Elin

What happens when a dog gets to be 162 years old (1,134 in human years) and his paws start to break down? At Federated Charities, it means calling in a restoration company so that we can repair/restore his foundation. However, before we send him to the veterinary hospital in June, we feel like we need to clarify a couple of things so we’re going to see how well you think you know us:

True or False: Charity is made out of iron

FALSE – For realz. We’ve been innocently promoting this fake news for several years but the restoration company tells us that he’s actually made out of a combination of zinc and pewter. Other fake news? We were pretty sure he was cast by a Baltimore company but, according to an auction catalogue from 1858, he was actually cast by Janes, Beebe & Co. in New York…who knew?

Choose the Correct Answer(s): a) Charity has had his head stolen; b) Charity has had his tail broken off; c) Charity has had a tattoo inked in his honor; d) Charity is a Labrador Retriever

Answer – a, b and c. Charity had his head vandalized in the 1960’s, and it was found in Baker Park by a student on her way to school. His tail has been vandalized on several occasions and in the late 1980’s was replaced entirely with a downward-oriented tail in order to stabilize it. And yes, Charity was permanently inked on the arm of a young woman in the summer of 2019 after she interned with the Downtown Frederick Partnership. Charity is not a Labrador however, he is actually modeled as a Chesapeake Bay Retriever or Newfoundland breed. But take a look at this picture…we think it’s totally possible he’s a drooly Tibetan Mastiff.

True or False: Charity was installed on the front porch of the Federated Charities building because the family who owned the home in 1858 really liked dogs.

We don’t know the answer to this one for sure, although some documents indicate that the dog was a rendering of a beloved pet and there are several pictures in our archives of (human) family members with a wide variety of pets (no large black dogs though). It’s very possible that the family put it there because, at that time period, decorative exterior pieces were a sign of status and wealth. According to the Smithsonian, ” Zinc sculptures are important because they reflect cultural history during the 19th century throughout the United States, especially in smaller towns. While urban centers had sources of revenue enabling erection of expensive bronze monuments, small communities throughout the country could afford zinc statues purchased from trade catalogues and shipped by railroad.”  The picture in the catalogue totally looks like our statue so it may have been mass produced. Anecdotally, our records indicate that the statue originally cost $45 and caused a bit of a stir because of its cost.

If you are from Frederick, you are undoubtedly one of the people who pets him, or maybe you’re the person who has had to pull your real dog away because it’s confused, but it’s also possible that you remember the first time you saw our dog and had your picture taken with him. Whatever your memory, Charity is a part of the day to day fabric of the life of downtown Frederick and, more importantly, he is a symbol of the work of Federated Charities and our 16 nonprofit partners who share this building and whose work impacts all of us every day.

Our veterinary bill in 2020 will cost considerably more than $45 and we will be removing the statue in mid-June for further analysis and in order to re-cast the feet. During that process, we will also make sure the rest of the sculpture is stable and we will strip and re-paint it so when Charity returns, it will be as if he were brand new. His “operation” will cost our organization more than $12,000 and we have to be able to raise that before we begin the restoration…you can help by making a tax-deductible contribution to our organization, which will be matched dollar for dollar. Thank you for helping us with his restoration, we hope you’re as fond of him as we are.

We were due for an upgrade. and so at the beginning of this year we signed up for the Frederick Garden Tour and forced ourselves to re-think our rear garden.

Over the years the rear garden at Federated Charities building has been planted, bricked, and excavated and mined for archaeological treasures. In the mid-1970s one of the building caretakers planted a grouping of heirloom roses in the space and even during our major renovation in 2000, those roses have remained in place. Lovely as they are, they did not lend themselves to anything other than admiration (because they look and smell lovely).

At the beginning of this year, our current board of directors committed resources to a sweat-equity garden renovation that would makeover the space so our tenant-partners could better enjoy it and we could start to rent it out for small events in the community. Our business model is based on the premise of the more money we can raise, the more we can give back to our nonprofit tenants for their own mission-based services.

In April, a small crew of intrepid volunteers moved 8 rosebushes to other parts of the front and rear garden and dug out a square courtyard to lay sod. Generous people in the community donated vintage metal outdoor furniture which we painted a festive aquamarine color and we planted a variety of traditional and colorful plants along the building walls and in pots that are clustered around the space.

Today our tenant-partners can use the space to gather, we can use it for events and we have one more spot in our historic building that draws people in to share our legacy. We would like to thank our Board of Directors, countless volunteers, Comprehensive Tree Care, Inc. and the generosity of the Frederick community for helping with our 2018 Garden Renovation project.