Linthicum Heights

TOMORROW IS Dec. 1, and from the look of my calendar, I know the Christmas season is in full swing. We are invited to many events for fun, fellowship and Christmas shopping. Two groups are looking back to earlier Christmas holidays with their projects.The Woman's Club of Linthicum Heights' annual Holly Mart from 9: 30 a.m. to 2: 30 p.m. Friday at Linthicum Heights United Methodist Church, 200 School Lane, offers a wide range of holiday activities with the theme "Old-fashioned Christmas." Entertainment, a bazaar and a luncheon will be featured.

Ronan, an 18-month-old Belgian Malinois, bolted from his owner's grasp and charged across the open field toward a guy waving a stick and screaming, "Get that dog out of here." The dog lunged toward the man, bit into his arm and held on. "Good grip," said a man with a clipboard. As a judge for the Protection Sports Association, he made note of it as part of the dog's ability to take commands from his owner, ignore all distractions and hang on to a "decoy," a person outfitted in a thickly padded bite suit.

So many in the community look forward to an annual spring event at Linthicum Heights United Methodist Church. That time has rolled around again, and you are invited.The women in the Evelyn Keller Circle are sponsoring the popular "Strawberry Festival" from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. June 3 in the Fellowship Hall of the church, 200 School Lane.Strawberries will be served with ice cream or shortcake. Barbecue, hot dogs, baked beans, chicken salad and rolls, potato salad, coleslaw and drinks also will be available.

Thomas Hal Gomer Services will be held Friday December 5th at 1:00 P.M. at Linthicum Heights United Methodist Church, 200 School Lane, Linthicum Heights, Maryland 21090.

CELESTE RIDDLE, a member of the Woman's Club of Linthicum Heights, has had many parakeets over the years. One, though, was very special and when it died four years ago, she felt as if she had lost a dear friend.She tried to put her feelings down on paper then, but only fragments of sentences would come. Recently, she went back to her notes and expressed her feelings in a poem, "Death of a Pet."Now it has been published -- in the 1999 Fall issue of The Maryland Clubwoman, a publication of the Maryland Federation of Women's Clubs Inc.Riddle entered her work in the poetry and short story category of a contest sponsored by the federation and won first place.

A Linthicum Heights woman didn't just get stuck with doing a weekend home improvement project - she got stuck in it. Anne Arundel fire officials said the woman had to call for help after apparently losing her balance and falling into the tile glue she had spread while installing linoleum in her kitchen Sunday evening. A team of paramedics arrived to find the woman stuck to a chair, in a cross-legged position and wearing undergarments, with a cordless phone glued to her hand, said Battalion Chief John M. Scholz, a fire department spokesman.

STRESS MANAGEMENT will be discussed at the monthly meeting of the Woman's Club of Linthicum Heights at 10: 30 a.m. Tuesday at the clubhouse, 110 N. Hammonds Ferry Road. Carolyn F. Shearer, activity director in the subacute unit at North Arundel Hospital, will address "The Balancing Act -- How to Find Time for Your Job, Your Family, Your Spouse, and Yourself!" Shearer has a bachelor's degree in therapeutic recreation from Hood College. She is married and has three children. Her interests include children's activities, reading, horseback riding and photography.

The Woman's Club of Linthicum Heights will have its annual prayer breakfast at 9:30 a.m. March 9 in the Linthicum Heights United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall.The speaker will be Susan White-Bowden, a native Marylander and prize-winning journalist who has received awards for her work in television, radio and newspapers. For 22 years she was a reporter-anchorwoman for WMAR-TV in Baltimore and is a nationally known speaker on youth suicide prevention and surviving loss.Bowden is the author of three books, "Everything To Live For," "From a Healing Heart" and her 1992 book "Moonbeams Come At Dark Times," a humorous look at turning 50 in the '90s and the subject of her breakfast discussion.

THE CONTEMPORARY gospel group "Refuge" will give a concert at 7: 30 p.m. Wednesday at Linthicum Heights United Methodist Church, 200 School Lane.The group has appeared at other churches, and its recordings have been played on Christian radio stations.Information: 410-859-0990.Linthicum AARP meetingLinthicum Chapter #2244 American Association of Retired Persons will hold its monthly meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday at St. John Lutheran Church on Maple Road.The speaker will be Anne Brooke, who is in charge of consumer affairs in the state attorney general's office.

SET ASIDE 6 p.m. to 8: 30 p.m. Nov. 15 for a spaghetti dinner sponsored by Boy Scout Troop 822 at Linthicum Heights United Methodist Church, 200 School Lane.Spaghetti, salad, bread and beverage are included for $6.50 for adults, $3.50 for children younger than 10 and free for children younger than 3.Tickets are available at the door or from any Scout member. Profits will help offset troop expenses.The troop meets at 7 p.m. Tuesdays at the church.Information: Jim Benson, 766-8576.AARP meetingMarvin Bond will discuss Maryland history at the meeting Thursday of Chapter 2244 of the American Association of Retired Persons at St. John Lutheran Church, 300 Maple Road, Linthicum.

Francis C. Ehart, a retired stationery company executive and former longtime Linthicum Heights resident, died Tuesday of a cerebral hemorrhage at the Hospice of the Chesapeake in Harwood. He was 93. Mr. Ehart was born in Baltimore and raised on Marshall Street. He attended city public schools until the eighth grade and later earned his General Educational Development diploma while attending night school. In 1931, Mr. Ehart began working as an office boy for D.N. Owens & Co. Inc., a Baltimore business forms company located on Calvert Street.

David Travis Drehoff, a former FedEx courier and lacrosse player, died of liver failure at Baltimore Washington Medical Center March 10. The Pasadena resident was 41. Born in Baltimore and raised in Linthicum Heights, he was a 1985 graduate of Andover High School, where he played lacrosse and was named by sportswriters to an All-America team. He enrolled at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and studied for years as a general business major. He was captain of the UMBC lacrosse team in the late 1980s.

Suddenly on January 7, 2008 CHARLES BISTRICK, beloved husband for 60 years to Mary Bistrick. Also survived by two sisters, nieces, nephews, and many friends. Family members and friends may call a the family owned AMBROSE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 1328 Sulphur Spring Road, Arbutus on Wednesday from 3-5 and 7-9PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday at The St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, 6405 South Orchard Road, Linthicum Heights, MD at the funeral hour of 9AM. Interment to follow at Loudon Park Cemetery.

Tucked amid the bustle of highways, trains and BWI Marshall Airport lies Linthicum, a hamlet first developed as a "country suburb" and about to mark its centennial in 2008. The descendants of Abner Linthicum wouldn't recognize the place they marketed as minutes from Baltimore. Over a century, houses of varying age and size have been built, and their occupants are planning festivities to mark Linthicum's 100th year. "I can get downtown to Baltimore in minutes. It's not as congested in this village as other places I've lived," said John Lombardi, a semi-retired insurance executive.

Jazz concert -- The Women's Club of Linthicum Heights will present the Crabtowne Big Band at 6 p.m. Sunday at Linthicum Park, on Benton Avenue off of Route 170. Participants are asked to bring chairs, blankets and coolers. No alcoholic beverages are permitted. If it rains, the show will be canceled. Free. 410-859-3308.

The summer outdoor concert season is already in full swing, bringing all types of music - including bluegrass, big band, rock 'n' roll and classical jazz - to regional parks and other outdoor venues. Sponsored by various organizations and local businesses, all concerts are free. Folks need bring only folding chairs or blankets and picnic baskets. Something more is required of the volunteers who arrange these outdoor concerts. Now in her 22nd year as performing arts chairman for the eight-concert series sponsored by the Woman's Club of Linthicum Heights, Jo Barker said her committee starts pursuing bands as early as January or February.

TO WELCOME SPRING, the Woman's Club of Linthicum Heights is having a gala spring fashion show and luncheon from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. April 28 at the Rose Restaurant, 6075 Belle Grove Road.The club promises something for everyone with a showing of styles in a broad range of sizes from the Avenue, Fashions Unlimited, 14/16+ and Paul Harris (junior sizes). A cold buffet lunch and door prizes also will be furnished by area businesses. The grand prize is a $100 gift certificate.Cecelia Dietz and Jenny Kuhn are co-chairwomen for the event.

IN 1981, I joined the Woman's Club of Linthicum Heights. As I walked down the sidewalk to the clubhouse on Hammonds Ferry Road that first meeting, I was impressed by the two attractive seasonal decorations on the doors. What a nice greeting they were. Since then, I have looked forward each month to seeing the different wreaths, swags or baskets that welcome arriving members. The beautiful ornaments are faithfully designed and hung by member Marie Meredith. "I guess the door decorations and the club's Holly Mart workshops are my claim to fame," Meredith said as she talked about her involvement in the club and other organizations in the community.

William S. Stack Sr., a retired insurance executive and vegetable gardener, died Wednesday of heart failure at St. Agnes Hospital. He was 83. Mr. Stack was born in Baltimore and raised on Arlington Avenue. In his youth, he helped his family operate a lunch wagon that supplied food to workers at the B&O Railroad's Mount Clare shops. After graduating from City College in 1942, he worked briefly in Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s Key Highway shipyard building Liberty ships. He was drafted into the Army Air Forces, where he served in Europe as a clerk.