New Book Gives Historical Details of a 40-Year Career in the Defense Industry of Northern Maryland

Toivo “Whitey” Puro spent 40 years as a munitions designer in the defense industry of Northern Maryland. He will be returning to the region for two very special events on February 24^th, 2006 at the Historical Society of Cecil County, 135 East Main Street, Elkton. The first event, at 4:30 PM, is the presentation of a formal thank-you from the US government for a patriotic wartime deed, to be presented by Virginia Sanders, District Representative for U.S. Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest (R-Maryland-1st). The second event is a formal book signing, at 5:00 PM, for the author’s new book Nerve Gas – the Quiet Peacekeeper, which details his experiences in the defense industry during both WWII and the Cold War (Glenn L. Martin aircraft factory, Middle River, Baltimore County, 1939 – 1941; Triumph Explosives, Elkton, Cecil County, 1941 – 1945; Edgewood Arsenal, Edgewood, Harford County, 1945 – 1977). A more informal book signing and chat will also be held at the Historical Society, from 12:00 to 1:00 PM on the same day. Refreshments will be served.

While working as an engineer at Triumph Explosives, the author was asked by representatives of the US government to sign over ownership of a local hilltop (Black Hill at Elk Neck) which had been given to him by his father, so that they could build a radar tower there. Out of patriotism he readily agreed and completed the necessary paperwork, but he never received the token payment of $1 which had been promised to him. This oversight was recently discovered by members of the Elk Neck Trails Club and the Cecil Forest Conservancy District Board, and Representative Gilchrest agreed that a formal acknowledgement of this patriotic act was in order. The First National Bank of North East will be providing an Eisenhower silver dollar for the occasion.

The author is a first generation Finnish-American, born in Wisconsin in 1912. In 1914 his parents brought their young family to Cecil County, where his father started work in the Russell clay pits on Wells Camp Road. The family eventually moved into a very comfortable log home which the author’s father built with his own hands from logs harvested from his own land. Although he spoke no English when he entered the first grade at the one-room Marion schoolhouse, the author learned quickly, became the valedictorian for his class at North East High School, and won a full-paid scholarship to Western Maryland College, from which he was graduated with a degree in the sciences.

The book gives us wonderful historical insights into the inner workings of our local munitions plants, from the point of view of an engineer who worked his way up through the ranks, designing products and overseeing both their manufacture and their eventual destruction. As the title implies, the book culminates in a detailed discussion of the author’s experiences at Edgewood Arsenal with weapons employing nerve gas agents – his aim is to dispel the many popular misconceptions about this class of weapon and the current plans to destroy our nation’s remaining stockpiles and replace them with new weapons. The Historical Society of Cecil County is pleased to have been able to assist the author in his research for this book, through their extensive collection of resources related to local industries.