Paca House

FOR THE PAST 40 years, the Historic Annapolis Foundation (HAF) has been the watchdog of preservation and the interpreter of the historical and cultural heritage of Annapolis. It's a private, non-profit organization that has enjoyed many successes, thanks to the involvement of its members, corporations and government agencies.Last Saturday night, HAF hosted an elegant fund raiser that began with cocktails at The Brice House and ended with dinner on the terrace of the William Paca House, which was saved from demolition by HAF in 1965.

Four of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence were Marylanders. Those four men - William Paca, Samuel Chase, Charles Carroll and Thomas Stone - had all been trained as lawyers. They were all in their 30s when they signed, and they all had homes in Annapolis. Remarkably, all four of those homes are standing today. According to Glenn E. Campbell, a historian with the Historic Annapolis Foundation, Annapolis is the only city in the nation with surviving homes from all its Declaration signers.

At the Paca House in Annapolis, scene of dozens of weddings each year, chief horticulturist Mollie Ridout is sighing with relief: The hemlock hedges that line the bride's walk down the aisle look like they survived. But at Baltimore's Cylburn Arboretum, some of the 100-year-old boxwoods might not have. The heavy snow splayed open the upright hedges as if they were roses past their prime. Homeowners all over Maryland are assessing the damage to their trees, shrubs and gardens from nature's one-two punch this week.

Looking for a party to go to this New Year's in Annapolis? Here's a hot tip. It's local, easy to find, full of variety, and you can afford to take the whole family.The address is easy to locate -- just look for the Historic District.The name of the party is "First Night Annapolis."The event, which its organizers hope will start an annual tradition in the city, will cover the area from Duke of Gloucester Street past St.Mary's Street, around the Annapolis City Dock, over toward the Naval Academy, Paca House, Maryland Avenue, then down College Avenue toward Church Circle.

When two designers, with more than 50 years combined experience in the field, share a penchant for fine furniture, travel and shopping, the result is a warehouse filled with wonderful pieces awaiting the right client. These pieces provided an instant inventory for Summer Hill Designs, opened last month in Phoenix by designers Kathy and Bill Tarleton and business partners Frances and Phillip Culotta. The 1,400-square-foot space feels like a traditional yet eclectic living room: Kathy Tarleton points out a leather chair, tufted leather ottoman and gilt-framed painting of Venetian canals, complemented by a respectable showing of English pine, Louis XIV and Italian neoclassical pieces.

Samantha Alexandra Poyer, a 9-year-old who lives in Annapolis, was ready to celebrate Maryland Day yesterday as she and her family visited a tiny historic house on Pinkney Street in the state capital. She knew what a diamondback terrapin, a calico cat and the medieval art of jousting have in common. All are state symbols - identified as the official state reptile, cat and sport. Then again, this was no beginner - Samantha's family had come to the same festivities last year, organized by the Historic Annapolis Foundation, a nonprofit historic preservation group that opens its doors free to the public on the Sunday before March 25, the official date of the English colony's birth in 1634.

From my "learned the hard way" files, a seasonal suggestion: When you're buying the batteries before Christmas for all those toys and hair curlers and tape machines and cordless blenders, pick up some fresh ones for your camera, too.Christmas morning is not the time to realize that your camera would rather sleep in.(My last roll of film looks as if it was taken through the slats of Venetian blinds.)*Fifty-one years ago today, the world changed, as the attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II.Today at noon, the Fleet Reserve Association will hold a rTC memorial service at its dock on Compromise Street for those killed at Pearl Harbor, and the countless other men and women claimed by war since then.

You can dump your old car -- or truck or boat -- with Volunteers of America-Chesapeake (VOA) and help fuel a 100-year-old Baltimore crusade.It funnels the cash from sales of donated junkers -- $141,800 from 1,376 vehicles and 45 boats donated last year -- into work with mentally ill residents, substance abusers, prisoners, the homeless and VOA's highly structured Woodlawn center for pre-school children.Besides selling unwanted heaps to help serve its diverse clientele, there are other oddities about VOA, such as the 19th-century origin of its perhaps unfamiliar name.

'Rhythm of Love' Tour Listen to a blend of contemporary jazz, R&B, soul and funk music when the "Rhythm of Love" Tour stops at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre Saturday for two benefit concerts. The lineup features Will Downing, Gerald Albright, Vesta and Phil Perry. Show time is 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. The theater is at Hopkins Plaza. Tickets are $32.50-$42.50. The concert is a benefit for the Arthritis Foundation, Maryland Chapter. Call 410-481-SEAT. AROUND THE HARBOR New Year's fun at Port Discovery Count down to the new year at noon Sunday at Port Discovery, a children's museum at 35 Market Place.

I had a conversation with a friend last week in which we tried to look objectively at our price per pound, as it were, on the job market.We know that medical schools are discouraging narrow specialization, and that the business "generalist" is most likely to be able to carve a niche for himself. Aha! said we, it must follow that two educated women with a wide variety of work experiences, proven adaptability and excellent interpersonal skills will be in great demand.Not so, we have both found, each with what feels like more than her share of rejection from the potential employers.