History

"WHAT ABOUT the Swedes?'' Lutherville's Paul Fenchak, leader of a variety of ethnic groups, asked last week. Perturbed by a Sun editorial opposing legislation requiring Maryland schools to teach about the Irish potato famine, he called to say it's about time certain ethnic groups got more attention. The typical high school library has little, if anything, about Swedish culture and history, he complained.His Slavic ancestors get short shrift as well: ''I challenge you to write an editorial calling for schools to teach about the massacre of Armenians in 1916.

President George W. Bush, who for much of the last eight years engaged in long-range combat with critical media, spent an entertaining 45 minutes yesterday morning up close and personal with the White House press corps. It was an elliptical final encounter that skipped from serious issues to post-presidential musings such as how he would feel about making his wife's morning coffee. No shoes were thrown as Mr. Bush cheerfully thanked the journalists for their service, aggressively defended many controversial decisions, admitted a number of tactical errors, complained that reporters had "misunderappreciated" him, and cautioned President-elect Barack Obama against self-pity or neglecting defense of the nation against a possible terrorist attack.

Ed Okonowicz has a knack for mixing history with its ghosts. On a recent afternoon, he demonstrated his storytelling technique with a yarn about the Jericho Covered Bridge. He began with facts: The bridge was built in the 1800s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Then he sprinkled in some hair-raising legends. In one account, people claimed they saw slaves hanging from the bridge's rafters; in another, some said their cars inexplicably stalled on the bridge. "My stories are 50 percent history and 50 percent ghost stories," said Okonowicz, a 59-year-old Elkton resident.

HE'S 9, THE SAME age I was when President Kennedy was killed, and my son wants to know why he should put down his Nintendo Game Boy and give some attention to the news about JFK Jr. "Because," I say, not knowing what else to say, "it's history."Sort of.It's not the monsoon that struck us when Junior's father died in Dallas. It's not history the way Bobby's murder was history. It's not like the assassination of Dr. King. It's not like the moon landing. Or Watergate. Or the fall of Saigon. Or the shooting of Reagan.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Phil Jackson, former hippie, noted philosopher and one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, yesterday agreed to terms with the Los Angeles Lakers, a frazzled, former championship-level franchise in search of peace, purpose and prosperity.After whirlwind negotiations, Jackson, who left the Chicago Bulls in 1998 after winning six championships in his final eight seasons, was scheduled to fly from his Montana home into L.A. last night, sign the deal this morning, and then be introduced as the team's new coach at a Beverly Hills news conference at noon.

WASHINGTON -- Twenty-five years ago tonight, a small army of reporters was camped on the front lawn of the home of Vice President Gerald R. Ford Jr. in Alexandria, Va., where he was secluded with his wife, Betty, glued to a television set. On the lawn, the reporters stood around another television set, watching Ford's personal history, and the history of the nation, being made.Onto the screen came the weary image of Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, seated at his desk in the Oval Office.

Quote: "Everyone was on me for staying on 99 for a while. They were wondering if I would ever get it." -- Derek Jeter, whose double yesterday gave him 100 RBIs, just the second Yankees shortstop in history with 100 or more RBIs.It's a fact: The Rangers are the seventh team in major-league history to have six players with at least 20 homers.Who's hot: The White Sox's Greg Norton is hitting .414 (29-for-70) with eight doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs in his past 20 games.Who's not: The Twins' LaTroy Hawkins, who has lost seven of his past nine decisions, gave up five runs -- four earned -- and five hits in one-plus innings of a 13-4 loss to the White Sox on Saturday night.

Quote: "They have destiny on their side, I'll tell you." -- The Cardinals' Mark McGwire on the Reds, who rallied from a run down in the 12th to win, overtaking the Mets for the NL wild-card lead.It's a fact: On their season-ending road trip, the Dodgers will be the opponent in the final major-league games played at 3Com Park in San Francisco and the Astrodome in Houston.Who's hot: The Braves need one more win in their final six games to become the fourth team in major-league history -- along with the 1929-1931 Philadelphia Athletics, 1942-1944 Cardinals and 1969-1971 Orioles -- to win at least 100 games in three straight seasons.

He was never the game's greatest ballhandler or shooter, yet he harvested wins and trophies like no one before him.Others contributed more to the establishment of the sport and its league, but none became so pervasive a pop-culture icon. And although Michael Jordan's face is one of the most recognized in the world, that may be due more to who he was and what he sold than how he played.With Jordan's exit from basketball yesterday, fans and historians are left to assess one of the most remarkable and complex athletic careers in history -- and ponder the game's future without him.Among the questions: Where does Jordan rank in the pantheon of great athletes, among people named Ruth, Ali and Pele?

Between learning multiplication tables and becoming skilled readers, pupils at Elkridge Elementary School have gotten a timely lesson in local history.For the past year, teachers have been helping schoolchildren connect with the history of the 265-year-old town. They have been illustrating a few facts here and there about Elkridge -- nothing, they say, that these pupils could have found in a history textbook.Did you know the role the town played in the Civil War? Do you know about Colonial life in Elkridge and the importance of its iron furnace?

History is often a word that people associate with textbooks and professors speaking in monotones. But with the Naval Academy Museum's complete renovation and redesign, the history of the U.S. Navy has become something real and vibrant to academy visitors and midshipmen. The museum reopened two weeks ago after undergoing an $11.6 million head-to-toe makeover. "We completely gutted this building," said Scott Harmon, the museum director. The only things left standing at one point, he said, were "the outside walls and the concrete floors."

History is often a word that people associate with textbooks and professors speaking in monotones. But with the Naval Academy Museum's complete renovation and redesign, the history of the Navy has become something real and vibrant to academy visitors and midshipmen. The museum reopened two weeks ago after undergoing an $11.6 million head-to-toe makeover. "We completely gutted this building," said Scott Harmon, the museum director. The only things left standing at one point, he said, were "the outside walls and the concrete floors."

Ernestein W. Baylor, a retired professor of history and former department chairwoman who taught at Morgan State University for more than three decades, died of heart failure Saturday at Oak Crest Village. According to her daughter, Michelle J. Baylor Caldwell of Woodlawn, it was her mother's wish that her age be kept private. Ernestein Walker, the daughter of a federal government worker and a schoolteacher, was born in McDonough, Ga., and raised in Jonesboro, Ga. After graduating from Jonesboro High School in 1945, she earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1949 from Spelman College in Atlanta.

Mary B. Frantz, a retired Towson High School history teacher and writer whose stories documented growing up in Depression-era western Pennsylvania, died Sunday of complications from Alzheimer's disease at her daughter's home in Warrenville, Ill. She was 86. Mary Bice was born and raised in Portage, Pa. She graduated from high school in 1938, and three years later moved to Baltimore. In 1941, she married Martin L. Frantz, a Bendix Corp. supervisor, who died in 1977. Mrs. Frantz earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1963 from what is now Towson University and a master's degree in the late 1960s in history from the Johns Hopkins University.

John Hope Franklin, the great black historian who died Wednesday at the age of 94, brought to the study of history an expansive vision of the past that helped change the way America saw itself. Mr. Franklin grew up in an era when conventional wisdom held that African-Americans had no history worth speaking of. Since only human beings can live in history, denying that African-Americans had a history was a way of denying their humanity. Throughout his life, Mr. Franklin worked to redress such historical myopia.

President George W. Bush, who for much of the last eight years engaged in long-range combat with critical media, spent an entertaining 45 minutes yesterday morning up close and personal with the White House press corps. It was an elliptical final encounter that skipped from serious issues to post-presidential musings such as how he would feel about making his wife's morning coffee. No shoes were thrown as Mr. Bush cheerfully thanked the journalists for their service, aggressively defended many controversial decisions, admitted a number of tactical errors, complained that reporters had "misunderappreciated" him, and cautioned President-elect Barack Obama against self-pity or neglecting defense of the nation against a possible terrorist attack.

Most residents drive through the same Baltimore streets each day, on the way to work or class. Usually it takes an ill-timed stoplight for them to pass a bored or tired glance over a nearby statue or monument, one of the many throughout the city. Vaguely, some might wonder about the significance of that carved effigy and the small plaque beneath. The Baltimore Museum of Art is offering the opportunity for people to fulfill their curiosity. The BMA has created a self-guided tour that passes through neighborhoods including Charles Village and Patterson Park.

Jazz vocalist Tamm E Hunt is an encyclopedia of jazz knowledge: She rattles off names of Baltimore jazz musicians, past and present, as if she were reading from the phone book. An accomplished performer, Hunt is now using her breadth of knowledge to write the book Jazz Baltimore: The Unsung Mecc a. The book, she says, is the first of its kind, because the history of local jazz has never been properly documented. Hunt says that being a jazz performer has given her the necessary insight into a culture that she says is like a religion.

The voice of William C. Schultheis echoed off stone walls and clapboard Dickeyville homes on July 4th mornings. He spoke through a bullhorn as he led his neighborhood's annual history walk along nearly forgotten mill sites, abandoned streetcar lines and a jail. His audience offered no objections when the history lesson lasted two hours. The retired Baltimore teacher died of lung cancer Wednesday at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. He was 70. Born and raised in Frostburg, he was a Beall High School graduate.

Anyone who plies the waters of the Chesapeake Bay for 33 years is bound to have some stories to tell. Fifth-generation Shady Side waterman Tommy Hallock has more than a few: the time he caught more croakers than his boat could handle. Or the times he netted a dead body, and a shark. One of his favorites is sinking his boat at age 15, and nobody believing his pleas for help because it was April Fool's Day. "Fishing is in my blood," said Hallock, 47. "Since I was a little fella, there was never any doubt as to what I wanted to do."