In late 1989, Jamie Roeder’s father won a contest at a fall fundraiser for The Children’s Guild. The prize: Roeder and her sister were photographed for the January 1990 cover of Baltimore’s Child.
Roeder recalls a photographer coming to their Catonsville home and the two girls tossing confetti for the New Year’s themed picture. “As a child, you feel like a celebrity,” Roeder says.
This month, a little fame returns to the family. Roeder, her sister, Katie Sloop, who now lives in North Carolina, are once again on our cover, this time with their children, Erin-Kate, 12, Kevin, 10, Jacob, 8, and Reese, six months.
The kids were excited about the project and the prospect of their photo being seen at schools, libraries, doctors’ offices and the many other places where readers find Baltimore’s Child. Roeder explained to them how teachers even use the magazine as a resource. She should know. The Fallston resident is the director of early childhood education at Garrison Forest School, her children’s father is a teacher and her sister teaches third grade.
Roeder says she’s always liked how the field of education connects her with other parents. When her son Jacob was in preschool, she was his teacher — an experience that really solidified her relationship with other moms.
Education is clearly a family trend; Roeder’s and Sloop’s mother is a Baltimore City public school teacher. She also came to the most recent shoot with her daughters and grandchildren and was, of course, at the first one. “It’s fun for her to see history repeat itself,” Roeder says.
What do the children think of the original cover of their mother and aunt? Roeder says “1990 was forever ago in their minds. They will be really excited when their cover is actually in print.”
