I’ve been thinking about … loss.
The past few weeks have been very hard. First we heard about the death of Ann Mainolfi, a friend in his 40s. The Sun does a good job of living and fulfilling her Baltimore, but she also has a CV in Carroll County. Ann and her husband Ferd are theater friends. She directed my husband Joe to make “Hedda Gabler” at the Spotlighters Theater in Baltimore, where she and I went on an April Fool’s Day musical called “70, Girls, 70″ 70, Girls, 70 ”
Ann and Feld have a pretty house in Guilford, Baltimore, but they also own a farm in Manchester to show you a little world we live in. There are a lot of great parties in both places. When they retired, they moved to the farm and renovated it into their main residence. Ann is smart, warm and funny; a gifted actor and even a more talented director and teacher. She was a great sensation for having set up a drama program for North Carolina High School and Community Center. I helped a year’s Christmas program. This is very interesting.
One summer a few years ago, I asked Ann and Ferd to host a summer program sponsored by a small community theater at a local church in Union Bridge. She did a great show for children. I remember it was one of the classic fairy tales. Feld built a set, Ann made Cheap Halloween Costumes for all children. Within a week, they learned the stage craft, ate a sumptuous lunch, and performed well. Children wear these outfits in the summer, and I know that because I saw them on the streets of Union Bridge.
Jim Reter also died earlier this month. Jim is Kiwanis’s friend. He never missed a chance to help fundraiser, whether it’s FallFest’s Scarecrow Building or the Farm Museum’s beer garden. He is a doer He is a Trade Accountant and has held positions with Carroll County Public Schools and the Carroll County Republican Central Committee. He had a strong interest in the politics of the area and attended many public meetings on topics of interest to him. He is a gentleman, I will miss him.
On January 15, it is hard for me to know the death of Julia K. Berwager. It is my honor to interview her at the Community Media Center’s history project. Miss Belweng knew everything Manchester knew, and it appeared that everyone in the town knew her. She loves the city and is very active at the Manchester History Museum. She told me once, because of her father’s job, that she knew the location of every old well in Manchester. A high school gym teacher was trained to become a coach of a high school man’s baseball team when all men stepped out of World War II. At that time, a woman who coached the men’s baseball team was unheard of. When these men came back, she was still a little outraged.
In Daniel Hartzler’s book on Cheap Halloween Costumes baseball history in Carroll County, Julia K. Berwager is recognized as one of the best pitchers in Carroll County. Note that I did not say a woman pitcher. This is a very good book. Julia K. Berwager was a woman before her, and I am happy to meet her.
