Oella Businesses Part 1

As promised, here is the first installment of a list of Oella owned/operated businesses. Please shop locally if you can. It saves gas and helps our community thrive. The blogger continues to collect info on local businesses, so send 'em on in.

OellaWorks Photo Video
www.OellaWorks.com

Longtime Oella resident Geoffrey Baker is a veteran photojournalist/
video producer with national client experience. I specialize in on-
location editorial, corporate, fine art, and lifestyle
photojournalism. Stills or video, I tell your stories.


Original Souls
8120 Main Street
Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-461-2300
www.originalsouls.net
originalsouls@gmail.com
Sheila Morrison and Diane Standeven are the owners

Original Souls is a gift store and gallery specializing in unique and beautiful creations from artists and artisans from around the world. Many or our vendors are committed to socially responsible business and fair trade principles and donate to charitable organizations. A portion our profits are also donated to non-profit organizations. We believe each person can have a positive impact upon the lives of others. Original Souls is a community centered store and we thank you for visiting us.


Vida Dulce Imports

Owner: Kristen Van Zandt. Fairly traded handmade items by the Mayan living in the Guatemala Highlands. A portion of the proceeds benefits Pueblo a Pueblo. One-of-a-kind handbags, beaded jewelry, and textiles. Coming soon: shoes!

www.vidadulceimports.com


Catonsville Gourmet

Fine dining in downtown Catonsville specializing in seafood. The Chef is Oella resident Rob Rehmert. A gourmet food market is located in the back. Parking behind the building.
www.catonsvillegourmet.com


JW Treuth & Sons
328 Oella Ave.
The local butcher. Meats & seafood available in the retail shop.
www.jwtreuth.com


Westchester Community Center

Meeting/party room rentals, daycare, martial arts, yoga.

www.oella.org


The Country Store

Owner: Jay Patel. Corner of Westchester & Oella. Convenience foods & community news. Stop in to chat anytime.

***See the GOCA newsletter for info on other Oella businesses that don’t seem to have webpages***

Oella Historical Society Meeting May 28 7:00pm

The next meeting is Wednesday, May 28 at 7:00PM at the Oella Company. The OHS will be planning for OHS's participation in the bicentennial event GOCA has organized for June 14.

Drive safely on Oella Ave.

Oella Ave. has reopened to two-way traffic. Please be careful when turning from your driveway or road onto Oella Ave., as there will be some new oncoming traffic. Please also abide the speed limits. There are many pedestrians with pets & kids.

Expect an increase in traffic volume beginning June 1, when the first residents move into the Oella Mill.

House & Garden pilgrimage a smashing success!

Thanks to all of the hard-working volunteers who helped make the tour happen! The houses were fantastic, the gardens & flower boxes have never looked better, and the blogger overheard many pilgrims oohh-ing and aahh-ing over Oella. Lisa Baum and her committee must be commended for organizing a fantastic day. Finally, the homeowners who opened their properties to the public deserve a big thank you! I hope your carpets recover quickly.

Despite the gloomy weather, we had a lot of people! If anyone has any tallies, please inform the blogger.

House & Garden Pilgrimage this Sunday!

Don't miss the house & garden tour this Sunday 10-5. You can see ~12 Oella properties. Tickets are $30 until Saturday, $35 on the day of the event.

Check out www.mhgp.org or the Oella Co. website (www.oellacompany.com) for details.

If you haven't done so, please consider putting out containers of flowers to make Oella more beautiful.

Oella owned & operated businesses

With the rise & gas prices and the trend for supporting local economies, the blogger would like to compile a list of local (Oella/Ellicott City/Catonsville area) businesses that are owned & operated by Oella residents. Please send website addresses, a short description of your business, and the general location to the blogger at laueram@yahoo.com. The list will appear on the blog and may later be added to the HOA website (with the board's approval).

Thanks to those who helped with cleanup

It was a soggy day, but several crews put in hours of back-breaking work to tidy up our community. Thanks to those who fixed up the Historic Oella sign & along the 700-800 block of Oella Ave. New plants & seeds went in, debris & weeds were removed, and we even unearthed some old granite steps!

Community Beautification this Saturday May 10, 10:00am

Come out to beautify! Join groups working in the 700-800 stretch of Oella Ave., near the Race Rd. Oella sign, and on Spring St. We can use your help for a few minutes or a few hours.

Please bring gloves, brooms, and gardening tools if you have them. We'll weed, sweep, & plant. Plant donations are extremely welcome.

In the event of heavy rain, we'll postpone until next Saturday.

BGE road closures along Oella Ave

For those of you concerned about the road closure, it’s not the Oella Mill that’s responsible. BGE needs to upgrade the gas lines from the old galvanized steel to the new yellow lines you see along the road. They applied to Baltimore County for permission to do this a couple years ago and just did receive approval. Their original intention was to run the gas lines along the side of the road and, thereby, allowing traffic to flow, Baltimore County made them go down the middle of the road and, thus, Oella is closed down during the day.

This will go on throughout the week. They’ll stop on Friday, let us all get ready for the Home & Garden Pilgrimage and they’ll finish the work after May 18.

Please don’t blame the guys at the mill. If you want to vent (won’t help), call BGE.

In the meantime, the only choice is to use Hollow rd. & Glen Ave. Please be mindful that these are two-way streets that are only one lane wide. Go slowly and watch for oncoming traffic.

Your comments are requested regarding SALT BOXES

There are salt boxes (gray wooden boxes) located in each HOA parking lot. The HOA must pay a certain amount per box to maintain them and stock them with salt. In an effort to economize, your input is needed. Do people in your area use the salt boxes? Would you like them to stay or go? Would you be willing to adopt a box (keep it painted & clean)?

Please post a comment.

Oella Historical Society Meeting Tonight

Monday, May 5 at 7:00 in the Oella Company Conference Room. The new walking tour brochures have arrived and they will be planning future events and projects.

Oella home featured in the Baltimore Sun

An Oella farmhouse was featured in the Sun this week. Click on the link above to read the article.