"We, the subscribers,...all being at least 21 years of age...do under and by virtue of the general laws of the State of Maryland authorizing the formation of corporations, hereby associate ourselves with the intention of forming a corporation.

"The name of the Corporation is: 'The A.S. Abell Company Foundation, Inc.'"

Ms. James acknowledged in her affidavit that the men "personally appeared" before her and "severally acknowledged the Articles of Incorporation to be their act."

Thus, the A.S. Abell Company Foundation was officially in business. It would have no assets until its first meeting, which would be held later that same morning at 11:00. Present at that meeting were Gary Black, Harry C. Black, James C. Fenhagen, and W.F. Schmick, Sr., who constituted the first board of trustees. Present too were William F. Schmick, Jr., Emmet P. Kavanaugh, E. Paul Flaherty, and David R. Owen.

The first order of business was the election of officers; they were: chairman, Harry C. Black, President; William F. Schmick, Sr., Vice-President; Emmet P. Kavanaugh, Secretary; E. Paul Flaherty, Treasurer.

There was one other order of business: "The chairman stated that he had just received a check payable to the Corporation in the amount of $100,000 representing a contribution or gift from the A.S. Abell Company."

$100,000. Modest, perhaps, even in 1953 dollars.

But it was just a beginning.

That beginning was, in fact, only a new beginning; at the time the foundation was organized, Harry C. Black already enjoyed a reputation as a leading philanthropist although the reputation was characterized by a certain unorthodoxy.

His gifts were ordinarily anonymous, and given without restrictions. His sole instruction: "This money may be used in any way or ways that may be deemed wise and helpful."

Among those institutions that enjoyed his largesse were the Johns Hopkins University, Peabody Institute, the Enoch Pratt Library, South Baltimore General Hospital and the Red Cross. Unknown to the public, he paid for the replanting and landscaping of the four squares surrounding the Washington Monument, the spring tulips in Preston Gardens, the restoration of St. Paul's graveyard on Redwood Street, and the oaks alongside the Sunpapers building, on both Calvert and Centre streets.

His gift-giving, too, was thought to have in certain instances something of the mischievous. He once, through The Evening Sun, set up a sum of money to be used to fund an architectural medal, which was to be awarded "not to the architect who designed a good building, but to the building owner who had the good taste to accept a good design."

Although it was Black's personal energy and commitment to his community that created the Foundation, he was to be its leader for only three years; he died unexpectedly in his sleep at his winter home at Boynton Beach, Florida on November 25, 1956. But he had put his imprimatur on his foundation; he had left the community a legacy, which was making a difference, as he undoubtedly dreamed it would. But in 1956, shortly before Thanksgiving when he left for Florida "in his usual high spirits," he could not know by how much, over the next 30 years, that difference would grow.

Growth would come in two ways: in assets, slowly, but in breadth of community involvement, in recognition of a foundation's need to touch to the limits of its capability every aspect of society, growth was instant and rapid. From the beginning, the Foundation supported need across the community spectrum-wherever it found it. Early records show gifts to hospitals, educational institutions, culture and the arts, and human services-including the Associated Catholic Charities, Associated Jewish Charities and the United Negro College Fund of Baltimore, Inc.

This particular vision of the Foundation's mission, though shaped early on by Harry C. Black, was given firmer definition over the years by his successor, Gary Black. This leadership was supported by men of remarkable dedication: William S. Abell, Gary Black Jr., Thomas B. Butler, George L. Bunting, Jr., Harrison Garrett, Benjamin Griswold, III, Robert Garrett, William McGuirk, Jr., Edwin F. Morgan, John E. Semmes, William Schmick Jr., W. Shepherdson Abell Jr., Donald H. Patterson.

It would be Messr. Gary Black, Sr., Gary Black, Jr., W. Shepherdson Abell, Jr., George Bunting, Robert Garrett, and Donald Patterson, who, at a meeting of May 28, 1986, would hear the words, "review the proposed Times-Mirror offer." The offer to purchase all the outstanding stock of the A.S. Abell Company resulted in the foundation's assets to grow ten-fold to $112 million. Since its establishment over 50 years ago, The Abell Foundation has contributed back more than $186,000,000 to the community. Harry C. Black would have been pleased.

At the time of the name change to The Abell Foundation in 1986, the foundation's agenda became far more broad and ambitious. To lead into the future what would be known as one of the largest foundations serving only Maryland, the trustees chose Robert C. Embry, Jr. as president. In accepting the position, Mr. Embry commented on the Foundation's focus and set the tone for his tenure: "The trustees are committed to addressing the problems of the City and the state. This is a unique opportunity to affect change, and I expect the foundation to become an agent of change." He would later prove as good as his word.

With the passing of Gary Black in October of 1987, the mantle of chairmanship passed to his son, Gary Jr., who, in effect, had trained a lifetime for the position. It is a mark of his style and commitment that in the life of the Foundation not a beat was missed.

During Gary Black, Jr.'s tenure, he has been supported by persons of remarkable dedication and community involvement: W. Shepherdson Abell, Jr., George L. Bunting, Jr., Robert C. Embry, Jr., Robert Garrett, Jacqueline Hrabowski, William I. Jews, Sally J. Michel, Donald H. Patterson, and Walter Sondheim, Jr.