What's best about a Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School fifth-grade field trip to Philadelphia? According to Alec Angradi, it was seeing the Liberty Bell. On April 21, when the fifth graders along with teachers Bradley Scobie and Jill Hilbert boarded an Eyre Bus headed for the "City of Brotherly Love," there was more than Philly cheese steaks on the agenda.

The students enjoyed a tour of Independence Hall and a lengthy lesson on the Constitution. As for Alec, he still can't get the statues in Signers Hall out of his mind. "Awesome" is his description.

Congratulations to all the local high school theater students who will receive awards during the annual Cappies of Baltimore Formal Gala Sunday, May 17 at the Hippodrome Theatre, in Baltimore.

Glenelg Country School drama teacher Carole Lehan who is currently appearing at Toby's Dinner Theater in Columbia in "My Way", is the program director of the Cappies.

Whittaker's Flowers in West Friendship will be open for several weekends this spring with what Dennis Whittaker calls, "The best of the old and new."

The 49 years and counting nursery has long been a mainstay for West Friendship gardeners, myself a loyal customer for 34 years. Native plants, vegetable packets, bedding plants and flowering planters are all for sale during weekends from now until May 31. The nursery is on Route 144 and open on Saturdays and Sundays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

I heard from Rick Grimes who is one of the organizers of the St. James United Methodist Church Red Cross-sponsored blood drive. Appointments are currently being taken for those in the community who would like to donate blood May 28 between 2 and 8 p.m.

If you would like to participate, call Wayne Smith at 410-489-5486 to set up an appointment. St. James United Methodist Church is on Route 99 just off of Route 32.

I also spoke to Virginia Frank recently. Virginia filled me in on the latest activities of the Howard County Antique Farm Machinery Club which is based here in West Friendship.

The club sponsored its annual Spring Plow Days at the Living Farm Heritage Museum May 9. Members of the Maryland Draft Horse and Mule Association teamed up with the local Farm Machinery Club in preparing a vast field for planting of the club's annual corn crop.

Locals who made it to the event enjoyed horse and mule team demonstrations, antique tractors and farm equipment displays, vintage automobiles, museum tours and homemade goodies.

Members of the Antique Farm Machinery Club are gearing up for participation in the National Road Yard Sale May 30. Virginia is looking for vendors who would like to participate in the famed "National Pike" sale which is said to run from Baltimore to St. Louis, all along the old Route 40 or National Road which in our neck of the woods is Route 144 or Frederick Road.

The sale in our region is set for May 30, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Living Farm Heritage Museum, 12985 Frederick Road (Route 144), in West Friendship. Virginia Frank describes the historic road sale as "the longest continuous yard sale in the country."

With more than 824 miles of participants, surely there should be bargains for all who gather. If you would like to be a vendor with the West Friendship group, call Virginia at 410-531-2569 by phone or e-mail her at jsrstar@verizon.net. Spaces for vendors are $10.

Just up the road apiece the folks at The Pink Cabbage are seizing the opportunity of the National Road Yard Sale to host an outdoor flea market May 31, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. This marks the third year in which Marcie Barnard and the team at The Pink Cabbage have hosted a Strawberry Days event. All vendor fees from the sale go to the American Cancer Society. The Pink Cabbage is at the corner of Route 144, Frederick Road and Triadelphia Road. Questions? Call Marcie at 410-531-7953.

Susan Schreurs of the Baltimore Applique Society of Howard County invites community members to attend a meeting at the Howard County Center for the Arts May 20 at 7 p.m.

The featured speaker is Judith Need, a genealogist and quilter, who will present a program titled "The Man on the Quilt" which highlights Need's research on Maj. Samuel Ringgold, a hero of the Mexican American War. Ringgold was the first United States officer to fall in the Mexican American War. According to Judith, Ringgold's image appears on many period Baltimore Album Quilts.

Howard County Center for the Arts is at 8510 High Ridge Road, in Ellicott City (the old Rockland Elementary School). Questions on the quilt discussion? Call 301-570-0715.

The Celestial Searchers Young Astronomers Club will meet Monday, May 18, 7-8 p.m. in the Art Room at Bushy Park Elementary. Last month the club membership enjoyed a discussion led by Solar System Ambassador Lori Feaga who spoke on comets. This is the International Year of Astronomy. If you would like to drop in to the meeting, new members are always welcome.

The Howard county Farmers Market at the Glenwood library is now open on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.. The market will be in operation each Saturday, May through October.

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