Flat Stanley Visits Edwin Booth at Tudor Hall

Flat Stanley recently visited Harford County after Brooklynn Aikens, from the George Washington Carver Primary School in Gonzales, Louisiana, mailed him to her grandmother, Joyce Edwards of Street Maryland.

Joyce brought Flat Stanley for a tour to Tudor Hall, the historic Booth family home, where he was photographed with the famous Shakespearian actor Edwin Booth.

 For more information about Flat Stanley and his many adventures, please visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Stanley

Look for Us on Facebook and Twitter

You can now find Spirits of Tudor Hall on Facebook and Twitter.

Center for the Arts Featured in Aegis, April 14 and 16, 2010

Part one of an article about the Center for the Arts appears in the April 14, 2010, edition of the Aegis. The title of the article is "Harford's Place for the Arts," and it is the lead article in the "People, Places & Things" section on page AA1. Part two of the article titled "To Build an Arts Center" appears in the April 16th edition of the Aegis, and it is also the lead article for the "People, Places & Things" section. Bryna Zumer, L'Oreal Thompson, and Rachel Konopacki are the co-authors of the articles.

The Center for the Arts currently has its offices at Tudor Hall while the organization makes prepares to build a regional arts center in Harford County. The April 14th article includes a photo of Sallee Kunkel Filkins, executive director of the Center for the Arts, seated on the sofa in the Booth Room at Tudor Hall with David Fried's oil portraits of Edwin and John Wilkes Booth behind her. Unfortunately, the caption does not identify Edwin or John Wilkes and does not mention Mr. Fried.The article also includes a photo of Tudor Hall that was taken during the winter holidays several years ago.

The April 14th article quotes Ms. Filkins as saying, "Ideally, it [a new arts center] would be built in five to seven years." The April 16th says Ms. Filkins "fully expects a building campaign to be underway in several years, as soon as the county executive officially announces a site."

An online version of part one of the article including the photo of Sallee Filkins and the Fried portraits appears at:

http://www.exploreharford.com/events-entertainment/4190/harfords-place-arts-part-one-two-making-case-center-coming-friday-paying-it/

Over 45 People Attend 1st Tours of 2010

These lovely "Poet's Narcissus" welcomed visitors to Tudor Hall on Sunday, April 11, 2010.

We were delighted to welcome over 45 people to Tudor Hall for our first tours of 2010. It was a "picture perfect" day with temperatures in the mid-70s and a light on-and-off breeze.

Kris Thomson, who serves as the "fearless leader" of our tour guides, led the first tour of the day.

This will be Mike Brown's third year as a tour guide at Tudor Hall. Mike led the second and third tours of the day.

We are always delighted to see children enjoying the grounds at Tudor Hall. This little girl had a wonderful time picking dandelions amid the many wild violets also blossoming on the front lawn.

This photo just doesn't capture the rich color of the violets sprinkled throughout the grounds at Tudor Hall and across Harford County.

James T. Wollon Architectural Tour Much Appreciated by Our Volunteers

James T. Wollon

 Photo by Jackie LaRocca, March 28, 2010, at Tudor Hall

On Sunday, March 28, 2010, James T. Wollon led an architectural tour of Tudor Hall for our tour guides and other interested volunteers. In addition to Mr. Wollon, 20 people were present the day of the tour. Mr. Wollon is a local retired restoration and preservation architect. He is also the great-grandson of Ella Mahoney who lived at Tudor Hall for nearly 70 years (1879-1948), and he shared memories of visiting his great-grandmother when he was a small boy.

 

The tour began outside on a very chilly and overcast Sunday afternoon. Photo by Jackie LaRocca, March 28, 2010

Mr. Wollon continued his tour inside Tudor Hall with the group seated comfortably in the largest of the current meeting rooms on the first floor. Originally, the room served as the dining room. Later it served as the living room. Photo by Jackie LaRocca, March 28, 2010

James T. Wollon and Tudor Hall Featured in Aegis, March 31, 2010

An article titled "Tudor Hall in Bel Air Open for Tours" by Kirsten Dize appears on page A3 of the Wednesday, March 31, 2010, edition of the Aegis (Harford County, Maryland, newspaper).

The article focuses on local restoration and preservation architect James T. Wollon who lead a tour of Tudor Hall for our volunteers on March 28, 2010, and includes a wonderful photo of Mr. Wollon and our lead tour guide, Kris Thomson. The article also includes a photo of the north side of Tudor Hall (not its best side but one of the least photographed).

You can read the article online and view some beautiful photos that did NOT appear in the print version of the article at:

http://www.exploreharford.com/entertainment/4002/historic-tudor-hall-bel-air-open-tours-home-infamous-assassin-famous-shakespearean-actors/?utm_source=feedburner

Spirits of Tudor Hall Welcomes the Junius B. Booth Society

Logo of the Junius B. Booth Society, Inc. inspired by the image of Junius Brutus Booth Sr. that appears on the obelisk in the Booth family plot at Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland.

Spirits of Tudor Hall received the following press release from the Junius B. Booth Society today:

The Junius B. Booth Society, Inc. is pleased to announce it is joining forces with Spirits of Tudor Hall to open Tudor Hall for guided tours on a regular basis. Tudor Hall is the historic home of the Booths, Maryland's famous family of Shakespearian actors, including Junius, Edwin, and John Wilkes Booth. Beginning on Sunday, April 11, 2010, Spirits of Tudor Hall will open the first floor of Tudor Hall for guided tours twice a month continuing through October 31 (Halloween), 2010.

Junius Brutus Booth, Sr. was one of the most popular actors on the American stage from the early 1820s to the early 1850s. In addition, he was the father of ten children, a Harford County farmer who practiced the latest farming techniques of his time, and an environmentalist and animal rights advocate. It can truly be said he was a man ahead of his time. His son Edwin was a super star of the American stage from the 1850s to 1893. Edwin's brother John Wilkes brought tragedy to the nation and to his family when he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.

The Junius B. Booth Society, Inc. was recently incorporated in Maryland to make the public more aware of the history of the Booth family and Tudor Hall, to encourage efforts to collect and preserve that history, and to support the preservation and restoration of Tudor Hall.

Dinah Faber, first president of the Junius B. Booth Society says, "Spirits of Tudor Hall is currently renewing its efforts to create a strong and effective tour guide program at Tudor Hall. Lending meaningful support to these efforts is a natural choice for the Junius B. Booth Society."

For more information or to become a member: http://juniusbooth.org