William Donald Schaefer

William Donald Schaefer remembered many people in his will, but only one mermaid. Karen Blair , a longtime aide who received $10,000 in the will made public last week, was a City Hall secretary in August 1978 when the city was about to break ground for the aquarium. A model had been hired to appear as a mermaid, but she showed up that day without the requisite fresh-from-the-sea look. “She came in and she had all this make-up on and her hair was all piled up high,” Blair said.

A Las Vegas man who claims the estate of William Donald Schaefer owes him $28,000 for restaurant checks he picked up and time he spent visiting with the former governor and comptroller for five years lost another round in court on Monday. Michael Schaefer, who is no relation to the former Baltimore mayor, was appealing last year's decision by the Baltimore County Orphan's Court to reject the claim. Circuit Court Judge Dana M. Levitz on Monday ruled that there was no evidence that the former governor, who died last April, agreed to pay for Michael Schaefer's time or compensate him for restaurant meals, and no verification of the $28,000 sum. Schaefer -- who once owned a small downtown Baltimore hotel and now lives in Las Vegas -- said after the 30-minute trial in which he acted as both attorney and sole witness that he would pursue the case to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.

William Donald Schaefer would have loved Maryland Day this year. It's all about him! A year after of his death, Maryland Historical Society will celebrate Schaefer's memory Thursday with a roast. They'll also be showing off a few Schaefer artifacts including the famous striped swimsuit he wore for that dip at Baltimore's National Aquarium and the rubber ducky he brought along for the swim. The roast will be at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St. 6 p.m. Tickets are $30 and it could be worth every penny -- and not just to see the bathing suit.

William Donald Schaefer would have loved Maryland Day this year. It's all about him! A year after of his death, Maryland Historical Society will celebrate Schaefer's memory Thursday with a roast. They'll also be showing off a few Schaefer artifacts including the famous striped swimsuit he wore for that dip at Baltimore's National Aquarium and the rubber ducky he brought along for the swim. The roast will be at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St. 6 p.m. Tickets are $30 and it could be worth every penny -- and not just to see the bathing suit.

A tiny church tucked inside Patapsco Valley State Park dedicates a pew Sunday to one of its most famous former congregants, the late William Donald Schaefer. Gary Memorial United Methodist Church has just 80 worshipers most Sundays, but for many years, one of them was the former mayor, governor and comptroller. Schaefer found his way to the stone church in the woods when the pastor was Luther Starnes, his former secretary of human resources. He left Gary Memorial $10,000 in his will.

Marylanders have taken to Twitter this morning to remember William Donald Schaefer, the iconic Baltimore mayor, Maryland governor and comptroller. He was 89 when he passed away yesterday.  Here's a sampling of what they're saying. Tweet to us @bthesite to have your thoughts included.   •  MMMcDermott   Here's to Don  Schaefer : the greatest mayor in the greatest city in America. If there are potholes in heaven, there won't be for long. •  MMMcDermott :  H.L. Mencken's gonna have someone to talk to - whether he likes it or not. Rest easy, Mayor Schaefer •  fhyrew   William Donald will be best remembered for his candor.

William Donald Schaefer, the dominant political figure of the last half-century of Maryland history, died Monday after a "do-it-now" career that changed the face of Baltimore while bringing a new burst of energy to the city he loved. Mr. Schaefer was 89. In four terms as mayor and two as governor, he was a champion of big projects that transformed Baltimore: Harborplace, Camden Yards, the National Aquarium, the Convention Center and the light rail among them. Yet he was also intensely involved with the mundane details of city neighborhoods.

Fells Point is about to lose a celebrity, somebody famous for jumping into a pool. Michael Phelps is still headed there, but William Donald Schaefer is on his way out. The former mayor, governor, comptroller and seal-pool dipper just put his Lancaster Street rowhouse on the market for $225,000. The 2BR, 1BA built in 1820 has a waaay outdated kitchen but unbeatable political provenance, even if Schaefer never really lived there. Though never accused of being a material guy - Schaefer adores fast food and political-convention freebies - he collects houses like John McCain.

No Marylander was happier to see 1991 fade into history last week than Gov. William Donald Schaefer. No one. It was a nightmarish year for the governor, a year in which nothing went right and nearly all his dreams as chief executive were shattered.It should have been the best of times. Mr. Schaefer was, after all, reelected in a landslide in November 1990 for a second four-year term. He planned to launch three sweeping initiatives that would stand as his crowning achievement. His ambitious plans for Maryland looked like they were about to take flight.

Baltimore and/or Maryland has very limited experience when it comes to automobile racing as compared to all our surrounding states. Look at the Formula One project that hopes to get underway next year in Austin, Texas. Or you may want to look to the cost incurred for seven races in Indianapolis. Then you can look at Richmond, Va., Dover, Del., and Pocono, Penn., for a NASCAR flavor. And then publish comparison findings. I think, in general, you had some very inexperienced promoters willing to accept inflated costs by different Baltimore authorities.

Tony Guthrie never met the man he calls "the best mayor we ever had," William Donald Schaefer, who died in April. "He loved this city," said Guthrie, 51, who owns a barbershop in Baltimore's Pimlico neighborhood. "I would have loved to shake his hand. " But if Guthrie never got that close to Schaefer during his lifetime, he brushed up against his legacy on Tuesday, which would have been the 90th birthday of the former mayor, governor and comptroller. Guthrie was among those who celebrated the milestone in a way that surely would have made the cantankerous Schaefer smile — by expending some elbow grease to tidy up the town.

Mike Schaefer enjoys telling stories about William Donald Schaefer - how he met the Baltimore mayor during the 1980s, how decades later they became regular companions for meals in Annapolis and Baltimore, how he visited the legendary Maryland politician on Christmas Day last year at the Catonsville retirement community where he lived. The 73-year-old man, who is not related to the late former city councilman, mayor, governor and comptroller, told many of those stories on Tuesday morning in Baltimore County Orphans' Court, to no avail.

Regarding The Sun's insistence on raising the gas tax ("Gas tax realities," Oct. 13), perhaps The Sun is out of touch with Maryland citizens. Many Marylanders are unemployed or their salaries have not returned to 2008 levels. A 15-cent increase will not only cause pain at the pump, but delivery prices and food prices will rise. As for increased transportation jobs, this would not happen for several years. What Marylanders need is jobs now, and these are never created by raising taxes.

Reporter Julie Scharper 's article on this year's Baltimore City mayoral race was excellent ("A daunting lead for the incumbent," Aug. 28). The city is fortunate to have such a strong field of candidates. Joseph T. "Jody" Landers' background in the Northeast Baltimore community, on the City Council and in the real estate market, coupled with his enthusiasm, dedication and thoughtful approach to the city's problems, position him to become a great Baltimore mayor in the tradition of the late William Donald Schaefer.

Michael Scheyer lost his wife five years ago, then lost work as demand for electricians withered with the economy. Things have been so tight that he recently went through some old boxes in a back room at his North Carolina home to see if there might be anything in there he could sell. What he turned up might just belong in a museum - or an aquarium: an old-fashioned yellow-and-red striped bathing suit, zebra-striped bathrobe and inflatable Donald Duck. Looks a whole lot like the Victorian swim suit and props that William Donald Schaefer used in his famous 1981 dip in the aquarium seal pool.

Where is our leadership, any leadership? With the recent BGE PeakRewards program debacle of not preparing or managing an event that was forecast several weeks in advance, how can the utility ever survive a true emergency? It won't and we won't with this current management set! Meanwhile, Baltimore is cutting down 136 mature trees for a weekend event. Where is Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake? City residents should be crying because the current administration does not care. Somewhere, William Donald Schaefer must be crying also.

He was 49 and on his way to political greatness. She was 22 and picketing City Hall mostly for the fun of it. It took hot pants to bring them together. Paired with white go-go boots and Jeanne Bell's lithe young physique, the red short-shorts caught the eye of William Donald Schaefer as he strode past protesters outside City Hall. He looked her up and down, said he'd like her on his mayoral campaign, gave her his phone number with instructions to call, and walked off. "Who was he?"