The Monthly Newsletter of the St. Mary's County Historical Society NOVEMBER 2024
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The View from the Loggia
Peter LaPorte, Executive Director
A Warm and Happy Thanksgiving!
 It has been an eventful, and for many, a stressful year. We are grateful for you interest in the Historical Society, your membership, and for your generosity.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Staff, and Volunteers, I wish all our Members and Friends a Warm and Happy Thanksgiving Day.
Christmas Open House
If you haven't yet done so, please RSVP for our Christmas Open House on Saturday, December 7th starting at 1:00 pm.
This is the third year for the Open House which has grown in popularity. Tudor Hall will be decorated for the Season, of course, and this year the wonderful addition of music on the St. Mary's Hotel Grand Piano with Ellynne Davis and Lois Stephenson on violin (as well as all of us singing in good-cheer).
As with all that we do here at Tudor Hall, space is limited. So please RSVP at THIS LINK so we know to expect you.
And please consider bringing along your favorite savory to share and, new this year, a non-perishable food item which we will distribute to the needy.
The 2024 Annual Appeal is Still Underway
Our hearty thanks to all of you - Members and friends - who have contributed thus far to the 2024 Annual Appeal. These yearly Appeals are vitally important to the Historical Society. It is your generosity that keeps us going and spurs us on to do even more.
At this writing, we are just shy of $28,000. In the remaining days of 2024, can you help drive the Appeal to $30,000 - or maybe a bit more? Please say you can. It's easy to do. Simply CLICK HERE. Thank you!
Whacked a Third Time
We reported last time on a couple of acts of possible vandalism. On Election Day, we were hit again when a little vandal pulled out one of the spot lights at the front of Tudor Hall. We say "little vandal" as this time the act was caught on video by a camera recently installed over the Loggia, and the rascal was indeed young.
Had the lad tripped over the light or even if it were struck by a wayward soccer ball, all would be forgiven. Accidents area accidents. But as the video reveals, this time appears to have been deliberate. We've turned the matter over to the County Sheriff.
The grounds a Tudor Hall are more like a park than a yard around a residence. Visitors walk from town center day and night to visit the Moll Dyer Rock. Neighbors meander across the lawns with their dogs. Kids run along the paths and grass to catch the school bus. Children and parents play under the willow oaks. All that is fine with us. We try to be good neighbors. And we appreciate our good neighbors.
Volunteers Make Us Happy!
The always creative and hard working Gene Wood, who is an Historical Society Director as well, installed a new signboard marking Historic Tudor Hall and the Historical Society. 
Gene, along with his buddy, Sam Mediros, and volunteers "Teeny Guy" and Tommy Gasch installed it over the weekend, just in time for Veterans Day.
Now, should anyone ask, the costs of this project were not paid by the Historical Society. No. It wasn't just Gene's labor only but his generosity as well in designing and purchasing materials for the sign. New solar lights to make it shine in the evening were contributed by another member.
We are very grateful for members and volunteers who, like Gene, Sam, "Teeny", and Tommy step up - often without even being asked. That they often pay for materials themselves is an enormous gift alongside their time and energy.
Similarly, member and volunteer George Fleury, and Director Dan Kerns taken on clearing the weeds and debris from the Sundial Garden at the North end of Tudor Hall, cleaning the benches, and trimming the boxwoods. That's a lovely little spot - and George and Dan are restoring its sweetness.
Our gratitude to these and all our volunteers is boundless. Whether its tending the grounds, working in the Research Center or in Archives, helping at Member events, chipping steadily away at the digitization project, or just general housekeeping, volunteers bring joy to Tudor Hall and to the Historical Society.
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