2016 Investitures of Certified SOBs
Here are the 2016 investitures, in the order they were earned:
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"Hamilton Street"
William Hyder – May 9, 2016
Hamilton Street only exists for three blocks, between Park Avenue on the west and St. Paul Place on the east. Attendees of the annual "Saturday with Sherlock Holmes" programs at the Central branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library would be one block south of Hamilton Street. Bill Hyder lived on this street for a time during the 1960s and has fond memories of it.
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"John Work Garrett"
John F. Baesch – May 9, 2016
John Work Garrett (1820-1884) was the President of the Baltimore and Ohio (B & O) Railroad from 1858 until his death. President Abraham Lincoln praised Garrett’s service during the Civil War, calling him "The right arm of the Federal Government in the aid he rendered the authorities in preventing the Confederates from seizing Washington and securing its retention as the Capital of the Loyal States." John Baesch spent his career in railroading.
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"Hans Schuler"
Greg D. Ruby – May 9, 2016
Hans Schuler, aka “Baltimore’s Monument Maker,” was Director of the Maryland Institute College of Art for over 25 years and designer of the 1934 Maryland Tercentenary half dollar. Monuments sculpted by Schuler in and around Baltimore include Casimir Pulaski, Johns Hopkins, Martin Luther, and General Samuel Smith. Numismatist Greg Ruby has a small collection of medals sculpted by Schuler and his son.
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"Cyanea Capillata"
Jacquelynn Bost Morris – July 18, 2016
The jellyfish Cyanea Capillata, which is very prevalent off the eastern coast of Great Britain, can be found in the cooler portions of the Atlantic Ocean and has been spotted, on occasion, in the Chesapeake Bay. It is also known as the Lion’s Mane, which happens to be Jacquelynn Morris’s 2014 investiture in the Baker Street Irregulars.
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"William H. Welch"
Dr. Robert S. Katz – July 18, 2016
William H. Welch was one of the “Big Four” founders of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the first Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. In addition, he founded the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. Welch’s pathology residency program at Hopkins attracted some bright minds to the school, including Walter Reed. Robert Katz, a retired pathologist, served on the staff at Hopkins.
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"Al Capone’s Cherry Tree"
Patricia Villacrusis – July 18, 2016
Al Capone was released from Alcatraz in November 1939 after 8 years of incarceration for tax evasion. He thereupon headed to Baltimore, where he would spend five weeks at Union Memorial Hospital being treated for paresis. Capone donated two weeping cherry trees to the hospital after his discharge to thank them for their hospitality and care. One tree was removed in 1950 during the construction of a new wing for the hospital; the other still stands despite being split in a snowstorm in 2010. All weeping cherry trees on the hospital property are descendants of the original trees donated by Capone. Pat Villacrusis lives nearby and sees these trees while walking in the neighborhood.
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"S.S. Bay Belle"
Debbie Clark – November 14, 2016
In the 1940s & '50s, it was common for Baltimore-area families to vacation to Maryland’s Eastern Shore via the S.S. Bay Belle. For years, the Wilson Line boats departed from Pier 8 on Light Street, but starting in the 1951 season, they began sailing from the foot of Broadway, the old piers having been demolished. Debbie Clark has fond memories of the 90-minute cruises that ended in 1962.
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"U.S.S. Torsk"
Beth Austin – November 14, 2016
On August 14, 1945, the U.S.S. Torsk had the distinction of sinking the last enemy ship sunk by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The Torsk also participated in the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Decommissioned in 1968, the submarine was designated a U.S. National Landmark and is docked in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Beth Austin’s father worked on submarines during his career.
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"Rosa Ponselle"
Karen Wilson – November 14, 2016
Debuting in 1918 and singing primarily with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Rosa Ponselle was one of the greatest sopranos of the 20th Century. She married Baltimore socialite Carle Jackson in 1936 (div. 1949) and retired from performing the next year, ultimately settling in Stevenson, MD. One of the founders of the Baltimore Civic Opera Company in 1950, Ponselle served as its first artistic director. Karen Wilson, an amateur singer and longtime faculty member at the former Villa Julie College (located across the street from Ponselle's storied home, Villa Pace), finds this investiture tailor-made.