The Candle Light Inn celebrates a long history in the Catonsville community. The original house, surrounded by rolling farmland and known as Five Oaks Estate, was built in the mid 1800’s. The house changed hands three times before the mid 1920’s when the Roger’s family began the pleasant tradition of offering afternoon tea and light fare in the parlors and on the gracious porch which once wrapped around the north and east side of the house. Ten or twelve cottages were built behind the house to accommodate people traveling between Baltimore and Washington and the Five Oaks Estate became the Candle Light Lodge. In the early 1940’s the house was purchased by Anna May Caulk who served a beautiful spread of traditional Maryland food for over 20 years. Anna May retired in the early 1960’s and sold the lodge to Charles and Ginny Dukehart, who renamed the inn and maintained it for close to 15 years, until an electrical fire destroyed the porch and the adjoining dining room. After the fire the Dukeharts sold the inn and it remained vacant for nearly one year until a group of local investors rebuilt the damaged portions of the building. The present owners, the Lombardini family, purchased the inn in 1979 and continue to provide the fine food and service that patrons have come to expect. With the renovations to the building in the late 1980’s and addition of the covered outdoor patio, the Lombardini family has attempted to restore the tradition of country elegance and charm that has long been associated with the Candle Light Inn.
Craig Witzke, the new owner of the white colonial at 1835 Frederick Rd. that once housed the Candle Light Inn Restaurant, said he kept "Candle Light" in the name of his new funeral home to pay homage to the building's history. The two-story building has been the site of a restaurant since 1925, but "the original house, surrounded by rolling farmland and known as Five Oaks Estate, was built in the mid 1800's," according to the inn's website. Owned by the Lombardini family since 1979, the Candle Light Inn Restaurant was the place for area residents to celebrate special events. Witzke said he kept remnants of the building's former interior, such as the carpets and drapes, but brought in new furniture and painted the walls. "I tried to keep it as close to the original building as possible," Witzke said. As the fourth generation of his family in the funeral business and a Catonsville native, Witzke knows the importance of tradition and history. Witzke's great-grandfather, Harry H. Witzke Sr., started the family business In 1912 when he opened a funeral home at 510 Ramsey Street in Baltimore City. The funeral home moved from Lombard Street to Hollins Avenue and eventually to an Edmondson Avenue location in Catonsville. Witzke left the funeral business in 2004 and in 2006, bought what had been the site of the Muir Hardware store on Frederick Road since 1935. He turned the property into Strawberry Fields, which features a variety of small businessess in downtown Catonsville. He has owned a funeral service business a short distance away, on Newburg Avenue, since October 2011, but said that location was not large enough to accommodate large funerals. He purchased the Candle Light Inn on Jan. 10. He said he was able to provide a low-cost service at his Newburg location, but wanted to meet the demand in Catonsville for traditional funerals with personal service. "They want someone that cares — someone that's professional and knows what they're doing — a friend," Witzke said. He said moving to the new, larger location will allow him to provide more services to clients, while retaining that respect for tradition. He worked with his family, putting in 12-hour days for six weeks, to prepare the building for use while operating a funeral service at the other location. The Candle Light Funeral Home opened for business on Feb. 21. Witzke said the first funeral at the new site was for Charles Tracey, a member of the Dukehart family that owned the Candle Light Inn restaurant 50 years ago.
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