On October 9, 2019, the Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation, Inc. (ACT) held its annual Awards Ceremony at Historic Arden in Harwood, Maryland.
The 43rd Orlando Ridout Prize honors the Anne Arundel County native who served as first director of the Maryland Historical Trust and led in preservation efforts for the architectural heritage of Anne Arundel County. The award was presented to Historic Arden and its owners David M. and Kimber C. McCreight. Built in 1842 as the home of Dr. James Murray (1816-1893) and wife Francina, Arden’s unusual, one-story, colonnaded form recalls the French Colonial and Creole vernacular traditions of Louisiana and the Mississippi Valley. It stands out in Anne Arundel County where the mid-19th-century gentry maintained their long-standing preference for two-story dwellings, inspired by English classical design. According to tradition, Dr. Murray’s first wife died after falling down cellar steps, so upon remarriage he had constructed a one-story house where such a tragedy could not be repeated. In addition to the main house, Arden is important for the presence of several antebellum secondary buildings, including Dr. Murray’s office and a very deteriorated but historically important slave quarter. The property remained in the Murray family with little change until 1940. The McCreights purchased Arden in 2013.
Lyndra Marshall (nee Pratt) received the 39th Annual Marjorie Bridgman Award. Lyndra is a retired project manager, records and information manager, and network administrator for the Department of Transportation. She is also an internationally known genealogist, historian, author, teacher, lecturer, historic preservationist, oral historian, family event and reunion planner, documentary story quilter, professional photographer, and desktop publisher. Lyndra has devoted 55 years of her life to researching families, churches, and communities in Anne Arundel County and the surrounding area. Most recently, she has served as oral historian for two Lost Towns Project projects, including a Maryland Heritage Areas Authority grant to extend the African American Trail in the Four Rivers Heritage Area and a National Park Service African American Historic Preservation grant to research sites of recreation and leisure in Anne Arundel County.
The second Will Mumford Special Achievement Award was presented to Betty and Ted Mack, of Crownsville. Ted served for over 35 years in the U.S. Army, where he was chief of the Army Intelligence Agency’s Counter Terrorism Team and was inducted as a charter member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame. Betty has 35 years of professional human resources experience, including 22 years serving the Department of the Army, where she became the first African American human resources director at Fort Meade. In retirement, the Macks have provided many decades of strong leadership and collaboration with organizations throughout the county and state to preserve and promote African American history. As founding Board members of the Northern Arundel Cultural Preservation Society, they coordinated the award-winning historic exhibit and book Trails, Tracks, Tarmac. Last year, they helped lead a county-wide commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Douglass, which culminated in a very successful arts competition for students.
Judy Feldt received the Archaeology Volunteer Award who has been a dedicated volunteer with Anne Arundel County’s Cultural Resources Division and the Lost Towns Project since 2016. Judy has contributed over 400 hours assisting on surveys, excavations, and public programming throughout Anne Arundel County. Judy also regularly assists with processing artifacts in the AACo laboratory. Judy makes the field and laboratory hours pass quickly with her engaging conversations and witty humor. In addition to her contributions to archaeology, Judy is an accomplished artist creating interesting artwork with found materials including sea shells, bark, and stones.
Amy Hale received the 5th Annual Westy Award honoring Harold Raymond West, Jr. (1919-2009) and is given to an exceptional archaeology/preservation student volunteer or intern. Amy interned with Anne Arundel County’s Cultural Resources Division and the Lost Towns Project for the summers of 2018 and 2019. In 2018, Amy assisted with excavations at the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary and the Ferguson Site near Historic London Town. Amy also spent many hours in the laboratory processing artifacts from the 17th century Skipwith’s Addition site in Harwood. After earning her undergraduate degree from the University of Central Missouri in 2019, Amy returned for a second summer internship. She assisted with excavations of the Pindell Bluff site in the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary. In the laboratory, Amy continued the rehousing of the 17th century Burle Site assemblage. She has now begun her Master’s in Library Sciences through the University of Missouri and will be working for Historic Annapolis and Historic London Town and Gardens.
Previous Award Recipients
The Marjorie Murray Bridgman Award - 1980 to 2018
Previous Awards have been presented to Mrs. Mary Warren; Mr. and Mrs. Lewis R. Andrews; Dr. James Bradford; The Anne Arundel Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution; Christ Church, Owensville; All Hallows Parish, Birdsville; St. James Church, Lothian; St. Pauls Chapel, Crownsville; The Anne Arundel County Government; Mr. Richard R. Johnson; Dr. Arthur Pierce Middleton; Mrs. Virginia White Fitz; Mrs. St. Clair Wright; Mrs. T.C. Magnotti; Mr. Charles Bohl; Virginia Clagett; Sara A. Shoemaker; Dorothy S. Hammond; Jane McWilliams; George and Mavis Daly; Roberta English Cassard; James R. Morrison; Jack Kelbaugh; Isabel Shipley Cunningham; Roger B. White; Philip L. Brown; Jack Smith; Mark Schatz, Dr. Gregory A. Stiverson, Donna Hole, Emily Peake, Donna Ware, Jean Russo, Ann Jensen, Orlando Ridout V, Oscar “Skip” Booth, and Dr. Robert Worden, William F. Gibbons Jr., County Councilman Chris Trumbauer, Dr. Julie Schablitsky, and James Cheevers.
The Orlando Ridout Prize - 1975 to 2018
Former recipients include Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts; Severn Cross Roads Foundation, Cross Roads Church; The London Town Publik House; Benson-Hammond House, The Anne Arundel County Historical Society; C.G. Aben and the Anne Arundel Free School; Linthicum Heights United Methodist Church, Holly Run Chapel; Chart House, Trumpy Boat Yard; Gerald T. Morgan and the “Mustang”; the Banneker-Douglas Museum; St. John’s College, Paca-Carroll House; Linthicum Walks; Friendship Parsonage; Upton Scott House; the B & A Trail Ranger Station; the Cook Farmhouse; the Captain Salem Avery House; the Odenton Bank; the Frederick Douglass House; the Tenthouse Creek Village; Norman’s Retreat; Howard’s Inheritance, Herrington Harbor North Historic Village; Portland Manor; Hancock’s Resolution; Rosehill; Thanksgiving Farm; Woodbourne Farm, the Lord Mayor’s Tenement, the Wiley H. Bates Heritage Park, Marley Neck Rosenwald School, the Zimmerman-Wilson House, the Galesville Community Center, Indian Range, Twin Oaks, and Belvoir (Scott's Plantation), All Hallow's Parish Cemeteries, Larkin's Hundred, Baltimore Lighthouse, and Fort Smallwood Park Concession Stand.
Will Mumford Special Achievement Award
C. Robert Bennett
The Anne Arundel County Trust for Preservation Volunteer Award
Previous recipients include Dick Reed, Vicki Lerch, Herbert Moreland, Mac Millhone, Joan Beck, Bernie Rosenberg, Majorie Hegge, Sarah Sandefur and James Simpson, Joan Klick, Betty Williams, Caroline Wugofsky, Lillian Hall, Eleanor Anderson, David Turner, Ward Brockett, Barry Gay, Patricia V. Melville, Barbara Morgan, Tom O'Connor, Cathy Lundmark, and Chuck Carmichael.
Westy Award
Luc Renaux, Matthew Nickelson, and Sean Jones, and Gabrielle Rapine.
Other Awards
Dr. Al Luckenbach received the Special Achievement in Archaeology Award in 1996. In 1997, the Outstanding Public Service Award was presented to County Executive John Gary. The Special Contribution to Archaeology Award was given in 1999 to Mollie Ridout, Stephen Brown and Mr. & Mrs. Orlando Ridout IV. It was presented to the Storck Family in 2001, Ned Crandell in 2002, the Wilson Family in 2003, and the Seznec Family in 2004. In 2000, the Anne Arundel County Historical Society received the Special Achievement Award. This honor was presented to Major General John W. Huston in 2002. In 2004, the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Peg Wallace. In 2006, the Special Contribution in Archaeology Award was presented to Garnett Clark, and Captain Byron Lee was presented with the Special Contribution in Historic Preservation Award. In 2007, the Special Contribution in Archaeology Award was presented to Betsy Kirkpatrick-Howat. In 2009, the Special Achievement Award was given to Tina Simmons. In 2009, Bob Ogle and William and Lisa Brown received the Special Contribution in Archaeology Award. In 2011, Jane McWilliams received a Special Achievement Award and Miles Conway received a Preservation Stewardship Award. In 2013, James and Nancy Wooddell won the Special Contributions in Archaeology Award, followed by Francis and Susanne Talbott in 2014. Carol Sanner received a Special Achievement Award in 2014.
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