Christopher Anderson/The Gazette George McCeney, who was born and raised in Laurel, plays guitar and sings Sept. 8 at the Laurel Museum's annual Singing Laurel's History event.

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Christopher Anderson/The Gazette Peter Norton (right), 18, and his 15-year-old brother Paul, both of Laurel, perform a song Sep. 8 at the Laurel Museum's annual Singing Laurel's History event.
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Christopher Anderson/The Gazette George McCeney, who was born and raised in Laurel, plays guitar and sings Sept. 8 at the Laurel Museum's annual Singing Laurel's History event.

Christopher Anderson/The Gazette George McCeney, who was born and raised in Laurel, plays guitar and sings Sept. 8 at the Laurel Museum's annual Singing Laurel's History event.

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Laurel native George McCeney is a different kind of historian.

Instead of using artifacts or research papers to tell the story of Laurel's past, he uses the rhythmic, staccato strumming of his folk guitar to recount his past experiences in the city and its history through song.

The lifelong musician performed for a group of about 30 residents Sept. 8 in the Laurel Historical Society’s third annual Singing Laurel’s History event. His songs tell stories of Laurel’s Old Baltimore Road and Ohio Railroad and the mill workers that helped build the city, touching on topics than run the gamut from love to immigration.

“I just like playing for people and telling stories like they were told to me, and trying to get people interested in Laurel,” said McCeney, 72.

He said Laurel’s mill and railroad history has always interested him.

In 2008, the Laurel Historical Society approached McCeney to headline the event because his family members, who still live in Laurel, mentioned that he played guitar.

“I just kind of said why don't we have something outdoors and informal,” said Laurel Museum's executive director Lindsey Baker. “A lot of times the historical exhibits have either written documents are objects so we thought it would be nice to have something different.”

This year the event was held indoors at the Municipal Pool instead of on the museum's lawn because of Thursday’s heavy rains, which contributed to a lower turnout. There were 40 people in 2008 and 65 in 2010, Baker said. The event has been held at 6 p.m. every year.

In 2009 the Historical Society did not hold the Singing Laurel's History event.

“I never saw it as a recurring event the first year,” Baker said. “But last year we decided to bring it back because we had a lot of informal feedback from people saying they wanted it back.”

Laurel resident Barbara Hughes first saw McCeney perform in 2008.

“I saw him and liked it so much I told him he had to come back,” Hughes said. “I liked the little stories he told in between each song.”

One such story is one McCeney told about his childhood fascination in the 1950s with the trains that ran through the B&O Railroad station, now the site of the MARC train station on Main Street.

“There was a steam engine that used to come through called the Royal Blue,” said McCeney, who lived on Main Street for 28 years. “I used to get so excited to watch that liner come through. Back then you could call the B&O and get a train to stop by Laurel on the way to Chicago. Now you're lucky if you can get one to [Washington] D.C.”

McCeney wrote and performed a song about the railroad is called “Depot Blues.” The song tells the story of a 19-year-old McCeney dropping off his girlfriend at Laurel’s B&O Train Station to return to Detroit.

“I don’t think there are many songs about Laurel. The only ones I know are the ones I have written,” McCeney said. “This one is just about watching your girlfriend get on the train. It's about separation.”

McCeney’s niece, Margie McCeney, said that song is one of her favorites.

“The old B&O railroad was here for more than 100 years,” she said. “[It] has been pretty significant in town and that makes it relevant to the historical society. And of course I'm always happy to see my uncle perform.”

McCeney also performed several Irish folk tunes, which he said are close to his heart because of his Irish ancestry. But one in particular, “Filimeoreay,” reminds him of Laurel and the immigrant mill workers who helped build the city in the 1870s.

“The mills in Laurel are one thing I often think about in connection with Laurel. The Avondale Mill is still around and there was an old mill on the grounds of Laurel Elementary School,” McCeney said. “Life in those mills was anything but pleasant.”

He likened the struggles of Laurel’s mill workers to those of Irish immigrant railroad workers in the 1840s.

The audience sang along with him “Filimioreay, working on the railway!”

McCeney said he will continue to sing Laurel's history in coming years, and Baker said she will continue the event as long as he is willing.

“I never thought of myself as an elder storyteller but that's where I find myself now. People like to hear stories, and music is a reflection of life,” McCeney said. “I'm going to write a lot more songs about Laurel.”

cokparanta@gazette.net