The Yellowed Pages: News from 25 years ago in The Baltimore Guide
by Jenny Wierschem
A posted notice alerted Patterson Park-area residents that a local landmark was to close after 75 years of service. The bathhouse at the park was to close on June 1st, according to a Bureau of Recreation and Parks notice on the premises. The closure notice appeared without advance warning to the public and city government representatives.
GM announced that its Broening Highway plant would begin producing Pontiac Bonnevilles. At that time, the plant was producing 60 Chevrolet Monte Carlos and Malibus an hour. The Bonnevilles would be added to the assembly line mix with no overall change in production per hour.
A sure sign of summer? Hooper’s Island Seafood on Fleet Street and Hooper’s Discount Liquors on Clinton Street ran a joint ad in anticipation of Memorial Day. Live crabs started at $5, as did steamed ones. Beer was discounted by the case.
North Point Drive-in advertised a weekend double feature: Vice Squad, rated R; and The Seduction, rated R. Admission was $2 per person, and children under 12 were admitted free.
Mayor Schaefer held forth on fire safety. He blamed at least 95 percent of the city’s 41 fire deaths that year on carelessness. “There is no way the city government, the state government, or the federal government can make people not be careless,” he said. He urged city residents to buy smoke detectors, make fire escape plans and “just think” about fire safety.
Local dignitaries lined up for a photo—in paper hats. They were out in force to mark McHappy Day, a benefit for the Baltimore Ronald McDonald House. All proceeds from french fries sold that day went to the program for families with seriously ill children. Among those photographed outside of McDonalds in Highlandtown were J. Krysiak, J. Rataczjak, Councilman J. Schaefer, Miss Preakness, J. Linz, Del. L. Cavallaro, A. Borzymowski, Councilman M. DiPietro, Comptroller H. Pressman and Senator J. Bonvegna.
In news from abroad, Sophia Loren spent her first night of a 30-day sentence in an Italian jail. She was found guilty of tax evasion dating back to 1963. Her cozy cell had pink walls, a private bathroom, and a television. Her meals, however, were the same as other inmates: pasta, meat, salad and fruit.
Wondering what the future holds? HiTowners could go to Sister Rose Ray. She placed an ad offering “all types of readings”—palm readings, horoscopes, tarot cards, and psychic readings.
For those who think meat is something that magically appears on a stryofoam tray and wrapped with plastic wrap in a grocery store, a local merchant advertised an unusual service: a butcher-block-side view. The ad read: “Custom Butchery Comes to Highlandtown. See it all right before your eyes! Where Conkling and Fleet Street Meat!”
A cat owner took out an ad to plead for the return of a stolen cat. The owner described the cat: “With her long, lustrous brown fur and her fine fat tail and little bits of gold tips her eand there she’s a beauty that anyone would love to have. But it’s hard for us to understand why with all the homeless ones around you had to take ours.” The ad said that if the cat was returned, no questions would be asked and a reward would be given. In the meantime, the owner was leaving a window open, hoping for the cat’s return.
Another ad promised a solution for those who were were severly overweight: stapling surgery. The text in the ad gave only a phone number (no doctor’s name or hospital affiliation).
The Maryland Port Administration announced the completion of a beach for swimmers at the Hart-Miller contruction site in the Chesapeake Bay. The beach reconnected the two islands and wrapped up one phase of construction of the dredge material site.
A new concert hall in town officially got a name—the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The building was to open in September with a concert by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
