighs), and created a major industry – ice houses and Ice distribution!
Eps 9 Burns Bros. Carriages and more
Burns Bros. Co. and their respected carriage manufacturing is well known in Havre de Grace history. Enjoy this brief video and details from Havre de Grace’s casual historian.
Eps 10 Brief History of Havre de Grace Post Office
Postal service in Havre de Grace began with Stage Stop service while we were still colonies in 1774. In 1777 John Rodgers was recognized as our Postmaster. Read more in our blog post.
Eps 11 Havre de Grace History through Vintage Postcards
Vintage postcards can give us a wonderful view of history. Our ‘casual historian’ at Bahoukas has an amazing collection of Havre de Grace postcards to share our story.
Eps 12 Part 1 of 3 Gathering the Details
Gathering the details of local history is a challenge with many twists and turns. Addresses for the same building may change. Dates confused. Enjoy Part 1 of 3 as our ‘casual historian’ shares his adventures.
Eps 12 Part 2 of 3 Gathering the Details
Part 2 shares resources like Phone Directories, various books about Havre de Grace, and more. The more resources the better the details…usually! Sometimes it adds confusion!
Esp 12 Part 3 of 3 Gathering the Details
In our final post of Eps 12, we share the unique places you might find details for your local history search. Join our ‘casual historian’ of Havre de Grace!
Eps 13 Brief History of Havre de Grace Bottles
A good deal can be learned about industries of old when studying vintage bottles of Havre de Grace. Dairies, distilleries, breweries, and pharmacies are just a few mentioned in this post.
Eps 14 Collector Plates Offer Intriguing Details
When researching local history, one doesn’t usually think too much about collector plates. But intriguing info can often be found on these. Listen to George, our ‘casual historian’
Eps 15 Havre de Grace Seafood Festivals
Havre de Grace has offered great food and music at her Seafood Festivals since 1980. Learn a bit more from our HdG casual historian!
Eps 16 Fun and Games at the Hatem Store
The Hatem Store in Havre de Grace (later called the House of Bargains) offered some interesting game machines from the 1930s to the early 1960s.
Eps 17 Canning Labels and Stencils
Many love collecting canning labels. Our casual historian talks about Havre de Grace labels and stencils used for painting boxes. Check us out!
Eps 18 Canning and Merchant Tokens
The use of canning and merchant tokens has a long history. In Havre de Grace, canneries gave tokens to their workers that could be used to buy goods or receive pay. Merchants also used them to encourage your return to their store.
Eps 19 Harry Jones – HdG Warrior
Gathering local history is much more interesting when we receive surprise packages in the mail. See what Harry Jones sent us from Florida recently!
Eps 20 First Responders of Havre de Grace
Havre de Grace’s First Responders play a most important role in our city’s safety. Our ‘casual historian’ shares the beginnings of his collection of patches and badges.
Eps 21 The Measure of Havre de Grace
Our episode looks at the measure of Havre de Grace through yardsticks and rulers – a fun collectible offering a bit of local history. Join our ‘casual historian’ at Bahoukas!
Eps 22 Havre de Grace Banks and Banknotes
Did you know that First National Bank of Havre de Grace printed its own currency for 53 years? Did you ever receive a bank when you opened an account at a local bank as a youngster? Listen to our ‘casual historian’ share a bit of his collection.
Eps 23 Have de Grace Funeral Home Oddities
Our ‘casual historian’ shares a few items from his funeral home collections. It’s interesting how many people are intrigued by such items. Visit George at Bahoukas and browse his Havre de Grace History MuZeum section.
Eps 24 Havre de Grace Hi-Steppers
The Havre de Grace Hi-Steppers was a Drum and Majorette Corps sponsored by the Havre de Grace American Legion – Jos. L. Davis Post 47. We’re still gathering information. Do you have any to share?
The first of the Havre de Grace Stories podcasts is now on our Bahoukas History MuZeum site. Our first interview is with the late Noble Mentzer.
Eps 25 Havre de Grace Smoking Ephemera
Smoking Ephemera can actually give us details about local businesses. Advertising on matchbook covers and ashtrays was very popular for decades.
Eps 26 HdG Coca Cola Bottling Plant
Col. Hebditch, J. Cecil Sale, Sr. and the Coca-Cola plant have a long history in Havre de Grace. But do you know about Capt. Hiram Stanley? Read a little more and enjoy local history with our ‘Casual Historian.’
Cecil Hill, Sr. (b) 8/10/1940 interviewed 2016: One of the exciting aspects of getting these interviews is that you always learn something unique about a person. Cecil loved growing up in Havre de Grace and really enjoys sharing the highlights from his childhood. His…
Eps 27 Local Campaign Buttons and more
With City of Havre de Grace elections coming up this May, we thought it was the perfect time to share a bit of the political campaign memorabilia of our ‘casual historian’
Eps 28 Havre Iron Co. – Iron Works
Sometimes dates and ownership can be a challenge. The history of Havre Iron Co. and A.P. McCombs is a good example. We’ll try to explain!
