By Beth Ward, Times Staff Writer Sunday,
February 22, 2009
ANNAPOLIS — Many state lawmakers
make Annapolis
their place of residence during the 90-day legislative session. Peg Bednarsky,
the innkeeper for Historic Inns of Annapolis,
aims to make it their home.
“Just having them here is like having children come home,”
said Bednarsky, who has worked for the Inns, which comprise The Maryland Inn,
the Governor Calvert House and the Robert Johnson House, for 40 years this
month.
Walking through the atrium of the Governor Calvert
House, Bednarsky greets legislators, lobbyists and staff with a hug and a “How
are you doing today, honey?” She asks questions, remembering details about
their lives; she compliments the work of staff and always ends the conversation
with “Have a good day, dear.”
In the hotel’s legislative lounge, delegates and
senators can relax, watch television and grab a quick breakfast or late dinner.
“The lounge, we find, is their home away from home,”
Bednarsky said. “It’s hard to be in a bedroom for 90 days ... we do a lot of
things to make it a little easier.”
On a recent Thursday morning, Speaker of House
Michael Busch, D-Anne Arundel, stopped by for breakfast, which Bednarsky said
is a common occurrence.
“Miss Peg keeps us in line,” Busch said before
heading to the State House for session.
Bednarsky said she welcomes her role as legislative
“mother” during the three months of session.
She became the innkeeper in 1975 and has watched the
business grow and the city change as countless legislators have stayed at the
inns.“I’ve
enjoyed every minute. People are my thing,” Bednarsky said. “People are a part
of our lives and we’re a big part of a lot of people’s lives.
‘Always welcome’
Seeing the lawmakers let their guard down when they
return each day from the State House, Bednarsky gets a rare insight into the
legislators and the process of making state law.
“As session goes on, you see the worries — the
happiness for some, the worries for others,” she said. “It gets very intense
the last few weeks. ... They truly are an inspiration. I don’t know if their
districts know how hard they work.”
A few of Carroll’s legislators stay at Historic Inns,
including Del. Tanya Shewell, R-District 5; Sen. David Brinkley, R-District 4;
and Sen. Allan Kittleman, R-District
9, Bednarsky said.
“They are true legislators. They are not here for
fun; they are here to work,” she said. “A lot of people don’t know what
legislators do. It takes a lot of diligence.”
Kittleman has a room in the Johnson House when he
stays in Annapolis.
Bednarsky said she knew Kittleman’s father, Sen. Robert Kittleman, who stayed
at the hotels when he was a lawmaker.
“Sen. Kittleman likes the quiet when he comes here.
He’s a very hardworking young man,” she said. “His father was a good man and
worked hard for what he believed in. You have to honor that, no matter what the
party affiliation.”
Kittleman said Bednarsky is always looking out for
people.
Brinkley also stays at the Johnson House.
“He’s a very intense man,” Bednarsky said. “He works
very hard, very diligently.”
Brinkley called Bednarsky a legislative mother for
many lawmakers.
“She makes you feel like you’re at home and that you
are always welcome,” he said.
When the legislature isn’t in session, Bednarsky
sends notes and birthday cards, Brinkley said.
It’s these personal touches that keep legislators
coming back, said Joseph Dantoni, general manager for Historic Inns of Annapolis.
“This is the key to Annapolis,” Dantoni said gesturing to
Bednarsky. “She knows everybody. ... The personal relationships Miss Peg
develops over the years keep people coming back.”
Bednarsky is quick to interject that she isn’t alone.
“I couldn’t do it without my support staff,” she
said.
‘We are a family’
Bednarsky was only supposed to help out at the
Maryland Inn when it first opened.
But when her husband had a massive heart attack and
died, age 49, Bednarsky said working at the hotel became more than a passing
interest.
“It’s why, I guess, I dearly love what I do,” she
said. “In the hotel business, you can’t take your problems in. You have to
leave them on the doorstep and pick them up on the way out. ... As I look back,
it was therapeutic.”
Bednarsky was 42 years old and raising three children
alone when she said owner Paul Pearson asked her to work full time at the desk
at The Maryland Inn.
“We built a business in the little Maryland Inn,” she
said.
Bednarsky said she remembers that rooms were $12 a
night when she started.
Being involved since the beginning, Bednarsky can
rattle off the history of the buildings and the interesting characteristics of
each hotel, including where the three buildings that make up the Johnson House
are connected and can describe the 18th-century heating system that was found
beneath the Governor Calvert House when it was restored in the early 1980s.
Bednarsky credits Pearson with having a vision, not
only for the hotel business but for preserving Annapolis’s historic buildings.
In addition to the three hotels, there’s also the
Treaty of Paris restaurant, the Drummer’s Lot
pub and a Starbucks, which used to be a jazz club, Bednarsky said.
“It’s difficult to run all these businesses,” she
said. “We have a general manager and an innkeeper, thank god.”
About 15 years ago, Dallas-based hotel management
company Remington purchased the hotels.
Competition has increased over the years, as more
hotels have been built in the city.
“I’ve worked hard. I won’t tell you any different.
Some days I was on my feet 18 hours a day. If I had to do it, I’d do it again,”
she said.
Bednarsky said there are about a half-dozen employees
who have worked at the hotels as long as she has, but all the work of all the
employees is what makes the businesses a success.
“We are a family. They are not help; they are
family,” she said.
Reach staff writer Beth Ward at 410-751-5908 or
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Session helps Annapolis
businesses
The beginning of the year is typically a difficult
time for the hotel industry — and businesses in general — but not in Annapolis.
The influx of legislators and staff to the state
capital for the 90-day legislative session brings a boom of business.
“Our first quarter is wonderful. That’s why we go out
of our way to take care of the people that stay here,” said Peg Bednarsky,
innkeeper for the Historic Inns of Annapolis.
Mike Miron, economic affairs director for the city of
Annapolis, said
the city is in the process of conducting economic impact studies to find out
just how much business the legislative session brings to the city.
“The unsung mantra out there is ‘Thank God the
legislature is in Annapolis
January through April,’ because that’s our slowest time,” he said.
— Beth Ward
The Historic Inns of Annapolis
- The Maryland Inn: The hotel, located on Church Circle, was
built in 1772 on a piece of property that was used by the drummer of the town,
who called delegates and senators to session and announced local news. In
addition to the 44 rooms, the hotel also houses the Drummer’s Lot
pub, the Treaty of Paris restaurant and a Starbucks. Before Starbucks opened, a
jazz club operated in its place, with performers such as Charlie Byrd taking
the stage.
- Robert Johnson House: The hotel located on State Circle across
from the State House is actually three buildings that were restored and made
into one building. The homes, which were built in the late 1700s, were owned by
prominent members of the Johnson family, including a mayor, a state senator and
a judge.
- Governor Calvert House: Sections of the building
date back to 1695 and it was home to two former governors including its
namesake, Gov. Charles Calvert. When most of the building was destroyed by a
fire in 1764, the remains of the house were incorporated into a two-story building
that was used as a barrack by the state of Maryland until 1784. A hypocaust, an early
18th-century central heating system, was discovered in the Governor Calvert
House in the early 1980s, during archaeological research. It is thought to be
the earliest one in America
and can be viewed through a glass floor in the hotel. Artifacts were also
discovered during the archeological dig; some are on display in the hotel.
