Bentley

When Helen Delich Bentley, the former Maryland congresswoman and journalist, cleans out her closets, museums take notice. Curators working for the American Textile History Museum in Massachusetts descended this week on Bentley's Lutherville home, combing for days through the racks and racks of clothes, shoes and hats the political powerhouse had amassed over the years. In the family room, there were racks of heavy wool suits by American designer Pauline TrigM-hre and intricate evening dresses by Oscar de la Renta.

NEW YORK - It's 11:30 a.m. on a sunny Thursday, and Amy Fine Collins, special correspondent for Vanity Fair, is nestled in a Bentley Continental GT that's cruising along Park Avenue at a leisurely pace. This situation is an anomaly, and it's not just that the longtime New Yorker usually lives in the fast lane, lunching at Le Cirque, penning articles about Coco Chanel and Luchino Visconti and zipping off to California for the Vanity Fair Oscar party. No, what's remarkable is that Collins is ensconced in the Bentley's back seat - even though she has recently surmounted a lifelong driving phobia, as chronicled in her new book, The God of Driving (Simon & Schuster, $24)

COLLEGE PARK -- Nick Novak kicked field goals of 43, 34 and 44 yards to help Maryland win last night, but he'll probably remember the first one a little longer than the others. The 43-yarder made him the all-time leading scorer in Atlantic Coast Conference history with 328 points, surpassing Scott Bentley of Florida State, who scored 326 from 1993 to '96. It came with 8:48 left in the second quarter and put the Terps ahead 10-2 en route to their 23-20 victory over Northern Illinois. "After I made it, I realized what it meant," Novak said.

On August 7, 2004, MARC M., devoted son of Gene A. Booth (nee Bukata) and the late Samuel N. Booth Sr.; dear brother of Philomina V. Schneider, Winford J. Booth, Mary Gene Hornberger, Lloyd P. Booth, Dalton J. Booth and Suzanne J. Bogdan; dear nephew of John Bukata. The family will receive friends at the family owned and operated Mc CULLY-POLYNIAK FUNERAL HOME P.A., 237 E. Patapsco Avenue (Brooklyn) on Thursday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M., where Services will be held on Friday at 12:30 P.M. Interment Maryland Veterans Cemetery of Crownsville.

On June 28, 2004 JAMES "JIM" BRAMBLE of Baltimore, MD. Loving brother of Norman E. Bramble, Betty Johnson and the late Martha Louise Bramble and Mary Margaret Bentley. Arrangements by Mc Comas Funeral Home, P.A.

Following her example Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is the most successful of a group of Republicans from Baltimore County who count former U.S. Rep. Helen Delich Bentley as a mentor. From the looks of the pair at a ribbon-cutting at the Sparrows Point shipyards Thursday, he continues to follow in her footsteps even after eclipsing her in political stature. His performance was vintage Bentley -- the governor waxed rhapsodic for several minutes in his speech about the people of eastern Baltimore County and the importance of the port and manufacturing for the state's economy, just as his one-time tutor would have.

A 10-year odyssey to become an American came to a ceremonial end last night for Matthew Ward at the Flag Day celebrations at Fort McHenry. The Jarrettsville youth, who was born in Lithuania, entered the United States at the age of 3 months. But before he could be declared an American, he and his adoptive mother had to get through what she called a "quagmire of paperwork." With assistance from a congresswoman, he took the oath March 10. "I just felt that Flag Day was a patriotic way to celebrate the event," said the mother, Bernadette Ward, wearing an American-flag T-shirt and arranging food platters at the celebration.

Looking for a men's pinstripe suit that costs less than $50? How about a Winnie the Pooh jack-in-the-box or old X-Men and Green Lantern comics? Perhaps a 50-year-old dining room set is on your need-to-buy list. Whether you're looking for a bargain or a rare item, a good bet is a visit to Antique Row -- a collection of sometimes ramshackle but always interesting shops on York Road, north of Warren Road and south of Ashland Road in Cockeysville. Within a few blocks are more than two dozen antique malls and consignment shops, selling everything from jukeboxes to old photographs.

The Rev. George Frederick Romley, the former pastor of St. Mary's Antiochian Orthodox Church in Hunt Valley who led the construction of his congregation's permanent home, died Monday of diabetic complications at Good Samaritan Hospital. The Northeast Baltimore resident was 53. Born in San Francisco, he received his religious training at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Mass., after serving as a medic and dental hygienist in the Coast Guard during the Vietnam War. In 1981, about 30 Antiochian Orthodox families in the Baltimore area called Father Romley to be their congregation's full-time spiritual leader.

Former Rep. Helen Delich Bentley, a longtime advocate for the U.S. shipping industry and the Port of Baltimore, will be recognized tonight for her work when she is inducted into the International Maritime Hall of Fame in New York. Bentley, a port consultant, is being honored for a career during which she served in the House of Representatives from 1985 to 1995, chairwoman of the Federal Maritime Commission from 1969 to 1975; maritime reporter and editor for The Sun from 1945 to 1969 and producer and director of the 1950s television series The Port that Built a City, among other accomplishments.