Repairing and restoring together
An Ellicott City house, badly damaged by the 2016 and 2018 floods, was in such rough shape that it was barely habitable. However, the Greene family, who had lived there for 30 years, didn’t want to abandon the house where their children grew up and didn’t have the means to bring the house up to code. A local group, Rebuilding Together Howard County (RTHC), which had repaired eight... READ MORE
Taking steps to revive a historic district
Strolling the streets of Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward with a bounce in his step and a snazzy bowtie, Gary Flowers greets almost everyone, waving at drivers and (pre-pandemic) giving bear hugs to bank employees leaving work for the day. Flowers, who hosts a Richmond radio show, loves meeting people, which is partly why he leads “Walking the Ward” tours. “My purpose in life is... READ MORE
Food banks face spike in demand
Longtime volunteers for the Capital Area Food Bank were accustomed to working long hours packing boxes with fresh fruit and vegetables in a Northeast D.C. warehouse. What kept them coming back was the camaraderie and satisfaction of helping others. But in March, when the pandemic hit, some volunteers suddenly found themselves in need of food themselves. “I’m so sorry to have to... READ MORE
An antidote to pandemic’s stress
Be it a world steeped in pandemic drama or a frayed social order, the show must go on for devotees of the Howard County Conservancy at Mount Pleasant in Woodstock. Nestled on a gentle, 232-acre rise, the land was originally owned by a family who farmed it for three centuries. They set aside the property for students and adults in order to enrich their environmental consciousness, said Meg... READ MORE
Retirees catch the spirit in 2nd act careers
Two years ago, the three Haneberg brothers from Richmond decided they wanted to work together and also leave a legacy. Now they handcraft unique rums, gins and other spirits in a former warehouse, the Virago Spirits distillery. Barry Haneberg, a former investment banker, oversees the distillery, along with his brother, Brad Haneberg, a part-time attorney. Barton Haneberg oversees sales and ... READ MORE
Moonshine and more for second act
Peter Ahlf spent 25 years as a rocket scientist at NASA and a private firm, helping design the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, planning flight missions and more. But it wasn’t until he retired that he started making a kind of rocket fuel. Today, he crafts an award-winning absinthe, a green, anise-flavored spirit. Ahlf makes 400 bottles a month of the... READ MORE
Murals turn Richmond into free open air museum
Hungry for art? Due to the coronavirus, the VMFA is closed, art exhibits and festivals are cancelled, and galleries are shuttered. It’s hard to get your visual stimulation fix. But RVA is home to an incredible collection of street mural art, accessible all day, every day. From three-story murals to tiny gems tucked in alleyways, murals have popped up in the Fan, the Carytown... READ MORE
Novelist’s unique take on crime
George Pelecanos is the award-winning writer of 21 novels set in and around Washington, D.C. — all researched, he said, “in the street rather than the library.” Pelecanos, 63, prides himself on prowling mean inner-city streets to get the most accurate descriptions for his crime novels. Lately, though, the resident of Silver Spring, Maryland, has been relegated to the woods of... READ MORE
Feed More delivers much more than food
Every week, a tractor-trailer full of Perdue frozen chickens arrives at Feed More headquarters near the Diamond. “We’re the chicken food bank on the East Coast,” quipped Doug Pick, Feed More’s chief executive officer, adding, “and I get a tractor-trailer load of fresh produce per week.” Thanks to these truck deliveries and other donations, Feed More typically prepares ... READ MORE
Ways to help others from home
A few weeks into the coronavirus quarantine, Laurie Onofrio-Collier, 57, heard about AARP’s new Friendly Voice program, a call center that offers older adults a free, confidential telephone conversation (volunteer@aarp.org, 1-888-281-0145). “I told my husband about it, and he said, ‘Calling and chatting with people? That sounds like you,’” Onofrio-Collier said,... READ MORE
Cover Stories 2024
