Join us at the Grantsville Library on Monday, July 21st from 6-8 pm as author Len Shindel discusses his new book The Strike That Changed Maryland’s Wilderness County. Learn how the strikers held out so long, and how Shindel later led efforts to win a historic road marker to commemorate the event.
Len Shindel began working at Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point Plant in 1973, where he was a union activist and elected representative in local unions of the United Steelworkers. He frequently published newsletters about issues confronting his co-workers. His nonfiction and poetry have been featured in numerous publications. After leaving Sparrows Point in 2002 after Bethlehem’s bankruptcy, Shindel, a father of three and grandfather of seven, began working as a communication specialist for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) in Washington, D.C. The International Labor Communications Association frequently awarded his writing. He retired from the IBEW in 2014 and moved to Garrett County. After relocating, Shindel led efforts to win a state historic road marker commemorating the Garrett County Road Workers Strike of 1970. In 2025, he published “The Strike that Changed Maryland’s Wilderness County.” Information, photos and interviews about the strike can be reviewed at www.garrettroadstrike.com. A master naturalist at Deep Creek State Park, Shindel enjoys writing, cross-country skiing, kayaking, hiking, and fighting for a more peaceful, sustainable and safe world for his grandchildren and their generation.