Tune in to Maryland Public Television’s
Outdoors Maryland
Produced in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources
The Best Days of Our Lives
The Centennial of
Maryland State Forest and Parks
Tuesday, Nov. 14th at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 18th at 5:50 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.
The Best Days of Our Lives: The Centennial of Maryland State Forest and Parksis a
half-hour Outdoors Maryland special that celebrates the development of
State Forests and Parks in Maryland from 1906 to the 2006, the centennial of
their founding. Presented in three parts, the saga unfolds in major eras,
colorful characters, and pivotal events. Through candid interviews with
descendants of historic figures, with foresters who have blazed new paths, and
with master storytellers steeped in living history and legend – The Best Days
of Our Lives illuminates the progress of the last hundred years. During
this time, Maryland landscapes evolved from ravaged forests east and west to
nearly 500,000 acres of managed public lands today – a state where no citizen
travels more than 20 miles from home to find a state park or forest. Historic
photographs from private and public archives and high-definition digital
videography illuminate the journey which is uniquely Maryland’s – and yet
resonates with the story of public land conservation in our nation. Premiering Tuesday, Nov. 14th at
7:30 p.m. & also airing on Saturday, Nov. 18th at 5:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on MPT's Outdoors Maryland.
The "Suspender Brigade at Harrington Manor -
Resident Wardens Conference: Wardens Sines, O'Keefe and Marin, 1932, photo
by Fred W. Besley
Laurel Run, Patapsco State Park, photo by Fred W. Besley
Resident Wardens Martin, Marin, Buckingham, Lohr, O'Keefe,
Sines, and Fred W. Besley at Herrington Manor, July 1932, photo by K.E.
Pieffer. Identity of one of these gentleman is unknown.
Fred W. Besley taking photographs at dedication of Paw Paw
Shelter, 1942, photograph courtesy of Maryland Mountain Club.
The Best Days of Our Lives: The Centennial of Maryland State Forest and Parks
is a
half-hour Outdoors Maryland special that celebrates the development of
State Forests and Parks in Maryland from 1906 to the 2006, the centennial of
their founding. Presented in three parts, the saga unfolds in major eras,
colorful characters, and pivotal events. Through candid interviews with
descendants of historic figures, with foresters who have blazed new paths, and
with master storytellers steeped in living history and legend – The Best Days
of Our Lives illuminates the progress of the last hundred years. During
this time, Maryland landscapes evolved from ravaged forests east and west to
nearly 500,000 acres of managed public lands today – a state where no citizen
travels more than 20 miles from home to find a state park or forest. Historic
photographs from private and public archives and high-definition digital
videography illuminate the journey which is uniquely Maryland’s – and yet
resonates with the story of public land conservation in our nation. Premiering Tuesday, Nov. 14th at
7:30 p.m. & also airing on Saturday, Nov. 18th at 5:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on MPT's Outdoors Maryland.
Centennial Home