Anthony Cushing Jr. walks into a bar on Thames Street. In his standard uniform—a black ballcap, an oxford button-down, silver rings on his fingers, a medallioned chain around his neck—he slips through the crowd, greeted by a seemingly endless procession of hugs, handshakes, and “hey, Tonys!,” before dipping into the service pass for a small pour of whiskey.

As the first band of the day belts out a rockabilly rendition of “Hit the Road Jack,” he checks the cash register, chats with his bartenders, then reaches through the draft taps to kiss the ring of an older patron.

For him, this isn’t just any bar. It’s his bar. And his father’s bar before him.

“I run the circus here,” says Cushing, 41, with a wry smile, talking a mile a minute while a motley crew of customers fills the wooden stools and spreads out across the standing-room dance floor of the Cat’s Eye Pub on this cool Sunday afternoon in June. Most are here to hear the music, which graces the small corner stage seven days a week, 365 days a year, holidays included. Others have simply stopped in to see friends and have a drink. Or three.

Near the front windows, beneath the ceiling’s upside-down Christmas tree and miniature schooner, preppy twenty-somethings take shots and watch the Orioles play between Barry Glazer commercials. Closer to the graffitied bathrooms and in the low-lit backroom, a few gray-haired barflies sip their pints or read the news.

All around them is a museum’s worth of memorabilia: fading photographs, oil paintings of Fells Point’s old working waterfront, flags from around the world brought in by visiting sailors, as the Cat’s Eye—located the flick of a cigarette butt from the Baltimore harbor—has long been the city’s salty-dog watering hole.

It’s the kind of place that today’s hipsters could only wish to emulate. “But nothing in here was bought at a store, or could be replaced,” says Cushing, pointing to the murals of Irish history painted by late local artist C.W. Newton, or behind the stage, to the “Wall of Fallen Soldiers,” hung with portraits of his dad, “Big Tony,” and his original co-owner, Kenny Orye, both of whom have long since passed away.

And boy, after a half-century, if these walls could talk, they would certainly tell some stories. Same goes for Cushing, who’s run the bar for two of those decades, alongside a tight-knit staff and the pub’s matriarch, his mother, Ana Marie. Not that he’ll necessarily remember, though.

“After 21 years? I don’t know what happened yesterday,” says the boyish barkeep. “It’s Groundhog Day in here. It all blends together … But I could be fast asleep, going full Weekend at Bernie’s, and run the bar just fine.”

Still, it’s honest work, and he’s proud of it—placing the orders, tending the bar, buying a round for birthdays, sending the last stragglers home with a bottle of water, keeping the 41 keg lines clean—especially as the neighborhood changes and other long-standing businesses call it a day.

“We’re the last of the Mohicans, the last of our kind,” says Cushing. “And we’re busier now than ever.”

When the Cat’s Eye Pub opened in the spring of 1975, Fells Point was reveling in a moment of rebirth. Residents had just stopped the highway from cutting through their cobblestone streets, and at the water’s edge, the docks still bustled with ships and tugboats. The neighborhood was founded as Baltimore’s first port of call, thanks to its deep harbor, around which blossomed a cultural crossroads of maritime activity. From the very beginning, it was a hard-living, heavy-drinking district, full of boarding houses, brothels, and, of course, bars.

By the middle of the 20th century, you could find one on every corner, many helmed by scrappy young owners—Leadbetter’s, Bertha’s Mussels, Turkey Joe’s, Pete’s Hotel, John Steven’s, The Whistling Oyster, The Horse You Came In On (purchased with winnings from the Pimlico Race Course)—and crammed with a colorful cast of working-class characters: sailors, shift workers, drunks, punks, poets, John Waters with his entourage of eccentric artists, and, of course, the Cat’s Eye’s Kenny Orye.

“The majordomo,” says Steve Bunker, owner of the old China Sea Marine Trading shop, who arrived on the Broadway Square in ’76. “Kenny drank too much and misbehaved a lot. But he was an interesting guy. And all kinds of crazy stuff happened around that bar back then.”

“WE’RE THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, THE LAST OF OUR KIND. AND WE’RE BUSIER NOW THAN EVER.”

Growing up near Clifton Park, Orye dropped out of high school his senior year to work in the city’s booming steel industry until coming into an inheritance. Instead of using it for college, as was his old man’s wish, the 21-year-old opened up a tavern at 1730 Thames Street with Big Tony, a Texas-born, Europe-raised military brat whom he’d met through a mutual friend. “Liquor Board Growls, And Cat’s Eye Pub Winks” declared The Baltimore Sun within their first six months, after complaints from neighbors about loud music and lewd behavior well past last call.

“It would be open sometimes until sunrise,” says Bunker, 79, a former boat captain whose parrot was known to sit on Orye’s shoulder and curse at customers. “I’d be working late and walking home. The windows would be dark, but I’d hear people inside. I’d knock on the door and Easy Eddie—a Vietnam vet, with his big moon face, who ran the back—would open it and say, ‘Bunker! Come in, man.’ The marijuana smoke would knock you over and everybody would be there. The local beat cop, the state’s attorney, illegal Irishmen, Russian sailors who’d jumped ship, drinking free booze and playing cards and telling war stories. That would go on until Kenny fell asleep at the bar, at which point Jeff Knapp, the bartender, who many say looked like Abraham Lincoln, would rob the cash register to buy us breakfast at Jimmy’s. And then it would start all over again.”

From the beginning, it was an Irish bar, as Orye held a particular soft spot for the Emerald Isle, and the IRA. Many nights, string bands played rebel tunes and seaside ballads to a full house, with other genres eventually added: jazz, blues, rock-and-roll. Beer was cheap. Whiskey flowed freely. (The Cat’s Eye was named after a West Virginia distillery where they bought moonshine in the early days.)

“We had a real saloon society back then,” says Bunker. “So many brilliant people, so many talented people, and so many sad stories, too. But a real community, where an awful lot of people showed up for a second start.”

By ’87, though, they worried the party was over, when Orye died suddenly at age 33. At the time, Big Tony had moved to Florida, and Fells Point was in the midst of a newfound real-estate boom. Forgotten rowhomes were being renovated for families, while factories and warehouses got redeveloped into condos for yuppies. Soon enough, the tugs pulled anchor, and the last of the old guard left in Fells were a few oddball shops and those seedy bars, which were increasingly changing hands and sprucing up.

In fact, with Orye out of the picture, local realtor-cum-preservationist Lucretia Fisher wanted to turn the Cat’s Eye into a tearoom.

“Of course, Kenny wouldn’t hear of it,” says Bunker, recalling the barkeep once pulling out a pistol and blowing a neon sign to bits in the front window, just to quit hearing complaints from Fisher and her county cronies. “She really thought we ought to walk around in three-corner hats and be right out of Colonial Williamsburg. … But then all of a sudden, Big Tony shows back up, and everything changed.”

Anthony Cushing Sr. wore his nickname well. Tall, thin, with a tussle of dark curls, he was larger-than-life to those who knew him, whether gregariously greeting Cat’s Eye regulars—often helping them out during hard times, too—or taking matters into his own hands, tossing troublemakers out onto Thames Street.

“He was the king of leaning in real close and telling a story right to your face,” says Sam Sessa, former nightlife reporter for the Sun, who was told tall tales about tequila-drinking bikers and a rumored second-floor whorehouse from way back when. “He was a rascal, with this sort of devilish smile. Like he was always up to something.”

A raconteur and rambling man, Big Tony ended up in Baltimore by happenstance. After graduating from the University of Maryland’s Munich campus, he worked in publishing in New York City, which in some roundabout way eventually landed him in Fells. He met his wife at 28 and opened the Cat’s Eye with Orye a few months later.

“Neither of them had ever run a bar, but both men had a lot of charm,” says Ana Marie, who, then and now, at 75, handles the business’ books. “And after Kenny died, we did whatever was necessary to make it work.”

Back from Florida with a 5-year-old “Little Tony,” the couple pulled every penny to buy that circa-1810, two-and-a-half-story rowhome building from their retiring landlord. They cleaned up the bar and built a real stage. Friends chipped in. Drinks kept flowing. At one point during repairs, the upstairs fireplace collapsed onto the first floor, sending a plume of dust out the front door. After the last brick fell, they went back inside, topped off their glasses, and carried on their conversations. True to form.

“Ron Furman of Max’s Taphouse once told me that the key to building a bar’s character is to wipe but never scrub, and that’s the Cat’s Eye,” says Sessa, who wrote Big Tony’s Sun obituary, when he died of a heart attack at 62 in 2008. “It is a prism into the past, when Fells Point was full of these gritty bars with cold beer and live music every night. It was a bit like the Wild West back then, and so much of the neighborhood has turned over now. But 50 years later, thanks to the Cushing family, the Cat’s Eye is still there.”

Can Ana Marie believe it? After all, she knows many of the old-timers are either dead or no longer drinking, some now bellying up at the Daily Grind coffee shop next door instead.

“Well … yes,” she says, matter-of-factly. “Because we didn’t give up.”

On this late-spring Sunday, musicians shuffle in—past the Cat’s Eye’s turquoise façade and two Old English signs reading “No Drugs In” and “No Booze Out”—hauling their instruments toward the stage for the afternoon’s second set. Some call that small black platform the “litter box,” and over the years, its tight quarters have become a bona fide stop for not just classic cover bands but some of the city and region’s top talent, booked by the bar’s manager, Jenn Airey. Most of the time, there’s not even a cover charge.

“You’re very much right there, in the crowd, with no distance between you, which actually makes it a great place to play,” says Bud Tiffany, 63, a guitarist with The Kindly Strangers and co-owner of Peter’s Inn, up Ann Street, with his wife, Karin. “On our days off, we always stop in to see who’s playing.”

Tonight, there’s a memorial service for a longtime regular, with an accompanying jam session. Wearing a tie-dye dress and an electric purple hairdo, Kristin Corsi wafts around the bar and waits for her turn at the mic. The local singer has been coming to the Cat’s Eye since the mid-’90s, and loves it so much, she got married here, exchanging vows in the middle of a gig with her bandmate-turned-husband, Bill.

“It’s my church,” says Corsi, who lives a few blocks away on Bank Street. “Nobody cares what you do or where you come from. And that spot, over there, in the middle of the dance floor? We call it the nexus of the universe. I’ve met people from all over the world right there. They come back years later, like, ‘You’re still here!’ Well, I’m always here … In fact, I’ve been thinking about getting a bracelet made that says, ‘If found, return to the Cat’s Eye.’”

On weekends, you can often find “Bowtie” Bob Nelson bopping about, too. Many Sundays, and every St. Patrick’s Day, he attends Mass, then makes his way to Thames Street for his usual: a pint of Guinness and a Jameson, neat. He knows there’s been an influx of fancy restaurants and cocktail lounges around the neighborhood lately, but he likes the lack of pretension in this pub, where anyone and everyone can cut a rug, and the “only gourmet decision to make is if you get the plain or barbecue Utz.”

“The Cat’s Eye is something that Atlas will never be able to take over, because it just wouldn’t work,” says Nelson, 80, referring to the high-end hospitality group that’s gobbled up other stalwarts like the Waterfront Hotel and Admiral’s Cup. “You hope it’s going to be here forever.”

As the band launches into their first song, Little Tony bounces between the front and back bars, holding court beside a black-and-white photograph of him in here as a little kid, his head barely reaching the rail. In his grade-school yearbook, his dream was to “run a successful bar” one day. And by now, he’s had plenty of practice, dropping out of college to learn the ropes from Big Tony, then stepping all the way in after his father’s death.

HE LIKES THE LACK OF PRETENSION IN THIS PUB, WHERE ANYONE AND EVERYONE CAN CUT A RUG, AND THE “ONLY GOURMET DECISION TO MAKE IS IF YOU GET THE PLAIN OR BARBECUE UTZ.”

In one breath, Cushing says he’s got just under a decade left in him—and a recurring nightmare where he can’t catch up on drink orders. And yet, in the next, he’s reminiscing about his first shift, when he ran the bar all by his lonesome, then went home with a grand in tips and an adrenaline rush to last a lifetime, making it hard to imagine him anywhere else.

But sell it to some stranger with deep pockets? He’s clear on that one: “I’d rather burn the place to the fucking ground.”

Besides, he wants to finish his dad’s to-do list—the last item left being an enclosed balcony above the stage, where a 1920s pool table is already waiting. Not that there’s much time to make it happen. The bar doesn’t take a day off and slings some thousand drinks a week year-round. No matter that closing time comes early—the clock above the refrigerator is set 15 minutes ahead.

“I pay my doorman to kick me out, too,” quips Cushing. “I always thank him in the morning.”

Later, on the back patio, for a little quiet while the band grooves on, his mother straightens her blouse, sips a glass of white wine, and remembers that it’s Father’s Day.

Ana Marie still feels Big Tony all around. In fact, many believe that his ghost—along with Orye’s and that Lincoln-esque Knapp’s—still haunts the pub. Making it easy to wonder what he might think of the place these days.

She pauses, grins, then shrugs. “He’d be glad.”

Then Little Tony leans in, his eyes lighting up, just like his dad. “He’d say that we’ve done good.”

he phrase “the new normal” has been thrown around since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and as America struggles to define—and design—what that is exactly, colleges are paving the way for what it might look like.

After the chaos and uncertainty of 2020, colleges and universities throughout the Baltimore region began to find their groove as they moved into the 2021-2022 school year. Coronavirus safety committees had been erected, new mandates put in place, safety protocols implemented—everything from vaccine requirements to temperature checks to quarantine procedures and wastewater testing that can pinpoint a COVID infection before anyone is symptomatic.

By some counts, colleges may very well be the safest places to live and work.

“Just following simple rules of wearing face masks and social distancing, using wastewater management and testing when we need to, we have, in many ways, been able to return to normal life,” says Goucher College President Kent Devereaux. “Full athletics, student clubs, dining in the dining hall, use of the library—everything that you’d normally have, we’ve been able to return to.”

Despite the challenges and anxieties faced by students, staff, and faculty alike, some unexpected silver linings have emerged.

“It’s just incredible to watch how it’s grown into the vision that we, as a group of students, had.”

The widespread adoption of technology across college campuses has proven to provide more flexibility, efficiency, and innovation—and even accessibility, in some cases. Counseling sessions, for example, began to be conducted remotely during the pandemic and many students found that they preferred it to in-person sessions. Students who cannot, for whatever reason, make it to an in-person class can now study from anywhere.

Challenging times, combined with advances in technology and the general acceptance of it, have also brought more cooperation and collaboration among schools. It’s becoming more common, for example, for schools that offer complementary programs to partner with one another to offer students an educational pathway to continue studies in their chosen areas. That may mean a discounted tuition rate, a transfer of class credits, or an internship through a partner school.

Maybe most importantly though, schools, at their best, foster an environment where students are supported, expand who they are, and connect with like-minded people. At a time when gathering together is not always safe, being in a community has become even more precious, and students have found new ways to connect.

OCA Mocha, a coffeehouse in Arbutus founded by University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) students, is one example of how effective a gathering place can be at a time when people are craving human connection. What started as a class assignment—to design a community center of some sort—has become a gathering place not just for UMBC students and alumni, but the Arbutus community at large.

“We’ve heard a lot of stories from people who are extremely grateful to have this space,” says Michael Berardi, UMBC class of 2019 and co-founder and general manager of OCA Mocha, which stands for Opportunities for Community Alliances. The coffee shop includes a stage, a community room, and an art gallery, employs UMBC students and alumni, and provides internship opportunities for current UMBC students.

“We have local groups and organizations that meet regularly in our community space and are grateful to not have to meet in someone’s living room or church basement,” says Berardi. “We see a lot of connections being made. It’s just incredible to watch how it’s grown into the vision that we, as a group of students, had.”

We checked in with colleges and universities throughout the region to find out what’s new and what campus life and classes look like, two years into the pandemic.

COPPIN STATE UNIVERSITY
A historically Black institution founded in 1900, Coppin State University is situated in the heart of Baltimore City in the Mondawmin neighborhood. Part of the University System of Maryland in Baltimore, the school offers 32 undergraduate and 11 graduate degrees, along with nine certificate programs and one doctorate degree. It’s been rated No. 4 Best HBCU in the Nation (College Consensus), the Top 5 Best Value Online Program (Online School Center), and No. 17 Best Value in the Nation (College Consensus).

In the summer of 2021, CSU announced its Student Debt Relief Initiative, which clears roughly $1 million in student balances and provided a $1,200 credit to every student enrolled in the fall 2021 semester. CSU also created the Freddie Gray Student Success Scholarship, which is available to graduates of Carver Vocational-Technical High School, where Gray was a student.

Coppin also takes esports (competitive video gaming) seriously. In the fall of 2021, Coppin became the first HBCU to open a building on campus exclusively devoted to esports. The Premier Esports Lab opened in September with a guest appearance from Grammy-nominated artist Cordae.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 2,383 undergraduates, 341 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 13:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $6,809 in-state, $13,334 out-of-state
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 40%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Nursing, Business, Biology, Education, and Criminal Justice, Rehabilitation Counseling

DICKINSON COLLEGE
Founded in 1783, Dickinson College is a liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with a suburban campus that spans 144 acres. The school offers 41 undergraduate degrees within 17 fields of study.

It’s been rated as one of the best schools in the country for its sustainability efforts, which include an 80-acre, USDA-certified organic farm. Princeton Review rated it No. 2 in the Top 50 Green Colleges, and it was rated No. 2 in Overall Top Performers among baccalaureate institutions in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s “Sustainable Campus Index” in 2019 and 2020.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 2,345
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 9:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $58,708
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 52%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: International Business, Economics, Political Science & Government, International Relations & National Security, General Psychology

GETTYSBURG COLLEGE
Gettysburg College, a private, liberal arts school, sits on 225 acres adjacent to the historical Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania. Many of the buildings on campus are historically significant, so it’s no wonder that it draws students interested in studying history.

The school offers 65 academic programs, more than 120 campus clubs and organizations, and 800 events on campus each year, plus more than 100 study-abroad opportunities open to students.

Its Majestic Theater serves as a venue for the greater Gettysburg community, hosting national acts as well as performances by the school’s Sunderman Conservatory of Music students.

It’s ranked No. 12 for “students who study the most” by the Princeton Review, which also ranked Gettysburg College’s dining hall No. 9 in the country for best campus food.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 2,600
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 10:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $59,960
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 56%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Political Science, Economics, Health Sciences, Organization and Management Studies, History, Psychology

GOUCHER COLLEGE
A private, liberal arts college in Towson, Goucher College prides itself on its close-knit community.

Goucher was extremely proactive when it came to COVID-19 precautions, being the first in the state to implement wastewater testing, which is able to isolate COVID infections by dorm.

Also of note: The college recently opened two new residence halls as part of the school’s First-Year Village. One hundred percent of Goucher students study abroad, and the school is committed to sustainability.

Most recently, Goucher has begun exciting partnerships with other schools, such as Johns Hopkins University, Loyola University, and more to come, to provide a pathway for students to continue their education beyond Goucher. For instance, their 4+1 MBA Program allows students to earn an advanced business degree through Loyola via a “Fast Track” admission process, and at a 15% discount on tuition.

SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 1,100
STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 9:1
ANNUAL TUITION: $48,000
ACCEPTANCE RATE: 79%
POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Psychology, International Relations, Economics, Political Science, Business Administration

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
Johns Hopkins University (JHU) offers nine academic divisions and hundreds of courses of study, with campuses spread throughout Baltimore, including the Peabody Institute, a music and dance conservatory in Mount Vernon. Its main Homewood campus is located on North Charles Street.

The prestigious, world-renowned university has a strong reputation for its public health and medical studies and has been compared to Ivy League schools.

One of its points of pride is its financial aid program, which covers 100% of calculated need for every admitted student, without loans. This means JHU works with families to calculate what they can afford to contribute toward the total cost of attendance—including meals, books, travel, and other expenses—and JHU covers the rest with grants that don’t need to be repaid.

This school year, JHU added two new minors: Latin American Studies and Writing Seminars.

It also announced new efforts this year to move toward a broader, more flexible undergraduate educational experience that will include a required first-year seminar and the streamlining of major requirements to allow for greater intellectual exploration.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 6,333 undergraduates, 22,559 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 6:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $56,313 for Peabody Institute, $58,720 for the School of Engineering and the School of Arts and Sciences
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 9%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Computer Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Neuroscience, Economics, Public Health Studies, International Studies

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY
This private, Jesuit institution offers undergraduate and graduate programs on a beautiful urban campus in northern Baltimore City. Education at Loyola is based in the Jesuit tradition of scholarship cura personalis, or care for the whole person. Loyola is known for its academic rigor while helping students lead purposeful lives. Seventy percent of students study abroad. It currently ranks fourth in best universities in the North region according to U.S. News & World Report.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 3,787 undergraduates, 1,353 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 12:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $53,430
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 80%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Business, Management, Marketing, Journalism, Social Sciences, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Psychology, English Language and Literature, Engineering and Education.

McDANIEL COLLEGE
McDaniel College sits in a bucolic setting near Westminster in Carroll County. The private, four-year liberal arts college offers more than 70 undergraduate programs of study and more than 20 graduate programs. McDaniel’s most recent addition to its curriculum is a National Security Fellows Program that provides students with knowledge, skills, and experience in national security as well as the ability to specialize in an area of interest, such as interstate conflict, intrastate political violence, cybersecurity, ethics, and human rights.

Also new this year, McDaniel appointed an inaugural associate provost for equity and belonging who provides vision and leadership to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and works in collaboration with the provost to co-lead the college’s diversity, equity, and inclusion administrative committee, and guides the Bias Education Response Support Team.

The school also launched a new STEM Center to serve as a physical hub to support students studying the sciences. It hosts workshops and other events while also supplying online and hybrid support.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 1,757 undergraduates, 1,324 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 13:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $46,336
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 81%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Kinesiology, Business Administration, Psychology, Biology, Political Science, International Studies

MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
The largest of Maryland’s HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), Morgan is a public institution founded in 1867. It is situated in northeast Baltimore. As a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution, Morgan provides instruction to a multiethnic, multiracial, multinational student body and offers more than 140 academic programs at undergraduate and graduate levels. As Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan fulfills its mission to address the needs and challenges of the modern urban environment through intense community level study and pioneering solutions.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 6,270 undergraduates, 1,364 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 15:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $8,008 for in-state and $18,480 for out-of-state
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 73%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Civil Engineering, Communications Engineering, Business Administration and Management, Social Work, Biology/Biological Sciences, Architecture, Finance, Psychology, Sociology

NOTRE DAME OF MARYLAND UNIVERSITY
A private, Catholic liberal arts university in northern Baltimore, Notre Dame of Maryland University offers programs from undergraduate through PhD, as well as Maryland’s only women’s college. It recently launched the first master’s of art degree in Art Therapy program in the state.
The beautiful, wooded campus is just steps from the bustling downtown Baltimore culture. With values rooted in Catholicism, the school focuses on service to others and social responsibility.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 783
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 7:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $39,675
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 88%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Nursing, Education, Biology, Art Therapy, Pharmacy

TOWSON UNIVERSITY
One of the largest public universities in the state, Towson University offers more than 60 undergraduate majors and continues to draw students from other states, though it remains part of the University System of Maryland.

Its campus continues to expand, with a huge new dining hall, a 23,000-foot recreation and fitness facility with an indoor swimming pool, and its 5,200-seat arena for sporting events and concerts. In 2021, it opened its new Science Complex, the largest academic building on campus at 320,000 square feet.

In September, Towson opened its StarTUp at the Armory, a space for startups and new businesses to engage with the broader community and larger businesses. It serves as a home to Towson’s entrepreneurship programs, as well as student competitions and events.

While Towson remains the largest supplier of medical professionals and educators in the state, the university has also built a strong reputation for its College of Fine Arts and Communication, as well as its Asian Arts & Culture Center, both of which bring students into the wider community and the Baltimore community to Towson for enriching performing arts, music, and visual art programs.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 17,907 undergraduates, 2,949 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 16:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $7,100 in-state, $22,152 out-of-state
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Business Administration, Education, Nursing, Exercise Science, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology, Biology, Computer Science, Information Technology

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE
University of Maryland, Baltimore is Maryland’s only public health, law, and human services university. Located in downtown Baltimore, it offers 86 degree and certificate programs through its six nationally ranked professional schools—dentistry, law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and social work—and an interdisciplinary graduate school.

The school’s 14-acre BioPark is Baltimore’s biggest biotechnology cluster, employing 1,000 people, and remains on the cutting edge of new drugs, treatments, and medical devices.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 7,244
• ANNUAL TUITION: Varies by school
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Medicine, Law, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Social Work

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE COUNTY
University of Maryland, Baltimore County educates a campus of more than 10,000 students in programs spanning the arts, engineering, information technology, humanities, sciences, preprofessional studies, and social sciences. Located on the edge of Baltimore County, it allows easy access into the city and all the conveniences of suburban life and housing. It also offers plenty of opportunities for study abroad.

In the fall of 2021, UMBC opened the Center for Well-Being, a new two-story complex that houses Retriever Integrated Health, Student Conduct and Community Standards, and i3b’s Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being. UMBC’s already significant NASA partnerships have continued to grow. In October, NASA announced a major award of $72 million over three years for the new Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research II center. UMBC is leading the national consortium and will receive over $38 million. The GESTAR II consortium will support over 120 researchers, creating extensive opportunities for breakthroughs in Earth and atmospheric science research, and providing major opportunities for students to conduct research and be mentored by NASA scientists and engineers.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 13,638
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 17:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $12,280 in-state, $28,470 out-of-state
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 81%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Social Sciences, Psychology, Visual and Performing Arts

Cited tuition costs exclude room and board and books.

Recognized by most African Americans as Freedom Day, Juneteenth honors the date that more than 200,000 Black men, women, and children were freed in Texas 155 years ago. Throughout the decades, the holiday has become understood as a day of liberation and celebration for all African Americans, commemorated with a feast of red foods and drinks symbolizing perseverance in bondage.

This year, as the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement spreads across the nation, and protestors continue to demonstrate locally in Baltimore, the day seems to hold a stronger significance.

A petition is currently underway to declare Juneteenth a national holiday. Its roots date back to 1865—roughly five months after the 13th Amendment abolished the institution of slavery. Though Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was finalized two years prior, it wasn’t acknowledged in Texas until June 19, 1865.

Experts say that, originally, there were a number of elaborate Emancipation Day celebrations held all over the country, but during the radical reconstruction era of the late 1860s, laws were put into place that made these celebrations illegal.

“They really snuffed out those celebrations that were equivalent to what we would call Memorial Day or like a Fourth of July,” says Morgan State University archivist Dr. Ida Jones. She believes that, because Juneteenth doesn’t receive the same widespread awareness as other American holidays, it is of the utmost importance to recognize it today. “Everything that we’re doing now is facilitated by that which happened before.”

Some experts say that Black Lives Matter, a movement in response to police brutality and systemic racism, is a direct result of the country’s attempt to bury its past.

“The idea of Juneteenth permeates Black America as this Black holiday that survived that experience,” Jones says, “and commemorates itself outside of the federal and state government.”

While James Calvin, interim director of the Center for Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University, agrees with Jones, he also believes that, in order for the movement to progress, non-Black Americans and predominantly white institutions must acknowledge the country’s past in relation to its present.

“Those issues of freedom are still with us on a number of levels,” Calvin says. “If we think of the movement as it continues forward, one of the things that is important is how whiteness intersects with what it means to be Black in America.”

Vedet Coleman-Robinson, executive director of the Association of African American Museums (AAAM) , says that part of the reason why Juneteenth isn’t as mainstream as other national holidays is because of lack of exposure. She learned about the holiday in middle school and later in college, but often had to seek out Juneteenth celebrations on her own.

“Like much of our history, Juneteenth was not mainstream or pushed in mainstream media,” she says. “If you aren’t exposed to at least a piece of the celebration, it’s history or origin, then you are left to only know about the Fourth of July celebration.”

AAAM is based in Washington, D.C., but works with and advocates for African and African American- focused museums such as the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture, and local universities. Currently, they are assisting with promoting virtual events for Juneteenth due to coronavirus concerns.

So, for African Americans and allies alike looking for ways to celebrate in Baltimore, we’ve rounded up some of the many Juneteenth events that are social-distance approved:

6/18: Virtual Storytime: Freedom Bird
The Reginald F. Lewis Museum is kicking off its Juneteenth celebration with a reading of Freedom Bird: A Tale of Hope and Courage with author Jerdine Nolen. The folktale centers around an enslaved brother and sister who, guided by a mysterious bird, escape to freedom. Because the museum is currently closed to the public, the reading will take place online. The uplifting picture book is appropriate for all ages. 1:00 p.m.-2 p.m.

6/19: Juneteenth Baltimore Freedom Fest
Secure your a mask and join this youth-led march from Penn North to Druid Hill Park to honor the contributions and significance of the city’s Black history. The event will conclude with a celebration at Druid Hill Park featuring Black-owned food trucks, youth poets, musicians, and speakers.

6/19: The Juneteenth Jubilee
The Boonie Breakdown and The Sneaker Exhibit are encouraging Baltimore residents to celebrate the holiday by supporting Black-owned businesses and eateries in several locations around the city. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the organization isn’t able to do a traditional crawl, but participants are encouraged to visit each business while adhering to social distancing guidelines and wearing a mask. For those who prefer not to leave their homes, the organizations have compiled a list of Black-owned online businesses and service providers. 12 p.m.-4 p.m.

6/19: BMoreFree Juneteenth Cookout
In true Juneteenth fashion, the annual BMoreFree Juneteenth Cookout will celebrate Black culture in the city with food, music, giveaways, and more. Participants are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets, and positive energy to the family-friendly event. Towanda Park, 4100 Towanda Ave., 4 p.m., Free

6/19: Inspire Juneteenth Celebration
Join community leaders Andrea Jones, Sara Wolfe, and Antoynica Ryan for a Juneteenth cookout. Volunteers and donations of any kind are encouraged, and face masks are a must. To adhere to social distancing and state guidelines, the cookout will be hosted outside of the old Dr. Lillie M. Jackson Building with free food and fun. 1511 Ashburtin St., 4 p.m.-7 p.m., Free

6/19: Arena Players’ Juneteenth Virtual Celebration & Discussion

Baltimore’s oldest African American community theater is hosting a Zoom discussion to encourage solution-oriented dialogue about activism in the Black community. Arena Players actors, directors, playwrights, and supporters are encouraged to attend the event and participate in the discussion. A Facebook Live event will follow with a Juneteenth presentation featuring musical performances, drumming, and monologues. 3 p.m.-9 p.m., Free

6/19: Juneteenth Double Feature
For those interested in a Juneteenth-inspired movie night, the Charm City Classics Company is hosting a virtual double feature of films Rodney King and 13th as part of their #QuarantineandChill Film Festival. All you need to do is log into Netflix Party—a quarantine favorite—and tune in starting at 8 p.m. The organizers encourage participants to only use the chat to share resources and instead, focus all energy on the films being shown. 8 p.m.-11:00 p.m.

6/20: Juneteenth Art Bazaar
Dovecote Cafe’s annual Juneteenth Art Bazaar will return this year with a virtual twist to encourage social distancing. The online event will showcase art, a freedom playlist, cookout recipes, and more.

For even more celebrations, check out the post below:

HISTORICAL MUSINGS: The architecture [in Bolton Hill] is what first drew me in—I love these houses. The crazy thing is that this is the first block I ever walked in this neighborhood. I would kill for the blueprints of some of these houses because they’ve been changed so much.

EYE FOR DESIGN: I got into interior design when I was 10 or 12. I think it comes from my grandmother—she had stacks of interior-design magazines. My taste has changed over time, but my home growing up was so far from what I wanted that [dreaming of what my aesthetic could do] built up over time. Typically, for me, I work with whatever I’m interested in. I don’t try to fit into a taste.

CUT AND PASTE: I made the collage above the fireplace. For a long time, I was looking for a large piece to put there. Collages, for me, are like puzzles. I like art forms that require arranging: interior design, floral design. It takes the pressure off, I think, because I’m a perfectionist, so I like things I can move around. Even decorating my home, I go back and forth.

ONE FOR THE BOOKS: I had the bookcases custom-built for my first apartment from a guy on Etsy. I’ve been a reader all my life. Books were a luxury growing up. It was a dream to have a ton of books, and it’s been a lot of fun as an adult to see that come true. A lot have come from The Book Thing. I haven’t read all of them, especially the older books. Some aren’t well-written, but I’ve saved them for the art and design. That’s the fun, though. It’s like owning your own library. You can grab something you’ve never read. There’s no such thing as too many books.

LASTING COMFORTS: This blanket from the pre-Civil War era is actually the oldest thing in my place. It was a popular style and was actually used in the war. I started looking for them after I saw one in an interior-design magazine. I like the juxtaposition of something old and modern. They’re typically blue and white or red and white—occasionally they’ll be rainbow colors.

People can’t believe I use something this old. There’s something beautiful about something ser ving a purpose for that long, from the 1840s until now. I think people have more of this awareness now: to go back to well-made things versus mass-produced.

ART FOR ART’S SAKE: I’ll hang anything on the walls. I’m bad at planning in advance, so behind these pictures are about 10 holes. Some of these are family photos, two are vintage panoramas from a girls’ summer camp that I liked, and some are photos from my friends who do photography. There’s a calendar I bought in Nepal—it’s been 2013 for a lot of years now.

New York City might be America’s fashion capital, but Baltimore has quite the fashion-forward history itself. This October, delve into the archives of the Maryland Historical Society with Spectrum of Fashion: Celebrating Maryland’s Style. And for a little sneak-peek into the new exhibit, here’s a timeline of trendsetting styles from local icons and designers.

Street Style
1925

Lavish with velvet and fur trim, this coat was sold at Hutzler’s, the iconic downtown Baltimore department store in operation from 1858 to 1990. Not only did Hutzler’s pave the way for future department stores, they also brought luxury fashions from Europe to Baltimore at an American price.

Ready-to-Wear
1945

Hailing from Frederick, designer Claire McCardell helped define modern American fashion. Transitioning away from corseted waists and structured bodices, her “monastic” dress (this one in wool plaid and pleats) was made to be a versatile day-to-night look that would flatter most body types.

Power Suit
1960

A nationally recognized reporter at the Baltimore Sun, a producer, director, and writer of the TV series The Port That Built a City, and a Maryland congresswoman from 1985-1995, Helen Delich Bentley affirmed the strength of the “power suit” when wearing this wool outfit.

Crop Top

1970

Wallis Simpson may have been a sophisticated duchess, but that didn’t stop her from staying hip to the latest fashions, as evidenced by her vibrant silk and linen set—a classic look of the ’70s. And the story goes, Simpson had it made when she was 73 years old.

Bare Shoulder
2009

In one of his earliest designs, local designer Bishme Cromartie appears to have taken all of the trends we loved from the early 2000s and made them timeless. Who knew that ruffled skirts and a one-shoulder sleeve could come together so elegantly?

Color Block
2018

Baltimore’s got a knack for being home to great designers, and Christian Siriano is a prime example. Pairing red and fuchsia and topping it with a shoulder cape? Brilliant! It’s no surprise that Siriano has stunned the red carpet for over a decade.

New and immaculate, the War Memorial on Gay Street was draped in sun­light for its 1931 opening, with Mayor Howard Jack­ son on the portico, facing City Hall, looking out over the crowd.

One year into the Great Depres­sion, though, Jackson’s outlook was far from sunny. “In some homes today, there is more suffering, more heartache than war ever brought,” he announced. “Our real obligation to those who died [in World War I] is to find a solution to the economic problems of the present.”

His present, of course, is now the past. Today’s banks have real money inside. The stock market is soaring. Employment is at a record high. But other problems reminiscent of the Depression linger, as problems do. There are still hobos under bridges. Still soup lines. Still factories closing. And old and forgotten, the marble War Memorial has lingered, too, darkening in city soot, weather­ ing, growing weary.

Now it sits draped in a blanket of fog and blackness on a cold March midnight. On the front portico, where a mayor once spoke of better­ment, a homeless Vietnam vet named Bill sleeps with his head pressed against a tall golden door. From here, the War Memorial seems heartbreaking: soiled and silent in the shadows of downtown. Even the front courtyard appears disheveled, muddled in low mist, that patch of land where “The Star­Spangled Banner” was first per­formed in 1814. And across the courtyard, City Hall tolls its bell: one o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock, four. Nothing changes, save the scatter of rubbish whirling in rich, black breeze.

But come 5:30, light nips at the horizon. A short woman sips coffee at the corner and shivers, hawking newspapers for 25 cents. Police offi­cers hasten toward headquarters. Batches of businesspeople bustle by, ignoring the old memorial, and Bill awakens on the portico, fumbles with a handful of cigarette butts, and lights one.

At 7:30, Civic Works employees perform calisthenics in the front plaza, and at 8:05, a car pulls to the curb. A candidate for U.S. citi­zenship emerges, ready to be sworn in as part of a monthly cer­emony. She is old, feeble, with light-brown skin and long gray hair, with two tall sons in turbans helping her from the sedan to a wheelchair. And she is smiling up at the War Memorial, a smile of hope and excitement. Long ago, just after this monu­ment was built, this old woman would not have been allowed to take her citizenship oath here. State veter­ans had forbid use of the building “for other than veterans.” But that idea didn’t last—this is American, after all—and the policy was overturned on Constitutional grounds.

Eventually, the building became a museum, and was rededicated to also honor veterans of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. The Disabled America Veterans, the American Legeion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars took office space over the years, and in 1997, Cynthia D. Coates became the building’s first non-veteran, its first female, and its first African-American executive director.

Today, the first day of spring, Coates is in her office downstairs as 351 citizens-to-be assemble in the auditorium above. She listens as Lloyd Marcus sings “Celebrate America” and Howard German croons “America the Beautiful.” She hears 351 voices—legal alien voices—take the oath of U.S. citizenship and she hears congratulations booming from the stage, cries of “Welcome to America!”

Then she hears 351 voices—citizen voices, now—whooping on the portico, on the stairs, on Gay Street and beyond. And Cynthia Coates sits in her chair smiling at the joyous sound of her old and maybe not entirely forgotten building. A building still of patriotism, still of pride, and now, again, of hope.

Seventy-five years ago this month, the United States Coast Guard cutter ship Taney was docked in Honolulu when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. As bombs rained down over the island, the crew returned fire, and despite the destruction surrounding the ship, it survived virtually unscathed.

Today, this legendary ship has found a final resting place in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, but its story begins in Philadelphia in 1936, when it was built with the Coast Guard’s motto in mind: “Semper Paratus,” which means always ready.

The USCGC Taney was designed to be multi-functional, usable for patrolling, environmental protection, and transportation, but in the early 1940s, as the country geared up for war, the ship was retrofitted with larger weapons and transferred to the U.S. Navy, where it carried out anti-submarine patrols and convoy escort duties in the Pacific theater.

After World War II, the Taney returned to the Coast Guard, operating as an ocean station weather ship, tracking storms and assisting in search-and-rescue missions until 1986, when it was decommissioned—making it the last active U.S. vessel that had been involved in that fateful day—and donated to Baltimore, under the stewardship of Historic Ships in Baltimore.

“Baltimore is very much a Coast Guard city, with the U.S. Coast Guard Yard being established here in 1899,” says Paul Cora, curator at Historic Ships in Baltimore. “Having an historic vessel linked to so many significant events in 20th-century American history is especially appropriate considering the city’s maritime history and the vital role of its seaport.”

Here in Charm City, the Taney maintains a permanent home at Pier 5, where, as “The Last Survivor of Pearl Harbor,” it is frequented by tourists, military members, scout troops, and history buffs.

“The Taney is a tremendous educational resource,” says Chris Rowsom, executive director of Historic Ships in Baltimore. “Every Dec. 7, the Taney is the focal point here in Baltimore for commemorating the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.”

Putting the destruction of the Notre Dame Cathedral into proper perspective is, for all intents and purposes, almost a fool’s errand. Few buildings in the entire world are as recognizable to a Parisian as they are an Australian. For a structure that dates back to the 1100s, that has survived and endured wars and strife and internal and external struggle, this type of reverence comes with the territory.

“Notre Dame has meant so many different things to so many different people in so many different historic epics,” says Dr. Anne Henderson, a history professor at Notre Dame University of Maryland. “When I look at it, I see all that layered into it. I see the aspirations of medieval popes who wanted it to symbolize the power of the [Catholic] Church and the aspirations of monarchs who wanted to use it to win the obedience of their people. I’m not seeing one thing. I’m seeing the power of humans to create symbols and to invest them with meaning.”

On Monday, the roof of the cathedral burned down completely and its spire collapsed in a fire that officials are still trying to determine the cause of. Firefighters were eventually able to extinguish the blaze, but not before the cathedral suffered extensive damage. Buildings, perhaps more so than anything else in the world, can take different shapes depending on a person’s worldview, perspective, and global exposure. These ideas are formulated and passed down to us over decades and centuries. France has a rich and storied history, one that is woven into the civic pride of the nation and its citizens. Henderson says there isn’t really an American marker—or for that matter, save possibly for monuments in Greece, a global marker—that could put to scale this type of destruction. Part of this has to do simply with time. France has existed for long enough that the lore and significance of its landmarks has had more time to percolate. The cathedral—an integral part of this history that hosts seminal artworks and relics of vital religious significance—stands alone in its uniqueness.

“It symbolizes the deep continuity in the French nation, which they are immensely proud of,” Henderson says. “It’s profoundly important for the people of France to celebrate this, because for them, an incredibly important part of French identity is this idea of historical continuity and this very, very long and rich history.”

Henderson has been a student of history for her entire life—both her parents were also professors of European history, and she grew up tagging along with them on trips to Europe. She recalls, at 4 years old, being awestruck upon first seeing the cathedral, understanding even then its stance as a towering symbol for France. When she heard the news of the fire, she had a sense of melancholy around how destruction to this extent is often not an isolated incident.

“It reminded me simultaneously of millennia of history of civilizational monuments being destroyed,” Henderson says. “This is something that seems to happen to the works of man. They fall prey to natural disaster or to manmade disaster. There are so many icons that have been vandalized, wonders of the world that have been vandalized and destroyed over the years.”

And the Notre Dame Cathedral will be restored. Henderson notes that the cathedral has gone renovations and been refurbished before, though the circumstances surrounding what will now be a massive project are obviously extremely unfortunate in this case.

Some of the richest families and people in France have already pledged hundreds of millions of dollars for reconstruction efforts. NDMU focuses its philanthropic efforts towards less developed nations than France, but sends along a statement of support to Baltimore: “The School Sisters of Notre Dame express sympathy with Catholics around the world for the damage to this beautiful, historical, and religious icon.”

In short, the building is too essential a symbol for the world, and more importantly, for the people of France past, present, and future.

“Whether it’s religious or secular,” Henderson says, “whether it’s in the service of democracy or empire, [the Notre Dame Cathedral] has always been France.”

We spend a lot of time focusing on gender equality issues (gender discrimination, equal pay, and sexual harassment, to name a few), but in honor of Women’s History Month, spend some time looking back at our local and national history and reflect on how women of the past paved the way for future generations of female change-makers.

Women’s History Month at the B&O
March 1-31. Throughout Women’s History Month, visit this downtown museum to learn about the history of women’s involvement in the railroad industry and how they helped to construct the B&O Railroad. B&O Railroad Museum, 901 W. Pratt St. Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.

Conjure Woman: Faith Healers, Hoodoo, and Spirituality
March 2. Spend the afternoon exploring the history of conjure women in the black community, featuring a discussion and lecture about the roots of the mystical tradition. The Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. 1 p.m. Free-$8.

Celebrating Lillie May Carroll Jackson
March 7. In a partnership with the Walters Art Museum and Morgan State University, ceramic works by Robert Lugo featuring portraits of prominent Baltimore civil rights leader Lillie May Carroll Jackson and her daughter Juanita Jackson Mitchell will be on display at 1 West Mount Vernon Place. Attend this special talk to hear from experts at the Walters about the life and legacy of these two women. Lillie May Carroll Jackson Museum, 1320 Eutaw Pl. 6:30-7:15 p.m. Free.

Women Artists in Antiquity
March 10. Hear Patrick Crowley, assistant professor of art history at the University of Chicago, give a thought-provoking lecture about contributions from female artists of antiquity. The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. 2-3:30 p.m. Free.

Maryland Women Through History
March 15. Presented by the Maryland Historical Society, this afternoon program examines the lives of historical local women from colonial times through the 20th century, with a special emphasis on Baltimore socialite Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte. Enoch Pratt Free Library, 1303 Orleans St. 1 p.m. Free.

Women of the Wine World
March 28. Learn about how the centuries-old world of wine was shaped by women, and take notes on prominent female winemakers who continue to produce some of the most sought-after bottles of reds and whites. Bin 604, 604 S. Exeter St. 6-8 p.m. $10.

Women in Maryland
March 31. From spies and detectives to suffragists, local author Lauren Silberman will share her research on some of the Old Line State’s most noteworthy women. B&O Ellicott City Station Museum, 3711 Maryland Ave., Ellicott City. 3 p.m. $12.

One of the bricks used in the early 1800s to build Ami Howard’s house has a dog’s paw print on it.

Just how Fido’s signature got there is part of the building’s bloodline, telling, in this case, the story of early 19th-century Redemptionist indentured servants, brought from the British Isles, who made bricks on site and laid them in the sun to dry. And before that brick could dry, Fido apparently made his mark.

It was a handy clue for Howard, but for an owner of an older home who wants to know the full history of the place, discovering the property’s pedigree is a bit more complicated than buying a home DNA kit and sending a swab to be analyzed. There are usually plenty of telltale signs, however, that can reveal much about not only its architecture, but also about the people who built it, those who lived there before, and what life in the home was like over generations.

When Howard went to compile the house’s history, she was fortunate: She had plenty of oral history and papers scattered about the house, including ledgers detailing a previous owner’s elaborate purchases. Harford County historian Christopher Weeks also helped by providing more research and expertise, particularly on historic construction details. But there was more homework to do.

Her home, Olney Farm, sits on 135 acres in Harford County and has been in her husband’s family since 1855. It was built about 1810 for a Quaker family. They sold it to a family from Philadelphia to use as a summer home. And when that owner died, his widow sold it to the Howards (née Shrivers).

“They bought it as an investment after the Civil War,” Howard explains. “Then the son of the buyer, J. Alexis Shriver, either was deeded the house or bought it from his father. He moved in, had a family, and undertook many projects on the farm. He was also a unique salvager.”

“Unique” is an overused word, but it certainly applies in the case of the Shriver son: He collected marble fireplaces, ornate bookcases, and even an entire mirrored and paneled room from a home on Thames Street. He had a vault (most likely a Prohibition-era closet) hidden behind a secret bookcase in his bedroom. And, most famously, he hauled four massive columns from a house in Mt. Vernon by train and ox cart and erected them at the back of the house.

And then there are those clues: It’s apparent from the different brick patterns on the building’s exterior, for example, that the parlor was a later addition. That matches with family lore that the addition was built about 1850 to host a wedding.

“The internet, and this was years ago, really helped a lot,” says Howard. “Because I had a lot of information to start with, I was able to go to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and look up references. But you can do a search for just ‘old house’ and you’d be amazed what resources come up.”

Where to begin doing the same sort of detective work on your own home? Eli Pousson, director of preservation and outreach at the nonprofit historical group Baltimore Heritage, offers a few pointers.

“We live in a golden era of historical research, whether you’re doing a family genealogy using DNA testing or you’re researching your neighborhood,” says Pousson. “The mass digitization of records has placed many resources you need for free online.”

Like Howard’s home, with its readily apparent addition, researching a home can start with an examination of the building itself. What is its architectural style? Can you see the outline of an old structure that was once attached? Is there evidence that windows have been bricked in? What materials are used? If you break through a wall and find newspaper used for insulation, what’s the date on them?

“There’s history in the structure itself,” says historian and author Jean Russo, PhD, who holds workshops on home research for the nonprofit Historic Annapolis. “You can go to the public records and track that information and relate it to the families who lived there.”

Researching architectural history isn’t a guarantee that anything interesting will turn up, though. Julie Saylor, a library associate with the Maryland Department of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, researched her own home in Moravia-Walther, which was built around 1904.

“One fellow had lived in the house for a very long time and, using the library’s criss-cross directories, I found a symbol that is used to indicate the owner is low-income,” she says. “Which didn’t shock me, because there was a lot in the house that looked to have not been maintained for a long time.” Beyond that, though, her hopes of uncovering anything juicy were dashed.

The experts will tell you that uncovering home history is a process and history isn’t always stuff to be proud about. Old newspapers may reveal society-page stories of weddings hosted in a home—or violent deaths. Homes tell the stories of history, good and bad, including things like neighborhood segregation and fires.

“Home research is a winding road full of wrong turns, cul-de-sacs, and dead ends,” says Pousson. “I recommend people approach it less with the idea that they’re going to find certain specific facts and more with the idea that this is something they’re going to dip into and see what can be learned.”

Ami Howard made her own mark on her home’s history when she enclosed an existing Victorian folly—an ornamental structure—and added a patio to create her own secret garden. Generations from now, some future owner of the property may be able to figure out when that was done and by whom. But, ironically, she admits that if she were to build her own house, it would be nothing like the gracious old home she’s in now. She’d prefer something very modern and European, with lots of glass and very little clutter.

“But I love this house because of the history,” she explains. “I wonder about them, how things looked over the history, how they lived. Knowing the history makes it more of a home.”

The best place to start record-searching is the home’s deed. The nonprofit Baltimore Heritage has an extensive tutorial online that explains how to trace the history of the title using the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation real property search. Those results provide a book number and a page number (sometimes known as a “liber” and “folio”) that can be searched in the open land records.

Deeds provide information such as the dates the property changed hands and surveyors’ “metes and bounds” descriptions. If you’re lucky, it will also have the name of the previous owner and the book and page number of their deed that will allow you to hop back through time.

“If you have owners’ names, you can go to the census records and see what you can find out about them,” says Jean Russo, PhD, who leads workshops on home research for the nonprofit Historic Annapolis.

In Annapolis and Baltimore City, in addition to census records, there are city directories that often provide information by address. Julie Saylor, a library associate with the Maryland Department of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, says the library has “criss-cross” directories back to the 1930s and city directories back to the 1790s.

And if you have the surnames of previous owners, The Baltimore Sun archives at the Pratt can also be useful.

“You can often find newsworthy events associated with the house by using The Baltimore Sun index,” says Saylor. “Sun articles are a very good source of information and could cover all sorts of interesting information, such as crimes associated with the house, classified ads for the sale or rent of the house, deaths associated with it, and so on.”

Maps, too, can help fill in some blanks, says Eli Pousson, director of preservation and outreach at Baltimore Heritage. “You learn different things from different sources,” he says. “Deeds tell you the names of who owned a property and details like when it changed hands, but it won’t tell you if your house was a boarding house or who the household members were beyond Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”

The U.S. Geological Survey has maps back to 1884, and both E. Sachse Bird’s Eye View of The City of Baltimore (1869) and Bromley Atlases for Baltimore City and County (covering the 1880s through 1915) are available through the Pratt.

A treasure trove of information can also often be found in an unlikely place: the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. From 1879 to about 1960, the map company, which allowed insurance firms to use their products, issued maps that were a record of everything in the city, particularly anything that could start a fire. The maps often note if a rowhouse had a business on the first floor, such as a blacksmith or shoemaker, and a residence above.

When it comes to being your own home’s genealogist, you just need to know where to look.

All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire

Jonathan Abrams (Crown Publishing Group)

In the first season of The Wire, methodical veteran detective Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters) tells a young cop he is mentoring that in an investigation “all the pieces matter.” Apply the same to Jonathan Abrams’ collection of oral histories behind the groundbreaking show’s unflinching depiction of inner-city America and the war on drugs. The firsthand accounts from co-creators David Simon and Ed Burns, as well as the actors, directors, writers, and HBO brass, are not to be missed by fans of the show.

Musical Maryland

David K. Hildebrand and Elizabeth M. Schaaf  (Johns Hopkins University Press)

“O we’re full of life, fun, and jollity . . . we’re all crazy here in Baltimore.” Such is a song verse to celebrate the laying of the first stone of the B&O Railroad. You might find yourself singing along as you flip through Musical Maryland, a survey of the musical heritage of the Old Line State, spanning some 300 years in time, up to the late 20th century. If you read music, even better. The book is peppered with images: old-timey photographs (like The Peabody Orchestra rehearsing in Peabody Concert Hall circa 1880), colorful and beautifully drawn covers for musical scores, and, yes, small snippets of sheet music. From slave songs to the legendary stories of Eubie Blake and Billie Holiday, from the Baltimore Opera Society (in existence long before the Baltimore Rock Opera Society) to the Baltimore Orioles festival marches, and, of course, our country’s national anthem—this book is thorough and makes a great addition to any music lover’s bookshelf. And though it’s the story of our music, the music is a story of ourselves, Marylanders—sailors, artists, activists, and dreamers.

Kinetic Sculpture Race 
May 5. American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy. Sat. 10 a.m. Free. 410-244-1900. Just weeks after learning how to ride a bike at age 4, Eli Hess found himself wearing rubber gloves and goggles, peddling alongside his dad, David, as an official participant in the first Kinetic Sculpture Race. Since then, the Hesses, including David’s now 81-year-old father, George, and the rest of Team PLATYPUS have created and raced 13 human-powered sculptures, including a 25-foot-tall rocket and a cold-cut sub, in AVAM’s annual 14-mile trek around the city. This year, their team, which stands for Personal Longrange All-Terrain Yacht Proven Unsafe, will ride “the mothership,” through water, mud, and the uphill Linwood Avenue stretch on May 5 in the museum’s 20th anniversary race. “The water separates the adults from the boys,” George says with a laugh. “It’s the rough and tumble world of kinetic sculpture racing.”

Maryland Film Festival 
May 2-6. Parkway Theatre, 5 W. North Ave. Times vary. $11-425. 410-752-8083. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Baltimore’s cinematic celebration, which has hosted thousands of novice moviegoers, flick aficionados, and renowned filmmakers such as John Waters, David Lowery, and Greta Gerwig. This cinephile’s paradise returns with a five-day jubilee of movies—from shorts to full-length narrative features and documentaries—shown throughout the Station North Arts District. In between screenings, attend Q&A sessions with filmmakers, as well as workshops and panel discussions at Red Emma’s.

M3 Rock Festival 
May 4-5. Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. 5 p.m. $60-850. 410-715-5550. Bust out your leather pants, studded jackets, and big hair—it’s time to party like it’s 1989. Now in its 10th year, this head-banging music festival is a celebration of all things metal, with iconic bands turning back the clock for all generations of devoted fans to rock out together. Spanning two days and two stages, catch headliners including Baltimore’s own Kix and crowd favorites Tom Keifer, Ace Frehley, and Night Ranger.

FlowerMart 
May 4-5. Mount Vernon Square, 699 Washington Pl. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Free. 410-274-5353. Nothing says springtime in Baltimore quite like seeing the square around the Washington Monument filled with flowers, colorful hats, and classic lemon peppermint sticks. For the 107th year, Mount Vernon’s beloved celebration kicks off the spring season with arts and crafts vendors, live music and entertainment, and plenty
of festival eats. Stroll through the neighborhood to pick out the perfect plant or join in the maypole dance.

Wham City Comedy 
May 9. Metro Gallery, 1700 N. Charles St. 8 p.m. $10. 410-244-0899. Baltimore’s favorite band of merry misfits is bringing its offbeat brand of comedy back to the Station North neighborhood that started it all.
On the final stop of their spring tour, catch Wham City Comedy’s viral, volatile performance art, as seen on Adult Swim and Comedy Central. Fingers crossed that they perform their hilarious eight-part live series, The Cry of Mann.

The Catonsville Nine, 50 Years Later 
May 12-31. Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St. Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 12-5 p.m. Free. 410-685-3750. The Maryland Historical Society is commemorating the Catonsville Nine, a group of Catholic men and women who, 50 years ago this month, burned nearly 400 A-1 draft records to protest the Vietnam War. Featuring artwork by Tom Lewis, who was a member, and additional photographs and materials from the period, the exhibit examines the group’s motivations amid the political chaos and conflict of the late 1960s.

Preakness 
May 19. Pimlico Race Course, 5201 Park Heights Ave. 8 a.m. $40-720. 410-542-9400. Every year, horse-racing (and day-drinking) fans from near and far come to cheer on the country’s finest thoroughbred horses as they compete for the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Before heading to your seat for this 143rd event, partake in pre-race festivities throughout the city, or hear chart-topping rappers
Post Malone and 21 Savage take over the raucous Infield Fest. 

Brew At The Zoo 
May 26-27. The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, 1 Safari Pl. 1-7 p.m. $25-75. 410-396-7102. Tap into your wild side at The Maryland Zoo’s 17th annual fundraiser with beers from more than 80 breweries, including local suds from DuClaw Brewing and The Brewer’s Art. In between refilling your glass and gushing over the zoo’s newborn African penguins, listen to live music by local rockers Nelly’s Echo and The Kelly Bell Band and sample snacks from dozens of food vendors. 

Maggie Rogers 
May 30. Baltimore Soundstage, 124 Market Pl. 7 p.m. $30-35. 410-244-0057. Since skyrocketing to internet stardom after a video with Pharrell Williams (gushing over her now-hit song “Alaska”) went viral, this Maryland native has signed a record deal, toured the globe, and released her first EP, Now That the Light Is Fading. For one night only, the singer-songwriter brings her earthy rhythms and soulful sound to her home state for a must-see performance.

By now, the whole world knows that American actress Meghan Markle will marry Britain’s Prince Harry in May. Congratulations to the happy couple.  

Also by now, many outlets have pointed out that Markle is not the first Yank to marry into the ranks of royalty. Previous trailblazers include fellow actress Grace Kelly (Monaco) and socialites Lee Bouvier (Poland) and Marie Chantal-Miller (Denmark/Greece). Plus, as we all learned from Downton Abbey, marrying American heiresses was all the rage among the British upper class in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as venerable British families sought new American fortunes to prop up their money pit estates. In other words, there’s a long precedent of transatlantic marriages, for any number of reasons, including love. 

But what many may not know is that two Baltimore women are among the more colorful members of this elite tradition. 

The first, Elizabeth “Betsy” Patterson Bonaparte, was the daughter of a prominent Baltimore merchant who, at one point, was the second richest man in Maryland.  

In 1803, Betsy, who was known for her style, vivacity, and beauty, married Napoleon’s youngest brother, Jérome. The marriage was plagued almost from the start. Napoleon disapproved of the union and urged his brother to annul it. When the couple sailed for Europe in 1804, Napoleon forbid Betsy—by then pregnant with the couple’s only child—from disembarking. Her husband pledged to procure Napoleon’s acceptance, but was unsuccessful and quickly gave up, abandoning his pregnant young bride. Betsy found sanctuary in London, where she gave birth to a son, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte (called Bo), in 1805. But save for one brief encounter in 1817, she never saw her husband again. (She was granted a divorce from him in 1815 by special act of the Maryland legislature.)

But don’t cry for Betsy. The irrepressible heiress returned to Baltimore where she successfully managed her family’s estate and remained a figure of fascination, even making a return visit to Europe at one point where she was warmly welcomed by high society. She died in 1879 at the ripe old age of 94 and is buried in Green Mount Ceremony where her tombstone reads: “After life’s fitful fever she sleeps well.” 

The second—and even more controversial—Baltimorean to infiltrate European royal society was Wallis Simpson, who fell in love with the man who would become King Edward VIII in the early 1930s, and nearly toppled the British monarchy in the process. 

Simpson was born Bessie Wallis Warfield just over the Pennsylvania-Maryland line in June 1896. Her father died of tuberculosis shortly thereafter and she grew up in Baltimore, bouncing from one address to another with her widowed mother. For a period of time around 1905, she and her mother lived in a room at what is now Hotel Brexton on Park Avenue in Mt. Vernon. Thanks to generous relations, including her uncle and one-time Baltimore postmaster Solomon Davies Warfield, she attended the elite Oldfields School in Sparks-Glencoe, where she excelled socially and academically.    

When she became the mistress of then-Prince Edward in 1934, she was already on her second marriage. That marriage, to British shipping magnate Ernest Aldrich Simpson, would end in divorce in 1937, by which time Prince Edward’s father, King George V, had died and Edward had ascended to the throne. The new king marrying an American of no particular fortune or lineage was already an undesirable prospect, but, as the head of the Church of England, the king marrying a twice-divorced American of no particular lineage and fortune was out of the question. In December 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne, telling the British public in a radio address that he “found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility, and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do, without the help and support of the woman I love.” 

Though the story was spun as one of gallantry and love, the reality was much more complicated, with Wallis and Edward—now dubbed the Duke and Duchess of Windsor—living as glamorous exiles the rest of their lives. And while there does seem to have been a genuine bond between the two, royal watchers have long gossiped that the relationship was unhealthy with Wallis acting as a domineering mommy/mistress figure to the feckless, resentful Edward. It has also been said that the Duke and Duchess were Nazi sympathizers, which further tarnished their reputations. (For interesting portrayals of the Duke and Duchess, see Netflix’s The Crown or the Oscar-winning The King’s Speech.)

So, you know, maybe it’s a good thing Meghan’s from California and not Baltimore. We don’t seem to have the best track record with royal weddings.      

While we aim to spread peace and goodwill during the holiday season, a home full of visiting family and bored kids on winter vacation can quickly bring out the worst in even the best hosts. When you’ve run out of things to do at home (we get it—you can only watch so many Hallmark Channel movies), break the cabin fever and get the whole crew out of the house. Crisp, sunny days call for a walk through nature, and area gardens and conservancies like the Eastern Shore’s Adkins Arboretum or Harpers Ferry National Historic Park in West Virginia more than deliver.

While many are more popular in the spring and summer months when foliage is in full bloom, winter offers a different—and sometimes better—perspective, like at the Wolf Sanctuary of PA in Lititz, where animals are most active in colder temperatures. Don’t let bad weather hold you back, either. The anticipation of sampling a hot, crisp potato chip straight off the factory line will get even the most skeptical kids into the car on a gloomy day for a tour of Southern Pennsylvania’s Utz Factory. Or explore the Main Streets of historic Middleburg, Virginia, which amp up their signature small-town charm with holiday décor. The best part? All 10 of these family-approved winter adventures are within a 2-hour drive from Baltimore.

Catch a Glimpse

A guided tour of the Wolf Sanctuary of PA (465 Speedwell Forge Rd., Lititz, PA, 717-626-4617) gives visitors an inside look into the daily lives and unique personalities of the more than 40 wolves (and wolf-dogs) who have found a home at this 80-plus-acre wooded property in Pennsylvania Dutch country. What started as a private rescue more than 30 years ago has evolved into a nonprofit educational center that provides food, shelter, and veterinary care to wolves who couldn’t survive in nature. (The creatures are exceedingly rare, as wild wolves haven’t lived in the Keystone State for more than 100 years.)

Strap on your hiking boots, and in less than 2 hours, you’ll be in awe of the raw power and grace of animals such as Sir Bear, a fluffy grey-and-white wolf with golden eyes who was rescued from a private zoo. For the chance to see all the packs, book a private tour in advance.

If birds of prey are more your style, pack binoculars and head to the Conowingo Dam (4948 Conowingo Rd., Conowingo, 410-457-5011), which attracts more than 100 bald eagles throughout the fall and winter. The spot on the Susquehanna River is well known among bird watchers as one of the best places east of the Mississippi to spot large groups of the eagles, which come here to fish. Serious spectators gather before sunrise to stake out a prime location along the overlook railing, as the national birds feast just 30 yards away along the opposite river bank. Those interested in learning more about local wildlife should stop by the visitor center or escape the throngs of photographers by walking part of the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway Trail. An improved section of the wide, flat path follows the river’s west bank for 2.2 miles, beginning at the dam parking lot and ending at the trout-filled Deer Creek.

Feed the Munchies

Got a craving for a mid-week getaway? Get those couch potatoes off the sofa and on the road for a tour of Southern Pennsylvania’s snack factories. Just an hour north across the state line, start with Snyder’s of Hanover (1350 York St., Hanover, PA, 800-233-7125), where a 30-minute guided tour walks visitors through the pretzel baking process, from the raw ingredient warehouse to the heavenly smell of the oven room. Less than a half-hour northeast in Thomasville, rival treat-toter Martin’s (5847 W. Lincoln Hwy., Thomasville, PA, 717-792-3265) offers one of the most immersive excursions in the area (if you can convince your family to don hairnets). The 45-minute tour follows the potato from truck to fryer, with salty chip samples along the way.

Balance out the savory snacks by continuing north to Hershey’s Chocolate World (101 Chocolate World Way, Hershey, PA, 717-534-4900), where you can indulge your inner Willy Wonka by creating your own chocolate bar or let the experts guide you through an equally delicious tasting. Finally, on your way home, stop at the Utz Factory (900 High St. Hanover, PA, 800-367-7629), where a small museum displays old objects such as retro tin packaging and Sallie Utz’ original potato slicer, which dates back to the 1920s. Take the stairs up to the glass observation deck to look down on the busy production floor before hitting up the nearby factory outlet on Carlisle Street to shop the brand’s full selection of flavors.

Day Trip With a View

Set on the banks of Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania, bucolic Chadds Ford is best known for inspiring the work of a generation of early 20th-century painters and illustrators, much of which is now on display at the Brandywine River Museum of Art (1 Hoffmans Mill Rd., Chadds Ford, PA, 610-388-2700). Perched along the water’s edge, the museum houses a permanent collection that includes 19th- and 20th-century landscapes that reflect the beauty of the surrounding countryside. Most notable is the work of 20th-century realist painter Andrew Wyeth, alongside that of his father, illustrator N.C. Wyeth (revered for his early illustrations of Treasure Island and Last of the Mohicans), and his son, contemporary painter Jamie Wyeth. (Nearby, guided tours of Wyeth studios provide a more personal glimpse into the local artists’ lives.) Through January 7, nearly 2,000 feet of model train track will also take over the atrium for the beloved seasonal exhibition, A Brandywine Christmas.

For more natural wonders in the Brandywine Valley, drive 10 minutes west to Longwood Gardens (1001 Longwood Rd., Kennett Square, 610-388-1000). With nearly 400 acres accessible to the public, plan to spend three to four hours exploring the historic grounds and their outdoor gardens that range from formal to whimsical. If you get chilly, move inside the conservatory to see the Indoor Children’s Garden, designed to engage little ones with fanciful sculptures and fountains, or the iconic Orangery greenhouse, decked with poinsettias and Christmas trees during the holiday season. Through January 7, A Longwood Christmas also transforms the gardens into a festive display inspired by the splendor of France’s Versailles. Think glittering mirrors, ornate topiaries, and more than 50 decorated trees, with choreographed fountain shows, strolling carolers, and thousands of twinkling lights.

Looking for an Eastern Shore adventure? Get outside with a visit to the Adkins Arboretum (12610 Eveland Rd., Ridgely, 410-634-2847), set on 400 acres adjacent to Tuckahoe State Park. Start at the visitors center, where staff will point you to what’s in bloom or where to catch a glimpse of wildlife while helping you map out your visit. Borrow an audio guide for a 35-stop tour along the 5 miles of paths or to discover the little-known connection between the local scenery and the Underground Railroad. Kids can get their hands in the dirt at the Children’s Funshine Garden, designed with sensory education in mind, or let out some energy at the First Light Village Playspace. Made almost entirely of natural materials, this scout-built play area includes wigwams, tree stumps, and a balance beam that’s sure to tire out your young explorers before it’s time to head home.

Get Back on the Saddle

Located two hours away, the small town of Middleburg, Virginia, (population: 828) transforms into an idyllic holiday destination beginning with its all-out Christmas parade on the first Saturday of December. Walk the brick sidewalks of Washington Street, where antique shops and boutiques have made homes out of historic stone and brick buildings. On the corner of Madison Street, the Red Fox Inn & Tavern (2 E. Washington St., Middleburg, VA, 540-687-6301)—a dormered fieldstone structure trimmed with wreaths and garland—has been serving travelers since 1728. Inside at the Night Fox Pub, you can warm up with a glass of wine from one of the area’s many vineyards. Known as the nation’s horse and hunt capital, Middleburg became a destination for foxhunting and steeplechasing at the turn of the 20th century. Learn more at the National Sporting Library & Museum (102 The Plains Rd., Middleburg, VA, 540-687-6542), a research center for horse and field sports with a special exhibition (through January 14) that showcases the equine in ancient Greek art, including pottery and coins dating back centuries.

Escape to the Ice

Nothing says holiday fun quite like lacing up a pair of ice skates. Luckily, outdoor rinks pop up throughout the state starting early in the winter season. Beginning in November, families can flock to the expansive, tree-lined ice rink at Quiet Waters Park (600 Quiet Waters Park Rd., Annapolis, 410-222-1777) in Anne Arundel County, equipped with a sturdy framework for less-experienced skaters in need of training wheels. (Just be sure to bring cash or checks, as admission and skate rentals don’t accept credit cards.) At Frank J. Hutchins Memorial Park (121 St. John St., Havre de Grace, 410-638-3570) in Harford County, skaters swirl around a synthetic ice rink that’s run by a different nonprofit group each week during the holiday season in exchange for a portion of profits.

Only have a few hours to spare? You can still get the blood flowing at the Pandora Ice Rink (201 E. Pratt St., 443-743-3308) at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor through January 15, part of the annual “It’s a Waterfront Life” holiday events hosted by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore. The 6,000-square-foot rink is located at the top of the Harbor Amphitheater at the corner of Light and Pratt streets, beneath the shimmer of the city skyline and in view of the USS Constellation. Really looking to stretch your legs? At 7,200 square feet, the outdoor rink in the Rockville Town Square (131 Gibbs St., Rockville, 301-545-1999) plaza is the largest outdoor rink in Montgomery County, with themed nights where you can throw it back to the ’90s or spin to Michael Jackson’s greatest hits. While you’re headed toward Western Maryland, swing by Silver Spring’s outdoor rink at Veterans Plaza (8523 Fenton St., Silver Spring, 301-588-1221) with its colorfully lighted pavilion roof. (Bonus points: both rinks remain open through March.)

Step Back in Time

Historic Harpers Ferry—known for its role in the Civil War and as the midpoint of the Appalachian Trail—is on the easternmost edge of West Virginia, where it borders both Virginia and Maryland at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. This tiny town—spread over little more than a half square mile—features a quaint Lower Town neighborhood that turns green from late November to early January with evergreen garlands and festive wreaths throughout its winding streets. Dive into history at the John Brown Wax Museum (168 High St., Harpers Ferry, WV, 304-535-6342), which follows the tale of an area abolitionist who led a raid on the town’s arsenal in the 1850s, and discover many other landmarks from the Civil War era sprinkled throughout the town.

Harpers Ferry National Historic Park (767 Shenandoah St., Harpers Ferry, WV, 304-535-6029) is home to 20 miles of hiking trails, ranging from easy, riverside strolls to hardcore hikes across Civil War battlefields and up steep mountaintops to scenic vistas. At the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s AT midpoint, kids can earn a “Junior Ranger” patch by completing an activity booklet, while the C&O Canal trail passes through the heart of town. If weather permits, follow the footbridge across the Potomac River to tackle the Maryland Heights Trail for panoramic views of the valley. If you’re looking to extend your trip, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, is another charming area with antique stores, craft galleries, and a historic opera house. (It is also rumored to be the most haunted town in America, inhabited by the spirits of the wounded soldiers from the Battle of Antietam.) Across the river in Sharpsburg, Maryland, that very Antietam National Battlefield (302 E. Main St., Sharpsburg, 301-432-5124) is also worth a visit.

Get Out of This World

Need an escape that transcends the DMV? Transport the family to another planet with an easy trip to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (600 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C., 202-633-2214) on the National Mall. Kids will love How Things Fly, a hands-on exhibit where they can push, pull, and twist their way to understanding the concept of flight. Gadget-lovers shouldn’t miss a collection of Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (basically super-drones).

If the thought of braving D.C. tourist spots during the holidays sends your blood pressure sky-high, opt for the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (14390 Air and Space Museum Pkwy., Chantilly, VA, 703-572-4118)—the museum’s companion facility in Northern Virginia. Its two huge hangars are home to the Space Shuttle Discovery and a super-sonic Concorde operated by Air France. You’ll also find memorabilia from the U.S. space program, such as the backpack propulsion device used to make the first untethered space walk and a collection of artifacts belonging to Charles Lindbergh, the first solo pilot to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

THUNDERBIRD AMERICAN INDIAN DANCERS
11/2. Goucher College, Kraushaar Auditorium, 1021 Dulaney Valley Rd., Towson. 10:15 a.m. & 12 p.m. $9. In bright feathers and embroidered clothing, this lively group will dance and sing in the Native-American tradition.

HARVESTING THE PAST
11/12. Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St. 1 p.m. Free-$9. Bring the kids to learn about Maryland’s Native-American farming practices with hands-on activities.

THANKFUL FOR TURKEYS
11/12. Lake Roland Nature Center, 1000 Lakeside Dr. 10 a.m. Free. Drop in to the nature center to investigate turkey artifacts and make a craft. 

NATIVE AMERICANS OF MARYLAND 
11/12. Cromwell Valley Park, 2002 Cromwell Bridge Rd., Parkville. 1 p.m. Free. Try out the same tools that local Native Americans used to hunt, fish, and grow crops.

LET’S TALK TURKEY 
11/18. Cromwell Valley Park, 2002 Cromwell Bridge Rd., Parkville. 1 p.m. $2-4. Meet a live turkey and learn about the bird that became a symbol for Thanksgiving. 

THANKSGIVING CRAFTS 
11/20. Enoch Pratt Free Library, 3801 Erdman Ave. 5:30 p.m. Free. Grab a piece of paper and pair of scissors to make a classic hand turkey or other Thanksgiving-inspired craft.

TROT THE TRAIL 5K
11/19. Herring Run Park, 3800 Belair Rd. 8 a.m. $5. Prep for the big Thursday gobble with a bright-and-early run on Sunday morning.

Y TURKEY TROT CHARITY 5K
11/23. Stieff Silver Building, 810 Wyman Park Dr. 8:30 a.m. $5-42. Burn some pre-feast calories with a 5K for no-guilt slices of pumpkin pie. 

GOBBLE COBBLE TURKEY TROT
11/23. MAC Harbor East, 655 President St. 8 a.m. $35-40. Grab your sneakers and hit the city streets for this festive 5K through the Inner Harbor before the big meal.

Concrete Kids

May 13, 2017
West 36th Street

“Could I ask the elected officials here to raise their hands?” City Councilman Ryan Dorsey says, raising his own hand and glancing toward several fellow councilmen, a pair of state delegates, and Mayor Catherine Pugh, all in attendance this afternoon for the phase II grand opening of Hampden’s Roosevelt Park skate park. “Now, will everyone who has skated in this concrete bowl keep their hand up?”

The only hand still raised, of course, is that of youthful, 35-year-old Dorsey, who was elected to his first term last year. 

Dorsey notes how long it took for the facility to get built—a dozen years—adding with a smile that he decided “it would be easier to run for office” than do the type of behind-the-scenes advocacy, organizing, and fundraising required to bring the 16,000-square-foot, world-class project to completion.

That said, the driving force behind the project works for one of Dorsey’s colleagues. Longtime skater Stephanie Murdock, also 35, serves as legislative director for Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke. “It started when I placed an ad with my personal cellphone number in the back of the City Paper—next to all those ‘interesting’ ads—to gauge support and recruit volunteers,” Murdock recalls. “People began calling me who wanted a skate park.” She founded the nonprofit, 501(c)3 Skatepark of Baltimore in 2007. 

In the past, says Northeast Baltimore native Spencer Brown, 28, skaters often jumped on the light rail, getting off near the University of Baltimore, Inner Harbor, or Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, looking for “a good place to grind” on ramps, stairs, ledges, boxes, and pipes.

“This brings in people from Maryland, D.C., Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and there are going to be professional teams coming in the next few weeks for competitions,” says Brown, who is sponsored by Hampden’s Vú Skate Shop and several other skateboard-oriented businesses. “The big thing is that the perception of skating, because of this project, has changed in recent years. 

“There’s acceptance now.”

Table Scraps

May 15, 2017
Inner Harbor

Since 2014, Mr. Trash Wheel, the Inner Harbor’s water-and-solar-powered, garbage-devouring device, has pulled 1.1 million pounds of debris from the harbor—including nearly a half-million polystyrene containers, more than 650,000 snack and grocery bags, nearly 400,000 plastic bottles, and more than 9 million cigarette butts.

“He also gets a lot of baseballs and soccer balls, and random stuff, including beer koozies, a beer keg, a motorcycle helmet, pink flamingos—once a lost, 5-foot python,” says Cy Kellett, who helped build the prototype with his uncle John Kellett, Mr. Trash Wheel’s inventor.

Situated near where the Jones Falls flows into the Inner Harbor, the beloved Mr. Trash Wheel—a viral video showing him in action garnered nearly 1.5 million views, and he’s been profiled by the likes of CNN, NBC News, and National Geographic—is celebrating his birthday today. Along with staff from the Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative and a dozen or so local fans, the party this afternoon includes students from Commodore John Rodgers Elementary School, who have brought a “cake” (a used tire filled with plastic bottles and junk) to feed to Mr. Trash Wheel.

After the desserts are served, including actual cupcakes for the kids, Adam Lundquist, director of the Healthy Harbor Initiative, and Jonathan Jensen, on guitar and ukulele, respectively, lead the students and crowd in song. First there’s a rendition of “Happy Birthday” and then an homage to Mr. Trash Wheel, penned by Jensen, whose full-time job is as a bassist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Scooping up the yutz and the cigarette butts
Up to 25 tons a day
Mr. Trash Wheel, Mr. Trash Wheel, Mr. Trash Wheel
He’s the hero of the harbor

 “The world premiere of ‘Hero of the Harbor’ was last month at Peabody Heights Brewery,” Jensen grins. “For their launch of Mr. Trash Wheel’s Lost Python Ale.”

Statue of Liberty

May 16, 2017
North Charles Street

On May 17, 1917, nearly a century after the Marquis de Lafayette’s last visit to Baltimore, city leaders and a French delegation broke ground for a statue of the American Revolutionary War hero in Mount Vernon Square. The effort to memorialize the wildly popular Lafayette in Baltimore—a downtown city street had already been named in his honor—was meant to symbolize the important bond between the two countries as the U.S. entered World War I. 

“Fifty-thousand residents of Baltimore turned out for the groundbreaking,” Robert Dalessandro, chairman of the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission, reminds a smaller but still enthusiastic crowd gathered in Mount Vernon Square to mark the 100th anniversary of the groundbreaking. Behind Dalessandro and the statue—and in front of Baltimore’s towering monument to George Washington—two 30-foot American and French flags blow in the wind. 

Lafayette’s first visit to Baltimore came in 1781, when the dashing officer and his soldiers camped near here before heading further south. His second visit came in 1784 and his third in 1824, according to the Baltimore Sun, when the 67-year-old was greeted by celebratory cannon fire at Fort McHenry and a parade of ships. 

It’s hard to overstate the courageous, freedom-fighting Lafayette’s hold on the American imagination, which continued long after his death. Dalessandro notes that when American troops first arrived in France in 1917, Col. C.E. Stanton, an aide to Gen. John J. Pershing, was said to have uttered: “Lafayette, we are here!”

After the ceremony, Michel Charbonnier, consul general of France at the French Embassy in Washington, is asked by an attendee about the French reaction to the election of President Donald Trump amid the administration’s early controversies. 

“The French people have been interested in American politics for more than two centuries,” Charbonnier says with a diplomatic smile, alluding to Lafayette’s mission. “Not that we have always understood it.”

Before he was a war hero, a congressman, a senator, and the youngest man ever elected president, John F. Kennedy was just your average really, really, really ridiculously good-looking rich kid, goofing off with his friends at the 1940 Maryland Hunt Cup. The storied steeplechase, which began in 1894 as a competition between the Elkridge and Green Spring fox hunting clubs, will be run for the 121st time this weekend.

As old home movies show, young JFK—then a 22-year-old Harvard senior—enjoyed the race and its subsequent ball with Harvard classmates Cammann Newberry and William C. Coleman. The privileged trio—who went by the nicknames Big Moe (Coleman), Middle Moe (Kennedy), and Little Moe (Newberry)—are seen frolicking in the muddy Maryland countryside with friends and family, and indulging in some exceedingly dapper horseplay before the big soiree.

Ostensibly, young Kennedy found himself in the Worthington Valley countryside that weekend at the invitation of Coleman, whose family were prime Maryland WASPs. 

If JFK looks comfortable in such hifalutin company, it is no wonder. He had already experienced more in his 22 years than most do in a lifetime. Much of this was due to his father, Joe Kennedy. By the time JFK was 10, his father had amassed one of the country’s great fortunes. In 1940, the elder Kennedy was serving as the U.S.’s Ambassador to Great Britain, having already completed stints as a banker/Wall Street broker, liquor importer (some say bootlegger), Hollywood producer (including a torrid affair with Gloria Swanson), and founding chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission under FDR. Famously ambitious, Joe Kennedy wanted his children to have full access to the highest echelons of society, something that had been denied him in his own youth because of his Irish-Catholic ethnicity. As a result, his nine children lived luxurious—if peripatetic—lives, flitting between expensive boarding schools and family residences in Bronxville, NY; Palm Beach, FL; and, of course, Hyannis Port, MA.

The flip side of this life of leisure and glamour was JFK’s precarious health, which started in childhood and continued all his days. He is seen in the footage drinking milk, which was prescribed by his physicians for chronic digestive issues. Kennedy also suffered from Addison’s Disease, a malfunctioning of the adrenal glands, which kept him very slim. Later in life, he would endure bouts of sometimes debilitating back pain, among other ailments.

But all that seems miles away in this video of exuberant young things larking about in the picturesque Maryland countryside. Seen here, JFK certainly appears to the manor born. With his preppy good looks and irresistible charisma, it’s easy to believe that, in 20 years, he’d make history as the nation’s first (and so far only) Catholic president.

Some interesting historical footnotes: 

• The winning horse in 1940 was Blockade, one of only a handful of horses to win the race three times. Like just about everyone involved with the Maryland Hunt Cup, Blockade boasted a pedigreed lineage. His sire was the famous thoroughbred racehorse Man o’ War.

• Also shown in the documentary is JFK’s favorite sister, Kathleen—or Kick, as she was known. Kick lead her own remarkable life. Defying her devoutly Catholic mother, Kick would marry an English (and—gasp!—Protestant) aristocrat named William Cavendish. Though Cavendish would die in WWII, had he lived, Kick would eventually have become the mistress of Chatsworth, one of the U.K.’s premier estates. For reference, if you’ve ever seen the 2005 Keira Knightley version of Pride & Prejudice, you’ve seen Chatsworth. It’s used as Mr. Darcy’s Pemberly. Like her husband, and so many of her brothers and sisters, Kick would meet a tragic end herself. She was killed in a plane crash in 1948 at the age of 28. 

• JFK is seen smoking a cigar, an indulgence he continued for the rest of his life. 

• At least one JFK biography says that, on this same weekend, JFK was in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the wedding of Frances Ann Cannon, one of his first serious girlfriends. How he managed to attend both that ceremony and the Hunt Cup festivities is unclear.  

• When JFK would return to Harvard, he would receive his grade for his honors thesis, Appeasement at Munich (The Inevitable Result of the Slowness of Conversion of the British Democracy from a Disarmament to a Rearmament Policy). Expanded, edited, and renamed Why England Slept, the book would become a bestseller and help launch JFK’s political career.

• Had history unfolded differently, JFK could, conceivably, still be alive today. May 29, 2017, will mark his 100th birthday.  

Women’s rights have been in the news a lot lately, with fears of female freedoms being endangered by the new right-leaning Republican White House and Congress. But if January’s Women’s March (and these 13 events) are any indication, our country’s wonder women won’t be backing down any time soon.

Lectures & Workshops

3/8: Nadia Hashimi
Baltimore County Public Library, 1301 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville. 2:30 p.m. Free. The young novelist behind The Pearl That Broke Its Shell comes to the county to discuss Afghan women and the immigrant experience.

3/12: Guerrilla Girls
The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr. 3 p.m. Free. In conjunction with the closing of the Guerrilla Girls exhibit, artist-activist Frida Kahlo joins the BMA’s contemporary curator Kristen Hileman to reflect on the human rights group’s legacy.

3/15: Society of Excellent Women
Open Works, 1400 Greenmount Ave. 6-9 p.m. Free. At this new monthly meet-up that celebrates lady power, enjoy a zine workshop with the female frontrunners of Baltimore’s self-publishing community and explore the new Open Works makerspace in Station North.

3/23: Roxane Gay
Maryland State Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped, 415 Park Ave. 6:30 p.m. Free. The acclaimed author chats about her best-selling books, such as Bad Feminist and Difficult Women.

History

3/2: Celebrating Women of the Renaissance
The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. 6:30 p.m. Free. National Museum of Women in the Arts associate curator Virginia Treanor discusses the experience of women artists and patrons in European history.

3/17: 4,000 Years of Women in Science
Benjamin Banneker Historical Park & Museum, 300 Oella Ave., Catonsville. 7 p.m. Free. Join astronomer Sethanne Howard to learn about female contribution to the study of science.

3/19-5/19: Women of the B&O Railroad
B&O Railroad Museum, 2711 Maryland Ave., Ellicott City. Fri.-Sun. 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Free-$8. Get to know the female employees of the B&O, including legendary engineer Olive Dennis.

3/22: The Female Gaze in Anime & Manga
MICA, Brown Center, 1301 W. Mount Royal Ave. 12-1 p.m. Free. Delve into the gender politics of graphic novels.

Theater

3/30: Women Rabbis, Revealed
Gordon Center for Performing Arts, 3506 Gwynnbrook Ave., Owings Mills. 7:30 p.m. $20-25. The Strand Theater presents a staged reading of stories from On The Fringe, a documentary film about L.A.’s female rabbis.

3/17-4/9: The Taming of the Shrew
Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, 7 S. Calvert St. Times & prices vary. This topical comedy follows the rollicking story line of the “untamable” Kate and her romantic escapades.

To 3/19: Motherhood Out Loud
Vagabond Players, 806 S. Broadway. Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. $10-20. This moving play turns the notion of parenthood on its head with comedy and celebration.

3/24-25: Womanizm
Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute & Cultural Center, 847 N. Howard St. 8 p.m. $20-25. The Eubie Blake Cabaret Company performs this celebration of black women.