50th Anniversary

Elementary pupils go home early on Friday Harford County public schools will dismiss elementary school students two hours early Friday for teachers' planning time. Information: 410-588-5203. Gala to mark HCC's 50th anniversary Harford Community College will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a black-tie gala from 7 p.m. to midnight Jan. 27 at the Maryland Golf and Country Clubs. The event includes dinner and dancing to the sounds of the Klassix. Those purchasing a ticket will be entered into a drawing for a new car from one of the 13 members of the Bel Air New Car Dealers Association, a minimum $30,000 value (must be 21 or older to win)

Jim Delsing, 80, an outstanding defensive outfielder who played 10 seasons in the American League but was remembered mostly for his role in baseball's most famous stunt, died of complications from cancer Thursday at his home in Chesterfield, Mo. On Aug. 19, 1951, the last-place St. Louis Browns were playing the Detroit Tigers in the second game of a doubleheader at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Bill Veeck, the Browns' owner, was about to seal his reputation as a master showman, and Mr. Delsing was about to become the answer to a baseball trivia question.

Wedding Crashers [New Line] $28.99 Wedding Crashers, starring party boys Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn as otherwise presentable young professionals who crash weddings and receptions in search of turned-on bridesmaids and guests, was one of the few summer hits. It made more than $209 million stateside alone, making it the year's fourth most popular film (after Star Wars: Episode III, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and War of the Worlds). And few in the movie business doubt that its raunchiness - mostly verbal - played a major role in its success.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Vicki Gordy, a young grandmother and self-described "rascal" who wears purple eye shadow, a gold ankle bracelet and a necklace spelling out her name in diamonds, sat in front of her computer last spring and started crafting a letter to her local newspaper. It was the first letter to the editor the 54-year-old had ever written - for one thing, she doesn't subscribe to the paper. But, looking out the window at the children circling her court on bikes and then over to her bookshelves, home to nearly two dozen Bibles, she felt God was imploring her to write.

Choral society seeks new members for 50th anniversary The Harford Choral Society, under the direction of T. Herbert Dimmock, is seeking new members for the 50th anniversary celebration, which will begin with a performance of Handel's Messiah. The chorus is composed of men and women interested in singing classical music. Rehearsals are held at 7 p.m. every Tuesday at the Churchville Presbyterian Church. The first rehearsal date is Sept. 7. Call 410-836-2773 or 410-452-5974. HCC needs volunteers to help literacy classes The Literacy Education Department of Harford Community College is seeking classroom volunteers to assist instructors in English as a Second Language classes and Adult Basic Education in reading, writing and math classes this fall at various times and locations throughout Harford County.

Freeman A. Hrabowski III helped mark many civil rights milestones in education last year - the 40th anniversaries of blacks at Clemson University in South Carolina and in the medical school of Duke University, and the 35th anniversary of the integration of Vanderbilt University medical school. Next month will be the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, started first grade in segregated Birmingham, Ala., schools the year that the Supreme Court ruled segregation unconstitutional.

The Carroll County Chamber of Commerce recently honored 21 local businesses, organizations and individuals at its annual Hats Off Awards Breakfast. The Hats Off program recognizes major milestones or events that affect the county's business community. Those honored were: National Award: Commissioner Julia Walsh Gouge; Kirsten Sauter, Manpower. State Award: JoAnn Goldberger, Carroll Child Care Centers Inc. 15th Anniversary: Vince Campanella, Campanella and Associates; Barry Willen, Sylvan Learning Centers.

Those novelty wall clocks offering bird calls on the hour must be a bigger hit than we imagined, because copycats (excuse the pun) abound. This holiday season, the Paragon catalog celebrates a classic car's golden anniversary with a 50th Anniversary Corvette Clock, featuring a distinctive engine sound every hour, including those of the original 1953 Corvette, the famous Sting Ray and the 2003 model. You, too, can feel like you are trapped in the garage with your favorite grease monkey while he works on his car. For a lesser roar, the Improvements catalog offers a grandparents' version of this timepiece.

SIX MONTHS before the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education decision, observances commemorating the event are under way. Baltimore had two in as many days. Wednesday marked the 25th anniversary of the Black Jewish Forum of Baltimore -- better known as the BLEWS. The BLEWS put on a gala celebration dinner that honored former City Councilwoman Victorine Q. Adams. Also on the program was Baltimore attorney Larry Gibson giving a retrospective on how black and Jewish lawyers helped bring about changes in civil rights.