Richard Friend

Richard Friend is a graphic designer, local historian, author, and co-founder of The Laurel History Boys, Inc. He created Lost Laurel and curates its website and Facebook community of more than 8,000 followers. He serves as publisher, editor, and designer of the quarterly newspaper Voices of Laurel, writing and producing each issue in collaboration with its community contributors.

Friend is the author of Lost Laurel, which received the Prince George's County Historical Society's 2015 St. George's Day Award, presented annually to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to preserving the county's history.

In 2024, Friend received a second St. George's Day Award alongside co-authors Kevin Leonard and Jeff Krulik for co-writing and designing Capital Centre: A Retrospective. The book is part of the permanent collection of the Library of Congress.

A former member of the Laurel Historical Society's Board of Directors and Executive Committee, Friend donated the design work for five consecutive annual museum exhibits and numerous other programs, earning the organization's Volunteer of the Year Award in 2015. He also produced the Lost Laurel video series for Laurel TV, exploring a variety of local history topics.

In 2019, Friend designed and published Postmark Laurel, a 280-page collection of historic postcards chronicling Laurel's history from the early 1900s through the 1990s. He also designed Laurel at 150, which he co-authored with Kevin Leonard to commemorate the city's sesquicentennial in 2020.

His work appears regularly in Voices of Laurel, where he continues to document the people, places, events, and stories that have shaped the Laurel community. Through The Laurel History Boys and Lost Laurel, he also works to preserve and share photographs, documents, memories, and other pieces of local history contributed by the community.

He can be reached at richard_friend@mac.com.

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Dude, Where's My Library?

The changing character of the Laurel Branch—through the eyes of a former employee

This Was No Joyride

A 1958 carjacking took one Laurel couple on a strange and terrifying trip.

The Wellford Murder

A 1958 carjacking took one Laurel couple on a strange and terrifying trip.

Bandana Patty

A life of bars and cars in the heyday of Laurel's honkytonks

The Body in the Blue Building

More than twenty years later, conspiracies linger in one of Laurel's most mysterious deaths.

The Hargis Murders

A horrific event rocked the quiet, then-new neighborhood of Fox Rest Woods in 1965 when the estranged wife of a U.S. Representative took the lives of their four children.

The Murder of Audrey Blaisdell

In 1973, young Audrey Blaisdell disappeared during a family bowling night at Fair Lanes Laurel.

The Safeway Murder

The senseless 1973 robbery and murder of Safeway employee Edie Miles shocked the community.

The Empty Lot on Cokeland South

A violent act in 1978 left a mark on Maryland City, both literally and figuratively

Windy

In 2016, we were touched by the tragic loss of one of our favorite people—Tastee Diner waitress Windy Floyd.

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Where the Streets Have ... Names

Discovering the origins of Laurel's street names

History at the Boarding House

The old building at 41 B Street had 40 rooms, a bad reputation, and countless stories.

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The Unluckiest Street Corner
in Laurel?

Main Street has a few recurring themes of tragedy from block to block—namely fires and suicides through the years—but nothing comes close to the bizarre history of the corner of Sixth & Main.