League Of Baltimore

For some, there's nothing better than finding the latest fashion at a bargain. Combine that with a cocktail and a few hors d'oeuvres, and you've got a party. That is exactly why droves of (mostly) women could be seen entering a vacant storefront at Hunt Valley Towne Centre on a recent Friday night. The Junior League of Baltimore was throwing a Preview Party for its annual Boutique Warehouse Sale. As guests sipped their glasses of wine, they could try on shoes and a cute little dress, or maybe nab a darling little outfit for a child or grandchild from many of Baltimore's best boutiques - at prices that were reduced up to 70 percent off their original cost.

The Family League of Baltimore showed off its new mobile meals truck at this morning's kickoff event for Maryland's summer meals program.   The food truck, which has been made possible by a grant from the Sodexho Foundation through Share Our Strength , will deliver meals to Cherry Hill, Fells Point and Eastpoint and will help the Family League of Baltimore serve 100,000 meals over the summer. Parents can go to www.NoKidHungryMd.org or call (877) 731-9300 to find the summer meals site closest to them.

Nordstrom and the Junior League of Baltimore made beautiful music together Wednesday evening. It was the grandest opening of a department store I've ever attended. Four floors laden with people, two knock-'em-dead fashion shows, lavish buffet stations a la Charles Levine caterers, beautiful flower arrangements by Kathy Paal, and music by BS&M, the Keter Betts Quintet, and Bobby Felder and the Blue Notes.More than 2,000 first nighters were there along with members of the Nordstrom family who came to town for the opening, which, according to Bruce Nordstrom, co-chairman of the board of directors, was one of the nicest they've had. Bruce enjoyed his stay in Baltimore, especially while he was playing golf at the beautiful Caves Valley Course.

Jill Hettinger, retired from a private practice in social work, always gets teased by friends because she prefers rummaging through the racks at thrift shops to shopping somewhere pricier like a department store. "It's not like you don't have money," she said they always tell her. But because of the weak economy, more people are discovering the secret that Hettinger, raised by a frugal father who lived through the Great Depression, has known for years. The resale business, which includes thrift and consignment shops, is booming as consumers, who have lost their jobs or watched the values of their investments portfolio or homes plummet, look for ways to pinch pennies.

On an enchanting spring morning, members of Baltimore's Women's Civic League float into a banquet room at the Towson Golf & Country Club for their annual luncheon. They are pretty in pink, yellow and white. They wear extravagant straw hats festooned with flowers and glittery lapel brooches in the shapes of dragonflies, black-eyed Susans and other natural wonders. The women greet one another with hugs and kisses. Some, accompanied by laconically gallant husbands, sip a pre-meal cocktail.It is a bittersweet occasion for the women, who have announced that today's Flower Mart, the 82nd, will be their last.

1908: Happy Mother's Day1911: Women's Civic League of Baltimore begins meeting1913: First refrigerator for the home

Paula T. Ciara, a former educator who had been active in the Junior League of Baltimore, died of cancer Sept. 24 at her home in North Falmouth, Mass. She was 71. She was born Paula Tippett in Baltimore and raised in the city's Homewood section. She was the daughter of the late William T. Tippett, chief judge of the old People's Court. A graduate of Notre Dame Preparatory School, she earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1954 from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, and a master's in education in 1979 from Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Mass.

Creativity wasn't just the province of the artists at the Baltimore Clayworks annual get-together. The 200 guests were also encouraged to be artistic at "A Hands-On Affair." In one corner of the Sheraton Inner Harbor banquet room, partygoers could decorate clay coin dishes with a variety of glazes. In another, folks were using brightly colored polymer to mold pendants and rings for themselves. For those who just preferred to watch someone else's creative juices flow, several students from Clayworks' community arts program fashioned all sorts of wondrous clay sculptures.

On October 18, 2003, ELIZABETH KEYSER THOMS, born September 30, 1912, Mrs. Graham was married in 1939 to the former Robert L. Graham, M.D. She is survived by her son Robert L. Graham, of Los Angeles, her son DeCourcy W. Graham, of Corona del Mar, and her daughter Victoria G. Atkins, of Houston. She is further survived by grandsons DeCourcy and Stewart Graham, grand-daughters Samantha Graham Vura and Cameron Graham Kulewicz, and great-grandchildren, Isabella and Willoughby Vura and Caroline Graham.

On January 12, 2006, PAUL C. NICHOLSON, JR.; husband of Joyce B. Rodgers; loving father of Robert L. Nicholson and his wife Patricia and Lisa N. Poist and her husband David; step-father of Robin Hoover, Kimberly Keys and Ryan Rodgers. Also survived by two grandchildren, Kevin and Dana Poist and his beloved dog, Maggie. A Memorial Gathering will be held in the LEMMON FUNERAL HOME OF DULANEY VALLEY, INC., 10 W. Padonia Road (at York Road), Timonium-Cockeysville, on Sunday, 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M..

For some, there's nothing better than finding the latest fashion at a bargain. Combine that with a cocktail and a few hors d'oeuvres, and you've got a party. That is exactly why droves of (mostly) women could be seen entering a vacant storefront at Hunt Valley Towne Centre on a recent Friday night. The Junior League of Baltimore was throwing a Preview Party for its annual Boutique Warehouse Sale. As guests sipped their glasses of wine, they could try on shoes and a cute little dress, or maybe nab a darling little outfit for a child or grandchild from many of Baltimore's best boutiques - at prices that were reduced up to 70 percent off their original cost.

Raymond C. Bryant, a retired Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. executive and former North Baltimore resident, died Tuesday of leukemia at the Fairhaven retirement community in Sykesville. He was 86. Mr. Bryant was born in Baltimore and raised near Wyman Park. He was a 1940 graduate of Polytechnic Institute and earned a bachelor's degree in business from Loyola College in 1943. He also studied economics at the Johns Hopkins University. During World War II, he served in the Navy in the Pacific and attained the rank of lieutenant commander.

On January 12, 2006, PAUL C. NICHOLSON, JR.; husband of Joyce B. Rodgers; loving father of Robert L. Nicholson and his wife Patricia and Lisa N. Poist and her husband David; step-father of Robin Hoover, Kimberly Keys and Ryan Rodgers. Also survived by two grandchildren, Kevin and Dana Poist and his beloved dog, Maggie. A Memorial Gathering will be held in the LEMMON FUNERAL HOME OF DULANEY VALLEY, INC., 10 W. Padonia Road (at York Road), Timonium-Cockeysville, on Sunday, 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M..

Laurette D. Chambers, a former Red Cross volunteer driver who traveled widely, died of pneumonia Sept. 29 at Blakehurst Retirement Community. The former Woodbrook resident was 83. Born Laurette Debnam in Baltimore and raised in Woodbrook, she was a 1939 graduate of the old Greenwood School. She attended the Maryland Institute College of Art. Family members said she often accompanied her father, George R. Debnam Jr., a Sun reporter who later built apartment houses in Charles Village, on long car trips.

In Baltimore City $1.5 million given for medical facilities at Johns Hopkins Steve and Mindy Geppi have given $1.5 million to benefit the Johns Hopkins Cardiovascular and Critical Care Tower and Heart Institute, the planned Children's and Maternal Hospital, and programs in preventive cardiology and pediatric hematology, hospital officials announced last week. Steve Geppi is president and chief executive officer of Diamond Comics, and publisher of Baltimore magazine. "We are grateful for the Geppis' gift, which will help us radically transform patient care at Johns Hopkins," said Dr. George J. Dover, director of the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Given professor of pediatrics, in a statement.

Coppin State University unveiled yesterday The State of Black Baltimore, a 329-page collection of essays exploring issues such as the city's foundering school system, drug abuse, Ebonics and alleged discrimination in the city Police Department. The book is a collaboration between Coppin State and the Greater Urban League of Baltimore. Written primarily by university professors and local experts, the book includes contributions from prominent black Baltimoreans such as civil rights activist and former Rep. Parren J. Mitchell.

Jane Whitney Anderson, 64, a long-time resident of Baltimore County, died Friday at her home in Timonium after a short illness.Services will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Chestnut Grove Presbyterian Church in Jarrettsville.Born in Bethlehem, Pa., Mrs. Anderson was a graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Mass., where she earned a bachelor of arts in economics. She was an active member of the Alumnae Association.Mrs. Anderson was a member of the Hillendale Country Club, treasurer of the WIN Club, an investment organization, and a long-time member of the Junior League of Baltimore.

Ladies in gowns of sequins and taffeta, with dapper men at their sides, swept onto the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall mezzanine for a sophisticated soiree before the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's 19th annual Holiday Pops concert. The 110 guests enjoyed cocktails, crab dip and holiday cookies at a VIP reception held by the Junior League of Baltimore. Quiet conversation and the occasional clink of ice cubes added just the right ambience to the get-together, as folks looked forward to the evening's concert of seasonal favorites.

Paula T. Ciara, a former educator who had been active in the Junior League of Baltimore, died of cancer Sept. 24 at her home in North Falmouth, Mass. She was 71. She was born Paula Tippett in Baltimore and raised in the city's Homewood section. She was the daughter of the late William T. Tippett, chief judge of the old People's Court. A graduate of Notre Dame Preparatory School, she earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1954 from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, and a master's in education in 1979 from Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Mass.

On October 18, 2003, ELIZABETH KEYSER THOMS, born September 30, 1912, Mrs. Graham was married in 1939 to the former Robert L. Graham, M.D. She is survived by her son Robert L. Graham, of Los Angeles, her son DeCourcy W. Graham, of Corona del Mar, and her daughter Victoria G. Atkins, of Houston. She is further survived by grandsons DeCourcy and Stewart Graham, grand-daughters Samantha Graham Vura and Cameron Graham Kulewicz, and great-grandchildren, Isabella and Willoughby Vura and Caroline Graham.