Physical Education

James Austin Barnhart, a highly decorated World War II veteran and a noted Baltimore physical therapist and teacher, died July 17 of Parkinson's disease at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. The longtime Riderwood resident was 84. Mr. Barnhart, who was the son of a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad accountant and a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised in Hunting Ridge. After graduating from Polytechnic Institute in 1944, Mr. Barnhart enlisted in the Army and served with the Army's 10th Mountain Division ski troops in Europe.

Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Lang, a retired Howard County high school coach whose winning teams earned her a place in the Howard High School Athletic Hall of Fame, died of pneumonia Monday at Seasons Hospice at Northwest Hospital Center. The Ellicott City resident was 90. She was the first full-time female physical-education teacher to be employed by Howard County. Born in Morgantown, W.Va., she earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from West Virginia University, where she also earned a master's degree.

Stand next to Ravens center Matt Birk, and the first thing you notice is how big his arms are. It appears that he could bench-press a small car. But whenever Birk talks to kids, which is often, he tries to emphasize the importance of strengthening a different part of his body. The brain. Shortly after the Ravens signed him as a free agent a year ago last week, he helped hand out scholarships from the Baltimore Community Foundation to area students, and during the presentation, the six-time Pro Bowl selection didn't talk about football.

Fang Mitchell opened his second arena in 24 years at Coppin State on Saturday. When he emerged from his locker room in the early evening, he had to ask directions to the interview area in the spanking new Physical Education Complex. Home-court advantage it isn't, at least not yet. In fact, Morgan State came away with all the perks in an 80-67 win that opened a new era at Coppin before an announced 3,189 and another Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference basketball season. Perks?

A couple of months ago, Travis Justice wouldn't have dreamed that he would be riding in a limousine and spending most of the school day with Baltimore Ravens star Todd Heap. The 10-year-old fifth-grader at Elkridge Elementary School entered the NFL's Take a Player to School contest on a whim. He's glad he did. "It tops everything," Travis said. "That was the best day of my life." After picking Travis up from his home in Elkridge, Heap spent more than three hours at the school Tuesday.

Warren E. "Libby" Mitzel, a retired physical-education instructor who taught in city public schools, died of cancer Oct. 22 at the Charlestown retirement community. She was 94. Warren Elizabeth "Libby" Mitzel, the daughter of a Pennsylvania Railroad freight conductor and a homemaker, was born at home on Keswick Road in Hampden. She was raised on a family farm in Baltimore County and in 1929 returned to Hampden with her family. To help support her family during the Depression, Miss Mitzel dropped out of school and went to work for Stieff Silver Co., where she became an engraver.

Students at Corkran Middle School in Anne Arundel County had quite the exercise routine Tuesday. They ran agility drills on their school field with Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk. They stretched with Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo. They high-fived Gov. Martin O'Malley. And they heard repeatedly from some of their sports heroes that they should get out from in front of the computer and TV and get some exercise. Shannon Thomas, an eighth-grade student, bounced excitedly as she watched her classmates run and jump.

Doris B. Smith, a homemaker and former physical education teacher, died Thursday of complications from dementia at the Broadmead retirement community in Cockeysville. She was 100. Doris Buker was born and raised in Winchester, Mass., and attended Radcliffe College. She later earned a bachelor's degree in English from Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College, in 1961. Mrs. Smith met her future husband, S. Yeardley Smith, at Love Point while both were sailing on the Chesapeake Bay. They married in 1933.

Carrying suitcases filled with teaching aids and carry-on bags stuffed with clothing and personal items, several Harford County educators traveled to Kenya last summer. This group of educators knew they were headed to a school where the children sharpened pencils with razor blades and used stone pebbles to count. "We have grown so used to having certain supplies when we teach that they don't have in Mathare Valley," said Nadine Wellington, principal of Mountain Christian School, who went to Kenya with a group of educators in 2007.

Kathleen Donaldson has always been physically active. In high school, she played volleyball and softball and attended college on a softball scholarship. By the time she earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Western Michigan University in 1998, she understood the value of physical activity and she wanted to teach her students the same lesson. "I wanted to help make physical activity not just something the children do, but also a part of who they are," said Donaldson, who has been teaching at Edgewood High for the past seven years.