Hobby

Sol Kramer, who turned a Depression-era 15-cent balsa toy airplane business into a leading wholesale hobby empire, died of pneumonia April 24 at Hospice by the Sea in Pompano Beach, Fla. The former Pikesville resident was 96. Born in Baltimore, he was the son of Lithuanian immigrants. His father, Morris, was a Saratoga Street tailor. His mother, Dora, was a homemaker. Mr. Kramer was a graduate of the old Robert E. Lee School and received his diploma from City College at age 14. "He and his brother, Lou, belonged to the Junior Birdmen of America, a model airplane club promoted by the Hearst newspapers," said his son, Dr. Karl Kramer of Coral Gables, Fla. "His brother was really the airplane builder.

Sol Kramer, who turned a Depression-era 15-cent balsa toy airplane business into a leading wholesale hobby empire, died of pneumonia April 24 at Hospice by the Sea in Pompano Beach, Fla. The former Pikesville resident was 96. Born in Baltimore, he was the son of Lithuanian immigrants. His father, Morris, was a Saratoga Street tailor. His mother, Dora, was a homemaker. Mr. Kramer was a graduate of the old Robert E. Lee School and received his diploma from City College at age 14. "He and his brother, Lou, belonged to the Junior Birdmen of America, a model airplane club promoted by the Hearst newspapers," said his son, Dr. Karl Kramer of Coral Gables, Fla. "His brother was really the airplane builder.

On May 10, 2007, LEROY HOBBY; devoted husband of Lucinda Hayes. Friends may call at the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Avenue, on Tuesday after 8:30 A.M. The family will receive friends on Wednesday at Forest Park Community Church, 3805 Fairview Avenue, at 11:30 followed by funeral services at 12 noon.

For artist Susan Yonkers, a Maryland Institute College of Art graduate and gardening enthusiast, and her craftsman husband, Bill, a large outdoor canvas was a prerequisite. So the couple found a single-family, ranch-style home on 2 acres in a relatively secluded spot off Mays Chapel Road in Baltimore County. "It's an oasis; a home for all seasons," said Susan Yonkers, 64, seated at her sunroom table and gazing out through wide windows into her backyard as birds gathered at one of her feeders and hopped on the granite stones of the landscaping.

If Mike Juskelis had money and Hollywood juice, he'd make a commercial about hiking complete with raging waterfalls and rocky precipices and starring Sean Connery or Catherine Zeta-Jones. Instead, the 61-year-old Pasadena man tries to coax folks outside and onto the region's trails with his website, midatlantichikes.com. A labor of love since May 2004, the hiking site has the feel of a bunch of like-minded souls sitting in a shelter and talking shop while waiting out a passing thunderstorm.

What began 20 years ago as a hobby -- a bunch of friends praising or pooh-poohing restaurants -- has turned into a series of popular guidebooks often indispensable to eaters across the country.Published by Tim and Nina Zagat, the Zagat Survey, which began as two typed pages rating New York restaurants, now covers 45 cities.The Zagats also are planning to expand their Web site this month. The address is www.zagat.com.

PASADENA, Calif. - When he was 10 years old he used to do the cooking. It was no big deal to actor Hugh Jackman because his four brothers and sisters had to take their turns, too. Their parents had split up when Jackman was 8 and their father raised them. Each child had to cook one night a week. The independent spirit he developed as a child may have helped Jackman when it came to handling the turbulence of show business because, as one of the major stars of X2: X-Men United, Jackman has definitely arrived.

ST. LOUIS - Beer can collecting has gone stale. Oh, there are still many serious collectors, people such as Jeff Lebo of York Haven, Pa., whose 50,000 cans (the world's second-largest collection) fill a two-story house. The annual canvention is still well attended. This year's 34th gathering in Dearborn, Mich., in September will pretty much take over a 700-room Hyatt. There'll be plenty of room-to-room trading, ample display space and lounges for official and unofficial product sampling.

The crash of the American baseball card industry became official yesterday in a lawyer's office in New Jersey. Twenty-five years after breaking the Topps Co. Inc.'s monopoly on the industry, Fleer Corp. - bankrupt and $33 million in debt to a list of creditors, including $12,800 to Cal Ripken Jr. - was expected to be sold at auction last night, the most visible casualty of a pastime that has suffered sharp declines and a significant demographic shift over the past decade. What was once a hobby for boys, who stuck cards in the spokes of their bikes or flipped them on neighborhood playgrounds, has become an exclusive marketplace for adults.

THIS ISN'T your grandmother's knitting store, nor even your mother's. With fibers that range from gold lame to hand-dyed, hand-spun wool from a collective that provides economic opportunity for women, and literature with moms like actor Daryl Hannah on the cover, Ewenique Yarns is bringing what was once thought an old-fashioned hobby to a large group of women who have rediscovered it or are just beginning. "Our model knitter is professional women between the ages of 35 and 50 who has knit before, but is coming back to it again to relieve stress," said Maggie Jackovitz one of the owners of Ewenique Yarns at 130 N. Bond St. in Bel Air. Jackovitz and her partner, Marianne Davies, preach knitting as a good stress reliever and a social hobby.

A wall with one long window separates the Timonium office of Michele's Granola from its bakery space, but neither glass nor drywall can keep out the intoxicating smell: a mix of vanilla, coconut and sunflower seeds, among other ingredients. When complimented on the aroma, the business' founder and owner, Michele Thornett, smiled knowingly. "We get that a lot," she said. Wearing earth-toned clogs and a peasant skirt (which match her green eyes and red hair), Thornett looks like someone who should be into healthy snack food.

Belcamp resident Kevin Jones takes his Ravens fandom everywhere he goes. With a collection of get-ups that includes a Ravens clown costume, a king outfit and one ensemble he describes as "like the Heat Miser," Jones lives out the saying, "Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story. " When he's not wearing his gear to Ravens games or working as executive chef with Parkhurst Dining Services at the Maryland Institute College of Art , he can often be found in his Ravens "man cave.

I very much enjoyed the article featuring the Howard County Stamp Club that appeared in the Columbia Flier of Nov. 22 ("Putting their own stamp on a hobby"). The club certainly appreciates the coverage. I do feel though that, assuming part of the intent was to promote the hobby, the article gave too much ink to some negative comments regarding participation and the future of stamp collecting. I would like your readers to know that the club is open to everyone, and the hobby of collecting stamps is alive and well.

Jay Dackman's Canton home is bright, open, contemporary and directly on the waterfront at the Anchorage Marina. The three-story, six-level brick townhouse is filled with framed puzzles of Impressionist masterpieces, hung as they are completed by the 54-year-old attorney and real estate investor. In addition to the puzzles, a hobby which Dackman says relaxes him after a busy day, he revels in the whimsical collectibles placed on every wall and in most corners of his 2,000-square-foot interior.

John Tokar, owner of Vintage Restorations Limited, in Union Bridge, started tinkering with British cars in 1969 when he was a teen in Bayonne, N.J., and his uncle sold him a 1959 Hillman Minx for $50. "It needed a clutch, so I got involved in working on it and I never stopped," the 61-year-old New Jersey native recalled, pointing to a framed photo of his office wall of himself and that '59 Hillman. "That car was what got me started, then I went to Triumphs, and now my specialty is MGs, which is mostly what I do these days," he said, pointing to another photo, this one of himself a few years later, a college student standing next to a vintage Triumph Spitfire.

Surrounded by dozens of supporters at an evening campaign rally in Madison on May 30, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the Democratic candidate for governor in Wisconsin's tumultuous recall election, had something encouraging to tell the crowd: The fact his opponent, Republican Gov. Scott Walker, was outspending him by more than seven to one was no big deal. "He's got the mountains of money," Mr. Barrett declared. "I've got you. " Now, Mr. Barrett probably wishes he'd had the mountains of money.

Given all the technologies available to consumers today, you might think the staid hobby of ham radio is about as relevant to modern life as rabbit-ear TV antennas. Cell phones. E-mail. Skype. People around the world have more and faster means of getting hold of each other than ever. But just six months ago, the earthquake in Haiti was another reminder that amateur radio still gives a strong signal. Ham operators sent early news reports from the shattered island, just as they've done for decades in the aftermath of every hurricane, earthquake and snowstorm that has crippled or jammed the means of communication we usually assume will work.

When the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association wrestling tournament kicks off Thursday at Mount St. Joseph, McDonogh senior Kevin Marvel is facing his last chance to make his three-dimensional dream come true. Ever since Marvel arrived at the school from his home in Easton he has strived to win an MIAA title, a Maryland Independent School title and a National Preps title. Along with those personal goals, he wants to help No. 1 McDonogh win the MIAA and MIS team titles for the first time since 2008.

Barry Schwartz got a job scooping ice cream at Baskin-Robbins in the Mall in Columbia in 1979, just so he could cash in his paychecks for quarters to feed the pinball machines in the arcade. "Pinball was a huge part of my life when I was 16," the Ellicott City resident said between turns in Free State Pinball Association's weekly league play in Elkridge. "It's that whole nostalgic, coming-of-age thing," said Joe Schober, FSPA president, who drives each Wednesday from Great Falls, Va., to play in the 10-week tournaments held at Volleyball House, which has eight machines.