Union Chapel

A fire damaged a family's Glenwood home Sunday afternoon and killed four pets who were trapped inside, Howard County fire officials said.The state fire marshal's office is investigating Sunday's fire, which apparently started while a mother and her two daughters were away. Two dogs, a cat and a bird died in the blaze, said Sgt. Bob Wiseman, a Department of Fire and Rescue spokesman.About 3:30 p.m. Sunday, units from four stations responded to the fire in the 15700 block of Union Chapel Road.

Flames consumed most of a log and wood house in Western Howard County Friday night, fire officials said, but no one was injured in the blaze. Fire officials said part of the former farm home may date to the 18th century. Firefighters arriving at the two-story house in the 2700 block of Route 97 at about 10 p.m. Friday found flames coming through the roof, Lisbon Volunteer Fire Chief Carey McIntosh said. "Part of the shell of the log structure is still there," McIntosh said, but much of the home was destroyed.

On April 25, 2008, BRUCE N. BROWN of Joppa, MD. Beloved husband of the late Isabelle Winning Kilgore Brown. Loving brother of Dale H. Brown and his wife, Joan and the late Maidee Kerr-Boyd. Also survived by nieces and nephews, Jeanne Bayer, Maidee Spencer, Bruce Allen Kerr, Susan Merrill, and Mark Brown. Mr. Brown was a captain un the U.S. Air Force and the 94th Fighter Squadron during WWII. He worked at Martin Marietta on the Gemini and the Mercury projects, and was also employed at APG in Balistic Research.

James Wooten May, owner of May Brothers Inc., a contracting and building firm, died Tuesday of undetermined causes at his Ellicott City home. He was 59. Born in Washington and raised in Silver Spring, Mr. May was a 1960 graduate of Montgomery Blair High School. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1964 from Lynchburg College, where he was an All-American soccer player and a member of the Virginia school's Sports Hall of Fame. An avid sports car enthusiast, he was a member of the Sports Car Club of America and enjoyed road-racing his yellow-and-white 1974 two-seater Datsun 260Z.

M. Frances Lewis, a homemaker and church cook, died of respiratory failure May 30 at her Fallston home. She was 82. Born in Baltimore, Mabel Frances McCorkle never used her first name, her family said. She was raised on Gorsuch Avenue and was a 1941 graduate of Eastern High School. During World War II, she was a secretary at Fort Holabird. Mrs. Lewis, who had lived in Fallston for more than 50 years, was a packaging manager from 1975 to 1985 for Laurelbrook Natural Food Co. in Bel Air. Her husband of 45 years, Elmer T. Lewis, a Westinghouse logistics engineer, died in 1992.

Wellington WestPulte Homes has opened a new model at Wellington West in western Howard County.There are 31 one-acre homesites available and two 20-acre parcels. Side-entry garages, brick fronts, libraries, gourmet kitchens and designer baths are standard.Options include morning rooms, sun rooms, master bedroom fireplaces, granite kitchen counter tops, and stainless steel appliances.The Chatsworth starts at $466,990 for 3,933 square feet.The first floor consists of a 16-by-14-foot dining room, 16-by-14-foot living room, 12-by-14-foot library, 16-by-22-foot family room, kitchen with cooking island and nook, laundry room, powder room and a three-car garage.

The 50th Annual Howard County Fair Book was the best thing to come in the mail recently. The book details everything about the fair, which begins Aug. 12.This year's Howard County Fair is an important milestone in our community, according to fair President Rob Moxley. Members of the Howard County Fair Board invite you to participate in this year's fair as an exhibitor, a volunteer or a visitor.Call 442-1022 to reach the Howard County Fair Board or 313-2707 for more information about 4-H.*Heather Rynarzewski, a 16-year-old member of the Daisy Agriculture 4-H Club, will represent Howard County on the State 4-H Teen Council, where she will help coordinate statewide involvement of teen-agers in 4-H programs.

100 years ago"Straw rides" are becoming popular in Anne Arundel County. Often the participants will drive to the South River from Annapolis, where refreshments are served before returning home. Each person carries a tin horn. -- The Sun, Aug. 3, 1896.The annual report of Mayor Thomas, of Annapolis, shows total receipts of $43,648.42; disbursements of $42,818.60; balance $829.82. -- The Sun, Aug. 6, 1896.A three-member military board, selected to compile records of Union soldiers, sailors and marines who served during the Civil ,, War, met in Annapolis August 6 for its monthly meeting.

Marguerite D. Sargent, a homemaker who enjoyed flying and sailing, died Thursday of pneumonia at Montgomery General Hospital in Olney. The longtime Howard County resident was 88. Marguerite Dumeste Ridgely was born in Frederick and raised in Sunshine in Montgomery County. She was a 1937 graduate of Sherwood High School and after graduating from Strayer's Business College in Washington, worked as an office manager for the federal government and later for The Washington Post. After marrying Warren Gooch Sargent, an architect, in 1950, the couple built their home on Ridgely family property near Glenwood.