The Linthicum Centennial Committee will hold the dedication ceremony of the J. Charles Linthicum Memorial Park, Anne Arundel County’s newest park honoring the congressman who introduced in 1918 a bill making “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official national anthem of the United States, on Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 1 p.m.
The creation of this passive park is a joint effort between the Linthicum-Shipley Improvement Association, State, and County governments. In 2005 the LSIA requested the property, owned by the Maryland Transit Administration, be converted into a park, including a continuation of the BWI Hiker/Biker Trail which currently terminates at the Linthicum Light Rail stop. The State agreed to the park concept and has leased the property in perpetuity to the County. The property, a narrow swath of land encompassing several acres, is situated between West Maple Road and the Linthicum Light Rail Station. When fully completed the park will connect the BWI Hiker/Biker Trail with Linthicum Heights and include a path with benches from one end of the park to the other. A fence, recently installed by MTA, separates the park from the train tracks but allows the park to be viewed by riders on Maryland’s Light Rail system.
J. Charles Linthicum was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-second Congress and served from March 4, 1911 through 10 succeeding Congresses until his death in October 1932. He made his home at Twin Oaks in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, which is still standing but no longer owned by the Linthicum family. The bill authorizing “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the U.S. national anthem was finally made by a congressional resolution on March 31, 1931 and signed by President Herbert Hoover (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301).
As part of the dedication ceremony, the community has invited dignitaries including U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin; Congressman John P. Sarbanes; Maryland Senator Ed DeGrange; Delegates Pam Beidle, Mary Ann Love, and Ted Sophocleus; County Executive John R. Leopold; and County Councilman Daryl Jones.
Comments