Govans

C. Paul Maenner, former owner of Maenner's Market, an old-fashioned Govans grocery store that was known for fresh produce and attentive service, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Sunday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. He was 86. Born in Baltimore and raised on Glenwood Avenue in Govans, Mr. Maenner started in the grocery business when he was 9, stocking shelves at Daub's Market after school. The eldest of 11 children, he later worked for Wagner Foods, an independent chain of local markets, during the day while attending City College at night.

Isabel R. Abell, former co-owner of the Hollow Bar and Grill in Govans, died Sunday of congestive heart failure at St. Joseph Medical Center. She was 89 and lived in Towson. In the 1940s, Mrs. Abell and her husband, William Harry Abell, whom she married in 1930, became co-owners of the Hollow Bar and Grill on the southeast corner of York Road and Northern Parkway. They operated the popular tavern, which is today known as the Swallow at the Hollow, until the 1950s, when they sold the business.

THERE'S FEAR that Govans is dying. Those with a direct stake in the North Baltimore community along venerable York Road are fighting to keep it alive. Yet they have little ammunition. The homeowners and shop owners get jolted by every little scare, which they see as another nail in the Govans coffin. The latest came in midsummer when the art deco Senator Theatre, which has been threatened with closure more times than "Star Wars" has sequels, yet again faced its final curtain. But a mystery group of investors rescued it by paying back taxes and other bills.

The mutilated body of a 50-year-old Govans woman was found yesterday in her home, and police issued a warrant for the arrest of her 30-year-old son.Dessie Williams' body was discovered just before noon in the second-floor hallway of her home in the 5200 block of Ivanhoe Avenue.Homicide detectives said that she had suffered extreme trauma to the body and that one of her limbs had been severed.Late last night, police recovered the murder weapon, an electric circular saw, and issued a warrant for the arrest of Clifton Williams, Ms. Williams' son, who lived with her.The body was discovered at 11:45 p.m. by a daughter, Sheila Mayor, 30, who had returned to the house after doing errands, the police said.

Placide Camille Jasmin, a retired U.S. Postal Service letter carrier and community volunteer, died Wednesday at Bon Secours Hospital of complications from a broken hip. He was 82 and lived in Sandtown. Until his retirement in 1976, Mr. Jasmin was a well-known presence in the Govans area, where he delivered mail for 32 years. Clara Cobb-Fraling, a former resident of the neighborhood, recalls Mr. Jasmin passing out candy and other treats to neighborhood children as they gleefully trailed behind him. "He was like the Pied Piper," she said.

THE PROBLEM -- A clock and carillon bells atop a memorial tower near York Road and Woodbourne Avenue in Govans have not worked for many years. THE BACKSTORY -- Peg Massey of North Baltimore wrote Watchdog asking about the "lovely tower with bells & a clock in the center." She said the bells haven't rung and the clock hands haven't moved past 3 o'clock in many years. "Perhaps," she wrote, "if it were put into working order it would be more meaningful to the neighbors." Massey's question takes the Watchdog down memory lane.

It began developing in the late 1700s as a stopover on the York Turnpike and as a rural community.A hundred years later, it became a suburban community that was eventually linked to the downtown area by streetcar.And in the last half-century it has become one of Baltimore's most mature urban communities.Govans, with its hub being the area around York Road and Bellona Avenue -- is a rich blend of residential homes and home-grown businesses.The area takes its name from William Govane, who in the mid-1700s received a grant of land from Frederick Calvert, the last Lord Baltimore.

Parents, children and community members rallied outside Govans Elementary School in Baltimore last night for the principal, who was asked to retire after writing a letter in support of a teacher who pleaded guilty to distributing cocaine. A lawyer for Edith M. Jones, who has been the principal of Govans for eight years, said the school system knew that special-education teacher Martius Harding was a convicted felon when it hired him in 2002. The lawyer, Ron Kowitz, also said Jones contacted the system's legal office last summer after learning of Harding's guilty plea in a cocaine possession case.

LIFE IS FULL of surprises. Consider the 1855 Gallagher Mansion, a long-vacant and badly vandalized Italianate landmark in Govans. Originally built for a physician, the 17-room structure was owned by the Gallagher family for a century. It was then acquired by a Ford dealership, which wanted to demolish it. But before that happened, the dealership collapsed.After two decades in limbo, the Gallagher Mansion now has a new lease on life. The Govans Ecumenical Development Corp. is giving the building a $3.4 million face-lift and expansion.

A husband and wife were in critical condition last night after being shot during a robbery as they were walking along Northern Parkway near the Belvedere Square shopping center in Govans, police said.The shooting occurred between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on the sidewalk adjacent to a playground at the southeast corner of Northern Parkway and Clearspring Road near Chili's restaurant. The pair, Fredrick Allan, 78, and his wife, Jill Allan, 55, were confronted by three young men. Jill Allan's purse was taken, and both were shot several times, police said.