Snowball Stand

A snowball stand's success depends on two key things: hot weather and lots of hard work, say Baltimore-area purveyors of the summer treat. Add those ingredients to the crushed ice and syrup concoction that has long been a regional favorite, and summertime entrepreneurs say they can make a decent living during the season's warmest weeks. "A lot of people think it's easy to start it," said Margo Torsell, who along with family members runs a three-year-old stand on Liberty Road in Randallstown.

Four young men are facing felony robbery and other charges in separate incidents after their arrests by Howard County police over the weekend. Three Columbia teens — Andy Lymonne Jackson Connely, 18, of the 5700 block Stevens Forest Road; Stephon Charles Diggs, 19, of the 5900 block Millrace Court; and Dominick Antonio Green, 18, of the 5400 block Endicott Lane — are charged in the case of a Sept. 23 home invasion robbery in the 5900 block of Turnabout Lane in Columbia.

For nearly 50 years, Windy Valley Restaurant at Falls and West Joppa roads has cornered the local market on remedies to hot summer evenings with its made-on-the premises ice cream.But a real estate executive and his family want to offer a cooling alternative in a time-honored Baltimore entrepreneurial fashion -- a corner snowball stand.Donald R. Grempler, president of Coldwell Banker Grempler Realty Inc., said his wife, Marci, and their three children -- twin 10-year-old girls, and a boy nearly 12 -- would operate the snowball stand with others to be hired.

A convicted sex offender was arrested yesterday after he was spotted watching children at a snowball stand, officials said. Kenneth Earl Barnes Jr., 45, of the 7500 block of Park Heights Ave., was arrested on charges of allegedly conducting himself in a lewd and licentious manner, said Elizabeth Bartholomew, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Parole and Probation. According to Bartholomew and police, Barnes, who is also known as "Julius," was seen on May 1 watching children near a snowball stand on Falls Road near Lake Avenue.

Madeleine Rubin-Knoll thought she had a cool idea for earning a few extra dollars this summer: Sell snowballs in downtown Annapolis.But after six weeks of fighting City Hall, the 46-year-old day care provider's entrepreneurial dream is melting in the heat of stringent regulations that govern the Historic District.She can't operate without a peddler's license, but peddlers are forbidden in the Historic District, except for food carts in industrial zones. But there are no industrial zones in the Historic District.

A $1,500 ice crusher was stolen June 28 from a snowball stand on Route 648 and McKinsey Road in Severna Park, according to police.Morgan McLeroy, the stand's owner, told police she did not find any signs of forced entry when she opened the stand for business around 11 a.m. Wednesday.Employees said things were normal when they closed the stand about 8 p.m. the day before.Police have no suspects at this time.

MIKE BERNARDO and Mike Laughery have found a delicious way to beat the summer heat. They are working their way through the flavors at the St. Philip Neri snowball stand."

SURE SIGNS that summer is near: children counting the days before the end of school, women in white shoes and requests for an extra-large Sky Blue with extra marshmallow at Arthur Slade Regional Catholic School's snowball stand.The stand, in the parking lot of Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, 7436 Baltimore-Annapolis Road, opened for the summer Monday and operates daily from 11: 30 a.m. to 9: 30 p.m.Of course, the weather didn't make for the best opening possible, but that won't stop Arthur Slade.

At The Snowball Stand in Woodstock, Erin Compton has snowball-making down to a science. On Thursday night, she dispensed a mound of crushed ice from a tall silver machine on the counter and added a splash of syrup. She piled on more ice and more syrup, topped it with a big scoop of marshmallow, stabbed a spoon into the side, and in less than a minute, it was out the window and into the hands of a waiting customer. It is a ritual that has been performed thousands of times in the three decades the stand has operated at the corner of Route 99 and Woodstock Road.

With less than 30 days before school begins, parents and children alike are polishing off vacation plans to end the "Summer of '92." Many of our neighbors have traveled afar seeking sun, fun and relaxation. Others have stayed at home, finding creative ways to generate an income before returning to school.Kendice Jones, a Brooklyn Park-Lindale Junior High School student, saw an opportunity to earn a few dollars for back-to-school clothes: a snowball stand.Kendice, of Pumphrey, offered moderate prices, a variety of flavors and a sunny smile.

A snowball stand's success depends on two key things: hot weather and lots of hard work, say Baltimore-area purveyors of the summer treat. Add those ingredients to the crushed ice and syrup concoction that has long been a regional favorite, and summertime entrepreneurs say they can make a decent living during the season's warmest weeks. "A lot of people think it's easy to start it," said Margo Torsell, who along with family members runs a three-year-old stand on Liberty Road in Randallstown.

At The Snowball Stand in Woodstock, Erin Compton has snowball-making down to a science. On Thursday night, she dispensed a mound of crushed ice from a tall silver machine on the counter and added a splash of syrup. She piled on more ice and more syrup, topped it with a big scoop of marshmallow, stabbed a spoon into the side, and in less than a minute, it was out the window and into the hands of a waiting customer. It is a ritual that has been performed thousands of times in the three decades the stand has operated at the corner of Route 99 and Woodstock Road.

William Paca school is too hot for pupils This letter to the editor was also addressed to Jacqueline C. Haas, the Harford County superintendent of education: I am writing to you in regard to the conditions at William Paca Elementary School in Abingdon. I am not normally one to complain, but when it comes to my children that is where I draw the line. William Paca is entirely too hot and has no air conditioning, except in one classroom per grade level. Yes, it does have air conditioning in the administrators' offices, media center and computer lab. The excuse being used is the computers need the air or they will not work.

What seemed a victory for a Scaggsville family whose neighborhood snowball stand has been embroiled in controversy may be nullified by proposed changes to zoning regulations that could be approved within weeks. One week before Mike and Marian Frentz were to appeal the county's decision to revoke the license the family held for 11 years, the county reinstated the license and dismissed the charges it had levied. But county officials are using the issues surrounding the snowball stand built in the family's garage to guide regulations proposed to the comprehensive rezoning plan that is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

A week after the county Office of Planning and Zoning shut down a neighborhood snowball stand, spurred by complaints from neighbors in the Scaggsville community, Snowball City is reopened for business on Cardinal Forest Circle under a new permit from the county. But the snowball stand, owned by Mike and Marian Frentz and operated by the couples' daughters, continues to be a center of debate in the neighborhood - one that soon will spill over into the county hearing offices and possibly the County Council.

RECENTLY, MY 20-year-old niece and I were driving on Church Street when she remarked, "Oh look, the snowball stand is still there. That was there when I was a kid." Well, it was there when I was a kid, too, and it's still owned by the same family and going strong. In 1960, fewer women worked outside the home than today and fewer still were business owners. That was when Reena Schrader told her mom, Mary Fant, that her in-laws had a snowball stand in Baltimore on Lexington Street and suggested that she open one in Brooklyn Park.

A week after the county Office of Planning and Zoning shut down a neighborhood snowball stand, spurred by complaints from neighbors in the Scaggsville community, Snowball City is reopened for business on Cardinal Forest Circle under a new permit from the county. But the snowball stand, owned by Mike and Marian Frentz and operated by the couples' daughters, continues to be a center of debate in the neighborhood - one that soon will spill over into the county hearing offices and possibly the County Council.

Owners of a tiny snowball stand on Ritchie Highway in Severna Park are tired of being dumped on by big business -- literally.Michelle Petrino, who co-owns Freezee's at 840 Ritchie Highway, said that for three months, businesses near her stand have been tossing bags of trash into her trash bin.After shelling out at least $100 extra in removal fees, Petrino began filtering through her "extra" trash and discovered some interesting culprits, including U.S....

Some say money changes people, but four Baltimore youths running a snowball stand with their own funds this summer say it's strictly business. That means no IOUs, no refunds and no free extra squirts of flavor. Even if you're a friend. In an unorthodox business course based in the real world, Tony Bey, Deonte Austin, and Keith and Korey Minor have set up outside the College Gardens Community Center at 4238 Parkton St. in Southwest Baltimore to sell snowballs, learn about managing money and give back to the center that helped launch them.

Summertime in the suburbs brings certain rituals. Family vacations, trips to the pool, Little League games. And then there are the snowballs. Crushed or shaved pieces of ice flavored with squirts of syrup seem to rank high on the list of seasonal pleasures. And like the ice cream man, the snowball stand has become a fixture in the community. "I have customers who come every day," said Kyle Marriott, owner of Ky Ky's Hawaiian Ice in Dorsey's Search. "You get to know who likes what flavor."