Showing posts with label Dayhoff writing essays people. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dayhoff writing essays people. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Appreciation: Stan Ruchlewicz brought knowledge, expertise and main street values to Westminster

Appreciation: Stan Ruchlewicz brought knowledge, expertise and main street values to Westminster




This is a photo that I took of Stan from the roof of the old firehouse building on Main Street, on May 8, 2004. Stan and I had gone there to gather a bird's eye view of the city. That day we were up there for hours, brainstorming and discussing economic development and planning ideas for Westminster.

Stan was recognized by many as a leading authority on planning and economic development for small communities. Because he was also an artist, he understood the value of a vibrant arts and culture presence in a community and he was good at thinking out of the box. He had a wonderful sense of humor and he clearly understood that it was not good enough to be the best, you had to be nice, and Stan was one of the nicest public officials I have ever worked with in my forty-years of working with the public.

I'm really sad about Stan's passing. It is a great personal loss for me and a huge loss for the Westminster and Maryland.

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Stan Ruchlewicz, the City of Westminster's administrator of economic development and Main Street manager, died June 5.

The news in Westminster spread quickly Tuesday that he had suffered a heart attack earlier in the day.

Ruchlewicz came to Westminster in May 2001 from Havre de Grace, where he had been hired in 1989 as the town's director of planning and zoning. During his time there, he worked with then-mayor, now Harford County Executive David Craig…. READ MORE: http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/community/ph-ce-stan-ruchlewicz-0610-20120606,0,4825178.story

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Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Kevin Dayhoff: Ron Smith, the “Voice of Reason” on WBAL radio, dead at 70


Ron Smith, the “Voice of Reason” on WBAL radio, dead at 70


or


or


“The Voice of Reason” Silenced by Kevin E. Dayhoff -
On Monday night, the venerable longstanding, highly rated, and critically acclaimed 1090 AM WBAL talk radio host, Ron Smith, died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Shrewsbury, PA… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4813


By Kevin Dayhoff,

December 21, 2011

Ron Smith, 70,the highly celebrated radio talk show host on 1090 AM WBAL talk radio for 26 years, died of pancreatic cancer last Monday night at his home in Shrewsbury, Pa.

Generations of Carroll countians have grown-up listening to Smith – and 1090 WBAL radio, long before he joined the station in the fall of 1984.

David Zurawik, The Baltimore Sun’s media critic since 1989, noted late Monday night that “Mr. Smith spent more than 26 years on WBAL's airwaves, most of it in the afternoon drive-time period until a move to mornings last year, passionately talking politics from a conservative point of view.”

Zurawik explains the ‘Voice of Reason’ title came from a listener, according to Smith’s wife, June; “A caller, responding to one of Ron’s rants on the constant struggle between various theories and the hard, cold, facts of reality, said, ‘You are The Voice of Reason.’ ” The term stuck.

Zurawik wrote the thoughts of many. “But it is not his politics for which he will likely be remembered as much as the informed conversation he helped create on Baltimore radio — and the way he publicly shared his final days with listeners of WBAL and readers of The Baltimore Sun.”

Smith was born in 1941 in upstate New York, the son of an assistant school superintendent, according to Zurawik, who helped fill us in on Smith’s early years before his legendary success in Baltimore… http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2011/12/ron-smith-voice-of-reason-on-wbal-radio.html or http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2011/12/kevin-dayhoff-ron-smith-voice-of-reason.html or http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4813

Although he is reported to have been well-read and highly educated, many will be surprised to know that Smith “dropped out of high school at age 17 and joined the Marines,” according to Zurawik. “He was in the Marines from 1959 to 1962, his last duty serving at a Navy submarine base in New London, Conn…

“After the Marines, Mr. Smith started working in community theater in Albany, N.Y., near his hometown of Troy, while he ‘tried to figure out’ what he wanted to do…

“Mr. Smith's first broadcasting job was as a disc jockey in Haverhill, MA. He didn't like the station, but he liked being on the air. He returned to Albany and eventually landed a radio and TV reporting job at WTEN. He was at that station five years…”

Before his longstanding stint with WBAL radio, Carroll countians first got to know Smith when he first arrived in Baltimore on TV – on Channel 11’s “Action News,” in 1973. He was on the air as a reporter and then its weekend anchor until 1980, when “he was unceremoniously dumped in an anchor desk shuffle…,” according to Zurawik.

According to his official biography, “Ron was a TV anchor and reporter for WBAL-TV until 1980, when new management decided to make a change in his department by getting rid of him.

“They parted by ‘mutual consent,’ which is when your bosses decided you’ve got to go and you agree there’s nothing much you can do about it.”

In 1980 “Mr. Smith went to work full time as a stockbroker,” explained The Baltimore Sun article. “But he never lost the desire to be on air. And while he claimed to enjoy working in the financial world, it was all prelude for the passion he found as a talk-show host starting part-time in 1984 and full time a year later on WBAL radio...”

The rest is history… However, the history of WBAL and Carroll County can arguably go back as far as when it first went on the air in 1925. It was started as a subsidiary of the old Consolidated Gas Electric Light and Power Company, now known as Baltimore Gas Electric – Constellation Energy.

That was eight years before The Consolidated Public Utilities Company of Westminster merged with the Consolidated Gas Electric Light and Power Company, in 1933. The Westminster power company can trace its roots back to 1867, when it first formed as the Westminster Gas Light Co.

One of the first mentions of WBAL radio in Carroll County is brought to our attention as a result of research by the Historical Society of Carroll County. On June 8, 1945, the now out-of-print Westminster newspaper, the Democratic Advocate reported, “Sykesville high school students will broadcast over station WBAL, Baltimore, on Saturday, June 9, at 4 p.m. The skit which they will dramatize is called ‘After the War —then What?’”

The same newspaper reported on February 1, 1946, “The Baltimore Radio Broadcasting Station, WBAL, will bring the well known program "Junior Town Meeting of the Air" to Westminster in a broadcast at Westminster High School on Tuesday, February 5th, from 1:30 to 2 p.m. The subject to be discussed will be "Is American Family Life Deteriorating"? Local students will present their views direct from the school to your home.”

On February 8, 1947, the newspaper reported, “Westminster and the surrounding community was very much interested in the Junior Town Meeting broadcasted over Station WBAL on Tuesday afternoon… In summing up the half-hour discussion, Mr. (Mike) Eaton said that he felt the main point had been brought out by Thomas Holmes, Jr., when he said, ‘These things we have said put forth a challenge, a challenge to us; the teen agers of today, who will in the near future have families of their own, and also should strive to rebuild and protect our American Family Life.’ ”

Several decades later, Smith brought back the conversation about protecting “our American Family Life,” to the radio in our homes, offices, and automobiles.

Zurawik noted in the Baltimore Sun, “According to Ed Kiernan, longtime general manager of WBAL, ‘a voracious reader, Ron Smith arrived at his opinions after careful thought and research. He arrived early to work always prepared and excited to get behind the microphone.’ ”

Smith, “died at his home … surrounded by his wife, June, and the rest of his family,” according to a report by WBAL-TV. “Funeral services will be private. A public memorial service will be scheduled at a later date.”

Smith’s passing leaves a lot of “dead air” in an intelligent, uncomplicated, “everyman” approach to the news and events of the day. He will be missed. Semper Fi.

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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ 
Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Eagle Archive by Kevin Dayhoff: A Tribute to John Hosfeld


A Tribute to John Hosfeld



November 20, 2011

A Westminster institution, John Raymond Hosfeld, age 74, of Westminster, died on Thursday, November 10, 2011 at the Carroll Hospital Center.

He was a longstanding fixture on Main St. in Westminster where he owned and operated The Flower Box and practiced his trade as an artist, florist and designer.

To be in the company of Hosfeld was to be overwhelmed by his kindness, pride in his art, and invigorated by his enthusiasm for our community. At a time when so many folks in our community demand attention and want to know what Carroll County is going to do for them; Hosfeld was always looking for more things to do for Westminster.

Hosfeld was a 1956 graduate of Westminster High School and the New York School of Floral Design. He took over the business from his late Aunt Grace M. Benson who started the shop on Main Street in Westminster in 1951.

He owned and operated the shop from August 5, 1965 until he retired on November 1, 2009.

He was born on June 30, 1937 in Taneytown and was the son of the late Charles H. Hosfeld and Doris (Sell) Staub and pre-deceased by his stepmother, Mary Yingling Hosfeld and a sister, Kay G. Hosfeld-Flater.

The community gathered at the Myers-Durboraw Funeral Home on Willis St. last Monday to give thanks for the life and times of Hosfeld. His pastor, Rev. David S. Schafer from St. Benjamin’s (Krider’s) Lutheran Church conducted the services.

Hosfeld was surrounded by his favorite flowers, gardenias, lilies and roses, friends and family including his life-long friend, Billy J. Frey; his brother, Richard C. Hosfeld and wife Helen; and great-nephews and niece, Xavier, Sebastian, and Scarlett Joseph.

Hosfeld’s niece, Sherri Hosfeld Joseph, also an artist and the owner of Birdie’s Coffee Café, shared poignant memories of her uncle. She represents the third generation of Hosfelds to own a small business on Main St. in Westminster. She has often remarked that her Uncle John was her inspiration to open a business. 

Joseph noted that Hosfeld was paralyzed “since 1965 and he spent the majority of his life in a wheelchair. Never complaining, or expecting special treatment because of his disability, he lived life to its fullest - traveling, enjoying friends and family. When I was a young girl, his wheelchair was to me, magical - not something that held him back, but something that propelled him forward...

“One of the things I respected most about my Uncle was his unwavering commitment to be just exactly who he was. In a small town, he was able to become an institution on Main Street.

“People loved my Uncle for who he was - a friendly, thoughtful, caring man - who made beautiful flower arrangements for every occasion in just about everyone’s life in Westminster and Carroll County. He touched the lives of so many and received remarkable acceptance in return.”




[20111120 SCE Flowers fade but Hosfeld]

Birdie’s, Westminster, Maryland, Carroll County, people, tribute, Dayhoff, Hosfeld, florists, flowers, 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/73642613/Eagle-Archive-by-Kevin-Dayhoff-A-Tribute-to-John-Hosfeld

Eagle Archive by Kevin Dayhoff: A Tribute to John Hosfeld
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Labels: Maryland Municipal League see MML, MML, MML Municipal League
http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/search/label/MML%20Municipal%20League:


For more information on the 2011 Fall Maryland Municipal
League’s Fall Legislative Conference at the Cambridge Maryland Hyatt Regency
Chesapeake Bay, including a “Complete 2011 Fall Conference Information (.pdf)”
packet, visit the MML website at www.mdmunicipal.org.


*****


Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/


My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/


*****
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

Sunday, November 7, 2010

John Schaeffer 82 was among men of finance - by Kevin Dayhoff

John Schaeffer 82 was among men of finance

In http://www.explorecarroll.com/ please find two pieces I wrote about the late John Schaeffer of Westminster Bank and Trust Company.

Since these two tributes about Mr. Schaeffer appeared in the paper, many folks have come forward with stories about Mr. Schaeffer’s great mind for business, his service to his community and his extraordinary sense of customer service.

Perhaps one of the best among many was the story of the Mom with four children who had a problem with her checking account.  Mr. Schaeffer, the president of bank the mind you, found the problem and because the Mom could not get back to the bank because she was busy with her children; Mr. Schaeffer hand delivered the paperwork and her checkbook to her house.

Explore Carroll DAYHOFF John Schaeffer 82 was among men of finance ..


DAYHOFF:John Schaeffer 82 was among men of finance who helped shape Westminster.  Eagle Archives.  By Kevin Dayhoff

The Oct. 31 death of John C. Schaeffer, 82, of Westminster, caused many older Carroll County residents to reminisce nostalgically about days long gone by.

Schaeffer was a well-respected country banker, who knew the business of finance and served his community steadfastly for many years.

Moreover, he was friendly, and always had time to talk with anyone, no matter his or her position or station in life.

A glimpse into the life and times of Schaeffer is also a history lesson in banking in Carroll County, and a study of the legacy of distinguished community leadership for over a half-a-century.


See also:


Posted: 11/02/10 in Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle


20101107 sdosmsce John Schaeffer 82 was among men of finance


*****
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

Sunday, January 17, 2010

ExploreCarroll.com: 'Coach' Charlie Havens was a good sport, and a patriot, too by Kevin Dayhoff


'Coach' Charlie Havens was a good sport, and a patriot, too

EAGLE ARCHIVE By Kevin Dayhoff Posted http://www.explorecarroll.com/opinion/3805/archive/ 1/17/10

Much of the interest in Carroll County history is focused on certain dates or this or that building or road, but what makes any county truly great are its people.

I was fascinated to recently run across an old newspaper item from Aug. 7, 1999, written by Baltimore Sun writer David Greene, in which he described Laurie Walters' 100-year birthday party for her house in the historic Belle Grove area of Westminster.

This is, the party was not so much a birthday gala for the structure as it was a celebration of the people who had been associated with the house.

One of those celebrated folks mentioned was Lt. Col. Charles W. "Coach" Havens. For those who did not know Coach Havens, he wore many hats over his years in Westminster.

Havens died in May 1996 of kidney failure, according to an obituary, also in The Sun, by Fred Rasmussen.

He was a 1930 graduate of then-Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) who later returned to the school on the hill to serve as its athletic director and coach of the football, baseball, basketball and boxing, a well as an instructor in physical education and health, according to the obituary.

Read the entire article here: http://www.explorecarroll.com/opinion/3805/archive/

20100117 SCE Coach Havens was good sport and patriot sceked


*****
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://www.westgov.net/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/
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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

The other shoe drops on Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon

For the love of shoes

December 1, 2009 by Kevin Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/ykjdkjw
Click here for a larger image: http://twitpic.com/rtdv4 or here http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/266103473/who-can-forget-when-baltimore-mayor-sheila-dixon

Wbal.com is reporting VERDICT IN DIXON CASE: A Baltimore Circuit Court jury has found Mayor Sheila Dixon GUILTY of one count of misappropriation

But it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings. She'll appeal...
That said, this is alleged to be about more than a few gift cards that may or may not have been mishandled. On face value the charge seems so Mickey Mouse.

However... there's the rest of the story...

Some will suggest that the conviction is a result of her karma.

The conviction certainly raises more questions than answers at the moment and for those who think that this has been a soap opera of kindergarten proportions, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Although I have met Mayor Dixon a couple of times, I do not know her. Many folks who do know her have praised her for her work ethic and love of the city. Many of her employees have spoken well of her.

However, there has been a cloud hanging over her for many years.

Whether that cloud is real or not, the perception persists.

What has yet to be determined to everyone’s satisfaction is whether or not there really is a fire somewhere associated with that cloud of smoke.

In spite of the accolades bestowed upon her by mutual friends, her reputation for having a cold and aloof – if not condescending manner towards those who do not share her position of power and prestige has not served her well.

Folks have quietly suggested that her manner is a manifestation of the arrogance of power and the lack of accountability that plagues one party ruling factions.

By many measures, the once proud city of Baltimore appears to continue in decline and that makes many sad.

Whether it is the perception of crime and corruption or the simple practical issue that you go to Baltimore in absolute fear of having some Kafkaesque experience with a parking ticket; the avoidance of traveling to Baltimore for business or art and cultural events continues.

While many had hopes for a phoenix-like turnaround with former Mayor O’Malley, our hopes have not been realized under the tenure of Mayor Dixon.

As for the mayor herself, she appears to be a person who has accomplished so much in spite of being such a fictional Dickensian character with Shakespearian character flaws.

Some of it would be humorous if it was not the stuff of fiction, but it is not…

Who cannot quietly chuckle at the time she gave members of the media the finger… Click here for a larger image: http://twitpic.com/rtdv4

And then there is the matter of Mayor Dixon and the persistence of shoes being a major prop in her own Kabuki morality play…

Apparently her affection for shoes – to actually wear – is relatively well documented in her current challenges.

The there is that other shoe incident from 1999…

“Although Dixon is often remembered—primarily by white voters—as the incendiary force behind "the shoe incident" in 1991 (when she taunted white council members about the effects of redistricting by waving her high heel and yelling, "Now the shoe is on the other foot.")…” The City Paper http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=2587

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“The Mayor's team found a way to hide the old city council shoe video…” “Shelia Dixon Gives the Media the Finger” Tuesday, January 13, 2009 Adam Meister, Baltimore Examiner http://wbal.com/apps/news/templates/smith_show.aspx?articleid=19569&zoneid=13

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“Though Dixon was already a well-known and well-established political figure at the time, the prospect of her becoming mayor had left many uneasy. Indeed, during the 2006 gubernatorial election there were whispers among city voters that a vote for the popular O'Malley as governor would amount to a vote for a Dixon administration at City Hall.”

[…]

“Dixon's nearly 20 years in public office have not been without controversy. When she was City Council president, The Baltimore Sun reported extensively on apparent conflicts of interest involving a firm that employed her sister, Janice. The paper also disclosed that Janice Dixon was on the public payroll as an employee in Sheila Dixon's office, a fact which the then-council president was required by law to report but did not.

“‘I stand by me being very straightforward and cooperative and that I didn't do anything wrong,’ Dixon said.

“The public's first real impression of Dixon probably came 16 years ago, when she was a young member of the City Council, and - at least for some Whites – she came across as a divisive firebrand. That came at a redistricting meeting when she famously waved a shoe at her White colleagues and said, ‘You've been running things for the last 20 years. Now, the shoe is on the other foot.’

“Dixon said the shoe-waving incident was ‘misinterpreted,’ but acknowledges she gets excited about things that are important to her. ‘Do I still get passionate about issues? I do,’ she said.”
Dixon Impresses Early On, But Questions Remain By Jonathan N. Crawford Capital News Service Thursday, May 3, 2007 http://www.washingtoninformer.com/NATBaltimoreMayer2007May3.html

It ain’t over yet. There are more acts to follow in this morality play – and there is sure to be a sequel after the sequel...

Seems a shame for someone so bright and talented, who presents as spoiled brat who is now earning back years of bad karma.

Memo to Mayor Dixon: Always take care of people when you are going up, because ya never know when you are coming down.

It must be lonely to be Mayor Sheila Dixon these days….

To be continued…

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20091201 sdosm The other shoe drops on Balto Mayor Dixon Dayhoff writing essays, Dayhoff writing essays people, Dayhoff writing essays politics, Law Order, MD Baltimore, People Dixon-Sheila

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2009/12/other-shoe-drops-on-baltimore-mayor.html http://tinyurl.com/ykjdkjw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff and Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff

The other shoe drops on Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon
http://tinyurl.com/ykjdkjw http://twitpic.com/rtdv4

Who can forget when Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon gave the media the finger?
http://tinyurl.com/ykjdkjw http://twitpic.com/rtdv4 http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/266103473/who-can-forget-when-baltimore-mayor-sheila-dixon

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More on the other shoe drops on Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon
http://tinyurl.com/ykjdkjw http://twitpic.com/rtdv4

More on who can forget when Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon gave the media the finger?
http://tinyurl.com/ykjdkjw http://twitpic.com/rtdv4
*****
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://www.westgov.net/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/
*****
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

Saturday, November 28, 2009

A reprint of “Dwight Dingle, Sgt. Pepper, and a Bathtub”


Which appeared in the Westminster Eagle – http://www.explorecarroll.com/ June 6th, 2007 by Kevin Dayhoff
Click here for a larger image: http://twitpic.com/ra9by or here: http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/260544005/heres-dwight-dingle-in-collage-i-did-of-him-for

Dwight Dingle will be greatly missed in the community.

He was a tireless community supporter and had a great sense of humor.

November 27, 2009 November 27, 2009 [20070606 Dwight Dingle and The Mamas and The Papas]

For more on Dwight Dingle go here People Dingle Dwight and here: Media Radio WTTR

Wayne Carter, writing for the Carroll County Times is reporting that “Longtime WTTR radio personality Dwight Dingle has died.” Read Mr. Carter’s article on the death of Mr. Dingle here: http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/11/28/news/local_news/3_dingle.txt http://tinyurl.com/yfrx9tb

“Dwight Dingle, Sgt. Pepper, and a Bathtub”

Westminster Eagle –
http://www.explorecarroll.com/ June 6th, 2007 by Kevin Dayhoff

It was 40 years ago, last Saturday, June 2, 1967; when the Beatles released their eighth album, “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

Although musical taste can be fiercely debated; many music critics and publications consider this album to be one of the most influential of all time. “Rolling Stone” magazine lists it as the number 1 album in their 2003 list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

To put music in 1967 in context, the top songs that year were: "Kind of a Drag" by The Buckinghams; "Ruby Tuesday" by The Rolling Stones; "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" by The Supremes; "Penny Lane" by The Beatles and "Happy Together" by The Turtles.

In its rating deliberations, apparently Rolling Stone did not consult the Sam Greenholtz household. In a recent conversation with Mr. Greenholtz, a former Westminster City councilmember and now chair of the GWDC, he said that although “there were a couple of good songs, the album was for the most part - not appreciated.”

But his wife, Janice did not like the album at all. True to form, Mr. Greenholtz, a tireless downtown-Westminster cheerleader reminded me that in those days, Stu’s Music Shop on Main Street in Westminster carried all the Beatles’ albums and “forty-fives” and was “the center of our musical world.”

Vivian Laxton, Carroll County public information administrator, said she actually has a copy of the “Sgt. Pepper” album in her car’s CD player at the moment. But she promptly volunteered that she wasn’t even born when the album was released… Ms. Laxton, a French horn player, also called to my attention that the album begins with a French horn quartet.

Westminster councilwoman Suzanne Albert said she remembers the album well. She especially “appreciated the energy of the Beatles. Their music made people happy and brought a smile to their faces.”

Westminster Police Chief Jeff Spaulding, who shares my love of heavy metal volunteered, “The Beatles were a little mild for my taste. I was more a Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix fan.”

As far as the “Sgt. Pepper” album, Chief Spaulding said, “he appreciated the change from the pop orientation…to a more eclectic style of music.” Currently in his iPod is music that “runs the gamut from Nirvana to Extreme to Elton John to U2.”

Carroll County commissioners’ chief of staff, Steve Powell said “I listened to the Beatles growing up. And still have a moderately extensive collection of the Beatles on vinyl.” Currently in his CD player is “Four Seasons” by Vivaldi and The Silver Bullet Band but he “listens to all kinds of music, from country music, to “Meatloaf” to John Cougar Mellencamp.”

I reached Dwight Dingle, a radio personality with WTTR since 1974, on the phone last weekend, while he was in Ocean City with other station staff members, where WTTR was receiving five Associated Press awards.

He said that he was a “The Mamas & the Papas” fan. He was a student at Towson State College when the “Sgt. Pepper” album came out. However, he remembers well that his roommate, “Buck” Jones, the former principle of East Middle School and now the principle of Carroll Lutheran School, was a big Beatles Fan…

Mr. Dingle thought the album cover for “Sgt. Pepper” was fascinating but “it doesn’t compare with “The Mamas & the Papas” album cover with the all the members of the band in a bathtub…”

Hmmm. Perhaps someone may want to call Dwight up at WTTR and ask him “on-air” to explain his affection for that “The Mamas & the Papas” album cover…?

The album, “If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears” debuted in March 1966 and it has one of my all-time favorite songs on it – “California Dreamin’.” The first of ultimately three covers for the album, (now a valuable collector’s item) was banned in the United States “as indecent,” (for the silliest reasons – by today’s standards; and not because it contained errors in grammar.)

Have Dwight tell you the story…

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.


*****
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://www.westgov.net/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/

*****
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Funeral Service for Laurell Taylor to be held today

Funeral Service for Laurell Taylor to be held Saturday, October 24, 2009 at 1 pm

A funeral Mass for Westminster City Clerk and former county attorney for Carroll County Laurell Elizabeth Taylor, 58, of Westminster will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. John Catholic Church, 43 Monroe St., Westminster.

She died Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009, at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster of natural causes. (See also: Westminster city clerk dies - Laurell Taylor was also former county attorney; By Charles Schelle and Kevin Dayhoff Posted http://explorecarroll.com/news/3514/cityclerk/ 10/09/09 [@CarrollEagle Westminster city clerk dies http://tinyurl.com/ygnyc9a]

According to a published obituary: Taylor was born Aug. 23, 1951, in southern California. She was the daughter of Valerie Trousdale Brown, of Washington, and the late Jack Reynolds Brown; and stepdaughter of Richard Mailander, of Washington.

She was a graduate of Towson University and the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she graduated with honors.

She was admitted to practice law in Maryland in 1985. Before her work with Carroll County and Westminster, she served as an appellate judicial law clerk with Alan Wilner, then on the Court of Special Appeals.

Surviving, in addition to her mother, are children James "JR" Taylor, of College Park, and Miles Taylor, of Westminster; niece and nephew Laura and Alex Brown, both of Washington; and a brother, Lance Brown, of New York City.

Submitted by Kevin Dayhoff

20091024 WE Funeral Service for Laurell Taylor to be held Sat
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Saturday, August 8, 2009

Dr. Art Peck, Carroll County community leader dead at age 86

Art Peck, WWII veteran of the Vosges Mountain Campaign, local veterinarian, conservationist, church and community leader, dead at 86

By Kevin Dayhoff August 5, 2009


Dr. Arthur Howard Peck, 86, of Westminster, died Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009, at his home.

He was a community leader who wore many different hats in Carroll County.

Many folks will recall that he was the popular veterinarian who came to Westminster after he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 1950.

He joined the veterinary medicine practice of Dr. Charles Kable in Westminster. After Kable retired, Peck maintained the practice until he retired and sold the practice in 1985.

He was born Sept. 23, 1922, in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was the oldest son of the late George Newberry and Lillian Howard Peck; who made a living farming and raising their own livestock, food and vegetables.

He was married to Barbara Cole Peck for 62 years.

Before he enlisted in the Army in 1942, he attended school in Barre, Massachusetts, the Wilbraham Academy in Wilbraham, Mass., and went on to Massachusetts State College before World War II interrupted his studies.

During World War II he served in the 100th (Century) Infantry Division, commanded by Colonel John M. King, 397th Infantry Regiment of the Seventh Army, commanded by Gen. Alexander Patch, in Europe.

He was seriously wounded on November 30, 1944, while fighting in harsh winter weather and rough terrain in eastern France.

The Seventh Army was advancing on the well-established fortifications of Vosges Mountain portion of the Maginot Line - near the Rhine River and the German border, just above Switzerland. His unit was up against Hitler’s own Wehrmacht's Army Group G in the “Vosges Mountain Campaign,” (October 1944--January 1945.)

The Vosges Campaign was on the southern periphery of the Battle of the Bulge, which began on December 16, 1944, and is studied to this day.

Gerhard Graser, a German combat veteran of the Vosges Campaign, and the author of “Zwischen Kattegat und Kaukasus,” 1961, the official German history of the German 198th Infantry Division; wrote:

“The fighting [in the Vosges] always consisted of small battles in the underbrush, man on man. The American infantrymen, accustomed to the protection of superior air power and artillery, and used to advancing behind tanks, suddenly found themselves robbed of their most important helpers. The persistent bad weather hindered their air force, and the terrain limited the mobility of their armor to a significant degree. Here the individual soldier mattered the most… both sides fought with unbelievable bitterness andseverity.”

Another debated, but relatively definitive account of the battle has been written by Keith E. Bonn, a West Point graduate who wrote, “When the Odds Were Even: The Vosges Mountains Campaign.”

For his part, Peck earned the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star for meritorious service and the Combat Infantryman Award for skill and heroism while engaged in active ground combat. Peck received a medical discharge in June 1945.

Over his many years in professional veterinary practice in Carroll County, he served as state president of the Maryland State Veterinary Medical Association from 1973 until 1974 and president of the Maryland State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners from 1974 to 1984.

From June 17, 1988 until 1993, he served on the Board of Review of the Maryland Department of Agriculture, having been appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Maryland Senate.

He was also a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the Maryland Wildlife Administration, the Science Advisory Board, and the National Wildlife Health Foundation.

Aside from his many accomplishments in the field of veterinary medicine, he once served as President for the Carroll County PTA and was a life member of the Carroll County Farm Museum. He helped set up the display of Veterinary Surgeon's office at the museum in 1985.

He served on the Hashawha Environmental Center board; the Environmental Affairs Advisory Board, and a county solid waste disposal committee in the 1990s.

The Carroll County commissioners appointed him to the Carroll County Farm Museum Board of Governors in 1984 where he served as chairman from 1986 until 1989.

The commissioners appointed him to the county Industrial Development Authority (IDA) in 1989, where he served as chairman from 1994 until he retired from the IDA in 2008.

He was honored on February 5, 2009 by the commissioners with a proclamation which recognized his 19 years of leadership “advancing economic Development in the county,” according to the Carroll County office of public information.

The county, “in cooperation with the City of Westminster, named a street in the Westminster Technology Park after him. Arthur Peck Drive will serve as the gateway entrance into the park from Maryland Route 97.”

Peck also served on the Board of Trustees of the Raymond I. Richardson Foundation for 14 years and was president of that group from 1988 to 1992.

He was a member of the Westminster Rotary Club since 1952, served as president in 1958, and was elected a Paul Harris Fellow in 1988. He was honored, with his wife, as Outstanding Citizens of the Year in 2001.

Peck was active in his church, St. Paul's United Church of Christ, as deacon and elder, chairman of the Consistory, Building and Grounds and co-chairman and member of the Finance and Investment Committee.

He was a member and past president of the Forest and Stream Club in Keymar, which is one of the oldest conservation groups in the United States.

In 1979, he was instrumental in starting the Carroll County chapter of Ducks Unlimited, the nation's largest nonprofit wetlands conservation group, and served as a past chairman.

At the Carroll County chapter’s annual dinner at Pleasant Valley Fire Hall, in early 2002, Peck was recognized for his decades of outstanding volunteerism for Ducks Unlimited.

Surviving, in addition to his wife, are a sister, Joyce P. Riffenburg, of New York; daughters and sons-in-law Linda Bloedau, of North Carolina, Babs and Jerry Condon, of Westminster, and Sue and Chris O'Dell, of Colorado; grandchildren Katherine Bloedau, of North Carolina, A.J. and Gregory Condon, of Westminster, Erin and Kelley O'Dell, of Colorado; and a great-grandson, R. J. Haney, of North Carolina.

He was predeceased by a brother, Dr. Donald E. Peck. Friends may call from 2 to 5 and 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Pritts Funeral Home, 412 Washington Road, Westminster.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at St. Paul's United Church of Christ, Bond and Green Streets, Westminster, with the Rev. Marty Kuchma officiating.

Private interment will be held at Arlington National Cemetery.

Memorial contributions, for a scholarship for a Carroll County student to attend veterinary school, may be sent to the Dr. Arthur H. Peck Scholarship Fund, c/o Community Foundation of Carroll County, 255 Clifton Blvd., Suite 203, Westminster, MD 21157.

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