Welcome
Anthony (Tony) Puzzilla is a graduate of Syracuse University, receiving a master’s degree in economics. He retired from the federal government in 2009 after 43 years of distinguished service. During his government years, his work focused on disaster preparation, response, and recovery, in collaboration with the Departments of Energy and Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He is now a full-time writer and lecturer focusing on trains and railroads, as well as motion pictures, the Civil War, and local La Plata, Maryland, history.
Mr. Puzzilla is an active member of the Planning Committee of the National Hurricane Conference. On April 24, 2019, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award at the 2019 National Hurricane Conference for his “dedicated and long service, from 1980-2009, in supporting the deployment of energy personnel and assets to Presidentially Declared disasters.”
He is a member of The Historical Society of Charles County and an active participant in several working committees of the La Plata Historic Preservation Committee.
New Book
Thirteen White Roses: The Tornado of November 9, 1926
The devastating F4 tornado that struck the small town of La Plata, Maryland, on November 9, 1926, was the deadliest tornado recorded in the state. It killed 13 children attending an elementary school and two adults in a nearby home. The story of La Plata's grief reached an international audience. Papers in virtually every U.S. state and territory, as well as in Canada, England, and even Australia, carried the story. Despite the severity and strength of this tornado, the disaster could not equal the sheer determination and resilience of the people of the Town of La Plata, who pulled together to meet the crisis, share the pain of loss and then rise from the depths of despair to rebuild their beloved town, turning their renewed hope for the future into a victory of the human spirit.
