Iron

William F. Pannell (ca. 1825-1881) was a wealthy Harford County iron manufacturer, landowner, and farmer whose residence was known as "The Retreat." Pannell owned the nearby Harford Furnace in the Creswell area from 1861 to 1867. He and his wife, Mary Slee, also of Harford County, had no children. Pannell died on Dec. 18, 1881, at the age of 56. Pannell's obituary stated that, "his heart and hand responded together for every appeal for charity. ... His charity was bestowed in an unostentious way, and no one outside his own family and recipients of his bounty knew of the many acts he was constantly performing."

Motivation is a personal thing. Some people get involved in triathlons and marathons because they want to look or feel better, others because they can't resist the challenge, and still others because they enjoy training with a group. For the Riesz family of Ellicott City, two of whose members will be participating in Sunday's Iron Girl triathlon, the catalyst was cancer. In the spring of 1999, Charlie Riesz was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and given a 50-50 chance of survival.

WEDNESDAY started out being one of those days when it's great to be in Baltimore. There was plenty of warmth in the November air. The city trees were in high color. No frosts had killed my back garden. The goldfish were still darting around the pond and had survived the attention of the neighborhood cats.The roofers had been by and fixed the last of the leaks from the summer's storms and hurricanes. I called the painter to repair the inside damage. I thought to myself that maybe I'd have the house ready for the upcoming holidays.

You say you're ready to step up your fitness program? Well, strike while the iron -- or, more accurately, the temperature -- is hot. Summer is the ideal time to take your walking to a higher level.Walking remains one of the best aerobic activities around. Inexpensive, easily accessible and low impact, walking can provide a terrific cardiovascular workout for individuals of all ages and fitness levels.To add a little more oomph to your workouts, try the following tips:* Shave a few seconds off your per-mile pace.

In celebration of Black History Month, the Montpelier Cultural Arts Center is showing "SSS... When the Iron Was Hot: African-American Iron Workers in Laurel/Muirkirk, 1730-1930." It's a cumbersome title, but it pretty well explains the show, which explores what life was like for African-American ironworkers in the period of slavery and after, at the Patuxent and Muirkirk Ironworks in Prince George's County. It also shows the iron-making process and the architectural structures associated with iron production.

Jan. 23, 1849 -- HEALTH OF CHESTERTOWN -- The News says that there is not a more salubrious location on the Eastern Shore of Maryland than Chestertown, and gives the mortality for 1848, showing the total deaths to have been 35 -- of which 17 were children, but not by bilious fever. The population, white and colored, is about 1,350, and thus the deaths are a fraction over 2 1/2 per cent.Jan. 24, 1899 -- NEW YORK, Jan. 23 (Special Dispatch to the Baltimore Sun) -- Stock market trading this morning had scarcely a parallel in the history of the exchange.

IT IS DECEMBER, and high school kids everywhere, not to mention the one hanging on my fridge like a vulture, are waiting to learn how they scored on the PSATs and the SATs.It is an irony of these tests that they measure what our kids know about a variety of topics, such as analogies, that may never come up in real life or in a conversation with a potential employer.But the kids know without being reminded by us that their scores are the first link in a chain of circumstances that will determine how they do in life, so they cram and get tutored and take courses and learn test-taking strategies.

The latest computer peripheral is - the iron.No, it hasn't gone digital. But an iron - teamed with a personal computer, an inkjet printer and the right software - lets you decorate T-shirts with drawings, photos and words. You can go beyond T-shirts to almost any fabric surface, such as golf shirts, sweatshirts, visors, aprons, tote bags, boxer shorts and mousepads.It works like this: You install the software. Then you run it and choose a basic design - with some sample images and words already in place that you can alter - or you start a new design from scratch.

After a 10-week maintenance shutdown, Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s Sparrows Point blast furnace is set to begin firing up today as the flip of a switch sends super hot compressed air into the 150-foot-tall structure.Workers began replacing the bricks that line the "L" blast furnace, which pumps out molten iron that supplies the rest of the plant, June 8 and were originally scheduled to finish Aug. 1. In late July as it released second-quarter earnings -- which showed a $29.7 million loss on revenue of $985 million -- the company said the repairs would take longer than expected.

Zipping down the highway, many motorists probably miss the gray and black historic markers pointing out places where Civil War soldiers camped, early settlers built, brutal battles were fought, and George Washington's horse died.At one time, more than 700 of the 4-foot signs were planted near the state's significant or odd historic sites.But traffic accidents, road widening, construction and vandalism have wiped out more than 100 of the markers, and budget cuts starting in 1992 ended a program of researching and awarding markers for sites.

Question: : My husband started on lovastatin for high cholesterol and soon began to notice weakness in his right arm. This weakness progressed, so he saw his doctor, thinking he had a pinched nerve. He was referred to a neurologist, who gave him a diagnosis of "possible ALS." On his 60th birthday, a second opinion confirmed the diagnosis of ALS. Since that time, my husband has progressed from weakness in his right arm to complete loss of function in his arms, very weak leg muscles and difficulty breathing.

They came for conditioning, competition, camaraderie. They shared bloodlines, lots of sweat and more than a few tears, joyful for most who made it to the finish Sunday at Howard County's Centennial Park, painful for those who didn't. More than 2,400 women started the fourth Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon, the largest gathering of its kind, which is an event that starts with a 0.62-mile swim, continues with a 17.5-mile bike ride and concludes with a hilly, 3.4-mile run. Thousands of relatives and friends came to offer moral support.

The average middle-class child aquires trophies, medals and ribbons like so many Christmas toys - and they are often treated similarly, briefly prized and then forgotten. Rare is the tweener bedroom that does not display a trove of awards, most of it the bounty of organized sport. But in 10-year-old Daniel's bedroom, there's a somewhat uncommon specimen. There, over by the rotating aquarium night light and next to the dog-eared decks of Pokemon cards, is a bronze-colored trophy featuring a chef in apron and kerchief triumphantly holding what appears to be a carving knife and fork.

Please help me. I am 35 years old and have been addicted to Argo Corn Starch for the past four years. How can I stop eating it? It makes my mouth dry and my limbs cramp. I have mood swings and have gained weight. But just knowing I shouldn't eat starch is not enough. Please see a doctor and ask to be tested for iron or zinc deficiency. Pica, compulsively eating a substance that is not food, is frequently associated with such a mineral deficiency and often goes away when the deficiency is corrected.

As emotions run high and common sense runs low, we compare cans of Iron City and National Bohemian, two blue-collar beers that are the sudsy symbols of Pittsburgh and Baltimore, respectively. Price: : Natty Boh is 55 cents a can versus 63 cents for a can of Iron City. At this level of quality, 8 cents is huge. Taste: : Natty Boh is a pale yellow brew with thin body and the faint flavor of yeasty water. Iron City is a dull yellow liquid with thin body and a stale beer aftertaste. Aesthetics: : Natty Boh gets points for its handsome mustachioed Mr. Boh logo.

Peter Barry isn't a doctor, a nutritionist or even an herbal healer, but customers constantly stroll into Baltimore's OK Natural Food Store seeking his advice on vitamins. What's he got for hypertension? For energy? And the one everyone whispers: sexual enhancement? A natural foods salesman for 22 years, Barry takes a few supplements of his own, but he thinks consumers are desperate for a magic pill. Standing before a giant wall of bottles bearing such labels as coral calcium, B-50 and Change-O-Life Blend, he offers his standard recommendation: "grandma's cooking."

Not everybody has a backyard, a balcony ... or a grill. And even when you do have any or all of that, rain can put the kibosh on outdoor cooking. In these cases, a stove-top grill pan can come to the rescue. These sturdy pans have ridged interiors that approximate outdoor grilling for the indoor cook. There are dozens of pans out there, many crafted from different materials. Our test focused on three: preseasoned cast iron, enamel-coated cast iron and stainless steel. We heated the pans on medium-high heat for 10 minutes before placing two lightly oiled chicken breasts on each.

A water stain on a wood tabletop is not a big deal, unless you have put the stain there. Then you can't wait to remove the evidence of your wrongdoing. That is the situation I found myself in recently. First, I tried to remove the spot using a questionable method, attacking it with a hot iron. Then, I learned the recommended procedure: rubbing the stain with superfine steel wool and cream polish. The trouble began when I placed a poinsettia plant, a symbol of hope, good cheer and beauty, on a wood table in our hallway.

0 Losses that John Carroll's wrestling team suffered in last week's C. Milton Wright Iron Horse Duals tournament. The Patriots had little trouble winning all seven of their matches. 4 Aberdeen boys who scored in double figures in the basketball team's 76-59 victory over Edgewood. 5 Points that the Fallston girls' basketball team allowed in the first half of last week's 42-24 victory over North Harford.

When it came time to test the many panini makers, manual and electric, on the market, I was expecting to fall in love with a gorgeous, old-fashioned hunk of iron. This did not happen. The manual pans, which are made of either ridged cast iron or anodized aluminum and come with heavy, ridged, cast-iron presses, are gorgeous. But as much as I wanted to love them, they look better than they cook. And the hinged, electric presses? I've been using one every day since I began my experiment. Cuisinart GR-1 Griddler Panini and Sandwich Press Price: $50 at cuisinart.