Lake Erie

When you know the answers to these questions, go to www.4Kids.org/detectives/ When was the 50th anniversary of Hoover Dam? (Go to www.hooverdam.com/index.html to find out.) How much sunlight touches the rain forest floor? What did a lantern on a hitching post mean to slaves? FREEDOM ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD During America's dark chapter of slavery, there was one bright light indeed: the Underground Railroad, an escape route for slaves who wanted to start a new life. Now you can learn what it was like to risk life and limb in the quest for freedom.

Nathaniel M. Pigman Jr., a retired statistician and teacher, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure Oct. 15 at the Gilchrist Hospice Care in Columbia. He was 92 and had lived in Columbia and Edgewater. Born in Bremerton, Wash., he moved with his father, who served in the Navy, throughout the Pacific area as a child. He earned a bachelor of arts at the University of Virginia, where he also attended law school and was admitted to the Virginia Bar. Family members said he never practiced.

A crew of aging volunteer seafarers from Baltimore has sailed the restored Liberty ship John W. Brown into Toledo, Ohio, ahead of schedule and in fine shape after a voyage of 2,354 miles, the steamship's longest nonstop trip since World War II. "We're all here in one piece," chief mate Richard "Rick" Bauman Jr. said of the 58-year-old ship and its crew, men and women whose average age is 68. No one got sick on the trip, he reported, and injuries were...

The tundra swans have already flown south after a brief winter appearance on Chautauqua Lake, but winter enthusiasts are flocking to this idyllic southwestern corner of New York for skiing, ice fishing, sleigh rides and festivals. Though the 781-acre Chautauqua Institution on the shores of Chautauqua Lake is essentially a summer community, the institution welcomes guests year-round. The 127-year-old facility is a national historic district known for its artsy, intellectual summers. The institution was founded in 1874 as a summer study and conference center for liberal arts and religious instruction.

DETROIT -- Once more, with new depth of feeling, Detroit's leaders are pleading with its residents not to try to burn their city down on the night before Halloween.After being surprised and embarrassed by a surge in arson last year, the city is hoping to snuff the bizarre, heartbreaking ritual known as Devil's Night and substitute "Angel's Night," using curfews, dances for teen-agers, bans on containers of gasoline, and neighborhood patrols.Prompted, they say, by reawakening pride in a reawakening city and by the lessons of the Million Man March, some 25,000 volunteers have responded to the city's call for help, and the list is expected to grow.

Canadian publisher gets offerRogers Communications, Canada's largest cable company, ended a week of speculation yesterday and launched a $2.1 billion (U.S.) cash bid for publisher Maclean Hunter Ltd.As a sweetener to the $12.75 per share offer, Rogers also offered Maclean Hunter shareholders part of anything over $1.1 billion it gets from the planned sale of Maclean Hunter's U.S. cable television operations.But Rogers could face a struggle with Maclean Hunter's board, which implemented a shareholder-rights protection plan in 1989, allowing only a "permitted" bid or a negotiated offer.

Major League Lacrosse Bayhawks fall victim to late comeback, lose at Charlotte, 13-12 The expansion Charlotte Hounds handed the visiting Chesapeake Bayhawks their first loss since May 12 on Saturday night, coming from behind to win, 13-12. Leading by three with just under six minutes to play, the Bayhawks (7-2), who remain in first place despite the setback, fell apart on the defensive end. The Hounds pulled to within 12-11 on back-to-back unassisted goals from Matt Danowski . Jeff Reynolds (Calvert Hall, Maryland)

Priscilla Ann Roehmer, a barbershop-style singer who enjoyed square-dancing, died Jan. 17 at Lynn House of Potomac Valley, a nursing facility in Alexandria, Va. She was 72. The cause of death was not disclosed. Priscilla Ann Mather was born and raised in Lexington, Mass., said her daughter, Alison Gabis of Fallston. She met her first husband - and the father of her four children - during her years at Ohio's Lake Erie College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English, Mrs. Gabis said.

William L. Theobald, the founder and former president of Maryland Business Forms Inc., died of cancer Friday at his son's home in Owings Mills. He was 81. Born in Cleveland, Mr. Theobald attended Ohio State University before joining the Army in 1943 during World War II. He trained as a cadet pilot before being assigned to field medical service. He was sent to England to attend a rehabilitation school and then later was assigned to the 198th General Hospital in Paris, where he established and operated a rehabilitation center.

The volunteers: Diana Smith, her husband, Donald Kintzing, and son Luke Kappers help run the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Save The Bay Shop.They arrived in Annapolis two years ago from suburban Cleveland, on the shores of Lake Erie, bringing with them an interest in preserving the environment and the body of water they live near.A year later, Ms. Smith and Mr. Kintzing shared the store's volunteer of the year award. Luke, a senior at St. Mary's High School, works at the shop and volunteers for Pets on Wheels, visiting Ginger Cove nursing home patients.