NOVEMBER 1999

A few quick things about the House Tour. First, it was the most successful ever, as measured by tickets sold and people actually taking the tour. What amazed me though is the number of people who assisted-almost 100! This includes the committee, 17 homeowners, 64 people who helped in the houses, the workers at the White House, the kind members of St. Andrews Church, Cathy, who opened her home to the participants, Simon's, for opening their doors for the first time on a Sunday, and of course Sue and Rick, who somehow pulled everything together. All of you, stand up and take a bow.

For the November meeting, BG&E will be giving a presentation on how to efficiently manage your utilities this Winter. They will talk about heating, hot water, use of appliances, and lighting. They will also cover preventive maintenance and weatherization, and what you can do to save money and energy. Also, if you are interested in BG&E's energy assistance program, they will able to provide information. If that's not enough, they will also be bringing give-away bags with nightlights, hot water gauges, and brushes for cleaning the coils on your refrigerator.

We are distributing the sanitation guidelines again. Please read them over and do your best to comply. We are determined to make Butchers Hill one of the cleanest neighborhoods in the City, but that can only happen if approximately 800 households cooperate.
-Barry Glassman

SCORE! The first 20 years in Butchers Hill
VII. Our Public Art

Coming into Butchers Hill along Pratt Street, one is struck by the colorful "gateway" wall and bright tromp l'oeil mural at the corner of Pratt and Washington. The corner wasn't always so inviting.

"I had to replace a wall that had started to bulge," says Barry Glassman, the property's owner, "and when I finished, there was a long, high expanse of gray stucco that was functional, but hardly beautiful." He contacted the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Art and Culture (MACAC), which commissions murals in public places. After reviewing and rejecting several proposals, a neighborhood committee chose a design by artist Mary Carfagno Ferguson. Paint for the project was contributed by Budeke's Paints.

This was the artist's first outdoor mural, and at first the extremely rough texture of the stucco was daunting. But then Ms. Carfagno Ferguson found interesting effects created by the interaction of color, texture, and the outdoor light, and used them to her advantage. "I found the roughness created a sort of automatic pointillism," she recalls.

Ms. Carfagno Ferguson was on the scene in Butchers Hill from July to October 1994, and her work became as much a social event as an artistic one. People would stop by to check her progress or to chat. One day a class of special-needs children from Kennedy-Krieger Institute helped to paint. When one child spilled some green, it was "no problem" -- a new tree started hanging over the wall in that spot. "It's actually an improvement over my original sketch," says the artist.

Ms. Carfagno Ferguson has since painted several other murals for the MACAC program. Two of her current favorites are at Ramsey and Scott Streets and on Washington Boulevard between Scott and Cross. "In a crowded city, I feel that by adding a third dimension where there were only two, I'm creating space," she says. "I'm making the neighborhood not only brighter, but bigger as well."

BHA COMMITTEE CHAIRS, COMMITTEE REPORTS, AND NOVEMBER MEETINGS

Education: Co-chairs Carolyn Boitnott (410-522-4991) and George Larson (410-327-6817).

Land Use: Virgil Bartram (410-327-4964).

Marketing: Tuesday, November 9, 7:00 p.m. 2223 East Pratt Street. Contact Rick Gilmour (410-342-7061) gilmour@mdo.net Don't forget that Butchers Hill Merchandise makes great Christmas Presents! Order online at www.butchershill.org. THANKS to all the Butchers Hill volunteers whose hard work made the Heritage House Tour a huge success despite the weather. More than 300 people attended the event. Special thanks to the neighbors who volunteered their houses, to the Banner Neighborhoods work crew, who cleaned up before the tour, and to St. Andrews, who provided wonderful refreshments.

Membership: Jennine Auerbach 410-675-7976 JAuerbach@UBMail.UBalt.edu

Streetscape: Carol Richman (410-327-0261) / Steve Young (410-342-3842, young@umbc.edu). Book Club: The selection for November is Wally Lamb's I Know This Much is True. Our discussion will be on November 23rd, 2100 East Fairmount, at 7:30 p.m. The December meeting will be a combination dining out and free book discussion, time and place to be announced. Please call (410) 522-6773 for further information.

BHA Executive Committee: Thursday, Nov. 11th, 7 p.m., 2002 E. Pratt St. Contact: Barry Glassman, 410-558-1080, bha@charm.net. The Executive Committee meets on the second Thursday of the month.

Newsletter: The deadline for the December Newsletter is Friday, Nov. 19. Drop off written items at 103 S. Chester St. Contact Steve (410-342-3842, young@umbc.edu; please send e-mail text only, no attached files).

SE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE CENTER:

• Director: Diann Baker: 410-545-6510
• General Information: 410-545-6518
• Police, Milton Corbett: 410-545-6513
• Housing Inspection: 410-545-6521
• Health Department: 410-545-6532
• Sanitation Enforcement: 410-545-6515,6,7

NOVEMBER BHA GENERAL MEETING

The Butchers Hill Association will be accepting membership renewals for the year 2000; only members in good standing will be eligible to vote in the January elections. Membership is still $10, and $6 for seniors and low income.

So, How was the House Tour?
THE HOUSE TOUR WAS AN OUTSTANDING SUCCESS! How can I describe it? Let me count the ways. We had so many visitors (probably about 350) that we ran out of programs. More Butchers Hill residents participated in making the tour a success than ever before. (Approximately 75 on the day of the tour alone.) The tour guide was the best publication we have ever produced. People raved about the art and format. To add the icing, the marketing committee under Rick Gilmore raised enough money in sponsorship to more than cover the cost of the publication. More people asked for the listing of available real estate than any other year. The day after the tour a couple signed a contract on a Butchers Hill home. The gathering following the tour was a special tour highlight. All this despite inclement weather!
Thanks to all of you who helped in preparation, planning, interviewing, selling tickets and ads and the many other tasks associated with the day.

Special bouquets to Martha Simons (our artist), Diane Snyder (plant lady), Sandy Sales (ticket promo), and the owners of the twelve homes that were opened to the public. My personal thanks to everyone who made the tour such a success. Butchers Hill looked good in every way because we are a great neighborhood!
--Sue Noonan. Family Fun Night A change of pace at Butchers Hill's next Family Fun Night, Friday, November 12, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. We're going to have a board game marathon. Featuring Checkers, Chess, Scrabble, Sorry, Bingo, and others. We'll give a prize to the best player of each game. Please remember we want this to be for kids and adults, ages 5 - 70+. Remember, kids need to come with an adult, and adults need to come with 1 to 3 kids. We've been short on adults recently.

PATTERSON PARK EVENTS

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

Have you seen the great art project at the entrance of General Wolfe Elementary School (Wolfe & Gough Streets)? Two hundred and twelve individually designed tiles were installed last month, each representing the work of children at the school. Two of Butchers Hill's youth were among the forty-plus volunteers that made it happen. Hats off to Jesse Casey, 17, of Baltimore St., and Willy Supik, 11, of Pratt St. Willy helped build the background for the tiles and Jesse helped with the video filming of the production and installation. Be sure to stop by and see the "Great Walls of Happiness," as the project is called.
--Carolyn Boitnott.

WANTED: Experienced handyman needed for painting, plastering, and miscellaneous work in home in Butchers Hill. Flexible hours. Call 410-327-6229.

Miscellaneous for Sale: Bedroom suite, sofa bed, LaserJet, copy machine. Call Barry at 410-558-1080, or see the Butchers Hill web site (virtual classifieds).

For Sale: Nordic Track Walkfit 4000 manual treadmill with computerized monitor- $200. Call Jennine (410) 675-7976.

Those wonderful House Tour posters created by Martha Simons are still available. Call (410) 522-6773 to order one or put your order in at the Wednesday meeting. They cost $5.00 on regular paper and $10.00 on heavier stock.

Art Exhibit at Simon's Pub & Eatery, OPENING RECEPTION ON Tuesday, November 9, 6-9 p.m.
You won't believe your eyes! Bugs are all over the walls at Simon's ... and they're made out of kitchen utensils and other strange and wonderful things. You have to see Bar Flys-the lastest art installation from Jim Opasik, a local sculptor whose work is in collections all over the United States. (Ask him about the lifesize statue of a Ram he made for Ted Turner's neighbor in Montana.) The exhibit will be on display from November 9 through December 6. Simon's is located at 2031 E. Fairmount Avenue. Phone: 410/522-4477.

St. Andrew's Church (corner of Lombard & Chester) is having their annual Flea Market and Food Sale Friday and Saturday, November 5th & 6th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. both days. Come see their all new inventory.

There is a new police sub-station located at 2238 Eastern Avenue (2nd Floor), at the side entrance of the Chesapeake Bank building at Patterson and Eastern Avenues. Police officers are there on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. - 12 noon, and from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. both days. They are there to take complaints, answer any questions you may have, sign residents up as Block Captains, or to assign a block watch number for calling 911. Stop in for informational materials or just come in and look around.

Correction: In a recent issue of the Newsletter, we mentioned that a small hauler permit is needed for dumping at one of Baltimore City's legal dumping locations. A neighbor called to remind us that if you are using a car rather than a larger vehicle, you can always use the DUMPSTER at the Quarantine Road Landfill without a special permit. To get to the dumpster, you turn right as you enter the landfill gates. For more information, call 410-396-3772.

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