Margaret Rome's Blog

Remember a post about making my numbers? I talked about reaching my goal of getting 55 new Active Rain members, and the delightful real estate agent from Annapolis, MD who helped me do it – Pat Hommel.  And meeting Pat came through being on Umar Hameed's radio show when we talked about being a Type E personality.

Fast forward about 10 days, and that on-the-air and in-the-Rain connection became a four hour, in person gabfest in an Irish Pub in Baltimore.  I picked Pat up from an appointment and used my trusty GPS to find a place nearby where we could eat and talk.

Ryan's Daughter, an Irish Pub across from Baltimore's Belvedere Market, was the spot. Over dinner we talked about real estate and Active Rain, of course. I was able to share pointers and suggestions that I've picked up over the past year of playing in the Rain, and was able to pull up the site on my Treo. (I had my camera and was going to show her how to post a photo, but got sidetracked taking shots in the restaurant.)

We discovered something else we have in common besides real estate, Active Rain, and Type E…chocolate!  We shared this yummy dessert - it looked lovely before we devoured it, don't you think?

Pat admits to being addicted to AR already – a common complaint, I'm afraid.  She has some great ideas for posts on Localism, and I'm looking forward to reading more about our capital city, Annapolis.

Active Rain did it again!

Most Baltimoreans have heard of Dickeyville as "somewhere west of the city." When you look at photos of the Victorian architecture, traditional old church, and white picket fences, it's easy to believe this historic neighborhood sits out in the country somewhere.

The surprise is that Dickeyville is tucked into Baltimore City itself, snuggled up against the Gwynns Falls that meanders down to the Patapsco, the Inner Harbor, and eventually the Chesapeake Bay.  Several mill towns sprang up around Baltimore in the 18th century drawing mill workers and managers.  Along the Gwynns Falls there were grist mills, paper mills, and woolen mills that provided cloth for both North and South during the Civil War.  Towns grew up around the mills with stone houses, churches, schools, and shops.

Through its history, the town took its name from leading citizens and businesses – first Franklinville for the Franklin Paper Mill, then Wetheredsville for the three brothers who expanded the town and converted the paper mill to woolen cloth.  Though they were enterprising, the war years of the mid-1800's destroyed their business, and the Wethereds eventually sold 300 acres, three mills, and many of the houses to William Dickey in 1871.

For several decades the town prospered and grew with new homes for workers, a church, and general store.  But by the early 20th century the textile business had changed and work became scarce. The mills closed and Dickeyville declined into a shanty town with a seedy reputation.

Finally, in 1934, Dickeyville's fortunes changed when much of the village was sold to a development company that began a restoration project. In one of Baltimore's first community preservation projects, old buildings were preserved as much as possible, and new homes had to blend in with the old. Many of the early field stone buildings were preserved, such as the three-story buildings of "stone row" as well as a church and schoolhouse.

The vision of those developers led to the preservation of the town that is now a model historic village of homes and public buildings. In 1968 Dickeyville was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and it is a source of pride to its residents who maintain the town with care. People who live here treasure the park-like setting near the Gwynns Falls that creates an old village feel for Dickeyville that is unlike any other neighborhood in Baltimore City.

Some of you may have received this recently.  I have to admit, this sort of thing always sounds like a hoax to me, but I checked it out and this one is real. http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/missing/mccann.asp  My heart goes out to this family. My goodness, wouldn't it be fantastic if we at Active Rain - some 45,000 of us - could help locate this beautiful little girl?

PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE AND FORWARD IT TO EVERYBODY IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK... 
I am thanking you in advance......
 
From Phil McCann:
As you are aware my niece, Madeleine, is still missing and I am asking everyone I know to send this as a chain letter. Please send it to everyone you know and ask them to do the same, as the story is only being covered in Britain, Eire and Portugal. We don't believe that she is in Portugal anymore and need to get her picture and the story across Europe and the U.S. as quickly as possible. Suggestions are welcome.

Please Pass this email on to everyone in your address book and they reckon it could cover 80% of the world's inboxes in 2 weeks. Madeleine's Eye Holds Vital Clue

Madeleine McCann's family believe a new picture of the missing four-year-old could play a vital role in the search for her. The photo of the youngster shows clearly the her distinctive right eye, where the pupil runs into the blue-green iris.

It is this distinguishing mark that will identify Madeleine to those on the lookout for her, according to aunt and uncle John and Diane McCann.

The Glasgow couple aim to distribute the appeal poster, which features the Crimestoppers telephone number, as far afield as they can.  Family friend Andrew Renwick told Sky News that support for the search had been "overwhelming" and her family were extremely grateful.


Mrs McCann said: "The purpose of the poster is to highlight the distinction in Madeleine's eye. We want to make the most of it, because we know her hair could potentially be cut or dyed."

Mr McCann added: "The poster was designed by a friend of the family and I've begun Emailing it to acquaintances in different parts of the world.

"I'm asking people to circulate it the best they can and make it be seen."

AUCTION SEPTEMBER 20TH  11;00 AM 

It happened again. Active Rain made possible a new connection for me, and a reconnection for one of my favorite clients. The other day I received an email through AR from a woman who used to live in Maryland and was a customer of Tatiana, my client with the fabulous historic church property.  This woman has retired to Albuquerque and knew that Tatiana had moved to New Mexico as well. She had purchased a lot of Tatiana's wonderful pottery while in Maryland and wants to buy more. Did I have an address, phone, or email for Tatiana? 

Absolutely! I emailed Tatiana who emailed her former and future client, and the connection was made. It's perfect timing, too, as Tatiana just had a successful ceramic show opening in Santa Fe.

Back in Maryland, I'm taking her former home/studio/gallery in Glenelg to auction on September 20…stay tuned for details to follow. The lucky new owners will have one of the most distinctive properties I've ever listed.

 That's one of the things I love most about this business – helping people connect!

Almost exactly eight months ago I set myself a challenge, thanks to Maureen McCabe, to bring 55 new members to Active Rain. Who knew it would take this long?  A little later I was issuing invitations with follow-up emails and phone calls, and learning that signing up new members seemed as challenging as signing up a listing!

One by one, I crept towards my goal. Then, for what seemed like months, the total sat there at 54 new members. It wouldn't budge. I called and emailed people who should be on Active Rain, but they just didn't take that step.

Those who know me know that I'm a Type E personality of the "Mystic" variety. And when I get a chance to talk about what it means to be Type E, especially on the radio, I love it. So this past Saturday I was happy to spend time with Umar Hameed on his Saturday morning radio show, Life Changing Breakthroughs, (on WVIE 1370 AM in Baltimore, MD at 10:00 a.m.) talking about Type E.

A woman happened to be listening that morning, a real estate agent from Annapolis, MD. She didn't realize that her way of living and working is exactly what I and other Type E's have been learning about. After the show she called me, then later emailed, and then we talked some more – I could feel that same excitement in her that I knew the first time I learned that there are other people like me. Of course, I invited her to join Active Rain. She signed up right away and posted her first blog.

Yes!  I couldn't ask for a nicer combination – meeting my goal of 55 new AR members, and finding a new Type E connection in Pat Hommel.

A couple of weeks ago I received this email (used with permission):

Dear Mrs. Rome,

I don't know if you remember me. My name is Kaliq Simms, and about six months ago, we happened to be getting gas at the same station on Reisterstown Rd. I recognized your name on your license plate. You had been the seller's realtor for a house we contemplated buying about six years ago when we were shopping for our current home.

I was so impressed with your professionalism and great personality. We ended up buying another home (no fault of yours, of course), but I continued to visit your website periodically over the years, as I knew we would eventually want to sell our current starter home. Long story short, you gave me your number at the gas station that day and told me to call you when we decided to sell. Well, we've decided :)!

I hope we can work together. We need a speedy and smooth sale because we have found the house we want to buy. We are already pre-qualified and have a realtor for the buy-side of this transaction. Please call us as soon as possible. Thank you!

That Saturday I went on a listing appointment, and though they said they absolutely wanted to use me, they also said they wanted their attorney to look over the listing agreement. I told them, "Absolutely, and here is what he'll say: he'll tell you the commission is too high and the term is too long, and that you shouldn't sign it."

While they were waiting to hear from the attorney, as a surprise for this delightful young family I put their home on my website with no address, no price, and a "Coming Soon!" heading. Later that week they reported that the lawyer said exactly what I predicted, but after thinking it over some more…they listed their home with me. Up went the listing on MLS, up went the listing on Active Rain, and we've had three showings already, one with good interest.

I've always insisted on showing my own properties whenever possible. Six years ago, a showing that did not lead to a sale created an impression. And today I have a listing for 7529 Rockridge Road, Pikesville, MD because of it.

Mmmm…farm-fresh fruits and vegetables, succulent crab cakes, steak and cheese subs dripping with flavor, fresh from the Chesapeake crabs and oysters, fudge-topped cookies to satisfy any chocoholic. Hungry yet?

All these and more await you at Baltimore's Lexington Market, 225 years old and going strong. Opened in 1782, it is the world's largest continuously running market, and still at the original site on Lexington Street between Eutaw and Greene.

At first, it was an open air market where farmers brought wagons filled with hams, butter, produce, eggs, and poultry. About 20 years later a shed went up and the market grew from there. Famous people have visited the market over the centuries; Ralph Waldo Emerson proclaimed Baltimore "the gastronomic capital of the world" after visiting The Market. The growth continued until there were more than 1,000 stalls and major traffic problems in the 1920's. Plans to replace old buildings with new, modern ones never quite got off the drawing board until 1949. In March that year a six-alarm fire destroyed buildings, equipment, and merchandise, and moved plans for a new market along quickly. Today, there are about 140 merchants carrying on the tradition.

The Market hosts special events throughout the year including a Chocolate Festival, the Preakness Crab Derby, and Lunch With the Elephants when the circus comes to town. We just enjoy the every day guaranteed good eating, as you can see in the photos – that's Lee lining up for Andy's Steak subs.

Lexington Market – a delicious Baltimore tradition not to be missed. Be sure to try the fresh seafood – Faidley's is famous for their oysters. And don't pass the Bergers Cookies without buying a package or two. Chocoholics recognize them as the ultimate, with just enough cookie to hold a great glob of dark, rich, fudge icing. Bon appetit!