Self-taught artist’s commission
Today, a former Baltimore mansion where enslaved people once toiled houses part of the Walters Art Museum. Inside, a huge mirror-and-ceramic mosaic honoring one of those workers has become part of the permanent collection. The Walters announced two major acquisitions last fall, one of which is this collaborative mosaic created by celebrated Baltimore artist Herbert Massie, 64. The... READ MORE
From circus to Broadway to jazz
In the beginning, at the age of 20, “The Big Broadcast” emcee Murray Horwitz spent three years as a circus clown. No, Horwitz didn’t run away from home to join the circus. During his senior year at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, while majoring in English and drama, Horwitz won a spot in a five-week Ringling Brothers circus course and convinced the school and his parents to... READ MORE
A second chance behind bars
Neil Roland’s students aren’t your average college kids. Instead of dorm rooms, they live in prison cells. Roland, 71, has tutored incarcerated people for eight years, starting at a maximum-security prison in Jessup, Maryland. Today, the Silver Spring resident teaches world affairs at the District of Columbia Jail through Georgetown University’s Prison Scholars, a program of its... READ MORE
From standup to news anchor
Some people enjoy a challenge. News anchor Tony Perkins — who started his career in standup comedy — is one of them. The first time he stepped on stage at a comedy club 40 years ago, the crowd erupted in laughter and applause. But the second time was another story. “I went back two weeks later with all new material and bombed,” Perkins, now 64, recalled in an interview with... READ MORE
Retired admiral tells her story
Sandra “Sandy” Stosz, 63, fondly recalls her “tomboy years” in Ellicott City before joining the U.S. Coast Guard, working her way up to commanding vessels and becoming the first woman to be in charge of a U.S. military academy. Newsweek named Stosz one of the 150 Women Who Shake the World in 2012 — six years before she made history by being appointed superintendent of the U.S.... READ MORE
Elevating new writers over 50
Did you know Baltimore is home to the only national literary journal and press dedicated to writers over 50? Launched more than 30 years ago, the journal Passager was the brainchild of Baltimore writing instructor Kendra Kopelke. Then 28 years old, Kopelke was inspired to launch Passager while teaching older writers at the Waxter Center, a senior center in Baltimore City. Their work ... READ MORE
Elders take action on climate
Leslie Wharton is a self-proclaimed introvert, too shy in college to go to Vietnam protests. Although she went on to a long career as a law firm litigator and at the Securities and Exchange Commission, she never pictured herself as an activist. But when Wharton, now 72 and living in Bethesda, Md., took a sabbatical in 2007, she started reading about climate change and began to look... READ MORE
Enjoy being a student again — Howard County Edition
As the kids go back to school this fall, you can almost smell those new pencils and feel the excitement of learning something new. Many older adults in Howard County return to school this time of year, too. Hundreds of classes in our area are affordable or even free for older adults, and they’re available online or in person. Lifelong students say these classes introduce... READ MORE
Enjoy being a student again — Baltimore Edition
As the kids go back to school this fall, you can almost smell those new pencils and feel the excitement of learning something new. Many older adults in Baltimore return to school this time of year, too. Hundreds of classes in our area are affordable or even free for older adults, and they’re available online or in person. Lifelong students say these classes introduce them to new... READ MORE
‘Big Tree Man’ branches out
Do you have a favorite tree? Joe Howard, known as the “Big Tree Man,” does. Howard, 93, leads popular “tree tours” several times a year, giving the public a close-up look at some of the biggest, oldest trees in Montgomery County, Maryland. For example, he gives his groups a peek at the “triple-trunk tulip,” a massive tulip tree with three trunks, located on private... READ MORE
Cover Stories 2024
