Sidney Sakols (November 23, 1916 – July 22, 2007) was a real estate executive,

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

veteran, composer, inventor, activist, and eccentric

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

native.

Biography

Sidney's family lived on North Broadway in East

when he was born in 1916, but they moved to Lake Drive in Reservoir Hill in 1922. Sidney resided there until he died in 2007. During his time there the neighborhood's demographics shifted to being predominantly

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

. He graduated from

Baltimore City College Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C. is the thir ...

in 1935 and promptly began working for the family real estate business, S. Sakols & Sons. The company managed 25–30 properties, most of them in East Baltimore. Beginning in 1940, he served in the army for four and a half years, reaching the rank of master sergeant. However, he did not find the work he did for the army very fulfilling and stuck to the real-estate business thereafter. Sakols filed a lawsuit against Baltimore Transit Co. for overcrowded buses in 1950, but he lost his case. He twice ran unsuccessfully for

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

, once in 1958 for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and then again in 1968 for the House of Representatives. Sakols founded the Save Lake Drive Committee in response to the construction of the

Jones Falls Expressway Interstate 83 (I-83) is an Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its southern terminus is at a signalized intersection with Fayette Street in Baltimore, Maryland; its northern terminus is at I-81 near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Most ...

and the widening of Lake Drive that resulted from construction. In one demonstration, he managed to personally halt the construction, though only temporarily. Sakols sang in the Baltimore Symphony Chorus and composed a song entitled "The Governor's March". According to his nephew, David M. Schimmel, "It was recorded by the Naval Academy Band and it was played for the inaugurations of Governors Tawes and McKeldin. But the song, much to his dismay, never became a regular part of the inauguration." Also an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

enthusiast, Sakols invented an “Illuminating Magnifying Lens” for reading

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

without disturbing other attendees of the opera. Sakols was a

Conservative Jew Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and com ...

and belonged to the

Chizuk Amuno Congregation Chizuk Amuno Congregation (Hebrew: ק"ק חזוק אמונה) is a large Jewish house of worship affiliated with Conservative Judaism. It is located in Pikesville, Maryland. The congregation's name comes from the Hebrew "Chizzuq 'Emunah", meaning ...

. He remained a member of the congregation throughout his life, even after the congregation moved out to the Baltimore suburbs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakols, Sidney American real estate businesspeople 20th-century American Jews Businesspeople from Baltimore 1916 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American Jews