Card Shop

John Michael Bradsher, a retired safety officer who also owned a card shop, died Sunday of a stroke at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in downtown Baltimore. The Kingsville resident was 57. Born and raised in Henderson, N.C., he served in the Air Force for four years before moving to Baltimore. He was discharged from the military in 1967 and went to work for the Maryland Cup Corp. in Owings Mills, where he became safety manager. He earned a degree in public safety from Catonsville Community College in 1984.

Catherine G. Votta, a homemaker and retired card shop manager, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease Dec. 1 at Stella Maris Hospice. She had lived in the Box Hill section of Abingdon. She was 87. Born Catherine Emery in Baltimore, she grew up near Patterson Park and attended St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parochial School. Mrs. Votta lived for many years in Cedonia and later moved to Harford County. In 1946, she married Charles Votta Sr., a meat cutter at the old Food Fair grocery chain.

County police are looking for the man who robbed a Pasadena card shop Tuesday.Police said a man walked into the Mountain Road Card Shop in the 2400 block of Mountain Road at about 12:30 p.m. and broughta card to the counter.When the clerk opened the cash register, the robber demanded money. The man told the clerk he would not hurt her, saying he was in "bad shape" and was about to lose his child.He took about $152 from the register and ran out of the store.Police described the robberas a white man, about 6 feet tall, with long brown hair.

John Michael Bradsher, a retired safety officer who also owned a card shop, died Sunday of a stroke at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in downtown Baltimore. The Kingsville resident was 57. Born and raised in Henderson, N.C., he served in the Air Force for four years before moving to Baltimore. He was discharged from the military in 1967 and went to work for the Maryland Cup Corp. in Owings Mills, where he became safety manager. He earned a degree in public safety from Catonsville Community College in 1984.

Catherine G. Votta, a homemaker and retired card shop manager, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease Dec. 1 at Stella Maris Hospice. She had lived in the Box Hill section of Abingdon. She was 87. Born Catherine Emery in Baltimore, she grew up near Patterson Park and attended St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parochial School. Mrs. Votta lived for many years in Cedonia and later moved to Harford County. In 1946, she married Charles Votta Sr., a meat cutter at the old Food Fair grocery chain.

Card shop, postal branch robbedThe Carrolltowne Card and Gift Shop, which also housed a small branch office of the U.S. Postal Service, was robbed of an undisclosed amount of money Tuesday night.State police said someone entered the card shop -- inside Carrolltowne Mall, which has security officers on the premises until about midnight -- and took money from the card shop and a small safe containing post office money and a large quantity of stamps.U.S. postal inspectors and the FBI are also investigating the burglary.

Two men held up a card shop yesterday afternoon at Twin Arch Shopping Center in Mount Airy, according to state police at the Westminster barracks. A clerk at Carousel Card & Gift shop called police about 3 p.m., saying a man in a red coat and a man in a blue coat had entered the store and displayed a handgun, according to police. The two took an undisclosed amount of cash and fled the business in the 1000 block of Twin Arch Road, police said. A witness outside the store told police that two men left the shopping center in a faded or dirty red Isuzu Trooper at a high speed.

WESTMINSTER -- A jewelry designer and two developers have leased space at Winchester Exchange, the former Sherwood Square Mall.UniqueJewelry, owned by Kim E. Wightman of Taylorsville, opened yesterday in a shop along the main corridor of the mall's first floor.Winter Street Enterprises Inc., a partnership that has built houses in Taneytown and Westminster, opened an office in the mall basement last month, co-owner Robert A. Foster said.The shopping center,at 15 E. Main St., has been under new ownership since May 31.Thenew owners -- Robert, David and Jordon Max of Pikesville, Baltimore County -- said they hope to change the image of the building, which has been half-empty since being remodeled in the early 1980s.

The Negro League Ballplayers Association is sponsoring its first Charity Baseball Card and Autograph Show to benefit association members. It will be held April 22 and 23 at the Carrolltown Center Mall in Eldersburg, on Liberty Road one mile east of Route 32. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. April 22 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 23.Members of the Negro League Ball Players Association expected to attend are Monte Irvin, Walter "Buck" Leonard, Max Manning, Stanley...

Lutheran Hospital, which closed six years ago, has been targeted for a $7 million conversion into shops and apartments for the elderly, easing area residents' fears about urban blight.Redevelopment plans for the West Baltimore site would transform three former hospital buildings into 153 one- and two-bedroom apartments, while providing 26,000 square feet of office and retail space. The project also might spark similar interest in the west side of the old hospital campus, which includes four buildings.

Two men held up a card shop yesterday afternoon at Twin Arch Shopping Center in Mount Airy, according to state police at the Westminster barracks. A clerk at Carousel Card & Gift shop called police about 3 p.m., saying a man in a red coat and a man in a blue coat had entered the store and displayed a handgun, according to police. The two took an undisclosed amount of cash and fled the business in the 1000 block of Twin Arch Road, police said. A witness outside the store told police that two men left the shopping center in a faded or dirty red Isuzu Trooper at a high speed.

ONE OF the Linthicum Lions Club's most enthusiastic supporters is Marlene Stivers, and lately she has become a familiar face in the community.With a folding table, small box, and wicker basket she has stationed herself on the sidewalk in front of Charlene's Card Shop in the Shipley-Linthicum Shopping Center every couple of days since July, collecting used eye glasses and toiletries for the Lions charities and talking up the club.She also sells chances on a car raffle to raise a little money for the club.

The Negro League Ballplayers Association is sponsoring its first Charity Baseball Card and Autograph Show to benefit association members. It will be held April 22 and 23 at the Carrolltown Center Mall in Eldersburg, on Liberty Road one mile east of Route 32. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. April 22 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 23.Members of the Negro League Ball Players Association expected to attend are Monte Irvin, Walter "Buck" Leonard, Max Manning, Stanley...

Lutheran Hospital, which closed six years ago, has been targeted for a $7 million conversion into shops and apartments for the elderly, easing area residents' fears about urban blight.Redevelopment plans for the West Baltimore site would transform three former hospital buildings into 153 one- and two-bedroom apartments, while providing 26,000 square feet of office and retail space. The project also might spark similar interest in the west side of the old hospital campus, which includes four buildings.

Tired of the sappy, syrupy card selection for Mother's Day? Now there's a card for every mom, thanks to the interactive age of computers. You can get a printout of your own verse on quality paper at a card shop near you, and tell Mom, well, she's swell.Or you can be more creative, like Vincent Conigliaro of Catonsville, who wrote:I think you are the bestdamn mother around.Thank you for teaching meto be a pro bowler.Love, your very cocky sonwho was first born."I am tired of mushy cards that don't say what you want to say," says Mr. Conigliaro, who confesses that he isn't really a pro bowler.

Craig Kerner is not like most baseball card collectors. He believes the value of a baseball card is not measured in dollars and cents, but by its value to the collector.He collects from the heart, and that has made all the difference in the world.In a market where greed has taken over and left the true hobbyist behind, Kerner refuses to change his ways. Manufacturers can print as many Jose Cansecos and Ken Griffeys as possible. Those cards won't catch Kerner's eyes."I just basically collect older cards from the '50s and early '60s," said Kerner.

There's more high technology in the cards for consumers - greeting cards, that is.Greeting card companies are increasingly setting up computer-equipped booths or kiosks, providing more consumers with the opportunity to create personalized Yuletide messages."

ONE OF the Linthicum Lions Club's most enthusiastic supporters is Marlene Stivers, and lately she has become a familiar face in the community.With a folding table, small box, and wicker basket she has stationed herself on the sidewalk in front of Charlene's Card Shop in the Shipley-Linthicum Shopping Center every couple of days since July, collecting used eye glasses and toiletries for the Lions charities and talking up the club.She also sells chances on a car raffle to raise a little money for the club.

Card shop, postal branch robbedThe Carrolltowne Card and Gift Shop, which also housed a small branch office of the U.S. Postal Service, was robbed of an undisclosed amount of money Tuesday night.State police said someone entered the card shop -- inside Carrolltowne Mall, which has security officers on the premises until about midnight -- and took money from the card shop and a small safe containing post office money and a large quantity of stamps.U.S. postal inspectors and the FBI are also investigating the burglary.

There's more high technology in the cards for consumers - greeting cards, that is.Greeting card companies are increasingly setting up computer-equipped booths or kiosks, providing more consumers with the opportunity to create personalized Yuletide messages."