Havre de Grace – Baltimore Magazine https://www.baltimoremagazine.com The Best of Baltimore Since 1907 Fri, 21 Oct 2022 17:10:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-favicon-32x32.png Havre de Grace – Baltimore Magazine https://www.baltimoremagazine.com 32 32 Nostalgic Shop JoRetro Offers Vintage and Contemporary Goods https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/homegarden/joretro-havre-de-grace-nostalgic-shop-offers-vintage-pyrex-contemporary-goods/ Fri, 21 Oct 2022 16:02:34 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?post_type=article&p=127706
—Photography by Marlayna Demond

Before she opened JoRetro, a vintage and retro-inspired shop in Havre de Grace, Jolene Forrester worked for 30 years as a commercial office designer in the MidAtlantic region, a career she loved. As her work expanded to the Midwest, designing and maintaining office spaces kept her busy, but Forrester would always carve out time to pick up merchandise to sell at her antique booth every Sunday at Bahoukas, an antique mall in Havre de Grace.

“I would always drive [to each location] if I was able to,” says Forrester, recalling hours spent on the hunt at local thrift stores and antique malls after work, on travel days, and during lunch breaks, her car filled with vintage clothing, glassware, and antiques.

Other times, when she flew for work, she’d opt to use a vintage train case as a carry-on for items she collected during travels. Going through security, “I always wondered what they thought of all the stacks of Pyrex bowls and glassware I had with me.”

Eventually, a change in corporate leadership meant that Forrester could work from home. So, she upsized her antique booth, graduating to a 1,700-square-foot, shared storefront in the Harford County waterfront city. Her hectic work life meant that she could only run the shop on weekends, but she relished it so much that when her role was terminated, she decided to go all in on her love of vintage wares.

JoRetro became a fulltime enterprise in 2018. Havre de Grace’s North Washington Street had a handful of antique purveyors already. But Forrester’s permanent 5,000-square-foot shop, its front window emblazoned with a decal of a 1950s Spaceman syrup bottle, was created to stand out.

“I always wanted to do something a little different than a typical antique store. I wanted it to have everything clean, ready to use, and not collectibles, but more things you could use every day,” Forrester says of the shop, which draws inspiration from her first apartment with its midcentury design. The walls and ceiling are intentionally a somewhat neutral gray, because all of JoRetro’s whimsical and cheery pops of color are provided by its products, a mix of antique items and nostalgic handmade goods.

At first, JoRetro sold only vintage, but the pandemic made it difficult for Forrester, who runs the shop along with her son, Luke, to source products in-person and draw in substantial revenue. So, she decided to add new—but still extremely retro—goodies to the mix.

Handmade treasures range from tablecloths and atomic-printed drinkware—not unlike JoRetro’s logo, and reflective of the patterns that were common in the Cold War years—to floral-printed serving plates and tissue boxes styled after midcentury ranch houses. And vintage items, such as Little People made by Fisher-Price, the aforementioned spaceman bottles (sold in every color), furniture, and classic vinyl albums all look good as new.

But the main draw at JoRetro is its color-sorted Pyrex wall, with mint-condition glassware from the ’40s through the ’80s. There is something very comforting about seeing Forrester’s perfectly lined wall of Pyrex products.

“I love the organization,” says Juliet Ames, owner of The Broken Plate Co. She’s teamed up with Forrester over the years to turn shards of discarded Pyrex into jewelry. “I’m a Virgo and the rainbow wall of Pyrex is delightful to me. It doesn’t happen overnight. That builds up over time, you know? And Jolene knows her stuff.”

Like Forrester, her customers—and those who come from all over the country for JoRetro’s semi-annual Pyrex and Vintage Fest—prefer the older dishes.

“The pieces that people really love to get, and ask for, are usually the early pieces from the 1950s,” she says. “The pinks and turquoises are in demand and those prices are really high. They’re also a little harder to find in good shape because they’ve been used longer.”

Some customers greet Forrester with hopes to replace dishes from their grandmothers’ collection. Others simply want to make a switch to glass from plastic, or find bowls to match their kitchens. Either way, it’s all nostalgic, she says.

“When you got married years ago, you could be sure that you were going to receive some Pyrex at your bridal shower—you just needed that to set up your home,” Forrester says. “People will come in and they’ll tell me what they have left over from when they got married, and I can almost pinpoint what year they were married. It’s really interesting.”

Connections like these are why Forrester moved from a booth to a shop. And she plans to make even more connections with her Pyrex-themed Airbnbs that she designed with the hopes of drawing in visitors for long weekends.

“[Havre de Grace] is such a special city and I wouldn’t want to have my business anywhere else,” she says of her hometown. “I haven’t even thought of expanding. I’m satisfied to stay here and to see the city grow.”

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]]> Maryland at No. 10 in Bike Friendly Rankings https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/community/maryland-at-no-10-in-bike-friendly-rankings/ Wed, 27 May 2015 15:44:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=69032 Continued]]> The League of American Bicyclists recently published their annual 2015 Bicycle Friendly State Ranking and there’s good news for Maryland. Some not so good news, too.

First, the good news. We remain in the top 10 overall—No. 10 exactly—squeezed between Wisconsin at No. 9 and New Jersey at No. 11. We rank third in the east, still ahead of neighbors Pennsylvania (No. 12) and Virginia (No. 13), although they’re making up ground, but well behind Delaware (No. 3).

Maryland received high marks from the League—whose history dates back to 1880— for our 3-foot safe passing law, dedicated “Bikeways” infrastructure funding, our “complete streets” policy, the Department of Transportation’s “share the road” campaign and the just-updated state bicycle master plan.

Nonprofit Bike Maryland also got a shout out from the League for its active state advocacy.

The not so good news: Maryland’s score actually dipped from 53 out of a potential 100 points to 49 points this year, falling from 7th overall to 10th. Massachusetts, Utah and California all leapfrogged over us. Washington state came in first.

In fact, a couple of areas where we’ve scored well in the past—bicycle-friendly legislation and enforcement, for example, and bicycle-friendly education and encouragement—are places where Maryland slipped, according to the League’s state “report card.”

Related to the Maryland’s 3-foot safe passing law, the League noted that efforts failed again this year in the state legislature to amend potentially dangerous exemptions to the law.

The League of American Bicyclists survey also noted Maryland needs to improve its bicycle-related crash reporting, adopt a mode-share goal for biking, better integrate bicycle commuting into all transportation, provide training to engineers and planners on how to implement the “complete streets” policy and improve bicycle network connectivity.

Emily Ranson, Bike Maryland’s advocacy coordinator, said the organization will be pulling together a summer working session with state legislators, Department of Transportation officials, state troopers and other stakeholders to try to find a solution to the 3-foot safe passing law exemptions. For example, allowing drivers to pass cyclists over a double-yellow line when room and sight line permit to maintain the 3-foot buffer.

In terms of big picture bicycle connectivity, the League also highlighted the failure of the state to move forward on a safe bicycle route over the Susquehanna River between Perryville and Havre de Grace that would allow cross state bike trips. Currently, the inability to cross the Susquehanna River by bike is one of the biggest gaps in the 2,900-mile East Coast Greenway, which runs from Maine to Florida. Preliminary proposals being looked at include adding a bicycle lane to the Hatem Bridge or building a pedestrian/bicyclist bridge alongside the bridge—or including a bike/pedestrian bridge alongside the new Amtrak bridge that’s being planned over the Susquehanna in the next 10-15 years.

“The best news from the past year is that Gov. [Larry] Hogan decided to keep the Bikeways funding in place,” Ranson says, adding that the state also formally adopted more modern state road building guidelines that potentially can protect cyclists. Launched in 2011 by then Gov. Martin O’Malley, the Bikeways effort has funded dozens of projects across the state over the past several years, with $15 million available in reimbursable grant funding in 2015 “for projects that enhance walking, biking, pedestrian safety and recreational trail access,” according to Maryland Department of Transportation.

“That grant funding is the fastest way for municipalities to create bike lanes and trails, to put up signage and so it’s important to maintain that funding,” Ranson says. “Many states are making great strides, in terms of enhancing their bicycle infrastructure, making bicycling safer and more convenient for people, and that’s what we want to do, too. Maryland isn’t stagnating,” Ranson adds, “but we need to do more if we are going to stay apace with other states.”

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]]> ​Conowingo Dam: Catch the Return of the Bald Eagle https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/community/conowingo-dam-catch-the-return-of-the-bald-eagle/ Thu, 05 Feb 2015 16:47:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=66701 Continued]]> America’s national bird and symbol took a beating in this country for a long time. First, it was a loss of habitat and hunting and then, the pesticide DDT took a toll.

But with a ban on DDT and natural habitat protection afforded by the Endangered Species Act, the North American bald eagle has made a remarkable comeback in recent decades. Evidence? Check out Conowingo Dam adjacent to Susquehanna State Park near Havre de Grace in Harford County.

The river area directly around the hydroelectric plant is one of best places to see and photograph the birds—as well as great blue herons—on the East Coast. February is nesting season for bald eagles, but the warm weather this weekend could spur activity and sightings.

“They’re up there all year around, I go 70 or more times a year,” says Ellicott City wildlife photographer David Lychenheim. “The last 10-15 years, the numbers have really increased. In the spring, especially, you’ll see a ton of great herons, too. There are about 300 blue heron nests across the river.” (Lychenheim notes, however, challenges remain for the bald eagles, specifically lead used by hunters in their shot and by fisherman to weight their lines—all of which can end up in the eagles’ diet. It’s an issue several states are considering tackling with lead-ban legislation )

There’s a Facebook page dedicated to the Conowingo bald eagles that has more than 8,300 followers and the Harford Bird Club website also has a lot of good information.

Take the camera, the hiking boots, the fishing rod—or the mountain bike, if so inclined—and make a day trip out of it to Susquehanna State Park.

Did we mention that it’s all ridiculously close? Just about an hour from Baltimore.

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