Ripken Images Stolen from Town Hall Bathroom

Members of the Arbutus Community Association hope to flush out the perpetrator of an unusual heist—the theft of sports memorabilia from the recently remodeled men’s bathroom at Arbutus Town Hall.

In the wee hours of Jan. 1, while the remainders of the family New Years Eve celebration were being cleared away, someone entered the men’s room and stole a set of photographs depicting Cal Ripken at bat during his historic 2131th game.

The two 8x10 photos were matted and framed together, with the frame securely anchored to the wall, explained ACA President Carl Boyer. They were one of four sports keepsakes donated by ACA members to hang in the bathroom.

All that remained were two screws, still firmly anchored in the wall. “They either worked the frame over the screws or broke the picture frame,” Boyer said.

“It was pretty weird,” said board member Mike Eagle. “They weren’t signed pictures or anything like that. They were pretty much worthless.”

But the images meant a lot to LeNora Clampitt, who donated them to Town Hall.

“My husband has been a life-long Orioles and Cal Ripken fan,” Clampitt said. “The very first Christmas present I ever gave him was a one-of-a-kind framing of four pictures of Cal.”

“Even as precious of a gift as this was for my husband, there was no hesitation when deciding to give it to the Hall, not after all that the Hall has given to our family,” she said.

More than a necessary convenience, the newly renovated bathrooms were a source of pride to the venerable fraternal club. The old restroom facilities at Town Hall left much to be desired. Over the past year, Boyer and a crew of volunteers labored to build tastefully designed restrooms that would look at home at a fine Inner Harbor hotel, with inlaid tile, flat-screen televisions and stylish details.

“We put a lot of time and effort into them,” he said. “We’ve had people rent the hall just because of the bathrooms.”

ACA members expressed disgust that a guest—perhaps even a friend or family member of a member—would engage in such an act of petty vandalism.

“It hurts,” Boyer said. “I just can’t fathom somebody doing something like that.”

“Who in the hell would steal that?” said Butch Miller, chairman of the New Years Eve celebration. “Really? You had to have a picture, huh?”

According to witnesses, the theft occurred between 1-1:30 a.m. Eagle saw a man exit the bathroom with a photo.

“I thought it was a photo from the silent auction earlier in the evening, but as soon as I went in the bathroom I knew what he’d done,” he said.

Eagle began to give chase, but by then the man left the premises and was heading toward Arbutus on foot.

The person is described as a white male in his mid-30s, with glasses and loose curly hair, wearing a tan shirt, dark pants and a leather jacket.

“What irks me the most was that [the photos] were donated by an ACA member to fancy up a bathroom that Carl and some others worked so hard on,” Miller said.

Clampitt and ACA just want the photos back.

“Please have whomever did this return the picture to the Hall in whatever condition it may be in,” she told Arbutus Patch.