Calarco, Tom P. 1951-

PERSONAL:

Born September 15, 1951, in Schenectady, NY; son of Sylvester (an owner of a food business) and Lillian Patti Calarco; married Mary Ann Agresta, 1975 (divorced, 1978). Ethnicity: "Italian-American." Education: St. Bonaventure University, B.A., 1969; attended State University of New York at Albany, 1969-71; Iowa State University, M.A., 1986. Politics: "Registered Democrat." Hobbies and other interests: Basketball.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Cincinnati, OH. E-mail—tomcalarco@adelphia.net.

CAREER:

Fulton-Montgomery Community College, Johnstown, NY, instructor in English, 1988-90; Chronicle, Glenn Falls, NY, feature writer and reviewer, 1994-2000; Travels thru History (tour company), Schenectady, NY, director, 2002-05; Rasmussen College, Minnetonka, MN, online instructor, 2005—. Luzerne Music Center, public relations director, 1995-2000.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Emily McMasters Prize for History Writing, Clinton County Historical Association, 2000, for a paper titled "The Underground Railroad in Clinton County."

WRITINGS:

Hi-doh Hi-dee Ha Ha (young adult fantasy), illustrated by Erik McKenny, Nordel Publishing (Clifton Park, NY), 1996.

The Underground Railroad Conductor, Travels thru History (Schenectady, NY), 2003.

The Underground Railroad in the Adirondack Region, McFarland (Jefferson, NC), 2004.

(Editor) Abel Brown, Abolitionist (reprint), McFarland (Jefferson, NC), 2006.

Feature writer, Northeast Antiques Journal, 2002—. Contributor to other magazines, including New England Antiques Journal.

SIDELIGHTS:

Tom P. Calarco told CA: "My major contribution as a writer has been in the area of local history. I have written two books about the Underground Railroad in upstate New York and more than twenty articles and papers about the legendary network. I also edited and annotated a third book on abolitionist Abel Brown, a reprint of the 1849 memoir of Brown by his widow, which was also published in 2006. I brought Brown to the attention of antebellum historians in 1999 at a conference on New York state history, after learning about the forgotten memoir during my research.

"I also wrote a young adult fantasy, Hi-doh Hi-dee Ha Ha, which might be described as a twenty-first-century Wizard of Oz. It is a whimsical story filled with word play and satirical humor."