Digger listened to Uncle Benjamin's stories and acquired her nickname while helping him plant flowers at family graves. She looks forward to spending time with him after busted pipes put her kitchen ceiling on the floor. She didn't expect to find his body at his mountain home, the Ancestral Sanctuary. Who would kill the parsimonious octogenarian who helped the historical society find a new abode? And what will digging into family history tell Digger and her cousin, Franklin, about Benjamin's killer? Spooky times in the Western Maryland Mountains.

LARGE PRINT. Digger Browning looked forward to spending time with Uncle Benjamin after damaged pipes put her kitchen ceiling on the floor. She didn't expect to find his body at his Western Maryland home, the Ancestral Sanctuary. Who would kill the parsimonious octogenarian? Sure, some people were mad about him pushing the historical society to find a new abode, but they got over it, right? And then she finds out he had a new 'foxy lady,' and she's not his usual type. Antsy before the funeral, Digger delves into family history, but makes an unexpected find. Between trying to figure out who keeps breaking into the Ancestral Sanctuary, avoiding an ex-boyfriend, putting up with cranky relatives, figuring out who busted her pipes, and losing her job, it's a rough week. If she doesn't watch out, Digger could end up next to Uncle Benjamin in the family plot. Spooky times in the Western Maryland mountains.

Model Airplanes are Decadent and Depraved tells the story of the American glue-sniffing epidemic of the 1960s, from the first reports of use to the unsuccessful crusade for federal legislation in the early 1970s. The human obsession with inhalation for intoxication has deep roots, from the oracle at Delphi to Judaic biblical ritual. The discovery of nitrous oxide, ether, and chloroform in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and the later development of paint thinners, varnishes, lighter fluid, polishes, and dry-cleaning supplies provided a variety of publicly available products with organic solvents that could be inhaled for some range of hallucinogenic or intoxicating effect. Model airplane glue was one of those products, but did not appear in warnings until the first reports of problematic behavior appeared in 1959, when children in several western cities were arrested for delinquency after huffing glue. Newspaper coverage both provided the initial shot across the bow for research into the subject and convinced children to give it a try. This "epidemic" quickly spread throughout the nation and the world. Though the hobby industry began putting an irritant in its model glue products in 1969 to make them less desirable to sniff, that wasn't what stopped the epidemic. Just as quickly as it erupted, the epidemic stopped when the media coverage and public hysteria stopped, making it one of the most unique epidemics in American history. The nation's focus drifted from adolescent glue sniffing to the countercultural student movement, with its attendant devotion to drug use, opposition to the Vietnam War, southern race policies, and anti-bureaucracy in general. This movement came to embody a tumultuous era fraught with violence, civil disobedience, and massive sea changes in American life and law—glue sniffing faded by comparison.

The family history mysteries by Elaine L. Orr take you to Western Maryland' Mountains. Explore life today with Digger, a local graphics artist who has a knack for discovering things others might want to stay hidden. Starting with Book 2, she gets perspective from her late Uncle Benjamin, who reappeared on her kitchen table soon after the last shovel of dirt fell onto his grave. His advice can be helpful, annoying, or witty - it depends on whether you want to hear it. Get introduced to the series with Least Trodden Ground, The Unscheduled Murder Trip, and Mountain Rails of Old. Reviews of the Series Least Trodden Ground Least Trodden Ground hits all the notes! It has every element I want in a cozy mystery and presents them so well that I ordered book 2 when I was only half way through reading this one. Intelligent, likeable characters with a good sense of humor and good hearts paired well with a strong plot that kept me reading from beginning to end non-stop! The Unscheduled Murder Trip Elaine Orr's new series has a couple of neat twists in it. No cupcake bakers or dog groomers here; instead, Digger's hobby interest is family genealogy. Of course, then there's bound to be skeletons in the closets. Add in a ghost and you've got the makings of a fun new cozy series. "Unscheduled Murder Trip" mixes an old mystery with some feisty present day descendants and a few contemporaries. A fun read! Mountain Rails of Old I recommend the Family History Series, which is Elaine's most ambitious: She's channeling a spirit in addition to her always interesting living characters. I love how she brings the town and all the characters to life (even the ghost!) It's fun to learn about this corner of Maryland, fun to play genealogy detective, and fun to figure out "whodunit"!

Contains the first printing of Sartor resartus, as well as other works by Thomas Carlyle.