December 2005 Issue by Urbanite LLC

december

B A L T I M O R E

2005 issue no. 18

GENEALOGY 101: TRACING YOUR ROOTS

TWELVE GIFTS FOR A MALL-FREE HOLIDAY THROWING STONES: THE GLASS HOUSE DEBATE

does history need saving? th e prese rvation issu e

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contents

19 corkboard 21 have you heard â&#x20AC;Ś 25 food: preserving baltimoreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culinary past anne haddad

29 neighborhood: beyond the mall janelle erlichman diamond

33 home: the battle over 20 e. preston amanda kolson hurley

35 baltimore observed: digging for meaning alice ockleshaw

39 encounter: time travel jason tinney

29 44 you must remember this ... william j. evitts

48 tracking your past r o b e r t w. b a r n e s

55 sustainable city: sustainable YOU

rebecca klein

57 out there: u turn andrew scherr

61 in review 67 resources 70 eye to eye

44 cover note: illustration by warren linn w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m d e c e m b e r 0 5

Urbanite Issue 18 December 2005

Holiday Spotlight On

Publisher Tracy Ward Durkin Tracy@urbanitebaltimore.com

THE MURPHY FINE ARTS CENTER

General Manager Jean Meconi Jean@urbanitebaltimore.com Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth A. Evitts Elizabeth@urbanitebaltimore.com

Theater Morgan presents T

B L A C K N AT I V I T Y

Guest Editor David Taft Terry

A Gospel–Song Play by Langston Hughes Directed by David Mitchell

Assistant Editor Marianne Amoss Marianne@urbanitebaltimore.com

Dec. 1st (11 am); Dec. 2nd, 3rd, 9th, 10th (7:30 pm); m) m); Dec. 4th (3 pm); Dec. 10th (2pm)

Copy Editors Angela Davids/Alter Communications Carmen Walsh/Walsh Writing Contributing Editors William J. Evitts Susan McCallum-Smith Catherine Pierre Art Director Alex Castro

“THE MAGNIFICENT MARCHING MACHINE”

Production Manager Lisa Macfarlane

T The Morgan State University Marching Band Show

Production and Design Assistance Ida Woldemichael Senior Account Executive Susan R. Levy Susan@urbanitebaltimore.com

Melvin N. Miles, Jr., Conductor

Saturday, Dec. 3rd, 4 pm

Account Executives Darrel Butler Darrel@urbanitebaltimore.com Keri Haas Keri@urbanitebaltimore.com

T H E M O R G A N S TAT E UNIVERSITY CHOIR

Ofﬁce Manager Bellee Gossett Bellee@urbanitebaltimore.com

Annual Christmas Concert

Marketing Kathleen Dragovich

With Orchestral Acompaniment Dr. Eric Conway, Conductor

Interns Mike Meno Jonathan J. Stein

Sunday, Dec. 11th, 4 pm

A NEW VOICE FOR In the James E. Lewis Museum of Art A NEW EXHIBITION ENTITLED

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Founder Laurel Harris Durenberger Advertising/Editorial/Business Ofﬁces P.O. Box 50158, Baltimore, MD 21211 Phone: 410-243-2050; Fax: 410-467-7802 www.urbanitebaltimore.com Editorial Inquiries: Send queries to the editor-in-chief (no phone calls, please) including SASE. The magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork. Urbanite does not necessarily support the opinions of its authors. To subscribe or obtain assistance with a current subscription, call 410-243-2050. Subscription price: $18 per year. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission by Urbanite is prohibited. Copyright 2005, by Urbanite LLC. All Rights Reserved. Urbanite (ISSN 1556-8105) is a free publication distributed widely in the Baltimore metropolitan area. If you know of a location that urbanites frequent and would recommend placing the magazine there, please contact us at 410-243-2050.

editor’s note 2006 New Year Sampler

BALTIM ORE

THE MURPHY FINE ARTS CENTER KEM

I concert In with Vivian Green Sat., Feb. 12th 8:00 pm

R&B Legends

T H E O ’ J AY S

1. writing material used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased 2. sometimes having diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface

photo by Sam Holden

Palimpsest, n.

Thur., February 16th 7:00 pm

URBAN COMEDY SHOWCASE II Featuring comedians from HBO’s F

efore the invention of the printing press, the written word was sometimes captured on reusable scrolls of parchment. Old text was rubbed or scraped free, and new text was written overtop. But no matter how well the author cleaned the parchment, it often showed traces of what came before. These layered documents are known as palimpsests. Baltimore is home to one of the most important of these documents, the Archimedes Palimpsest. Written in the tenth century by the famed mathematician, the manuscript contains seven of his treatises in Greek. Even though the document was “erased” by a monk in the thirteenth century, the words of Archimedes are still buried beneath. In 1998, a private collector purchased the palimpsest at auction for $2 million and entrusted it to the manuscripts and rare books specialists at the Walters Art Museum. In the spring of this year, after many efforts to retrieve the buried text, the Walters successfully partnered with several scientists to reveal the copy through x-ray florescence imaging. Scholars are now able to read large sections of the original words of Archimedes. While the palimpsest perished with the introduction of Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press, what it represents is still intriguing: that each successive generation literally builds on what came before. When designing a new structure, deconstructivist architect Peter Eisenman frequently studies the landscape first in order to develop an understanding of how the site has been used over the years. By thinking of that space as “a place to write, erase, and rewrite,” Eisenman says, his new design incorporates aspects of the past, creating an architectural palimpsest of sorts. History itself is like a palimpsest—it exists, just under the surface, waiting to be discovered, retrieved, and understood. In this issue, we look at the layers of history in our own lives. We profile two urban archeologists who are working within the city to help residents better understand their shared past, and we speak with experts in the genealogy field about the many resources available for your own family research. We also uncover a potentially damaging national trend in history education that could affect the way our society learns. This month, we have also made a big change to our “What You’re Saying” department. We’ve split it into two sections: “What You’re Saying,” which is for letters to the editor, and “What You’re Writing,” which is for nonfiction essays written by readers. Our request for nonfiction essays has elicited such a strong response that we wanted to give it a space all its own. We will continue to offer a theme each month to inspire these essays, like this month’s topic, which is “family secret.” And speaking of secrets, we have one of our own here at Urbanite. As this calendar year winds down, many readers have asked us what our issue themes for 2006 will be, but we’ve decided to keep them under wraps. And just to clarify: The themes printed in our “What You’re Writing” section are for those nonfiction essays only and are not the themes for the magazine itself. We hope you will enjoy what we have in store for the coming year.

—Elizabeth A. Evitts

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contributors

behind this issue with guest editor david taft terry

Angela Davids has been Urbanite’s copy editor for more than a year. When she isn’t fine-tuning the written word, she’s teaching journalism part-time at Towson University. Davids has written articles for several local publications and more than thirty national publications, and she recently completed two books—both about pets—which are scheduled to be published by BowTie Press in April 2006. She lives in Mount Washington.

photo by Mitro Hood

Janelle Erlichman Diamond Janelle Erlichman Diamond has worked at the Washington Post since 1998, and she currently writes the Wednesday and Sunday Shopper columns. Even though she writes about shopping for a living, covering everything from cashmere to deodorant to cool kitchen gadgets, Diamond still loves to shop. A recent transplant to Baltimore from D.C., Diamond finds that she loves the many small shops here in Baltimore. She has also written for Lucky and Baltimore magazines. Diamond lives in Canton with her husband and dog.

photo by Lisa Macfarlane

Mike Meno Mike Meno, one of our fall interns, was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. Currently a junior American studies major at Goucher College, Meno is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Goucher Review, a student-run quarterly nonfiction journal that he created during his freshman year because he was unhappy with other on-campus publications. Meno also plays drums and guitar, and he writes and records his own music. He recently wrote and recorded a rock opera called The Pizza War, with friend Keith Petrower: The action is based on their exploits as pizza delivery guys.

photo by Lisa Macfarlane

Jonathan J. Stein Jonathan J. Stein, our other fall intern, was born in Philadelphia and still roots for Philly sports teams. He is currently a junior at Goucher College working toward a degree in American studies. He is the executive editor of the student-run nonfiction journal The Goucher Review and has also written pieces for that magazine. Stein played youth soccer for eight years and traveled with his team to Italy and Sweden. He aspires to work in sports journalism.

David Taft Terry, Ph.D., is the director of collections and exhibitions at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture. Before joining the museum’s staff, he worked as a research specialist at the Maryland State Archives where he explored Maryland history as it relates to the Underground Railroad, lynching, and racial desegregation in the twentieth century. He also served for several years as a faculty member of the Department of History at Morgan State University. His current research focuses mainly on the social history of African Americans under the systems of slavery and segregation.

photo by Mitro Hood

photo by Lyle Hein

Angela Davids

s a historian, my primary research has focused on recovering the narrative of an underrepresented population. My work as curator of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, a cultural institution dedicated to the study of that same underrepresented population, always keeps issues regarding historical preservation on my mind. So when Urbanite contacted me about helping shape this issue on historical preservation in the modern climate, I said, “Of course!” The power of history in the modern culture is everywhere apparent; the constant struggle to control definitions and interpretations of the past attests to this power. Yet, as notions of American democracy have evolved, demands for a more inclusive history—a more democratic national historical narrative—have emerged. History must represent “the people,” broadly embraced. To do this, preservation efforts must look to the historical lives of everyday people, celebrating the otherwise pedestrian and mundane for their intrinsic historical value—all the while acknowledging them as true impetuses for the evolutionary (and revolutionary) sociopolitical momentum they provide. The history of our nation, our world, first came down to me as the history of my family, with facts and meanings assembled over the years of my childhood by a wide range of kinfolk. Interpretations of American slavery, for example, came down to me as an oral tradition about my great-great-great-grandmother being sold from the back of a wagon in Alexandria, Virginia, as her children watched helplessly. Likewise, I learned of the Trail of Tears indirectly, as elders attempted to explain how my grandmother’s grandmother was an “Eastern” Cherokee—her folk had somehow avoided the fate of those banished to Oklahoma. Descriptions of my aunt’s teenage affiliation with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the 1963 March on Washington were the lens through which I viewed the modern civil rights movement. Through these lessons, I came to always expect to see something of myself—through the experiences of my ancestors—in history. When that was not readily apparent, I learned to flesh out interpretations from the facts. When those facts were less than obvious, I understood the need to attempt to recover them—a basic function of historical preservation work. As curator of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, I know that these expectations very much inform how I approach my work. Indeed, in line with a growing trend among similarly situated institutions, I turn to “the people” for help in telling their stories. The reward for this confidence in people is that they are going into their attics, garages, and chests-ofdrawers, producing wonderful examples of black American material culture which might otherwise not be available to us. This is an important development, in my view, as the museum’s success will depend on the community embracing the museum and trusting it with their memories and objects. These are their stories; their words and objects tell the stories. And, for me, the truly exciting aspect of the work is that there is so much more to be done. —David Taft Terry w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m d e c e m b e r 0 5

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what you’re saying

quotes

The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it. Preservation is in the business of saving communities and the values —Henri J. M. Nouwen, Dutch Catholic priest theyteacher embody. and —Richard Moe, president, National Trust for Historic Preservation

May the god of your choice bless you. —Richard “Kinky” Friedman, author, Texas gubernatorial candidate, and lead singer of Kinky Friedman & the Texas Jewboys

False history gets made all day, any day; the truth of the new is never on the Zennews. does not confuse spirituality with thinking God while is peeling —Adrienneabout Rich, American poet one and teacher potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes. —Alan W. Watts, American philosopher and Theauthor art of progress is to preserve

Food Is Elementary

Reporting the Grassroots

We were excited to see Ms. Marianne Amoss give exposure to the issue of school lunches in her October article “The Cafeteria Plan.” And we applaud Ms. Kathleen Wilson for her efforts lobbying for healthier lunch options over the past five years. Ms. Wilson reports, not surprisingly, that children have resisted healthier menu options. While it is well-documented that a healthy diet positively impacts health, behavior, attitude, and academic performance, what will it take for our youth to be willing to eat a plant-based whole-foods diet? At Hampstead Hill Academy and Stadium School, two Baltimore City public schools, Dr. Antonia Demas, founder of the Food Studies Institute, is supervising food education projects featuring her researched-based and award-winning Food Is Elementary (FIE) curriculum. Implemented in over 450 schools in twenty-five states, FIE features hands-on multidisciplinary nutrition and cooking lessons that provide students positive experiences with healthy foods, so they will incorporate those foods into their diets. Whole Foods Market in Harbor East graciously provides the food for these pilot projects. Students learn how food affects their minds and bodies as they prepare and enjoy healthy recipes from around the world, such as North African stew and Caribbean red beans and brown rice. The results of the Food for Life [as the FIE project is known locally] projects at Hampstead Hill and Stadium School are impressive. FIE provides a positive educational solution that may prevent today’s younger generation from developing chronic diseases. We invite the public to see this program in action and urge more schools to promote health through food education in the classroom.

Your publication presents a refreshing vision of Baltimore, and, as an avid reader, I welcome the articles that describe the city’s unheralded architectural styles, sustainable growth discussions, and design options for a livable city. The “feel” of the publication suffers, however, from neglecting the role that community development corporations (CDCs) play in revitalizing neighborhoods and improving the quality of urban life. CDCs are authentic “grassroots” venues for promoting community building and addressing economic issues, particularly in low-income communities that, through no fault of their own, diminish the viability of Baltimore City. Most CDCs are anchored to their communities through faith institutions. They provide economic continuity to languishing neighborhoods in the forms of credit, capital, or development services to small businesses; and home mortgage assistance to individuals, including, but not limited to, capital access programs, micro-lending, franchise financing, and guaranty performance bonds. Urbanite validates the urban appeal of Baltimore; however, in future articles, please consider the invaluable contributions of CDCs and the role they could play in creating the Baltimore metropolis envisioned by its inhabitants.

Luke Seipp-Williams is a certified food educator at Stadium School. Ariel Demas is a certified food educator at Hampstead Hill Academy.

Theresa E. Barrett is the director of community and economic development at Associated Black Charities.

order amid change and to preserve change amid order. If only God would give me some clear —Alfred North Whitehead, British mathematician sign! Like making a large deposit in my and philosopher name at a Swiss bank. —Woody Allen, American actor and director

People always seemed to know half Trees are the earth’s endless effort to of history, and to get it confused with speak to the listening heaven. the other half. —Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali poet, novelist, —Jane Haddam, American author educator, and winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature

God secludes and Himself; but the thinker Cheerfulness contentment are listens at the door. great beautifiers and are famous preservers youthful looks. —Victor Hugo,of French poet, playwright, and novelist —Charles Dickens, British author

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for Anyone who believes you can’t complicated philosophy. Our own change history has never tried to brain, our own heart is our temple; the write his memoirs. philosophy is kindness. —David Ben-Gurion, first prime minister and first —Dalai Lama, Tibetan head of state and defense minister spiritual leader of Israel

I prayed for twenty years but received no until I prayed with is my Theanswer preservation of health a legs. duty. Few seem conscious that there is such —Frederick Douglass, escaped slave, abolitionist, a thing as physical morality. and author —Herbert Spencer, British philosopher and sociologist

The problem to be faced is: how to combine loyalty to one’s own tradition with reverence for different traditions. We learn from Joshua history that we learn —Rabbi Abraham Heschel, Polish-born theologian, author and American civil rights nothing from history. activist —George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright, socialist speaker, and winner of the 1925 Nobel Prize for Literature

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what you’re writing

Welcome to our new “ What You’re Writing ” department, the place for creative nonfiction from our readers. Each month, we pick a topic. You use these topics as a springboard into your own lives and send us true stories inspired by that month’s theme. Only nonfiction submissions that include contact information can be considered. We have the right to edit for space and clarity, but we will give you the opportunity to review the edits. You may submit under “ name withheld ” to keep your essay anonymous, but you do need to let us know how to contact you. If you’ve already changed the names of the people involved, please let us know. Due to libel and invasion of privacy issues, we reser ve the right to print the piece under your initials. Submissions should be typed (if you cannot type, please print clearly) and sent to Urbanite, P.O. Box 50158, Baltimore, Mar yland 21211 or to WhatYoureWriting@urbanitebaltimore.com. Please keep submissions under 500 words. The themes printed below are for the “ What You’re Writing ” department only and are not the themes for the magazine itself. Topic

Deadline

Publication Date

Epiphany

December 19, 2005 March 2006

The Corner Store

January 23, 2006

April 2006

Nakedness

February 13, 2006

May 2006

Playtime

March 12, 2006

June 2006

We received such an outpouring of essays for this nonfiction section that printing just one per month wasn’t enough. In this issue, where our feature article talks about preserving your own family history, we decided to publish an expanded “What You’re Writing” and give voice to more of our readers’ stories.

Forgiveness “Your father is unforgivable,” your grandmother says. She’s just had a perm and fools with the curls on top. “He tells me he’s coming to visit, but he doesn’t come. If he does, he won’t eat anything.” She goes on: “He won’t stay long and then won’t be back for weeks. He makes me mad.” “The lasagna is good, Gram.” “I got apple pie, too, honey. But he’s my son. I forgive him. How do you like my hair?” The afternoon sun is warm in her small kitchen. “It’s nice, your hair.” “Your mother feels bad you don’t visit them anymore. Want ice cream with the pie?” She walks over to the mirror. “Don’t you think it’s too curly?”

At 5 years old, you pretended that Sky King was your Dad; at 10, JFK. “I don’t think he’s my real father,” you say to her back. “What kind of ice cream?” She turns. “Crazy talk. Your blood’s the same as his and mine—and thicker than water. You know that, right?” Now she smiles. She rubs your arm as she squeezes past you on her way to the freezer. “All I got is vanilla.” At 15, you fixed your own breakfast of instant coffee. You read the New York Times and ignored him when he called you “college boy,” spit in the kitchen sink, used his dinner plate for an ashtray. Gram returns to the table, sits, and says, “Honey, you’re a man now. It’s time to forgive him, no matter what he did.” She points toward the cellar door. “Get a bulb downstairs and fix the light in the hall for me. Then call your father.” You replace the bulb, but you don’t call him. “How about the pie and ice cream?” she says. “Nah,” you say. Your grandmother’s resting in her grave now, high on a hill. You remember when she chose the plot and your father warned her, “The wind blows terrible there. You’ll be cold.” Your grandmother answered, “Crazy talk. You don’t feel cold wind when you’re dead. Not like when you’re alive.” She turned to you. “Isn’t that right, honey?” Now, at 77, your father still picks up the phone on the first ring. He pretends he knows who you are when you say, “Hi, Dad.” But he hesitates and says cheerfully, “Oh, it’s you!” When he hands over the phone to your mother, you hear him whisper, “I don’t know.” “Hi, what’s wrong?” and “No, he’s fine,” your mother says. She goes on: “He watches a lot of TV. We quit smoking again.” Before you hang up, she’ll raise the question: “When do you think you’ll come see him?” And she’ll tell you truthfully, “He asks for you all the time, honey.” Rick Connor reads, writes, runs, gardens, and tutors; he lives in Original Northwood.

Turning Point She arrived just as the sun rose—a new life with the new day. The golden springtime glow filled our room high in the Mercy Medical Center tower as she was placed on my stomach for warmth. I clung awkwardly to her slippery body, breathing so heavily from the efforts of pushing that after a few moments

my husband, James, had to softly remind me, “Em, talk to her.” “Hi, baby,” I panted. We still hadn’t agreed on a name. Hours later, she slept in our recovery room. I, too, was exhausted but couldn’t close my eyes; the swaddled bundle lying next to my bed in her hospital-issue bassinet distracted me. Each thought contradicted the next: I was in awe and fearful, enchanted and overwhelmed. I’d eagerly anticipated this for nine months, yet I couldn’t grasp our new reality. Was this really me? Was she really ours? Each time I started to study her face, another hospital worker stopped by to drop off a pamphlet or take our temperatures or make sure she was nursing often enough—so many interruptions. Sooner than I expected, the day’s cloudless blue sky turned teal, then navy blue, then black. James dozed off, and I stared out the window. Our room faced south, giving us a perfect view of Saint Paul Street and Preston Gardens. Lights blinked from the surrounding buildings, while sirens and car horns periodically broke the city’s late-night silence. Well, baby, I guess it’s just you and me. Our first day together was gone now, and she was hungry again. My arms needed a rest, so I pulled her into my bed and lay her beside me. She suckled contentedly and quietly. In our quiet, dimly lit room, I finally got a close look at her—I traced her faint eyebrows, her silky hairline, her full cheeks. Her five tiny, delicate fingers gripped one of mine, and her big eyes turned toward my voice. Hi, beautiful. We cuddled close, drifting in and out of sleep. She still seemed foreign to me—I had expected to recognize her instantly when she was born, to be overpowered by maternal feelings. But with each feeding, each diaper change, each of my responses to her cries, she became more familiar. When nurses dropped by to check on us, I whispered politely but couldn’t wait for them to leave. I longed to return to the sacred moments my daughter and I had been sharing. My heart sang to feel such attachment; the distance between us had dissolved. Hours passed, and the sun rose again, reminding me of her arrival the day before. James stirred, awakened, and admired us. Alone in our quiet room, we felt it. We were not the same tired, separate, insecure beings we were twenty-four hours ago. I was a mother. James was a father. She was our daughter—we were three. Emily Mosdell lives in Hampden with her husband and now-6-month-old daughter, Zoe.

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urbanite december 05

Turning Point Sean stood over me, opening and closing the scissors. “Girl, how long you been growin’ ’em? They’re beautiful!” “Seven and a half years,” I answered quietly. The owner of the shop was sitting to my right and picked up the questioning. “How about just cutting them shorter like mine? Why don’t you think about it for a couple weeks?” Another “loctician” stopped her work and eyed me directly. “Has something happened in your life?” I was surprised, but I answered. “Well, I did get out of a relationship recently.” “Oh yeah. Then you really do wanna wait.” I was sitting in a barber’s chair, yet I felt all the pressure of being in a witness box. I turned towards the mirror and tilted my head, pretending to consider their suggestions. My locs were supposed to symbolize African identity and proud self-acceptance. Instead, they reflected years of selfdestruction, shame, and what I called “the episodes.” I could never call it abuse out loud. In my black skin, with strong arms and a shifting mood, having seen rage visit my parents daily, I was the more likely perpetrator. Even now, there’s still no way to say it out loud without raising suspicion: Why would you stay? Why wouldn’t you fight back? Why didn’t you say something? If not for an incident at my old job, I could still be in denial. That day, although I’d worn an oversize shirt to cover it, a coworker noticed the unmistakable print of a hand on my upper arm. Each finger was painted brilliantly in purples and blues with a tinge of healing green. She knew I lived with my lover and, with a morbid smile, blurted, “Leah kicked your ass!” It was an invasive and tactless attempt at humor, somehow sanctioned by our forty hours a week together. I was cornered by the attention of two other coworkers; I began babbling. With a forced grin, I instantly wove a tale that I can’t even remember now. I led them to where they wanted to go: The idea that I, the smart and outspoken one, could be a victim was absurd. Still, I couldn’t help noticing one pair of concerned eyes that was struggling to get the joke. I sauntered away coolly, but at my desk, my chest radiated the heat of shame and embarrassment. I could never again reshape the abuse to fit in with any definition of love. I had to admit that my partner in life had scratched me, pushed me, bruised me, and shoved me down our steps out of rage—not out of love. In the barber’s chair, I breathed deeply and looked at Sean as he offered a final caution. “Now once you cut it, you know there’s no going back!” “I know,” I said. “I’m going to cry, but keep cutting. I’ll be OK.” T. Vidal works in information technology in Columbia and lives in Hamilton.

chiatric systems. When I found out where she was being treated, my first thought was to call it a “crazy asylum”—back when I thought Sarah was crazy. The inconspicuous road sign with a brown background told me otherwise. Sarah was staying at Carrier Clinic. “Will they drug her or strap her to the bed?” I wondered. “Will she be in there for the rest of her life?” These questions stressed me out as my parents and I made the windy trip to see her. “Why do all these damn hospitals have to be in some secluded town in the country?” I wondered. The clinic was hidden behind a huge iron gate. It didn’t look like a hospital; instead, the property resembled a philanthropist’s estate, complete with manicured grounds. I looked out the car window and followed the leaves’ uncertain path as they fell to the pavement. The road to the parking lot was narrow and quiet. As we looked for Sarah’s cottage, we passed a tennis court. The cement court was cracked, and the net drooped sluggishly. Leaves and twigs layered the court. As we parked, a raindrop plopped onto my nose through the open car window. We walked into Sarah’s cottage, called “Edward’s Hall,” and heard nothing but the sound of the food-tray cart being wheeled by a worker. It was dinnertime, and I smelled steamed carrots, dry meatloaf, and tapioca pudding. I began to gag, but I caught myself. The waiting room, really a donated library, was all brown, with tan carpeting and coffee-colored cushions tied to uncomfortable-looking wooden chairs. Windows lined the left wall, and I saw sheets of rain begin to drench the garden flowers. The hardcover books looked anxious as they awaited their apprehensive visitors. We went through two locked metal doors. I was shaken by the security. “What do crazy people look like?” I wondered. In the “rec” room, I heard a 40-year-old-woman playing “How Great Thou Art” on an out-of-tune piano. Her singing whimpered then died away. Sarah’s room was the last one on the right. It was utterly bare and had a slanted ceiling. The white walls and white floors were all cement. The lighting reminded me of a dim Chinese restaurant. I embraced Sarah in her bed. Her huge blue eyes stared out into a void. I looked around her room to find a conversational topic and saw her favorite lime green sweater that she had just bought at Salvation Army and her Calvin Klein overalls, both rolled up in a ball in the closet. But she didn’t want to talk. She couldn’t talk. She only occasionally opened her Bible and read to herself. I looked away from Sarah as tears burned my eyes. The lump in my throat felt like a rock. I couldn’t talk either. I knew my parents reminded Sarah too much of her life before her current hell—pre-suicide attempts, pre-hospitalization, pre-medication, preMedicare, pre-multiple diagnoses, pre-schizophrenia. She told us to leave. As we left the hall, I noticed that the sopping wet plants in the greenhouse were washed clean by the rainstorm. I walked to our 1979 white Oldsmobile and begged the rain to cleanse me too.

The following essay does not fall under one of our specific themes; rather, the writer told us that we inspired the writing of this true story.

Metro He drives the Metro eastbound then westbound then back again, day after day, winter, summer, and seasons in between. I ride the Metro—and every day I wait to hear his voice. I do not know how many riders have seen his face, but we all know his voice. Some have committed his words to memory; others cringe when his recitation begins. But we all know the voice is coming. As we settle in for the ride to work with magazines, novels, or homework, we momentarily shift our attention to the loudspeaker as we hear a cheery “Good morning!” The voice from the speaker tells us not to give him that “I don’t wanna go look” as we ride towards downtown Baltimore. Several miles later he tells us: “Turn to the person beside you, in front of you, behind you, and say ‘Good morning.’” A few passengers smile and greet the strangers around them. Some half-smile to themselves, wishing they were uninhibited enough to act on his instruction. Those too shy to speak or turn their heads pretend to be engrossed in their reading. The rest act oblivious to the voice, probably wishing its owner would quit being cheerful at this time of morning—these expressionless ones, I think, could have done the world a favor if they had remained in bed for the rest of the day. But I can forgive them for that blank expression on their faces. “If they don’t wanna say ‘Good morning,’ I will,” the voice continues. “Good morning!” The speakers then fall quiet, and we move along, each absorbed in his or her own thoughts. I wait eagerly for the next stop. I know what I’ll hear: “Tell them to have a good day. If they don’t tell you to have a good day, I will. ‘Have a good day!’” The train doors open, people hurry out, others hurry in. The train doors shut, and we are on our way again. As the train nears downtown, where the majority of riders end their journey, the voice begins a rapid reminder to “take all your belongings with you: your bag, your purse, keys, cell phone, coat, hat, lunch, sandwich, chicken, chicken bone, your wife, and the kids. Take them all with you; don’t leave them on the train.” The voice is not ignored this time. People look around their seats before exiting. At the last stop, the train empties, and the voice’s captive audience is gone. The voice has put a smile on some faces this morning, but it is quickly forgotten. The driver steps out of the eastbound driver’s cab and walks back the length of the train to the other end. He will be westbound in five minutes. Will he do the same routine again? I won’t know unless I ride back with him one day. Terri Achanzar recently moved from Canada to Owings Mills and works with organ transplant patients at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Family Secret Eight years have passed since the day when I was initiated into my older sister Sarah’s world of psy-

Jessica M. Brophy, a New Jersey native, is currently working toward her Ph.D. in English literature at Morgan State University. w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m d e c e m b e r 0 5

Deck the halls...with balls of handpainted glass: “Big Hair Hon Holiday Ornaments” are the inspiration of Baltimore artist Leslie Smith, from her collection of handcrafted glass “Hon” nightlights and Baltimore landmark switchplate covers.

Shown: Christmas Hon and Hannukah Hon Ornaments, designed and hand-painted by Leslie Smith, from our selection of Baltimore-themed holiday cards, music, ornaments and gift baskets. Open daily. For information, call 410.662.4438. Hometown Girl & Company is located at 1001 West 36th Street at Roland Avenue in the heart of historic Hampden.

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urbanite december 05

c o r k b o aa rr dd

photo courtesy of www.christopherbruns.com

ons enter’s fe Less i L / s pport C re their e u i S r y o il t Fam y sha Life S the Ivy ore Cit riginal

Night of 100 Elvise

is o altim from m in th m in B adults . Senior gether Progra es, and wisdo ntation. Free c e o n s T e ie r g r p e in y t p or Ea fe ex istory ral hist ories, li rican H ssons o e e own st L m e A if n ries/L f Africa Life Sto s e um o u M is w ld F. Le Regina e ur & Cult treet Pratt S t s a E 830 .m. 11:30 a De c 1 , Center up p or t S y il m Ivy Fa Road olfield 3515 D n .m. 12:30 p ormatio De c 7 , ore inf m r o f 457 0 -2 3 5 -4 Call 41

Lithuanian Hall t 851–3 Hollins Stree Dec 2 & 3 open at 6 p.m.) 7 p.m.–2 a.m. (doors door ; 0 in advance, $60 at $5 General admission per chair reserved tables $75 58 410-494-95 ses.com www.nightof100elvi

e Urban Hik

vel with a at street le y it c e th est Side, and see imore’s W lt a Bundle up B h g u aryland. ike thro Club of M in ten-mile h ta n u o seum then by the M Shrine Mu h organized is Ir e th e e t an d arts at adison Str M The hike st n, g n lo a , Hampde rthward yman Park W , moves no rk a P l . ruid Hil Poppleton through D ester, and h c in -W n Sandtow De c 3 b untain Clu 8:30 a.m. of the Mo rs e b m e m ers Free for nonmemb nd; $2 for r e-mail o 3 6 9 of Maryla 10-303-1 4 ll a c r, te To regis et @netzero.n eworthing md.org www.mco photo by Richard

Just

Wreath and

photo courtesy of Cylburn Arboretum Association

Night of 100 Elvises The twelfth annual ed s, all night, perform features all Elvis song bute tri vis El e elv tw d nds an by at least fifteen ba southern the ticket price is a artists. Included in d ’s favorite dishes an buffet featuring Elvis s from tle ut sh s bu d an ousine complimentary lim two area hotels.

photo by Helena Johnson

Baltimore Lig

hts Up for the

Holidays

This holiday se ason, Baltimor e lights up in m different ways. any On December 1, the Washingto Monument in n Mount Vernon is illuminated at the annual A Monumenta l Occasion, co with a firewor mplete ks finale. On D ec ember 3, the eighteenth an nual Baltimor e Parade of Li Boats, featurin ghted g more than fo rty decorated boats and pow sailerboats, runs through Fells and the Inner Po int Harbor. A Monumenta l Occasion Mount Vernon Place and 600 block of North Charles Street Lighting cerem ony 6 p.m. (eve nt festivities be at 5 p.m.) gin 410-244-1030 www.godownt ownbaltimore. com Baltimore Para de of Lighted Boats 6 p.m. To register yo ur boat, e-mai l baltparade@ or call 410-342aol.com 4858 www.fpyc.net

Swag W orks

hops Bring th e out do o rs in for evergree the holid n swag, c ays with enterpie (by you!) a fresh c e , or w r at Cylbu e ath, han rn Arbor shops. A d m ad e etum’s h ll materia oliday w ls are pr orkovided. 4915 Gre ens 410-367-2 pring Avenue 21 www.cylb 7 u r n a ss o ciation.o rg Swag Wo rkshop De c 9 & 10, 10 a.m .–2 p.m. $20; walk (drop in) -in regis tration Centerp iece Wor kshop De c 9 , n oon; Dec 10, 1 $25; pre-r egistratio 0:30 a.m. n recom mended Wreath W orkshop De c 1 0 , 1 p.m. $25; pre-r egistratio n recom mended

Miracle on Holiday Sh Main Street opping Eve nt

Support lo cal busines s this holid season thro ay ugh Miracle on Main Str a special se eet, ries sponso red by the Baltimore mayor’s Main Stree ts initiative. than five h More undred reta il shops in Main Stree ten t districts w ill offer spe events and cial giveaways, in cluding a n Chevrolet C ew obalt and tw o free airlin tickets. An e d on three weekends in December, shoppers c a n park at d rated meter e c os for free. Visit www.b altimorem ainstreets.c more inform om for ation

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10/26/05

5:25 PM

Page 1

Downtown Partnership of Baltimore

presents

There’s a lot happening Downtown for the holidays. With so many events, we couldn’t fit them all here. For a complete list of everything to see and do Downtown for the Holidays, visit

GoDowntownBaltimore.com.

Friends School

DPB-2005-0324 Dec Urbanite

Friends offers students age four through grade twelve a rigorous academic program guided by the values of peace, equality, community, truth and simplicity.

Weekday Information Sessions and Tours by appointment for parents of students entering Pre-K through grade five. Call 410-649-3211 to schedule. FRIENDS SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE 5114 North Charles Street • Baltimore, MD 21210 www.friendsbalt.org

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(410) 576-3000 Citigroup, Inc., its affiliates, and its employees are not in the business of providing tax or legal advice. These materials and any tax-related statements are not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used or relied upon, by any such taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties. Tax-related statements, if any, may have been written in connection with the “promotion or marketing” of the transaction(s) or matters(s) addressed by these materials, to the extent allowed by applicable law. Any such taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayer’s particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. ©2005 Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Member SIPC. Smith Barney is a division and service mark of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and its affiliates and is used and registered throughout the world. CITIGROUP and the Umbrella Device are trademarks and service marks of Citicorp or its affiliates and are used and registered throughout the world.

urbanite december 05

have you heard . . .

Growing up in New York City in the 1950s and 1960s, José Ruiz, the former Hispanic liaison to the mayor and the founder and director of Education Based Latino Outreach (EBLO), developed an insatiable passion for the music of his cultural heritage. Eight years ago, he brought that passion to Baltimore with the launch of Fiesta Musical, Baltimore’s only classic salsa and Latin jazz radio program. Through a mix of music, commentary, community announcements, and interviews with world-renowned artists, the show encourages listeners of all ethnicities to become more involved in Baltimore’s Hispanic

community, for which Ruiz (also the founder of LatinoFest) has been an advocate for nearly thirty years. “The show’s content and increasing popularity are a testament to the city’s diversity and cultural enrichment over the past decade,” says cohost (and occasional Urbanite contributor) Andrew Scherr, who joined the program one year ago. Originally an hour long, Fiesta Musical now has four hours in which to entertain its listeners and (maybe) get them to dance. 88.9 FM; Tuesday nights, 8 p.m.–midnight.

photo by Larry Naymik

Radio …

—Mike Meno

Fertilizer …

photo courtesy of TerraCycle, Inc.

Every homeowner (or renter) wants a healthy lawn and flourishing garden. But many of the fertilizers and plant foods available in stores contain elements that are damaging to the environment. Fertilizer runoff into our water supply is a major ecological problem. TerraCycle offers an alternative: organic, planet-friendly plant food. Princeton students Jon Beyer and Tom Szaky created TerraCycle in 2001 to prove that a company could be both financially successful and environmentally responsible. TerraCycle Plant Food is the first consumer product

line made from organic waste that is then packaged in recycled soda bottles. Many of the bottles are collected by elementary school students across the United States and Canada; to date, students have collected more than 250,000 bottles, which have then appeared on the shelves and websites of large chain stores such as The Home Depot. And the best part? The plant food costs about the same as, if not less than, comparable fertilizers. www.terracycle.net. —Marianne Amoss

Well-loved Baltimore toy man David Stetz can now be found at Shananigans Specialty Toy Shop in the Roland Park area. Stetz, a former employee of Child’s Play in Cross Keys, bought the shop in August. Stetz has worked in toys for six years, but, as a lifelong toy collector, he has always wanted to own his own shop. Shananigans, which has been open for thirteen years, is still jam-packed with familiar items, ranging from classic tin toys, BRIO trains, and baby gifts to Lego sets, family board games, and a Mr. Potato Head–like Darth Tater doll—and there are

also fun new additions, like STIKFAS, posable action figures sold in only two other stores in the area, and Australian Menagerie, a card game featuring Australian wildlife. Stetz and his parents, co-owners of the shop, have made an effort to broaden the age range for toys sold in the shop so that there’s something for everyone. 5004 Lawndale Avenue, Suite B; 410-5328384. —M.A.

photo by Lisa Macfarlane

Toy Store …

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Where excellence surrounds you

courtesy of the Archives of the Woman’s Industrial Exchange

have you heard . . . Gift Shop … Barbara Gamse, whose expertise and friendly manner transformed the gift shop at the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS) into a truly wondrous shopping experience, has now set her expert sights on the renowned gift shop at The Woman’s Industrial Exchange. Gamse worked at the MdHS for nearly twenty-seven years and helped to curate an impeccable collection of antiques and new items for its store. She is now partnering with longtime colleague Jeanne Seetoo, also a former employee of the MdHS gift shop, to reorganize the Industrial Exchange gift shop. Gamse says she loves the

atmosphere of the Exchange and its mission to help people in need. “We fulfill that mission by selling phenomenal handicrafts from the U.S. and all over the world,” she says. As always, the merchandise offered in the shop will change often, and the Exchange’s signature knitted goods, accessories, and sock monkeys are still available. 333 North Charles Street; 410-685-4388; www.womans industrialexchange.org. —M.A.

Walkway …

photo by Lisa Macfarlane

Until the end of 2003, walkers and joggers who wanted to circle the reservoir in Druid Hill Park couldn’t make it all the way around without having to cross busy Druid Park Lake Drive. Now, city residents can enjoy the brisk winter air by walking the approximately two-mile-long loop without having to venture into the heavy traffic characteristic of the area. The Department of Transportation put the $600,000-plus renovation plan into action in June 2003. The traffic signal at Linden Avenue and Druid Park Lake Drive was changed to stop traffic in both

directions, and a crosswalk was put in to further aid pedestrians. Many neighborhood and city residents have started using the trail for walking and jogging. According to Izzy Patoka, director of the Office of Neighborhoods, this is a good sign: “People use it frequently, even in the evening. That means they feel safe there, in an area previously not considered safe. It’s remarkable.” —M.A.

In today’s world of pointy-toed shoes and tighterthan-tight jeans, finding style and comfort in the same place can be a highly elusive task for aspiring fashionistas. Edie Bemben’s skirts offer that rare blend of eye-catching style and true ease. A designer and self-taught seamstress, Bemben’s quirky, sassy personality clearly inspires her creations, which are crafted from fabrics featuring everything from sugar skulls (on the “Día de los Muertos” skirt) to pinup-era biker babes. She began making the skirts two years ago as a side business because she wanted to find a way to make wearable items out of vintage

fabric reproductions. Bemben sews each skirt herself; most of the garments are one-size-fits-all, but they can be made to fit larger or smaller proportions. Many women find the garments to be, as one put it, “wildly unique.” They’re also very affordable, ranging from $35 for a zip-up miniskirt to $68 for a reversible wraparound. Dozens of patterns and styles are available at 9th Life in Fells Point, and special orders can also be placed at the store. 9th Life, 620 Broadway, Fells Point; 410-534-9999.

photo by Edie Bemben

Fashion …

—Molly O’Donnell

Have you heard of something new and interesting in your neighborhood? E-mail us at HaveYouHeard@urbanitebaltimore.com. If we use your idea for a future Have You Heard, we’ll send you a $15 gift certiﬁcate for Daedalus Books Warehouse Outlet, redeemable in the bookstore or on the website (www.salebooks.com).

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food

by anne haddad

photography by marshall clarke

Preserving Baltimore’s Culinary Past A trip to Martick’s Restaurant Français

Morris Martick, 82, has been serving food from his West Side restaurant since 1970.

When your favorite restaurant closes, it’s as if your grandmother has given up making her chicken and noodles or her blueberry pie. In the last year, Baltimore has suffered the loss of some classic restaurants: Jeannier’s, Maison Marconi, and the original Woman’s Industrial Exchange tearoom (which still has a restaurant, but not with the chicken-salad-and-tomato-aspic kind of menu it once had). Food lovers can be overheard giving long and indulgent eulogies for the chocolate sauce from Marconi’s or for those high, light rolls that Sampson’s once served alongside smothered pork chops and baked chicken to the after-church crowd. Of course, these conversations are often taking place over a great meal at one of the city’s new eateries. The Baltimore restaurant scene is getting better overall, but sometimes we miss the good (or even the not-so-good) food entwined with our past. Let’s call it “food grief.” The trick is to figure out which places might be the next ones to close their doors and go there— just like visiting grandma more often as she gets older. Recently, I made a pilgrimage to Martick’s Restaurant Français on the West Side. Devotees of owner/chef/dishwasher Morris Martick have been talking about how his restaurant may not be around

much longer, ever since Martick turned 70. That was twelve years ago. “How many people do you know who are 82 and a half years old and still work every day?” Martick asks. He still does, mainly because he can’t bring himself to stop. Despite his years, Martick is lean, muscular, and straight-backed from lifting heavy pots and climbing upstairs to the kitchen dozens of times a day. He may look tired, but he is hardly frail. “I’m old, but I’m very fast,” he says. When the West Side revitalization plans surfaced in the 1990s, Martick heard that his restaurant in the 200 block of West Mulberry Street was going to be the first stop for the wrecking ball. In a lot of ways, Martick’s looks ready for it—the paint is peeling, the sign is faded, the front window has been covered over with plywood and painted—and even that is fading. The block is desolate, day and night. To find the place, you have to know what you’re looking for. City Hall might come knocking some day, but let’s hope whoever makes the decision at least tries Martick’s bouillabaisse or boeuf bourguignon first. “I heard they’re waiting for me to die,” Martick says, “which is probably imminent.” Is he sick? “No,” he says. “But I’m 82 and a half years old.” w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m d e c e m b e r 0 5

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Martick hasn’t heard from City Hall lately. He seems ambivalent about whether or not that’s a good thing. Big decisions and big changes don’t come easy to him. A good offer from the city might buy him some peace in his later years, but he is not likely to make the first move. That will have to come from the city—or the Grim Reaper. “Something will happen that I can’t survive,” Martick says. “You know how ants, they have a little track and nothing deters them? They go on that track no matter what. I’m like that.” It is just that kind of rut (and the fact that Martick has “embraced poverty”) that has preserved Baltimore’s first French restaurant. The historic building dates back to 1850; it was a private home, Martick thinks, until his Polish-immigrant parents bought it in 1917. They converted the front of the house to a grocery story, while they ran a speakeasy in the back and lived upstairs. Martick was born in the building and has lived his whole life there. The place was a legitimate bar from 1933 (when the end of Prohibition allowed his parents to be among the first in the city to get a liquor license) through 1967, when Martick—his parents having died some twenty years earlier—closed it to travel in Europe for a year. He fell in love with France and decided to open the first French restaurant in the city. But he couldn’t get a loan: The bankers said that if a French restaurant in Baltimore were a good idea, someone would have done it already. So he did all the work on the reinvention of the space himself and opened in 1970, hiring a chef from France and dressing the wait staff in suits. A female hostess wore a gown. But the night was a disaster, he says, because the chef turned out to be an alcoholic. He was overwhelmed in the kitchen and slow to get the dinners out. Martick fired the chef and has been cooking ever since. “I never had a cooking class. I just figured out how to make it,” he says. “The trick is to be able to cook the food consistently. But I’m a freehand cook.”

Martick continues to cook for and serve a dwindling but loyal clientele and the occasional newcomers who have heard of this temple of cosmopolitan shabbiness. “It’s because I’m atypical,” Martick says of his lingering business. “I’m not progressive; I’m regressive.” One reason he continues to work so hard is that he doesn’t trust anyone else to cook the food the way his patrons want it and remember it. He has shared his recipes—orally, since they’re not written down. He says cooking is a skill that cannot be put down on paper. Here is the closest thing we have to a recipe for his popular bouillabaisse, direct from Martick—true to the way it was given, in narrative form, not in Joy of Cooking style: Martick’s Bouillabaisse First you have to make a good fish stock, using fish bones, fish, vegetables (the holy trinity of celery, onion, and carrots), garlic, and herbs such as fennel (fresh or dried seeds) and parsley. Add water and white wine, in a 2-to-1 ratio, and simmer for no more than thirty minutes. Martick points out here that, unlike beef or chicken, fish gives up its flavor quickly—in minutes, not hours. Cooking the stock longer than thirty minutes will not improve the flavor, he says. After straining the stock and discarding the solids, reseason it and add it to a clean pot. Martick uses enough fennel so that its flavor comes through clearly and a lot of garlic again in the finished dish. From this point, the rest of the process shouldn’t take more than ten minutes—if you’re as fast as Martick. He adds the final ingredients to the pot beginning with whatever takes longest to cook: fresh vegetables, such as carrots, string beans, and mushrooms to give it some body and texture; a lot of fresh tomato, seeded and chopped; some more white wine; and butter. Now, add the mussels and fish—Martick often uses whiting, snapper, or monkfish, but you can use

Chef/owner Morris Martick outside his restaurant on West Mulberry Street

any fish available to you. He prefers the extra large and fat New Zealand mussels to the scrawny and sandy domestic ones, even though the New Zealand mussels are frozen. “My bouillabaisse is not what you’d call an authentic bouillabaisse,” he says. In France, he says, most cooks would sauté the vegetables in the pot, then add the stock. In the last minute, add scallops and shrimp. Don’t thicken it with any starches. “It shouldn’t be a goopy thing; it should be a soupy thing. It’s not like gumbo,” says Martick. Put a teaspoon of heavy cream into each serving bowl just before ladling the bouillabaisse into it. n

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urbanite december 05

neighborhood

by janelle erlichman diamond

photography by jefferson steele

Custom Glass

Beyond the Mall Twelve gift ideas from the streets of Baltimore Holiday gift buying is not about spending 45 minutes circling the mall looking for a parking spot. It’s about finding the charm within Charm City and hitting local haunts for an array of unique gifts for your family and friends. Here’s a small sampling.

Corradetti Glass Studio only offers one-of-a-kind pieces (all signed and dated), like vases in plum and petal green and bowls in celadon, honeydew, and teal. And for all those holiday parties, pick up a few good-looking glass ornaments (a steal at $15). Corradetti Glass Studio; 2010 Clipper Park Road, Suite 119; 443-570-0366. Above: Ray Buck carefully moves a vase at Corradetti Glass Studio.

Pewter Jewelry at Beloved Boutique

Special Brews

Babywear at Home on the Harbor

Urbanite Six Pack

At Beloved, the cowboy boots are kicking, and so are Durti Clothing’s screen-printed thermals—but Selen’s pewter circle cuffs and rings, chunky and earthy and abstract, are close to perfect. Jewelry ranges from $90 to $165; Beloved Boutique; 208 West Read Street; 410-244-6005.

Wry Baby has landed in Federal Hill, and the bambino brand will make you chuckle. There’s the “Wheel of Responsibility” board that lets parents battle over responsibility for a dirty diaper, and the “I Might Barf ” onesie. For the holidays the shop has really stepped it up a notch with “Not An Elf ” and “Ate My Dreidel” rompers. Home on the Harbor; 1014 South Charles Street; 410-234-1331.

Good Books

Clayton Fine Books and Café, a husband-and-wifeowned bookstore in Mount Vernon, carries rare and out of print tomes in both paper and hardback. The shop also has autographed editions and bargain books. Clayton Fine Books and Café; 317 North Charles Street; 410-752-6800.

The guys at Grand Cru recommend Labrot & Graham Woodford Reserve, a smooth, small-batch bourbon with hints of vanilla and spice housed in a smart-looking bottle. It complements cocktails but stands well on its own with an orange peel garnish (and cigar!). $28 at Grand Cru; 527 East Belvedere Avenue; 410-464-1944.

For the first time ever, six of Baltimore’s premier cultural institutions have come together to offer a performing arts sampler: the Urbanite Six Pack. For $110, you get a ticket to one performance at each of the following: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Opera, CENTERSTAGE, Everyman Theatre, Creative Alliance, and Murphy Fine Arts Center. Best of all, recipients get to pick the show and the date! Go to www.urbanitebaltimore.com for information or call the Baltimore Opera at 410-7276000 to purchase.

Metal Head

Find all things metal at gallery/studio/shop Made In Metal, including custom-designed jewelry from local artists. MIM also offers jewelry-making supplies, studio space, and classes; call for more information. Made in Metal; 3600 Clipper Mill Road; 410-662-6623.

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urbanite december 05

365 Days of Dogs and Cats

The Maryland SPCA is selling a 2006 pet calendar filled with two hundred smiling (well, you know) cats and dogs. Proceeds from the $25 calendar benefit the animals. Available on the MD SPCA website (www.mdspca.org) or around town at places like Chow, Baby (3317 Keswick Road; 410-235-2469); Coffee With T (10423 Stevenson Road; 410-5801886), and the Ivy Bookshop (6080 Falls Road; 410377-2966).

Gift Certiﬁcate for Dinner at Birches Restaurant ... or any local eatery. Along with your gift certificate, suggest some winners on the menu, like Birches’ mouthwatering mango margaritas and Monday night 50-cent mini Birch burgers. Birches Restaurant; 641 South Montford Avenue; 410-7323000.

Personal Perfume

Create a custom-blended perfume for someone special at Life Smells Good in Federal Hill. Choose from 170 essential oils (there are over twenty different types of lavender!) to create a natural perfume or cologne with undertones of jasmine, rose, oak moss,

sandalwood, or whatever strikes your nose. $15–$75; Life Smells Good; 935 South Charles Street; 410-234-0333. Above: Lisa Purisima freshens up at Nick’s Seafood in Cross Street Market.

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Goodies from Spirits of Mt. Vernon

This new neighborhood shop is much more than a wine store—it’s also a source of gourmet food items. Snap up an apron, a bottle of Greg Norman sparkling wine, and something from the gourmet shop, like blood orange olive oil. $20 for the apron; Spirits

of Mt. Vernon; 900 North Charles Street; 410-727-7270. Above: Victoria Schassler celebrates the holidays with decked-out glassware.

Minás Gallery and Boutique is packed with treasures, from Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys T-shirts to vintage winter coats and jewelry. The best find of all may be the personal artwork of shop owner Minás Konsolas, known locally for his Greektown and Farmer’s Market murals. He paints everything from miniature still lifes to mixed media abstractions. Artwork ranges from $6–$250; Minás Gallery & Boutique; 815 West 36th Street; 410-732-4258. Above: Irene Herndon, dressed in authentic Hampden fashions, poses with vintage dresses from Minás Gallery and Boutique.

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home

by amanda kolson hurley

photography by marshall clarke

The Battle over 20 E. Preston Tower Hill Development hopes to bring modern to Mount Vernon. Will the city allow it?

Matt Hoffman, left, and Chris Regan of Tower Hill Development at the 20 E. Preston Street site

It doesn’t look like much: a 16-foot-wide, 87-footdeep patch of dirt, one of hundreds of vacant sites that pockmark Baltimore City. Currently used as an ad hoc parking lot, it juts up against a row of lateVictorian houses in Mount Vernon. (A rowhouse once stood here, but it burned down in 2002.) To the north looms Penn Station. What might have been a great view of that landmark is partially obstructed by a nearby apartment building, its back partially clad in olive-drab siding. But if real estate developer Matt Hoffman has his way, the sliver of infill at 20 E. Preston Street will soon be a platform for cutting-edge architectural design. Hoffman and Chris Regan, his partner in Tower Hill Development & Consulting, LLC, hope to build a chic, ultramodern glass-and-steel duplex here, the likes of which central Baltimore has rarely, if ever, seen in its residential housing. Glass and steel would be a radical departure from the neighborhood’s prevailing brick and stone, Hoffman admits. “But those are materials that the market we’re selling to is interested in,” he says. “People we’ve consulted want to buy single-family homes in Mount Vernon and are very excited about a modern piece of architecture.” Hoffman thinks the project could be a design showpiece for the city. “We

worked with an award-winning architect and came up with a creative plan to take what’s now a vacant lot and turn it into a building that would attract attention.” The houses would be innovative on the inside, too. Inspired by the concept of “vertical living,” the floorplans—mirror images of each other—capitalize on the main asset of the city rowhouse: height. Living and entertaining areas are on the fourth and fifth floors, high enough to afford sweeping, unobstructed views of Penn Station and other Baltimore landmarks. Bedrooms and bathrooms occupy the second and third floors; the first floor consists of a foyer and single-car garage. With buyers already lined up for one of the luxury units and plenty of interest in the other one, Hoffman and Regan are eager to start construction. But for now, they can’t: 20 E. Preston St. is located within a historic district, which means that Tower Hill’s proposal must be approved by the city’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP), a division of the city’s department of planning. This summer, CHAP revised its guidelines for new construction in Mount Vernon. Hoffman and Regan’s proposal will be the first to be evaluated under the revised guidelines. w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m d e c e m b e r 0 5

(As of press time, the review was tentatively scheduled for early winter.) It will be an interesting—and controversial—test case. In a preliminary meeting with CHAP, Hoffman and Regan were told their design wouldn’t meet the new criteria because it does not respect the principle of compatibility, or “contextualization.” “We are definitely contextual in our approach,” says Kathleen Kotarba, executive director of CHAP. “We like to see a relationship between new construction and historic construction—in terms of materials, proportion, placement, height, and scale,” she explains. Rather than encourage juxtapositions of architectural styles, CHAP emphasizes continuity. “A new building or structure should seek to form a link between the district’s future and its historic past,” read the Mount Vernon guidelines. “In short, a new building or structure should be a good neighbor, adding to, rather than detracting from, the historical architectural character of the district.” However, Hoffman notes, contextualization “is a relatively ambiguous, subjective term. Our proposal is contextual in size and scale, but the materials are very different from surrounding buildings.” Over the summer, Tower Hill consulted with the architectural review committee of the Mount Vernon–Belvedere Association (MVBA). In response to the committee’s suggestions, architect Peter Fillat

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Model of 20 E. Preston Street by Peter Fillat Architects

refined his original design to more closely reflect the scale of nearby buildings. Fillat’s current design for the five-story structure is, in some respects, surprisingly contextual. Its roofline and floor lines complement those of the houses on either side, and it has an off-center front door reached by a short flight of steps, a standard feature of the nineteenthcentury rowhouse. Yet the design veers away from many of CHAP’s recommendations. It does not

have recessed windows (or traditional punched windows), and it lacks the kind of details—cornices, an ornamented doorway, and so on—that CHAP deems “characterdefining.” As for its primary material, glass, CHAP is decidedly unambivalent on this point: “Prohibited: Glass and metal curtain walls … stucco, vinyl, oversize brick … and other similar incompatible materials for facades.” The uncertain fate of Tower Hill’s proposal points to a larger question: What role should modern design play in Baltimore’s most historic neighborhoods? Many residents and community leaders believe that a contextual approach is key to balancing the need for change with historical preservation. Mount Vernon has “a strong and coherent context that is not modern,” argues Charlie Duff, director of the nonprofit Jubilee Baltimore, Inc. When it comes to building on vacant lots in Mount Vernon, says Duff, “you need to be pretty contextual. I think of historical preservation not merely as documentation of the past, but as a lure in the present. The great historic districts of America make people want to be there. It’s preservation as marketing strategy [for city living], and it has to deliver the goods.” Architect Charles Brickbauer, who designed the Maryland Institute College of Art’s pyramidal continued on page 65

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baltimore observed

by alice ockleshaw

photography by gail burton

Digging for Meaning How a neighborhood’s past can affect its future

Archaeologist David Gadsby, right, with student participants Anthony Williams, left, and Jerrett Davis

“My wife is mad at me,” explains David Gadsby, 30, over a beer at one of his favorite local restaurants, Hampden’s Golden West Café. The Ph.D. student specializing in archaeology had been so caught up in his passionate oration about the benefits of city heritage studies that he had all but abandoned his sandwich. But now, he pauses and shakes his head slowly. “She can’t stand all of the boxes in my office,” he says with a grin. Crowding his Hampden home since August, the contentious boxes contain thousands of objects excavated from Hampden backyards during six weeks of public archaeological digs this summer. The digs were part of a larger ongoing effort directed by Gadsby and fellow University of Maryland, College Park graduate student Robert Chidester, 26, to engage Hampden residents in a study of the neighborhood’s heritage. Originally conceived by Gadsby as an independent study project toward his master’s degree, the Hampden heritage program has come a long way since it began with public workshops in fall 2004.

Today, it is poised to become a model for the role of urban archaeology in cities across the nation. “This is really cutting-edge stuff,” says Paul Shackel, director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Heritage Resource Studies, the project’s sponsor. “Getting out into the community, showing people what we’re doing, and getting their feedback to help in interpreting what we find is a very new trend.” The Center for Heritage Resource Studies shares the project’s main objective: Break archaeological study out of its glass case and translate it into powerful and practical information critical to creating community identity. They believe that archaeology has the power to create a local shared pride—and consequently bolster heritage tourism. They say it can help people organize their priorities and ensure that their voices are heard in public discussions related to planning and development. “The past plays a strong role in forming people’s consciousness,” Gadsby says. “When we as archaeologists produce knowledge, w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m d e c e m b e r 0 5

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urbanite december 05

we have to be able to disseminate it to the public and make it relevant.” Gadsby and Chidester’s project also reflects a growing national interest in urban archaeology. “As city dwellers seek to enhance the quality of the spaces they inhabit, learning about, preserving, and interpreting the history of those spaces can be important,” says Charles Hall, state terrestrial archaeologist for the Maryland Historical Trust. He says that cities make particularly interesting study sites because of their history of building changes based on the needs and styles of each generation. In spite of these possibilities, urban archaeology has scant history in Baltimore. Baltimore’s Center for Urban Archaeology, created under Mayor William Donald Schaefer in 1983 and modeled after a successful (and still thriving) public archaeology program in Annapolis, lost its city support when the Baltimore City Life Museums closed in 1997. Although several excavations have been done since then, perhaps most notably on the Fells Point site of Maryland’s first synagogue, little noncommercial archaeology is being done, resulting in an “untapped resource,” Hall says. “There is great history in Baltimore, and that history has left a remarkable archaeological record … Much can be learned.” This statement is precisely what Chidester and Gadsby set out to prove in Hampden, a neighborhood long resistant to change that is now undergoing gentrification and increasing commercial popularity. “Something significant is happening here,” says Gadsby, a Hampden resident for three years. The neighbors seem to agree. Close to fifty people attended each of the three “surprisingly successful” 2004 workshops, designed to educate and gauge local interest in performing archaeological digs. The workshops sparked lively dialogue about class, gender, and the “insiders versus the outsiders,” Gadsby says. In addition to creating public discourse about the digs, the workshops produced three residents willing to volunteer their backyards.

Jerrett Davis with an artifact found during archaeological digs in Hampden

Because of Gadsby’s interest in domestic spaces, he wanted to conduct the digs in the yards of homes built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Complementing Gadsby’s interests, Chidester brings to the project an educational background in labor heritage studies, a major part of studying traditionally working-class Hampden. “We wanted to look at the everyday life of workers, what they did when they got home, and how they organized their spaces,” he says. Determined to make the process as educational as possible, the archaeologists found four local teen-

age students through the city’s YouthWorks program to conduct the digs. Directed simultaneously with site tours and public talks on Hampden history, the systematic excavations were performed on a layered grid according to archaeological standards. “I was up nights worrying the students wouldn’t like it, but they did,” Gadsby says. “It was really cool to watch them get good at being archaeologists.” Among the artifacts found were animal bones, nails, pieces of pottery, toys, marbles, medicine bottles, and liquor bottles. A yard in the Stone Hill area of Hampden turned up a chandelier crystal not commonly seen in working-class neighborhoods. Another on Falls Road revealed the concrete pad that once supported what Chidester speculates might have been the only garage on the block. How this information relates to the education of current residents will become clearer as more research is completed, but the conclusion will likely help challenge stereotypes. “We have a tendency to view Hampden as very homogenous with white working-class families,” Chidester says. “The information could help to personalize them as individuals with aspirations.” As they spend the winter writing grants for more funds, Gadsby, now studying at American University, and Chidester, now at the University of Michigan, are looking forward to the next stage of the project. They want to set up an after-school program to get local children involved in cataloguing and counting what they have found. In the spring, after they have completed their analysis, they’d like to exhibit the artifacts in Hampden and create brochures for the public about the local heritage. Ultimately, the archaeologists hope they’ll create a foundation for a self-sufficient Hampden heritage council, which will create a model for other neighborhoods. “The urgency is in preserving the past before it goes away,” Gadsby says. “If we think that traditional communities are worth saving, archaeology is a good way to do it because the tangibles can be made into meaning and values.” n

Left: Hampden excavation drawing by John Molenda of the University of Maryland Right: A historic map of Hampden dating from the 1850s, courtesy of David Gadsby

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urbanite december 05

encounter

article and photography

by jason tinney

Time Travel A journey along Maryland’s Historic National Road “I thought all the wilderness of America was in the West … No, there is a wilderness in the East” —Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Clockwise from upper left: The Mid-Town Diner in Middletown; a mile marker along Route 144; Chicken Man outside Longwood Café on Frederick Avenue in Baltimore City; The New Market General Store in Frederick County

7:36 a.m. The sun climbs my back, eyeballs me in the rearview mirror, looks down on Baltimore— a city with a trace of sleep in its eye but wide awake with traffic rattling and autumn’s fingers, freshly washed, digging into Lombard Street. I’m headed west. My tires roll over travelers’ footsteps, now two centuries old and covered by asphalt. I’m on mile one of what will be a 170-mile trek from the Inner Harbor to the Pennsylvania line in Garrett County, Maryland, along the Historic National Road. In 1806, during Thomas Jefferson’s administration, Congress authorized the first federally funded road. It would run from Cumberland, Maryland to Vandalia, Illinois, connecting six states—Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Prompted by the proposed road, the Maryland General Assembly approved a turnpike that same year, funded by private interests, linking Baltimore to Cumberland. (This portion of the road is technically called the Historic National Pike.) The diversity of landscape that edges this stretch of highway, not to mention the breadth of history the road cuts through, seemed like a good enough reason, as any, to take a drive. It’s a snail crawl through the lights on Lombard, past Hollins Market, and H. L. Mencken’s home on

Hollins Street. Rowhouses with familiar Baltimore stoops line the street, abutting boarded-up buildings; blue lights flash from the city’s police surveillance cameras as children, in bunches, make their way to school. Lombard quickly turns into Frederick Avenue, the only direct link to the original turnpike, and the first sign appears—“Scenic Byway, Historic National Road.” It is adorned with black-eyed Susans and surrounded by urbanization a long way removed from the days of Thomas Jefferson. I cross the Gwynns Falls and a section of its fourteen-mile greenway and pass Mount Olivet Cemetery, the final resting place of Francis Asbury, the “Father of American Methodism.” 7:50 a.m. Across from the cemetery is the Longwood Café. Standing outside of the café is a man dressed in a chicken costume waving at cars as they go by. I pull over to get a better look at Chicken Man. Seems a little early for him to be out. He sees me staring and waves. “Hello, Chicken Man,” I say and wave back. 7:58 a.m. I cross the city line into Baltimore County—Maryland 144, also known as Frederick Road. Crossing 695 into Catonsville, I’m suddenly in new territory—695 spins and another world exists within its force field. w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m d e c e m b e r 0 5

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In his travel book Roads: Driving America’s Great Highways, Larry McMurtry says of Interstate 70, the National Road’s younger but bigger upstart brother (completed in 1956): “For purposes of dealing with the east, the 70 out of Baltimore is ideal, mainly because it shoots one completely out of the east so quickly.” The same can be said for the National Pike, perhaps not in speed but certainly in terms of scenery. I’m through Catonsville in a flash, driving below Oella’s hillside village, and suddenly to my left are rolling hills with horses grazing, essentially twenty minutes removed from downtown Baltimore. This is where I come across my first mile marker, the gray tombstone shapes that line the National Pike. I cross the Patapsco River, the dividing line between Baltimore and Howard counties, and stop for coffee in Ellicott City, a town of high cliffs and stone buildings. Union Pacific diesel trains pull CSX coal cars over the small trestle that welcomes me to the narrow main street. It’s the type of town that looks great dressed up for Halloween or the winter holidays. Howard County along Maryland 144 bounces with hills that make your tummy jiggle and cause you to laugh for no reason. (It’s the kind of road your parents might have taken you on when they said, “We’re going for a drive in the country.”) Cows walk

in the fields. Faded barns stand alone, and brigades of cornstalks sweep down slight hills. I move through West Friendship into Cooksville, where Confederate cavalry General J. E. B. Stuart tangled with Union forces on his way to Gettysburg, about forty miles north. Crossing into Frederick County, I see three wooden crosses standing in a hillside pasture. More ominous than the three crosses are the three turkey buzzards that sit atop them. I pass through New Market, self-proclaimed “Antiques Capital of Maryland,” and then onto Frederick, the town where I was born and raised. It’s the biggest city that I have passed through since leaving Baltimore. Because of its central location with direct routes to both Baltimore and Washington, D.C., this small farming town is fast becoming a bedroom community for commuters in search of “country” living. In Frederick, Maryland 144 turns into Patrick Street and takes me straight through downtown, across the Monocacy River, past the house where country singer Patsy Cline lived for a time in the early 1950s. The road then turns into a sprawl of strip malls, known locally as the “Golden Mile.” On the map, it’s U.S. 40. Back on the National Road, I climb Braddock Heights and then descend, sweeping into Middle-

town Valley, once a lush patchwork of farms and fields, now a wide spread of cookie-cutter houses. 11:30 a.m. I stop for a cheeseburger, fries, and Coke at the Mid-Town Diner in Middletown. It’s the kind of place that you would expect to find in a small country town. The food is good, the conversations are local and rural (“Carl married himself a woman from the Phillipines!” “Every morning I wake up, I thank the good Lord that I’m alive.”), every other fella is wearing a camouflage baseball cap, and folks smoke at their tables. Just like some of these towns, the National Road literally steps you back in time because it has been relatively untouched. Although I am only sixty miles from where I started, I have crossed over a mountain, and I feel a long way from Baltimore. I leave Middletown with another climb up South Mountain, a stubborn obstacle to early settlers and site of the battle of South Mountain, a Civil War engagement that occurred days before the bloody battle of Antietam in nearby Sharpsburg. At the top of the mountain, I cross into Washington County and wind down into Boonsboro. When I hit Funkstown, I see “Mitzi’s Lounge–Gentleman’s Club.” It’s a little early for a cocktail and all the other enticements that a gentleman’s club may offer. But I make a mental note, since I will be headed back this way.

Clockwise from top: The Pennsylvania state line; returning home east on U.S. 40; Kline’s Restaurant/Lover’s Leap Lounge in Cumberland.

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urbanite december 05

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Along this stretch of the Pike, rocky Western Maryland is showing its gray stone teeth, biting into fields where more cows mingle and the road curves and spills me into Hagerstown, known as “Hub City”—a crossroad town in the north-south trade and migration route that stretched between the Cumberland and Shenandoah valleys. As I leave Hagerstown, there is a long stretch of road full of nineteenth-century farms and small trading towns, like Clear Spring, that runs along the Fairview Mountain Ridge. U.S. 40 merges with I-70 near Hancock, where the state of Maryland is only one-and-a-half miles wide. Mainstreet Hancock was a trading post along the Nemecolon Indian Trail, until the town boomed in 1818 with the arrival of the National Pike. West of Hancock, Maryland 144 meets Interstate 68 and becomes Scenic 40, climbing a portion of an old wagon road four miles up the side of Sideling Hill, the longest climb on the trip from Baltimore to Cumberland. I see where I-68 goes straight through Sideling Hill, a 340-foot vertical cut exposing 350 million years of sedimentary rock. It is one of the largest rock exposures in the northeast. I stop at Town Hill Mountain. Elevation: 1,680 feet above sea level. Sure is quiet up here. I’m 116 miles from Baltimore. 3 p.m. (or thereabouts). I pull into Cumberland. The trek is almost over. All that re-

mains is Garrett County and the state line. I stop at a roadside joint called Kline’s Restaurant, which sits next to a rolling creek and at the foot of one of several mountains that surround the town. The sign outside has a picture of a steak on a grill and reads “Lover’s Leap Lounge.” Inside, I take a seat at the counter. The waitress smiles as she takes my order—a cup of coffee. There’s one other person sitting at the counter, a jittery little old man, whom the waitress keeps referring to as “Turtle.” I ask the waitress casually, “So, is there a story behind the name?” “What, Kline’s?” “No,” I say, “Lover’s Leap Lounge.” “Oh yeah. It’s an old Indian legend. This Indian and, like, his maiden jumped off a cliff behind the restaurant. You know, so they could be together forever. Ain’t that right, Turtle?” Turtle nods. I write something down in a notebook. “You know,” Turtle says, “This place has been here a long time. This is the old National Road out here. A lot of travelers came through, but they said the place was going to shut down ’cause of the highway. No one was gonna come this way no more. It’s still here though.” I write a few more notes. Turtle is staring at me. “What are you? You a reporter? A writer?”

“Just passing through,” I say. 4 p.m. With several stops in Western Maryland, I’ve added a lot of time to my travel. I pass through Frostburg. I cruise into Garrett County, up and over Negro Mountain—the highest point on the Historic National Road at an elevation of 3,075 feet. As the legend goes, the mountain is named in honor of Nemesis, an African American frontiersman killed there by Indians. I cross over Keyser’s Ridge, and then there it is: “Welcome to Pennsylvania.” I pull into the parking lot of the Dixie Motel, where they proudly advertise that you can sleep on the Mason-Dixon Line. The trip is over. It’s just before 5 p.m. 170 miles traveled. By 1818, the Historic National Road reached Wheeling, West Virginia; it finally made its way to Vandalia, Illinois, more than seven hundred miles start to finish. (Why Vandalia? It was the capital of Illinois at the time. It was also where Lincoln began his legislative career.) Sitting on the Mason-Dixon Line, I think about America’s pioneering zeal, frontiers, territories, and exploration. I wonder if the desire to blaze paths was not so much an American trait as a human trait, a motivation within to move, to migrate, a restless rambling feeling in a land and time when there weren’t so many fences. The sun is at my back again as I turn the car around and point it east. n

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b m e m e r t s u you m By

W illiam

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WARREN

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t s e i h t r o w e h t s p a h r e P l a c i r o t s i h object of s i n o i t a v preser . f l e s t i y r o t his

urbanite december 05

. . . s i h er t

urrently, Americans’ ignorance of our national history is breathtaking. Consider these findings from various surveys in the last five years: • Only ten of the nation’s top fifty colleges and universities require students to study any history, and none of them—zero—require American history. • Almost a third of all Americans erroneously believe that the President may suspend the Bill of Rights in wartime. • A large percentage of eighth-graders think Germany was a U.S. ally in World War II. • In the last National Assessment of Educational Progress that tested American history (2001), 57% of high-school seniors scored “below basic” competence in the subject. • In a study of students at fifty-five elite universities, a third couldn’t identify the doctrine of separation of powers as being in the U.S. Constitution, three in ten blanked on what “Reconstruction” was, and 40% could not place the American Civil War in the correct half century.

Bruce Cole, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, says bluntly, “Such collective amnesia is dangerous. Citizens kept ignorant of their history are robbed of the riches of their heritage and handicapped in their ability to understand and appreciate other cultures.” “If Americans cannot recall whom we fought, and whom we fought alongside, during World War II,” Cole continues, “it should not be assumed that they will long remember what happened here on September 11.” As bad as our historical awareness appears now, almost everyone in the educational field believes it is going to get worse. The sweeping federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), now reaching full implementation, mandates annual achievement tests in reading, math, and science for grades three through eight, and at least one round of such tests in grades nine through twelve as well. A school’s performance on those tests carries significant reward or punishment, dictating future funding. Since history and the social sciences are not tested, it is feared that school districts will inevitably shift time and money into subjects that are.

There is preliminary evidence that this is already happening. Maryland no longer requires statewide testing of social sciences in grades K–8. High schoolers are tested in U.S. government, but not in history. A fierce struggle is now playing out in America’s schools. With several educational groups raising a loud alarm locally, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has created a task force to study the issue. Meanwhile, school systems, including Baltimore City’s, are coping as best they can, and teachers are countering with ways to make the past meaningful to the present. Will creative new ways to teach children about our national heritage overcome the pernicious effect of powerful federal mandates? The outcome of this battle for budget, time, and students’ attention span is far from certain.

The New Curriculum When schools began the slow shift away from social studies and history courses, the Maryland Humanities Council took notice. The nonprofit, located on Centre Street in Baltimore, decided two years ago to look into the status of history education in Maryland. Its study found an erosion of budget and time allocated to social sciences in several Maryland jurisdictions, including Baltimore City. This led the council to draft a position paper titled History and Social Studies Education in Maryland: A Cause for Concern. That paper quotes historian David McCullough: “To our shame we are raising a generation of young Americans who are, to a very large degree, historically illiterate.” Maryland is far from alone in drifting away from social science education in response to the carrot and stick of NCLB. But the Council for Basic Education (CBE), a nonprofit that was dedicated to traditional liberal arts, singled out the Free State for especially “dramatic curricular erosion.” According to CBE’s report Academic Atrophy: The Condition of the Liberal Arts in America’s Public Schools published in March 2004, Maryland “narrowed the focus of its state-wide tests” in elementary and middle school to cover only math, reading, and science, dropping writing and social studies as tested subjects. The greatest decline in classroom time has been in those areas no longer tested, the report says. CBE’s survey research also suggests that the corrosive effect of No Child Left Behind is strongest in schools with high minority enrollment. The situation doesn’t look quite that dire to Dennis Jutras and Matthew Woolston, two educators who see how history, properly presented, can engage today’s students. Jutras, a compact, articulate, enthusiastic man,

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urbanite december 05

chairs the history department at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. He looks like someone students would relate to; indeed, he is the reigning Teacher of the Year in Baltimore City. Woolston, Jutras’s predecessor as history chair and now an assistant principal, is taller, slower in speech, but no less intense. They both see a situation today that resembles the post-Sputnik panic of the late 1950s and early 1960s, when educators worried about upgrading math and science to close the “missile gap” with the Soviets, to the relative neglect of other disciplines. They are watching warily for history to be downgraded in importance. As Woolston notes, you can compare American math skills with, say, the Japanese, but such measurement doesn’t work for history. Still, they are upbeat about the future because of changes they see in the way history is being taught and learned in many American schools now. At Poly, they have taken an approach to history that stresses meaning and understanding, not just date-mongering, to make the past relevant to teens. Many students come to high school apathetic about American history; they regard it as a foregone conclusion, an already completed story that can be approached only through the memorization of dull old stuff. They have a cursory understanding of the fundamentals, says Jutras, but no “firm understanding of key concepts.” That’s when the Poly faculty surprises them.

Many students come to high school apathetic about American history; they regard it as a foregone conclusion, an already completed story that can be approached only through the memorization of dull old stuff.

Effective teachers turn history into a dialogue, a search, a mystery. They use students’ concerns about justice and equity to catch the students’ interest. They attach historical doings to current conditions and issues. They stress the “why?” questions because, as Jutras says, students “want to know why. They want to own it.” They use U.S. history as a master narrative to tie together the other elements of social science—government, economics, world history. “Dates and data are not history,” Jutras says. “They’re Jeopardy questions.” Then he asks, “What is the point of knowledge if you can’t apply it?” Of all the social sciences, Jutras and Woolston believe that history may be the most susceptible to the positive influence of a good teacher. Chris Piercy can tell you that today’s approach is a change from how history was taught for many generations. As a student at Poly in the late 1950s, he once scored 100, 100, 100, 99 on four consecutive history tests. When he challenged the missing point on that last exam, the teacher firmly told him that there was only one correct answer and it wasn’t the one on his test paper. Then Piercy went to college; his first history grade was a 42. Clearly, the old memorization model he’d mastered so well wasn’t working any more. After earning an M.A. in history from Morgan State University and serving three different teaching assignments in city schools, Piercy became chairman of Poly’s history department in 1975, a position he held for twentyfour years until his retirement. Part of what motivated his return to his old school was a determination to change the way history was perceived and taught. When he arrived, he was the youngest member of a department staffed by veteran teachers still mostly stressing dates and memorization. He began shifting the grading weight on the final exams away from short answers and toward essay questions that tested deeper, more meaningful knowledge. The faculty adjusted their teaching to meet the exams, and the younger faculty who replaced those who had retired quickly adopted the more thoughtful modes of treating the subject. “It took five or six years,” Piercy remembers, “but I’m more evolutionary than revolutionary. I just

encouraged people to change.” Those changes are now standard operating procedure for his successors, like Woolston and Jutras. Greglen Ward, 17, believes that the newer, more creative approaches work. The affable junior entered Baltimore City’s W.E.B. DuBois Senior High expecting to be bored in ninth-grade American history. But teacher Steven Berlack “made it fun. I loved it!” Ward says. When studying trench warfare, Berlack transformed the classroom desks into trenches. He stressed themes. He adapted to students’ individual learning styles—visual or verbal. Ward says he can see the connections between history and other subjects, such as the constitutional separation of powers he’s studying in U.S. government class. “I’m seeing how [history] affects me.” Ward agrees with the Poly faculty that history is a very teacher-dependent experience. And he understands the importance of the subject and how it will impact him outside of the classroom. “In order to go for it in the future, you have to know about the past or you’ll make the same mistakes again.” At Poly, students have responded to history. Several came to Jutras last year to ask his leadership in preparing teams for competition in National History Day, a nationwide program led locally by the Maryland Humanities Council. Jutras agreed. In their very first year, two of the Poly teams made it all the way to the national competition. Some of those students are back as seniors this year. Still working with Jutras, they are determined to win the whole thing in the next competition with a documentary about the integration of their school.

The Future of the Past By the end of this year, we will have a better grip on whether we are losing or gaining ground in history education. MSDE has assembled a Social Studies Task Force, co-chaired by Dixie Stack, curriculum director of MSDE, and Peggy Burke, executive director of the Maryland Humanities Council. According to Burke, MSDE disputes the conclusions in the Academic Atrophy report, faulting CBE’s research methodology of asking school principals in only four states to self-report increased/decreased instruction time in subject areas. Still, the state recognizes a need to address history curricula in schools. The task force has been meeting since January 2005, and its extensive research on state and national trends in social science education will be completed later this month; the final report is to be ready by late summer in 2006. The work of this group could have national importance: Despite lots of anecdotal horror stories, hand-wringing, and worry, the findings will be a major first step forward in truly understanding where we are, and where we are headed. The task force’s early fact-gathering suggests that, nationwide, the elementary grades have experienced the sharpest drop-off in time and budget allocated to social science. Middle schools have been affected, but not as much, and high schools, even less. The looming question is this: What happens when relative neglect of history education in the lower grades comes home to roost later? As Stephen Johnson, past president of the National Council for the Social Studies, laments, “Students don’t know history. We have to spend more time reviewing than teaching new material. I have a hard time teaching students about World War II when they haven’t learned about the American Revolution.” History does have a way of flourishing outside of classrooms. It is easy to pursue on one’s own. Most historians write clear, coherent prose and tell stories we can follow. Books by such writers as David McCullough and the late Stephen Ambrose pop up regularly on bestseller lists. But while selling a few hundred thousand copies makes a history book a publishing continued on page 53 w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m d e c e m b e r 0 5

Tracking B Y

R O B E R T

CO LO R

B AR NE S

PHO TO G R APHY

B Y

M IT RO

H O O D

More than three decades ago, Baltimorean Agnes Kane Callum sat in the Maryland State Archives and pored over some little-used records. In her head were names she had heard her whole life, those of her forebears. They had been slaves. On the table in front of her was a registry of Maryland slaves in 1864, the year before human bondage was outlawed forever in the United States. The registry, however, was organized by the names of the white masters; slaves were not important as people, only as valuable possessions. Still, she had some clues. She knew her family was from St. Mary’s County. She believed her family’s owner was a doctor. She searched for the human holdings of a Dr. Briscoe, of Sotterley Plantation. Then she sat back. There they were—all the names. Her people. Her family. History at its most personal. Since then, Callum, now 80, has become a distinguished figure in Maryland genealogy, publishing numerous articles and ten books of carefully collected source records. One of them is an index of the slaves, not just the owners, in that 1864 registry. She has traced her mother’s side back to “Irish Nell,” a white woman who, against all advice, fell in love with and married a black slave around 1700. The earliest days of her father’s family still elude her—the documentary trail stops in 1793. But she has her hunches and has not given up the search. Callum’s quest says a great deal about the rising popularity, and the changes, in family history research. More and more people are actively interested in genealogy. The reasons are as diverse as the people searching for their ancestry. Alex Haley’s award-winning novel Roots, published in 1976, provided a spark, especially among African Americans. So did a growing sense of pride in one’s ethnic background. As descendants of European immigrants got farther from their ancestral beginnings in this country, they began to feel a loss of connection. The rebirth of nationalism in Eastern Europe played a part, too. After the downfall of the Communist government in Poland, for example, many people proudly began wearing T-shirts with the traditional crowned Polish eagle, replacing the bareheaded bird on Communist flags. An interest in ethnic or national heritage easily leads to a desire to know more about one’s personal and family history. The mobility of twentieth-century Americans may also contribute to this growing desire to understand our origins. Rootless people need to find their past so that they can anchor themselves in a family, if not in a place. Different things set people off on the search. For Callum, being an adult student pursuing a degree at Morgan State gave her the opportunity to do the

urbanite december 05

Your Past

Genealogy resources help you grow your own family tree

family research she had always dreamed of: She turned her passion into term papers (and, eventually, into a master’s degree and a Fulbright fellowship to study in Ghana). The search for ancestors is no longer limited to looking for military heroes or nobility in the family tree. Ella Rowe, former president of the Maryland Genealogical Society, is proud of her convict ancestor who came to Maryland, served his time, and married and established a family. Janet Freedman, author of Kent Island: The Land That Once Was Eden, tracked down the pension application of a militiaman who was captured in the battle of North Point. He was taken to Bermuda, then returned to Baltimore in a prisoner exchange, where he renewed his trade as a ship caulker. This new interest in the down-to-earth activities of our ancestors has led to the creation of websites devoted to prisoners, pirates, and outlaws (see Resources for more websites). Whatever inspires you to get started in researching your family history, it is now easier than ever to find the information and the help that you need. The number of regionally published genealogical sources has increased dramatically. In 1960, there was little published material beyond the eight volumes of The Maryland Calendar of Wills. Since then, a number of companies—such as the Genealogical Publishing Company in Baltimore; Colonial Roots in Lewes, Delaware; and Willow Bend/Heritage Books in Westminster, Maryland—have vastly multiplied the source materials available to the researching public. At one time, local public libraries pretty much ignored genealogists. Now they buy source materials, occasionally sponsor speakers on genealogy, and provide access to websites and subscription services. The Baltimore County Public Library offers free in-library access to invaluable resources, such as ProQuest Information and Learning’s Ancestry (Library Edition) and HeritageQuest Online—both research databases dedicated to tracing family histories. Baltimoreans are fortunate to have three great repositories within an easy-towalk triangle downtown. The central branch of Enoch Pratt Free Library on Cathedral Street has the Maryland Room, a computer center, and a collection of microfilm/microform records. Three blocks north, on West Monument Street, is the recently renovated Maryland Historical Society’s H. Furlong Baldwin Library. The Historical Society has been compiling materials since it was founded in 1844 and recently added the research files of the Maryland Genealogical Society. Three blocks east of the Historical Society, in Mount Vernon, is the George Peabody Li-

Agnes Kane Callum, who traced her family’s ancestry back to the 1700s, has written many articles and books on genealogy. Historic images, clockwise from bottom left: ﬁrst, third, ﬁfth, & sixth photos by Jim Lewis, courtesy of Jack Hennessey Collection, provided by Dean Krimmel; second and fourth photos courtesy of Maryland Historical Society

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brary, part of the Johns Hopkins University. Its collections include English materials, such as county and parish registers. Another great Maryland records stash is less than an hour away, at the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis. The archive’s materials go back to the founding of Calvert’s colony in 1634. An enormous amount of this material is now online thanks to the efforts of Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, state archivist and commissioner of land patents for the state of Maryland. Papenfuse has set a goal to scan all the critical records in the collection and make them available online, including the indices and microfilm currently available only at the archives. This digitization not only provides armchair access to those who can’t travel to Annapolis; it also preserves the records from the rot that, sooner or later, will afflict paper, microfilm, and other physical media. Currently, there are over seven hundred volumes of state records on the Archives of Maryland Online website, and hundreds of volumes of records are available as images. The Internet, of course, has changed the landscape of genealogical research tremendously. Online sites—like the USGenWeb Project and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints’ (LDS) FamilySearch—now offer researchers free and easily accessible information, including links to local resources for family records. The Internet has also, however, created a huge risk. Unlike source documents kept in repositories or responsible publications penned by seasoned scholars, the information on the Internet is not mediated, and its quality is wildly uneven. Anyone can post notes, “facts,” or family histories based on hearsay, legend, or just wishful thinking. For example, surfing online genealogies produced records where a child’s birth date was given as nine years after his parents’—and that is by no means an exceptional lapse on the Internet. So be extremely careful of information you find online: Doublecheck it, and use it mostly as a clue for further investigation, not as proof. If you are unsure how to begin your family research, a growing number of groups are available to help. The statewide Maryland Genealogical Society was founded in 1959, and almost all of the counties in Maryland now have either a genealogical society, or club, or a branch of the local historical society devoted to family history. LDS FamilySearch has become a genealogical powerhouse. Because of the LDS belief that one can be baptized on behalf of the dead, linking families for all eternity, tracking down one’s forebears becomes a spiritual duty. The LDS have accumulated extensive records and share them through the Internet and local family history centers. In addition to bringing together people of similar interests, these organizations sometimes sponsor workshops, seminars, and conferences

Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse is responsible for the digitizing of many of the records in the Maryland State Archives.

where experts share their knowledge. These special events usually attract a crowd. Recently, two hundred people attended a daylong seminar held by the Latter Day Saints Stake, a local “parish” of the LDS Church of Baltimore. It can be hoped that the rising tide of interest in genealogy, and resources to support that interest, will spill over into a wider interest in history. If your ancestors fought in the War of 1812, maybe you’ll want to understand that conflict better. If your great-grandfather came to America in 1902, perhaps you’ll learn about the programs in Russia that may have driven him to risk everything to seek a new life across the sea. Callum has crossed that bridge from genealogy to history. She originally got into family research, she says, “to preserve history—black history … to find the culture. What was life like? How did they cope?” After putting out twenty-five volumes, she will soon cease publishing her annual genealogy journal, Flower of the Forest (named after a family farm in St. Mary’s). Now she’s working on histories of Maryland’s black regiments from the Civil War era. Tip O’Neill said that “all politics is local.” It is equally true that all history is personal. Researching your family’s history is a uniquely individual act—but what is our nation’s history made of if not the lives of all Americans? The founding fathers, the immigrants at Ellis Island, the casualties at Gettysburg, the slaves who suffered and endured—they are all someone’s ancestral kin. Someday, come to think of it, we will be too. n

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phenomenon, it is questionable whether reading trends among already educated adults can save the republic from collective historical amnesia. For mass enlightenment, we still need the schools. Baltimore institutions like the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS) and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture work with the schools to connect with students by enriching the curriculum with engaging and interactive exhibits. The MdHS not only has programs for field trips, but also reaches tens of thousands of students annually through takeout materials for use by teachers who can’t get their students to the museum. The Reginald F. Lewis Museum worked with the state to create a curriculum based around the institution’s exhibits and resources—forty-three lessons for teachers in grades four through eight to use with or without the museum exhibits. However, as Dennis Fiori, director of the MdHS notes, attendance at history museums and historical sites is flat or declining nationally, and budgetary constraints limit school field trips as a learning strategy. Also, even if the dollars are available to take the fourth-graders to the museum, will the schools decide that’s a good use of student and teacher time when the allimportant reading, math, and science assessment tests are hanging over them? A. T. Stephens, director of education at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, optimistically observes that the teaching of history can be merged with the development of reading skills mandated by No Child Left Behind. Still, he calls the current situation “critical” and hopes that parents “weigh in on the absence of history and civics” in the schools. The situation is fluid, but the short-run conclusion is clear. Our collective basic knowledge of our national heritage is shaky, and the

educational trend lines are ominous. History is being de-emphasized by this federally driven funding and testing policy. Students now get a smattering of history in elementary school, and that ration is shrinking. American history gets another run-through in middle school within a social-science mix. High schoolers take American history, but in Maryland they are not specifically tested on that knowledge. For most U.S. citizens, graduation from high school marks the end of formal education in history. The majority of Americans do not attend college. Of those who do, very many do not take any American history courses. That means the efficacy of K–12 public education in history is by far the most important single factor in our collective knowledge of our heritage. Does this matter? A lot, actually. To grasp how much, ask African Americans what it means to know or not know of your past. In a recent issue of Urbanite, for example, Congressman Elijah Cummings said that “history is so important because it is something African Americans yearn for, something so many of us have lost.” Without knowledge of history, the present becomes an isolated point on a trend line we cannot even see, let alone understand. Maryland’s Social Sciences Task Force has said, “Without history, a society shares no common memory of where it has been, of what its core values are, or of what decisions of the past account for present circumstances. Without history, one cannot undertake any sensible inquiry into the political, social, or moral issues in society.” Or, to paraphrase the late historian Daniel Boorstin’s observation: Trying to plan for the future without a sense of history is like trying to plant cut flowers. Can we respond to the challenge of preserving our past? In the long run, history will be our judge. n

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urbanite december 05

by rebecca klein

photo courtesy of the Tai Sophia Institute

sustainable city

Sustainable YOU Invest in yourself this holiday season (without blowing your budget) Your skin—dry. Your energy level—depleted and draining fast. Your wallet—the same story. So, what’s the best defense against the December doldrums, that unsavory sibling of the holiday season that creeps in the shadows behind the glittering lights, gifts, and guests? Sure, that triple-shot extra-large latte may give you a short-lived boost. But at this time of year, what you really need is a longer-lasting solution that rejuvenates you from the inside out, without breaking the bank. Luckily, Baltimore has several good low-cost options for getting rid of the winter blues. You may be surprised about the deals you can score by helping students of the healing arts get some handson exposure. At Baltimore School of Massage’s student clinic in Linthicum, $30 buys an hour massage with a student practitioner, which is about a 50% savings compared to local spa offerings (www.bsom.com; 410-636-7929). “If you have aches and pains, you just carry those around. You’re not even aware it’s part of your daily routine,” says clinic director Annetta Thomas. “Massage puts you more in tune with what’s going on in your body.”

And, says Thomas, it results in more energy, improved circulation, and better sleep. Taking time for yourself at this time of year can have the added benefit of “making you sit back and really do some personal inventory and find out what the season is for,” she adds. The Tai Sophia Institute, headquartered in Laurel, is another great resource for discounted treatments. The school offers reduced-rate sessions with student acupuncturists and herbalists at locations in Laurel, Wheaton, and Belvedere Square (www. tai.edu; Laurel: 410-888-9048, ext. 6657; Belvedere Square: 410-433-6846; Wheaton: 301-949-5905). Acupuncturist and faculty member Kaiya Larson describes acupuncture as refueling the body’s tank. “It helps fill you up at a very deep level. If you’re running on empty, you can come and get a treatment and feel rejuvenated and alive.” The initial consultation runs about two hours and costs around $75; follow-up treatments usually last an hour to an hour-and-a-half and cost about $65, a total savings of about 15% to 30% of what area acupuncturists charge, according to the Institute. A licensed acupuncturist always participates in the sessions. “The patient ends up feeling like they’ve really been listened to in a very deep way,” explains Larson. “If you get treatment and you feel better, then you have more energy to give to other people. Then, you don’t get sick, which is something that often happens after the holidays are done.” The school’s discounted herbal consultation is another way to fight off winter illness. Student practitioners suggest herbs to promote wellness,

in sessions that are overseen by faculty supervisors. Clients first undergo an initial consultation, during which the practitioner obtains a thorough history. Herbalist Rebecca Rhoads says, “By doing such a thorough history, you start to see patterns and connections between symptoms and imbalances in diet or lifestyle.” According to Rhoads, energy levels cycle just like the seasons. Just as people fight fatigue with food, Rhoads says that herbs “nourish the body, like food, but in a more medicinal way. Basically, herbs are a step closer to medicine than food is.” Herbs can help combat the effects of cold weather, right down to your body temperature. “If you’ve ever put cayenne on your food, it stimulates the body. And, in the winter months, it’s great. It warms the body,” Rhoads says. An initial consultation runs $50, and the follow-up meeting is $35. You save about 50% by scheduling with students, according to the Institute. Individualized formulas, an extra charge, are mixed in the on-site herb room. “It’s like treating your body to a deluxe detailing,” says Rhoads. “We’re more important than a car, really. But people sometimes take so much better care of their cars than their bodies.” If these options don’t appeal to you or your budget, take Rhoads up on some common-sense advice: Get enough sleep! And keep in mind that feeling sluggish is common during the winter months. “Winter is a time of being down and hibernating, and our culture is all about go, go, go,” says Rhoads. “We need to have that downtime. Go with it.” n w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m d e c e m b e r 0 5

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U Turn The owner of the legendary Ben’s Chili Bowl reﬂects on the past and the future of Washington’s U Street

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On a sunny Saturday afternoon, U Street in Washington, D.C., is as busy as it is tranquil. People are everywhere. Black, white, Asian, and Indian; young hipsters, urban professionals, and thirty-somethings canvas the wide sidewalks, sipping bottled water or coffee concoctions. Some chat audibly at outdoor restaurant tables. Others walk briskly in and out of the small shops that line the approximately ten-block boulevard. Yet, despite all the weekend commotion, it is still quiet enough to hear the faint acoustics of a song the passing jogger has cranked up on her iPod. This is the U Street of today: young, diverse, and trendy. Almost nothing like what it was fifty years ago, when the strip was known as “Black Broadway.” Second only to Harlem in New York City, U Street was the cultural and economic nucleus of one of the country’s most vibrant African American communities well into the second half of the twentieth century, comparable to Baltimore’s own Pennsylvania Avenue. Back then, businesses and entertainment were rich with African American culture. Men and women would not walk the beat unless they were in their finest attire. Up until the late 1960s, U Street was the place to be. Today’s U Street is also radically different from the U Street of forty years ago. In 1968, the riots following Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination desecrated the fading remnants of Black Broadway. From then until the early 1990s, the area was plagued by crime, poverty, and a pervasive heroin epidemic. From the vantage point of his family business, Ben’s Chili Bowl on the 1200 block of U Street, Nizam

Ali has watched the evolution of the area. The restaurant has been a favorite neighborhood greasy spoon since Ali’s father, Ben, opened it in 1958. Ali remembers the rough-and-tumble transition years. “You had these boarded-up buildings. You didn’t have a full block of residents that could call the police,” Ali says. “There was an open-air drug market. People would stand in the street and sell drugs, and it just wasn’t a powerful enough area to get that out of here.” Back when his father ran the restaurant, it was common to run into such celebrities of the day as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, or Redd Foxx. They frequently stopped by for a bite to eat when they came to perform at the Lincoln Theater next door. But Ali was not around for those glory days. By the time he was born in 1970, Black Broadway was a distant memory, as faded as the area’s spirit. Now 35 years old, Ali has spent his life on U Street. He missed the area’s best times, endured its worst, and is now trying to make sense of the up-and-coming. “No one who knew U Street years ago would recognize it now,” Ali says. “It has the excitement of a walking neighborhood again.” The U Street Ali recalls most vividly was barely a street at all. When he was a teenager in the 1980s, the local government began building the U Street subway stop, a five-year ordeal that nearly put places like Ben’s out of business. “There was a sixty-foot hole in the street. If we made $100 to $150 a day, it was a good day,” Ali says. “Those,” he recalls, “were the worst years.” w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m d e c e m b e r 0 5

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Ben’s Chili Bowl owner Nizam Ali outside the eatery

Yet the subway construction was part of what led to the neighborhood’s ultimate transformation. In the mid-1980s, Mayor Marion Barry’s administration built a municipal center at 14th and U and provided incentives for sidewalk retail development. Developers bought up the land and waited for the right time to capitalize on their investments. When the subway was finished in 1991, new shops and restaurants began popping up along U Street. From there, says Ali, it just kept growing. “It’s not a blighted neighborhood [anymore], and it is one of the hottest neighborhoods in the country,” he says. He notes that U Street was recently mentioned in Travel + Leisure magazine and is “getting huge notoriety.” Nevertheless, the rejuvenation of U Street is bittersweet for Ali. As it turns out, upscaling has exacted a price. “It’s great to have the restaurants, the shopping, and the nightlife,” he said. “But the people who are here are suffering.” While the area’s new prosperity has been profitable for developers, Ali says it is also problematic for the business owners of old. As the area becomes more popular, there is less room for places like Ben’s. When venues like Whole Foods and Starbucks move in, smaller shops are forced out. Ali says that most of the time family businesses do not have the resources to compete with national chains. And then there is the matter of taxes. In the past year alone, the assessed property value for Ben’s increased by $1 million, which translates to an additional $18,000 in yearly taxes. “We get a lot of tourists, so we are a little more able to absorb it,” Ali says. “But smaller places, mom and pops and older black businesses, they can’t afford that kind of increase—when your taxes go up 300% to 400% in a year with no caps. They are being forced out because they can’t pay their taxes.” Some staples of the old neighborhood, like Ben’s and the adjacent Lincoln Theatre, remain. But others—like the historic Madame CJ Walker College of Beauty Salon, named after its owner, the first black woman millionaire—are long gone. A Rite Aid now operates out of the salon’s former 1306 U Street location. “There are some new businesses that have come in that are great, and some are chains that you don’t know who owns them at all,” Ali says. “It was once Black Broadway,” he adds. “And now, it is something different.” n

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urbanite december 05

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photo by José Manuel

in review

MUSIC Faluas Do Tejo Madredeus Capitol/EMI, 2005 Transparente Mariza Capitol/EMI, 2005 Drama Box Mísia Naïve, 2005 Beautiful though it is, the city of Lisbon emanates a strange kind of loneliness. Its soot-blackened statues, monumentalized in green copper, seem to reach back into a once-glorious history of powerful kings, but finding nothing of interest, they abandon themselves to ruin. Walking the streets of the Bairro Alto (the High Quarter), one finds that the cracked pavement and paint-chipped concrete walls give the streets a frozen, forgotten feel—as if each washedout color and rough, dusty surface were too pathetically familiar to fix.

The Portuguese have a word for this feeling that permeates their capital city: saudade. The word sounds quite beautiful when sung or spoken with a native accent, but its meaning is melancholy: a longing for something that cannot be named or attained. To explain saudade merely as “nostalgia” or “wistfulness” is to do a disservice to the word, because neither of those English counterparts captures its mystery, darkness, or quiet pain. The best way to understand it is to listen to fado, the lugubrious music of “Old Lisbon,” which is quietly enjoying a resurgence in popularity in both Portugal and abroad. Fado (“fate”) songs are mournful cries of love, loss, and saudade. They are generally sung by a female soloist (fadista) backed by a classical guitar, a twelve-string teardrop-shaped Portuguese guitar, and sometimes a double bass. The music, which blends North African, Gypsy, and Portuguese folk music styles, was championed in the twentieth century by the fadista Amália Rodrigues, who died a national heroine in 1999. Rodrigues’s throaty, passionate voice was exploited as a symbol of national heritage by Antonio Salazar, Portugal’s brutal rightwing dictator from 1932 to 1968, and the music was so inextricably associated with the regime that it lost nearly all its popularity. Recently, however, several young artists have given new life to the tradition, and three albums released this year show that fado is not only quite alive, but also growing and evolving. “Lisboa, Rainha do Mar” ("Lisbon, Queen of the Sea”), the first track on the group Madredeus’s album Faluas do Tejo, bobs lightly on the undulating guitar lines of Pedro Ayres Magalhães and José Peixoto. Fadista Teresa Salgueiro’s voice is high-pitched and slightly thin, but it betrays no lack of maturity or poise. On “Adoro Lisboa” (“I Adore Lisbon”), her voice drops almost to a whisper in the verses, but it rises only to a tastefully restrained middle dynamic on the chorus. Hers is a dry, detached commentary on “a imensa saudade / Que a cada dia me assalta” (“an immense saudade / That every day assaults me,” from “O Canto da Saudade”). Most of the time, Madredeus plays a simple, traditional style of fado, tainted only very slightly, sometimes tastefully, by Carlos Maria Trindade’s synthesized strings. The group’s use of two classical guitars, rather than the

usual one classical and one Portuguese, sometimes makes their arrangements sound like baroque chamber pieces. A closer estimation of Amália’s true legacy is the music of Mariza, fado’s newest diva, whose albums have sold close to 500,000 copies worldwide. Her latest album, Transparente, is a step forward from her 2004 sophomore effort, Fado Curvo, with the addition of live strings and crisp production. On “Malmequer” (“Loves Me, Loves Me Not”), Mário Pacheco’s spindly, delicate Portuguese guitar tiptoes around a rhythmic, plodding bass line and a gorgeous cello descant, while Mariza sings lines like “Bem me quer o corpo quente / Mal me quer a alma fria / Bem me quer o sol nascente / Mal me quer a casa escura” (“The warm body loves me / The cold soul loves me not / The rising sun loves me / The darkened house loves me not”). On other songs, like “Quando me Sinto Só” (“When I Feel Alone”) and “Duas Lágrimas de Orvalho” (“Two Drops of Dew”), Mariza sounds despondent and convinced of impending doom. The disc as a whole is not an uplifting one, but it is a moving and fiery one, easy to get lost in; it’s easier still to find inspiration within its lines of grief and lamentation. Mísia is fado’s other great diva. Born in the northern city of Porto to a Spanish mother, Mísia’s outlook on music is a bit broader, and her latest album, Drama Box, includes tangos and boleros as well as fados. “Fogo Preso” (“Fireworks”) and the swinging “E se a Morte me Despisse” (“And If Death Were to Strip Me Bare”) are folksier than anything Mariza ever recorded, with thick chordal accompaniments. Mísia’s voice is rich and passionate, but her own overinvolved production burdens the simplicity of the music. The album has some wonderful moments of fullness and composure, as on “Anjo Inútil” (“Useless Angel”) and “Fado do Lugar-Comun” (“Commonplace Fado”) and on the maritime bounce of “Fado Adivinha II” (“Riddle”), but on the whole, Drama Box is not sparse enough to be entrancing. Mísia channels Amália’s soul, but not her delicate sense of tact. —Robbie Whelan

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urbanite december 05

in review

JOURNAL

photo of Linda St. John’s “900 Skinny Girls” and “100 Dirt Yard Girls” by Dan Meyers

Link: A Critical Journal on the Arts in Baltimore and the World Mark Alice Durant, Stephen Janis, and Bill Sebring (editors) Link Arts Incorporated, 2005

CULTURE Race Class Gender ≠ Character American Visionary Art Museum October 1, 2005–September 3, 2006

Sergei Eisenstein, the great Russian cinematographer, revolutionized film with his rapid-fire editing technique, slicing between apparently disparate images in order to create a third meaning, a cinematic metaphor. His philosophy of intellectual montage has been applied to great effect in the tenth issue of local literary arts journal Link: A Critical Journal on the Arts in Baltimore and the World, which focuses on the theme “cut.” A macabre, provocative, fairground-funhouse-mirror of an issue, it jumps between articles and artwork about the objective and the subjective, about appearance and reality, resulting in a literary hodgepodge of heady narcissist delight. Each article, photograph, and illustration builds exponentially on the ones before, from Jane Satterfield’s bloody poetry, through Mark Alice Durant’s tender portraits of the Baltimore Boxing Club, to Colin Burns’s Tarantinoesque linocuts. Although the caliber and content of the essays are consistently high, two contributions are particularly effective: Jeffrey Gordon’s profile of the

amazing half-boy Johnny Eckhardt, with its unforgettable, compelling imagery; and Eric Trump’s close shave with a sufferer of (or reveler in) Body Integrity Identity Disorder. Reading these essays, we realize normality and deviance are conjoined, and we peek through our fingers, giggling and shuddering, simultaneously enthralled and repelled, in a way that John Waters would find gratifying. And Waters pops up in this issue too, sharing his kitschy porn homage to cinema through photography, as does Yoko Ono (who, as always, scythes through art-critique claptrap by saying she simply wants people to say “yes” to life) and current, controversial “it girl,” installation artist Kara Walker, who revisits and subverts racial stereotyping. Link has exploited its theme with a slasher’s enthusiasm. From its spooky cover of medical implements to its art direction diced with defaced family photographs, the issue manages to be jumpcut and jagged—yet whole.

From the first-floor landing of the stairs in the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM), stop and look up, then down. Above hangs an African American manikin with enormous curving rainbow-colored glass and metal wings—Andrew Logan’s Black Icarus. Below him is an ocean made of glass, created by Robert Benson and Richard Ames. Icarus descends from the ceiling, slowly spinning, suspended by a thick steel cable. From this vantage point, it feels as if he’s falling right into the water, just as legend has it. AVAM’s exhibit Race Class Gender ≠ Character is all about legends and myths—and dispelling them. The show centers on the premise that the worth of a human being does not come from his or her skin color, socioeconomic status, ethnic makeup, or gender identity; rather, this exhibit asserts that it is a person’s character, what he or she is really like inside, that is important. The theme is best summed up by the first paragraph of the introduction to the show on AVAM’s website: “Throughout history, visionaries have dreamed of a world where their characters are not judged, their creative potential is not limited, or their livelihoods are not proscribed by factors of race, gender, or economic circumstance. They have struggled to be valued on the basis of their individual character and talents. Their battles have sought to establish dignity and equal opportunity for themselves and for others.” All the art included in the exhibit shows a struggle with these ideas. As is to be expected from AVAM, the work is original, honest, arresting, telling, and unusual. The show was obviously a labor of love for AVAM’s founder and director, Rebecca Hoffberger. Her passion for the art and subject matter is evident both from the caliber of the exhibit and in her choice of artist Lily Yeh, who works with poor communities all over the world, for co-curator.

Take 900 Skinny Girls, for example: the nine hundred figures are crafted from pipe cleaners (hence the “skinny”) and are dressed in meticulously crafted skirts, hats, and coats, all handmade by artist Linda St. John. Arranged in a geometric formation on three walls in a small room in the museum, the girls appear uniform at first glance, but on closer inspection, are clearly not. Every girl is different: Some are dressed neatly in pink and light blue party dresses, while others wear dark colors and seem shabby. They seem like a room full of nervous teenagers, their clothing clearly displaying their different socioeconomic backgrounds. Another feat of craftsmanship is the cut-paper art made by the late Chinese artist Ku Shu-Lan. Each piece features brightly colored, folk art-like figures of dogs, women, trees, and other objects. They are a beautiful testimonial to spirituality and daily life, made all the more compelling by the fact that Shu-Lan made her home inside of a cave and created all of these works out of trash that she found. Also made with found objects are Morgan Monceaux’s large mixed-media portraits of monarchies around the world, which he created to prove that monarchies other than Britain’s royal family have existed and played important roles. Perhaps what drives home the show’s theme is Nancy Burson and David Kramlich’s Human Race Machine, which morphs the characteristics of one’s face into the physical features of other races. It probes our deepest convictions about identity, proving to us that we base judgments of character and identity on appearance—and that we could easily have ended up in a different situation than the one into which we were born.

—Susan McCallum-Smith

—Marianne Amoss

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The Battle over 20 E. Preston continued from page 34 glass Brown Center on Mount Royal Avenue, as well as the Mercantile Bank building on Charles Street, argues vigorously against the contextual approach. “Contextualism is a cop-out: a little from here, a little from there, and you end up with nothing, a pastiche,” he says. “Good modern buildings should be sympathetic to good buildings of any period.” Brickbauer is disappointed by new structures around Baltimore that reflect traditional styles. More often than not, he says, the proportions are all wrong. “They turn out to be caricatures. If you don’t understand what you’re copying, you lose the forest with the trees.” The Brown Center, completed in 2003, is hardly contextual, standing as it does next to what was a shoe factory in the 1940s and across the street from the college’s Italianate white-marble Main Building. But as it is not located within a city historic district, it wasn’t subject to CHAP review. “Most people seem to love the building,” Brickbauer says. “The response has been about 90 percent in favor.” The firm Brickbauer works for, Ziger/Snead, designed the boxy glass addition to the Maryland Historical Society in Mount Vernon, also completed in 2003. “It’s perfect for a historical society, because it’s reflecting its own time,” Brickbauer observes. That project was not controversial among Mount Vernon residents, according to Martin Perschler, chair of the MVBA’s architectural review committee. Perschler emphasizes the quality of materials as an essential factor in judging design proposals. “[Mount Vernon] is a neighborhood that has buildings of different styles, and the one thing we can say about all of those is that they’re built well with high-quality materials. With modern design, we want to make sure the quality of the materials rises to the level of the historic buildings.” For instance, on the MVBA’s advice, Tower Hill and Fillat changed their original design to include brick or stone at the base instead of precast concrete panels. With this modification, the committee voted to approve the plan, though “not without controversy,” Perschler says. Nevertheless, he continues, “you want to see something wonderful happen on those [vacant] lots, and you want to give designers and developers freedom. I personally wouldn’t want to be so strict to say, ‘It’s got to be brick,’ or ‘It’s got to have this type of windows.’ You end up stifling creativity.” Perschler predicts Tower Hill’s proposal could get “significant design criticism” from CHAP. Fillat, who is currently working on designs for another contemporary duplex near Key Highway, is more optimistic: “I think CHAP understands what we’re trying to do. I think CHAP will endorse [the plan]. Contemporary design shows that the city is truly alive, alive with ideas. It identifies the building with its time.” At press time, Tower Hill and Fillat were revising the design again, eliminating some of the curtain glass that is likely to raise eyebrows at CHAP. Whether Mount Vernon will get its modern duplex—and how modern that duplex will actually be in the end—remains unclear. Yet, as Perschler notes, “A couple of years ago, people would have laughed if someone proposed building a duplex for a high-end market in this neighborhood.” n

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35 Digging for Meaning The website for the Hampden Archaeology project is www.heritage.umd.edu/CHRSWeb/Associated Projects/Hampden.htm. www.earchaeology.com is a general archaeology site. City Paper did an article about how the site of Maryland’s first synagogue in Fells Point became an unofficial urban laboratory in the 1990s; it can be accessed at www.citypaper.com/ news/story.asp?id=2361.

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44 You Must Remember This … The Maryland Humanities Council website (www. mdhc.org) currently features the article “A Cause for Concern—History Education in Maryland.” On the National Council for Social Studies website (www. ncss.org), you can read the Council for Basic Education’s paper “Academic Atrophy: The Condition of the Liberal Arts in America’s Public Schools” (www.socialstudies.org/stories/story Reader$610). To review the existing standards and goals set by the state, including links to No Child Left Behind, go to the State Department of Education website at www.marylandpublicschools.org/msde. The website for the National Council for History Education is www.nche.net. An interesting interview with David McCullough by Bruce Cole can be found at: www.neh.fed.us/news/humanities/2003-05/mccullough.html; in it, McCullough discusses teaching and writing history.

Clayton Fine Books and Café Rare and hard-to-ﬁ nd books

The Ivy Bookshop 39 Time Travel On the National Scenic Byways website (www. byways.org/browse/byways/2273/) is information about traveling the Historic National Road. A free 190-page fact and map book of scenic roads in Maryland, Scenic Byways in Maryland, can be obtained by calling the Maryland State Highway Administration at 1-877-MDBYWAY or e-mailing byways@sha.state. md.us. Our writer visited Bean Hollow (8059 Main Street, Ellicott City; 410-465-0233), Mid-Town Diner (116 W Main St, Middletown; 301-371-7400; www. mid-towndiner.com), and Kline’s Restaurant/Lover’s Leap Lounge and Catering (10307 National Highway NW, Cumberland; 301-777-5010; www.klines restaurant.com).

48 Tracking Your Past Genealogy Online for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2004) informs readers about the wealth of genealogy resources on the Internet. Ancestry.com guides users through the steps needed for building a family tree. The site for the Enoch Pratt Free Library (www.pratt.lib.md.us) is also a good source, as are the sites of the Maryland Historical Society (www.mdhs.org), the Maryland State Archives (www.mdsa.net), and the National Archives (www.archives.gov). The Genealogical Book

photos by Lisa Macfarlane

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For more holiday gift ideas, see page 29. Publishing Company, based in Baltimore, is one of the largest publishers of genealogy resources (www. genealogical.com). Cyndi’s List (www.cyndislist. com) is a guide to genealogy sources on the Web. The USGenWeb Project (www.usgenweb.org) provides free access to genealogy information, with resources organized by state and county.

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