Wann

RUTH E. WANN, 81, of Milton, DE, died Monday, August 2, 2004. Memorial service Saturday, August 7 at 12 P.M., New Covenant Presbyterian Church, Abingdon, MD. Visitation 10:30 A.M. Saturday. Among the survivors is her husband of 61 years, Raymond A. (Al) Wann. In lieu of flowers, memorials to World Magazine, c/o Joel Belz, Honor Ruth Wann, Box 2330, Asheville, NC, 28802.

David G. Boschert, who served Anne Arundel County in the Maryland House of Delegates as a Republican and was earlier on the County Council as a moderate Democrat, died of liver and pancreatic cancer Thursday evening at his Crownsville home. He was 63. Born in Annapolis and raised in Crownsville, he was a 1967 graduate of Arundel High School and later attended Anne Arundel Community College, where he received an associate's degree in political science. He also earned a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Maryland, College Park.

On May 2, 2004, H. TALBOTT WANN, beloved husband of the late Helen V. Wann (nee Warner); loving brother of the late Robert Cox, Mae Possidenti and Margaret Kelley; survived by nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, and great-great nieces and nephews. Friends are invited to call at the Burgee-Henss-Seitz Funeral Home Inc., 3631 Falls Rd, on Tuesday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Services on Wednesday at 10 A.M. Interment Woodlawn Cemetery.

Morris H. Blum, an Annapolis radio station owner hailed as a pioneer in race relations for putting African-American personalities on the air more than five decades ago, died of cancer Sunday at his Annapolis home. He was 95. Born in York, Pa., Mr. Blum lived on Baltimore's Ulman Avenue as a child. Self-educated, he joined the merchant marine in 1931 as a radio operator aboard a tanker and later worked in radio intelligence for the Federal Communications Commission. "The guy could listen to Morse code and translate 35 words a minute," said Fred Koester, a former sales manager for the station that Mr. Blum founded, WANN-AM.

You can't really blame WANN-AM radio from changing from gospel and soul to country. A business has to do what it has to do to stay profitable, and the money's in country music these days.But for thousands of WANN listeners, the pragmatic reasons don't matter. This week, they had to let go of the station they've always known. For 44 years, listeners all over the Maryland-D.C. region have come to depend on WANN as the voice of the black community. It is, as one Annapolitan said, an "institution."

You can't blame WANN-AM radio from changing from gospel and soul to country. A business has to do what it has to do to stay profitable, and the money's in country music these days.Yet for thousands of WANN listeners, the pragmatic reasons don't matter. This week, they had to let go of the station they've always known. For 44 years, listeners all over the Maryland-D.C. region have come to depend on WANN as the voice of the black community. It is, as one Annapolitan said, an "institution."More than that, WANN has been a pioneer in civil rights and a model of civic responsibility.

Move over Michael Jackson. Garth Brooks, the heartthrob of country music, is replacing the King of Pop at Annapolis' only black radio station.In another sign of the growing popularity of country music, WANN is dropping its mix of gospel, rhythm and blues, and public affairs programming for a mainstream country format Nov. 2.The AM station is adopting a new slogan, "Bay Country 1190," to attract more listeners with the chart-climbing country songs that have...

AMONG AMERICA'S thousands of radio stations, WANN-AM is a rare bird. Fifty-one years after it went on the air, the dawn-to-dusk station is still owned by the man who began it. Not for long, though. Morris H. Blum has sold the station for $400,000, pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission.The buyer is New World Radio. It owns WUST-AM in Washington, which specializes in programming in foreign languages, and a station in Philadelphia. The company's plans for WANN-AM are not known.

Seconds after he stopped to aid a motorist whose vehicle had overturned, a Baltimore County taxi driver was killed yesterday on Interstate 95 near White Marsh when his cab was struck from behind by a car and exploded in flames, trapping him inside, state police said.According to Trooper Michael Wann, Patrick Charles Johnson, 27, was driving a Northern Cab Co. taxi south on I-95 about 4: 40 a.m. when he stopped to help Dennis Lee Skaggs, 21, of Crestwood, Ky., whose Honda Accord had overturned in the fast lane.

On December 14, 2004 JANICE L. CHALK; beloved wife of Norman T. Chalk Sr. and devoted mother of Norman T. Chalk Jr.; loving sister of Mildred Finn, Edgar Wann, the late Shirley Wann and the late Thomas Wann. Also survived by many neices and nephews and other relatives. Friends are invited to call at the Burgee-Henss-Seitz Funeral Home Inc, 3631 Falls Road, on Thursday, from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Services on Friday, at 10 A.M. Interment in Lorraine Park Cemetery.

On December 14, 2004 JANICE L. CHALK; beloved wife of Norman T. Chalk Sr. and devoted mother of Norman T. Chalk Jr.; loving sister of Mildred Finn, Edgar Wann, the late Shirley Wann and the late Thomas Wann. Also survived by many neices and nephews and other relatives. Friends are invited to call at the Burgee-Henss-Seitz Funeral Home Inc, 3631 Falls Road, on Thursday, from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Services on Friday, at 10 A.M. Interment in Lorraine Park Cemetery.

RUTH E. WANN, 81, of Milton, DE, died Monday, August 2, 2004. Memorial service Saturday, August 7 at 12 P.M., New Covenant Presbyterian Church, Abingdon, MD. Visitation 10:30 A.M. Saturday. Among the survivors is her husband of 61 years, Raymond A. (Al) Wann. In lieu of flowers, memorials to World Magazine, c/o Joel Belz, Honor Ruth Wann, Box 2330, Asheville, NC, 28802.

On May 2, 2004, H. TALBOTT WANN, beloved husband of the late Helen V. Wann (nee Warner); loving brother of the late Robert Cox, Mae Possidenti and Margaret Kelley; survived by nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, and great-great nieces and nephews. Friends are invited to call at the Burgee-Henss-Seitz Funeral Home Inc., 3631 Falls Rd, on Tuesday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Services on Wednesday at 10 A.M. Interment Woodlawn Cemetery.

On March 1, 2004; EDNA G. (nee Wann); beloved wife of the late Frank C. Rynes; devoted mother of Joyce C. Smith and her husband Harley; loving grandmother of Deborah H. Shultz and her husband Thomas, Jeffrey M. Smith and his wife Beth, Matthew B. Smith and his wife Tracy; great grandmother of Melissa, Amanda, Brianna, Nathan, Stephen, Benjamin and Abigail; dear sister of the late Myrtle Wann, Ethel Roah, Edgar, Chester and Herbert Wann. Friends may call at the family owned Leonard J. Ruck, Inc. Funeral Home, 5305 Harford Road (at Echodale)

Seconds after he stopped to aid a motorist whose vehicle had overturned, a Baltimore County taxi driver was killed yesterday on Interstate 95 near White Marsh when his cab was struck from behind by a car and exploded in flames, trapping him inside, state police said.According to Trooper Michael Wann, Patrick Charles Johnson, 27, was driving a Northern Cab Co. taxi south on I-95 about 4: 40 a.m. when he stopped to help Dennis Lee Skaggs, 21, of Crestwood, Ky., whose Honda Accord had overturned in the fast lane.

AMONG AMERICA'S thousands of radio stations, WANN-AM is a rare bird. Fifty-one years after it went on the air, the dawn-to-dusk station is still owned by the man who began it. Not for long, though. Morris H. Blum has sold the station for $400,000, pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission.The buyer is New World Radio. It owns WUST-AM in Washington, which specializes in programming in foreign languages, and a station in Philadelphia. The company's plans for WANN-AM are not known.

On March 1, 2004; EDNA G. (nee Wann); beloved wife of the late Frank C. Rynes; devoted mother of Joyce C. Smith and her husband Harley; loving grandmother of Deborah H. Shultz and her husband Thomas, Jeffrey M. Smith and his wife Beth, Matthew B. Smith and his wife Tracy; great grandmother of Melissa, Amanda, Brianna, Nathan, Stephen, Benjamin and Abigail; dear sister of the late Myrtle Wann, Ethel Roah, Edgar, Chester and Herbert Wann. Friends may call at the family owned Leonard J. Ruck, Inc. Funeral Home, 5305 Harford Road (at Echodale)

ANNAPOLIS DID NOT have a local radio station until after World War II. But starting in December 1946, it got three within a few months. GIs were back from battle overseas, the economy was booming and Maryland's state capital was buzzing with optimism.WANN-AM, 1190 on the dial, was actually the second station to go on the air. After some early experimentation with formats, owner Morris H. Blum decided that the station's ticket to success would be to broadcast to an African-American audience whose needs were not being met by any area station.

A two-truck accident near White Marsh tied up Interstate 95 for hours yesterday morning and sent one of the drivers to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, state police said.Jain Ying Jiang, 25, of Richmond, Va., was flown by MedEvac helicopter to Shock Trauma after his truck slammed into a tractor-trailer driven by Elijiah Richardson, 56, of Baltimore. Jiang was in critical condition yesterday with multiple injuries, officials said.Richardson was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was treated and released.

ANNAPOLIS DID NOT have a local radio station until after World War II. But starting in December 1946, it got three within a few months. GIs were back from battle overseas, the economy was booming and Maryland's state capital was buzzing with optimism.WANN-AM, 1190 on the dial, was actually the second station to go on the air. After some early experimentation with formats, owner Morris H. Blum decided that the station's ticket to success would be to broadcast to an African-American audience whose needs were not being met by any area station.