Maryland Historical Society

Gerson Gutman Eisenberg, a writer and longtime supporter of Maryland history and arts, died yesterday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center after a lengthy illness. He was 90 and lived in Pikesville.Mr. Eisenberg served on many boards and donated money to intellectual and artistic causes. He also wrote books on travel and history, and created an audiotaped, self-guided tour of Baltimore in 1969 -- a first for any U.S. city.He was born in Baltimore, the son of Abram Eisenberg, the owner of Eisenberg's Underselling store on Lexington Street.

Mission: To promote and emphasize the historical and architectural significance of Federal Hill and Fells Point; to foster further preservation of the communities' architectural heritage and historic legacy; and to ensure that present and future development within the area is compatible and worthy of inclusion in a historic district. The Preservation Society restored, maintains and operates the 18th-century Robert Long House and Garden as a museum at 812 S. Ann St. -- the oldest surviving urban residence in Baltimore.

It was a truly royal reception at the Maryland Historical Society's 1999 Antiques Show Gala Preview Party. More than 400 antiques lovers perused roomfuls of collectible treasures and toured the exhibit "Wallis: Duchess of Windsor," while enjoying a buffet fit for a king.Meanwhile, the king of costume-jewelry designers, Kenneth Jay Lane, held court with his fans. As he playfully toyed with a long string of pearls worn by board member Barbara Katz, she told Lane, "They're yours ... 1961!"Others in attendance at the party included society board president Stan Klinefelter; director Dennis Fiori; board member Stiles Colwill; event chair Carolyn O'Keefe; committee members Megan Wolfe, Blair White, Olive Waxter, Julia Keelty and Marcy Sagel; "Calloway" Brooks, musician; Lou Van Dyck, CFO of New Enterprise Associates; Katie O'Hare, Baltimore-based actress; Dr. Dolores Njoku, Johns Hopkins pediatric anesthesiologist; Doug Becker, president of Sylvan Learning Systems; and Dick Horne, co-curator of the American Dime Museum.

Jewelry, decorative art, furniture, textiles, paintings and miniatures, folk art, glassware, and political memorabilia are just some of the items that will be offered by nearly three dozen dealers at this year's Maryland Historical Society Antiques Show this coming weekend.With the theme of "A Certain Elegance," the show begins with a gala preview party from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, and features a lecture and luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday with costume jewelry designer Kenneth Jay Lane (whose clients have included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Audrey Hepburn and Wallis Warfield Simpson, the Baltimore-bred Duchess of Windsor)

The oldest known version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" -- a 175-year-old manuscript in Francis Scott Key's handwriting -- will be preserved in a new state-of-the-art, space-age encasement thanks to a $180,000 grant to the Maryland Historical Society from the White House "Save America's Treasures" program.Hillary Rodham Clinton announced the MHS grant and 61 others for a total of $30 million as she set out on a four-day tour of national treasures in the Southwest, including the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, Colo.

The death of George Washington on Dec. 14, 1799, prompted a national outpouring of grief that inspired artists, writers and orators across the United States to commemorate the life of America's first president.In Baltimore, church bells tolled continuously as thousands of mourners wound through the streets in solemn procession. In Frederick, orators eulogized the Revolutionary War hero and father of his country.Maryland's reaction to Washington's death is recalled through artworks large and small in an exhibition that opens today at the Maryland Historical Society.

After more than two years of negotiations, the Maryland Historical Society is poised to acquire the former Greyhound bus terminal at Howard and Centre streets. The local landmark figures prominently in the society's $28 million expansion and renovation plan for its Mount Vernon history campus.Directors say they expect the society to take title later this month to the Art Moderne bus station, which dates from the early 1940s and was transformed to offices after the Greyhound Corp. moved to a different location in 1982.

N. Sasaborosaw-Harper, 45, Children's Home supervisorNalungo Sasaborosaw-Harper, supervisor of the Children's Home in Catonsville since 1993, died of breast cancer Thursday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. She was 45 and lived in Woodlawn.Born in Philadelphia and educated there and in Baltimore public schools, she earned a bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice administration from Antioch University in 1982. She was a correctional officer in the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services before she became a counselor at the nonprofit Woodbourne Center for troubled adolescents in Northeast Baltimore.

Sarah Klinefelter believes in dressing appropriately, whether for dinner or travel. But that had not been as simple as it sounded in the years since the city's department stores vanished. While Klinefelter's first foray into retailing was a garden gift shop, her business evolved to cope with what she recognized as a chronic shortage. Baltimore, says Klinefelter, a former nurse, "had no place to shop for dresses."So when the 51-year-old Ruxton resident moved Littlefield's to Lake Falls Village, Klinefelter added clothing to her inventory.

Here's a truly scary item: According to the History Channel, Americans now spend $2.5 billion to celebrate Halloween. Billion! That's more than the entire budgets of some states. In terms of commercial extravagance, only Christmas surpasses Halloween.But the big question is this: With all that money laid out for store-bought costumes, Kit-Kat Bars and imitation cobwebs, is Halloween really any more interesting at the end of the century than it was at the beginning?Maybe not, says the Maryland Historical Society's Janet Surrett, who has researched the history of Halloween celebrations here.

THURSDAY Candlebox Free concert? You bet. Seattle band Candlebox grunge-rocks it out Thursday at Power Plant Live, 34 Market Place. 98 Rock will be broadcasting live from the show. Gates open at 6 p.m. Go to powerplantlive.com. Andre Rieu The Dutch violinist and composer performs with his Johann Strauss Orchestra at 8 p.m. Thursday at 1st Mariner Arena, 201 W. Baltimore St. Tickets are $52-$161. Call 410-547-7328 or go to ticketmaster.com. An die Musik Clarinetist Ariana Lamon-Anderson and percussionist Masako Kunimoto, alumni of the Certificate Program in Contemporary American Music at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, perform a concert at 8 p.m. Thursday at An die Musik, 409 N. Charles St. $10. Call 410-385-2638 or go to andiemusiklive.

Patricia A. Roberts, a retired Environmental Protection Agency lawyer and an acknowledged expert on Maryland silver who volunteered at the Maryland Historical Society, died of multiple myeloma Dec. 10 at George Washington University Hospital in Washington. She was 66. Ms. Roberts was born in Baltimore and raised on Baker Street. She was a 1960 graduate of Western High School. She earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Morgan State University in 1964. After college, Ms. Roberts began working at the National Institutes of Health's laboratory on cerebral metabolism in Bethesda.

George S. Rich is passionate about World War II and the stories of the men and women who fought and died in it. You can hear it in his voice when he talks about figures such as Maj. Douglas H. Stone, M.D., who landed on Utah Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, as part of Johns Hopkins Field Hospital No. 18. "He operated for three days straight because casualties were so high," Rich said. "He slept on his helmet when he slept at all." The blood was deep around his boots, and when bandages and gauze ran out, Stone bound the wounds with scraps of parachutes, Rich said.

Missing other ways to save Turnbull house I was glad that the auction of the Grace Turnbull house was postponed ("Artist's home auction halted," Nov. 2), possibly as a result of Edward Gunts' article "From preservation to desperation" (Nov. 1). But while it is disappointing that the bulk of the estate still went to auction, I am hopeful that the house will find a new owner who is willing to preserve much of its unique beauty and character. I understand and empathize with the fact that both the Maryland Historical Society and the Baltimore Museum of Art are facing financial shortages.

On October 31, 2008, Julius Leopold "Leo" Levy Jr Services at SOL LEVINSON & BROS., INC., 8900 Reisterstown Road at Mount Wilson Lane on Sunday, November 2, 2008 at 10 A.M. Interment Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery - Berrymans Lane. Please omit flowers. Contributions in his memory may be sent to The Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St (21201). In mourning at 7900 Seven Mile Lane, Baltimore, MD 21208 immediately following services Sunday; Monday and Tuesday after 2:00 P.M. sollevinson.

As reported Feb. 5, 1958, in The Sun: The Howard County Historical Society made its formal debut last night when the society's four newly elected officers and a panel of three guest speakers appeared before a group of about 50 people at the Ellicott City Courthouse. After listening to the speakers, comments from the floor and a compromise decision as to the price of admittance to the new society, a membership of 31 was finally recruited (cash on the barrel). Benjamin Mellor Jr., treasurer, collected $2 from each of the 16 people admitting them to membership in the county society, and $8 from 15 people admitting them to joint membership in both the county society and the Maryland Historical Society.

HOLIDAY LIGHT UP THE SEASON Celebrate the start of the holiday season with the 36th annual lighting of Baltimore's Washington Monument. Food, crafts vendors and festive holiday activities will precede the lighting starting at 5:30 p.m. today in Mount Vernon's West Park. Live entertainment from local performers begins at 6 p.m. For the main attraction, Mayor Sheila Dixon and a celebrity guest will light the 1,200 lights strung on the Washington Monument shortly before 7 p.m., followed by a fireworks display and holiday music.

RECITAL PULLING THE STRINGS The acoustic, classical guitar is one of the most seductive instruments in the world, and Sharon Isbin knows how to get the most out of it. The much-recorded artist will give a recital Saturday to open the Baltimore Classical Guitar Society's 20th anniversary season. Prominent contemporary composers have written works for Isbin, including three who will be featured on her Baltimore program -- Tan Dun, Leo Brouwer and John Duarte. The latter's Joan Baez Suite will find Isbin exploring arrangements of "House of the Rising Sun," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"

When it comes to gospel-music pioneers in the city of Baltimore, most everyone will know of Pauline Wells Lewis, or "Aunt Pauline," as she was known. Tens of thousands of Baltimoreans grew up listening to her gospel ministry on the radio. "She was like the Mother Theresa of gospel," says Tommy Roberts, a friend of and driver for Lewis for more than 50 years. "Some people saw her as a mother or an aunt. She was an example, and you can't teach people how to be an example." An exhibit dedicated to the life and work of Lewis -- provided by the American Gospel Music Heritage Foundation, which Roberts formed in Lewis' honor -- is on display as part of the "Tell Us Your Stories" gallery at the Maryland Historical Society.

Charles W. Mitchell's recently published book, Maryland Voices of the Civil War, is the culmination of 12 years of burning the midnight oil. When he wasn't helping coach his children's sports teams on weekends, he immersed himself in reading and writing about the great conflict that swept through Maryland from 1861 to 1865. He spent thousands of hours squinting at microfilm of old newspapers and combing the files at the Maryland Historical Society, the Maryland Department of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Peabody Institute, Hood College, and the Freedman and Southern Society Project at the University of Maryland, College Park, to name just a few of the institutions whose holdings drew him. What he was searching for were letters and diaries from people from all walks of life -- merchants, soldiers, politicians, slaves, slave owners, clergy, women, civic leaders and children -- that would in turn become the "voice" that Mitchell sought to illuminate the conflict.