Otterbein

On Monday, May 25th, 2009, Miss Rita M. Otterbein, Visitation for family and friends will be held on Thursday, May 28, 2009 from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9:00 P.M. in St. Martin's Home - Little Sisters of the Poor, 601 Maiden Choice Lane, Catonsville, Maryland. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, May 29, 2009 at 11:00 A.M. in the Chapel. Interment will follow in Holy Cross Cemetery.

Rev. Millard Byrd Knowles, pastor of Old Otterbein United Methodist Church from 1992 through 2006 and later pastor of visitation/pastor emeritus at Perry Hall United Methodist Church, died Thursday following a series of strokes. He was 82. "He could tell any biblical story with an emotion and a passion that made you feel like you were right there," said Rev. Jeff Paulson, a longtime friend and colleague of Mr. Knowles, who had a doctorate in biblical storytelling from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

Thanks to 23 youthful volunteers from Ohio and eight adult leaders, a brick courtyard at downtown Baltimore's historic Old Otterbein United Methodist Church has been repaired at no cost to the congregation.Other jobs performed for the church at Conway and Sharp streets by the group of sixth- to 12th-grade students -- who visited the Inner Harbor for a week at the beginning of the summer -- included exterior scraping and repainting of the three-story parsonage, trimming trees, planting flowers, building a garden gate and replacing an old honeysuckle-covered wire fence with a white picket fence.

Joseph George Otterbein, the retired baker who created and marketed a popular thin sugar cookie, died Saturday of complications from congestive heart failure at his Lake Montebello home. He was 88. Mr. Otterbein was born above the family bakery at Fort Avenue and Jackson Street in South Baltimore. He attended the Holy Cross School and was a 1941 Loyola High School graduate. During World War II, he served in the Army and was trained as a paratrooper. He was assigned to England and France.

WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- Robert Marshall scored 24 points to lead Otterbein (6-4) to a 96-71 win over Goucher (7-4) in the final of the Otterbein O'Club Classic last night.David Clark had 20 points and six assists for the Gophers.

A small patch of land tucked behind a highway in South Baltimore has become an odd source of controversy between the Otterbein Community Association and a developer planning to build townhouses.Three years ago, the city Board of Estimates agreed to let Congress Hall Square Limited Partnership develop the land -- if neighborhood residents didn't object. But now community leaders say they never agreed to the development plans and want the board to rescind its approval. A vote is scheduled for Wednesday.

The Religion Notes column in The Sun Friday listed an incorrect date for a free concert in Pikesville by organist Margaret Budd. The concert will be at 4 p.m. next Sunday, Nov. 20, at St. Mark's-on-the-Hill Episcopal Church, 1620 Reisterstown Road.The Sun regrets the errors.The acclaimed pipe organs of Henry Niemann, who built his instruments in Baltimore between 1872 and 1899, once filled 40 local churches with their music. Only seven of the organs remain in use.The smallest of them belongs to Old Otterbein United Methodist Church at Sharp and Conway streets, west of the Inner Harbor.

It goes without saying that trying to find a parking space after work in many Baltimore neighborhoods is an aggravating, blow-your-horn and then your brains out adventure. So, of course, someone has figured out a way to make a buck off the misery. This ad showed up on Craigslist offering visitor passes to park in South Baltimore's Otterbein: "Pass is good for 1 year, expires 10-31-10. 2 block walk to TONS office buildings, 1 block to the harbor. Most parking places downtown are $100 plus a month, so this worth over $1200.

The Otterbein's Family Bakery has changed a lot since it opened in Baltimore in 1881, from a modest storefront pastry shop to a factory operation that churned out about 7 million cookies last year for grocery stores and vending machines. But one thing hasn't changed: The sweet contents of Otterbein's red-and-white bags still are shepherded to market by the family that started it all. Mark Otterbein, who runs the Windsor Mill-based operation, represents the fourth generation of his family to run the bakery, which celebrated its 125th anniversary this month.

The city has banned parking by outsiders throughout Otterbein, transforming the neighborhood's fashionable streets into a private parking preserve for its residents.Earlier this month, Transportation Commissioner Herman Williams Jr. limited parking in Otterbein to neighborhood residents and authorized visitors. Violators can receive a $27 ticket.While many city neighborhoods have two-hour limits on parking by non-residents, Otterbein is the only one where parking by non-residents is outlawed.

Rosemary Muir likes to dress up her goose. A school outfit in September. A tuxedo for formal occasions. A wedding gown when her daughter got married. And, of course, appropriate attire for the appropriate holiday. Muir bought her first and, she thought, her last 26-inch tall, 90-pound concrete goose two decades ago in Ohio and brought it with her to Howard County. Ten years ago, she and her husband took the prized lawn ornament to their new home on South Hanover Street, in South Baltimore's Otterbein.

On Monday, May 25th, 2009, Miss Rita M. Otterbein, Visitation for family and friends will be held on Thursday, May 28, 2009 from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9:00 P.M. in St. Martin's Home - Little Sisters of the Poor, 601 Maiden Choice Lane, Catonsville, Maryland. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, May 29, 2009 at 11:00 A.M. in the Chapel. Interment will follow in Holy Cross Cemetery.

It goes without saying that trying to find a parking space after work in many Baltimore neighborhoods is an aggravating, blow-your-horn and then your brains out adventure. So, of course, someone has figured out a way to make a buck off the misery. This ad showed up on Craigslist offering visitor passes to park in South Baltimore's Otterbein: "Pass is good for 1 year, expires 10-31-10. 2 block walk to TONS office buildings, 1 block to the harbor. Most parking places downtown are $100 plus a month, so this worth over $1200.

In South Baltimore's Otterbein neighborhood, quiet side streets sit cloaked in the turning leaves of tall trees. The autumn tranquillity, punctuated by an occasional dog barking or church bells chiming, belies the hustle and bustle of nearby downtown activity. It is on one such street, cozily ensconced in her three-story brick rowhouse, that Sharon Michaels counts her blessings every day. As a member of the Austin Group, Interior Designs and Custom Builders, Michaels said she's used to "buying homes, fixing them up and selling to other people."

When Don and Michaeline Fedder bought a house in Otterbein 22 years ago, both moved in empty-handed. "We came out of separate homes and past lives with nothing," Michaeline Fedder recalled. "Now 99 percent of what we have we bought together." The remaining 1 percent consists of family portraits and photographs that grace several walls and tables of their South Baltimore home. Along a cobblestone alley just east of Camden Yards, the Fedders' four-level townhouse is one of three built in 1984 that sit opposite restored dwellings from the late 19th century.

The Otterbein's Family Bakery has changed a lot since it opened in Baltimore in 1881, from a modest storefront pastry shop to a factory operation that churned out about 7 million cookies last year for grocery stores and vending machines. But one thing hasn't changed: The sweet contents of Otterbein's red-and-white bags still are shepherded to market by the family that started it all. Mark Otterbein, who runs the Windsor Mill-based operation, represents the fourth generation of his family to run the bakery, which celebrated its 125th anniversary this month.

Before it fell into disrepair, at the end of a dead-end street in a neighborhood on the brink of demolition, the townhouse at 137 W. Lee St. had for more than 200 years housed a broad range of people. An aide to George Washington lived there during the early years, records say. It became a boardinghouse in 1870, and 22 people set up camp in its four bedrooms at one time. And in 1978, an accountant bought the then-dilapidated four-story structure from the city for $1 and a promise to restore its grandeur.

Undercover police officers have swarmed over Federal Hill and Otterbein for the past week trying to catch a group of teen-agers blamed for a series of armed holdups that has shaken the upscale neighborhoods.They have arrested more than a dozen people on drug and gun charges, including a 12-year-old boy from West Baltimore who they said used a cap gun to rob five people in five days. Police are looking for four other suspects in the robberies.A 17-year-old charged in five of the armed robberies told detectives his group targeted the area because of its affluence, police said.

Charles H . Greene, a retired job placement agency owner, died of cancer Saturday a t t h e Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The Otterbein resident was 82. Born in Rochester, N.Y., and raised in Scranton, Pa., he enlisted in the Marine Corps during WorldWar II and took part in the Iwo Jima invasion and later the occupation of Japan. After his discharge in 1946, he earned a degree at the University of Scranton. He worked in New York and New Jersey before going to Saudi Arabia and Yemen, where he worked for more than a decade with the Arabian American Oil Co. and Cities Service Co., later known as CITGO.