2019 Investitures of Certified SOBs
Here are the 2019 investitures, in the order they were earned:
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"Divine"
Carla K. Coupe – March 2, 2019
“He was always the Woman …” Well, perhaps not, but Baltimore-born Harris Glenn Milstead would certainly find fame as the actor and drag queen “Divine.” Milstead became friends with John Waters in the 1960s, and it was the then-aspiring counter-culture film director who bestowed on him his stage name (along with the tagline "the most beautiful woman in the world, almost"). Divine would star in many of Waters' movies, including Polyester and Hairspray. Carla Coupe considers Divine to be a true Baltimore icon and shares the drag queen’s opinion of a certain individual.
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"The Green Bag"
Ross E. Davies – May 11, 2019
First published in 1896, The Green Bag is Baltimore City College’s annual yearbook, one of the oldest in the nation. Each year, Maryland’s Governor submits to the Maryland State Senate a green leather bag filled with lists of political appointments for approval; the name "Green Bag" was chosen by the yearbook's first editor in recognition of the many City alumni who held such appointments. (The process is common in other states, as well.) Ross Davies, a law school professor, happens to edit “An Entertaining Journal of Law” that is also called The Green Bag.
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"Charles Joseph Bonaparte"
Ira Brad Matetsky – August 24, 2019
The grandson of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte (she who was the inspiration for the naming of our sister group, the Six Napoleons of Baltimore), Charles Joseph Bonaparte served as Secretary of the Navy and then Attorney General under President Teddy Roosevelt. His dislike of technology resulted in his home never becoming electrified or connected to telegraph lines. Ironically, the home was finally electrified after his death ... and it burned to the ground, due to faulty wiring. Ira Matetsky, like Bonaparte, is a lawyer, but he is not afraid of technology.
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"Read’s Drug Stores"
Mike McSwiggin – August 24, 2019
“Run Right to Read’s” was a slogan for Read’s Drug Stores in Baltimore from the 1940s until the chain was sold in 1983. The chain’s downtown location, at Howard and Lexington Street, was the site of one of the country’s first anti-segregation sit-ins on January 20, 1955, by students from the Morgan State University. This investiture is very appropriate, as Mike McSwiggin is a pharmacist.
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"'The Raven'"
Art Renkwitz – November 23, 2019
The publication of "The Raven" in January of 1845 made Edgar Allan Poe popular for the remainder of his life. Considered one of the most famous poems ever written, it was a natural inspiration when Baltimore found it necessary to name its National Football League franchise in 1996. Remembering reading the poem while in school inspired Art Renkwitz to chose it for his investiture.
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"Nipper"
Tonya Spratt-Williams – November 23, 2019
Many will recall the iconic image, used in advertising for RCA Victor recordings, of a dog attentively listening to "his master’s voice" on an old gramophone. Several RCA sales offices around the country perched statues of "Nipper" atop their buildings, as D & H Distributing did at their offices on Russell Street as you entered Baltimore from the South. That statue now resides at the Maryland Historical Society. Tonya Spratt-Williams is a dog lover, so this is a natural choice for her investiture.