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THE BALTIMORE SUN |

NEWS

| MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2011

Home for African-American history

Veteran Baltimore County amateur historian hopes to revive old building as research center
By Raven L. Hill
The Baltimore Sun

Its easy to miss the little two-story, boarded-up house behind the Historical Society of Baltimore County in Cockeysville. Known as the Pest House, it was once a haven for patients suffering from contagious diseases, such as smallpox. Built in 1872, its been empty for decades. But efforts to convert it into a research center for county African-American history would take the old stone building beyond its dreary past into a brighter future, provided fundraisers can obtain more than $300,000 for the renovation job. Lead organizer Louis S. Diggs, for whom the center would be named, has written a dozen books on early African-American life in the county, exploring the history of Piney Grove, Turners Station, Catonsville, and Belltown in Owings Mills. Past historical society president Glenn T. Johnston said he was immediately impressed with Diggs books. He was an amateur historian who did history according to professional standards, said Johnston, a Stevenson University archivist and adjunct professor of history. Thats a rare commodity. It became clear to me that we needed a place that could talk about the history of African-Americans. Johnston thought the old building Diggs says it was built of stones from the Texas, Md., quarry where African-Americans worked could be that place. Diggs wasnt so sure. It scared me, he said, and doubly scared me when they said

JOE SORIERO/BALTIMORE SUN PHOTO

Louis S. Diggs, the author of 12 books on African-American life in early Baltimore County, is trying to raise $300,000 to turn the Pest House in Cockeysville into a research center.

the inside was a wreck. Nestled among trees and greenery, the buildings insides include rotted walls, exposed ceiling and floor beams, and graffiti-tagged doors, according to photos. A structural review determined that it was sturdy enough for an overhaul. The remodeled building would include a conference room and main offices. Diggs can visualize the patrons: students, a

genealogy study group, a local branch of the Association for the Study of AfricanAmerican Life and History, a writers guild. Hed like to start construction next year and applied earlier this year for a $100,000 grant. Diggs own interest in county history came from working as a substitute teacher at Catonsville High School in the early 1990s.

When it came to the black children that lived in the Winters Lane community of Catonsville, they were unable to turn a paper in because they couldnt find anything on the history of the community, Diggs told The Baltimore Sun in 2008. These children were disappointed, and they asked me to help them find the history of their community. I couldnt say no to them. His first book, It All Started On Winters Lane, chronicled the founding families of Catonsville. Hes been able to publish subsequent books with his own money and cultural grants. Diggs is well regarded in the county, but many people are likely unaware of the fundraising campaign, said Del. Adrienne Jones, a supporter. The challenge is getting the word out about the importance of this facility, Jones said. People need to know about this history and how they can be a part of bringing this important aspect of Baltimore County history to light. I think if they find out they can be a part of this, there will be that buy in. For now, Diggs is focused on raising enough money to complete the first floor. Hes organized a nine-night cruise in January to the Bahamas and hopes that local businesses will contribute funds as well. While the research may be housed in its own building, it is county history, Johnston said. Its our history. Its our community. Its our county. raven.hill@baltsun.com

Mayor says the teams absence from training camp impacts citys businesses and recognition

Apartments for kin face Balto. Co. vote

By Raven L. Hill
The Baltimore Sun

AMY DAVIS/BALTIMORE SUN PHOTOS

Westminster Mayor Kevin Utz, sitting at the football field where the Ravens have practiced in past years, said the loss to the town was significant. The cancellation of Ravens practice at McDaniel College has meant lost revenue and loss of media exposure.

Westminster without the Ravens

By Don Markus
The Baltimore Sun

The three weeks when the Baltimore Ravens typically train in Westminster is a time for this Carroll County city to revive itself from the dog days of summer and get ready for the return of students to McDaniel College. But these days the downtown area is devoid of many people and most shades of purple as the team opted to train at its in-season facility in Owings Mills because of the uncertainty surrounding the NFL lockout that ended last week after more than 100 days. Though lifelong resident and first-term mayor Kevin Utz cant put an exact dollar figure on the loss of revenue due to the teams absence, he said Sunday that restaurants whose clientele came strictly to watch their favorite NFL team practice could lose between 10 and 20 percent of their expected revenue and the Best Western hotel where the Ravens housed their players and coaches would likely be affected even more. Its significant, said Utz, a former Maryland State Trooper who now works in his daughters real estate company. Utz said the recognition that came with the citys affiliation with the Ravens was nearly as important and would also be missed. The sportscasters would say they were in Westminster and our website would get a lot of Google hits with people wanting to know, Wheres that? Utz said. Despite the team not being there for the first time since its inception in 1996, Utz said that the tradition of painting the town purple will continue later this month by replacing American and Maryland flags with Ravens flags, At Rafaels, a restaurant on West Main Street, a handful of customers ate lunch or sipped on a beer as the Orioles-Yankees game played on the flat screen television behind the bar. Chris Ruby, the manager, said that we dont have the foot traffic we

Gordon Geno Brauning of Westminster, taking a break at Rafaels, used to go to Ravens practice every day.

normally have when the Ravens are in town. The restaurant also hosts a local fan club, the Ravens Roost, during the season. Ruby recalled how when some of the players, including Jarret Johnson, recently departed Kelly Gregg or even Joe Flacco, came in for dinner during training camp, word would spread and suddenly a quiet night became a busy one. We would go from nearly empty to completely full in minutes, Ruby said. But not this summer. Gordon Brauning, who everyone in town knows as Geno, said he used to go to training camp every day the team was there practicing, but doubted that he would make the trek to Baltimore when the Ravens open up their workout to the public Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium. As the maintenance man at Johanssons, another popular Westminster restaurant,

Brauning admits that there is a benefit to the Ravens not being around. I get more work done, he said, half-joking. Not all of the local bars and restaurants within a long punt of the McDaniel College practice fields were quiet Sunday. Baughers, the 63-year old landmark restaurant that typically attracts many more locals than visitors, was jammed in the early afternoon. For a few minutes before 2 p.m., the line went out the door and into the parking lot. Harold Stultz, the general manager of the restaurant for 11 years, said that there was barely any increase in the number of usual 5,000 to 6,000 customers a week when the Ravens were in training. I think it came to something like 27 more customers a week, said Stultz. In fact, Stultz used to get complaints from some of the restaurants longtime patrons that Ravens fans would fill up the parking lot and then walk over to the college. The parking lot was filled Sunday, but not a single one had a Ravens flag attached. The regulars were back to their routine. The Best Western had a sign at its front desk advertising the fact that Ravens training camp was canceled and rooms were available; the same information was posted recently on the display outside. A desk clerk who declined to give her name said that the 101-room hotel was about half filled. Ruby, the manager at Rafaels, said that not everyone received the news of the Ravens moving their training camp away from Westminster. I had a few people ask me earlier today where the Ravens were training [in Westminster] and I told them they were in Owings Mills, he said. Told that practice is closed there to the general public, and that the Ravens had Sunday off, Ruby realized that he had unwittingly given out bad information. I gave her good directions, he said. don.markus@baltsun.com

Despite protests from some community groups, the Baltimore County Council is scheduled to vote Monday on an ordinance that would offer guidelines for add-on apartments which frequently serve as temporary, separate living quarters for relatives. The issue arose, in part, over a Cockeysville couples decision to convert their garage into an apartment for their adult son. A growing number of residents are using such spaces, known as in-law apartments, to care for elderly or disabled relatives. While community groups say they dont have much of a problem with the ordinances intent, they would like more time to review it. In the past, the county has generally approved permits for such apartments if they were located within singlefamily homes, but required special hearings for units like garage apartments. Our concern is more with the accessory structure not the in-law apartment in the house, said Teresa Moore, executive director of the Valleys Planning Council, at last weeks council work session. I think everybody agrees that it would be nice to be able to take care of somebody that needed extra help in the family. The bill would restrict such apartments to immediate family members and establish requirements for kitchen and bathroom facilities once the relative departs the unit or the property is sold. Some groups asked the council last week to postpone the vote. The Falls Road Community Association has spent thousands of dollars in recent years fighting J. Gary and Barbara Mueller, the Cockeysville residents who remodeled their garage. Harold H. Burns Jr., the associations president, told the council last week that he believes the bill is a good-faith effort, but that his group still has concerns. Burns said the apartments are intended to be used for disabled or elderly relatives, but the bill does not impose such restrictions. This bill does not have any limitations, he said. Its just family. The association filed suit against the Muellers over a garage apartment that their son was living in. The Muellers had secured a permit to build a two-story garage on their nearly two-acre lot as an office/loft accessory structure with a utility sink. Later they improved it with two bathrooms, a kitchen and three more rooms. Attorneys on both sides of the lawsuit also appeared before the council, generally supportive of the bill. It doesnt change the practice. It just eliminates a lot of people who are going through the wringer at this time, said Lawrence E. Schmidt, the Muellers lawyer and a former county zoning commissioner. Michael R. McCann, the community associations lawyer, added, Although Larry and I are on different sides of the case, we both think the bill is a good idea. [But] as simple as this sounds, as well-intentioned as this sounds, there are some minor issues that need to be addressed. Moore said the legislation has made positive aspects and could resolve past abuses. But members of the Valleys are concerned the bill would lead to more people building such units outside the home, and the guidelines on property line proximity are not clear, she said. raven.hill@baltsun.com