Where We Live:
Montgomery County
WashingtonPost.com
September 18, 1996
Montgomery County, stretching from the northern tip of the District of Columbia to the rolling hills of central Maryland, is one of the wealthiest and most densely populated localities in the Washington area.
Long known as a comfortable, middle-class home for tens of thousands of federal workers, the county underwent a dramatic growth spurt during the past 15 years, jumping from 573,000 people in 1980 to 810,000 in 1995. Today it is Maryland's most populous jurisdiction, and its political leaders are struggling to maintain the county's reputation for first-rate public services in the face of major economic changes.
To learn more about the county's economically and geographically diverse neighborhoods, click on the links below:
Aspen Hill: A Magnet for Korean Americans
By Marianne Kyriakos; September 9, 1995
In her spare time, Jennifer Lee likes to trim the knotted and twisted bonsai trees that her father planted in their Aspen Hill yard before he died two years ago. "He bought them from a Korean gardener," she says. "I won't let my mother cut them down. They remind me of my Dad." About 80,000 Korean Americans live in the Washington area. Many have settled in Aspen Hill in central Montgomery County as well as other Montgomery communities, including Rockville, Gaithersburg, Silver Spring and Bethesda.
Burtonsville: There's Room to Grow
By Kate Moore; September 17, 1994
There are so many children in Burtonsville that residents would like to see the county turn the vacant field at the end of Saddle Creek Drive into a ball field. "There are a heck of a lot of kids running around out here and it would be nice for them to be able to walk out of their yards to a community field, instead of having to be driven to the several area parks," says George Swegman, father of two young boys.
Carderock Springs: Making Way for Woods
By Julia Angwin; February 27, 1993
Today it might be called environmentally correct, but when it was built 30 years ago, Carderock Springs was revolutionary. "The whole concept was unusual in those days, saving the trees and not destroying the land," says Carol MacIntyre, a Carderock Springs resident since 1965. Not only did the developers carefully attempt to preserve the forest, moving houses rather than cutting down hardwood trees, but they also built uniquely contemporary houses that fit the curves of the land.
Ednor: Simplicity and Serenity
By Charles Babbington; June 17, 1995
For some, outsmarting squirrels is the toughest part of living in Ednor, a rolling, semirural enclave of eastern Montgomery County, north of Silver Spring. William Kranz had tried everything he could think of to keep squirrels off the bird feeder outside his five-bedroom ranch house on a heavily wooded, two-acre lot. "I finally strung a wire between two trees, hung the feeder in the middle, then put grease on the wire," Kranz said, smiling proudly at his victory -- for now, at least -- in the war on the rodents.
Four Corners: Neighborhood at a Crossroads
By Marianne Kyriakos; December 5, 1992
Neighbors describe the Lowmans’ four-bedroom Cape Cod as a local landmark. The house is believed to be the first home in the Washington area heated by natural gas, the neighbors say. On the wall in the living room is a framed magazine ad from 1937 showing the house being sold with other little extras, such as groceries, furniture and a 1938 Chevrolet De Luxe Sedan. Asking price: $11,025.69.
Glen Echo: The Past Still Resonates
By Angela E. Couloumbis; June 22, 1996
The small incorporated town of Glen Echo has layers of history; houses built in the 1890s, streets named after famous universities and the nation's smallest national park. Glen Echo Park is an old amusement park from trolley-town days that is now living a new life as a cultural and crafts center.
Glenmont: Future Riding on the Red Line
By Marianne Kyriakos; October 9, 1993
"When we first moved here, we were excited about the subway," says Susan Stracquatanio. "We knew it would give us greater mobility." She still is pleased about the railway, "but I have some reservations about the amount of development that goes along with it."
Hawkins Lane: Protecting Its History
By Kevin Sullivan; November 28, 1992
Resident Thomas Trumble says Hawkins Lane is a "thumbnail history" of Montgomery County. "I don't know how many casual residents of this county know the racial diversity that has always been here. This place serves to remind all of us in this county, black and white, that there has been progress."
Hillandale: The Greening of a Community
By Avis Thomas-Lester; October 7, 1995
Located just north of the Capital Beltway straddling New Hampshire Avenue, the community of Hillandale boasts 1,500 homes and two recreational facilities for local families. The community publishes its own newsletter and offers several organizations for residents, including a mothers' information exchange called Mix, a sort of co-op for parents with young children who exchange everything from moral support to baby-sitting duties.
Kemp Mill: Neighborhood Holds to Religious Past
By Marianne Kyriakos; December 26, 1992
A Kemp Mill tradition takes place many Sunday mornings when 25 or 30 concerned citizens gather at 9 sharp at the Recreation Center on Claybrook Drive. The burning issue: softball. For Phil Shapiro, the game is one of the nicest things about life in Kemp Mill. "We change teams every week," he says. "Sometimes it's everybody who has facial hair against those who don't. Or people who have daughters against people who have sons."
Kensington: Turn-of-the-Century Charm
By Joel Glenn Brenner; October 16, 1993
The promotional brochure “Come to Kensington” said it all in 1910: “Kensington lies directly in the path of Washington’s phenomenal growth.” But what the brochure couldn’t possibly foresee is that the burgeoning metropolis would somehow manage to grow around—not over—the tiny village of Kensington, leaving intact an oasis of small-town charm just four miles north of the District line on Connecticut Avenue.
Kentlands: New Town, Old Town
By D'Vera Cohn; July 11, 1992
It is one of Washington's most written-about neighborhoods, the talk of architecture circles and recipient of a Time magazine "best of 1991" design award."That's what I bought into—the opportunity to relive Georgetown one day, or Annapolis," says William Edens. "Everybody you talk to bought into the philosophy that they bought into a community that's going to be unique."
Kenwood: An Exclusive, Tight Team
By Julie Goodman; July 13, 1996
The well-known and the well-off live in the Kenwood section of southern Montgomery, but this area's wealthy residents are no misanthropes. Life in Kenwood's spacious homes revolves around the Kenwood Citizens Association, a sixty-year-old group that schedules theatrical productions, citizens' watches and childrens' activities.
Laytonsville: Grappling with Annexation
By Joel Glenn Brenner; February 5, 1994
The day Laytonsville lost its fight with the county over a landfill that eventually was built on the south side of town left deep scars on Laytonsville residents. Some of them now are pushing for the town to annex 1,400 acres of open farmland to the north of town as a buffer against future county encroachment.
Laytonsville: Trying to Stem Suburban Sprawl
By Kevin Sullivan; September 5, 1992
The world keeps knocking on Laytonsville's door. So far, nobody's answering. "Laytonsville is unique," Mayor Charles White says. "It's a small town that hasn’t changed much in 100 years."
Manor Park: On Par With Perfection
By Heather Salerno; November 18, 1995
"The owner we bought our house from moved only five houses down the street. I remember he literally put his grand piano on rollers and rolled it down the street," says Barbara Emanuele, laughing at the memory. "He didn't want to move out of the neighborhood, he just moved to a bigger house up the street." According to several residents, this is about as far as you stray from Manor Park, once you've lived there.
Montgomery Village: Home to Kids, Adults, Ducks
By Julia Angwin; July 17, 1993
"I didn't want to live in a neighborhood of yuppies with 1.8 kids and two station wagons," says Gene Heyman, who moved to Montgomery Village six years ago. "Coming from a college town, I wasn't ready for sterile suburbia." The Gaithersburg community is anything but sterile. The six-mile-long, 2,500-acre planned community has been designed to avoid the unrelenting rows of cookie-cutter houses typical of suburban living.
Olney: Never Lonely
By Angela E. Couloumbis; May 25, 1996
North of Wheaton on Georgia Avenue, Olney has swiftly transformed from sleepy suburb to bustling town. As 5,100 homes have sprouted up in the past 15 years, the population almost doubled, from 16,1800 to 31,000. Olney's well-trafficked struggle with growth, but the town's old-suburb traditions survive.
Sugarloaf: Living in the Mountain's Shadow
By Marianne Kyriakos; July 3, 1993
On wintry evenings, Frank Jamison liked to take his beloved to the Comus Inn. “We’d have ourselves a cocktail, and watch that doggone sun sink right behind that mountain,” he says. “I got a lot of good points on those sunsets.” It was Sugarloaf Mountain, Jamison says, that helped him tie the knot: he and his girlfriend, Octavia, now are married and have two sons.
Sunshine: Some Call It 'New Potomac'
By Veronica T. Jennings; September 26, 1992
Sunshine residents thrive on small-town atmosphere within an hour’s drive of two major metropolitan cities, Washington and Baltimore. An old farming community, Sunshine in the past five to 10 years has attracted so many doctors, scientists, builders and lobbyists that some people have dubbed the rural enclave the “new Potomac.”
Towne Centre Place: Public Housing a Cut Above
By Paul W. Valentine; November 20, 1993
Towne Centre Place did not come into existence easily. Surrounding neighborhoods resisted it from its inception more than nine years ago, citing fears that low-income families would bring crime and vandalism, which in turn would lower property values. But they were wrong: today the grass is manicured. The shrubbery is neatly trimmed. The town houses stand in formal ranks bordered by spotless sidewalks. It seems like any other well-kept suburban development.
Veirs Mill Village: Room to Grow
By Marianne Kyriakos; April 24, 1993
In 1958, the Pasquals and their four children lived in a two-bedroom house in Veirs Mill Village. In a few years, the family had grown to include 11 children. The house, too, grew -- to six bedrooms. Today, the family continues to grow: There are 13 grandchildren, with another on the way, and the kids are scattered from here to Hawaii. But the Pasquals have never outgrown the ties that bind -- to home, church and community -- in the 45-year-old neighborhood between Rockville and Wheaton in Montgomery County.
Whites Ferry: Population Nine and Nature
By Paul W. Valentine; October 1, 1994
When the mist is just clearing off the silent Potomac River at daybreak in Whites Ferry, "It's nice to watch the sunrise," says Bob Adams, surveying the water gliding by this historic crossing. Adams lives and works at Whites Ferry, one of three men who, with their families, operate the 166-year-old ferry service (the only ferry service on the Potomac) as well as a general store where travelers can stop for anything from canoe rentals to a made-to-order plate of pancakes for breakfast.
Woodmoor: Faith in the Future
By Lisa Leff; November 7, 1992
"[Woodmoor] feels like a little piece of the Fifties and I mean that in a good way. It’s a well-functioning community with a lot of stability, says John Siegel, who lives with his wife and four children in the house that his parents bought in 1956.
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