2019 Annual ACT Awards
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.