Author: wingsorb@aol.com

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

The Anne Arundel County Eastern District Police, Earleigh Heghts Volunteer Fire Company and community group organizers of the 2021 National Night Out breathed a sigh of relief as cars flowed into the fire station parking lot ahead of the event’s 6 pm opening. A year had gone by since the cancellation of last year’s National Night Out due to the COVID pandemic and there was doubt about whether the event would draw a crowd.

The organizers needn’t have worried. Families came out in droves to demonstrate their appreciation and support for our area’s first-response teams while enjoying a diverse array of educational and recreational activities.

Multiple Anne Arundel County Police tents could be seen. Numerous Eastern District police men and women, firefighters and emergency management personnel were participating in the event which was aimed at familiarizing the community with the services they provide.

The very first tent encountered on entering the event from the main parking lot was that of the Anne Arundel County Police – Eastern Disctrict tent that was manned by Corporal Scott McAdoo. In addition to community related informational materials, McAdoo had plenty of “swag” to hand out like coloring books for kids and magnetized clips for adults.

One tent over, at the Anne Arundel County Police Human Relations Department tent, Corporals Simmons and Ziebell were being besieged by families with young children. The kids had spotted bright blue pairs of child-sized sunglasses, coloring books and games on the officers’ table and were drawn to them like bees to honey (as can be seen in the opening photo). For adults there were bag clips, brochures with safety tips and the opportunity to ask Simmons and Ziebell questions.

Barks were heard occasionally from the K-9 Unit trucks parked behind the tents. The dogs and their handlers would later be doing demonstrations. There was even a bark or two from puppy Ace who stood patiently with volunteers Jennifer and Joshua Stibers from Anne Arundel County Animal Care and Control. Easily recognizable by their bright purple shirts emblazoned with paw prints, the Stibers were at National Night Out to spread the word about the important work of the organization.

“As volunteers, Joshua and I sometimes transport animals in the animal care and control van or otherwise help with them,” Jessica said. “We also help to socialize animals like Ace who is so young he’s still learning.”

Momentarily on the lam from her own tent, Nancy Greer, co-owner with husband Billy of the Jing Ying Institute of Tai Chi and Kung Fu, visited with friends at other tents – in this case with Kerry Topovski and Tristin Ziegenheim of the Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management. In addition to a spinning wheel game featuring suggestions like “Make A Plan”, the pair offered typical emergency supplies as giveaways including glow sticks to light the way and dog dishes designed as scoops for emergency pet foods,

There were “Prepare With Pedro” activity books for children. Both women enjoyed answering attendees’ questions.

After noting that Arnold-based Jing Ying Institute will be holding its 20th Anniversary celebration in September, Greer headed back to her own tent which was manned by several of the school’s students who’d later perform a Tai Chi demonstration. Hiding in one corner of the tent, behind games and giveaways, was a beautifully carved dragon’s head attached to a costume for Jing Ying’s much anticipated Dragon Dance.

Scouts of all types could be spotted everywhere including three young ladies who operated their own Wheel of Fortune game for kids and adults. Perseus Smith and Amy Elder of Boy Scouts of America Troop 346 were joined by Girl Scouts USA Central Maryland Troop 2289 member Karleigh English in operating the game which offered different prizes for different spaces on the wheel.

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Community organizations of many kinds were participants with several involved in planning the event. Many National Night Out attendees stopped by the Pasadena Business Association booth where President Sandi Parrish and board member Melissa Gurney Hosse were touting the organization’s many activities and events.

The two were also doing some advance recruiting for Dragon Boat team competitors in the “Dragons In The Dena Fesitval” being planned for May 21, 2022. The exciting event will be a fundraiser to raise money for a new flagpole at the Route 100 Veteran’s Memorial. Admission will not be charged but the PBA will ask for $5 donation toward the flagpole. There will be a cash bar, food available for sale and a vendor village. Those interested in being on a team or being a sponsor can call Lisa at 443-928-7195.

Fishing Challenges were taking place at two separate locations. At The Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce booth, CEO Liz League hosted children of all sizes as they fished for a prize. She simultaneously urged their parents to “Shop Local” this summer and to come out to Park Plaza in October for “Shoptoberfest” featuring products from Severna Park area retailers.

Fishing was equally popular with the tot-to-teen set at the SPAN, Inc. (Serving People Across Neighborhoods) booth overseen by Director of Development Michele Sabean with an assist from Elizabeth Grabau who spent the evening in a bathtub with a rubber duck.

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Even from her make-believe bathtub, Elizabeth was effective in telling people about SPAN’s food pantry and financial assistance services for families in need. She also advised them they can find information about making donations or applyimg for assistance by visiting SPAN Serving People Across Neighborhoods (spanhelps.org) .

As was the case with previous National Nights Out, attendees gravitated to the variety of fire and emergency equipment spread out across the grounds. From mobile command and communications units to community medical services equipment or motorcycle units, people were curious and enjoyed getting up close and personnel.

The Anne Arundel County Police Mobile Command Center seen below was a crowd favorite since visitors were invited inside where Officer Erica Magnuson explained how the surveillance and communications equipment worked.

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For children M.J. and Liam Slack, a highlight of summer vacation was having an opportunity to climb aboard and be photographed on Cpl. Robert Rosso’s police escort motorcycle. Rosso is with the county’s police traffic and safety section.

There was entertainment to be enjoyed from musical group More Cowbell, the first to perform. Ellie Hermann, the 74th Queen of the Chesapeake, came out to help Maryland Yacht Club’s First Lady Tobbi Justice and Fleet Surgeon Tania Marcic draw attention to the club and to our area’s importance as a recreational boating center.

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Set up in a spot near the firehouse, longtime Severna Park businesswoman Betty Winkelmeyer Wells handed out flyers and informed people about the proposed Severna Park Museum being established as a 501 C non-profit. She’s looking for volunteers and funding. Those interested can contact Wells at 443-416-5865.

Keeping a careful eye on things, Earleigh Heights VFC Fire Chief Dave Crawford chatted with fire and police personnel and folks in the crowd. Crawford had good news to share about the fire company’s plans for construction of a new firehouse..

“We finally got the zoning approved by the county council but still need to get our designation,” Crawford said. “A hearing for the property designation will be held September 21. After that we can, hopefully, move forward.”

Crawford also commented on Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company’s recent carnival. The firefighters had hoped for a good turnout because the event is the company’s biggest fundraiser. (The event’s cancellation last July due to COVID was a blow financially.) Fortunately, the carnival was a huge success with great crowds every night.

He added that EHVFC has a number of events coming up including an Open House in October and the annual Bull Roast in November. Of course, Bingo is held every Wednesday night at 7 pm. For information on any and all events, visit Earleigh Heights VFC (ehvfc.org).

Who could possibly forget meeting the “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”, Saving Grace Animal Rescue of Maryland’s mascot. The foster pet accompanied Diane Casanova to National Night Out. The pair’s goal was to spread the word about rescued animals’ need for foster or adoptive homes.

“We are a foster-based organization without an actual location,” Casanova said. “However, we operate throughout the southern states, rescuing animals, getting them healthy and then placing them with foster families. For information on the program, visit www.SavingGraceAnimalRescueMD.com .

Like Mrs. Maisel, the gathering at Earleigh Heights VFC was delighted to take it all in again on another National Night Out.

Work was scattered about his desk, but Charlie Sachs, St. Martin’s-in-the-Field’s new Head of School, appeared calm, cool, collected and content last week. With summer classes ended and summer camp over for the day, he was the only person left on campus and happy to greet a visitor.

Sachs arrived at St. Martin’s on July 1st to take over the position held for seven years by Jamey Hein. An experienced educator who has headed schools across the country and the world, he’ll serve as Interim Head for a period of two years, keeping the school strong and well-grounded while the Board of Directors searches for the next permanent head.

Interestingly, he and his wife Kim arrived while a renovation is taking place in the original school building now used for the elementary school. St. Martin’s ability to safely open in September of 2020 and remain open through this June while public schools were closed due to COVID-19 led to increased enrollment – from 230 to 280 students (and possibly a few more). The renovation of the elementary school, when combined with the 2019-built Learning Center that houses the middle school, should accommodate the additional students.

“We were maxed out as far as space is concerned so we’re converting some of the large open rooms in the elementary school into classrooms sized more appropriately for our smaller teacher/student ratio,” Sachs said.

Moving to Severna Park has been a great experience. The community and school campus remind him of New England where he’s held several positions as an educator.

Himself a graduate of the independent Hawken School outside of Cleveland, Ohio, Sachs followed a similarly independent career path. Following college, he joined the Peace Corps teaching English in North Africa and subsequently taught in East Africa. Arriving back in the United States, he held positions as a coach and teacher at boarding schools in California and New England and moved on to become assistant headmaster of an independent day school in Boston. He next accepted his first seven-year headmaster position at a school in Kansas City.

Upon the completion of his tenure there, he agreed to a one-year contract as interim head of a school in Little Rock, Arkansas. But, as is often the case when hired to “fix” a problem, one year was extended to four years. Afterward, he headed a school in Park City, Utah for a number of years. Eventually, he took an interim position in South Korea “creating a remarkable school in a remarkable country with a commitment to education that was truly awe inspiring.”

Sachs said he found each school interesting in its own way and learned a lot at every one of them. He added that his educational and personal perspectives were broadened through working nationally and internationally. Living in wonderful places like Tunisia or Kenya near Nairobi or Santa Barbara overlooking the ocean or Park City where his four sons could ski to their heart’s content was a definite perk. Yet, he feels his most interesting teacher/head of school position was his most recent at The Stanwich School in Greenwich, Connecticut that began as an interim commitment but lasted much longer.

An independent school created during the late 1990’s when a great deal of money flowed into the area, The Stanwich School was a PK-12 school with a $45,000 yearly tuition. It was located on a beautiful property and had an International Baccalaureate accreditation and an excellent faculty. However, like other private schools, it experienced financial difficulties during the economic downturn that began in 2007 and needed to find a way to survive.

“We ended up combining our program with that of the Greenwich Country Day School which was founded in 1927 and attended by the Bush family,” Sachs said. “They had the money and the reputation so, by putting the young, dynamic Stanwich School together with Greenwich Country Day School, we developed assets neither of us could have replicated individually. It was a fascinating process.”

Though headmaster at two schools for quite a long tenure, this is his fourth time being an interim head. Very often, schools look to bring in an interim when there’s been a problem as a kind of trouble-shooter to fix what’s wrong.

“That’s not the case at St. Martin’s,” said Sachs.

Initially attracted by the eagerness of the board and the thoroughness of their search, he traveled from his home in Savannah, Georgia twice to visit the school. He was very impressed with the school’s documentation, administration, faculty, curriculum and strategic plan.

“It was refreshing to see a school that has done things thoughtfully and correctly,” he said.

He finds interim positions attractive because schools already know what they want to accomplish and what their priorities are. Therefore, the interim head can move efficiently through those priorities to prepare the school, faculty and community for the longer term head.

“In my case, we have an AIMS (Association of Independent Maryland Schools) accreditation process to complete and I’ll be working with our relatively young board on being an effective independent preschool though eighth-grade school – one that is strong educationally and financially,” he said.

Sachs very much enjoyed meeting with parents for the first time at a Coffee and Conversation breakfast on July 29 where he and other staff members shared plans for the upcoming year. It’s been decided that, for the present time, school will open with the same successful protocols they employed last year – with masks for students indoors with plenty of outdoor mask breaks and recreation. He’s really looking forward to students’ arrival on the first day of school.

For information on St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal School, visit St. Martins Episcopal Preschool, Elementary, Middle School in Maryland (stmartinsmd.org)

Talent Machine Company’s “Urinetown”, The Musical debuts August 6

The hallway of The Classic Theatre of Maryland at 1804 West Street was strewn with backpacks as most of the teen actors they belonged to were rehearsing in the theater just beyond the wall of photographs.

On a break between scenes, actors Andrew Limansky and Daniel Jones talked about how happy they were to be in the production. Daniel, as the character Hot Blades Harry, likes playing a rebel with a hint of danger about him. Andrew, who plays major character Caldwell B. Cladwell is equally enthusiastic playing a money grubbing robber baron. Both actors, who spent the past school year doing remote learning, are delighted to be able to act and interact with people their own age in a musical comedy.

“It’s so much fun being in this company and I’m learning so much,” Daniel said. “I can’t wait till opening night.”

Andrew, who has appeared in other Talent Machine shows, said loves being a member of this cast and having the opportunity to act, sing and dance again.

It seemed the hallway was quite a busy place.

Make-up artist Bella Bergen was seated on the hall floor applying pancake to actor Reid Murphy who has appeared in several Talent Machine productions.

At the far end of the hall, Whitney Green sat on a chair sewing a costume.

Whitney has appeared in a number of Talent Machine Company shows as an actor and dancer and also was a student choreographer. This year she’s gaining experience on the production team.

“I’m doing costumes, working with the microphones and am also working the spotlights for the first weekend of the show,” she said. “You learn a lot with Talent Machine.”

According to the show’s director Sarah Johansen, “Urinetown”, The Musical premiered on Broadway in 2001 and is considered a very funny show. She said there are 17 teens in the cast ages 14 through 18 who are having a ball.

The show will run August 6th through 8th and August 12th through 15th and will be held at Talent Machine’s new venue, The Classic Theatre of Maryland (formerly known as The Shakespeare Theatre of Annapolis). Evening and matinee showtimes available. Tickets are $20.00 and are available for purchase online at www.talentmachine.com or at the door. 

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

With cool breezes stirring on a beautiful July day, friends Diane Evans and Dianne Rey strolled through the gardens at Jonas and Anne Catharine Green Park – a park they both have a strong connection to.

Winding past park benches where visitors took in views of sailboats cruising past the Naval Academy, the pair gravitated to a plaque they’d had made detailing the history of Jonas and Anne Catharine Green for whom the park is named.

Diane Rey, who portrays Colonial Annapolis newspaper publisher Anne Catharine Green for historic reenactments, is a fount of knowledge about the couple.

While weeding flowerbeds, she and Evans were recently approached by a park visitor asking who Jonas and Anne Catharine Green were. Both realized there was no information telling visitors about either of them. They decided to do something about it.

Evans oversees the park as Vice-President of the Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails which manages the 3-1/2 acre property for the county.

She pointed out that the only thing acknowledging the Greens was a sign near the entrance installed in 2018 when Anne Catharine’s name was added to that of her husband.

“Diane was there in costume representing Mrs. Green who’d have been delighted,” Evans said.

As Printer to the Province of Maryland and publisher of The Maryland Gazette, Jonas, and then Anne Catharine, who carried on both roles after her husband’s death, were major influences in Annapolis’ 18th century history.

Evans noted that the property near the base of the Route 450 Bridge (also referred to as the Naval Academy Bridge) was acquired by the Maryland State Roads Commission from the Severn Land Company in 1938 for use as a roadside park. Management was transferred from one state agency to another until absorbed into the Maryland Department of Natural Resources when it was created in 1969. In 2004, much of the park was transferred to the Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks but is largely cared for by the Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails.

The park gained the name Jonas Green Park in 1953 to honor the 225th anniversary edition of the Maryland Gazette, one of the oldest newspapers in the country. Started in 1727 by William Parks, the Gazette suspended operations for a time until Jonas Green revived it in 1745. It survived largely due to her efforts.

Rey noted that between 1738, when the newly wed Greens moved to Annapolis, and 1760, they had 14 children, only six of whom survived to adulthood. Anne Catharine helped support the family by selling chocolate and coffee and was likely involved with the business.

“When Jonas died in 1767, she took over the printing press, not missing a single issue of the Maryland Gazette,” Rey said. “Awarded her late husband’s post as Printer to the Province, she printed the laws and proceedings of the Maryland General Assembly and the paper currency. She paid off her husband’s considerable business debts, purchased the family home and established her sons in the business while remaining the master printer. She was a major influence in the Annapolis community, the county and the state in the years leading up to the American Revolution.”

Evans’ interest the park began in 2008 when she joined the board of directors of the Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails at the urging of the late Elizabeth Wyble who was president at the time.

“Elizabeth asked me, ‘Would you like to do the park?’ I’d always had a dream of redoing this park because there wasn’t much here so I said I’d love to,” Evans said.

It’s what she’s been doing for the past 13 years, gradually getting citizens to purchase benches (there are now six), putting in all the Crepe Myrtles, a variety grasses, and different kinds of trees.

Some of the trees “didn’t make it” as they were planted over the old 450 roadbed that leads to a remnant of the old Route 450 Bridge at the end of the park that was made into a free-to-the-public fishing pier.

The fishing pier runs parallel to the new U.S. Naval Academy Bridge that replaced it and has magnificent views of the Severn River.

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There’s an even more splendid view of the U.S. Naval Academy Bridge beyond the plaque honoring Stanley R. Davis who was part the team that replaced the deteriorating Bascule drawbridge. Both Evans and Rey remember crossing the old drawbridge which they found charming but a trifle annoying when it was drawn up to let boats through while automobile traffic backed up. On the other hand, they love the graceful curves of the new bridge.

A walkway winding past the bridge runs slightly uphill and overlooks more parkland and the rock-lined shore below.

Evans noted that one of her first projects was the installation of three rain gardens in the parking lot with the help of midshipmen from the Naval Academy. Now mature, the gardens absorb stormwater runoff and help cool the heatwave producing parking lot.

Evans later conceived, designed and created the Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails’ Legacy Garden where families can purchase a brick to honor a loved one. Anne Catharine Green would approve of the brick purchased by the family of reporter and editor Wendi Winters who perished while protecting Capital Gazette staff members during a newsroom shooting in 2018.

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Evans’ BayScape garden design combines native species along the beach and shoreline with formal planter beds surrounding the Visitor Center. Art is an important part of the design and she is particularly proud of the dramatic Heron carving that stands out from a spot known as the Orphan’s Garden overlooking the beach.

The Orphan’s Garden began as a bed where Evans placed donated plants or shrubs that wouldn’t work elsewhere. The plants grew to maturity and now constitute a grove. The Heron resulted from a bequest for the purchase of artwork from the estate of a gentleman who’d loved the park. While searching for an appropriate piece that would represent the park’s location near the confluence of the Severn and Magothy Rivers and Chesapeake Bay, Evans thought of a heron. She found a carving of one on the Internet by Thurmont, Maryland chainsaw artist Joseph Stepping, Jr. whom she engaged. Stebbing had hoped to carve the bird from a tree fronting the Orphan’s Garden but determined the tree was not stable enough. Instead he carved it in his studio and affixed it to the trunk of the tree.

Artistically rendered signage is also displayed throughout the park. Designed to educate and inform the 150,000 visitors who come from all over the world, some of the signs are bilingual.

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There is also a plaque honoring former Severna Park resident Elizabeth Wyble, a founding board member of the Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails and it’s president for 15 years.

Wyble was, in large part, responsible for the inclusion of the park Visitor Center which opened in 2009. On entering, visitors will immediately see the innovative information desk Anne Arundel County employees built on their own time in the shape of a ship named the Elizabeth W. as a tribute to Wyble.

Cared for by the Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails with help from the Severn River Association and the Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards Academy, Jonas and Anne Catharine Green Park is more popular than ever with picnickers, crabbers and fishermen, plein air painters, photographers and people simply looking for a quiet space to relax.

It’s also one of the rare points of public access to the public waterways for county residents. Paddle boarding, kayaking and wading is allowed off the beach but swimming is not allowed as there is a precipitous drop off considered dangerous. And, of course, fishing is allowed.

A new sign has recently been posted noting that overnight access to the park will end. But the lovely recreation area will continue to welcome, inspire and inform visitors as a local treasure.

For information and directions to the park, visit Jonas and Anne Catharine Green Park – Anne Arundel County Trails | The Friends of AACo Trails (friendsofaatrails.org) .

AAUW resumes book collections

Dates and locations for the annual used book collection by the Anne Arundel Co. Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) were announced at the Severna Park Independence Day Parade.  Members of the branch participated in the parade and circulated among spectators to share dates and locations for the upcoming used book collections.  Donation sites will be St Martins-in-the Field, the Anne Arundel Community College parking lot, and St Phillips Episcopal Church from 9 am to 12 noon on August 14 and 28, September 11 and October 2 and 16.  The Book Sale will be held in November.  Proceeds will go to scholarships for AA County Women. For further information, visit http://annearundelcounty-md.aauw.net.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

With the start of a new school year fast approaching, the Assistance League of the Chesapeake is stepping up its “Kids In Need” program to raise funds to purchase school uniforms like those above. Monies raised through donations and grants are used to buy and distribute uniforms to seven Title One schools through a partnership with Anne Arundel County Public Schools. They include MacArthur Middle School and Georgetown East, Germantown, Meade Heights, Mills-Parole, Tyler Heights, and Van Bokkelen elementary schools.

Following a pause in the program in 2020/2021 because of COVID-related school closures, the fundraising drive is back on. Assistance League president Elaine Atkinson and member Teresa Hales Tudor are out and about raising awareness about the need for donations.

The Kids In Need program is one of five AL initiatives, but a very important one,” Atkinson said. “So Teresa and I are spreading the word.”

Begun in 2003, the program has distributed 23,000 uniforms – a record the Assistance League is proud of.

Tudor explained how the program works.

“We’re required to work only with Title One schools (described as those where a majority of families are living in poverty). We provide each child a top, a bottom, a sweatshirt, socks, underwear and a set of toiletries twice a year – in the fall and again in the spring to allow for kids to grow,” she said. “Measuring children for uniforms is something many of our members have gotten quite good at.”

“We welcome both volunteers and donations,” Atkinson added. “Those interested in contributing may visit Home – Assistance League of the ChesapeakeAssistance League of the Chesapeake and click the donate button. A donation of $25 will provide a student with a new top and pants or skirt, $35 will provide the uniform plus a sweatshirt, and $40 will provide the uniform, sweatshirt and socks, underwear and toiletries.”

In addition to promoting the uniform donation drive, Atkinson and Tudor are highlighting the 15th Anniversary of the Assistance League of the Chesapeake chapter’s founding by member Dee Campbell. They’re also striving to educate the public about the organization’s many programs by appearing at community events and creating new marketing materials.

The Assistance League currently has 70 members from across Anne Arundel County. Atkinson, for example, is from Annapolis while Tudor is a Severna Park resident and there are members from Glen Burnie, Severn, Millersville and Pasadena among other communities. As a strictly volunteer-based organization, AL hopes to grow its membership and attract some younger women with the energy and enthusiasm to carry on its mission of community service

Tudor, who worked for Anne Arundel County Public Schools, became aware of AL in the early 2000’s when she witnessed the good work done by their fledgling Kids In Need program and saw it grow from two schools to seven. Thus, when she retired and was looking for a volunteer opportunity, she immediately thought of joining the Assistance League to become a participant in the program.

There are other great programs to be involved in. Atkinson volunteers as a puppeteer with AL’s “Kids On the Block” program visiting second-graders in schools across the county.

“We use life-sized puppets to teach children valuable social skills,” she said. “The puppets act out scripts we’ve developed to discuss and help kids understand such sensitive topics as cultural differences or bullying.”

Among Atkinson’s other favorites is the Stork’s Nest Baby Shower program. Once a year, chapter members gather for a “baby shower” and everyone brings baby gifts to support Baltimore Washington Medical Center’s Stork’s Nest program for young mothers in need. The young women earn points for attending prenatal classes – points they can then use to shop for free at the hospital’s Stork’s Nest Baby Shower redemption center. Last year the chapter provided $6,000 worth of gifts.

While more musically inclined members gravitate to the “Sing-Alongs for Seniors” program for assisted living and nursing home residents, others volunteer with Project Literacy. Through monthly Guest Reader programs, the volunteers work in classrooms tutoring children in reading. They donate books directly to the students and organize activities that promote positive behaviors for effective learning.

“Some members also lend a hand outside of our chapter for schools that don’t have any parent volunteers,” Tudor said. “For instance, they’ll volunteer with the Black Eyed Susan Book Award program (for which students read a pre-selected list of books and choose a winning author). The volunteers come in before school starts, hand out copies of a book on the list, help the students with reading the book and then form a discussion circle. The students earn a certificate for completing the reading list. Our volunteers are so dedicated to encouraging the children to continue reading that they raise money to buy them new books they can take home as their own.”

There are Pen Pal programs and projects to send cards to seniors who have no family members to receive mail from – so many activities to be involved in it’s impossible to list them all. For information, visit www.ALChesapeake.org where there is also an excellent video about Kids In Need.

Things are popping for the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber

With the community’s Independence Day Parade a success, the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors has a multitude of live events planned through November and beyond. According to Chamber CEO Liz League, they range from member events like Friday, July 30th’s “Fly-By Friday Cookout” featuring burgers, dogs and side dishes from Effortless Bistro Chef Laureen Vance to large-scale events free to the public.

“As a community sponsor, we’re currently making preparations for the Anne Arundel Co. Eastern District Police’s “National Night Out” at Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company on August 3 from 6 to 8 pm,” League said. “The event, which attracts thousands of people, is free to the public and features entertainment, games for kids. community booths, snacks, K-9 and Bomb Squad robot demonstrations and displays of police and fire vehicles. It’s a way for the public to come out and express their appreciation to our first responders.”

Fast approaching is the Chamber’s Driving Force Golf Tournament on September 27 at Chartwell Golf and Country Club, a major fundraising event. League just received the go-ahead to bring back the popular Shoptoberfest to be held at Park Plaza in October. Plans are also in the works to hold the annual Taste & Sip of Severna Park event in November at Chartwell Golf & Country Club.

More is on the way. For details on upcoming events, visit Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce (gspacc.com) and click the calendar button or visit Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce | Facebook.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Contrary to what you might expect, the sun never set on the Rising Sun Inn Tavern and Museum during the COVID pandemic. Volunteers from the Friends of Rising Sun Inn made the historic public house a beehive of activity, carrying on restoration projects they’d begun in early 2020. The Friends even managed to host a few events like the Inn’s autumn ghost walk and holiday candlelight tour by limiting visitors to small family groups and following COVID precautions.

A welcome back garden party that was held on June 19th for members of the Ann Arundel Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was also the occasion for the unveiling of two new markers. The first – a National Park Service marker for the Washington Rochambeau National Historic Trail is located along the southbound lane of General’s Highway.

French Major General Comte Jean de Rochambeau’s troops traveled past the Inn in 1781 (following General George Washington) to Annapolis and sailed from there to Jamestown to assist in defeating the British at Yorktown.  

The second marker – a gift from the Chapter – is a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Garden Marker to commemorate the centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Set amidst a grove of ancient box woods, the marker is tended by garden volunteers including Friends members Kris Jenkins and Amy Espinoza,

A third marker, erected at an earlier date by the Maryland State Roads Commission but recently refurbished by volunteer Frank Rawlings, sits directly in front of the Crownsville property.

Much of the interior work accomplished by the Friends of Rising Sun Inn involved opening the upper level of the house and restoring it to what it would have been like when built in 1753 by tobacco grower Edward Baldwin for his wife and four children. According to Friends’ Board of Directors President Susan Giddings, renovations included redoing the railings for the steep wooden staircase, cleaning and painting the upstairs, and restoring a bedroom used for storage to its original purpose.

Once years worth of clutter was removed to convert the former storage room to an 18th century bedroom, there was ample space to bring things out of the Inn’s collections like the lady’s hat, gloves and fan seen on the table below.

Part of a second bedroom that is roped off (but can be viewed from the hall) was cleared to stage a charming vignette of a second story family room where afternoon tea is being served. The remaining half of the room had to be kept as a storage area.

The Friends group used the time they were officially closed very productively. After receiving permission from The Maryland Historical Trust for the ongoing repainting and renovation work, they decided to refresh all the rooms, including the second story open space pictured below, with a soft white paint with Governor’s gold trim and black baseboards. (Baseboards were painted black in Colonial times to hide boot scuffs).

Presented as a family dining area, as opposed to the first floor tavern where tradesmen and travelers would have dined, the vignette seen here represents a holiday meal. By portraying the meal as a special occasion, the Friends were able to display Creamware (that might have been used) from the museum collection.

Different parts of Rising Sun Inn and Tavern are staged to represent different periods of its history through several changes of ownership until 1916 when its last owner, Richard “Bo” Williams, gifted the Inn to 12 local women who formed the Ann Arundel DAR Chapter for the express purpose of preserving and maintaining it as a historical site or museum.

According to Susan Giddings, much of the first floor was given over to public spaces from the late 1700s through the early 1800s. Even after becoming a private residence, the house continued to be used as a community meeting place. Thus, a current work in progress is the restoration of the kitchen space believed to have been built in the early 1800s though cooking would still have been done in the basement fireplaces. The story of the project is fascinating.

“We chose to restore the kitchen to the early 1920’s. That’s when the women who formed the DAR Chapter incorporated (so they could own the property) and took out a loan for $5,000 to stabilize and restore the building and kitchen. That would be equivalent to $120,000 today,” Giddings said.. “The building subsequently became their chapter house. To pay off their loan, the women set up and operated a tea house from the 1920’s through the 1940’s as a means of fundraising. We want the kitchen to represent that time period.”

They began the restoration by stripping away the 1980’s era cabinets, stainless steel sinks and laminated counter tops. Taking the kitchen back in time proved more of a challenge.

“We were looking for a 1920’s styled sink and were initially expecting to have to by a reproduction. But Craigslist is wonderful. Listed there, we spotted a sink that was what we were looking for,” said Giddings. “We drove out to Hartford County where a young man had it for sale. He brought it in from out in a field and it was an authentic Standard Sanitary Baltimore Works sink. We know from the markings that it was manufactured between 1921 and 1929 which would have been when the women were doing their original kitchen restoration.

Now installed, the sink works well. The final bit of work on the kitchen cabinetry will soon be complete. Just around the corner from the kitchen, in the Inn’s meeting room, is a handsome built-in cabinet where the original china used in the tea house is on display.

An original yellow-bordered menu card propped in one corner notes that

luncheons, teas and dinners were offered and catering was available. Special family dinners were served on Thursdays, Sea Food Dinners on Fridays and Fried Chicken Dinners on Saturdays.

A quote at the top of the card advises “Stop Where Washington Did”.

Redoing the Inn’s first floor rooms will involve painting the foyer the same soft white with gold trim as the upstairs. However, changes to the tavern, with its fireplace and period tavern table and cabinetry, are still under discussion. An idea has been floated to add some more masculine touches since guests to the Inn would have largely been salesmen or tradesmen.

Renovations to the exterior of Rising Sun Inn were ongoing throughout 2020 and into 2021. The building received a long-awaited repainting. Fortunately, the Friends received a Preservation Grant from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution to assist with the exterior restoration, specifically the early 19th century windows. The shutters were restored and repainted and the basement windows were repainted from white to green which is more appropriate to the era in which the Inn was built.

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Works still in progress include garden projects, the most ambitious of which is creating a sand and burlap berm to channel water away from one of two 300-year-old boxwood hedges.. Another project undertaken by community volunteer Sharon Zolder involved improving the front garden by erecting a tee pee of branches for soil enriching vines of peas and beans to climb. A Colonial pollinator garden designed by Master Gardener Margaret Perry grew like wildfire this season and is now in its third blooming. Its combination of medicinal, kitchen and pollinator plants includes asters, fennel, butterfly weed and native crimson honeysuckle that will shortly be cut back.

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With so much restoration work completed, the officers and members of Rising Sun Inn Tavern and Museum are proud to be showing off the house during upcoming events. Their newest “Make-your-Own” series event, “It’s Christmas in July at the Rising Sun Inn!”os being held July 24th. Two sessions are planned to make/take a beautiful beaded Christmas ornament. The first session is at 10 am and the second at noon. The cost (which includes instructions and material for one ornament) is $25.00. Advance registration is required at events@gmail.com. For information about Rising Sun Inn’s public tours, Tea & Tours visits, or upcoming events visit The Rising Sun Inn Crownsville, Maryland – Home .

The Talent Machine debuts Disney’s “Beauty & The Beast” this Friday

The Talent Machine Company‘s Youth Summer Production of Disney’s “Beauty And The Beast, the Broadway Musical” will take place at the Classic Theatre of Maryland at 1804 West Street on July 16th-18th and July 22nd – 25th Evening and matinee showtimes are schedule. For information and to purchase tickets online, visit www.talentmachine.com. More shows are to follow. We’ll keep you posted.

Operation Welcome Back….Pack in full swing

Walk the Walk Foundation is excited to announce that 200 back-to-school backpacks have already been sponsored by generous donors in response to their drive. The organization is partnering this year with Tyler Heights Elementary School to supply their students with the new backpacks containing school supplies, More sponsors are needed, however. Those interested in contributing to this important cause may do so by visiting Walk the Walk Foundation, Child Development, Outreach (wtwf.org).

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN BY Sharon Lee Tegler

Excitement surged among parade participants at the St. Martins-in-the-Field and Our Shepherd Lutheran Church staging areas on opposite sides of Benfield Road. With step-off time for the 2021 Severna Park Community Center Independence Day Parade moments away, confusion reigned too, Many entrants, including the children and adults who’d be riding on Olde Severna Park’s patriotically decorated sailing ship, didn’t know where to go.

Liz League, CEO of the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce which organized the event, said there were communications difficulties stemming from holding the parade Monday, July 5th instead of Sunday, July 4th (because church services would have limited access).

“Missed emails and texts over the holiday weekend meant participants didn’t know which staging area to go to, but it all worked out and we had smooth sailing after that,” League said.

The motorcycle escort heading the parade hove into view of Benfield Road spectators shortly after 10 am. However, viewers at town center in Olde Severna Park had about 20 minutes to wait. They patiently listened to commentary from announcer Earl Shaffer though frequently cast glances up the hill past the Riggs Avenue judging stand for a first sighting of the parade.

They were rewarded with sirens blaring as a motorcycle escort roared down Riggs at 10:21 with a color guard from Marine Corps League Detachment 1049 marching smartly behind them.

A succession of color guards and A.A. County first responder vehicles was followed by the appearance of the parade’s Grand Marshall Eddie Conway waving from the back of a blue convertible that perfectly matched his star-studded jacket.

An entrepreneur, philanthropist and owner of Garry’s Grill, Conway was followed by the Garry’s Grill float he and his employees put together – the only float with live music aboard.

Considering that the parade was coming back after being canceled last year due to the COVID pandemic and held Monday, July 5th – a workday for some but a federal holiday for others – the crowd was good. It also seemed different. Unlike the most recent years, spectators came largely unencumbered with tents or even chairs. They just brought themselves and seemed so happy to see everyone else.

League, when asked for her impressions of the return of the Severna Park 4th of July Parade, said she loved it.

“The weather was great and, in spite of our occasional glitches, it was a happy day,” she added.

The most solemn and patriotic moment of the parade occurred fairly early with the appearance of the immense Nathan McDavitt Memorial Flag honoring Airman 1st Class Nathan McDavitt who died while serving his country on April 15, 2016. Carried by no less than 30 volunteers including cub scouts and boy scouts, the flag was presented at the judge’s stand to the accompaniment of a recording of the Star Spangled Banner performed by the late Whitney Houston.

No Severna Park Independence Day Parade would be complete without the appearance of antique automobiles. In this case, they included a 1931 Model A and a 1929 Ford convertible followed by a 1957 Chevrolet convertible bearing Maryland Yacht Club’s 2021 Queen of the Chesapeake Ellie Hermann.

Multiple fire trucks from active companies, far and near, were joined by retired privately owned firetrucks including a restored Earleigh Heights VFC firetruck owned by Rod Reed, and a Rostraver VFC Truck 31 owned by the Gustafson family. There was also an unexpected entrant – a “pink” firetruck named “For Three Sisters” that was restored by retired firefighter Marshall Moneymaker to raise money to fight breast cancer which took the lives of all three of his sisters.

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A great deal happened between firetrucks including efforts by small businesses and community organizations like SPAN, Inc. whose directors and volunteers pulled red and blue wagons collecting donations for its food pantry, the floral decorated van of the Asbury Church Assistance Network, Chesapeake Harmony Chorus, Pets on Wheels, and the SPCA van among others.

The Chamber’s Decorated Bike Contest riders (from ages 2 through 11) pedaled through town looking as patriotic as ever.

First, second and third place winners for Most Beautiful were: Avery Jackson, Sophia Zimmerman and Emma Gramel – for Most Original were Piper Allee, Lily Lewis, and Natalie and Amelia Mastanik and – for Most Patriotic were Gemma Dornblaser, Everleigh Dornblaser and Justin Wilkins.

With the parade continuing apace, many entries were still making their way down Benfield Road including the colorful truck- bed float of the Millersville-based charity Orphan Grain Train which featured a replica of its headquarters building at 621 East West Boulevard. Volunteers riding on each side included director Elfie Eberle.

There’s no denying that floats are always parade viewers’ favorite things and this year’s variety, echoing the parade’s theme, “Celebrating the Community”, contained some gems. Here are a few.

Other imaginative floats receiving spectator plaudits included Park Books and Literacy Lab’s clever “Charlotte’s Web” float which was third best Community Entry, Donut Shack’s float featuring employees waving giant donuts, Emilio Escape Salon & Spa, the second best Commercial entry, and Cub Scout Pack 994’s float which captured Best Theme.

Judging from the general mood of the crowd, everyone enjoyed it – from spectators to participants. Toward the end of his parade adventure, Uncle Sam, who’d walked the entire way took time to pose for photographs with Miss Montgomery County and Miss Montgomery County Princess.

The return of the Severna Park Independence Day Parade paid off in ways yet to be counted. As always, it drew both locals and out-of-town visitors and meant increased business for the shops lining B&A Boulevard.

Parade-goers drawn to early corn and veggies at Diehl’s Produce

Diehl’s Produce would have been busy Monday anyway but there is no doubt that being located on the corner of B&A Boulevard and McKinsey Road, i.e. Parade Central, brought in additional customers. One glance at the huge supply of early Eastern Shore corn was enough to make anyone’s mouth water.

According to manager Jennifer Diehl, most of the vegetables the stand is noted for carrying have come in early and are in good supply.

“The corn is not only early but sweeter than ever. It’s very good,” she said.

The tomatoes are ripe, plump and plentiful.

Vegetables ranging from peppers, squash, eggplants, mushrooms, cucumbers and onions and various fruits and melons were available and the stand’s stock will only increase from now on.

As was the case last year, Diehl’s Produce is rounding up sales totals with the extra amounts of change combined to supply gift cards to SPAN, Inc. for its clients so they can purchase fresh produce to supplement canned and packaged goods from the food pantry shelves. To inquire about the program visit Diehl’s Produce | Facebook.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN By Sharon Lee Tegler

Whether greeting customers by the entrance to her shop or showing them around, MaryAnn Neal is a treasure trove of knowledge about the treasures within. It’s been one-and-a-half months since she opened Red Apron Estate Sales & Shoppe with her husband Cam at 4A Riggs Avenue.

The Neal’s shop features old, new and local treasures and is notable for its history and because it carries items we loved in the past and can love once more. Every item – from penny candy and vinyl records to fine china and wooden furniture – stirs memories and kindles our imagination to envision what it might become.

Seated on her favorite piece of furniture, a high-end Baker sofa, Neal related what she knew of her building’s past. Built in the 1920’s, 4 Riggs Avenue was briefly a grocery store but was known, for more than a decade, as Doc Codd’s pharmacy. In 1944, following the death of Dr. Francis Codd, it became Cliff Dawson’s variety store featuring liquor sales, a soda fountain and a slot machine. In 1952, Dawson relocated to the corner of B&A Boulevard and McKinsey Road and the former store eventually became home to the Antique Marketplace.

“When Antique Marketplace’s owner decided to retire, the location sort of fell into my lap,” she said.

Neal created and introduced her Red Apron brand in 2012 after she left her job as Program Director for the Severna Park Community Center. In order to sell pieces of furniture she’d been collecting and refinishing from estate sales, she organized a series of Red Apron Second Sunday Markets at Holy Grounds Youth Center.

Aware that most of what doesn’t sell at estate sales ends up in landfills, Neal hated the idea of “one more thing going into a landfill that didn’t need to when it still had a great life left”. Consequently, she began collecting good quality pieces that didn’t sell – pieces that became her Second Sunday inventory.

At that point, she hadn’t really contemplated starting an estate sale business of her own.

“It was kind of thrown at me,” she said. “I found redoing estate sale pieces for Second Sunday Markets a lot of fun. However, I wasn’t getting the turnouts I needed. Then my neighbor across the street lost his wife. He was a great neighbor and by himself since his children were in Seattle. So I started helping him get cleared out. I quickly saw he was overwhelmed by the enormity of the job.”

Neal too was overwhelmed. In addition to the furnishings her neighbor’s house contained on its main level, furniture inherited from his wife’s parents was stored downstairs. She finally asked, ‘”Why don’t we have an estate sale and I’ll run it for you?” to which he replied, “Here are the keys, I’m moving to Seattle.”

Everything was left for her to deal with. The complicated undertaking became her first estate sale and it went well. She proved “a natural ” and just kept going.

Estate sales no longer take place only when people pass away. They’re most often held because folks are downsizing to a smaller house or condo. They have too much stuff and no idea how to dispose of what they don’t need. That’s where Red Apron Estate Sales comes in.

“We tell clients to get everything they want out of the house. Then our team comes in, goes through the entire house, gathers and sorts things, makes sure everything is clean and sparkling, and stages it all for in-person selling,” Neal said.

She noted that the Red Apron team is very visual. They’re determined that, when customers come through the door, “everything just pops”, even going so far as to drape their signature red tablecloths to the floor on each table for impact. Objects are moved about to dress up an empty corner or a wall. The personal touch is equally important so Cam Neal, who is very personable, greets prospective customers at the door.

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Red Apron Estate Sales are known for everything being organized, clean and easy to locate. The company has just two days to sell everything over a weekend. Items are marked at a price the market will bear on a Saturday and everything is marked half-off on Sunday. The goal is to clear everything out of the house but they are not giving it away either.

The estate sales are advertised in numerous ways. The best way to find out when they’re happening is through Red Apron’s website at www.redapronestatesales.com. The sales are also posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. About two weeks before a sale, pictures will start appearing. The Wednesday before a sale, the team will send an email to their nearly 3,000 subscribers noting key categories of items being offered. A newspaper ad will run as well.

As for the Red Apron Shoppe, it’s true to its motto selling treasures that are old, new and local. The front counter is something of a throwback influenced by Cam, a Severna Park native who fondly remembers visiting Dawson’s Store as a child and having owner Cliff Dawson help him pick out penny candy from large glass jars. MaryAnn also grew up in a small town and loved the idea and has incorporated similar glass jars and penny candy in her front counter.

In addition to products from local artists, the inventory includes vinyl record albums (both vintage and newly issued) which have regained popularity in recent years. There’s a special powder blue phonograph on which to test them out. Vintage radios and a 1960’s era record player complete the picture.

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The shop does not accept consignments but does straight sales. When an estate sale is over, Neal will buy a piece or two that’s left directly from the client. Those pieces make up the bulk of her inventory. However, she’ll occasionally accept something from the general public.

Neal finds that, after several years when young people shied away from buying what they considered antique furnishings, they are now coming in a lot. She believes she’s attracting more and more of them because they like the idea of recycling and re-purposing. They’re discovering that older furnishings are well crafted, made from real wood or authentic materials and often more practical.

“Even items like china cabinets that I couldn’t give away are being redone as indoor greenhouses to hold plants,” Neal said.

The blue/gray hutch seen here was painted and re-purposed by young mom, Lindsay Webster, who works the Red Apron estate sales and started her own company called Good Bones Restored. She is very skilled at redoing special pieces that MaryAnn Neal picks out for her. Alongside the hutch is an antique miniature salesman’s sample cabinet that she’s painted light gray.

The Neals prefer to keep most pieces of furniture in their original state. However, they find that repainted or repurposed pieces sell quickly.

Price ranges for different pieces are closely matched to estate sale prices and very reasonable. For instance, they are asking $800 for the Baker couch pictured above which is in excellent condition. New, it would sell for about $2,500. An outdoor glass-topped table and six chairs with the seats newly re-covered by Neal is priced at $350 while a two-tiered wooden Clover table is marked $100. Some quality furniture that came from Park Place apartments is similarly priced with attractive ladder-back chairs going for $30 apiece. An antique high chair at the back of the shop is marked $40.

The gorgeous set of high-end Royal Doulton china pictured below is marked $200 and would definitely cost more if purchased online.

The light blue glasses in the foreground of the picture below are selling for $15 for a set of six. Although the fine china dinnerware on the buffet and hutch beyond are from prestigious manufacturers, the sets are not quite complete. Thus, they start at $80 for the Johnson Brothers set and more for the Lotus set. The open drawers of the buffet are filled with hard-to-find vintage hardware, each piece priced at $1. Customers who are into DIY furniture refinishing projects love searching through them for just the right drawer pull or nob.

Because the Red Apron Shoppe will be right in the hub of things when the 4th of July Parade comes down Riggs Avenue to the judging stand, Neal has put together decorations for the occasion. Though she won’t be opening that day, she will have bottled water on hand and a display of penny candy on the sidewalk by the entrance. (The Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber is reminding everyone that the parade will actually take place on Monday, July 5, and will step off down Benfield Road at 10 am.)

Mentioning the parade was a reminder that one of MaryAnn’s aims in opening the shop is to “bring a touch of Severna Park back to Severna Park”. Both the Neals have observed that the local population has exploded to such an extent that the town is no longer suburban but urban and, despite the density, people seem to be more isolated.

As a child, Neal considered the downtown area of the small town she grew up in her “babysitter” and spent most afternoons there. She would like to see Severna Park regain that same kind of friendly atmosphere.

“We still have this beautiful downtown area of Olde Severna Park that’s very walkable,” she said. “It’s a great place to enjoy our local history and small businesses. The center of town is right off the B&A Trail and, within walking distance, there are several restaurants, Diehl’s Produce Stand, a bank, a barbershop, the old train station and Hatton-Regester Green. Sheltering during the COVID pandemic caused us to lose some of our town’s identity but it did encourage people to get out and walk and experience a sense of community. We’d like to encourage that to continue.”

“We have the perfect triangle here and it should look better,” Neal added. “We need a sign that says ‘Historic Severna Park’.”

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Saturday, June 19th was balmy with gentle breezes and the calypso music emanating from deejay Michael Kocher’s sound system was rhythmic and melodic. The long line of limbo dancing children and adults was a happy scene to behold – an especially colorful part of Severna Park Community Center’s “Dancing In The Streets” fundraiser with more daytime activities and the evening’s “Night In The Park” to follow.

Only the third live event held by the community center since it reopened following the pandemic lock down, the festive occasion exceeded its fundraising goals, garnering $70,000 from donations, raffles and ticket sales – enough to cover the cost of much-needed renovations to SPCC’s Dance Center of Severna Park studios.

Dance Center director Kellie Greer and her staff took the lead in staging the fundraiser. A full slate of activities was divided into daytime and evening events. The hours from 9 am to 3 pm were filled with dance, face painting, games and food – all of it free to the public, The event kicked off with Greer and dance teachers Jennie Young, Beth Fox, Kirsten Weichert, Bayley Taylor, Barbara Wayson, Sarah Keller, Amanda Breon, and Chloe Cocco taking center stage in the “big tent” .

Greer and team taught free mini dance classes for kids from ages three to 18, joined them in practicing the new moves, and danced on with whole families joining in as other activities went on around them.

Having volunteered to sell raffle tickets while showing off auction items like bikes and Adirondack chairs, board member Jean Andrews had a birds-eye view of the different events. She loved watching the children’s activities.

“The kids were just dancing and dancing to the non-stop music,” she said. “But the biggest draw for them was the dunking tank where all nine dance teachers volunteered to take a turn being dunked. For $10, the children got three balls but then could go to the back of the line and try again as many times as they wished.”

Quite a few dance students turned up with $10 bills and a wicked gleam in their eyes. They took full advantage of their unlimited turns and sent their teachers into the tank numerous times to cheers and applause. Dance teacher Kristen Weichert is seen here sitting pretty before the bullseye was hit and she went into the water.

Activities continued until 3 pm when it was time to close things down.

Worn out from dancing to Patti LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade”, young Bennett Mayer retreated to mother Melanie’s arms as the afternoon’s music came to an end. The little boy had had a wonderful time having his face painted and even got to dance with a teacher. A balloon animal he scored earlier from Twinkle Toes rested on a table next to a tote of community center swag.

It would take the next two hours for staff and committee members to get set up for the second event, a “Night In The Park” featuring live music by The Shatners,

By the time the evening’s activities got underway at 5 pm, Severna Park Community Center Executive Director Sarah Elder and committee members Sandy Gins and Carol Snyder were installed beneath the Event Central tent to welcome guests. They all looked very pleased and with good reason.

“Thanks to our wonderful group of sponsors, in combination with ticket sales, we already knew we exceeded our original goal of $50,000 for renovations to the Dance Center studio,” Elder said. “We just learned that we’ve now surpassed $70,000 not counting additional money from raffle ticket sales and the auction. The increase in funds will permit us to complete new floors, lighting and additional work that’s needed.”

At long last, the Severna Park 4th of July Parade is back, albeit on Monday, July 5th. Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce CEO Liz League announced that the parade will once again step off from the Benfield Road parking lots of St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Church and Our Shepherd Lutheran Church at 10 am. Entrants will follow the usual parade route down Benfield, turning right onto Riggs Avenue and cresting the hill before reaching the judging stand at the intersection of Riggs Avenue and Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard. After pausing before the judges, they’ll veer right onto B&A and left onto Cypress Creek Road ending at Cypress Creek Park.

League said she’s very pleased that there are 54 sponsors for the parade this year. She also hinted at a few of the things spectators can look forward to including a “Charlotte’s Web” float from Park Books with a live pot-bellied pig playing the part of Wilbur. There will be floats, as usual, from Homestead Gardens, from Olde Severna Park and other neighborhoods, and from organizations like the Toastmasters. SPAN, Inc. volunteers will march pushing shopping carts to collect non-perishable food pantry items. It’s also rumored there’s to be a surprise from Eddie Conway who owns Garry’s Grill. Conway was chosen to be Grand Marshall for this year’s parade. Rounding out the entries will be decorated bikes, vintage automobiles and more. For more information, visit Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce | Facebook.

With the first day of summer only a week away, Severna Park Farmers Market was quite busy last Saturday. The parking lot, off Ritchie Highway and Jones Station Road, was nearly full and cars just kept pouring in. Shoppers hustled toward the market’s tents and stands but then slowed to a more leisurely pace to take in the amazing range of products offered. Vendors vary from season to season – or even from week to week. However, there is always an abundance of local products to choose from – especially this summer as we re-engage following the COVID pandemic.

At the first stand by the entrance, Ken Reeves of KR Laserworks was doing a brisk trade in laser engraved plaques and mugs honoring dads which would make great Father’s Day gifts. Though Reeves runs a custom online business, he really loves being at the farmers market and interacting with customers face to face.

Opposite Reeves’ stand, red and white checkered tablecloths lent a homespun air to handmade pottery from Carol and Robin Wolfgang of Flying Wolf Studio in Annapolis. The women’s earth-toned urns, vases, mixing bowls, crocks, cups, and plates were as pretty as they were practical…..and their dog bowls held special appeal for customers with four-legged companions.

All hands were on deck at the Baltimore County-based, family-owned Zahradka Farm stand where green and white checkered tablecloths made a fitting backdrop for an extensive selection of fresh greens and vegetables. The stand is always a favorite stop for farmer’s market regulars because the Zahradkas grow seasonal favorites like strawberries and asparagus each spring. The stand drew a constant stream of customers.

Equally popular with shoppers, the Pat Hochmuth Farm stand was stocked with fresh-from-the-Eastern Shore onions, radishes, green beans and potatoes. A two-decade veteran of the farmer’s market, Hochmuth grows the crops his customers like best. He’ll carry early season favorites like sweet peas when the market opens in April followed by a bounty of sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini through the summer. He’ll have late season produce, pumpkins, squash and gourds right up till the market closes in October,

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Shoppers hoping for a mid-morning snack from popular Vera’s Bakery were nearly out of luck. As can be seen from the photos below, the trays of scones, cinnamon swirls, apple turnovers, and empanadas were nearly empty. Originally named Grandma Vera’s, the Rockville business actually got its start in Severna Park as a restaurant in 1994 selling well-loved entrees, European breads and pastries. When Vera decided to retire, the Port family found a way to carry the business on through various farmers markets.

Fueled by a tasty pastry or a snack of Kettle Corn, shoppers moved on to check out each booth. It was impossible to miss – or to pass up – Joyce Martinek’s gorgeous Joyce’s Flowers booth. Whether looking for a lovely bouquet or incredibly healthy transplants of coleus, zinnias, portulaca or herbs, the talented grower had something to please. Martinek has been providing cut flowers, potted plants and herbs to the Severna Park Farmer’s Market since its beginnings 25 years ago. She also contributed several recipes to the market’s 20th Anniversary cookbook. She’s always generous with advice on how best to grow a plant or preserve a bouquet.

Martinek remarked that the 2021 growing season has been cool, slowing every kind of plant down.

“Luckily, we started all of these plants in the greenhouse so we have plenty to offer,” she said.

For customers who love old fashioned homemade jams, spreads, sauces and condiments, you can’t beat those made by Anita Robertson for My Nana’s Kitchen. Robertson, who also manages the farmers market, was sharing her booth with Jon Haas of Eve’s Cheeses. Come summer, Haas will also sell peaches with apples to follow in the fall.

Anita Robertson’s yummy looking Nana’s Kitchen creations conjured up childhood memories of recipes now faded into the past – Chow Chow [relish] for instance and Pickled Beets, or Rhubarb, Wild Blueberry or Whole Cherry Fruit Spreads.

“Creating this diversity of products from timeworn recipes does take a lot of hard work,” she said. “I don’t grow every fruit or vegetable myself but I partner with other farmers. For instance, my strawberries for Strawberry Rhubarb Fruit Spread come from Pat Hochmuth while the rhubarb comes from Joyce Martinek.

The farmers market truly had something for everyone Saturday including clothing and jewelry. The booth shared by Three Blue Bunnies youthful designer and entrepreneur Ellie Heath and her mother Amy, whose Hip, Mod, Vintage jewelry is made from recycled materials, consistently drew customers.

Though a permanent fixture at the market throughout the spring, the pair will be taking a break over the next month or so for family vacation time on Cape Cod but return to the market in August. In the fall, Ellie will be heading off to college at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island where she’ll major in art.

“I’ll be taking my sewing machine along but I’m not sure how much time I’ll be able to devote to designing clothes,” she remarked.

Amy will continue selling her own recycled jewelry and artwork at the market along with Ellie’s trendy one-of-a-kind jeans jackets.

Nearby, Bee To Thee Apiary owner Ken Lehman not only brought his Black Locust honey to the market but brought his bees along in their glass enclosed frame – an irresistible sight for children.

The Ferndale beekeeper became a regular at the market in 2019 along with Morris Hill Farms owner David Haberkorn. The eggs and pasture-raised poultry, pork, lamb and other products from Haberkorn’s family farm in Tracy’s Landing have since become staples for farmers market regulars.

Other regulars like Mike Smith of Mike’s Knives have been coming to the market for years. Smith is always busy thanks, no doubt, to the fact that he will sharpen any blade or garden tool for $4. Customers will drop off their knives or tool and are then free to shop and come back to pick them up at a predetermined time.

Whistle Stop Winery was on hand again for a taste of the grape from Dunkirk, Maryland while Mardella Springs-based Patty’s Garden offered flowering plants.

The story of the Severna Park Farmers Market is ever-evolving as vendors shift and flow with the seasons. Newbies like Evie & Park Candles and Gifts or St. Michael’s based Lyon Rum may enjoy participating in the 2021 farmers market for a few weeks or the entire season….or may come back as regular vendors.

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For more information about Severna Park Farmers Market or weekly updates, visit Severna Park Farmer’s Market | Facebook .

Walk the Walk Foundation aims to provide 1,000 backpacks for AACO students

Walk the Walk Foundation is excited to be working with Anne Arundel County’s Department of Human Resources & their Back to School program again this year. The program runs from now through August when all backpacks will be delivered to local Anne Arundel County elementary schools. 

Walk the Walk is looking for volunteers, sponsors and hosts to help them accomplish their goal to ensure every child has a backpack when they return to school in the fall

People may sponsor a backpack for $30, spread the word to friends or family, or consider hosting a backpack packing event in their community. To participate, visit www.wtwf.org or email walk@wtwf.org.