Making a stuffed-ham sandwich a primary choice

Friday, Feb. 1, 2008

Legend has it that voters going to St. Mary’s polling places once upon a time received miniature bottles of liquor with timely suggestions, but a better deal has been offered for more than two decades in Ridge.

As they do on each primary and general election day, the folks at the Ridge Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary will serve up stuffed-ham sandwiches and beef barbecue on a bun starting at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at the Ridge firehouse, continuing until the food is all gone.

Baked goods and other sweet treats also will be available, but it’s the $3 barbecue sandwiches and especially the $4 stuffed-ham sandwiches that highlight the auxiliary’s Election Day Lunch.

‘‘We stuff them ourselves,” auxiliary President Dawn Gatton said this week, ‘‘... just the way we’ve always done it — the cabbage, onions, red pepper, black pepper and salt.”

She added, ‘‘We usually get about 60 sandwiches to a ham. We’re going to start out with 10 hams. We’ve done up to eight hams in the past, and we’ve always sold out.”

The roasted beef also gets some special attention.

‘‘We get sirloin tips, and mix it with barbecue sauce and some other spices we put in there,” Gatton said.

Advance orders for stuffed-ham sandwiches are encouraged, and orders should be placed no later than Feb. 7 in order to ensure availability. The advance orders must picked up no later than noon on the day of the event at the firehouse located at 13820 Point Lookout Road, or they will be sold.

To place orders, send e-mail to auxiliary@ridgevfd.org or call 301-872-5090 or 301-872-5671. Messages should include the customer’s name and daytime phone number.

GoodSports Awardsto recognize two here

Two St. Mary’s residents will be among the honorees next Monday, Feb. 4, as the Mid-Atlantic Recreation & Parks Sports Alliance holds its annual GoodSports Awards ceremony at the Maryland State House in Annapolis.

The St. Mary’s award recipients are Veronica Peters in the youth category and Richard Abell in the coaching category.

Peters, a sophomore at Leonardtown High School, has been a standout softball player as a member of the St. Mary’s Little League, also playing several years in the St. Mary’s County Recreation, Parks and Community Services youth basketball program and on a local travel volleyball team, according to a release.

Abell has been a volunteer, coach and instructor with St. Mary’s County Recreation, Parks and Community Services for the past 17 years, the release states, including assisting in developing the curriculum for the ‘‘biddy basketball” program. Abell has coached with the St. Mary’s Youth T-Ball League and coached his two sons in the St. Mary’s Youth football program and soccer program. Abell’s emphasis on teamwork, sportsmanship and respect, the release states, ‘‘has had a positive influence on the young men and women he has coached throughout the years.”

Pitch party to be held in Mechanicsville

A pitch card party hosted by the Mechanicsville Volunteer Rescue Squad Auxiliary will begin at 7:30 p.m. today, Friday, in the squad building at 28120 Old Flora Corner Road. The admission fee is $5. For more information, call 301-884-4108.

Art of father and daughter to be shown

The Lexington Park Library Art Gallery will be host an exhibit of works by M. Jane Rowe and her father, Thomas Rowe starting today, Friday, and continuing through April 15. An opening reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. next Wednesday, Feb. 6.

The joint show honors the legacy of the late Thomas Rowe, a former professor of art at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, whose work ‘‘is representational but transcends realism in content and style,” according to a statement. ‘‘Many of his works displayed feature buildings, landscape, and still life. Ms. Rowe’s artwork, also representational, concentrates on nature. Several of her recent pieces on bones are displayed.”

Local artists interested in displaying their artwork in the library’s art gallery should contact Candy Cummings at 301-863-6693.

The library, located at 21677 FDR Blvd. in Lexington Park, is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

College to presentdocumentaries

St. Mary’s College’s Cole Cinema in the Campus Center will offer free showings at 8 p.m. on Mondays from Feb. 4 to March 3 of feature films and filmmakers from the vanguard of experimental documentary.

Five guest artists — Alan Berliner, Laura Kissel, David Ellsworth, Christopher Harris, and Su Friedrich — will visit the campus to screen and discuss their films, which explore subjects in ethnography, autobiography and landscape.

On the first Monday, next week, Berliner’s ‘‘Nobody’s Business,” which will screen with ‘‘City Edition,” is an ‘‘unflinchingly honest and frequently humorous portrait of Berliner’s reclusive and stubbornly resistant father,” according to a release from the college.

On the Mondays to follow, Kissel’s ‘‘Cabin Field” explores ‘‘a mile-long stretch of agricultural land in Crisp County, Ga., through the memories of land owners, farmers, residents, and agricultural laborers,” the release states, while ‘‘Vivian’s Beauty Shop” is a short ‘‘video portrait of the customers who frequent a small town beauty parlor.”

Ellsworth’s ‘‘Husks,” which will screen with ‘‘Time, and the River,” provides an ‘‘experimental portrait of rural Iowa life that explores past and present visions of how people and rural landscape interact,” the release states. ‘‘Time, and the River,” is a documentary about people living in boathouses on the Mississippi River near Winona, Minn.

Harris’ films ‘‘still⁄here” and ‘‘Reckless Eyeballing” use ‘‘formal abstraction,” the release states, ‘‘in order to explore the intersection of history and memory in ways that unravel conventional tropes of race and identity.”

Friedrich’s ‘‘Sink or Swim” and ‘‘Seeing Red” move ‘‘fluidly between the personal and the political, from autobiography” in these two films, the release states, to other works with ‘‘investigations of sexual identities and identity politics.”

Several showingsof film scheduled

‘‘Prince Among Slaves,” the true story of an African prince who survived 40 years of enslavement in America before finally regaining his freedom, airs Monday, Feb. 4, from 10 to 11 p.m. and at other times (check local listings) on PBS. The documentary, part of PBS’ tribute to Black History Month, is a presentation of the National Black Programming Consortium. Some of the scenes were filmed in St. Mary’s County with residents as extras.

Supper, Ash Wednesday observances planned

Hollywood United Methodist Church on Mervell Dean Road in Hollywood will hold its annual pancake supper from 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5, in the church hall. The costs will be $3.50 for children, $4.50 for adults and $14 for families.

In addition, the church’s sanctuary will be open from 6 to 7:30 p.m. next Wednesday, Feb 6, for disposition of ashes, and people are welcome to come when they can, and receive the ashes as they leave. For more information, call the church at 301-373-2500.

Leonardtown churchto host pancake supper

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Leonardtown will host a pancake supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m., next Tuesday, Feb. 5, with pancakes, eggs, sausage, home fries and applesauce. The cost is $7 for adults, $4 for children, and it’s free to children 3 and under. The maximum charge per family is $25.

Proceeds from the supper will benefit St. Paul’s Soup Kitchen. For more information, call 301-475-7200.

jwharton@somdnews.com