Christmas Tree Lighting at Belair Mansion

Below are pictures from the City of Bowie Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the Belair Mansion on Sunday, December 4, 2011.



Click on one of the pictures to see a slide show.

Belair Mansion was lit up for the ceremony. Prior to the tree lighting, the museum hosted the 16th Annual Candlelight Open House.

The city described the evening's events as follows

Holiday History at Twilight

Belair Mansion's Sixteenth Annual Candlelight Open House will be held on Sunday, December 4, 2011 from 4:00-7:00 p.m.

Enjoy rooms from different eras - all bedecked with holiday cheer. The music of "Bedlam" will fill the air and cider and cookies will be enjoyed in the 1930's kitchen. Admission is free; donations to the Bowie Food Pantry are requested. No reservations are required.

This year, in celebration of Belair At Bowie's 50th Anniversary, the City Christmas Tree returns to Belair Mansion. Long a feature at the Mansion, before the City Hall move to Kenhill Drive, the tree has come back! Santa will visit, lights will be lit, old holiday memories will return --- and new ones will be made! Festivities begin at 7:00 p.m.

The sun room in the west wing of the mansion was set-up for the kids to meet with Santa.

The west wing of the mansion.

Nichelle Fullen and the Bowie City Council led the crowd in singing Christmas Carols.  Nichelle has been doing a terrific job leading the carols for the last several years.  Click here to see Nichelle's art work, and click here to see Nichelle perform America the Beautiful at a Bowie church.

The lighting of the Christmas tree

Nichelle Fullen and the City Council sing a modified version of "Here Comes Santa Claus." "Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, Right down Tulip Grove Drive..."

Click on one of the pictures to view a slide show.

Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive on Tower 39

Santa and Mrs. Claus are lowered to the ground on Tower 39

Mrs. Claus

Santa Claus

Santa and Mrs. Claus enter Belair Mansion

Bedlam performed in the mansion

The volunteer firefighters were posing for a picture in front of the Christmas tree. The camera's flash made the reflective strips on their uniforms stand out.

Belair Mansion from Tulip Grove Drive. People are lined up at the door to see Santa.

Starliners record show at WETA-TV Studios - 1973/74

The Bowie High School Starliners recorded a 30 minute program called "Jazz?" on WETA-TV during the 1973/74 school year. The pictures below were taken by Arnie Miles during that recording session.

The Starliners was an extracurricular jazz band sponsored by Bowie High School from 1967 through 1977. Five year Starliners member Bob O'Hara describes the band on his Web site as follows:

From 1967 through 1977, Bowie (Md.) Senior High School sponsored an extracurricular jazz band called The Starliners. The Starliners was a relatively standard big band, with 5 reeds, 4 trombones, 4 trumpets, piano, bass, guitar, and drums. Often the band was augmented with additional percussion, vibes, French horns, and vocalists. At times, there were as many as 23 of us on stage. The band leader during its entire existence was Lt. Col. Joseph G. Carley (USAF, retired). He was paid a salary of $1 per year by the county Board of Education.

During its life, The Starliners produced four albums, Space Chasin’, In Stereo, 12 by 3, and Bowie Straight Ahead. Sales of these albums, along with gigs 3-4 times per month, paid for the purchase of new charts, as well as for travel to jazz festivals and competitions.

A more complete set of photos from this recording session can be found on a Bowie Living Facebook photo album.



Click on one of the pictures to view a zoomed-in slide show.

Band leader Lt. Col. Joseph G. Carley

Bowie Mayor Jim Conway and Band leader Lt. Col. Joseph G. Carley

These pictures were posted as part of the Bowie Blade Pic Project, I've been posting pictures taken by Arnie Miles for the Bowie Blade between 1973 and 1975.

Photos of Bowie Maryland 1973 through 1975 by Arnie Miles is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States
License

Other Bowie Blade Pic Project Posts

• Previous:  Citrus Sale in Bowie, 1973 or 1974 
• Next:  Winter Fun in Bowie, December, 1973 
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Citrus Sale in Bowie, 1973 or 1974

These are pictures from a citrus sale in Bowie, Maryland in late 1973 or early 1974. I assume that the boys in the pictures are members of the Boy Scouts.

Two boys try their sales pitch in the what looks like a Levitt colonial.

Two boys pose with a case of oranges.

Citrus Sale

Citrus Sale, Direct from Florida

These pictures were posted as part of the Bowie Blade Pic Project, I've been posting pictures taken by Arnie Miles for the Bowie Blade between 1973 and 1975.

Photos of Bowie Maryland 1973 through 1975 by Arnie Miles is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States
License

Other Bowie Blade Pic Project Posts

• Previous:  House Explosion in Pointer Ridge, January, 1974 
• Next:  Starliners record show at WETA-TV Studios - 1973/74 
• Complete Listing

City of Bowie trying to attract Trader Joe's?

According to the Bowie Star, State Senator Doug Peters plans to file a bill with the Maryland General Assembly to allow a grocery store in Bowie to sell alcohol. The bill was initiated by Bowie City Manager David Deutsch and the City Council as a way of attracting a specialty grocery store like Trader Joe's to Bowie.

The spaces left vacant by Giant Food in Bowie Plaza and Pointer Ridge Plaza are both appropriate locations for a specialty grocery store.

Alcohol is prohibited for sale in Maryland grocery stores as a general rule, but exceptions exists, including exceptions for several stores in Prince George's County.

Trader Joe's said that opening a store in Bowie is not in their two year plan.  Trader Joe's does not currently have a store in Prince George's County.

The Bowie Star article is not yet posted on-line, so you'll have to grab the paper from your driveway to read the article (Bowie pursues liquor license for specialty grocery story, Bowie Star, Thursday, November 24, 2011).

House Explosion in Pointer Ridge, January, 1974

A house at 902 Placid Court in Bowie's Pointer Ridge section exploded around noon on Sunday, January 20, 1974. The house was destroyed, but all eight occupants miraculously survived. According to the Washington Post, three nearby homes suffered serious damage, and nearly 30 homes suffered some damage. According to the Baltimore Sun, the blast was heard twelve miles away.

The cause of the blast was traced to a leaking propane tank. A resident in the home was running an auto body shop from the house's garage. According to the Baltimore Sun, the garage contained propane tanks, acetylene gas, gasoline and welding equipment.

The home was being rented at the time of the explosion.

Police recovered what they believed to be drugs from the scene, including 15 pounds of marijuana, hashish, LSD and amphetamines.

Click on one of the pictures to view a zoomed-in slide show.

The rubble left after the house at 902 Placid Court in Bowie's Pointer Ridge section exploded.

902 Placid Court

902 Placid Court

902 Placid Court

902 Placid Court

902 Placid Court

902 Placid Court. Note the helicopter in the background. Some victims from the explosion were airlifted to local hospitals.

902 Placid Court

According to the Washington Post, three other houses were seriously damaged from the blast, and about 30 houses suffered some damage. No one was home at this colonial next door to the explosion.

904 Placid Court

902 Placid Court

902 Placid Court

Officials check for natural gas leaks before cause of the blast was determined.

These pictures were posted as part of the Bowie Blade Pic Project, I've been posting pictures taken by Arnie Miles for the Bowie Blade between 1973 and 1975.

Photos of Bowie Maryland 1973 through 1975 by Arnie Miles is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States
License

Other Bowie Blade Pic Project Posts

• Previous:  Snowstorm in Bowie, January or Feburary, 1974
• Next:  Citrus Sale in Bowie, 1973 or 1974
• Complete Listing

Artisan Sweet Shop to Open in Bowie Plaza

Cookies, gourmet cupcakes, tarts and more will be available when The Cake Courtesan opens in Bowie Plaza in January. Owner and former Bowie resident Sharon White will open her shop in the location formerly occupied by the Home Plate Restaurant (next to Subway).

The Cake Courtesan is currently an Annapolis based custom cake boutique that makes wedding cakes and other celebration cakes. White also owns Nostalgia Cupcakes, a gourmet cupcake retail outlet on Main Street in Annapolis. The Bowie location will offer a combination of cakes, cupcakes and other sweets. The cupcakes will be sold under the Nostalgia Cupcakes name, and White plans to close the Nostalgia Cupcakes Annapolis location.

Here's how Sharon White describes the new new store in her own words.

The Cake Courtesan will be opening in January and will be a full service artisan sweet shop. We will be offering cakes, cookies, cheesecakes, tarts, cake truffles, etc and will be available as a retail store with walk in hours. We will offer customized fondant design occasion and 3-D cakes by special order only. We will also offer cupcakes via Nostalgia Cupcakes, which will be closing out of Annapolis this winter.

Our focus is to bring high end designer styles and exotic cake flavors to Bowie and Prince George's County. All of our products are made from scratch and we use high quality ingredients. Our motto is No Shortenings, No Mixes, No Imitations, No Shortcuts. Ever.

I chose Bowie because I used to be a Bowie resident and have always loved It. I owned a home in Highbridge Park and always wanted to come back. I think the Bowie demographic deserves cupcakes and designer cakes! So, I'm excited to be opening, and I hope that Bowie is excited to have me!

The Cake Courtesan's new location in Bowie Plaza next to Subway

The Cake Courtesan's new location in Bowie Plaza next to Subway

Links

• The Cake Courtesan photo gallery
• Nostalgia Cupcakes photo gallery
  

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Snowstorm in Bowie, January or February, 1974

Hear are pictures in the aftermath of a small snowstorm in Bowie in January or February, 1974. Click each picture to see a larger image.

About 7 1/2 inches of snow.

These pictures were posted as part of the Bowie Blade Pic Project, I've been posting pictures taken by Arnie Miles for the Bowie Blade between 1973 and 1975.

Photos of Bowie Maryland 1973 through 1975 by Arnie Miles is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States
License

Other Bowie Blade Pic Project Posts

• Previous: Belair National Bank at Bowie Plaza, Fall, 1973
• Next:  House Explosion in Pointer Ridge, January, 1974
• Complete Listing