sharonleestable.com

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Known far and wide for their bountiful U-Pick Strawberry Fields, Chase’s Produce owners Marge and Bob Chase were delighted when April’s warmer than usual temperatures brought their strawberry plants into full bloom. Fields full of beautiful white blossoms with bright yellow centers shimmered in the afternoon sun on Monday, April 20th. But, on Monday night disaster struck as the Chases watched the thermometer fall into the 30’s by midnight. By morning, it had dipped to a freezing 30 degrees.

Too upset in the morning to even look at the crop, Bob went off on the tractor to mow a distant field. However, Margie Chase went off to the nearest field for a look. As she feared, the freeze harmed a majority of blossoms meaning the plants would need to rebloom.

By the time I met her at the produce stand for a prearranged interview about the planting, raising, and marketing of strawberries, Chase decided to check out other fields and invited me to ride along with her in their Gator farm vehicle. We took off across the farm and headed uphill, coming to a stop next to a field of strawberry plants in rows that stretched far into the distance.

At first glance, the plants before us appeared to be in bloom. However, after leaving the Gator and lowering a section of electric fence used to keep out the deer, Chase glanced down the rows in disbelief.

“We were overjoyed last week when the temperature rose into the eighties and our strawberry plants went into full bloom early,” she said. “We actually thought we’d be able to start selling strawberries the first full week of May. But last night’s freeze really hurt them, so they’ll now have to rebloom. Waiting for them to rebloom and ripen will delay us from opening by a couple of weeks. Our sales volume will be down as the quantity of berries will be less and our season will be somewhat shortened.”

Bending down, she cradled a cluster of the white blossoms in her hand.

“If you look at these blooms, you’ll see two of these with a pretty yellow center while the other two have brown centers meaning we’ve lost them,” Chase added. “This other bloom was starting to make a berry but it, too, is turning brown and is lost.”

We noticed that, now and then, blooms closer to the ground seemed unharmed and would likely produce fruit but there just wouldn’t be enough of it to offer customers. As we walked the field, Chase began explaining the complicated art of growing strawberries to me.

At the end of each strawberry season, Bob Chase will plow the berry plants under and plant a cover crop – generally of a Sorghum-Sudangrass mix which grows six feet in six weeks and puts a lot of nutrients back into the clay soil in the beds.

The beds are replanted over an irrigation system in the autumn after the produce stand closes for the season on either black or white plastic. Bob uses a piece of equipment known as a Water Wheel Transplanter that pokes holes in the plastic into which one or two employees (or sometimes Margie) riding behind insert a strawberry plant.

As soon as the transplants are in, electric fencing goes up to protect the plants from deer. The irrigation system beneath the rows assures the plants have enough water to get off to a good start. (Strawberries love water from beneath the ground but do not like overhead water which causes them to disintegrate or mold.) Then, with cool temperatures coming, cotton row covers are anchored over the plants with sandbags which keep winds from harming the plants and warm the soil beneath them between 5 and 8 degrees.

The row covers gathered beneath the produce stand came off only weeks ago and have yet to be permanently stored.

Jumping back into the Gator, Chase drove us further up the hill toward additional strawberry fields. The beds we next approached were covered with white plastic. The difference between white and black plastic is that white stays cooler and slows the berries down a bit while the black heats up faster so the berries are typically a week ahead of those grown under white.

“All of the strawberry plants you see in our earlier blooming beds are a variety known as Flavorfest that were bred at Beltsville Research Center. As always, we bought plants from two suppliers to assure we’d get a good result,” said Chase. “As you can see, plants in the lower part of the beds here that came from one of the suppliers did not do as well. They may have been adversely affected by a fungicide used to fend off a disease called Neopestalotiopsis (Neo-P).”

Moving further up the hill to another bed of Flavorfest berries planted in black plastic, we spotted Bob Chase in a distant field “bushhogging” a cover crop of rye before plowing it under for the second in a succession of sweet corn plantings he started earlier in the week.

Sweet corn is the crop for which Chase’s Produce is best known and customers come from as far away as Washington, D.C. to buy it. (The same is true for the strawberries.)

Looking over another field of strawberries ruined by the frost, we noticed some of the Sorghum Sudangrass mix still standing beyond it. Chase began to enlighten me about how the U-Pick strawberries system works.

Whichever employee is tending the produce stand will send customers up the hill to whichever field Chase is working in. She’ll give each person a red flag and assign them a row to pick in. She asks them to place the flag in the ground at the place they start to pick. That way, she’ll know where to place the next customer as she works her way down each row. Depending on weather conditions and the amount of ripe strawberries available, the Chases try to have a 9 am opening and a 2 pm in the afternoon close. They also try to schedule a couple of evenings to be open from 4 to 7 pm or 5 to 7 pm as some people like to bring their children after school.

Weekends are the greatest challenge when Chase’s Produce gets hit hard with customers. They generally need to limit weekend customers to one day – either Saturday or Sunday because they wouldn’t have the volume of berries to handle back-to-back customers two full days in a row. For information, people can follow their website at Chase’s Produce – Fruits and Vegetables, Fresh Produce or page at Facebook or call 410/798-1580 where they have updates.

Heading back down the hill we came to the closest strawberry field to the produce stand in which the Chases are growing a later variety of strawberry known as Malwinas which bloom and ripen in early June. Consequently, there were no blossoms to freeze and the plants look very healthy. The Malwinas should extend strawberry picking season by two or three weeks.

Work on the crop does not stop. The plants initially must receive fertilization through the irrigation system, spraying must be done to kill weeds and because additional weeds spring up in any punctured areas of the plastic, the beds must be hand weeded as well. Hopefully, the Flavorfest strawberry plants will fully recover and U-Pick strawberry season will get underway in mid-May.

Meanwhile, sweet corn plantings will occur every five days and squash, zuchinni, pepper, cucumber and ochra plants are being started in trays for transplanting in a couple of weeks. the stand will fully open for business at the beginning of July. Keep your eyes on the Chase’s Produce website for exact times and dates.

A reminder: “Spilling the Tea with author Mary K. Tilghman at Rising Sun Inn April 25th

The Friends of The Rising Sun Inn invites the public to its Tavern Talk & Tea event: Spilling The Tea with author Mary K. Tilghman at 1 pm on Saturday, April 25th. An Elevenses Tea with tea and sweets in the beautiful surroundings of the historic Crownsville Inn while the author discusses her book “Love Letters & Gingerbread, An Annapolis Christmas”. For details visit Spilling the Tea with Author Mary Tilghman.

Another reminder: Park Books will host a Founding Mother’s Tea on May 2nd

Park Books will be welcoming NYT Bestselling Authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie for a “Mother’s Day Tea” celebrating their newest release, A Founding Mother: A Novel of Abigail Adams on Saturday, May 2nd from 3 to 5 pm. Enjoy afternoon tea with scones, cookies, and other treats. Tickets are $32 per person and include a copy of the book. For details, visit “A Founding Mother’s” Day Tea with NYT Bestselling Authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie | Facebook.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Acton Academy Maryland Curiosity Lab founders Roman and Jenny Hardgrave launched their school’s unique Children’s Business Fair four years ago in Arnold. The event kicked off with twenty-four child-owned business entries but, by 2026, with 64 entries, the event had outgrown its original site at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. Needing much more space, they partnered with the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce to relocate the 5th Annual Children’s Business Fair from its original site to Park Plaza. Bolstered by additional publicity and support from the Chamber and 11 community sponsors and the new site’s easy public access and parking, the event drew larger crowds than ever before.

Having heard good things about the Children’s Business Fair from Chamber CEO Liz League and others, we decided to check it out this year. As can be seen from the opening photo, the fair was crowded with tents and ever so busy, but we dove right in. The first child-owned business we stopped by was homeschooler Zoey Sowles’ “Have A Date” booth – a business based on chocolate covered dates.

Zoey’s booth was very professionally laid out with a printed menu complete with product photos. The first two menu items Snicker’s Dates and Coconut Joy Dates were sold out. However, there were still S’mores Dates as well as Cake in a Cup, Strawberry Shortcake, Cookies and Cream and Lemonade to be had.

Curious, we asked Zoey how she came to start her business.

“I came up with the idea to start a company three years ago and was looking for a product to market when I stumbled across making chocolate-covered dates. They tasted pretty good, so I began playing with different flavors. Then I heard about The Children’s Business Fair and thought ‘I could sell my dates there’. I began selling them at the fair three years ago and have continued ever since.”

Just across from Zoey’s booth, we met Just That Bro Bros’ Ira and Henry Olsen. The brothers had a great sales pitch and an abundance of handmade products to market. Their products included Garden Cups of Chocolate Pudding, Oreos and Gummy Worms, Potholders, Design Your Own Logo Stamps to block print on a shirt, and other items including custom art drawn by one of the bros.

Moving down the row, we came to Maryland Curiosity Lab student Jobie Schinnamon’s business Paper Garden which recycles paper and other items into viable products to sell. The flowers with which her tent was decorated were made from coffee filters. However, the regular and seed papers she was selling were created by her using a tried-and-true recycling method.

‘I create new paper from recycled paper by ripping it, putting it in a bin and adding water,” said Jobie. “I’ll let it sit for a day. Then I blend it in a blender to make it smooth, scoop the mixture onto screens on my deck to drain the water out and let the product dry. Today, I’m also selling flowers I made from unused coffee filters – a way of upcycling. I loved the idea of creating a business and felt participating in the fair was cool…and it was a way to earn extra money.”

Across from the Paper Garden, Duffy’s Dogs was running full tilt with young entrepreneur Duffy minding the grill and selling hot dogs, chili dogs and lemonade.

The Shell Sisters Claire and Margo Schieffer have been decoupaging art onto different sizes of seashells for quite a while and decided they should bring them to the Children’s Business Fair this year. Some are based on characters from fairy tales.

On our way to the next booth, we bumped into Blended Essentials manager Danielle Bowen and Anne Arundel County Council member Amanda Fiedler who were volunteering as judges. Both carried sheets with lists of entries for the age group they were assigned.

Fiedler, a judge for the fourth year, explained that awards would be given to entrants in each of three age groups for categories including most original business idea, highest business potential, and best presentation. Winners would receive $50 and a certificate.

A few minutes later, we stopped by The Bakery of Botany tent where we found middle school student and business co-owner Clay Wise. We also found Bowen there. Though The Bakery of Botany was not one of the entrants she was assigned to judge, she’d ducked into the tent to sneak at peak at the baked products.

“I’m one-half of The Bakery of Botany with my partner William Price who’s not here at the moment,” said Clay Wise. “I’ve done all the baking while William grew cat grass, succulents and transplants for sunflowers, nasturtiums, cucumbers, tomatoes and strawberries from seeds in biodegradable pots.”

We eventually ran into event founders Jenny and Roman Hardgrave who told us that the Children’s Business Fair organized by Acton Academy’s Maryland Curiosity Lab was not the only one. The fairs were taking place across the nation which is fitting as our country is celebrating its 250th anniversary. Roman went on to explain how the school happened to partner with the Greater Severna Park Chamber of Commerce and relocate the event to Park Plaza.

“From the beginning of the Children’s Business Fair on the parking lot at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, we had support from Chamber CEO Liz League who volunteered as a judge all four years. We also were sponsored from the very beginning by Chamber members Nancy and Billy Greer’s Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi.

So, as we outgrew our original site on the parking lot at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, it seemed only natural to partner with the Chamber and move the event to Park Plaza. It’s worked out wonderfully as we’ve acquired support from 11 sponsors ranging from Art Farm Studios, and Broadneck Pharmacy to Mathnasium, LogoZone, Macaroni Kid, Naptown Scoop and The Severna Park Voice among others.”

Even though The Sweet Studio’s owner Sakina Ziot was completely sold out of bracelets, she was still selling cookies and Squeeze The Day lemonade. She was also wearing one of the inspiring blue t-shirts created by an Acton School student that many participants were wearing. It bore the slogan “The best way to predict the future is to create it by Abraham Lincoln”.

Back-to-back with The Sweet Studios’ tent was the CPD Handcrafts tent run by friends Callie Kinahan and Phoenix Loman. Their crafts ran from scrunchies and bracelets to pet rocks.

With 64 entrants and 90 children participating, we couldn’t visit them each one. However, we couldn’t resist focusing last on Willow”s Vegan Bakery. Fairly professional in her approach, owner Willow Stinchcomb had her own business cards, shirt, Facebook page, email address and an attention-getting pretzel headdress.

Willow said she has had a business of her own since she was six years old.

As the Children’s Business Fair of Severna Park wound to a close at 4 pm, there was great excitement as the judges rendered their decisions and Roman Hardgrove was about to step to the microphone and announce the award winners. Parents had their smartphones at the ready as winners from three age groups proudly stepped forward to receive their certificates.

One can hope that these ambitious and inventive youngsters will find the business climate in the State of Maryland less challenging than it is currently for entrepreneurs as they reach adulthood. For more information on the Maryland Curiosity Lab and 2027 Children’s business Fair, visit Maryland Curiosity Lab.

Tavern Talk & Tea with author Mary K. Tilghman at Rising Sun Inn on April 25th

The Friends of The Rising Sun Inn invites the public to its Tavern Talk & Tea event: Spilling The Tea with author Mary K. Tilghman at 1 pm on Saturday, April 25th. Enjoy an Elevenses Tea with tea and sweets in the beautiful surroundings of the historic Crownsville Inn while the author discusses her book “Love Letters & Gingerbread, An Annapolis Christmas”. There will be a question-and-answer period and book signing following Tilghman’s lecture The sweets served will include some of those mentioned in her book.

Tickets are $38.00 dollars per person or $68 for two people and must be purchased in advance by visiting Spilling the Tea with Author Mary Tilghman.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

For those of us who love to garden, Spring couldn’t come soon enough. We’d been itching to get outside and spruce up our porches, lawns and gardens with plants and flowers. Was it any wonder that warm sunny weather on the day before Easter inspired us to head for local garden centers.

Truth be told, I’d already looked for some heirloom seeds I wanted to try this year in the garden sections of several stores but hadn’t been able to find them. Thus, I headed for AA Co. Farm, Lawn & Garden Center in Pasadena – long my favorite source for seeds, bulbs, transplants, flowerpots, soil amendments and other products. I had no idea I’d find the garden center parking lot packed with cars.

Entering the garden, I immediately spotted customers pulling wagonloads of plants. (Little wagons were handily placed for shoppers’ use just outside the garden fences.) Customers were later seen at the checkout window of the garden center’s picturesque red garden shed (seen in the opening photo).

There were multitudes of plants to choose from and, as you might imagine, Easter flowers ready for gifting were flying off the shelves. The outdoor checkout window was consistently busy.

Inside Anne Arundel Co. Farm Lawn and Garden Center there were so many clients that owner Cory Stephens was working the counter along with employee Kelly Neet.

At the opposite end of the counter from Stephens, we briefly spoke with Neet and asked her if the center was always so busy.

“In the Spring, it’s just crazy here. It’s so busy and we love it,” Neet said. “When the sun is out, like today, everyone feels that little inspiration to get out there and garden. You might have noticed that we’re also having lots of families with kids coming in to see the peeps.”

Families with children also seemed to enjoy the garden center’s outdoor Rocking Bird and Vintage Car and Truck Model display.

Our time at the garden center just flew by so we got down to business and looked for our much sought after packets of garden seeds among the Livingston displays. Along with others, I found packets for Mustard Greens, Pak Choi (a leaf type Chinese cabbage), Cress and hard-to-find Impatiens and promptly purchased them from Neet.

Back outside, I checked out a nice selection of herbs, an extensive range of vegetable transplants and a number of old-fashioned but popular plants like rhubarb. I also found, behind the red shed, various sized plastic flowerpots for a very reasonable price.

Before leaving, I caught up with Cory Stephens and observed that the garden center was as busy as I’ve ever seen it.

“We’re happy to see a little sunshine,” Stephens said. “We’ve had a cold start this spring. It was so cold and wet throughout March that people were slow getting started with planting and weren’t coming in. The bad weather also made it hard for us to get our ducks in a row so we were a little bit behind the 8-ball. But today has been great.”

Stephens also had some interesting news to share.

“We’re entered in a best-garden center competition for Fox Business News,” he said. “Our presentation was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes. When something turns out greater than you imagined it, it’s wonderful so we’re excited. Fox will announce the finalists on October 13th after which the voting will begin.”

We’ll keep you updated.

A reminder: Children’s Business Fair of Severna Park this Saturday, April 11th

The Maryland Curiosity Lab and the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce for Commerce are partnering for the 4th Annual Children’s Business Fair at Park Plaza this Saturday, April 11 from 1 pm to 4 pm. The Fair will be hosting 64 child-run businesses. There will be music by Bach to Rock and other surprises. The Fair is free for anyone to attend.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Though long aware of the Eastport Oyster Boys, I was surprised to learn the well-known Chesapeake folk music group was performing a concert at Maryland Hall in Annapolis on March 22nd celebrating their 30th Anniversary.

Curious about the group’s beginnings in 1996 and its evolution through the years, I met with Eastport Oyster Boys co-founder Jefferson Holland at Davis’ Pub in Eastport. Since we met on the first actual day of spring, the restaurant was as busy as could be and everybody that walked by seemed to know Holland and his beautiful black rescue retriever Millie.

Holland has been known to reinvent himself from time to time. Some people will have met him as a young, enthusiastic media representative for the Annapolis Boat Shows in the 1980’s. Others may have caught one of his performances as a musician and storyteller in the late ’80’s and ’90’s. From 2000 through 2014, they might have known him as the Director of the Annapolis Maritime Museum and Park. For a few years afterward, he was Riverkeeper for the West and Rhodes Rivers. Through it all, he has nurtured his love for writing songs, poetry and books.

Originally a co-founder of the musical group Crab Alley in the 1980’s, Holland partnered with Kevin Brooks in 1996 to found “Them Eastport Oyster Boys”. Asked how and why the pair chose such an unusual name, Holland responded that they simply wanted something that stood out. Because McNasby’s Oyster Company (now home to the Annapolis Maritime Museum) and the oyster industry were a mainstay of their town of Eastport for more than a century, the name was a natural.

He noted that people never did know what to make of the name – a name that has subsequently been mispronounced in five different countries and on two continents.

“Our Eastport Oyster Boys performances started out with just Kevin and I performing on the schooner ‘Woodwind’. That was a lot of fun and our audience of passengers could see that our material was drawn from all around us. You could say it lent us an air of authenticity,” said Holland.

They occasionally performed on other craft like the deadrise workboat, “Miss Lonesome” seen below, that was built by Perry Rogers in Shady Side in 1923. 

Brooks and Holland wrote all of the songs themselves. They’d started out thinking they would rediscover some of the songs watermen would have been singing 100 years ago and bring them back to life. But, after years of research, they didn’t find a single one.

“It turned out that, if the waterman would have been singing anything, it would have been out of the Methodist hymn book,” Holland said. “There were only a couple of Chesapeake Bay oriented songs in existence. So, we made up our own. The idea was to write about the boats, people, places and events that made our area special. We came up with songs like ‘Back Creek Bay’ which we wrote in 1981.”

The duo decided early on that they never wanted to perform in bars, so they did festivals, concerts and events. They would appear each year at an event called “Eastport ‘A Rockin'” and people would come up to them mentioning that they played trumpet or some other instrument and asking if they could play with them. After a while, the group grew. It is seen below during an appearance at the Boatyard Bar & Grill in the late 1990’s.

Eventually, the group compacted.

“I actually left the The Eastport Oyster Boys in 2011,” Holland said. “By 2011, I was director of the Annapolis Maritime Museum and we were involved in ongoing reconstruction from the effects of Hurricane Isabel. Nowadays, joining Kevin Brooks on banjo are Andy Fegley on trumpet, Tom Guay on guitar, and Mike Lang on keyboards. I’ll still make guest appearances three times a year though the group’s emphasis has changed from our original mix of stories, tall tales and poetry that fit so well with our appearances on the schooner.”

Holland joined the group onstage at Maryland Hall for the “Shuck It Tour” 30th Anniversary concert which he said went very well.

Named Poet Laureate of the City of Annapolis for 2024 through 2026 by former Mayor Gavin Buckley, Jefferson Holland is doing what he’s always wanted to do – creating and presenting a combination of poems, stories and songs, all with the theme of Annapolis, the Chesapeake Bay, people, boats and dogs. He relishes his appearances in the role several times a month.

In addition to a weekly column he writes for The Capital newspaper, he’s authored a book called “Walk Around Arundel: 52 Places to Hike with Your Dog (and Other Best Friends)” from New Bay Books. He’s recently written a new song called “That’s My Maryland” that you can listen to on YouTube on a channel by the same name.

Circling back for a moment to talk about the Eastport Oyster Boys, it occurred to me that Jeff Holland and his wife Louise are longtime Eastport residents. Thus, I thought him the perfect person to ask about the changing nature of the town.

“Yes, the town has changed. It’s become Yupified,” he said. “This very restaurant where we’re sitting, Davis’ Pub, used to be the neighborhood black bar. The original owner was a waterman who liked serving fellow watermen. I used to come here when it was a great local hangout and most of Eastport’s black families lived along this very street.”

“Following the Civil War, the Eastport/Annapolis area was one of few places in an otherwise segregated society where white and black families lived side-by-side. But, starting in the 1970’s with the advent of the Annapolis Boat Shows, people became aware of Eastport as a desirable location and things began to change. People came here because they love it but, by doing so, they ruined it for those already here.”

Holland notes that the town has fortunately preserved some of the older buildings associated with the oyster industry. He thinks aquaculture may bring the industry back to some extent but not remotely like it used to be.

“Though some of the town’s traditions seem to survive like the annual Eastport Sock Burnings celebrating the Spring equinox and beginning of the boating season, the biggest change to the community known by many as the ‘Maritime Republic of Eastport’ is gentrification.”

Those who would like to learn more about Jefferson Holland’s work may check out his website at Home.

Children’s Business Fair of Severna Park on April 11th

The Maryland Curiosity Lab is partnering with the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce for Commerce for the 4th Annual Children’s Business Fair taking place at Park Plaza on Saturday, April 11 from 1 pm to 4 pm. According to Chamber CEO Liz League, The Fair will be hosting 64 child-run businesses. There will be music by Bach to Rock and a few other surprises. The Fair is free for anyone to attend.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Having noted that the State of Maryland has a number of significant events planned to celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary, I thought it would be fun to meet with town historian F. Scott Jay to chat about Severna Park’s past, present and future. Sunlight filtered through the window as Jay reflected that few obvious traces of Severna Park’s beginnings remain because landmarks that were once beacons of the 118-year-old town have been obscured or overtaken by successive waves of residential and commercial construction.

With easily recognizable “traces” of the town’s early history now largely invisible, I asked Jay what he thinks about the state of current day Severna Park.

“I’m normally an optimist,” he said. “But intense overdevelopment has destroyed so much of what was attractive about our area. Every postage stamp of land is being built on, and the community is becoming too much like Baltimore City. I actually believe the area is becoming less appealing. Yet, I know of two young families hoping to move out of an apartment and move here where they grew up but the cost of houses is too prohibitive.”

We were both aware that Severna Park was but one part of the larger community of “Boone” when formed in 1906. The rustic town endured until June 16, 1925 when its address officially became Severna Park.

“But Boone’s origins date to the 1600’s with a 26,000-acre land grant from King Charles I to George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore,” Jay said. “By the 1700’s, the Lords Baltimore had conveyed the acreage in the form of three grants. Norman’s Fancy, Randall’s Purchase and Hopkins’ Addition would form the nucleus of Boone.”

He added that the Randall’s Purchase parcel providing the core was sold in 1721 to John Earnshaw and shortly thereafter to John Worthington.

In 1725 the parcel was sold to Richard and Hester Linstid (Linstead) and called Randall’s Range.

“The couple had a notorious reputation and perished in 1750, leaving their 10-year-old son, John, and 13-year-old daughter Elizabeth destitute,” Jay said. “John served in bondage to a weaver until he was 21, but owned Randall’s Range and paid taxes on it from 1759 to 1771 and again in 1774. It was likely John who built the still existing Linstid/Linstead farmhouse in 1758.”

Joseph McCubbin purchased the land in 1774, transferring it to daughter Dorcas, and her husband, William Hammond, in 1806. They apparently acquired the adjoining grants and renamed the property Cedar Neck.

Linstid’s son, John Linstid, Jr. repurchased the 227-acre property in 1817. Two years later, Linstid Jr.’s son George inherited it. At George’s death, in 1856, the working farm was divided into three 91.5 acre lots for his three children, one of which went to Elizabeth Linstid Boone, wife of farm owner Thomas Boone. In 1852, the Boones opened the Boone School at the present site of Severna Park Elementary School. In 1853, as part of the Boone homestead, they built the lovely antebellum house seen below that today is part of the Severn School campus.

Necessities could be bought at Boones Store, built and operated by Tom Boone. The Boones also sold a strip of land to the Annapolis & Baltimore Short Line Railroad in 1896 and by 1906, Boone Station opened and the community’s name, Boone, became official. Commerce boomed with the building of stores like Grotsky’s and Boros. That same year Severn Realty Company purchased the former Boone family properties, subdivided them and sold them as vacation homes. Lawyer Oscar L. Hatton created the Severna Company to administer them and named the development Severna Park.

In 1925, the Post Office officially adopted the name Severna Park and the town of Boone faded into history.

It is an amazing coincidence that Scott Jay has lived in two historic Severna Park houses. The first – his boyhood home at the corner of Riggs Avenue and Evergreen Road opposite Severn School – was built by George Boone in 1856. Jay’s father purchased it in 1940 from Severna Park founder Oscar Hatton. (The lot still exists but, sadly, the charming home was torn down a few years ago and replaced by two new houses.)

The second historic Severna Park home Jay and wife Donna owned (from 1985 till 2001) and extensively renovated was the Linstead farmhouse. The house changed through the years under various owners including the Riggs brothers who purchased it in 1906. However, at the time the Jays bought it, it was in bad shape – particularly the floors which had to be completely replaced.

“When having guests for dinner while living there, we’d sit around the dining room table and imagine what sort of topics might have been discussed there more than 200 years ago,” Jay said. “The Revolutionary War was bound to have been a topic.”

“It was also fun to speculate what it would have been like to be a guest when Francis and Harry Riggs owned the Linstead property. The Riggs brothers were fraternal twins who were wealthy and politically influential Baltimore businessmen and loved to party. They entertained lavishly and Maryland governors, including Governor Albert Ritchie, were there often.”

“On a more serious note, what remains from the earliest days of the community are cemeteries including the African American graveyard at Carpenter’s Hill and the one behind Linstead house where Linstids are buried. It was sobering to realize some of them died in our bedroom.”

While 18th and 19th century traces are pretty much confined to what remains of Linstid and Boone properties, a few early 20th century buildings remain. In 1913, a new railroad which also housed the Post Office was built at Boone that was later renamed the Severna Park Railroad Station. The building still exists and is home to the Severna Park Model Railroad Club.

Celebrating its 96th anniversary this year, Goska’s Liquors was opened as a general store in the 1920’s by the Kleiss family and sold to brothers Walter and Alex Goska in 1930. The family business was taken over from their father Walter by brothers Kevin and Michael Sosnoski in 1995. Below is the business as it appeared in the 1930’s,

Built in the 1920’s opposite the Severna Park Train Station is one of Olde Severna Park’s newest businesses, The Sugar Shoppe owned and operated by Jamie Denton and business partner Eloise Patton.

The building was briefly a grocery store but was known, for more than a decade, as Doc Codd’s pharmacy. In 1944, following the death of Dr. Francis Codd, it became Cliff Dawson’s variety store featuring liquor sales, a soda fountain and a slot machine. In 1952, Dawson’s relocated and the building became home to the Antique Marketplace. In the spring of 2021, MaryAnn and Cam Neal took over the retail space and opened The Red Apron Shoppe.

Asked what he thinks about the future, Jay echoed the opinion of others that many of the houses being constructed are not well-built, are overcrowded and won’t necessarily attract future homebuyers. Severna Park’s business climate seems okay for the present but it’s very difficult to open a new business here so it will be interesting to see what happens.

Celebrate 250 years of American History in Maryland

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, SAIL250 Maryland and Airshow Baltimore will take place from June 24th thru 30th. The family-friendly weeklong event will welcome international tall ships, US Navy and Coast Guard vessels, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, and other aviation performers for an air show over Baltimore Harbor. There is much more. To check out events happening in Baltimore, Annapolis and elsewhere, visit America’s 250th Celebration in Maryland Events | VisitMaryland.org.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Chatting with a friend who mentioned a great new museum he discovered while hiking the waterfront in Eastport, I was curious when he showed me a photo captured on his smartphone similar to the one below. The facade was a familiar one. One I’d seen in the past but with a difference. The iconic McNasby Oyster Co. sign on the building in the photo now bore the words “Home of the Annapolis Maritime Museum” and apparently had for a number of years. I vaguely recalled hearing that the business had closed for good and been sold but, an infrequent visitor to Eastport, I was unaware the building had become a museum. I decided to journey to Eastport and see for myself.

Learning that the Annapolis Maritime Museum Campus is located at 723 Second Street, I found it easily and nabbed a parking place in the same block. Approaching the museum from a slight distance, I was pleased by the building’s exterior with its maritime-themed artwork, boardwalks and piers.

Drawn by a handsome sign by the entrance, I stepped inside and walked to the counter where I was welcomed by Volunteer Educator Dianne Rosso.

Brimming with interesting information and helpful suggestions, Rosso pointed out that there was an interesting movie I could watch in a gallery behind her or I could explore the exhibit spaces first.

The first exhibit was surprising as it featured a weapon. During the Oyster Wars that followed the American Civil War in the 1860’s-1870’s, when Maryland and Virginia watermen fought over oyster bed areas of the Chesapeake Bay, the Maryland Oyster Police equipped their vessels with weapons including Civil War era cannons like the one seen here. The oysters were so prized they were considered “White Gold”.

Opposite the display, we found an exhibit featuring Oyster Harvesting Tools of the Trade along with models of boats adapted for oystering like skipjacks , skipjack pushboats, buyboats, sharpies or dredges.

Behind them, against the far wall was one of the most impressive exhibits. Beneath a case featuring an NOAA buoy for monitoring water in the Chesapeake Bay were two small wire oyster cages filled with shells representing the small number of oysters available for harvesting from that spot in 2010. In contrast, to the right of the display were wire cages of shells piled high atop one another along the wall representing the number of oysters harvested from the same spot in the 1870’s.

Groups like the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance, and the Oyster Recovery Partnership in coordination with the Severn River Association, the Magothy River Association and the Arundel Rivers Federation have led recovery efforts planting billions of spat on shell and building sanctuary reefs. The replanted oysters appear to be healthy and the population is now on the rise.

There were so many interesting exhibits we can’t mention them all but we particularly liked those dedicated to the workings of the McNasby Oyster Company.

Founded in 1886 by William McNasby Sr., the company began as a single storefront on Compromise Street in Eastport but grew until it became necessary to expand to the packing plant on 723 Second Street – the same building that is now home to the Annapolis Maritime Museum. By 1904, William Joseph, Sr. was joined in the business by William Joseph McNasby, Jr. and the company became very successful with growing demand for McNasby’s oysters across the continental U.S.

The packing plant operated for nearly a century. Below is an exhibit illustrating what shuckers’ stations were like. Once separated from the shells by hand with Shucker’s Knives, the oysters were placed in Shucker’s Buckets like those seen below filled with crushed ice, then passed on for packing and shipping.

When full, buckets of shucked oysters were rinsed, culled and graded and passed on to the packing room like the one pictured below and prepared for shipping or delivery. Note the Pearl Oyster labels on the pint and quart-sized cans. McNasby’s oysters were named after William Joseph McNasby, Jr.’s wife Pearl who was active in the business.

I also took advantage of the opportunity to visit the gallery where an exhibit called “Black Joy is an act of resistance” was presented along with a film called “Blacks On The Chesapeake” which featured and was narrated by the late Vincent O. Leggett, founder and president of the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation.

Both the film and the exhibit explored the rich history of life along the water’s edge and also delved into the beach resorts owned by the Carr family where African Americans, who were not allowed access to white-owned beaches could escape for a week or weekend of entertainment. The only beaches of their kind, they not only drew African Americans from across Maryland but also from other mid-Atlantic states. Carr’s Beach drew legendary black entertainers including Chuck Berry whose appearance drew an audience of 70,000 people.

There was also an interesting film from the Maritime Museum about the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.

Lastly, on the recommendation of Diane Rosso, we journeyed out onto the boardwalk and piers surrounding the museum which provided a view of the waters of Back Creek. We loved the panels of artwork along the rails depicting important moments in time that could have been seen from point of land on which the Annapolis Maritime Museum sits.

My favorites were the first panel featuring Native Americans in a dugout canoe watching Captain John Smith sail into Back Creek on his voyage of exploration in 1608 and the second and third panels seen below picturing the Providence settlement on the Severn River in 1672 and The Annapolis Tea Party in 1774.

The Annapolis Maritime Museum also maintains The Annapolis Maritime Park Campus at 7300 Edgewood Road and offers heritage cruises on its historic skipjack Wilma Lee. The museum offers many education programs for students and is the location for many popular events. To learn more about the museum and park, visit their excellent website The Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park | Annapolis, Maryland.

Eastport Oyster Boys 30th Anniversary Reunion Show at Maryland Hall this Sunday

Speaking of Eastport, we learned that the Eastport Oyster Boys 30th Anniversary “Shuck It Tour” is being held this Sunday, March 22 at Maryland Hall at 4 pm. The concert benefits the Annapolis Musicians Fund for Musicians. Tickets are available at marylandhall.org.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

New to being an author and signing copies of her first book, “Reinvent Yourself After 50”, Melissa Wittke is thoroughly enjoying the experience.

Curious about the title of the book and the line beneath it which urges “Reinvent your Body, Mind, and Spirit And Become the Woman God Created You to Be”, I immediately asked Wittke what inspired her to write it.

“One of the key things I wanted to impart is that there is no expiration date on your purpose or your dreams though the world may tell you otherwise,” she said. “I wanted to make people approaching their 50’s or 60’s aware that what they are going through is not so much a midlife crisis as a midlife reawakening and can be a beautiful transition.”

Turning 61 this September, and having gone through that transition, Wittke feels she’s opened a new world of possibilities and opportunities for herself. She hopes sharing knowledge she’s gained through the book can guide other women through what, for many, is a challenging time.

“It’s information I wish I’d had,” she says. “There are negative stereotypes for people that reach a certain age that I don’t buy into. But there is a choice. Women, in particular, are very hard on themselves especially when it comes to their bodies. While raising the children and caring for their families, their bodies were last on their list. They were so busy taking care of everyone else that they put themselves last. Now, however, they’ll have time to improve their health, their bodies and their spirit and to reassess what they really want to do with their lives. I like to help them see that this can be a beautiful time for them.”

To that end, the author has partnered with Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi co-owner Billy Greer, to start the online platform, Younger Body and Mind – A healthy mind in a healthy body. As you can see from the photo below, the platform has an abundance of classes and instructional videos with exercises anyone can learn to do.

The exercises are primarily based on Tai Chi and Qigong, with and without weights. However, the website encourages all forms of exercise as does Whittke.

“I do some sort of workout every day. As a Type A personality with a lot going on, I need that balance. I’m a runner, I lift weights, I swim, I do Yoga, I do Kung Fu or Tai Chi. Whatever feels good,” she says.

For two decades, Wittke has been a familiar face in the Greater Severna Park area. A technology consultant who is a senior program manager for the University of Maryland Medical Center, she’s currently working on an AI system for the hospital system which she finds exciting. She also is involved with several companies she and her husband own. Physically active, she’s a runner who frequently uses one or more of the Anne Arundel County Trails. But she’s best known, perhaps, for her longtime association with Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi.

“I began there 14 years ago as a white sash student just like everyone else,” Wittke said. Seven years later, I earned my black sash.”

During those seven years and the years that followed, she assisted with or was involved as an instructor in numerous activities, programs and workshops. She’s seen below in 2024 with Kung Fu and Tai Chi participant Nikki Lee. The pair were assisting Jing Ying’s martial arts expert Billy Greer with the school’s Self-Defense Workshop for Women and Teens by demonstrating for workshop participants the series of escape techniques taught by Greer; then joining the participants in practicing them over and over.

Incidentally, Wittke will be helping with Jing Ying Institute’s upcoming Self-Defense Workshop for Women & Teen Girls that is being held this Sunday, March 15 from 2 till 4 pm. For information, see Self-Defense Workshop for Women & Teen Girls (Fundraiser) | Facebook.

In 2025, thirteen years after earning her black sash, Wittke was honored to be part of a Bai Shi ceremony where she was formally accepted as a 13th generation disciple of Chen style TaiJi under Shifu Billy Greer.

Melissa Wittke truly enjoys and intends to continue writing. In fact, she’s currently working on two follow-on books – “Reinvent Your Marriage” and “Reinvent Adult Parenting” based, to some extent, on her own experiences.

To obtain a copy of “Reinvent Yourself After 50”, visit Shop Now – Younger Body and Mind or search for it on Amazon.

AAUW hosted ERA NOW event at Market House in Annapolis

We received a tip and the wonderful photos seen below from AAUW/AA Co publicity chair Mary McGrath about an event the chapter co-hosted on March 4th.

The League of Women Voters and the Annapolis Association of University Women hosted a Support ERA NOW event at the Market House in downtown Annapolis on March 4th.

As a part of Women’s History Month, the Driving the Vote for Equality National Tour came to Annapolis in the form of a restored 1914 Saxon roadster called The Golden Flyer Two according to McGrath. It was the same type of car driven by ERA women on their ten-thousand-mile nationwide tour to gain support for the ERA. She added that it was fun seeing women wearing the sort of clothes worn by the suffragists.

After the Market House events, attendees gathered at Old Fox Books for a talk by author Jeryl Schriever who, with husband Alex Huppe, owns and restored the car.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

With below normal temperatures from December through February, a brutal snow and ice storm at the end of January, and a lack of community activities to be involved in or events to attend, winter has seemed to stretch on forever. There were two notable exceptions and both were cause for celebration in different ways.

The earliest and most important event for the well-being of Severna Park and surrounding communities was Good Neighbors Group’s 2026 S(o)uper Bowl Food Drive. Though still battling snow and ice from the storm on the ground and temperatures in the low teens, 71 neighborhoods and businesses rallied to support the drive that began on Thursday, February 5, and ended on Super Bowl Sunday, February 8.

“The food drive is always Thursday before Super Bowl until Super Bowl Sunday,” said Good Neighbors Group executive director Julie Shay. “It went pretty well. Most likely the grand total won’t be bigger than last year, but our S(o)uper Bowl Coordinator Kathie Hamlett will have the final numbers shortly.”

Shay and Hamlett bundled up and delivered boxes and bags full of pantry items to the Anne Arundel County Food Bank drop-off point, then sorted the items.

Also doing double duty at the Anne Arundel County Food Bank drop-off were Sammie Johns and her father J.C. Johns,

Soon completed, Hamlett’s final tally for the number of items collected was 18,179 items collected for 7 pantries and the AA County Food Bank – 179 items over last year’s total of 18,000 for 6 pantries.

In addition to the AA County Foodbank, this year’s pantries included those for SPAN, Inc. (Serving People Across Neighborhoods) as seen in the opening photo, the Asbury Community Assistance Network  (ACAN), Caring Cupboard, Rock & Steward Ministry in Glen Burnie, Open Hands of Maryland, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Pantry and Tides of Grace Crisis Center on the Eastern Shore.

Braving the cold to deliver a whole SUV full of food items they collected from their Manhattan Beach neighborhood to the SPAN, Inc. pantry were Ron Aten and Rob Schuyler.

Of course, the real work began immediately after the neighborhood captains made their deliveries with grateful volunteers for each pantry working to restock shelves that had a few empty spaces once the holiday season passed.

Designed to encourage neighbors to collect food and funds to maintain local food pantries, the S(o)uper Bowl Food Drives are a wonderful way to bring people together.

This year 71 neighborhoods and businesses participated in the drive with each selecting a “captain” responsible for collecting everyone’s contributions and storing them in one location – often the captain’s home or garage. Once collected, the captains and/or helpers must transport the donations to one of the designated charities depending on which one their neighborhood is assigned.

Neighborhoods compete with each other to see which can bring in the highest number of contributions and winners are announced and honored at a Wrap celebration. This year the celebration was held at Cafe Mezzanotte on February 18th. Winning the Most Improved Neighborhood title was Linstead (which almost tripled its contributions from last year with their best year yet). The Per House winner was Harlequin (with 11.77 items collected per house). The Winner By Volume was Winchester on the Severn (with a total of 1,652 items).

According to Shay, in view of the frigid weather the Good Neighbors Group expected they wouldn’t collect as much food as in previous years but found, instead, that they exceeded last year’s donation total. As always, they’re thankful to the neighbors who stepped up to make the drive a success. If interested in signing up for the 2027 S(o)UPER BOWL FOOD DRIVE, you can reach out by emailing: souperbowl@goodneighborsgroup.org.

As the month of February ended, a second event was held by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi which has been equally supportive of the community for over 25 years. The school has raised nearly $200,000 for community charities while working daily to raise the fitness, health and wellbeing of its students.

On February 17, the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Fire Horse began, and Jing Ying Institute celebrated it in style with more than two weeks of special activities.

Jing Ying’s Chinese Lunar New Year activities honored Year of the Fire Horse, highlighted achievements of students

Every year, one of the bright spots people look forward to in February is Jing Ying’s two-week celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year with a series of free classes, a “Cleaning Ceremony”, a tea tasting, and an Open House among other formal and informal activities.

Lunar New Year 2026 marked the start of a new zodiac cycle based on the Chinese lunar calendar and beginning the Year of the Fire Horse. (The Chinese zodiac follows a 12-year cycle, with each year represented by a different animal. In 2026, the cycle brings us to the Horse, the seventh animal in the zodiac order.)

The Lunar New Year Open House got underway on February 28th at 2:30 pm following a brief testing period for the school’s students earlier in the afternoon. A very important ceremony would be part of this year’s festivities, so many guests arrived early to find a seat.

Nevertheless, there was time to mingle. We had the pleasure of meeting friends Patti Shaffer, Fran Kushner and Nancy Zellmer who were already enjoying themselves.

Shaffer told us she’d first known Jing Ying owners Nancy and Billy Greer through Billy whom she’d met through a Tai Chi class. Kushner first met Greer when he taught a class at Pasadena Senior Center and she has been taking classes at Jing Ying Institute for 10 years now. Zelmer met Greer at Pasadena Senior Center too before beginning classes at the Institute. All three women said they like supporting the Greers because they do so much for the local community.

Formal and meaningful, the ceremony at the beginning of the Open House was conducted by Greer, Jing Ying Institute’s Shifu (martial arts master/ teacher/ father) and involved the awarding of Certificates and silk belt sashes denoting level of training or achievement to four students. The first, Everest Carmona, earned a certificate and a yellow silk sash replacing her beginner’s white sash. Alex Selley, who came next, was awarded a certificate and red sash, the second highest, and received congratulations from a line of Jing Ying’s most senior practitioners who possess black belts.

Then came the most important moments, the awarding of, not one, but two black sashes earned by long time Kung Fu and Tai Chi practitioners James Shey and Chris Selley.

Last to earn a certificate and achieve black sash status after many years of training was Chris Selley who is also the proud father of Alex Selley.

Following those presentations, Shey and Selley made speeches recounting their journeys to black belt status and thanking all those who supported them. Then they joined Greer and the line of black sash practitioners for an official photograph. We managed to catch up with both Shey and Selley to inquire what it was like making the long journey through the belt levels to become black sashes.

James Shay told us he began practicing Kung Fu and Tai Chi in 2008 but took a break in the very middle of his training.

“I was in the Navy and I left here in 2010. It took me six more years to cycle through the Navy and make my way back here to finish my journey. I’d really enjoyed the feeling of family here at Jing Ying so, when I came back, I rejoined.”

Chris Selley said he’d been a student at Jing Ying Institute since 2012, having taken up Tai Chi on the recommendation of an acupuncturist treating him for pain management following a back injury. He said working his way through the belt levels was a long journey for him.

“It took time, self-discipline and hard work though I was helped by the fact that my kids would come with me,” Selley said. “I worked on my diet, my strength, and my flexibility and mastered at lot of skills, movements and forms. But I still feel like a beginner in these arts.”

We also chatted briefly with Everest Carmona and her mother Melissa. We learned that Everest, who is homeschooled, joined Jing Ying Institute because they offered home school classes. She has definitely enjoyed them.

As can be seen from the photo below, the Lunar New Year celebration got seriously underway with a festive buffet that ran the length of the room.

At one of those tables, we found the Selley family celebrating with Chris and Alex. They were having a fine time.

We’d earlier spied an amazing cake we learned was baked by Nicole Selley in honor of her husband Chris and James Shey’s accomplishment. Each layer was iced in a color representing the sash/belt levels from white to black. Each layer was also different, ranging from vanilla and chocolate to fruit-filled, and each was absolutely delicious.

This Sunday, March 8th, in honor of The Year of the Fire Horse Jing Ying Institute has invited author Maria Allessandri from The Horse & People Project to give a presentation called Ask LikeYou Mean It – What Horses Teach Us About Communication. The free presentation will be held from 2 to 3 pm. For more information about the event, visit Chinese New Year.

Chesapeake Harmony Chorus Regional Send-Off Performance at Baldwin Hall

Chesapeake Harmony Chorus invites the public to join them for a free community performance as they prepare for their upcoming Regional Competition. The concert will be held on Wednesday, March 25th at 7 pm at Historic Baldwin Hall in Millersville. It’s a great chance for fans or newcomers to hear the chorus’ latest set and see what they’ve been working on behind the scenes. No tickets are required. Just show up and enjoy.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Young singers and actors looking for a way to escape the winter doldrums couldn’t have asked for a more exciting opportunity than winning a role in Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church’s ambitious production of “The Prince of Egypt”. Based on the biblical book of Exodus, the musical is currently in rehearsal and will debut on March 13th.

We arrived at last Saturday’s rehearsal just in time to view a scene where armed Egyptian guards used weapons and whips to ensure that Hebrew slaves raising baskets of building blocks up pyramid walls and others carrying the blocks to the site were kept in line. There was more than a touch of drama as the action played out.

As “Prince of Egypt” director David Merrill was blocking, or choreographing, portions of the musical on Saturday, the scenes we observed were done out of order and without lines being recited. Blocking was particularly important because Woods’ musical productions are performed in the church sanctuary using the three-tiered Chancel as the stage. According to Merrill, performing there is the ultimate theater-in-the-round experience.

“We are so fortunate that Woods Church allows us to use the sanctuary for our productions,” he said. “However, doing a musical there requires that we transport every piece of scenery onto the stage at the beginning of the show and throughout each act using prop handlers/actors to move props in and out as the scenes change. When the rehearsal or performance is over, every piece of scenery and prop must be removed and the space left empty.”

We watched as the first part of scene six was rehearsed featuring two sledges full of stone blocks (actually made of foam) being pulled toward the pyramid from opposite sides of the sanctuary by actors playing Hebrew slaves.

While that was happening, Rose and Maynard were practicing in an aisle next to us – with Rose snapping his whip behind Maynard who, without benefit of a stone block mimicked holding one while practicing his moans and screams. Later, the poor slave was handed a block, and we watched the pair’s progression up the aisle with Mayard ascending the final pyramid step near collapse. Overseeing the scene from behind him, Merrill offered guidance.

According to Rose, it was fun using the whip. But he noted that he must snap it to the side, making sure not to hit Maynard…or the audience.

“Luckily, we’ll be raised up on a platform running the length of the aisle which should help,” he said. “I’ll work with our fight choreographer to be sure I’m as safe as possible.”

Though out of order, a poignant scene featuring an adult Moses, played by Ian Scrite, and Yocheved played by Sarah Kent came next. Having been raised by Egyptian Queen Tuya, Moses has just learned that Yocheved is his true mother.

In a scene that followed, Moses attacks and accidentally kills an Egyptian guard who was whipping a Hebrew slave – a complicated scene which called for the slave to fall backwards off the step and required some direction from Merrill.

While that was taking place onstage, there was a sudden stirring among actors not in the scene as they noticed some actors were beginning to appear in costume.

Excitement built as actors and dancers were seen congregating at the back of the sanctuary. Costumer Susan Bohlman and her assistant Perry Swift had begun distributing costumes.

Swift, set up in the hallway, was providing costumes for the dancers with help from volunteer Jacquei Shade.

Dancers representing slave laborers wore one sort of costume while those serving Queen Tuya found themselves in something more elaborate.

Meanwhile, longtime Woods costume designer, Bohlman was fitting the more complicated clothing worn by the actors. We encountered John Rose there being fitted for his guard uniform while Jeffrey Maynard was one of those waiting. Bohlman was satisfied with the look of Rose’s costume but cautioned him and all the other guards and slaves to take off their shirts and pants, an order with which he eventually complied.

With a large cast, Bohlman needed an immense range of costuming and, judging from her multiple racks of clothing, she could fill the bill, from Pharoh Seti’s royal robe to the slaves’ sleeveless top and simple kilt known in ancient Egypt as a shendyt.

The variety of clothing worn by women was widest, spanning both the Hebrew and Egyptian cultures and ranging from royals to townspeople or slaves. As some of the guard roles were assumed by women, there was also a necessity for capes to cover the briefer guard uniforms.

All the while, the rehearsal continued. Interestingly, the last scene rehearsed was the opening scene. It was set in the era when Egyptian soldiers, under orders to kill all Hebrew firstborn boys, snatched babies from their mothers’ arms. Consequently, newborn Moses was placed in a basket by his heartbroken mother Yocheved who sings him a lullaby as she sets him afloat on the Nile. The second part of the scene shows Queen Tuya in her garden with her own baby son Ramses. Tuya spots Moses drifting in the bullrushes, rescues him and adopts him to raise as her own along with Ramses.

The scene ends with a full chorus of Hebrews singing the song “Deliver Us”.

Woods Church will be presenting the epic musical “Prince of Egypt” featuring music and lyrics by Grammy and Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz beginning Friday evening March 13 at 7:30 pm.

The performance dates are March 13 thru 15 and March 19 thru 21. Tickets are available now and are $20. To see times and dates for the show and to order tickets, visit Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails highlights building of new Hatton-Regester Green gazebo

Local and B&A Trail users will be happy to know that work has begun on the construction of a new Hatton Regester Green gazebo! The Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails report in the latest “Trail Talk” that Severna Park’s Hatton Regester Green was The Friends’ first project and is over 25 years old. They note that the original gazebo – the scene of many wonderful concerts and ceremonies – has been removed and the county is building the new structure. We look forward to enjoying the gazebo as the future stage for The Friends summer Concert Series.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

After hibernating for several weeks due to snow-covered roads and near zero-degree temperatures, most of us welcomed the February thaw. Eager to get out, we were looking for something fun to do. Luckily, a number of Galentine’s Day events were being held locally and provided the perfect answer.

Three that caught our attention were held simultaneously on Thursday, February 12th including the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber Successful Women In Business Galentine’s Party hosted by Dr. Judy Yu of Dental FX in Pasadena. As it was the farthest away, we weren’t able to attend but understand from friends who did that it was a lovely event.

We were able to attend the other two held back-to-back within a couple miles of each other.

The first, at Fishpaws MarketPlace, began at 4 pm. A chalkboard sign at the entrance foreshadowed the Galentine’s Day Tasting event that awaited us inside.

Fishpaw’s owner Kim Lawson was away on a trip but, the moment we walked in the door, we were greeted by manager Terry Phoebus who encouraged us to try the Wine & Cheese Tasting Bar and introduced us to two of the Galentine Tasting event guests.

Making their way to the VanEllin table from the Tasting Bar, glasses in hand, Kristie Chisholm and Kim Marin were familiar faces to us. We’ve run into them at several events including a Homestead Gardens Girl’s Night Out in December of 2019.

“This is our regular Galentine’s Day mission,” Chisholm said. “We love this event”.

We could see why. Tastings were offered by many of the distributors whose products are carried by Fishpaws MarketPlace. Stopping by the Annapolis-based VanEllin table ourselves, we met Vanessa who, along with her mother Lynda, created the wholesale specialty baked goods company. She gave us a rundown of the samples so tastefully arranged on her table.

“We’re serving caramelized onion focaccia, a rosemary focaccia and Casanova Crunch, a bourbon butter-soaked pretzel with a bit of heat,” Vanessa said. “There are also bourbon and lemon-flavored cookies.”

Moving on, we found Glen Fewster representing Ten Ecyk Brewing Company, a woman-owned Queenstown, Maryland company operated by a team of women veterans and first responders. Fewster was offering a Mexican lager, a dark Czech lager and a Moroccan spiced coffee stout.

“I’m quite a fan of Fishpaws and have long enjoyed attending events here,” he said.

Fully into the spirit of Galentine’s Day, owner Sandy Mazza of Sandy Bottom Sparkling Rum Cocktails enjoyed treating Tasting guests to samples of her rum-based cocktail with its coconut, lemon and lime tropical vibe. Mazza notes that the product is made in Middle River, Maryland and is fond of relating her brand’s backstory.

“I was boating with friends on the Chesapeake Bay and mixed them cocktails which they loved. They encouraged me to market them. So, I did and created my brand which has done well. In fact, I’m about to introduce a new cranberry and blood orange cocktail,” said Mazza. “I’ve done this wonderful Galentine’s event previously and I feel fortunate that Kim Lawson carries my product and has been a long-time supporter.”

We were not about to leave Fishpaws’ Galentine’s Day Tasting without stopping by the table of Pam Meador, a distributor for Effie’s Biscuits. We’ve met Meador before as she has appeared in conjunction with Fishpaws MarketPlace at fundraisers for University of Maryland’s Baltimore Washington Medical Center at Homestead Gardens in Severna Park. We arrived as she was offering guest Theresa Bloom a choice between Effie’s Pecan Biscuits with Point Reyes Bay Blue Cheese from Oregon with or without a dab of local honey – all of which are carried by Fishpaws.

We loved chatting with Pam but it was 5 pm and time to move on to our next event…

…BD Provisions’ Galentine’s Sip & Shop

By the time we arrived at BD Provisions, it appeared that the shop’s second annual Galentine’s Sip & Shop event was well underway. We liked the sign greeting guests as they arrived and decided that we’d definitely “sip” some of that Midnight Joe java the Severna Park shop is known for.

When BD Provisions owner Debra Saltz conceived the idea of holding a Galentine’s Day event last year, she decided to invite some of her fellow small business owners to share the event as vendors. This year there were a total of eight vendors showing off their products.

As we entered, we immediately noticed quite a bit of activity at the back of the store. So, we headed first to an attractive display of dyed papers and handcrafted books and journals from Linthicum resident Brooke Borman’s Spill the Tea Paper Company.

“I named my business Spill the Tea Paper Company because I dye many of my papers with tea or coffee,” Borman said. “I also offer pastel papers I tint with Easter egg dyes.”

Borman’s display was back-to-back with that of another vendor so we rounded the corner and visited Severna Park resident Dawn Lautenschlager’s Purple Pugs Creations. Lautenschlagers’ wares included 3D Paper Art, Cards, gift tags and other specialities.

Leaving Purple Pugs Creations, we rounded a bend past the BD Provisions section of barrels devoted to flours, whole grains, chocolate and caramel chips and other baking staples and made our way toward the familiar presence of Caren Bach’s Baltimore-based Cookies by Caren . For the second year, Bach brought a selection of beautifully decorated heart shaped cookies perfect for a Valentine’s Day gift for someone special…or simply as a Valentine’s treat for the family.

Bach was, interestingly, set up next to the Midnight Joe coffee station. Part of the “sips” offered for the occasion; the BD Provisions coffee was a perfect chaser for the cookie samples set out for customers to taste.

Back for a second year as well, Amy Heath’s Hip, Mod, Vintage display of gorgeous reclaimed and restored vintage jewelry drew customers like bees to honey. Heath is well-known as a regular vendor at the Severna Park Farmers Market where she sells her own jewelry and other products.

Catching up with Heath, we chatted about the fact that her business has more challenges these days thanks to the fact that silver prices have risen.

“The price of silver has risen to three digits recently,” Heath said. “In September the price was $33 per ounce. By November, it had risen to $107 per ounce.”

On our way to the next vendor, we bumped into Galentine’s Shop & Stroll attendees Kary Biles and Megan Salerno at the Heigh Tide soaps display. The pair told us they were first-timers and absolutely loved the event. While Biles is from Kent Island and Salerno is a Severna Park resident, both said they’d visit BD Provisions again.

As the event progressed, we observed that every time an attendee entered the door chime rang. We heard more and more rings as event traffic picked up and the check-out counter grew busier and busier.

Meanwhile, some customers were drawn to a silver bucket containing bubbly bottles of sparkling cider from which to pour a “sip”.

Other customers moved in an entirely different direction opting to shop for chocolates or Valentine’s Day appropriate candy or heading to the center of the store where Katy Belford was giving oh-so-relaxing massages. Just behind her was Evie & Park’s Ashlee Gibbs who, like Amy Heath, we recognized from the Severna Park Farmer’s Market. For the past six years, Gibbs has made the amazing array of clean burning soy candles carried by Evie & Park.

There was one more vendor to visit – Heather Sanders, The Oyster Shell Girl, whose Fresh Oyster Bar we found fascinating. Her beautifully decoupaged oyster shells are highly decorative accessories. They also can be adapted as jewelry or other items. Since Sanders learned she could print on tissue paper she’s been able to create oyster shell replicas of flowers, state flags or even family portraits.

We found the Gallentine Day events we attended were not only convivial gatherings bringing attendees into contact with friends, but they provided great opportunities to support community retailers by SHOPPING LOCAL.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.