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AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Parking lots without a single car in a once-favorite shopping center or empty storefronts along a strip of Severna Park shops are slightly unsettling. They mean businesses you may have liked are gone forever and the property owners are looking for new tenants.

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Change is inevitable and turnover has always been a feature of Severna Park’s retail scene but never has it seemed to move so slowly. The closure of businesses like the Food Lion supermarket (seen above) at 466 Ritchie Highway, A.C. Moore at Severna Park Marketplace and the service station at the corner of Ritchie Highway and Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard, to name a few, predate the COVID-19 pandemic and have been empty for more than a year.

During the same period, smaller retailers like the chocolate shop Coco Couture closed, leaving life in Severna Park a little less sweet. Following the holidays in December, 2019 candy maker Jessica Zaleskiwicz, (who ran the shop day-to-day with mother Laura Zeitz) decided to go in another direction. By then, she explained, more of their sales were coming from events than from the shop. Zaleskiwicz still makes a bit of chocolate now and then but she’s currently working elsewhere while finishing her bachelor’s degree.

The candy shop is in the former Howard Bank Square at 350 Ritchie Highway and has yet to find a tenant.

A stone’s throw away Howard Bank, for which the center was named, closed its doors too. The bank building looks unoccupied but the presence of cars out front may tell a different story.

Among several businesses swept away by the COVID pandemic was Paradigm Scratch Kitchen & Cocktails at Magothy Gateway Village. Across Ritchie Highway from that property, storefronts previously occupied by Yoga Works, BoHo Nation and We Rock the Spectrum kids gym sit empty.

“For Lease” signs are scattered throughout Severna Park – a situation Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber CEO Liz League has speculated about. She wonders if there is too much duplication of certain kinds of businesses and worries about commercial office space going unused.

“At a multi-chamber luncheon with Maryland Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford, we learned that so many government employees are working remotely from home that there may not be a need to rent as much commercial office space,” League said.

Matt Wyble, who heads The Matt Wyble Team of Century 21, has long been a part of the Severna Park business scene. He speculates that several factors are eroding the ability of brick and mortar retail shops to compete.

“I don’t specialize in commercial real estate,” Wyble said. “However, my guess would be that the overall shift to eCommerce for retail shopping, in combination with the COVID quarantine restrictions hit neighborhood businesses hard.”

But the retail and commercial property picture in Severna Park may be brighter than it appears according to John A. Rosso of Annapolis-based Rosso Commercial Real Estate Services, LLC. As Rosso handles many of the properties mentioned above, he has a unique perspective.

He’s quick to point out that commercial real estate transactions in Anne Arundel County take much longer than residential transactions. The average commercial real estate transaction – say for someone wanting to lease the former Food Lion – could take as long as four to six months due to imperatives such as obtaining permits and completing construction.

New leases for empty commercial properties may be in the works, Rosso says, but there’s a lag before it becomes evident that they’ve been leased again “so the public may perceive that a property is unoccupied for longer than it actually is.”

He believes part of the former Food Lion property may be under lease to another supermarket but we could not confirm that.

Rosso said he’s been working on the service station property at the corner of Ritchie Highway and B&A Boulevard for six months and has a new business lined up but the transaction is still in the works.

Like League, Rosso thinks duplication in the market is a factor in the closure of some businesses. That may have been the case for another property he’s handling that’s next to the service station and previously housed the Choice One Urgent Care clinic.

At Magothy Gateway Village, Rosso is working on leasing the former Paradigm Sketch Kitchen that had earlier been Pascal’s Chophouse. He said Paradigm Sketch’s timing in re- branding from a pricey chophouse to a made-from-scratch restaurant with a nationally known chef was unfortunate as the pandemic hit within weeks of its opening. He feels the location shows promise and there’s a lot of activity from people interested in the space..

Rosso does not handle the former Howard Bank but believes, even though the space appears vacant, there are paying tenants.

“My understanding is that Howard Bank is currently involved in a merger/acquisition process but still pays rent on the building and has made the property available for sublease,” he said. “With two years left on the bank’s lease, subleasing is complicated because it’s a three-party transaction between landlord, tenant and sub-tenant…. and most companies prefer a longer lease.”

Several of the shops neighboring Howard Bank are primarily food related. According to Rosso, Anne Arundel County requires anyone serving or preparing food on premise to have a 1,000 gallon grease interceptor (that can cost up to $20,000), three-compartment sinks, and mechanical and HVAC capaciity. Even though the infrastructure is there for Coco Couture and the other businesses, it’s outdated by county standards making opening another food business costly.

The former Sun Trust Bank at Park Plaza was demolished recently due to a merger with BB&T Bank. Construction is now underway on a Popeye’s that will join an already crowded field of fast food restaurants in Park Plaza and other shopping centers.

“My understanding is that Popeye’s signed a lease up to 18 months ago before the pandemic to secure the location and has been paying rent,” Rosso said. “They’ve finally begun the construction phase.”

According to Rosso, there’s a lot of activity in the commercial real estate market currently but it’s very difficult for companies to find commercial properties to buy. Leasing is the primary option in Severna Park where there are now a lot of national chains like Noodles & Company, Mod Pizza, Chipotle, and Chic-fil-A. “We’re as busy as we’ve ever been,” he added.

There’s more good news involving the final contract Rosso’s handling – the location that housed Partners In Care’s Upscale Retail Boutique at 6 South Ritchie Highway before they moved to Festival at Pasadena.

“I’m representing a buyer for that property and we have it under contract,” he said. “The buyer is a local business wanting to expand their exposure. They should be settling in the next 30 days.”

Rosso’s comments indicate that some of the now empty storefronts may soon bustle with business. But with mixed signs in the local and national economy, it’s unclear whether all of the spaces will find new retailers.

Melody Wukitch, reading specialist and now bookstore owner, couldn’t be happier. On May 1, she opened Park Books & Literacy Lab at 555 Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard in Olde Severna Pak to the delight of the community. Nestled in a space next to Garry’s Grill and Savvy Consignment, the new shop has hundreds of books that appeal to a variety of age groups and interests. However the shop has much more to offer.

“Park Books is a traditional independent book store,” its proprietor said. “However, I’m a reading specialist by trade, working with students both within the educational system and privately, so I’ve integrated my literacy lab work into the bookstore.”

Moving into the main part of the shop, there’s a little bit of everything. There are young- adult fiction and adult fiction sections. There’s a special “Indie Next” section dedicated to fiction and non-fiction works favored by independent bookstores – books deemed likely to reach “bestseller” status.

There are Sci-Fi books and an excellent mystery/thriller section with books by best-selling authors like David Baldacci, John Sanford and Jack Carr. A sizable non-fiction section features books on health, humor, leadership, philosophy, and religion as well as autobiographies.

The bookstore also carries puzzles, games, jewelry and gifts made by local artisans. Particularly popular at the moment are handcrafted candles representing different Severna Park neighborhoods like Chartwell, Round Bay, Linstead or Cape Arthur. The candles are decorated with scenes from each community.

Interestingly, the Literacy Lab’s beginnings predate the bookshop by several months having started with informal sessions in November of 2020. By early in 2021, plans were underway to combine the two complimentary elements – reading lab and bookstore – into one cohesive small business.

“I launched the business in response to a critical need for a literacy/reading resource because so many families were reaching out to me,” Wukitch said. “I also felt it would be wonderful to have a bookstore – what better place for a child to learn reading. However, opening the shop was a scary proposition since many restaurants and retailers were failing due to the pandemic.”

Reasoning that Garry’s Grill was right next door and Kirsten’s Cakery and The Big Bean coffee shop a stone’s throw away, she dropped her original plan to include a coffee shop. Instead, she created an outside area with tables and chairs where customers could share a carry-out beverage or snack.

In one respect, Park Book & Literacy Lab opened at just the right time. With public schools closed for more than a year, quite a few children have fallen behind in developing their reading and comprehension skills.

Some children need help immediately. So the Literacy Lab has put some ‘Reading Recovery’ summer programming in place. For each grade level, there are four or six week sessions where parents can bring their child to meet with a certified reading specialist two or three times a week. The reading specialists assess each child, take a look at how they are reading to see where the gaps might be, and then work with them in a small group setting.

For such a recently opened establishment, Park Books is catching on quickly. Late afternoon Friday saw United States Naval Academy midshipmen Mitchell Vinzon, Maya Weiss and Dina Giles arrive for a visit with their favorite bookstore owner and to wander the stacks. Weiss and Giles, former first-year English students of Wukitch who loved her classes, think the shop is great.

Park Books and Literacy Lab is quite a boon for Olde Severna Park. No one can seem to remember if Severna Park has ever had a bookstore. You can check them out on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter or by visiting their website at Home – Park Books & Literacy Lab (parkbooksliteracylab.com) .

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN By Sharon Lee Tegler

Looking into a sea of faces as he began his remarks during the dedication of St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal School’s new Student Learning Center on December 5, 2019, Jamey Hein felt the excitement of the students, parents, teachers, and members of the clergy gathered round him. The dedication represented the culmination of years of planning, fundraising and execution for all who made the building’s construction possible. For Hein the occasion represented one of the crowning achievements of his seven-year career as St. Martin’s Head of School.

Shortly after being hired in April 2014, the amiable young educator and Connecticut native had an opportunity to explore the campus and meet with his predecessor, Rev. Frank Sawyer. While there, he looked into living arrangements and attended one of the school’s Festive Field Party fundraisers where he was warmly welcomed.

In July, Hein and his family arrived from Ann Arbor, Michigan where he’d spent seven years as a division head at Greenhills School.

“When I arrived, the school looked and felt very different, in every way, from they way it looks and feels today, Hein said. “It had a sense of soul but had not been innovated or modernized in any way so it felt a bit old fashioned.”

“For a very long time, it had been run by St. Martin’s Church as a parish preschool but it evolved into an elementary school in the late 1990’s and continued it’s evolution by adding a middle school in 2008. As one board member put it, the school had good bones but was a fixer-upper.”

Hein’s main mission as Head of School was to encourage child-centered learning. He observed that this involved teachers moving from “sage on the stage” to “guide on the side” as a way of allowing children’s voices and ideas to surface.

Almost immediately he instituted “Java With Jamey” gatherings to communicate his ideas to parents and get their feedback.

He mentioned his devotion to developing skill sets important for children’s futures – skills he considers keys to critical thinking like reading, writing and oral communication.

He also highlighted the significance of St. Martin’s acceptance into the Association of Independent Schools following a multiyear process to gain accreditation.

Parents, in turn, voiced desires that classes remain small and requested the school continue teaching cursive.

Meeting with parents, grandparents and supporters is an important part of how Hein brings them along with his ideas and innovations. He’s always been enthusiastic about meeting, greeting and speaking at events like the school’s annual Festive Field Party fundraisers.

From the outset of his seven-year journey, Hein realized his major concern was construction of a long dreamed of new learning center. But he considered that goal part of a larger equation.

“What I feel we’ve accomplished here is putting the school on an entirely new trajectory,” he said. “We’ve deepened its Episcopal identity, updated, modernized and advanced every facility, and by the end of summer, the renovation of the preschool will complete the renewal.”

An early indicator of new directions was a complete renovation of the playground and the creation of an iLab. The iLab project was launched with help from Norm Snyder, the grandfather of several St. Martin’s students and a major donor. Snyder had been the founder of Conquest, a computer technology company he later sold to Boeing.

Students helped raise $1,300 to build the lab by duct-taping their good-natured headmaster to a wall for $1 per piece of tape. They loved the lab. Who knew you could create a piano by wiring together half a dozen bananas or build a fully prosthetic hand using a 3-D printer?

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As chairman of the board of trustees, Snyder was at Hein’s side when St. Martin’s launched its major capital campaign for the learning center during the 2017 Field Party.

They also unveiled construction plans for the center – a 6,500 square foot facility that would house K-8 science and art classes and middle school core classes.

“There had been three different efforts at designing a building for the middle school but, when I arrived here, we scaled it back. We realized that we’d not done this before and needed to be realistic with our goals, aspirations and funding,” Hein said.

By Thanksgiving of 2018, construction was well along under the supervision of project manager Lynda Snyder. As usual, the school’s annual Children’s Thanksgiving Feast took place with food and decorations prepared by students from each grade. Always a good sport, Hein presided over the feast wearing a turkey on his head. Students from kindergarten and fourth grade offered prayers of thanksgiving and then were led by eighth-grade “buddies” to a buffet served by parent volunteers.

The end of 2019 saw the completion of the middle school construction and an impressive dedication ceremony. It began with a religious service in St. Martin’s Church followed by a procession to the learning center, a ribbon cutting by the entrance, and a blessing by The Right Reverend Eugene Taylor Sutton, 14th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

Students couldn’t wait to show off their new classrooms to the parents and church members in attendance. Having just moved from their old mobile classrooms, they were eager to settle in and appreciate their new surroundings.

Visitors filing through the building that afternoon couldn’t help being impressed by science labs, art rooms and new classrooms.

Not only was the Student Learning Center open and accommodating but the school, in general, had been upgraded. The once-meager administrative staff was augmented by hiring true professionals for positions in admissions, finance, and marketing and development to provide a solid structure moving forward. There was a marked improvement in teacher salaries and an effort to broaden the curriculum to include more diversity.

St. Martin’s was becoming known across a wider geographical area, in part due to membership in the Mid-Atlantic Episcopal School Association of which Hein is president.

On dedication day, however, he had no idea that the biggest challenge of his tenure as Head of School still lay ahead. Following school closures and a switch to remote learning from late March through June of 2020, St. Martin’s board of trustees’ met through the summer. They made a decision to fully reopen the campus in September of 2020 for in-person learning (while public schools remained closed). It fell to Hein to implement the decision.

Bringing the students back to school went smoothly and was extremely successful. With COVID guidelines in place, children wearing masks, and the teachers wholeheartedly onboard, there were no problems with the exception of a few positive tests. Classes were quickly back to normal five days a week.

” It was completely worth it,” Hein said. “One unexpected silver lining of the COVID pandemic was enrollment. A year ago, we were projecting an enrollment of 160 students. Instead, because of our ability to stay open, we now have an enrollment of 230 and we’ll start next fall with an enrollments of 280 students. We hope we can keep all those students in our school family and we’re now second-guessing if we should have made the learning center bigger after all.”

He added that COVID innovations , the opening of the learning center, and the ongoing renovations and educational upgrades combined to transform the school. He observed that Internet technology has become an integrated part of learning – a part he believes the school has used wisely.

Hein’s time as Head of School for St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal School will come to a close at the end of June. He’ll be moving on to become Interim Head of School of The Calverton School in Huntingtown, Calvert County – a Pre-K through 12th grade International Baccalaureate School with a student body of 300. Founded in the 1950’s, Calverton School’s 150 acre campus is a busy one and includes a boarding facility for some of it’s international students.

Charles Sachs, Hein’s successor as Interim Head of School will not arrive until July. Meantime, Hein will continue as before and find time to do many more of his much-loved readings with the smaller children.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Annuals were flying off the shelves at local garden centers this week and vegetable transplants even more so. While longtime gardeners spent time searching for the year’s newest and most promising species, first timers needed plants, soils, containers and tools and were full of questions. Anne Arundel County Farm, Lawn and Garden Center, owner Cory Stephens and his energetic staff welcomed them all and stood ready to help and advise. They even helped one regular customer locate a rare breed of Japanese eggplant he wanted to try.

According to Stephens, business is booming due to the surge in gardening that’s taken place during the COVID pandemic lock downs.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that, over the last two years, because of COVID, folks needed something to do. In addition to home improvement projects, they discovered how easy gardening is,” Stephens said.

“Many people are novices and we’re good at working with inexperienced gardeners,” he added. “We have wonderful handouts that explain everything from planning your plot to what to plant, how deep to plant it, proper spacing and so forth. We have a tremendous selection of seeds and transplants that are easy for them to try.”

Having moved from its original location in Glen Burnie in 2017, AA Co. Farm, Lawn and Garden Center has 94 years of experience advising and supplying farmers and gardeners from across a wide area. Stephens and staff emphasize that soil and soil amendments are a priority for novices because Anne Arundel County’s acidic mix of sands and clay is challenging .

From signs for Bulk LeafGro compost along the fences to bags of potting mixes, top soils, raised bed mixes and mulches by the sheds, it’s clear that soil improvement is a goal that can be met.

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Stephens notes that the garden center does soil testing which takes just two minutes and is critical to getting a proper PH balance and essential nutrients for good growth.

The garden center’s “Welcome to Potsville” section has everything beginners need to get started from pots and watering cans to long handled tools, trowels, trellises and tomato cages.

Wending one’s way past “Berry Land” with its strawberry plants, raspberry vines and blueberry bushes, one found row upon row of vegetable transplants, perennials and annuals along with a greenhouse for newly started plants and hanging baskets.

Store manager Heidi Tyler and department manager Steph Stowell both commented that Homestead’s buyers are working double time to keep up with heavy demand for plants and gardening supplies. The COVID pandemic has inspired a new class of novice gardeners eager to try their hand.

“There are many new people coming in who want to start vegetable gardens,” Stowell said. A lot of them want to start from seed. Others, who haven’t gardened in the past, want to buy easy annuals like petunias or impatiens. Some, who gardened in the past but didn’t have time, are picking it back up again.”

Tyler said it’s been exciting to see such a high volume of new gardeners and it’s obviously good for business.

“Following last year’s huge surge in people buying ‘edibles’, they remain exceedingly popular. But this year gardeners are adding more decorative annuals and perennials to the edibles,” she said. “The pollinator plants and flowers are popular too.”

Tyler and Stowell mentioned that Homestead has been educating customers on the benefits of Maryland natives. In fact, the Severna Park store has just added a “Native Habitat” of plants in one corner at the far end of the patio.

“The plants and flowers within the habitat are natives that are true to our specific ecosystem,” Tyler said. “There are pollinator plants like coreopsis, yarrow, lavender and cone flowers along with ground covers and small trees and shrubs that do well here and attract bees and butterflies. There are even plants that appeal to hummingbirds. All that’s needed is for our signage to be finished.”

A few of the great looking bird feeders displayed inside the store will eventually be moved outdoors to the habitat.

A great hit with new gardeners this year were hardy cold weather vegetable transplants like organic “Dinosaur Kale”, Red Kale and fast-growing leaf lettuces.

Customers also shopped for seeds from racks located inside the store. Varieties of direct sow radishes sold well – particularly those slated to mature in 23 days.

Along with tomatoes, the most popular plant with male gardeners was peppers, particularly the hotter varieties like Hungarian Hot Wax or Premium Habaneros.

Both peppers and tomatoes are easy to grow but, for those having problems, the Homestead staff stands ready to help.

Gardeners interested in decorative plants to enhance the beauty of their lawns or porches will find a wide selection to choose from. Begonias, in a lovely shade of peach, have captured many shoppers fancy.

Both inside and outside the store are hundreds of ornamental ceramic or clay pots in which to plant them.

Severna Park resident Lee Lewis, who is familiar with both AA Co. Farm, Lawn and Garden and Homestead as well as Gary’s Garden Center on Ritchie Highway at Cypress Creek Road, is aware how popular gardening has become and understands why. She, too, has plenty of time to garden. For now, she’s mostly raising perennials and was so proud of the pretty Irises blooming in her yard that she snapped a photo for a social media post. She’s always had fun checking out the garden centers for new ideas.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

“Saturday was awesome – the busiest day of my life,” said Theater in the Park founder and director Jennifer Lee Kraus. “We did fourteen shows in one day. We began with our Broadway Babies at 9 am and didn’t finish until 10 pm.”

The show, “Time Warp The Musical” was performed “live” for audiences under somewhat challenging circumstances. To follow COVID guidelines, the children needed to appear in groups of ten according to age. The audiences were kept small and were socially distanced.

“Seven groups performed twice each to stay within the guidelines for audience numbers. First to perform were our little 3 to 5-year-olds,” Kraus said. “Next were our 5 to 8-year-olds, followed by our 9’s and 10’s, and ending with kids eleven and up.”

Further complicating matters, the production was to have been performed on the stage of the Holy Grounds building but had to be relocated due to renovation work. The show was moved, instead, to the Severna Park Community Center’s Andy Borland Gymnasium.

Kraus and her team of directors and assistants spent the night before “Time Warp The Musical” in the gym installing three different backdrops and a huge Time Warp Machine. Fortunately, TITP had recently purchased a new sound system and twelve body mics so each performer could wear one to be heard across the wide expanse of the facility.

Costumes were imaginative, recreating retro looks from the 1950’s through succeeding decades of fashions courtesy of the Time Warp Machine. The music followed a similar pattern from 50’s era “Splish Splash” and “Rock Around The Clock” to Gloria Gaynor’s 70’s hit “I Will Survive”, 2000’s “Who Let The Dogs Out” and beyond.

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The Theater in the Park team’s efforts and those of the young performers were warmly rewarded. According to Kraus, audiences were delighted and their comments wonderful. Many parents mentioned how glad they were to finally see a live performance. Others said they’d so looked forward to the musical that it was a highlight of their family’s life.

Families also noted that they appreciated that TITP stayed open throughout the pandemic.

“To do that was financially rough,” said Kraus. “We had to reserve more space, hire more directors, and have fewer kids in each class but keeping our doors open was so worth it.”

The “Time Warp” performances capped a busy time for Theater in the Park. A week before, they’d staged one of their Pitch Perfect group choral performances which was moved from its scheduled location at Holy Grounds to the front steps of Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church. Thanks to TITP’s great sound system, the concert featuring music from the group Abba was a great success. For information on Theater In The Park musical workshops, visit Musical Theater Workshop for Kids – Home (theaterinthepark.net)

Children’s Art Show at Woods’ Fellowship Hall a visual delight

For most of Woods Child Development Center’s 65 year history, the annual children’s art show has been as much a social occasion as a viewing. But the show didn’t happen at all in 2020 thanks to COVID-19 related church closures. This year, the show is back and about to open – albeit in socially distanced fashion – according to director Jessica Kemper.

Kemper, along with several teachers and assistants, helped hang the show Tuesday for a Wednesday viewing from 6 to 7:30 pm. A sneak peek at the art revealed how amazing it is for children so young. Walking into Fellowship Hall, one’s eyes were immediately drawn to a whole bevy of “umbrella people” made by 2-year-olds . The children replaced the figures heads with photos taken by their teachers of their own faces.

The art was so colorful and pretty – especially the umbrella figures with likenesses of the two-year-olds.

Noting that the children who created all the art were so young, Kemper introduced teachers Amanda Siverling and Christine Westphal who were in the process of finishing panels showing their classes’ work.

“Our children use their imaginations so well,” Kemper said. “They’re making sculptures from tinfoil, creating acrylic art on panels, geometric designs, and colorful mosaics using many different techniques. I’m always surprised by what they can do.”

Among her favorites were the acrylic panels which she believed lovely enough to hang in her own home.

Kemper took a few minutes for a brief history of the child development center. She revealed that it was started in 1954 by two women from the community who wanted to offer a school opportunity for children from all walks of life, socio-economic backgrounds and races. It was very inexpensive for the times.

It began as a little church preschool a couple mornings a week but developed over the years. By 1984, they’d added a school day childcare program licensed by the Maryland Office of Childcare. Currently, the child development center has two programs – a preschool program which meets two or three days a week in the mornings and a full-day childcare program for two, three or five days which opens at 6:45 am and runs till 6 pm but has flexible hours. In a normal year, the center accommodates about 140 students though during the pandemic it has been limited to 72 students.

Kemper briefly touched on “art nights” which both staff and parents have missed.

“In past years, we’ve had the room laid out differently so people can congregate because it’s really been quite a social occasion for the parents and children. We’ve usually served strawberries and cookies and lemonade and juices and have also held a Spring Basket silent auction as a fundraiser for the center,” she said. “This year, we’re only doing the art part and the room is set up so families enter from one direction and file through and exit to the outside from the opposite direction.”

Crossing to another area of the art exhibit she’s fond of, Kemper pointed to a number of geometric designs and mosaics created by three-year-olds.

Lastly, the director pointed to a blue box decorated in clouds and explained that, throughout the year, the box had been various things.

“According to the story that’s attached, the beloved box was recycled many times. On its journey, it was a rocket ship, a cave, a tunnel, a volcano and a gas station pump,” she read. “At the end of its journey, the class turned it into a beautiful sky with their own rendition of painted clouds from the book, ‘It Looked Like Spilt Milk’. Each child’s cloud tells a different story and each child can tell what it means.”

For more information on Woods Child Development Center, visit Woods Child Development Center ~ Home (woodscdc.org) .

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Workmen on scaffolding could be spotted throughout the past week on both sides of Historic Holy Grounds. A mix of tools, ladders, lumber and windowpanes could be seen.

Owned by Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church but managed by the Severna Park Community Center, the graceful building constructed in 1927 as St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church has aged gracefully but wear and tear was inevitable. Foremost among the architectural elements needing immediate care were the windows.

Woods congregation member Bob Royer, project manager for the window replacement, revealed how plans for the complex undertaking were conceived, evolved, and brought to fruition thanks, in part, to an anonymous donor.

“We’d begun making plans to redo the windows in 2019 as part of our church’s Renew Capital Campaign to upgrade our buildings in sustainalbe, energy efficient ways,” Royer said. “At Holy Grounds, the windows were somewhat in disrepair and had been patched several times. We’d decided we couldn’t let them deteriorate further and now was the time to replace them, when we were contacted by Severna Park Community Center Executive Director Sarah Elder with a possible donor for the project.”

The church members involved had done their homework and were just about started on the work when Elder put Royer in touch with a Severna Park resident who is a community center member.

He learned that the Holy Grounds building held a great deal of significance for the donor’s family. Her grandfather attended St. John the Evangelist Church back in the days when Severna Park was still known as the rural community of Boone, Maryland. She had fond memories of the building and wanted to do something to preserve it.

Royer discovered that she’s a great advocate for authenticity (her family having been involved the John W. Brown Liberty Ship Project). He then suggested she donate the window replacement as a visible example of the original builders’ standards of excellence and a fitting tribute to her family’s legacy. He outlined the project which would require quite an expenditure and she said she’d like to pay for it.

“It was such a generous gift which allows us to divert the money we’d have spent to making other much-needed repairs and upgrades,” Royer said.

Walking into the interior of the building with him, it was stunning to see the window frames on the far side of the building empty of windows and open to the great outdoors.

There were five windows on each side of the original church but one window on each side was eventually converted to a door – a modern glass door rimmed in black with push bars. The upper panels of legacy glass were still in place on each side (one appears on the right side of the photo above) but are being removed and replaced with new panes above a pair of newly designed doors with a Prairie Grid design that mimics the windows. The original front door to the vestibule has been replaced and the legacy arched windows on either side of it replaced. Fortunately, to preserve the history of the building, they will be reinstalled in the church’s Youth Room.

All six bathroom windows have been installed. The glass used there is similar to the “Minster” style hammer-tone glass of the large windows that you can see through from inside. However, the bathroom windows use a different form of the glass that cannot be seen through from either side.

Both indoors and outdoors one could see the ongoing work and observe the contrast between the old and new window materials.

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“We were very concerned about how to preserve the look of the original windows while using a different kind of energy preserving double-paned glass,” Royer said. “We tried to make the design as close to the original as possible so we made cardboard templates of every grid to send to the company to be reproduced identically. You’ll see that we were pretty successful.”

Replacing the windows went far beyond the Woods’ REHABers group’s skills even though some are quite competent woodworkers or electricians. So the church had to hire a company that specializes in such installations. Very few companies will even touch such difficult work but Royer was fortunately connected with Severna Park resident Kyle Watson of Lansing Building Products – a business that maintains its own crews of highly skilled installers through a partnership with Action Exteriors LLC in Riva.

Because multi-paned glass requires a tight seal and a flat surface, a film that creates the grid pattern had to be applied before installation could take place. Woods hired a second company called Advanced Window Technology to apply that film.

At the same time, Action Exteriors LLC took out the sashes – quite a job that saved the installers considerable time. The original 1927 sashes were counterbalanced with lead weights in the frames that had to be removed and the channels containing them filled. Royer had worried that the wood would be deteriorated. However, the frames were quite thick and so ingeniously built that they were in good shape.

Workers from both companies were “absolute jewels” – total professionals in handling the windows down to the smallest detail according to Royer.

He noted that further work is planned going into summer – some of which may be tackled by the Woods REHAB group and some of which will be handled by a company they’re hiring. The work will include upgrading the bathrooms and kitchen.

Elder, who viewed the ongoing work across the community center courtyard from the window behind her desk, also made frequent visits as the project unfolded.

“I visited yesterday and, walking around with Bob Royer, I marveled at how much prettier the new windows are. The work they’ve done to preserve the original look is incredible,” she said. “The space is now filled with light and the windows change colors according to the time of day. The jewel tones are particularly evident at sunset. Our wonderful anonymous donor has also been by and she is just thrilled.”

Elder had a marvelous surprise to share. At the completion of the renovation work, Holy Grounds will get a new name.

“Because the building was constructed as a church in 1927 when Severna Park was known as Boone and was located opposite Boone Railroad Station, we are renaming Holy Grounds “Boone Station Hall” as a nod to its history” she said. “It’s such a charming building that’s been used by the community for everything from weddings, concerts and theater performances to yoga classes, birthday parties, baby showers, reunions and memorial services.”

She added that she’s pleased that the Holy Grounds and Youth Center signs will be saved and used elsewhere at Woods Church.

Cool Congregations Sacred Grounds Award also won by Woods

Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church recently won a Cool Congregations Sacred Grounds Award from Maryland’s Presbyterian Mission Agency for its collaborative efforts to restore the four-acre habitat the church is built on. They were awarded $1,000.

Woods was recognized for its community based efforts to renew the natural ecosystem on church land. To date, the congregation has planted over 500 native plants and more than 200 native trees. In 2019, the church’s Renew Capital Campaign raised $2.2 million dollars for sustainability projects like energy efficient windows, HVAC and LED lighting.

Their Woods at Woods Reforestation Project, Caring for Creation Rain Garden at Holy Grounds, Conservation Landscape Project to restore an eroding bank by planting deep rooted native plants, and unique Parking Lot Native Plant Gardens involved church and community members of all ages and organizations like Unity Gardens, Bay-Wise and the Watershed Stewards.

To view two excellent videos detailing these efforts, visit Woods Memorial Stormwater Tour – YouTube or A Reforestation to Slow Stormwater Runoff – YouTube

JING YING INSTITUTE OF KUNG FU & TAI CHI HOSTS WORLD TAI CHI DAY SATURDAY

Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi, a long-time participant in this global event, will be celebrating World Tai Chi Day  on Saturday, April 24. The event will be held outside at Severna Park Community Center under the trees beside Holy Grounds Youth Center from 10 am to 11:30 pm. All ages and fitness levels are welcome. If it rains, the event will be held indoors at the Jing Ying Institute in Arnold.

According to Jing Ying owners Billy and Nancy Greer, there will be demonstrations of Tai Chi followed by free mini-workshops suitable for all levels of fitness. This year, people are asked to register for the event at: www.JingYing.org where there’s also information about a free introductory tai chi class at the Severna Park Community Center on April 28.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

“Bites, brews and ballgames…” proclaims the marquis along the front of soon-to-open JB’s, Severna Park and that’s just what the new sports bar and grill is all about. Slated to happen before the end of May, the long-awaited debut of JB’s is being anticipated by locals with great excitement.

From the moment the 206 Restaurant Group took over ownership of the former Bill Bateman’s Bistro at the beginning of 2020, plans moved ahead for a complete renovation and transformation of the building which is located at 566 Ritchie Highway, Park Plaza. By mid-January of 2020, construction crews were already at work gutting the interior and reconstructing the exterior.

Greg Keating, managing partner of the 206 Restaurant Group which owns Oliver Brewing Company and four other restaurants including Park Tavern, said construction and renovation work was put on hold shortly after Governor Larry Hogan’s Stay at Home order of March 23rd.

“In addition to pausing the renovation of JB’s, we decided to close two of our Baltimore restaurants to concentrate on keeping Park Tavern, The Ale House Columbia, Donnelly’s Dockside and our brewing company operating,” Keating noted. We adapted as pandemic guidelines changed.”

Even so, plans and menus for JB’s continued to be worked on and refined.

“People have been curious to know why we decided to open JB’s directly across the Park Plaza parking lot from Park Tavern,” Keating said. “When you look at Park Tavern, however, you will see that the restaurants have entirely different concepts.”

He describes Park Tavern as a casual but sophisticated dining establishment suitable for a date night, business lunch or a Saturday or Sunday brunch. JB’s, on the other hand, is designed to be even more casual, lively and sports-oriented with 44 TV screens. (Park Tavern has just six screens.)

“JB’s also will be very child-friendly – a place you can bring your kids after soccer practice with the cleats still on,” observed Keating.

Artists’s drawings capture what the interior will look like.

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A well-designed entrance area will open onto a bar and a series of booths curving around the bar toward a bank of windows where there will be additional seating. There are also plans for an outdoor dining space.

Menus are being created to appeal to families as well – fun, simple, bar-driven foods like smash burgers, boneless wings, and regular or sweet potato fries. The bar will offer twenty draft beers but will not be as craft-oriented is Park Tavern is. Diners will find a combination of domestic beers like Bud Light or Coors mixed with a few craft beers from Oliver Brewing.

With construction and work back in full swing, the renovation project is entering its final phase. As can be seen from the photo above and the one immediately below, all of the exterior siding, signage and painting is complete.

The red, white and blue themed interior is still a work in progress though construction of the attractive bar has been completed. Elsewhere, there are still sawhorses and tools occupying part of the floor as the petitions for the booths are being built.

Keating reports that 206 Restaurant Group is already hiring for JB’s and has launched three social media sites for the restaurant including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @JB’s,SevernaPark. (The eatery has already gotten over 3,000 likes.)

“We’ve just reopened our Pratt Street Ale House in Baltimore, followed by the Five and Dime Ale House, also in Baltimore, and JB’s in turn,” said Keating. “We’re planning a couple of soft openings for friends and family in early May before our official opening day which hasn’t yet been chosen. We’ll also be having a grand opening at a later date.

Keep posted by visiting JB’s, Severna Park | Facebook.

Sun Trustdeconstructed – Popeye’s on the way

Right next to JB’s, at 566B Ritchie Higjway, the old Sun Trust Bank is being torn down to be replaced by a Popeye’s according to Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber CEO Liz League. (The Sun Trust banks merged with BB&T last year to become a single entity renamed Trust). The tear-down at the site is nearly complete so it appears that JB’s will have a new neighbor soon.

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Grand Marshall announced for Severna Park Independence Day Parade

The Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce was pleased to announce on April 12 that Eddie Conway, owner of Garry’s Grill has been chosen as Grand Marshall for this year’s Independence Day Parade. A great supporter of the community who has donated both his time and raised funds for many local charities, Conway has also entered floats in the Severna Park Parade. He’s usually been seen at the forefront of the floats – a standout in his stars and stripes coat, tie and trousers. This year the parade will take place on July 5 (since July 4 falls on a Sunday). For times and details visit Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce (gspacc.com).

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Spring flowers are not the only thing popping as the weather warms. After a somewhat difficult year, the wedding business is beginning to bloom. Wedding dresses are being shopped for, venues and caterers booked, cake tastings arranged, and flowers selected as community residents rebound, recognizing that even amid the uncertainty of a pandemic, life goes on.

Mary’s Designer Bridal Boutique at 150 Jennifer Road has definitely seen business pick up now that the COVID vaccines are out according to stylist Nita Munevar.

“Weddings seem to be a little smaller than usual but are certainly larger than they were last year,” she said. “We are selling bridal gowns and dresses for the wedding party including dresses for the mother of the bride and mother of the groom.”

Mary’s Designer Bridal Boutique carries bridal gowns and related fashions and accessories from eight designers including Allure, Maggie Sottero, Sophia Tolli and others.

With some brides planning more intimate weddings, smaller venues like Historic Baldwin Hall in Millersville and Historic Holy Grounds in Severna Park are experiencing a revival of interest.

Classic Baldwin Hall, built as a church in 1861, has four weddings booked for April with good availability for late spring and summer. Several weddings that were postponed are rescheduled for fall according to building manager Annie Medford.

“Once a house of worship until replaced in 1896 by Baldwin Memorial United Methodist Church across the street, we currently function as a historic landmark and site rental,” Medford said. “Brides can choose to have their wedding ceremonies here as well as the reception but most prefer to have the ceremony at the church .

She said all COVID protocols are followed including a restriction to 50% of capacity for an indoor wedding and there’s ample space. However, many couples opt for outdoor marriage ceremonies and the spacious grounds of Baldwin Hall are an ideal setting.

The Severna Park landmark building known as Historic Holy Grounds, is owned by Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church and managed by the Severna Park Community Center. Constructed in 1926 as the home of St. John the Evangelist Church, its architecturally interesting interior is well suited to hosting wedding receptions. It even served as the site of a wedding show a few years ago with vendors and models wearing the latest bridal fashions.

Holy Grounds’ quaint exterior and spacious interior, with graceful windows and a railed balcony, can be beautifully decorated. There’s even a small kitchen. For an outdoor wedding, there’s an attractive portico and beautiful gardens.

According to SPCC’s marketing manager Amy Holbrook, there have already been small weddings and receptions taking place at Historic Holy Grounds with proper distancing and observation of COVID protocols.

“However, we’re having to take a break from booking events for a couple months for renovations including the replacement of Holy Grounds’ fragile original windows with new stained glass ones. After that, we have wedding receptions booked for July and August and beyond,” Holbrook said.

Wedding venues that can accommodate larger weddings/ receptions include Severna Park’s Chartwell Golf and Country Club which has a spacious ballroom.

“We’re having more weddings booked for 2022 than for 2021. But we’ve had some small weddings here for 40 guests or so that were held outside,” director of events Morgan Kilduff said. “For a larger number of guests, we’ll typically do the ceremony and cocktails outside, weather permitting, and the reception in the ballroom.

A popular waterfront destination for weddings is Kurtz’s Beach in Pasadena which, because of its size and extensive outdoor space, continued hosting weddings throughout the past year.

According to event director Ashley Mason, wedding bookings remained strong since Kurtz’s Beach has tremendous outdoor capacity and could easily shift things as COVID restrictions changed. For spring and summer, wedding bookings have picked up even more for both indoor and outdoor settings.

“We are well-booked through May and June and beyond,” Mason said.

Spring is always a busy time for caterers and, partly due to weddings, this spring is even busier said April Cunningham, owner and executive chef of Olde Severna Park-based April’s Table.

“We do have a few weddings booked for spring that are generally very intimate with 20 guests or less and a plan to sit outside under a tent to enjoy a multi-course plated meal,” Cunningham observed. “However, most of the weddings we had booked for this spring season opted to reschedule for fall, so our calendar is full September through November which we are thrilled about!”

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With regard to the fall weddings, she said most clients are still planning on a large headcount, anywhere up to 200 guests, with buffet style service.  April’s Table is equally comfortable serving small-scale plated dinners or large-scale buffet dinners.

A typical intimate wedding dinner might include passed Hors D’oeuvres like Watermelon Feta Cubes, Fresh Apricot Crostini and Gazpacho Soup Sips followed by a salad of Spring Field Greens. Main event entrees might include Maryland Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes, Eggplant Napoleon or Herb Rubbed Beef Tenderloin. And, of course, there’d be special desserts in addition to wedding cake.

A large wedding menu would include a grazing display board of Hors D’oeuvres like cured meats and artisan cheeses, a Hot Hors D’oeuvres station, a Slider station, and Pasta and Salad Stations to tickle wedding guests’ taste buds.

While caterers are busy, bakeries have revved up too. Kristin Witmer, head cake decorator for Kirsten’s Cakery in Olde Severna Park (who decorated the wedding cakes pictured here and above), said the bakery has been sending out wedding cake tasting kits for the past two months.

“We have quite a few custom wedding cakes scheduled for the spring and summer,” she said. Some orders are for bigger cakes and some for smaller cakes or cupcakes,” she said.

Michael Brown, owner of Cakes and Confections at 342 Ritchie Highway, an establishment also popular for breakfast and lunch quiches, salads and sandwiches, said he, too, has been sending out wedding cake tasting kits.

“We’re now having phone consultations and getting some orders. There’s a bit of a comeback and were seeing some of the earlier postponements due to COVID-19 reschedule their orders,” he added.

It’s not surprising, since Brown is noted for his decorative wedding cupcakes and his genius in arranging them, that many brides prefer to order those instead of a cake. They’ll often order extra sweets to go with them like mini-cheesecakes and tarts.

Newer Severna Park businesses like Tammi Molavi and Michelle Hickman’s j.lolly and Atalie Payne’s Atalie Day Photography are getting feelers too. Payne has a wedding photo shoot booked for August and further inquiries while a client has booked j.lolly to supply table settings for a large October wedding.

Well established photographer Laura Wegman of Laura’s Eyes Photography said, though she focuses more on corporate photography now, she has shot photos for four weddings, the largest of which had 50 guests. She has another smaller wedding coming up and an additional request.

“It’s nice to see wedding assignments and other photographic work making a comeback,” she said.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Today, Severna Park is in transition from suburban to urban. But, from its origin as a farm community named Boone, Maryland over a century ago until today, the six buildings that have housed Severna Park’s post offices have served a vital function, – connecting the community to the nation and other nations while connecting residents to each other.

A small core of family businesses supplied Boone’s families with food, household items, farm tools and fuel. But there was a serious need for mail service for communication with the outside world and for the goods and services it could provide.

Established in 1914, the fledgling Boone Post Office, quickly outgrew its original site in Grotsky’s General Store at 4 Riggs Avenue. In 1919, it moved into a newly constructed building it shared with the Boone Train Station. Two years later, when the town changed its name, the facility was renamed Severna Park Train Station. But the post office retained its original Boone name until 1925 when it became the Severna Park Post Office. It continued operating from the train station for two more decades.

After the discontinuation of train service in 1944, the mail service was run from Cliff Dawson’s Store in the old Codd Building on Riggs Avenue and later moved across B&A Boulevard to Dawson’s new store at the corner of McKinsey Road.

A need to expand further to serve the growing community prompted a move to the property at 513 Baltimore and Annapolis Boulevard in 1962 – the post office building familiar to generations of residents (seen in the opening photograph). The building housed 33 employees serving 35 neighborhoods with a combined population of 19,000 people.

Clerks manned five windows while a supervisor managed operations from a catwalk above. City and rural carriers worked in the back in plain sight of patrons

Theresa Marozza, who was a clerk there for four “happy but busy” decades, spoke with us about what it was like prior to her retirement in October of 2009.

Marozza was hired by the post office in March, 1968 as a clerk/carrier. To get the job, she had to be capable of lifting 70 pounds. Clerks were required to tote heavy mailbags, catalogs, phone books and license plates. She also had to apply for a federal driver’s license to operate mail trucks. Her $2.80 an hour salary was the most money she’d ever made.

Workdays were frenetic and the hours long. The entire staff shared a single postage meter and one adding machine. Undaunted, they sorted and canceled 15,000 envelopes and packages a day by hand on a machine that constantly ran out of ink.

“We’d hit the truck, sort all the mail and put it through the canceling machine. I’d head out front with the mail pouch at 12:10 pm to wait for a bus to pick it up. Then we’d sort the mail that came in,” Marozza said.

“We’d hit the boxes at 7 p.m., sort that, cancel it and have it ready for the truck at 7:30. Several of us would then dash home to make dinner for our husbands and children.”

Regardless, the mood was welcoming and pleasant. Employees had time to establish relationships with their customers.

Marozza remained upbeat as the post office evolved through the decades in response to automation, population growth and economics. She said the most significant change occurred when Severna Park’s first postmaster, Jerry Brockmeyer, who’d lived in the community all his life, retired in 1979. The atmosphere changed then, becoming less personal and more businesslike.

The introduction of electronic sorting machines was another difficult transition. Rather than being sorted on-site, mail was shipped to Baltimore leading to staff reductions. In 1993, the carriers – Marozza’s friends and neighbors from Severna Park – were transferred en masse to the Delivery Distribution Unit at Earleigh Heights.

Characteristically, Marozza adapted and found time to focus on her fellow clerks and customers. She loved working at the post office so much that she postponed her retirement and, afterward, remained friends with many former customers. She’s still active as a member of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church and continues to volunteer at the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore and Mary’s Center, a crisis pregnancy center in Glen Burnie.

Despite Severna Park’s dramatic expansion over the next 17 years, the branch at 513 Baltmore and Annapolis Boulevard continued to serve as an anchor for the community – a place where residents ran into each other on a regular basis. But a major change took place on February 14, 2011 when the post office moved from the location it had operated at for nearly 50 years to shared facilities at the aforementioned Delivery Distribution Unit building on Magothy Bridge Road.

Exact figures aren’t available, but according to the current Severna Park Post Office, the facility processes approximately a million pieces of mail for local households and businesses. The building sees heavy traffic daily as residents visit post office boxes, drop off packages, or apply for passports. Lines are sometimes long as there are not as many clerks working as in the past. Many residents feel the location lacks the community oriented personality its predecessor had.

Following the 2011 relocation, the former post office building in Olde Severna Park sat empty until taken over and transformed by brothers Peter and Ron Zarilli in 2013 and opened as Zarilli’s Steaks and Hoagies in December of 2015. They considered keeping the clerk’s enclosure but realized it would have split the dining room. They did retain a small portion of the sorting area in the back. All through demolition and reconstruction people would wander in with letters in hand thinking the building was still the post office Peter said.

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Unfortunately, the Zarilli’s faced stiff competition from similar local businesses at the time and were unable to attract a following large enough to survive.

In February of 2017, thanks to Severna Park native Charlie Priolla and one-time partner Arturo Ottaviano, the imaginatively named La Posta Pizzeria and Italian Kitchen was born ……..and a little bit of Severna Park’s postal history preserved. The partners put their “stamp” on La Posta with the installation of a specially built wood-fired oven that reaches 900 degrees.

These days Priola, longtime owner of Mangia Italian Grill & Sports Cafe on Main Street in Annapolis, and wife Susie are at the helm serving the wood-fired pizzas, pastas, and traditional Italian entrees they are known for. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, they added outdoor tables and a charming garden to the restaurant last summer which proved quite popular.

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According to Charlie, the staff still fields the occasional question about the restaurant’s history as the Severna Park Post Office. Most are delighted to see the building in use with its original theme carried forward.

Severn River Association reports Seine Net Fishing Bill HB 843 dead

The Severn River Association reports that Bill HB 843, which would have allowed commercial seine net fishing at Lake Ogleton, Whitehall and Meredith Creeks, died in the House of Delegates on March 19. The bill was defeated, in large measure, thanks to calls and emails to the Maryland House Environment and Transportation Committee which declined to move HB 843 out of committee, effectively killing the measure.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN By Sharon Lee Tegler

The atmosphere at Severna Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church last Saturday was lively and reassuring. Two equally important initiatives were taking place on opposite sides of the church. On the north side, the first of 190 families began flowing through a Pop-Up Pantry that is held in the parking lot once each month.

Organized by Melissa Kurzmiller in partnership with food recovery organization Celestial Manna and in coordination with the Maryland Food Bank, Anne Arundel County Food Bank and Feed Anne Arundel, the Pop Up Pantry ran like clockwork. Fifty volunteers of all ages pitched in to collect, set up and distribute the food.

Meanwhile, on the south side of the church, a race course was being laid out for a much anticipated Christian Service Brigade StocKar Derby Race organized by Michael Binnie and Matt Vahlberg with volunteer help from various dads. Early arrivals, like Vahlberg’s son Johnathan, were eagerly showing off their hand-crafted cars. before submitting them.

Held annually, the race is open to younger CSB members but older members help out and parents, grandparents, siblings and friends turn out to cheer for their favorite entries.

Christian Service Brigade Battalion members Caleb Rassossky and Seth Ratajczak split their time between volunteering with the Pop Up Pantry (where their muscle was much appreciated) and helping set up seating, tents, race track and tables for the StocKar Derby.

Saturday was Seth and Caleb’s second time working with the pantry alongside seasoned volunteers like David and Erin Freeman. The teens mentioned how impressed they’ve been with the effort. The Freemans noted that they’d received food from the pantry in the past so they like to give back and help out as much as possible.

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“I have chemo scheduled for Monday,” David said. “So we wanted to get out and do something good to help others before that. It’s nice to be able to share with people and say ‘God bless you’. Feels good.”

Kurzmiller, wearing a bright orange vest, was in the middle of everything directing her volunteers. A busy mother of five including one special needs child, Kurzmiller became involved with the Celestial Mana program five years ago. At first she worked as a volunteer picking up food from various grocery stores. Three years ago, she became a Celestial Mana coordinator running a food distribution operation from her home.

She pointed out that Severna Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church had run a food pantry program for 20 years. But, when the COVID crisis skyrocketed the number of families needing food assistance, Kurzmiller found she’d outgrown her home-based operation and needed a way to expand.

Luckily, SPEP was happy to partner with her. Now, with more volunteers, the Celestial Mana/SPEP partnership provides in-house food distribution twice-weekly for 400 individuals along with the once-monthly Pop-Up Pantries open to anyone needing food . On Saturday volunteers worked steadily, filling car trunk after car trunk with canned and packaged foods and fresh produce.

The pace picked up as the 1 pm closing time for the Pop-Up Pantry neared. SPEP volunteers Suzanne Behrendt and Karen Larimer and three teenaged helpers prepared to greet drivers from Baltimore Station (a residential and treatment center for homeless veterans) and another group who were coming to pick up pantry foods that were left over. (The Celestial Mana/SPEP partnership always distributes any remaining foods to others.) The moment the Baltimore Station SUV pulled in towing a wagon, they began loading it with boxes of food.

Open boxes revealed canned goods, potatoes and apples from AA Co. Food Bank and more fresh produce from the MD Food Bank. There were hot foods, including shepherd’s pies from Feed Anne Arundel – a program paid for by the county that enables local restaurants (in this case Park Tavern and Mother’s Grill) to supply hot meals. All told, the Pop Up Pantry provided food for 725 total individuals.

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A few minutes later, Battalion member Timothy Carmon led the way across the SPEP campus where a crowd was forming around the bright aluminum race track with groups of children sitting together and parents in separate groups. An elaborate trophy table and a food and beverage table were already in evidence.

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Before explaining the event (basically a Pinewood Derby), Chief Ranger Matt Vahlberg described the structure of the Christian Service Brigade which is for boys. (There is a similar group for girls called “Pioneer Girls”.)

“CSB is divided into three age groups,” Vahlberg said. “The youngest, the ‘Tree Climbers’ for children in first and second grades, and “Stockade” group, for kids from third through sixth grades, would be racing. The oldest “Batalion” group, for seventh through twelfth graders, would help operate the event.

Binnie noted that the Tree Climber and Stockade groups had been meeting outdoors at the church on Tuesday evenings where they had access to band saws and belt sanders with which to shape blocks of wood they’d been given to design and shape into model cars. It’s an activity that encourages craftsmanship and helps the youngsters develop fine motor skills.

Start time drew near and four Tree Climbers’ names were called out to pick up their cars from the “impound table”, form a line, and place them on the track for the initial heat.

The cars would be automatically launched by the officials and sensors on the track would determine the finishing order for each heat. Naturally, the race officials took extreme care in lining the StocKars up before sending them down the track.

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There was a problem with the sensors, however, and times were not recorded. While fun to watch, subsequent heats had similar problems and results were not official. It was soon discovered that intense sunlight at the end of the track was interfering with the optical sensors.

Various strategies were tried to shade the end of the track but problems with UV light persisted until SPEP congregation member Gordon Laque, who designed the track, arrived and sorted out the trouble.

Then competition started afresh for the Tree Climber and Stockade groups with much enthusiasm and competitive spirit among the participants and tremendous cheering and clapping from the audience. Winners were eventually declared in categories for speed, race design and funny car. They were:

Speed: 1st place, Andrew Binnie; 2nd place, Sam Luman; 3rd place, Nick Grunes

Race Design: 1st place: Jonathan Butzin; 2nd place, Sam Luman; 3rd place, Zane Biggerstaff

Funny Car: 1st place, Johnathan Vahlberg; 2nd place, Oliver Christie; 3rd place, Colton Canby

For more information about activities at Severna Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church, visit Severna Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church – where Jesus mends broken lives… (spepchurch.org)

Severna Park 4th of July Parade a GO!

Good news from the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce. Severna Park’s annual Independence Day Parade will be held this summer. Since, July 4th falls on a Sunday, however, the parade will actually take place Monday, July 5. Parade entries are being accepted now. For details, visit Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce (gspacc.com) or email Liz League at ceo@gspacc.com.