The day started out a little rough before the event started, with set up, but once it started, it was great. We had an amazing turnout and it was a really nice end to the semester. I felt really good about everything, although, I was a little annoyed with my friend Lisa, who, I found out yesterday, lives in Joe Flacco's apartment building and is good friends with him- but didn't tell me even thought I talked to her about this class and the project (grr). I also wish that there had been more attention paid to the signers (I'm not sure how well it went, I was up front mostly) but I talked to Betty and she seemed really thrilled that someone was paying attention to her.
Overall, today inspired me (especially Betty). I think I will try to take the Baltimore in Film class next semester and then maybe try to write a paper about Baltimore bit players, or John Waters. This class has been a great learning experience and I have enjoyed it, but not gonna lie, I'm pretty glad today is over so we can all stop stressing about how it will turn out: it turned out great.
Congratulations to all the seniors that will be walking this Thursday!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Club History
This week, I was working on taking in revisions and rewriting the history. Below is the product of my re-working it.
Club 4100, a Baltimore icon of the Colts, is a restaurant opened by restaurateur George Coutros in 1958 in Anne Arundel County’s Brooklyn Park (3). Coutros’s experience in restaurants, from his father’s in Greece until he was 22, then coming back to America and opening a restaurant in Baltimore’s Federal Hill, taught Coutros that a big local celebrity would draw in customers. He asked his friend, Johnny Unitas, to come “relax, eat, and be treated like family” and this resulted in the large crowds of the Club’s early years (1). Tom Matte, a former Colt’s running back and back up quarterback, called the club a “safe haven for us” (3).
Coutros helped bring the bar to its height, with Easter dinners and contests like Ms. Club 4100. He also got Unitas involved in these events, and Unitas would come and slip out back, where there used to be a pool, to play with the young kids of the neighborhood (2, 3).
The Club’s walls, upon entering, show the history and the memories of old times, covered in various photographs of Unitas, from both professional sources and his own collection, and also the friends and family of the bar (8). These walls “chronicle the defining people and moments of the restaurant’s history” (1). The Club itself is comprised of a dining area, the bar, and a back room for banquets, wedding receptions, and other large gatherings.
In 1969, Coutros sold Club 4100 to the Spanamanoli brothers, Dino and Manny. They maintained the Club’s sense of place for the customers that were like family. According to regular Paul Federline, “Manny and Dino treated everyone like brothers and sisters. It’s not fake, just for business, it’s real life” (1). The brothers kept the bar going for many years, but on November 30, 2007, they sold the bar to house-flipping husband and wife team, Raj and Meena Harkie (4).
Since the opening, the Club’s filled rooms have dwindled (); there are still faithful customers, like Paul and his wife, Anne, George Mills, as well as others. Despite the lesser number of people, the Harkies are trying to preserve the history of the place. They have not changed anything, and are trying to bring back some traditions, like the Easter dinner. The community response has been pretty receptive; the Harkies have noted that “it’s like a big family in here…everyone is so friendly and will help you anytime” (4).
Works Cited
1. Brown, Geoff. “In the Club,” Baltimore Magazine (February 2006): 139-146
2. Engle, Donna R.. (1996, August 19). George P. Coutros, 83, restaurateur did good deeds :[FINAL Edition]. The Sun,p. 3B. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from The Sun, Baltimore (Special) database. (Document ID: 49514603).
3. Greene, Andrew A. and Stacy Kiehl, “At Club 4100, Memories,” The Baltimore Sun (September 16, 2002) http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/football/bal-te.md.club16sep16,0,3955368.story, accessed February 13, 2009.
4. Harkie, Raj and Meena. Oral History interview. 2009. Interview.
5. Morgan, Jon. (1996, December 22). Not like the old days; Allegiance: Longtime Colts fans who gather monthly at South Baltimore's Club 4100 are having a hard time embracing the Ravens :[FINAL Edition]. The Sun,p. 1C. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from The Sun, Baltimore (Special) database. (Document ID: 49575877).
6. Siegel, Andrea F. (2007, September 3). 4TH DOWN FOR COLTS' HAUNT. The Sun,A.1. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from The Sun, Baltimore (Special) database. (Document ID: 1329649371).
7. Siegel, Andrea F.. (2007, September 7). NO WINNING BIDS FOR CLUB 4100. The Sun,B.2. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from The Sun, Baltimore (Special) database. (Document ID: 1331880581).
8. Van Valkenburg, Kevin. (2007, September 16). 5 YEARS LATER, HIS CITY HAS CHANGED, BUT LOVE REMAINS :MISSING UNITAS. The Sun,D.1. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from The Sun, Baltimore (Special) database. (Document ID: 1337595771).
Club 4100, a Baltimore icon of the Colts, is a restaurant opened by restaurateur George Coutros in 1958 in Anne Arundel County’s Brooklyn Park (3). Coutros’s experience in restaurants, from his father’s in Greece until he was 22, then coming back to America and opening a restaurant in Baltimore’s Federal Hill, taught Coutros that a big local celebrity would draw in customers. He asked his friend, Johnny Unitas, to come “relax, eat, and be treated like family” and this resulted in the large crowds of the Club’s early years (1). Tom Matte, a former Colt’s running back and back up quarterback, called the club a “safe haven for us” (3).
Coutros helped bring the bar to its height, with Easter dinners and contests like Ms. Club 4100. He also got Unitas involved in these events, and Unitas would come and slip out back, where there used to be a pool, to play with the young kids of the neighborhood (2, 3).
The Club’s walls, upon entering, show the history and the memories of old times, covered in various photographs of Unitas, from both professional sources and his own collection, and also the friends and family of the bar (8). These walls “chronicle the defining people and moments of the restaurant’s history” (1). The Club itself is comprised of a dining area, the bar, and a back room for banquets, wedding receptions, and other large gatherings.
In 1969, Coutros sold Club 4100 to the Spanamanoli brothers, Dino and Manny. They maintained the Club’s sense of place for the customers that were like family. According to regular Paul Federline, “Manny and Dino treated everyone like brothers and sisters. It’s not fake, just for business, it’s real life” (1). The brothers kept the bar going for many years, but on November 30, 2007, they sold the bar to house-flipping husband and wife team, Raj and Meena Harkie (4).
Since the opening, the Club’s filled rooms have dwindled (); there are still faithful customers, like Paul and his wife, Anne, George Mills, as well as others. Despite the lesser number of people, the Harkies are trying to preserve the history of the place. They have not changed anything, and are trying to bring back some traditions, like the Easter dinner. The community response has been pretty receptive; the Harkies have noted that “it’s like a big family in here…everyone is so friendly and will help you anytime” (4).
Works Cited
1. Brown, Geoff. “In the Club,” Baltimore Magazine (February 2006): 139-146
2. Engle, Donna R.. (1996, August 19). George P. Coutros, 83, restaurateur did good deeds :[FINAL Edition]. The Sun,p. 3B. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from The Sun, Baltimore (Special) database. (Document ID: 49514603).
3. Greene, Andrew A. and Stacy Kiehl, “At Club 4100, Memories,” The Baltimore Sun (September 16, 2002) http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/football/bal-te.md.club16sep16,0,3955368.story, accessed February 13, 2009.
4. Harkie, Raj and Meena. Oral History interview. 2009. Interview.
5. Morgan, Jon. (1996, December 22). Not like the old days; Allegiance: Longtime Colts fans who gather monthly at South Baltimore's Club 4100 are having a hard time embracing the Ravens :[FINAL Edition]. The Sun,p. 1C. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from The Sun, Baltimore (Special) database. (Document ID: 49575877).
6. Siegel, Andrea F. (2007, September 3). 4TH DOWN FOR COLTS' HAUNT. The Sun,A.1. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from The Sun, Baltimore (Special) database. (Document ID: 1329649371).
7. Siegel, Andrea F.. (2007, September 7). NO WINNING BIDS FOR CLUB 4100. The Sun,B.2. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from The Sun, Baltimore (Special) database. (Document ID: 1331880581).
8. Van Valkenburg, Kevin. (2007, September 16). 5 YEARS LATER, HIS CITY HAS CHANGED, BUT LOVE REMAINS :MISSING UNITAS. The Sun,D.1. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from The Sun, Baltimore (Special) database. (Document ID: 1337595771).
Friday, May 1, 2009
This Week
This week, I did not get so much done for this class (eep!). Other things have piled up with personal problems, medical and other, and I have had to devote a lot of time to that this week. However, tomorrow, after I get home from work, I am going to revise the history and update it on my blog.
Friday, April 24, 2009
So About That...
This week has been busy. We got a lot done in class, from cups to ironing out more details about the timeframe for the event and things within the event. We also dealt with the issue of whether we would change the date. That was frustrating, because I agree with half the class that the details of the Colts should have been dealt with earlier. However, I think the letter to Lenny Moore is a good resolution. I hope that something comes of it, but I also am relieved that the entire thing will be over soon.
We also brought up new issues, as far as the kid events/carnival details. I look forward to looking more into that and learning about that. Next week, we are going to go over the histories, and I just wanted to disclaim that I don't have my citations in the paper, and I do have them, they are on a file on my desktop, because that was a problem that was discussed.
Overall this week, I was frustrated by what seemed like one more way to put off doing work by the change the date dilemma, but I feel like it was ended on an up note, with the business-like atmosphere of Thursday's class.
We also brought up new issues, as far as the kid events/carnival details. I look forward to looking more into that and learning about that. Next week, we are going to go over the histories, and I just wanted to disclaim that I don't have my citations in the paper, and I do have them, they are on a file on my desktop, because that was a problem that was discussed.
Overall this week, I was frustrated by what seemed like one more way to put off doing work by the change the date dilemma, but I feel like it was ended on an up note, with the business-like atmosphere of Thursday's class.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Street Team
Yesterday, we went out street teaming. Me, Natalie, and Missy covered several streets, and while did not sell any tickets, we did get a $10 donation. Most of the people were pretty nice, although there were several people that despite being home and being seen, refused to come to the door, which was not nice (confession time: I do it too). There was one man that said he had lived in the area his entire life, but before we remembered to ask if he would like to do an oral history, he had gone back in and we had moved down a house or two. There was a sub shop, Charlie's that we put a flyer in with Prof. King's office number in it, if they wanted to call and get tickets or more information. Outside, we had our only really negative encounter, when one woman cussed us out.
Overall, the people were fairly nice and interested in the idea. Several of the people remembered the club from the previous owners and had used to take their kids there to eat. It seemed that those most interested were planning on bringing the whole family and possibly using the opportunity to catch up with their kids. we took a few pictures (of the man that we want to send a letter for oral history, with his dog Charlie, and the family of a woman that will be bar tending at the event, who may want to bring her 5 kids).
The club itself seems nice, if a little small. I did not get to see the larger space we will be holding the event in, but seeing the space gave me a better idea of the event and how to use the space to our best advantage.
Overall, the people were fairly nice and interested in the idea. Several of the people remembered the club from the previous owners and had used to take their kids there to eat. It seemed that those most interested were planning on bringing the whole family and possibly using the opportunity to catch up with their kids. we took a few pictures (of the man that we want to send a letter for oral history, with his dog Charlie, and the family of a woman that will be bar tending at the event, who may want to bring her 5 kids).
The club itself seems nice, if a little small. I did not get to see the larger space we will be holding the event in, but seeing the space gave me a better idea of the event and how to use the space to our best advantage.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
A Busy Week, This Week
This week I have started to edit Missy's community history. I have taken into account Prof. King's observations about the histories and will have a revised draft for Missy's on Tuesday. From there, I think we will go and add to and revise again, and have new, new drafts on the following Tuesday. Happy Easter (to everyone that celebrates it!) and Happy Passover (to everyone that celebrates that!) and happy mid-April (to everyone :) )
Sunday, April 5, 2009
So far, not so great
Most of what I have currently for the history of the club is from the original proposal. I found very little at the libraries to help with my search and so far have only a few articles to embellish what was already said. I am currently working on editing it to become a better narrative (engaging story) as opposed to a term paper (bare facts, without much flow).
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