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June 2005
As the weather becomes better, more of us are thinking about getting outside to enjoy it. There are a number of activities coming up that everyone should know about: the Butchers Hill Flea Market in Patterson Park on June 4th and the Garden and Art Tour on June 26th. Also, Patterson Park will be starting up their summer concert series; they'll be at our June meeting to give us an update. The warmer weather also means people are thinking more about crime. Carolyn Boitnott has been working on rebuilding the Block Representative program, and the Crime Committee will give us an update on the progress there. Also, representatives from the SE District of the Police Department will come to talk to us about what we can do to reduce crime in our neighborhood. It should be an enjoyable and informative meeting! --Dave Dyer. COMMUNITY DUMPSTER, For neighborhood residents only. No electronics, batteries, paint, hazardous materials, or appliances. The dumpster leaves between 10-11 AM, so get there the day before or early Saturday. Please fill from the back of the Dumpster, so everything fits. SPRING FLEA MARKET Bargains, bargains, bargains: at the Butchers Hill booth and at the usual great vendors, good food plus music by the Paul Snyder Trio. The Pagoda will also be open. Contact Bev, 410-675-0148 to reserve a space: $15 now, $20 after May 31st. Volunteers needed to staff the Butchers Hill booth and food stand. Contact Sandy, 410-558-0149. Donations may be brought to the Butchers Hill booth located by the fountain at the Lombard Street entrance, on Saturday, June 4th, between 6 and 9 a.m. Tax receipts will be available there. Please put a suggested price on each item. GROWING & GLOWING - A GLORIOUS GARDEN TOUR! If you haven't done so already, be sure to save Sunday, June 26 for the annual Butchers Hill Garden Tour, again featuring local artists in many of the usually "hidden" gardens of our neighborhood. Joe and Roxanne Rehak have assembled a dozen interesting gardens, and Megin Diamond Renaud has collected artists from the area to make this Tour a treat for all. The Tour will begin at Noon from the White House in Patterson Park and will run throughout the afternoon until 5:00 pm. Ticket prices remain $8 in advance of tour day and $10 on the day of the event. Advance tickets will be available at the Butchers Hill monthly meeting and later at The Friends of Patterson Park, Live Baltimore, Coldwell Banker and Long & Foster in Fells Point, Pierpoint Restaurant, and Simon's of Butchers Hill. We still need some volunteer Garden Sitters, (21/2 hour shifts) and one or two volunteers for balloon duty on Sunday morning. Contact Rick Gilmour if you can volunteer, or sign up at the Butchers Hill meeting. Dear Friends of the Butchers Hill Association, I am writing this letter on behalf of myself and the teachers and staff of Commodore John Rodgers Elementary School. Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything you have done for our school this year. From volunteering in classrooms, working the book fair, helping out on Family Fun Nights, fulfilling teacher wish lists, the Locks and Clocks project, clean-up day, and everything else that you are a part of; we greatly appreciate it. You are helping our school become a better place and are truly making a difference. It really is a good feeling to know that we have our community working on our team. Together we are making a difference in the lives of our children. Thank you for your continued interest and support. We enjoy working with you! -Jeana Patti, 4th grade teacher, CJRE School #27 BHA Committees and Monthly Meetings
JUNE BUTCHERS HILL GENERAL MEETING
Wednesday, June 1st. Coffee & cookies, 6:45 p.m. Meeting 7:00 p.m. St.
Andrew's Church hall,
corner of Chester & Lombard Sts. (entrance on Lombard).
AGENDA: Presentations by the Crime Committee and the Southeast District of the Baltimore Police Department, updates on the Garden Tour and the Patterson Park summer concert series. HIGHLIGHTS, May 4th BHA General Meeting. The complete set of minutes, prepared by BHA recording secretary Beth Needham, can be found here.
GOOD CLEAN FUN-SWIMMING AND SHOWERING A CENTURY AGO As the Patterson Park swimming pool reopens this summer, it is interesting to note that a century ago, the pool's predecessor was managed by Baltimore's Free Public Bath Commission. It was a seven-foot deep, four-acre pond with a sandy beach, one of the largest artificial pools in the country, and it was part of an extensive system of facilities intended to bring hygiene to Baltimore's citizens. 
Well before Baltimore had a comprehensive public water and sewer system, the Rev. Thomas M. Beadenkopf, a Congregational minister in Canton, observed the lack of bathing facilities in parishioners' homes and imagined public bathing beaches like those in Europe. In 1893, he persuaded the Canton Company to donate a disused pier near what is now the Korean War Memorial as Baltimore's first public bathing beach. "This beach has been cleared of rocks and partly covered with pebbles, making a good bottom," a flyer trumpeted. By 1894, the city had established a Bath Commission, and soon there were beaches at Canton, Winans Beach, and Gwynns Falls. These facilities served 25,000 to 40,000 bathers each summer. But, in dwelling places, conditions were awful. In a boarding house, 100 people might live with no bathing facilities whatever. Using a combination of civic pride and jealousy of cities like Boston and Philadelphia, the Bath Commission garnered support for public baths in Baltimore. Henry Walters, son of the art collector, agreed to build four public bathhouses. These "Walters Bath Houses" were remarkably successful. For pennies, patrons could clean both their bodies and their clothes. As some folks owned only what they wore, the laundry facilities occasionally resembled indoor nudist colonies, according to the Sun. (The genders did not mix at bathhouses or swimming pools - some days were reserved for men, others for women.) The Bath Commission also actively promoted shower facilities in the city's public schools and playgrounds, and swimming pools in city parks. In 1906, the Bath Commission convinced the Parks Board to establish an open-air gymnasium and the Tudor field house adjoining the Patterson Park pool. During a heat spell in 1907, Beadenkopf invented semi-portable "Gospel Tents." Rigged near a city fireplug, these canvas structures offered a refreshing shower and an evangelical message all at once. They attracted attention from other cities on the East Coast and in the Midwest, and ultimately offered "Cleanliness and Godliness" to thousands of patrons.
--Rick Gilmour, with thanks to the Maryland Historical Society Library and One Stop Permit Shop parking voucher: contractors and homeowners can receive a $4 voucher off the cost of parking at the Water Street Garage (between Gay St. and Custom House Ave., one block south of the Benton Building). Permit customers should bring their parking stub to the permit cashier to receive a voucher. COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARDSt. Andrew's Orthodox Church, corner of Chester and Lombard, will be having our annual Spring Flea Market on Friday, June 3rd, and Saturday, June 4th, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Clothing, white elephant items, kitchen appliances, jewelry, books, toys, furniture, and other items will be available for purchase. A bake sale will also be held, and refreshments will be available for a nominal charge. All of our neighbors are welcome! THE ART WALL
JUNE AND JULY: Are You Planning to do Rehab Work on Your House? Baltimore Heritage, Inc., Baltimore's city-wide non-profit historic preservation organization, has offered to provide Butchers Hill residents with a free 2-hour workshop on how to apply for State tax credits. The types of work that qualify for tax credits include painting, replacing roofs, upgrading kitchens and bathrooms, and much more. In the workshop, a tax credit consultant will work with homeowners to fill out the tax credit application based on their own rehab projects. If you are just beginning to plan a rehab project, even better! Come with your ideas. The workshop size is limited to 12 people, and you must be a homeowner in Butchers Hill. To register, call John Papagni at (410) 563-2661 or e-mail. The workshop will take place on June 29 from 7 to 9 PM at 27 South Patterson Park Avenue (the white house inside the park at East Lombard Street and South Patterson Park Avenue). City Council bill 05-0082 "Unsolicited Advertising Circulars," which would prohibit the placement without permission of advertising circulars in or on vehicles or residential property, is moving through City Council and needs public support. Residents should contact Councilman Kraft's office by phone (410-396-4821) or e-mail (jkraft@baltimorecitycouncil.com) with their comments. PROPOSED BUS ROUTE CHANGES After a comprehensive study of local bus routes in the Greater Baltimore area, the MTA is proposing a number of changes which would take effect on October 16, 2005. Among the changes affecting BH residents is the proposed rerouting of the #20 from Baltimore Street to Fayette; also, the #7 line along Lombard/Pratt would be discontinued, the #10 would continue along Eastern Avenue, and the #11 would be extended to Boston/Fleet Streets. Several public hearings are scheduled for June; for more information with descriptions of the new routes, go to: http://mtamaryland.com/MTA_GBBI.cfm. Mercy Medical Center Presents Music in Patterson Park 05 The season opens Tuesday June 14th with 9bobNOTE (rain date 6/15). Called "gutsy, unpretentious ... just bustin' with crunch!" by David Baker of the Baltimore Alternative, 9bobNote will rock your world! Tour dem Parks, Hon! The third annual Tour du Parks Bike Ride will take place on Sunday, June 12th. Choose either the 15 mile ride on the Gwynns Falls Trail (all off road, on trail and in parks) or the on-road 35 mile circuit which visits many of the city's parks and includes the newest section of the Gwynns Falls Trail. Proceeds support the parks. Go to www.tourduparks.org for more info and to register.
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
