Root Cellar | Annapolis June 2009
[Illustration by KAL/Courtesy MPT]
“The Don” a Movie Star
No, we aren’t referencing Donald Trump, or even The Godfather but rather, William Donald Schaeffer, who is the subject of a 60-minute documentary chronicling his 50-year political career in Maryland. Did you know that on his first day as Governor of Maryland, Schaeffer arrived by boat to Annapolis and popped out of a box in an admiral’s outfit and gave a speech as “Baltimore’s gift to Annapolis?” This tidbit and much more are chronicled in the film titled Citizen Schaeffer, which originally aired this past spring on Maryland Public Television. It follows Schaeffer’s storied rise from Baltimore City Council (and eventual mayorship) to governor and later as the state’s comptroller with archival footage, political cartoons, and commentary. Overall, the documentary is as whimsical as it is serious, and should entertain even those who voted for the opposition throughout his career. For more information about the film, visit www.MPT.org.
Memorial Stadium Rebuild?
Will homeruns be hit once more from the exact same spot that Hall of Fame Baltimore Oriole Frank Robinson hit his famous dinger out of Memorial Stadium on Mother’s Day 1966? Possibly. Another former Oriole, Billy Ripken, in partnership with the Y of Central Maryland and Friends of Our Playground at Stadium Place recently announced plans to bring baseball back to the former site of the beloved Orioles and Colts home, Memorial Stadium. After Memorial Stadium was demolished in 2001, plans were approved to develop the area into what’s now known as “Stadium Place.” In 2005, an expansive playground was built on the site. Tragically, in fall of 2008 arsonists burned the playground to the ground. The recent announcement by Ripken includes tentative plans to build a multi-use baseball field and park on the site and place home plate in the exact location of the original during the Orioles glory years at the stadium. For more information about the rebuild project visit www.stadiumplayground.org.
[Mock up of ArtWalk’s installation at Bates Middle School in Annapolis, planned for late summer.]
ArtWalk Project Plans to Grow
“How important are the visual arts in our society? I feel strongly that the visual arts are of vast and incalculable importance. Of course I could be prejudiced. I am a visual art.”—Kermit the Frog. The community public art project, known as ArtWalk, recently announced plans for its second installation, which will “celebrate the amazing art programs conducted by talented people from a wide variety of populations in organized smaller communities within the city of Annapolis and surrounding neighborhoods.” The project features large-scale artwork installed in visible, high traffic, public spaces. If you enjoy walking throughout downtown Annapolis, then you’ve likely stumbled upon several of the large, colorful pieces of artwork that comprise the first installation of ArtWalk at six locations: the Harbormaster Building, USNA Gate 1, Newman Park, Stan & Joe’s parking alcove, Merrill Lynch building, and the Severn Bank building. Partnerships with six new organizations comprise the second phase, which is tentatively scheduled to begin its installation at Bates Middle School in late summer. For more information visit www.artatlargeartwalk.com.
Strawberry Fields Forever
As June climes grip the region with increasingly warm weather and sunshine, strawberries burst in farms region-wide. But did you know that the “June bearing” fruit is actually an imposter? Strawberries are not true fruits—they are “false fruits,” meaning the red berry grows from the plant’s peg at the bottom of the bowl-shaped hypanthium, not the reproductive organ (ovaries) from which true fruits grow. No matter, they taste as delicious as their cousins and can be picked locally at several farms, including Davidsonville’s Mount Airy U-Pick. Strawberries are so popular that several organizations are holding festivals celebrating the nutritious treat, including The Ann Arrundell County Historical Society, which will hold its 19th Annual Strawberry Festival on June 13 at the Benson-Hammond House in Linthicum. More information about each can be found at www.WhatsUpMag.com.
Preserving Rural Anne Arundel County
The Queen of soybeans and corn, Anne Arundel County can now add another notch in its bat of preservation. This past April, Governor Martin O’Malley approved a 70-acre easement in Anne Arundel County that will preserve a swath of land within the South Rural Legacy Area. Located in the heart of the county’s southern agricultural region, the South Rural Legacy Area encompasses over 32,000 acres as part of the statewide Rural Legacy Program, which was created in 1997 “to protect large, contiguous tracts of Maryland’s most precious cultural and natural resource lands through grants made to local applicants.” Located near the border of Calvert County, the new preserve will include 24 acres of woodland and 40 acres of cropland that produces soybeans and corn. Riparian buffers along 2,000 feet of Cabin Branch stream will protect water quality. For more information about the State’s Rural Legacy Program, visit Maryland Department of Natural Resources website at www.dnr.state.md.us.
South Rural Legacy
Memorial Statium
ArtWalk
William Donald Schaeffer
Strawberry Fields
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