Month: January 2021

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

From the moment Governor Larry Hogan announced major closures across the state to limit the spread of COVID-19 on March 12, Anne Arundel County residents took to the Baltimore Annapolis Trail Park in droves for exercise and a healthy release from being confined in their homes. Mild weather, from late March into spring and summer, spurred uncommonly heavy trail use.

“We definitely got a lot more people during last summer than we did during the ten years leading up to it,” said B&A Trail Park Ranger Matthew Vorce. “It was a pretty wild summer. A huge increase in visitors – more that I thought we’d ever get. Of course, visitation has died down a little since it’s gotten colder”

Vorce added that Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman was adamant about keeping the parks open so people would have a place to exercise. Since nothing else was open for months, all the parks were and remain continuously busy.

For cyclists and runners, who found their annual events and marathons cancelled, the trail has provided a way to keep on training. For families, it’s a form of entertainment and exercise that parents and children can enjoy together. For one and all, it’s an opportunity to enjoy the B&A Trail’s many treasures.

Gardening enthusiasts can view 70 volunteer-maintained planter beds coordinated by Becky Ziegler of the Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails. In early spring, volunteer gardeners can be seen clearing and preparing the beds that later blossom into picturesque gardens. By summer, they’re at their peak and attracting birds, bees and butterflies .

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There are even specially designed bee and butterfly habitats like one created by Scott Jacovic and son Tsedeke. The high-rise bee house they constructed attracts both mason and leaf-cutter bees that collect pollen. They also planted self-sustaining hardy perennials like coneflowers, asters, and flowering milkweed that are staged to bloom from late spring through summer to attract birds, butterflies and bees.

There’s always lots to see including a circa 1919 Severna Park Railroad Station overlooking the trail where the tracks of the Annapolis & Baltimore Short Line Railroad once stood (now a model railroad museum). Nearby, there’ s an original rail crossing sign at Riggs Avenue. Two other historic sites associated with trains exist on the Severna Park part of the trail.

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The 108-year-old Baltimore Annapolis Railroad Powerhouse building is now home to Ann Arundell Historical Society’s Shop at Jones Station. Erected in 1907 as a midpoint electrical substation between Baltimore and Annapolis, it,channeled 22,000 volts of current through three 300-kilowatt transformers to lower it to 6,600 volts and feed it directly to overhead lines. In 1933, the former powerhouse became an ice house for Miss Etta’s Store & Rustic Inn and later for the Wagon Wheels restaurant. Briefly the building housed the historic society’s headquarters before moving to the Benson Hammond House in Linthicum. It subsequently became a Browse & Buy Shop. In 2015,, the Shop at Jones Station opened and sells gifts but is also a historic museum for local artifacts. For information, visit www.aachs.org.

Now serving as the Baltimore Annapolis Trail Park Ranger Station and B&A Rail Museum, another landmark building at 51 West Earleigh Heights Road was built in 1889 as a general store overlooking the tracks.

The history of the railroad displayed inside is fascinating while, outside, the surrounding marsh is a wildlife refuge where red wing blackbirds and other colorful species of birds are a delight for birdwatchers.

An abundance of Olde Severna Park shops back right onto the trail. There are several where exercisers can buy a warm or cool beverage or a snack including The Big Bean Coffee Shop, Sofi’s Crepes, and The Froyo House among others. It’s also the spot where the back entrance to Pedal Pushers bike shop is located – a shop that’s seen sales soar by leaps and bounds throughout the pandemic.

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Pedal Pushers owner Rod Reddish noted that his shop was deemed “essential” and, thus, able to stay open throughout the pandemic.

“We’ve been super busy,” Reddish said. “From March 15 on, people couldn’t do anything else so riding bikes became extremely popular. It’s been crazy actually, almost weird. We ran out of stock in the summer and again near the holiday shopping season.”

He added that all the bicycle companies ran out of stock so local shops had nothing to sell for a while. He said Pedal Pushers has been in business 32 years and he’s seen trail visitation up and down “but never quite like this”.

To learn more about the pleasures of the Baltimore Annapolis Trail Park, visit B&A Trail | Anne Arundel County, MD (aacounty.org)

Director Jennifer Lee Kraus reports that Theater in the Park plans to hop inside a time machine and go back in time as it holds its Musical Theater Workshop for kids ages 5-15. She notes that they’re keeping the “in person” classes to 10 children. They’ll follow all safety protocols – small classes, masks, and social distancing – while still having fun and performing. Classes will be held at Severna Park Community Center on Saturday mornings starting Feb 6th. There will be a live performance on April 24 but it’s not yet been determined whether the audience will be parents only or can be expanded. To register, or for information, visit www.facebook.com/TheaterinthePark.spcc or call 4109-212-1018.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Hearing pure joy in the voices of staffers from the Child Protective Services of Sutton, West Virginia made the trip volunteers Steve and Linda Zahn began six hours earlier totally worth it. They’d just delivered a donation of 500 boxes of winter clothing from Orphan Grain Train.

“West Virginia, here we come,” Linda had thought as she climbed into the passenger seat of the largest truck Orphan Grain Train was able to rent. Behind the wheel, husband Steve put pedal to the metal and they were off.

A large truck was necessary because the one owned by Orphan Grain Train wasn’t big enough to accommodate the 500 boxes of clothes and an additional 250 coats they were transporting.

The Maryland branch of Orphan Grain Train – a Christian volunteer network that ships donated food, clothing, medical and other items to people in need nationally and internationally – is located at 621 East West Boulevard in Millersville. Initially slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic because they couldn’t come into the warehouse, volunteers quickly switched to making masks, scrub caps and headbands for nurses from their homes.

Soon, the non-profit resumed accepting donations from individuals in the community, consignment stores or shops and major businesses. (Most recently, they received handmade blankets, children’s toys and books through a Passport To Serve outreach program of the Anne Arundel County Chick-fil-A’s.) All donations are quarantined and sanitized in OGT’s warehouse using social distancing protocols.

Realizing that the warehouse now had an ample supply of winter clothing to donate, the Zahns volunteered to head a project to find an in-country recipient – preferably one in an economically deprived area. Following their research and a few phone calls, the couple settled on donating the clothing to the Child Protective Services in Sutton, West Virginia which serves the districts of Braxton County, Lewis County and Upshur County.

Sutton, a town of 940 people, is the Braxton county seat. According to the 2010 census, the county is home to 14,702 people with 22% of the population below the poverty line. The surrounding counties of Lewis and Upshur have similar demographics.

Child Protective Services representative Cathy George said the agency serves children from birth to 18 years of age. Having expressed the agency’s gratitude for being chosen a recipient, George made arrangements to receive the shipment at Braxton County High School.

Crossing from Maryland into West Virginia was encouraging because it meant the Zahns were two-thirds of the way to their destination.

Pulling up next to Braxton High School to unload their cargo, they were met by six staff members from the Child Protective Services of Braxton County. Luckily, the school had donated a room in which to stow the large shipment.

“The staff was thrilled to see us,” Linda reported. “They said nothing like this had ever happened to them.”

They all pitched in at once but there was a tremendous amount to unload. Shuttling it inside and stacking it was yet another matter. One of the best things about the shipment is that the clothing arrived in time for Christmas.

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International projects like the South Sudan effort are an OGT hallmark. However, there is currently considerable need domestically. The Zahns believe the charity should devote more time and resources to communities nearer home, particularly since the cost of shipping donations internationally has risen dramatically to thousands of dollars.

“It would also be good to attract some younger volunteers like those from Annapolis Christian School who help us out while earning service learning points,” Linda Zahn said. For information about the non-profit or to make a donation, visit Orphan Grain Train | Passporttoserve. or call (410) 647-1621.

Garry’s Grill plans a “Polar Bear Plunge” of a different sort

The polar bear was seen warming up in Eddie Conway’s living room for Garry’s Grill and Catering’s “Polar Bear Plunge” benefiting Special Olympics on Saturday, January 30 from 8 am till 4 pm.

The local business community is joining forces to give back for the community support they’ve received. Every hour, a different business will take over the Garry’s Grill Polar Bear Plunge Dunk Tank in a heated tent on the patio beside the restaurant. Conway will be in the tank for Garry’s Grill from 1 to 2 pm.

Some other businesses taking turns in the tank include Rita’s Italian Ice, The Big Bean, Mahon Landscaping, Kevin Gattie Financial, Landmark Roofing, Larry Sells Consulting, the Matt Wyble Real Estate Team, Savvy Consignment, Kaycie Quinones, Severna Park Lanes and Rockwell Fitness. Come out and support your favorites and try out your arm. You get 3 tries for $10 to send someone into the tank while raising money for Special Olympics

You can also click Check out Garry’s Grill’s team fundraising page for Special Olympics Maryland (somd.org) for another way to support Special Olympics.

Boy Scout Troop #192 sponsoring a Clothing Drive at Historic Baldwin Hall

Boy Scout Troop #192 is sponsoring a Clothing Drive to be held at Historic Baldwin Hall on Sunday, January 31 from noon till 3 pm. The scouts are requesting that people bring their donations of clean gently used clothing wrapped in white kitchen -sized trash bags. According to Janice Crowe, president of the Trustees of Historic Badwin Hall, boys and girls from the troop, which is a brand new one, will be on hand to collect the bags. For more information, email janice.a.crowe@comcast.net.

Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber Blood Drive

On Friday, January 29, the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber will host a blood drive at their offices at 1 Holly Avenue at 10 am. Anne Arundel Medical Center is bringing a mobile unit.  Chamber CEO Liz League said the organization will take a picture of each donor and post and tag their businesses on social media. For information visit Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce | Facebook.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

With just 15 minutes till closing time, the line of vehicles approaching the white tents in front of ACAN, Inc.’s food pantry finally slackened. Wearing their masks, volunteers Theodore Pack, Laura Chrystal, Furman Carr, Melody Pearson and Pat Rogers had carried box after box filled with lean meats, fresh produce, fruits, dairy and other items to the cars. No one would leave hungry and, best of all, they didn’t even have to get out of their cars.

Four Anne Arundel County police cars parked behind the building meant that officers from the Northern District at Brooklyn Park were also on hand to help.

Inside, ACAN’s executive director Margo Arnoux sat at her desk catching up with her never-ending paper work. Looking around the small office, which is cluttered with overflow food pantry supplies there’s no room for elsewhere, she reflected on the enormous changes ACAN experienced during 2020.

Shortly after launching the pantry’s COVID Pandemic Crisis Response last March, ACAN’s beloved director Janet Pack unexpectedly passed away. She’d suffered a massive heart attack. Arnoux, who had been her assistant, couldn’t have been more shocked or devastated.

“I’d been Janet’s right hand and we’d talk at least three times a day about what we were doing and how we could bring all these dreams she had to fruition. They would now be interrupted,” Arnoux said.

“I thought there was no way I could do this job without her. But then I heard her voice in the back of my mind saying ‘Baby girl, save your tears for somebody else. You need to keep feeding those people,’ and I knew we all had to keep going and realize her dreams. Janet had taught me so much that, in retrospect, it’s like she was preparing me to carry on pandemic or not. Ironically, the day after she died, we were offered funding by Arundel Community Development Services, Inc. (ACDS).”

ACAN has been providing healthy food for Anne Arundel County’s most vulnerable residents from their small building at 429 Asbury Drive for many years now. Unfortunately, with locked-down businesses and lost jobs and wages, the number of families the pantry serves has tripled. Because of COVID restrictions, the staff and volunteers abruptly changed the way they did things and geared up fast.

Prior to COVID, ACAN was an indoor self-choice pantry where customers could select the items they wanted to eat. Now, the staff and volunteers innovated a new drive-thru system, expanding into socially distanced tents and tables outside for food distribution. They also shifted to preparing grocery boxes that could safely be handed into customer’s cars.

Thanks to funding from ACDS and The CARES Act, (The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020), they were able to ramp up operations to provide food for approximately 2,000 individuals each month.

ACAN differs from some food pantries in that they are partners of The Maryland Food Bank. So, in addition to accepting donations from individuals and local supermarkets or through food drives by community organizations, churches and schools, they get a substantial amount of pantry items directly from The Maryland Food Bank for which they pay a minimal amount to cover handling and packaging.

“Because the food bank receives donations in bulk, they must maintain a staff to break them down into manageable quantities,” Arnoux said. “Frankly, there’s no way we, or other other partner agencies, could handle a donation of 7,000 pounds of chicken.”

ACAN picks up an average of 10,000 pounds of food every week from the Maryland Food Bank in Baltimore and various local grocery stores using two vans. By combining donations from a local Men’s Bible Study Group and a grant from the Maryland Food Bank, they purchased a Ford transit at the end of 2019. Also, CARES funding from ACDS made it possible to repair the charity’s “baby van”, purchased earlier in 2019 with donations from the Good Neighbors Group.

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ACAN has always been very open and welcoming to county residents needing food. All that is required from recipients is that they show a driver’s license proving that they are Anne Arundel County residents. Arnoux pointed out that it’s easier for first-time families hesitant or embarrassed about asking for help because they can just pull up in their cars, they are wearing their masks, and the volunteers are so welcoming.

“No one abuses the system. If you show up here, you need food,” Arnoux said.

When the food pantry was started 17 years ago by members of Asbury Church’s largely African American congregation, canned and dry goods were the primary donations they received and distributed. That changed when Janet Pack became director. She was aware that diabetes and heart disease were all too common in the African American community – in part because of poor nutrition. She was passionate about creating and maintaining a “healthy food pantry” and succeeded in finding ways to provide lean protein, fresh vegetables and fruit. She even taught classes on good nutrition.

Peeking around the door frame, police officer Sgt. Melanie Jamieson politely inquired if the volunteers would like help bringing supplies back in. According to Arnoux, it’s been great having the officers pitch in to help whenever they need it.

“We have a limited number of volunteers who are mostly older and we’d have had real trouble handling the task without their help,” Arnoux said.

Officer Jameison indicated it’s a labor of love for them.

“We do stuff throughout the county but we especially like helping ACAN because they have a lot of stuff going on here. We try to give them as much help as possible,” she said. “We love coming here. The atmosphere is amazing. Everybody is so nice and so gracious and seeing the reactions of the people who come here distraught but leave smiling just warms our hearts.”

The officers brought quite a few supplies before taking off and the dynamic group of volunteers began carrying in the rest. With most everything in, Pat Rogers and Melody Pearson checked open boxes while Theodore Pack disassembled the tents. They feed off each other’s energy and, by now, they have a very smooth and organized routine.

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Space was a big challenge before the pandemic but the pantry has been shifted around so there’s room to store everything in an orderly fashion. Having the tents has actually allowed ACAN to double usable space. Nevertheless, they give away as much as they can each day so they don’t have to find room for it.

With the work finally complete, Arnoux and the volunteers took a few moments to bask in the sun in front of their little building.

ACAN depends on support from the community and its businesses. There are several ways you can donate: by mail at 429 Asbury Drive, Severna Park, Md. 21146, online at AcanSevernaPark.org or text “give” to 443-233-0870.

Good Neighbors Group’s S(o)UPER BOWL FOOD DRIVE

ACAN is one of the groups that will benefit from the Good Neighbors Group’s 2021 S(o)UPER BOWL FOOD DRIVE that begins the Sunday before the Super Bowl and culminates on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s a fun competition between neighborhoods to collect as much food as they can to restock local food pantries at a time when their shelves may be bare. To join in the fun or for information, visit Home – Good Neighbors Group.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN By Sharon Lee Tegler

Severna Park’s newest bricks and mortar business, Peaceful Petals at 554 Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard, could best be described as bustling Wednesday afternoon. A line of women holding bouquets waited at the checkout counter, mothers and children picked out blooms together, and a soldier sought help selecting a bouquet for his wife’s birthday.

The moment new customers passed beneath the Peaceful Petals sign and entered the shop, they realized they were in for a different experience. Instead of buying a florist-designed arrangement, customers were free to choose a bloom here and a bloom there from buckets containing roses, tulips, mums, ranunculus, hydrangeas, lavender and other flowers plus greenery from a “flower bar” along the wall.

The shop’s personable owner Megan Taylor moved among the shoppers. Many were familiar to her as they’ve purchased flowers from her Peaceful Petals vintage flower truck over the past year.

Between refilling flower buckets, Taylor would stop to offer tips or answer questions….sometimes about the vintage 1958 VW Truck turned Peaceful Petals Flower Truck that became such a familiar part of the scenery along B&A Boulevard.

It would seem that “retail” is in Taylor’s blood.

As a child, my parents had a sporting goods store, so I’d say I’ve always had a small business spirit and an interest in having my own store!” Taylor said.

“I worked in retail at J.McLaughlin when I lived in New York City and there was always something special about connecting with the community by having a shop for people to come to. The flower truck was the ‘bud’ of that if you will, and it ‘bloomed’ into something bigger than I had expected.”

The dynamic young entrepreneur credits her flower truck’s success to the fact that many Severna Park residents “love an experience” and they also like to support small businesses. She’s very thankful. That said, she acknowledges the truck’s limited capacity.

“When we sold out, we’d have to close up shop. We’d get messages after we’d leave wherever we were that day from folks who missed out. That, coupled with a finicky 1958 engine and relying on good weather, led me to the store,” she said.

Taylor is delighted she can now be open rain or shine and refill the flower buckets from the shop cooler when they’ve sold out!

Indeed, the flowers available in the Peaceful Petals Flower Bar are superbly fresh because the temperature in the shop is kept slightly cooler than in neighboring businesses – a fact that is much appreciated by customers.

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Spotted happily picking out stems to complete her bouquet, regular customer Brooke Shivers said she loves that the flowers are always fresh and always in-season.

“Visiting here to buy a bouquet, I think, during these times is something that kind of brightens your day”, she said. “I’ve loved visiting the truck on a random Sunday but I’m proud Megan’s here now six days a week.”

Unlike other business owners, Taylor really didn’t have to research the market much before deciding to open a Severn Park bricks and mortar location.

“I had the pleasure of parking across the street from this shop for a year. The community started to get to know my brand so, when I heard that a spot was opening up, I knew I had to jump on it. I’ve gotten really close with the owners of other businesses in this strip and it just felt like the perfect match!,” she said.

She added that opening a business in Severna Park is expensive but really depends on the space and what was in there beforehand. The space Peaceful Petals jumped into (a former antiques store) required a lot of love and work to make it both Taylor’s style and functional. Functionality is critical since processing flowers “the correct way” is important for the life of the stems.

Indeed, great care is taken to keep the stems beautiful. Special netting is even used on flowers like mums to keep them from opening too soon.

The shop officially opened January 5 but is still a work in progress with more design work in the offing.

Taylor feels the Peaceful Petals Flower Truck had big shoes, or “wheels” to fill as a gorgeous and vintage backdrop. She firmly believes the store needs to separate itself from the truck while also being a pretty space to come visit. To that end, artist Mary Alisa Bowen from Annapolis-based Mary Alisa Art will be working this weekend on a mural or two. One will include an image of the by-now well-known truck which will still be seen in the area from time to time.

Carrying locally-sourced customer favorites at affordable prices is a top priority. Peonies and ranunculus are heavy favorites and roses are increasingly popular. Some customers will come in for a single stem or two for a bud vase. Some flowers will keep for up to three weeks, so customers often come in to replace wilted blossoms thereby supplementing and extending the life of their bouquet.

Taylor is “a big party planner” for both adults and kids and can’t wait until the world gets back to normal when it will be possible to have events and parties in the new space. In fact, the idea for her flower truck originated as an outgrowth of the party and event planning she’d done for friends. She’s not planning a grand opening for the shop yet…not until she can make it a big party.

Meantime, Peaceful Petals’ hours are as follows:

Monday – Flower Bar is closed (Grab n Go’s are Available)

Tuesday – Saturday – 9AM- 4PM

(Thursdays- deliveries, one-time and subscriptions)

Sunday : 11AM – 4PM

Follow Peaceful Petals on Facebook at Peaceful Petals Flower Shop & Truck | Facebook, on their website at www.peacefulpetalsflowertruck.com . Or on Instagram: @pcefulpetalsflowershop or@peacefulpetalsflowertruck. Email them at  orders@peacefulpetalsflowertruck.com or call 917-828-1696.

Short Notice for Severn River Lions Benefit Fruit Sale

The pandemic has disrupted the Severn River Lions fruit benefit sale scheduling. The club will have its January Citrus benefit fruit sale offering grapefruit and honeybell oranges, aka, Minneola Tangelos  Saturday, January 16, at Cypress Creek Park, 11 Cypress Creek Road, Severna Park, Md.

You must order by Friday, January 8.  Orders will be by credit card only and picked up Saturday, January 16, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. without extra charge. Delivery direct to you is $6.95 per box ordered. Please wear a mask for pickup. Bring your email receipt for faster, easier pickup.

Order, at SRLC Fruit, https://shop.floridaindianrivergroves.com/ecommerce/1014813,

For price list or questions email fruitorders@severnriverlions.org or call 410-518-9863.