Uncle Billy: a Special Bequest
F or years the portrait of William Goldsborough painted by Charles Wilson Peale in 1789 hung over the mantelpiece in the home of the Fletcher sisters, Charlotte and Mary, and he was known as Uncle Billy. An exceptional piece of Maryland history, he has found a new home at the Hammond-Harwood House, where he has been joined by the portrait of his aunt, Mrs. William Goldsborough, and grandson, attributed to John Hesselius, circa 1770. The Fletcher sisters, who recently died within weeks of each other, left both paintings to the Hammond-Harwood House along with the chair Uncle Billy is sitting on in his portrait. All three items had been in their family since the portraits were commissioned. Now you can see them in a museum setting, inside the internationally famous historic home, at 19 Maryland Avenue in Annapolis, built for tobacco planter Mathias Hammond in 1774.
Inventor Michael Paulkovich
W ho knew? Behind the guise of an inconspicuous Severna Park resident with a penchant for Hawaiian shirts lurks an ingenious inventor: NASA space systems engineer Michael Paulkovich recently received a patent on his groundbreaking design for a fire extinguishing system that can help prevent tragedies—like the fall of New York City’s Twin Towers—from occurring. Frustrated with the idea that existing sprinkler systems in the skyscrapers failed to control the initially isolated fires of September 11, 2001, the 51-year-old Maryland native was inspired to create a new system. “Every floor of the World Trade Center towers had fire sprinklers connected to the virtually unlimited building-wide water supply from the city,” says Paulkovich. “Yet the only sprinkler valves activated were on the affected floors . . . and the pipes connecting them were clearly damaged and inoperable.”
Scottish bard Robert Burns, 1759–1796
W hat, you might ask, is the Great Burns Supper? It is a gastro-literary celebration of the famed Scottish poet Robert Burns. Traditionally, the celebration is held on or near the poet’s birthday, January 25, among friends and families throughout Scotland and Russia. Today, the celebration has caught on in the United States, among literary clubs and college students. In the Annapolis area, the Robert Burns Society will be celebrating on January 27th at the Elks Lodge on Route 2. (For more information call 410-721-7550). The evening follows a schedule of proceedings that includes the saying of the Selkirk Grace, the Entrance of the Haggis and reading of the poem Address To a Haggis, a haggis supper, reading of works by Burns, and traditional Scottish dancing, among many toasts.
Many of the proceedings (especially the Address To a Haggis) are susceptible to comedic interpretation and feature bagpiping. And the meal is amply washed down with liberal tots of Scotch whiskey.
What is a haggis—the main course of the evening? Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish. Although there are many recipes, it is normally made with the sheep’s pluck (heart, liver, and lungs) minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt; mixed with stock; and traditionally boiled in the animal’s stomach for approximately an hour. Mmm . . . sheep innards and Scotch whisky.
The Selkirk Grace
Some hae meat and canna eat,
/td>
Photo by Joshua Shirlen
J ust when you thought your childhood recess games were something of the past, dodgeball lovers have proved you wrong. Instead of traditional middleschoolers thrusting rubber balls at each other, adults can now be found organizing their own dodgeball leagues across the country. A friend prompted Ryan Deal, 23, of Bowie, to start the sport among their small group of friends. “I contacted some people and pulled some strings and got our first game organized on March 3, 2006,” says Deal. He acquired the gymnasium facilities of Mt. Oak Fellowship Church in Bowie, which generously offered the space free of charge. “There were about 30–35 people at the first game,” Deal says. Through word of mouth and friends, the numbers grew. “Last time there were 50 people and 70 before that,” Deal says. “It varies every time we play.” The group plays for roughly 2½ hours and enforces official dodgeball rules. You can find these, with a diagram, on the Bowie Dodgeball Web site: www.myspace.com/bowiedodgeball.
Other “underdog” sports popular in this area include kickball, broomball (a hockey-influenced game played on ice with a broom-shaped stick, a rubber ball, and sneakers), and wiffleball, which all offer teams based on ability level. The schedules vary from season to season and can be found on the Web site of Annapolis Sports & Social Club, LLC: http://www.annssc.com/. Also check out Baltimore’s Sports & Social Club, Inc.: http://www.baltssc.com/.
Annapolis, 4427 Miles West Of . . .
Fernwehpark in Hof, Germany: the public park is a signpost forest in the German city Hof. The city sits in the northeastern corner of the Bavaria region; Annapolis couple Roger and Mary Polk visited there recently. The couple visited Hof as part of Roger’s reunion with others who were stationed at the Air Force base in Hof between 1948 and 1975, at which the participants decided that contributing signs to the park would be a neat side note to their trip. The park was started in 1990 by German film producer Klaus Beer as a common point of interest for visitors to have their names, license plates, place and street signs, or other types of logos from their hometowns placed in the “Middle point of Europe.” While the park has a long way to go before collecting more signs than the original signpost park, in Watson Lake, Canada (50,000 signs strong since the 1940s!), Beer hopes that one day Fernwehpark will eclipse the originator and achieve a Guiness World Record. And thanks to Roger and Mary, visitors to Fernwehpark now know that Annapolis, Maryland, is only 4427 miles west of Hof.
One of the newest “sport” crazes features hours of preparation, gravity-defying feats, and . . . hairspray.
The Beard and Moustache World Championship brings together hundreds of international competitors who compete in seventeen facial hair classes that range from small “natural” moustaches to full Garibaldi and Verdi beards.
In 1992 the first world championship was held in a small town in southern Germany. Teams from all over now compete in the biennial event. The Germans have accumulated the most awards in this odd event but the U.S. team is moving up, having taking first and third place in two categories last year in Berlin.
“In the past we’ve mostly just said, ‘whoever wants to go can go and we’ll figure out what category you fit in,’” says U.S. team founder and self-appointed captain Phil Olsen. Now they plan to make a concerted effort to win.
The Americans are preparing for the next World Championship, scheduled for September l, 2007, in Brighton, England, and hosted by London’s Handlebar Club. After that, the contest comes to America, taking place in Anchorage, Alaska, in 2009 with strong support from the city. You can find the U.S. team’s Web site and links to its blog at www.worldbeardchampionships.com.
Do you have something you think belongs in the root Cellar? Email your hot tidbit or news, including photos to editor@whatsupmag.com or send it by snail mail to 929 West Street, suite 208A, Annapolis, MD 21401.
