Author: wingsorb@aol.com

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Darkness fell quickly as Santa and the Grinch moved into position in front of the the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce at 1 Holly Avenue prior to the 5 pm opening of “Trick or Tree” on December 11. Police cars with lights blinking were already stationed by crosswalks with officers ready to assist. A moment later, the lights on the chamber’s traditional Christmas tree clicked on bathing the scene in an warm glow as a snappy version of the holiday song” Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” blared forth from speakers.

Though scaled down in size because of COVID-19 guidelines and darker than usual because there were no spotlights for choirs or dancers, the event was off to a convivial start.

Live performances were not an option this year but deejay Marcus Shaneor filled the void quite nicely with medleys of favored carols. He’d continue spinning discs for the next hour-and-a-half adding a festive note.

Santa Claus turned up accompanied by The Grinch and the two moved into position in front of the lighted Christmas tree.

Families with children soon arrived and Santa was pressed into action.

Among the first youngsters to step to his side were Lucas and Logan Wells who were happy they were “finally getting to see Santa Claus”. Their parents preserved the moment for posterity by snapping photos with their phones.

A few moments later, Lucas and Logan received goody bags.

She and the chamber’s board of directors realized that, because of COVID-19, there was no way they could hold the community tree lighting and open house – a celebration that traditionally features school choirs, local dance groups and a bagpiper as well as cocoa and cookies in the meeting room. Nevertheless, they wanted to do something to mark the holiday season and to light the community tree – a historically significant custom in Severna Park. Thus, they conceived “Trick or Tree” as a substitution.

“We knew we could safely hold an outdoor event with Santa and the Grinch and the tree could still be lit. We could also treat attendees to goody bags,” League said. The children’s could be filled with pre-wrapped sweets while the adults’ bags would contain product samples, coupons and discounts on purchases from area retailers.”

The turnout was light compared to normal years when attendees turn up in droves from Severna Park, Annapolis, Arnold, Crofton, Pasadena, Millersville and even further afield. For safety’s sake, everyone was required to wear masks making it a bit hard to see who was who. Regardless, families loved the celebration.

Katie, Patrick and Sean Kenny drove up from Arnold for a little taste of Christmas spirit – not just for the goody bags given out but for the atmosphere of good cheer.

“This is wonderful,” Katie said. “It’s so nice to come out to ‘anything’. So much has been cancelled. We also came out to show support our local organizations and businesses.

Laura Wiegmann of Laura’s Eyes Photography wandered here, there and everywhere snapping photos for the chamber as a memento of Christmas 2020’s different but fun holiday event.

Arriving from the Baltimore Annapolis Trail on two wheels, bicyclist Glen Duke dismounted and removed his helmet before being greeted by a chamber “elf” and handed a goody bag. He soon struck up conversations with League, who bedazzled in her Santa hat and blinking Christmas light necklace, and a couple others.

Duke remarked that he was almost ready for Christmas having done some holiday shopping along B&A Boulevard in Olde Severna Park at Pedal Pushers. While looking for a tire for a grandchild’s bike, he found the shop had a great inventory of new bicycles. Owner Rod Reddish told him cycling became so popular over the summer that they can’t keep enough bikes in stock.

“I’d just learned that my youngest son, who is 25, was interested in taking up biking so I checked out those bikes which were great,” he said. “I had my son come down the next day and pick one out as his Christmas present. In addition to finding a perfect gift, it feels good to know I shopped local.”

Santa, who is also known as Freeman Bagnall, and the Grinch, also known as Jim League, were having a great time. Between chatting with children, they chatted with a group that included Jim’s wife, who just happens to be Liz League. Jim cleverly fielded a question about his gruesome Grinch costume.

“She makes me wear this around the house,” he joked.

Trick or Tree provided an opportunity for attendees to trade the latest buzz from the neighborhoods.

Topic #1 was the dire news that restaurants were again being restricted solely to carry out meals during the holidays which is always their busiest time of year. Many are in grave distress. During a Service Industry Support Rally held Wednesday, December 16 at Sullivan’s Cove in Park Plaza with many supporters in attendance, news broke that an Anne Arundel County judge blocked County Executive Steuart Pittman’s executive order allowing restaurants to serve indoors until December 28. Apparently, by noon Wednesday, Pittman had already rolled back his order to allow outdoor dining though the weather has turned cold.

Topic #2 was a serious concern that legislators want to increase taxes at a time when most of the community can ill afford it. Apparently, a meeting of the Anne Arundel County Council would be held to discuss the matter.

Talk finally turned to further changes COVID has brought about including the chamber’s Successful Women In Business Holiday Luncheon to have been held at Cafe Bretton. It had to be switched to a Zoom luncheon with specially prepared carryout meals from Cafe Bretton. Regardless, the chamber made it all work and the event promised to be fun.

Many thanks were extended to the chamber and Trick or Tree sponsors Chick-fil-A, Green Home Solutions, Minuteman Press, Steak and Shake, Mathnasium and Delegate Heather Bagnall for hosting the celebration – a really nice gift to the community.

Our churches celebrate Christmas

A “Live Nativity” at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church

Although Christmas Eve services and other holiday services will be online this year, Woods is inviting the public to attend the 1^st Annual Woods Church Live Drive-Thru Nativity this Friday and Saturday, December 18 and 19 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The event will benefit Arundel House of Hope.

“There will be several stations for people to drive thru,” said church member Kristy Carlgren.  “In accordance with COVID regulations, each station will have family members only to represent different scenes of the day of Christ’s birth.  There will be hundreds of luminaries and a voice recorded story of each different scene.  We are hoping this will add a little “normalcy” and excitement to everyone’s Christmas. Come and enjoy!”

In-person Christmas Eve Services

Trinity Bible Church candlelight service

Pastor Stephen Mitchell reports that Trinity Bible Church at 99 Truckhouse Road is now open for in-person services. The church will hold an in-person candlelight Christmas Eve service on December 24 at 7 pm and will also broadcast the service via Livestream. As a smaller church with a relatively small congregation, it’s possible spread out to every other pew for safe social distancing. For information or to access online services, visit www.trinitysevernapark.org.

Severna Park Baptist and Bay Life Church combine for in-person Christmas Eve Service

Pastor Dave Brown said Severna Park Baptist Church and Bay Life Church will combine to host three in-person Christmas services. The three services are being held to keep the numbers of attendees low for safe social distancing. All the services will be held at Severna Park Baptist Church at 506 Benfield Road. The first will take place on Wednesday, December 23 at 7 pm. The second and third will be held on December 24 at 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm respectively. For information, visit www,spbmd.com or www.baylifechurchmd.com.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Masses for St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church

St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church at 689 Ritchie Highway has scheduled a mix of masses for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They are to be held outdoors, in the church and also Livestreamed. For Christmas Eve, an outdoor mass is planned for Larsen Field at 2 pm while there will be church and Livestream masses at 4 pm and 6 pm. A Livestream only mass will take place at 7:30 pm and a midnight mass will be held in the church.

On Christmas Day, there will be 8 am and 10 am masses in the church and Livestreamed as well as an outdoor mass at 12 pm on Larsen Field. For a schedule, visit www.stjohnsp.org.

Candlelight Services at Severna Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church

Severna Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church at 110 Ritchie Highway will hold in-church Candlelight Christmas Eve services at 5 pm and 8 pm and will also stream online. Each service will end with the lighting of candles. For information or to access online services, visit www.spepchurch.org.

Streaming Online Services

Most other churches will be streaming only for Christmas Eve services including St. Martin’s-in-the-Field and Severna Park United Methodist Church.

#ShopLocal

Just a quick reminder to support our local restaurants and businesses during the holiday season and thereafter including our neighborhood bakeries. Both Kirsten’s Cakery in Olde Severna Park and Cakes and Confections Bakery Cafe at 342 Ritchie Highway are still taking orders for Christmas.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Attendees approaching Severna Park Community Center’s Holly Jolly Jubilee on Sunday afternoon found the ribbon-tied Christmas balls a cheerful harbinger of what awaited them in the courtyard beyond.

The first thing their eyes alighted on was Santa Claus being surrounded by Helping Santa Project volunteers Hartley Reindeer, Sharon Acosta, Kate Ryan and Reiley Dyne from Reach Out and Serve. When not taking turns as impromptu elves, they were busy at their booth handing out grab-and-go craft bags…. or attracting attention to their “giving tree”.

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The foursome split their time between their booth where they were joined Dr. Elizabeth Parker, a pediatric endrocrinologist from Parker Place, and her daughter Katherine and the lobby where attendees could pick a tag from their giving tree which contained the name of a child needing a Christmas gift.

Acosta, the founder of Reach Out & Serve, explained that she first knew and mentored Hartley, Kate and Reiley as Girl Scouts and she’s extremely proud that they still love serving their community.

“We’re currently helping find ‘Santas’ for 65 children identified by their schools as needing support.,” Acosta said. “In addition to Severna Park Community Center, which graciously allowed us to place our giving tree in their lobby, we’ve received similar help from Severna Park United Methodist Church and Hartman Law.

She added that Reach Out and Serve teen and adult volunteers have planted food gardens at Germantown Elementary for the past 2 years and serve as monthly Science Buddies for a fifth grade class. 

Santa, who is better known as Freeman Bagnal, enjoyed having Hartley, Reiley and Kate as assistants but he also went off on his own. At one point, he found himself listening to two excited little girls – Victoria Ratliff and Alma Welch – who told him they were best friends who love to dance. Their moms, while snapping photos, revealed that the girls were signed up for a free dance class at 3:30.

“While being at home because of COVID-19, both girls have adored watching and practicing to the free lessons given by SPCC Dance Center director Kellie Greer on Facebook Live,” Agnieszka Ratliff said. “They loved it so much, we called to make an appointment for the free class at 3:30 today. They can’t wait.”

The pair would have to wait a little while but there was plenty to see outside and inside the center. Amy Holbrook noted that there were eight local vendors with handcrafted goods perfect for gift giving.

“We wondered whether to go ahead with the jubilee in place of our annual Cookies and Carols event,” she said. “We didn’t know how many people would turn out or expect a big crowd. But we wanted to give something to the community and remind them we’re still here – something to enjoy safely with well spaced outdoor and indoor activities. We also wanted to help our crafts people. We realized some folks are hesitant to attend events but others – young families and those who’ve recovered from the virus – are longing for normal things to do. We put together a nice mix.”

Indeed, halfway around the courtyard visitors spied the beautifully decorated vintage sleighs crafted by Amy Heath of Hip “Mod” Vintage . Amy’s booths were located next to her daughter Ellie’s display of jackets.

Well-known in the community for the creative items they make from recycled materials and sell at area church bazaars or the Severna Park Farmer’s Market, the mother/daughter duo displayed their full lines of products.

In addition to Amy’s decorated vintage sleighs, she offered vintage wooden tennis rackets and hockey sticks festooned with holiday greenery plus a striking collection of retro jewelry she found and restored to beauty.

The “Buy Vintage” sign on her table is meant to remind shoppers that, by purchasing already existing gems once owned by someone else, they’re preventing the over-mining of our natural resources.

“What I’m doing is literally rescuing jewelry made from precious metals and gemstones like topaz or amber. It’s often very tarnished or in slight disrepair but I bring it back to life. I clean and polish the pieces with an earth-friendly solution like vinegar and water and salt,” Amy said.

Holiday items and jewelry from Hip “Mod” Vintage will be on display at the Severna Park Farmer’s Market holiday market this Saturday (December 12).

One booth over, Ellie Heath, a Severna Park High School senior and a talented clothing designer and entrepreneur, was showing the latest collection of trendy jackets she created for her company Three Blue Bunnies.

The clothing ranged from adorable jackets with trims like rick rack for children from six months up to unique jeans jackets for adults that are, at once, retro and fashion-forward.

“This year I have lots of new things and am showing three racks of clothes instead of two,” she said.

Like her mother, Ellie redesigns and re- purposes donated clothing with vintage fabrics and trims that become one-of-a-kind fashions that set their wearers apart.

Her “wearable art” extends to pencil cases, everything cases, attractive masks and, occasionally to dresses.

Moving from the courtyard into a community center meeting room, visitors found an array of talented vendors selling homemade products perfect for holiday gift giving

A “pink zebra” mascot presided over vendor Patty Chase’s line of Pink Zebra Home soybean wax sprinkles which, when heated in a warmer or made into candles, release their fragrance. Her table also contained lockets by Origami Owl. She said every locket tells a story.

Opposite Chase, Virginia Bard’s handmade Chesapeake Boutique Bags stood out. The unique hand-knit handbags and the scarves below them were made with colorful yarns. Bard’s signature collection of custom-made bags and accessories may be purchased online. They are featured in their entirety at www.chesapeakeboutiquebags.com.

To Bard’s right, the talents of Carol Busch and Shannon Shortridge from Anchored shone through in a variety of handcrafted items including crocheted scarves, hats, and “mug rugs” for your coffee plus satiny headbands, scrunchies and Christmas ornaments.

The crocheted items were crafted by Shortridge while other items were Busch’s creations.

Toward the back of the room, friends and sea glass enthusiasts Beth Miller and Joyce Ramey shared a table. Miller’s Mer Made By Me aquatic-themed jewelry and crafts were gorgeous – especially her sea glass crabs and pendants seen below. Ramey’s JAZ Creations’ sea glass holiday trees and seashell roses were equally spectacular.

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“The sea glass we use to make jewelry and crafts is 99.9% from the Chespeake Bay,” Miller said.

More intricate examples of Miller’s work can be seen at MerMade by Me | Facebook while Ramey can be reached at joycelramey@gmail.com.

Delicate scents drifted over from the table of Louise Chestnut whose Essential Soaps are made using essential oils.

When not making soap from ingredients like mango, shea butters, glycerin and essential oils for fragrance and color, Chestnut is a freelance violinist and teacher at It’s All About Music.

The clock was ticking slowly for little pals Victoria and Alma but 3:30 finally arrived and they scurried to the Dance Center with their mothers for their class with dance teacher Summer Cambascio. On entering the dance studio, the girls were so excited they were like a couple of jumping beans.

Summer first took them through a series of warm-ups and then asked if they would like to learn a “Christmas dance”. The answer was, of course, “yes”.

She first taught them some simple moves and turns and they caught on quickly.

Then she led them through more difficult moves including jumps and marching with feet held high in an exaggerated manner.

…….and, finally, there were Rockets-style kicks. Holiday music was added and, before Victoria and Alma knew it, they had a perfect Christmas dance. Their moms were proud of their budding ballerinas.

Severna Park Farmer’s Market Christmas Mart

The Severna Park Farmer’s Market Christmas Market will be held rain or shine this Saturday, December 20, from 8:00am – 12:00 noon outdoors at the Park & Ride lot on Ritchie Highway and Jones Station Road in Arnold. In addition to Hip “Mod” Vintage and Three Blue Bunnies, market regulars like The Villes Dills, Vera’s Original Bakery, The Breadery, My Nana’s Kitchen, Pat’s Produce and Gourds and eleven more will be on hand. Several will have Christmas wreaths and ornaments. For information visit Severna Park Farmer’s Market | Facebook.

From tabletops with china, crystal and linens to children’s books and toys, the Partner’s In Care Upscale Resale Boutique (at 8151 Ritchie Highway) has gathered its Christmas collections in a most appealing way. Even while adapting to COVID-19 guldelines, the shop’s staff and volunteers have succeeded in making holiday shopping a pleasure for their customers.

By now, Santa probably knows the boutique inside and out. Images of the jolly old elf appear everywhere – on mugs and plates, toys and holiday decorations. There’s a Father Christmas tree topper that’s particularly festive.

Like small retailers across Anne Arundel County, the boutique has pulled out all the stops in hopes of attracting Christmas shoppers. In addition to tables and counters featuring holiday patterned china and glassware, they’re showing items that would make great gifts including designer label handbags and clothing.

Considering necessity the mother of invention, PIC also launched a sparkling new counter featuring the boutique’s well-known collection of upscale, fine jewelry. According to the organization’s executive director Mandy Arnold, It’s the same jewelry normally held back for the organization’s yearly “Fling With Bling Jewelry Extravaganzas” at Chartwell Golf and Country Club.

“Because of the COVID virus, this fall’s jewelry event – our major fundraiser – was cancelled. We came up with this amazing counter display as a way to attract sales and generate some of the income we so depend on,” Arnold said.

She explained that some of the finer pieces of jewelry are outright gifts to Partners In Care while others are donated as part of someone’s estate. Those particular pieces are always separated from donations of costume jewelry and held back. Many are valued by PIC volunteers familiar with the jewelry market.

However, the more valuable pieces are submitted for official appraisal.

Partners In Care is largely a self-sustaining organization so fine jewelry and boutique sales provide most of its operating budget.

A private non-profit, 501(c) (3) , PIC offers programs and services that help older adults remain living in their homes independently. The organization accomplishes that goal through a unique service exchange program where members volunteer their time and talents to help each other with services like transportation, handyman repairs, personal support, and social engagement. In exchange, members can ask for assistance free of charge when they need it.

By clever merchandising and holding special sales each week, the boutique has been doing reasonably well though not back to their normal volume of business. Due to the pandemic, limited grants PIC receives for its programs were cut 75%…. further eroding income. Thus, it’s been necessary to innovate.

“We’ve formed a new partnership with a state-run program called Community For Life that provides some of the same kind of transportation and handyman services we do,” Arnold said. “It’s a ‘fee-for-service’ program available to people unable to volunteer in an exchange program like ours. It helps those people and brings us a small amount of money to supplement our budget for the programs we offer for free.”

Some strategies the boutique is employing to attract more shoppers include Senior Citizens’ Tuesdays when all seniors get a 10% discount on their purchases. There are Wacky Wednesday sales featuring a different item each week – the latest being buy-one, get-one costume jewelry items or buy-one, get-one shoes. On Fridays, there’s a $5 discount off every $20 purchase from art to linens or baskets to whatever.

PIC hasn’t neglected its vets. The organization boasts 300 male and female military veterans from all branches of the services. A program created by Sharon Zentgraf has been established called “Veterans Helping Veterans” which matches veterans with other veterans for companionship and mutual support.

As the organization’s annual Veteran’s Day event was cancelled due to the virus, Zentgraf and volunteers mailed each veteran/member a special card and a coupon for Mission BBQ.

For the latest sales at Partners In Care’s Upscale Retail Boutique, visit https://www.facebook.com/PartnersInCareBoutique. For more information on Partners In Care, visit http://www.partnersincare.org/

SPAN, Inc. takes new approach to Holiday Caring Program

Year after year, SPAN, Inc.’s Jennifer Pumphrey and Ellen Kinsella have personally greeted Holiday Caring Program donors as they arrive prior to Christmas bearing shopping bags, wagons or wheelbarrows full of gifts for families they signed up to help.

This year, because of COVID-19, the organization had to invent a whole new way of doing the Holiday Caring Programs for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Pumphrey, SPAN’s Director of Operations, explained.

“This year we made modifications to our program in order to maintain safety for our volunteers, sponsors and clients,” she said. “We requested donations in the form of gift cards to grocery stores, so clients could purchase their own food for their Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, and to Target, Walmart, and Visa, so clients could purchase their own Christmas gifts for their children.  We collected the gift card donations on Sunday November 1st.  We then distributed the gift cards to eligible clients by appointments during the first 2 weeks of November.  We wanted to give them plenty of time to shop for their children before Christmas.”

She added that she and Kinsella had no idea what to expect considering the changes but they were overwhelmed by the generosity of the community. They were able to provide gift cards for all their registered client families with even a few extra.

 SPAN should be back to normal operations next Christmas.  But. for anyone looking to make a donation this holiday season, please consider a financial donation to SPAN which will help keep families in their homes with the utilities on.  

“The need is growing every day,” Pumphrey said. .

To donate, visit https://www.spanhelps.org/.

Earleigh Heights VFC says Santa will ride again!

Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company chief Dave Crawford reports that the COVID pandemic necessitated changes for the 2020 holiday season.

“Unfortunately, we had to cancel this year’s Christmas tree sale,” he said. “But the good news is that Santa will ride again! He’ll be making his usual Santa Runs though all the Severna Park neighborhoods in a sleigh pulled by one of our fire engines for six nights.”

On Saturday, December 5th, Santa will visit 30 neighborhoods throughout the Magothy River watershed. On Sunday, December 6th, he’ll be in neighborhoods off Jumper’s Hole Road.

The following weekend, he’ll spend Saturday, December 12 visiting neighborhoods nearer the Severn River off Benfield Road. On Sunday, December 13, he’ll head for some of Severma Park’s beach communities like Cape Arthur as well as Olde Severna Park and West Severna Park.

On Saturday, December 19, he’ll head out Benfield Road and peel off to either side while visiting communities like Carrolton Manor and Chartridge. He’ll end his 2020 Santa Runs on Sunday, December 20 in Round Bay. For a complete schedule of Santa Runs listing every neighborhood, visit @ehvfcsantaruns on Facebook or the firedhouse website at http://ehvfc.org/.

According to Crawford, one more change was made to Earleigh Heights VFC’s 2020 holiday schedule. On every Friday and Monday for the next three weeks, volunteer firemen will bring Santa, along with a holiday display, to the Walmart at Pasadena from 5 to 8 pm.

Severna Park Community Center’s “Jolly Holiday Jubilee”

Severna Park Community Center invites the public to join them this Sunday, December 6 from 1 to 6 pm for their “Jolly Holiday Jubilee”. A strolling Santa will be on hand for selfies, there will be holiday music, and the Girls Scouts will have crafts for children. There will also be a craft fair with local products like soaps, homemade or vintage jewelry and clothing that would make lovely gifts. There will also be a Christmas giving tree from which to pick a tag to help a family in need. Free mini-dance classes will be available by appointment in the Dance Center and free Fitness Center visits provided you make an appointment beforehand. To do so….or for information, visit https://www.spcommunitycenter.org/ or call 410-647-7851.

Trick or Tree at The Chamber

The Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce will be holding a “Trick or Tree” event this year in front of its offices at 1 Holly Avenue on Friday, December 11 from 5 to 6:30 pm. Unlike previous years’ open houses, the event will be held outside with social distancing. The Chamber’s Christmas tree will be lit and both Santa and The Grinch will be on hand. There will be Kiddie Goodie Bags and Adult Goodie Bags containing coupons for local restaurants and retailers. For information, visit https://www.gspacc.com/.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN By Sharon Lee Tegler

Last weekend was sunny, the temperatures mild, and everywhere you looked at Kinder Farm Park, some sort of activity was taking place. The Visitor’s Center, barns and buildings were closed because of the Coronavirus, but 288 acres of wide open spaces remained open to the public. There were so many things to do and observe.

All across the park’s vast sports fields, improvised games were underway. On one field, players were gathering for an impromptu soccer game. Nearby, two young fellows were doing stretches prior to a run.

On the basketball court, three teens were shooting hoops while a fourth exercised on a set of rings.

As the sun moved lower in the afternoon sky, visitors entering or leaving the farm complex could hear a gentle rustling from various pastures.

In the field nearest Kinder Farm Park’s tractor barn, sheep’s ears perked up as a familiar family showed up and bustled about. It was clear that feeding time was near.

The sheep quickly waded through a field of geese toward a small barn where a Farm Education Program Livestock Group family appeared with buckets of feed.

In a pasture across the way, goats and cows looked westward toward the sound of Roy Fielder’s truck as it approached bearing “dinner”. They crowded the truck as several children helped Fielder unload bales of hay.

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Cows hustled up to one of the pasture fences mooing and looking hopeful. Unfortunately, they’d have a bit longer to wait.

Fielder, who heads the Friends of Kinder Farm Park’s Farm Education Livestock Group, explained to visitors observing them how the animals are cared for.

“At the moment we have 49 families with 300 people caring for 42 animals that include four dairy cows, four beef cows, six Nigerian goats, three full-sized dairy goats, one breeding sow and her piglets, two alpacas and five rabbits,” he said. “We also work with the farm’s organic gardening division on back acreage where we keep seventeen chickens for pest control (they eat bugs) and fertilizer.”

None of the children with Fielder were part of his family. They were Farm Education Program kids who love helping with chores any way they can.

“Where else can kids ride on the back of a truck these days,” he said. “It’s completely safe and so much fun for them.”

He noted that Kinder Farm Park’s 40-member 4H Livestock Club is a separate and completely different program that only involves children whereas the Farm Education Program is comprised of families and requires that parents be actively involved.

Animals that the 4H Club raises go to market.

As of late August, 4H members were raising seven market pigs, two breeding meat goats, three market goats, two dairy goats, 25 chickens and 19 turkeys.

Last weekend, visitors marveled over various breeds of chickens and 17 of 19 turkeys. Visitors – especially children – were fascinated by the turkeys. Four were Toms (males) who strutted among the hens puffing their chests out and fanning their tail feathers. By Monday all the turkeys were gone and on their way to market, They’d end up on some family’s Thanksgiving table – a reality of farm life that’s important for 4H members to learn and experience.

According to Friends of Kinder Farm Park board member Mike Lowman, park attendance has never been higher and there is still plenty to see. It was tremendous fun, for instance, to observe a pair of alpacas as they nibbled grass in the shelter of the farm’s grain silos. They’re relatively new additions to the park and, according to Fielder, it’s hoped draft horses will be joining the other animals in the spring.

Watching the antics of Peppa the Pig’s playful piglets was a definite delight……

……but watching people watch the animals and photograph them was interesting too.

Kinder Farm Park superintendent Brad Hunt said he loves overseeing the acreage. Like Lowman and Fielder, he believes the county-owned property captures the essence of what a “working farm” is all about with its 1940’s era farmhouse, outbuildings, saw mill, blacksmith shop, and vintage tractor collection. But it also offers the recreational facilities, walking trails, and gardens locals long for. He’s happy to see the public enjoying it all.

“We were disappointed the virus forced us to cancel our annual harvest festival this year and we’ve also had to cancel our traditional Jingle Bell Hayrides,” Hunt said. “However, in keeping with the spirit of the holidays, we’re replacing the event with a Jingle Bell Food Drive on December 5 and 6 from noon to 3 pm. Visitors are invited to bring non-perishable food donations to our Visitors Center to fill our Santa Sleigh. All donations will be given to SPAN’s food pantry.”

He added that already purchased hayride tickets will be good through December of 2022.

Meanwhile, there’s lots to do. Buildings and barns are kept closed with the exception of the Comfort Station,but everything else is available.. Some “safe” park programs are now back on the KFP schedule. Park Ranger Jessica Furr is leading programs that include a Heart Smart Nature Hike, a Ride With a Ranger outing, Paint in the Park opportunities and Pollinator Walks. For a Program Guide visit: https://www.aacounty.org/departments/recreation-parks/recreation/program-guide/index.html

For Kinder Farm Park news, visit https://kinderfarmpark.org/.

Christmas is a-coming and some events are still on

Severna Park Community Center’s “Jolly Holiday Jubilee”

Severna Park Community Center invites the public to join them for free on Sunday, December 6 from 1 to 6 pm for an afternoon of fun at their “Jolly Holiday Jubilee”. A strolling Santa will be on hand for selfies, there will be holiday music, and the Girls Scouts will have crafts for children. There will also be a craft fair with local products like soaps or homemade jewelry that would make lovely gifts. There will also be a Christmas giving tree from which to pick a tag to help a family in need. Free mini-dance classes will be available in the Dance Center but you must make an appointment beforehand. There will also be free Fitness Center visits provided you make an appointment beforehand. To do so….or for information, visit https://www.spcommunitycenter.org/ or call 410-647-7851.

Trick or Tree at The Chamber

The Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce will be holding a “Trick or Tree” event this year in front of its offices at 1 Holly Avenue on Friday, December 11 from 5 to 6:30 pm. Unlike previous years’ open houses, the event will be held outside with social distancing. The Chamber Christmas tree will be lit and both Santa and The Grinch will be on hand. There will be Kiddie Goodie Bags and Adult Goodie Bags containing coupons for local restaurants and retailers. For information, visit https://www.gspacc.com/.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

A bit disappointed that Park Plaza will not be holding it’s annual holiday celebration this year, Park Home owners Heather and Scott Summers went all out with beautiful decorations to make their store as warm and welcoming as possible.

From the moment Tuesday’s mask-wearing shoppers caught sight of the antique sleigh filled with Merry Christmas pillows, the modernistic tree decorated with collectible Christmas balls or the gorgeous grapevine wreaths surrounded by baskets of grape and eucalyptus stems, their spirits were lifted and their imaginations fully engaged.

Owner Sue Gautier was on hand Tuesday to personally greet and chat with customers. She’s pleased that her business is doing well going into the Christmas season.

“We’re hangin’ in there,” she said. “We’re very thankful for our loyal local customers. They’ve supported us all along on our website and now they’re coming by to shop in person. We didn’t even have a website before COVID but its been good for us. To follow current guidelines, we must be careful about how many people can be inside at one time, By having the website, we can still offer online service…especially for those who most need to stay safe.”

Ceramic angels bade welcome to shoppers at Side Street Framers & Gift Gallery along with co-owner Dawn Wilson who was on hand to welcome them personally.

Wilson loved showing off the work of local artisans like pretty sea glass earrings by Cathy Kelly, clever wire jewelry by Jessica Graves, or amazing glass ornaments by Terri Hechler that featured miniaturized images of vintage trucks, seashells or blue crabs. Long involved with Park Plaza Christmas celebrations and with Severna Park’s #ShopLocal efforts, she believes purchasing an item from a local artist or crafter is, in essence, helping a neighbor.

Wilson said Side Street Framers took special pains this year to stock multiple shipments of refillable “lifetime candles”. They’re always popular at holiday time and seem to sell out year after year.

Next door to Side Street Framers, Franklin Toys was pleased to be doing well. Business picked up considerably since the lock-down ended and sales were brisk. They’d even sold out of 2020’s most popular toy – a robotic hand. From holiday ornaments to plush Santas or penguins, crafts and games of all kinds, fanciful dress-up togs for budding princes or princesses, and 1,000-piece puzzles, there is something to please “kids of all ages”.

Leaving Park Plaza by car, shoppers had to go merely a block to enter the Christmas wonderland at Homestead Gardens Severna Park at the corner of Ritchie Highway and Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard. There is so much to do, see and buy that shoppers can easily spend an hour shopping.

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From forests of sparkly trees, red and white poinsettias and deeply green hollies to…..

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……photo ops with reindeer and elves and a very lifelike Santa, there is something for everyone.

According to general manager Heidi Tyler and hardgoods manager Steph Stowell, when Homestead Gardens learned they couldn’t have a live Santa due to virus restrictions, they brought in a dozen elves and a reindeer they posed in front of Santa’s workshop and are inviting customers to use the Christmas village as a backdrop for individual or family photos. They also brought in a lifelike model of the jolly old elf complete with reindeer and Christmas tree – again, the perfect setting for a photo.

Just around the corner, Kirsten’s Cakery was still preparing Thanksgiving orders but was already thinking about the cakes, cookies and pies they’ll be making for the holiday season boom. Among new dessert items Kirsten and her talented staff of bakers recently added are mini-cheesecake tarts with red and white striped toppings that are both delicious and festive enough for the Christmas table.

Neighbor Savvy Consignment was particularly busy Tuesday. In fact, they’d just sold two sofas according to owner Stacey Cassidy. People were shopping for gifts but also for clothing and items to spruce up their homes for the holidays. They were also shopping for gift certificates. A sign in Savvy’s window says it all.

Almost all local retailers are offering gift certificates including Savvy’s neighbors across B&A Boulevard – The Big Bean with its special blends of coffee and Blended Essentials with candle making classes, soaps, scented oils, candles and more.

There are several additional retail shops favored by Severna Park shoppers that are beyond the town’s borders. Though a little out of the way, Whimsicality – an upscale gift shop and destination store for Scout bags and coolers – is located at 1350 Cape St. Claire Road.

Whimsicality owner Tricia Hylind notes that the shop carries Nordic Beach fashions, jewelry, scarves and, for the holiday season, lots of whimsical ornaments, greeting cards, gift bags and even candy.

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Can’t leave out Cakes & Confections at 342 Ritchie Highway. Locals just love Chef Michael Brown’s marvelous holiday yule logs, Christmas cookies and homemade pies. These are just some of the businesses doing their best to spread Christmas cheer. They hope you’ll keep the small business community healthy by #ShoppingLocal.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Almost a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, many small businesses were struggling and some were forced to close their doors. Though it may be difficult to imagine anyone wanting to risk starting a new business, two were launched during October.

j.lolly

Friends Tammi Molavi and Michelle Hickman started the first – an online business called j.lolly that creates beautiful table settings for at-home entertaining that customers can “rent”. They offer complete tablescapes for gatherings of from two to 24 diners and guarantee no-contact delivery and pick-up.

The partners have created several different tablescapes to choose from, the most popular of which has been “All Out Autumn” pictured here. Each place setting includes a muted green charger, round white china dinner plate, squared salad plate in the same hue, an antique butter pat plate, cloth napkin in napkin ring, and a copper mug. Special touches include a lovely bouquet of sunflowers in a white mason jar.

Occupying the far end of the table are selections of tarts and cookies and appetizers from a Severna Park catering company Molavi and Hickman have teamed with called April’s Table which can supply a sumptuous take-out menu if requested.

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Hickman explained that the idea for their company was generated by their common interests and the fact that they’d long wanted to do something together. Having met volunteering for a Severna Park Middle School drama department show their kids were in and further bonded as “costume moms” for Severna Park High’s Rock ‘N Roll Revivals, they found they both had a passion for party and event planning and a penchant for collecting china, glassware, linens and decorative items.

Restricted to their homes with time on their hands during the COVID-19 lock down, the pair tackled housekeeping chores and rediscovered treasures from their collections.

“During our daily phone calls, we’d detail what we came across – like my collection of antique butter pat plates and Michelle’s rustic candle holders,” Molavi said. “We were wondering how we could put these lovely pieces to use when we came up with the idea of renting out ready-to-use table settings.”

They realized that, even during a pandemic, people need to celebrate the little things. Providing an easy, no-contact way of entertaining could be a valuable service.

By pooling their collections, they had enough items to create six different tablescapes. “All Out Autumn” came together easily.

Special touches like Molavi’s individual butter pat plates were easy to come up but it was more challenging finding napkin rings in the shape of leaves. Calling on their creativity, they added cleverly designed background decorations.

j.lolly’s equally lovely tablescapes include “Bespoke Blush”, a positively “pretty in pink” setting, while “Envious Emerald” mixes dark green elements with bright whites that even St. Patrick would admire. “Woodsy Chic” combines sky blue china and blue and white checked napkins with lush greenery. “Amazing Greys” impresses with subtle elegance that relies on graphic patterns in china and linens. “Coastal Cool” captures a waterside vibe with vintage sea glass and matching blue table linens. All six tablescapes come with easy to follow set-up directions.

According to Hickman, the name j.lolly was chosen for the business to commemorate the beginning of their friendship when their children were in the show “Schoolhouse Rock”.

“The ‘J’ is for Tammi’s daughter Josee who played Interplanet Janet and ‘Lolly’ is for the song my son Sam sang during his first musical appearance.”

Both women have solid experience behind them. Molavi owned the Paper Trousseau in Olde Severna Park which handled wedding and event invitations and related materials while Hickman, a former teacher, had a home staging business. An added advantage is having Josee, now a teacher at St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal School, as their unofficial social media advisor.

The partners say they’re starting small while people are still sticking close to home. But they believe the possibilities for expansion once the virus runs its course are endless. There are excellent opportunities to work with local businesses like April’s Table. Prospective customers run the gamut from young couples without storage space for china or glassware to busy professionals pressed for time… or older adults looking for an easier way to host a holiday family dinner.

A website is in the works which will be www.jlolly.com. Meantime, visit @setbyjlolly on Instagram or https://www.facebook.com/setbyjlolly on Facebook.

Atalie Day Photography

The second business to launch in October was Atalie Day Payne’s Atalie Day Photography.

Well-known to area residents as Atalie Day Brown through her work for The Capital and Maryland Gazette newspapers, Payne first submitted images as a free-lance photographer in 2012, became the paper’s West County columnist in 2013, and took over as the Around Pasadena columnist in 2015.

She spent five years covering Pasadena before leaving The Capital in April of 2019 when son Jasper was born. Even while taking a breather to spend more time with Jasper, daughter Elise, 4, and son Ezra, 15, she missed the artistic outlet that working for the newspaper provided.

“I’m someone who loves art. I enjoy drawing and painting and I have a degree in photojournalism from George Washington University’s Corcoran School of the Arts and Design” said Payne. “I’ve always loved photography since my dad brought me my first film camera when I was 14 and I learned darkroom techniques and development. It’s part of me.”

Not being able to exercise her artistic muscle proved difficult for Payne and she’d long nurtured a dream of being a portrait photographer. With Jasper reaching the toddler stage and family members eager to babysit, she found she now had enough time to pursue that dream.

As a first step, she sought a mentor-ship with a photographer she greatly admired and had previously hired for Payne family portraits. The two met at length and discussed portraiture processes and the ways in which taking portraits is a unique discipline.

“Portraiture and photojournalism are quite different,” Payne said. “As a photojournalist, you move yourself wherever necessary to capture the action.. The posing aspect of a photo shoot was new to me.”

Building on skills she gained through her newspaper work and through a business she and husband Jared had recreating tintypes, she moved ahead and sought her first clients.

The budding portraitist has already completed a variety of Atlaie Day Photography assignments. Thus far, all have taken place in the natural settings she prefers. She’s done maternity photo shoots, taken engagement pictures and most recently photographed a wedding. But she’s mostly done family portraits which she seems to have a real knack for. She is particularly good working with children.

A recent photo session took place on the Shiloh family’s three acre working farm in Pasadena. Photographing C. J. and Jim Shiloh and their 3-year-old daughter Carol Sue against a backdrop of newly mowed fields and autumn leaves was a joy. The fact that chickens and sheep appeared from time to time simply added to the fun.

Choosing locations is always a challenge for Payne, even more so if she has acres at her disposal. And she likes to schedule her sessions for evening during the “golden hour” when the light is magical and is something that can’t be replicated indoors. She aims for a mix of images. Some shots are posed and formal. For others, she uses her photojournalist background to capture a family’s interactions, be it playing with a child, sharing a laugh or simply enjoying each other’s company.

Processing the digital photos she takes involves editing using an Adobe Lightroom software program, sometimes employing filters. Then she uploads them for the clients. At that point, clients can take the photos to whichever printer they prefer. There are now companies that specialize in portrait photographs that Payne can recommend.

The most challenging part of starting her portrait photography business has, thus far, been attracting clients. As word of Payne’s new endeavor spread, several families contacted her including friends from her church. But other clients discovered her through social media. She’s in the process of building an Atalie Day Photography website. For now, you can check out her work and contact her through her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Atalie-Day-Photography.

Doing sessions for several happy couples who discovered Atalie Day Photography through Facebook was both enjoyable and inspiring. She particularly liked working with newly engaged couple Trenda and Will Davidson.

“The love they felt for each other was palpable during the entire session and I know they’ll be very happy together,” she said.

To further her experience and exposure, Payne’s arranged to work as a second shooter for a friend who is a well established wedding photographer.

And, she’s already put plans for her next step into action.

“I’ll be hosting Christmas photo sessions November 21, 28 and Dec 5 from 2-4 p.m. The cost is $100 but 25% of my profit will be donated to a good cause, like historic Hancock’s Resolution farm in Pasadena.,” she said.

To that end, she recently purchased a new full frame high quality digital camera. She also bought a vintage velveteen sofa for those holiday mini-sessions – a whimsical prop that will add to the fun.

She’ll be doing the mini-sessions in half hour blocks by appointment. They may be arranged through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Atalie-Day-Photography or by calling 301-697-1307.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Conducting a Floating Classroom aboard a 20-ft. maritime skiff called Sea Girl on a beautiful late October morning was fun for Emi McGeady. She enjoyed teaching students how oxygen and salinity levels – which the kids measured – affected oyster habitat, oyster restoration efforts, dead zones and wildlife dependent on the river.

“Back in the field” at Jonas and Anne Catherine Green Park at Greenbury Point, McGeady reverted to her role as the Severn River Association’s new field investigator.

Her primary task is running the organization’s water quality monitoring program. Owing to above-average rainfall, algae blooms, and fish kills this year, the testing program took on added importance.

“Every week, I go out with volunteers on our skiff from Back Creek to 44 monitoring stations – 11 along the mainstem of the river and 33 in the Severn’s creeks and coves. We monitor all the way from headwaters at Indian Landing down to Whitehall Bay and Lake Ogleton,” she said.

The monitoring stations are spread across approximately 3,650 acres so it’s impossible to monitor them all in one trip. Thus, they split them into four manageable tours. Because of COVID regulations, only four volunteers go out at a time and everyone must wear a mask. SRA continues to need volunteers of all ages – who needn’t be members – to perform this important task.

“Each tour takes us two to three hours. The shortest tour is six stations and the lengthiest 11 sations,” said McGeady. “At each station, we lower a YSI probe with computerized instrumentation over the side of the boat on a long cord…. as much as eight meters down to just above the bottom though each station is different. The instruments provide a profile of conditions from the bottom to the surface.”

What SRA is most interested in are readings taken from just above the bottom of the river where the oxygen is lowest. It’s also the area where oysters, crabs and other aquatic lifeforms live.

The instrument readings include water temperature, salinity, PH and percentage of dissolved oxygen. A Secchi disk, a 12-inch disk lowered into the water until no longer visible, is used to determine water clarity. Weather conditions, including wind, are also recorded. McGeady uploads all the data they collect to the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative.

This summer’s heavy rains resulted in a lot of runoff with bacteria and nutrients entering the water resulting in algae blooms and a mahogany tide when the algae died, decomposed and depleted oxygen levels. This caused dead zones near the river’s bottom.

There was also a large-scale fish kill resulting from Tropical Storm Isaiah churning up the waters and depleting oxygen before the fish could swim away. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 menhaden died at Sullivan’s Cove in Round Bay and another 7,500 near the mouth of the Severn at Lake Ogelton.

Based on her daily research, McGeady feels SRA’s oyster restoration project is invaluable. Every week, she and several volunteers visit each of five oyster reefs inspected by SRA to make sure oxygen levels, salinity, PH, and temperature readings are sufficient to allow the oysters to grow.

Standing at the park’s shoreline, she explained that all of the oyster reefs SRA monitors in partnership with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Oyster Restoration Project are located between the two Severn River Bridges.

“There were four historic places on the Severn River, dating back to 1911, that had naturally occurring populations of oysters,” she said. “Unfortunately, they were over harvested and completely disappeared. In 2008, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers came in and prepped all four of those sites using concrete slabs to create artificial structures protruding from the mud on the bottom that oysters could cling to. (Oysters can’t live in mud.)

Two of the four sites were Weems Creek and Weems Upper on the southern shore near the Rt. 50 Severn River Bridge. Another was directly in front of Manressa. The fourth was opposite the hilly area above Manressa known as Peach Orchard.

In 2018, SRA’s “Operation Build A Reef” program partnered with the Oyster Recovery Partnership to raise $50,000 in private donations and plant three of the four sites with 47 million oyster spat-on-shell from the University of Maryland’s Horn Point Hatchery off the Choptank River near Cambridge. (Spat are seed-sized oyster larvae that have metamorphosed onto a hard shell. )

In 2019, a salinity collapse in all Maryland rivers due to high rainfall meant there was too much fresh water and too little salinity off Horn Point to produce and provide enough spat for another reef to be filled.

Miraculously, the previously planted oysters survived the collapse and donations kept coming toward a 2020 planting. In July, SRA used those donations to plant 16.9 million baby oysters on the Weems Creek Reef.

Through a program begun in 2009 called Marylanders for Oysters (whereby volunteers grow oysters in cages off their piers) SRA planted oysters on their reef downriver from the Rt. 50 Bridge at Trace’s Hollow which it’s maintained for 11 years.

SRA also partners with DNR and ORP to plant oysters on Wade reef. Now the organization is looking for additional clear water areas suitable for reefs. One possibility is a part of Round Bay called Eagle’s Nest which, though shallow, has clear water and high oxygen levels.

According to McGeady, the Severn River is designated a “sanctuary river for oysters” and none can be harvested.

Some spat die off before maturing, but many oysters live for years. A mature oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water daily. It would take 10 billion living oysters to sufficiently clean the river and make it healthy.

Oyster reefs provide a great habitat for other marine life including worms, crabs, fish and underwater grasses. Submerged grasses also filter water and dampen wave energy. McGeady monitors aquatic vegetation along with trees and plants onshore that prevent runoff and erosion.

In fact, a clump of earth dislodged from the riverbank caught her eye. Examining it, she found the clump contained phragmites, a non-native invasive species of reeds that crowds out native species animals depend on. She further investigated, spotting phragmite reeds among the native grasses .

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Emi McGeady loves her job as a field investigator. She’s always enjoyed being outdoors. especially at her grandfathers house in the woods of North Carolina. Having grown up in Chartwell, she attended Severna Park High School where she found teacher Sue Hannah’s AP environmental science class fascinating.

After graduating, she attended the University of North Carolina with the idea of becoming a veterinarian. She, instead, fell in love with the school’s environmental science classes, switched her major and had lots of great hands-on experience.

“I went shark tagging, did a reforestation research project in Kentucky, and did research using drones, “she said. “I really enjoyed marine biology, so I thought the best place to apply my knowledge and talents was the Chesapeake Bay.”

She subsequently joined the Chesapeake Conservation Corp of the Chesapeake Bay Trust. The conservation corp provides grants for its members to work on a restoration or ecological program. SRA’s Executive Director Tom Guay had applied for the program on behalf of the organization. The two seemed a perfect match and McGeady’s Chesapeake Conservation Corps grant enabled her to join Guay at SRA in August.

SRA recently elected Erik Kreifeldt as its new president and acquired a new development director Suzanne Martin to lead its fundraising, event and development efforts. For information on the Severn River Association, visit https://severnriver.org/.

Severn River Lions traditional fruit sales are back

The Severn River Lions are holding their first fruit benefit sale. But this year they are having customers pick up their orders at Cypress Creek Park off Cypress Creek Road on Saturday, November 21.

Florida Navel Oranges, Ruby Red Grapefruit and Mandarin Oranges are being featured. Prices and quantities are listed and orders may be placed online and pre-paid by credit card at SRLCFruit.com, https://shop.floridaindianrivergroves.com/ecommerce/1014813.

Orders must be placed by Friday, Nov. 13. Pick-up on Saturday, November 21 is between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Fruit purchased may be delivered direct to the customer but there is a delivery charge of $6.95 per box ordered.

Customers are asked to wear a mask for pickup and should bring their email receipt. For questions, please email fruitorders@severnriverlions.org or call 410-518-9863.

Your purchase helps the Lions support: hearing and vision programs, youth programs, Meals on Wheels, SPAN, Cub and Boy Scouts, the Severna Park Middle School LEO club, Teen Court, children’s eye screenings at elementary schools and other projects.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

If ever there was a white glove event, Severna Park Community Center’s 25th Anniversary Drive-By Gala was it. Elegantly dressed, in keeping with the fundraiser’s “Hollywood Premier” theme, community center staffers, board members and volunteers greeted supporters who’d purchased Anniversary Gala dinner packages as they arrived in their cars.

The volunteers’ “white gloves” not only added the perfect touch of class to the event but were one of several COVID-19 precautions taken along with wearing masks and having supporters remain safely in their cars while picking up their dinner boxes.

CEO Sarah Elder, programs director Shelly Beigel, dance center director Kellie Greer and 18 others pitched in to make the event happen.

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Beautifully turned out in silks, satins and pearls, Beigel and board member Patt Haun hailed each car as it entered the community center parking lot, greeted drivers and passengers and directed them around a circle where Greer and others sent them on to one of two Drive-By Stations to pick up their Anniversary Gala dinner boxes.

Haun and Beigel seemed pleased that the drive-by aspect of the fundraiser was going smoothly. They said the gala was going well with every dinner box ticket sold and an online auction/raffle continuing till midnight.

They admitted that switching from SPCC’s original plans for a glamorous 25th Anniversary event held in a hotel ballroom to a mostly online endeavor with a drive-by finale was challenging.

“Creativity has been the name of the game for 2020,” Beigel said. “We worked hard putting together the great dinner packages and coming up with the little touches you see here today.”

One such touch – taking place just below the outdoor stairway where Haun and Beigel were posted – was the appearance of the Arundel High School Jazz Band which serenaded attendees as they drove around the circle. Since the Severna Park Community Center draws visitors from throughout the county, band members considered performing there quite the feather in their caps.

“It’s the band’s first performance this year,” said Beigel. “They’re very happy about it.”

Automobiles heading around the circle past historic Holy Grounds were welcomed by greeters along a row of faux Oscar statuettes and a red carpet to their right.

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To their left, behind a rope line, was an impressive display of exotic cars with Dr. Diane Lebedeff, the board member who’d arranged the exhibit through a friend, upholding tradition by acting as “glamorous spokes model”

Opposite the autos, Drive-By Station #1 was manned by 25th Anniversary Gala honoree Lee Marston, wearing his signature orange paisley tuxedo jacket, former board member Larry Sells and volunteers Sylvia Marston and Joan Tiernan.

At Drive-By Station #2, “Marilyn Monroe” joined volunteers Jean Andrew, Pam Henel, and Ellen Kleinknecht in handing out over 100 anniversary dinner boxes.

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Kleinknecht, SPCC Board secretary, showed off one of the boxes which had labels emblazoned with the logos of companies that sponsored the event to the tune of $1,000 each. She explained that each box contained a split of champagne, a champagne flute, a special dessert and a gift certificate for $50 to one of a variety of local restaurants.

From the champagne and desserts to the gift certificates, everything in the boxes was donated by local restaurants, businesses and bakeries,

According to CEO Elder, the event was a huge success.

“We’ve tabulated all of our fundraising efforts including sponsors, tickets, raffle, and online auction,” she said on Monday. “We raised just shy of $50,000 and made our goal, which is the best news of all!”

Elder noted that there are more upcoming events for the community center.

This Friday, October 30, SPCC is holding a Halloween Parade for kids of all ages from 11 am to noon outdoors in the parking lot There will be treats, take-home crafts and selfies in front of a spooky backdrop.  The event is free but reservations are required. Call 410-647-5843.  

On Sunday December 6, the public is invited to SPCC’s 25th Anniversary Holiday Open House from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm:  Held outside, there will be a strolling Santa, a fun backdrop for socially distanced selfies, carolers, hot chocolate, treats for kids, fun crafts an artisan marketplace and more. The event is free to the public.

The 25th Anniversary Spaghetti Dinner is being held February 13 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm in the center’s Andy Borland Gymnasium. They’ll have both in-person and take-out dinners this year and family tables for eating in with lots of social distancing. Tickets are available at https://www.spcommunitycenter.org/.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

From the moment Julia Wills began her class in Annapolis Home Brew’s tasting room, participants’ eyes were drawn to a jar full of floating pancake-shaped living organisms called SCOBY’s that are essential for making the fermented beverage known as Kombucha.

Wills, the owner of Gambrills-based Joyful Days Wellness Spa and a licensed esthetician, is dedicated to nourishing people’s bodies, minds and souls in natural ways. An advocate for making naturally fermented foods and beverages like Kombucha, she initially sought out Annapolis Home Brew – a major supplier of home brewing ingredients and equipment – to purchase glass containers, bottles and other necessities.

She quickly became friends with the owners who sampled her beverages, appreciated her expertise in the art of making Kombucha and suggested she teach a Kombucha class. She’s held the classes once a month ever since.

Speaking from behind an ingredient-laden table, Wills made introductions and extended a special welcome to the class’ oldest participant, John “Jiggs” McHale who happened to have been her junior high vice-principal.

The teacher touched briefly on her background. Having studied nutrition since 2006, she’d learned about the health benefits of naturally fermented foods including Kombucha and had been drinking the beverage for years.

“Back then, Kombucha wasn’t as widely known,” she said. “Only one brand was available locally and I could only find it at one store. Outrageously priced at $4 per bottle, I couldn’t afford it as a young single mom and decided to learn how to make it at home.”

She found a recipe for it in a best-selling cookbook called “Nourishing Traditions” by nutritional expert and author Sally Fallon – a book that both she and McHale consider “their bible”.

Once she’d bought her supplies, she found making a gallon of Kombucha cost her less than $1.

Wills revealed the interesting history of Kombucha and the bacterial culture from which it is made. No one knows exactly how or when it originated but it’s believed to have been used in China as early as 221 BC before spreading around the world. Then as now, the ingredients were very basic.

Wills started her demonstration by combining organic black tea, organic sugar, and boiling water. (It’s perfectly fine to use organic tea bags.) She added 5 tea bags to a small amount of water in a large glass jar she referred to as a fermentation vessel. After stirring the tea, she briefly left the room to fetch additional boiling water.

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During the break, McHale chatted with his tablemates, Erin and Amanda O’Connor, sharing anecdotes and tips. He told them he prepares fermented foods from recipes in Fallon’s book and enjoys making his own sauerkraut from cabbages he grows.

Returning, Wills added a cup of sugar, a cup of pre-made Kombucha, and more boiling water to the vessel. She then introduced the class to the mysterious SCOBY’s in the huge jar. The letters S C O B Y stand for “symbiotic colony of beneficial bacteria and yeast”. Using tongs, she removed one gelatinous SCOBY disc to place atop the brewed tea.

Placing the SCOBY on top of the liquid, Wills covered the vessel with a breathable cloth and sealed it with a rubber band. Transferred to a warm, dark place, the mixture will take 7 to 14 days to culture and will produce a second SCOBY pancake that will float to the top.

“The SCOBY’s interaction with tea and sugar during fermentation produces the proteins gluconic acid and glucaronic acid which cleanse and detoxify the liver, neutralize free radicals, fight inflammation, reduce cholesterol, and protect against petrochemicals found in plastic,” Wills said.

“Fermentation produces numerous probiotics and digestive enzymes as well as energy boosting B vitamins. Properties generated by fermentation also are healing to the pancreas where insulin is made. Both glucosamine, which reduces arthritis joint pain and swelling, and theo-phyllin, which acts as a bronco dilator for asthmatics, are produced.”

The fun part of class began when Wills explained the bottling process during which finished Kombucha brews can be flavored and brought out samples for tasting.

She started with samples from a two week old batch that tasted somewhat sweet and fizzy with a bit of a kick. Samples from a slightly more mature batch, with more of the sugar converted, had a pleasant sweet/sour tang and even more fizz. A third sample – one to which pumpkin spice was added during the bottling process – was voted a big success. One attendee said she preferred it to pumpkin spice coffee.

Fruity watermelon and elderberry-Hibiscus flavored samples were followed by samples of “Jun” – a variety of Kombucha made from green tea and honey requiring a specific kind of SCOBY. All tasted good.

Attendees were next handed recipe print-outs and invited to make their own Kombucha under supervision with their own supplies or by purchasing Joyful Days’ handy fermentation kits which include a SCOBY.

The next Julia Wills’ Kombucha class will be held at Annapolis Home Brew off Ritchie Highway in Severna Park on Sunday, November 25 from 1 to 3 pm. For a schedule of her subsequent classes, visit https://annapolishomebrew.com/ .

There was a warm smile on the face of Winsome Brown as she rushed through the door of Garry’s Grill for a bite with a friend between clients in spite of the fact she was running late. Slightly out of breath, Brown explained she was late because she’d been looking for an Alzheimer’s client’s missing cat that they finally found in the attic.

Brown, the co-owner of a Millersville-based business with her sister called Lean On Dee Senior Care Advocates which manages in-home care for Alzheimer’s patients, is quite busy, seeing six clients each day. Nevertheless, she has organized a virtual event scheduled for October 27 from 11 am to 1:30 pm called “The Long Walk” that is being hosted online by the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce.

She is being joined for the event by Dr. Alden Gross, Maryanna Lanham, and Casey Bryant.

Gross, an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health focuses on cognitive aging and mental health among older adults. He’s the ideal person to address the clinical aspects of Alzheimer’s.

Lanham, from Athenia Financial Services, LLC, will join the discussion to outline the costs associated with caring for an Alzheimer’s patient – whether at home with proper medical attention or in an assisted living memory care facility. She’ll address insurance and costs for long-term care (which can run to $9,000 per month plus expenses) and other treatment options for clients that supplement in-home care.

Bryant, the principal attorney and owner of The Law Office of Casey L. Bryant, will highlight the insurance and legal issues faced by families of Alzheimer’s patients. She’ll touch on documents required for admission to assisted living facilities and legalities involved in being granted “medical power of attorney”.

Brown, a Community Educator for the Greater Maryland Alzhemier’s Association will be acquainting participants with the 10 signs leading to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s as well as the latest studies and treatment options. Her personal experience as an Alzheimer’s patient caregiver gives her in-depth insight into how best to manage her clients.

After working in New York’s financial sector for over twenty years, she was unexpectedly thrust into the role of a caregiver for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2010.

The sudden pressure to make life-altering choices on her mother’s behalf, without being prepared to do so, forever shaped her views about our health system and what was needed for seniors and caregivers.

Soon, Brown and her sister Dee, a registered nurse, formed Lean On Dee Senior Care Advocates, serving as Certified Senior Advisors and Certified Dementia Live Coaches and Caregivers. As demand for Lean on Dee’s services grows, the sisters work to bring peace of mind, resources, and education to families that find themselves in need.

Brown, Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber CEO Liz League, and Lanham came up with the event’s name “The Long Walk” because the disease can be ongoing for 10 to 15 years, Brown said she’ll describe the Alzheimer’s experience through the eyes of a family. She’ll explain the difference between forgetfulness due to normal aging and dementia associated with problems ranging from memory loss and problem solving issues to not recognizing time, days, dates or seasons, occasional paranoia and other problems.

“The whole point of our business is to hold on to these people’s soul even if they can’t remember everything you do with them,” Brown said. “One client loves to play pool. He can’t remember that we played pool ten times in a row but he is excited each time and it makes him happy.”

Keeping clients engaged in life is important to Brown. She has one patient, for example, who loves to build things. Brown has him build birdhouses but he isn’t good at decorating them. She has another patient who loves to paint. When her “builder” finishes a birdhouse, Brown passes it on to her “artist” client to decorate. Both are very happy to be doing something they love.

For information on Lean On Dee Senior Care Advocates, visit https://www.leanondee.com/ .

Jing Ying Team plans to “Kick Alzheimer’s to the Curb on Sunday

For the fourth year Nancy and Billy Greer, the owners of Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi, are gathering a team for the “Kick Alzheimer’s to the Curb” walk this Sunday, October 18 at noon. As always, the walk will be dedicated to the memory of Nancy’s mother Cora Willard who had the disease.

Thanks to loving care from her husband Glenn and visits from Nancy and Billy every weekend, Cora was able to remain in her Northern Virginia home until one week before she passed away at a nursing facility.

Nancy comments that she was always happy spending those weekends with her mom -sometimes putting on music so they could dance or taking her parents for dinner at a local Ledo’s where they were known to the staff and treated royally.

She mentioned how difficult it was seeing her mother go through the different phases of Alzheimer’s – especially the scariest one when she failed to recognize her husband and had a fear “of that stranger living in the house”.

Following her mother’s death in October of 2017, Nancy and Billy did their first Alzheimer’s fundraising walk in downtown Annapolis. Nancy was Team Captain and they raised $11,000. They raised similar sums of money over the next two years. All told, their walks have raised $30,000 for research, care and support of Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers.

“Because of COVID-19, this year’s walk will be different and smaller,” Nancy said. “We’ll gather at Jing Ying Institute at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard in Arnold for a virtual opening ceremony and then “Kick Alzheimer’s to the Curb” by walking circuits around our building.”

For information about Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi, to make a donation to the Kick It to the Curb fundraiser, or to check out their Drive-By Halloween Celebration on October 31, visit http://www.jingying.org/.