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May
2004
MARK YOUR
CALENDARS
Important dates:
Annual Town Meeting - May 18, 8:00 p.m.
Planning Commission Meeting June 1, 7:30 p.m.
Commissioner’s Meetings – June 14, 8:00 p.m..
Annual Town Meeting - May 18, 8:00 p.m.
The Annual Town Meeting has been scheduled at the Brookeville Academy
at 8:00 on Tuesday, May 18, 2004. There will be pictures and related
information
on the Brookeville Schoolhouse restoration, a 2004-2005 Town Budget
review, and various updates on various topics of interest to residents.
State Delegate
from District 14, resident Karen Montgomery and Montgomery Council
Member Mike Knapp (District 2) have been invited. Schoolhouse on North Street and Town Resident Win Preservation Awards
Montgomery Preservation, Inc.'s Annual Historic Preservation Awards Program
cited resident Miche Booz, AIA as Outstanding Architect for 2004. Miche
also has provided a full range of design and management services to the
restoration of the schoolhouse. The Town of Brookeville was cited for
its overall efforts to acquire and preserve/restore the schoolhouse on
North Street. Carpenter Walter Blank, master mason David Yinger, and
Brookeville contractor Buck Bartlett were cited for their invaluable
contributions to the project. Interior work as part of the second and
final phase of the restoration has recently begun. The awards ceremony
and reception were held at the Glen Echo Park's Spanish Ballroom on May
8. The Town has won four awards from MPI, including the County's most
prestigious historic preservation award - The Montgomery Prize.
Town's Sad Loss
Juanita (Nita) Archer, a resident who loved her "village" and
its rich history, died on April 4, 2004. Nita and her husband, former
radio and television NBC personality and performer, Gene Archer, were "pioneers" when
they moved from the Manor Club in Rockville with their four boys in tow
in 1958 to take on the major job of modernizing (no electricity, no plumbing,
and no heating other than fireplaces) while restoring the famous but
very rundown historic Madison House in Brookeville. While Gene Archer
sang at the Shoreham Hotel's Blue Room and did his famous rendition of
the Star Spangled Banner at every Redskins home game from 1938 through
1960 (he was also a member of the Redskins Board of Directors), Nita
shouldered much of the hard work of making the house habitable and eventually "stately" while
raising her boys. Along the way, Nita and Gene also restored the small
stone building next to the Madison House that he saw as a modest retirement
place for her later years. Nita was a key player in the Town's 1976 U.S.
Bicentennial celebration and helped with the work to get Brookeville
listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, a year after
her husband died. Following her sale of the Madison House to Rick and
Diane Allan in 1980, Nita moved next door to the house she and her husband
had already prepared for such an
eventuality. There, she continued to contribute through her strong support
for efforts by the Town Commissioners a few years later to enact a Historic
Preservation Ordinance, acquire and restore the Brookeville Academy,
and develop a Town Master Plan sensitive to the unique needs of a small
historic community in a sea of development. The Town Commissioners appointed
her as Supervisor of Elections in 1984 where she became well known for
her simple shoe box ballot box and informal but well run elections. Nita
also was active in many organizations, including the Questors and the
Wednesday Club. Nita Archer left a valuable legacy to the town - the
spirit and will to preserve the historic fabric and settings of our built
environment while at the same time living out her life with formidable
independence and simple elegance in her modest "village" cottage.
Nita’s sons have made a number of books on antiques and the War
of 1812 as well as a period chair available to the Town. We will all
miss you Nita.
Sandy Spring Friends School Students Clean-Up Brighton Dam Road
On April 20, students from Sandy Spring Friends School participated
in Earth Stewardship Day, a day dedicated to cleaning up our little
part
of the planet. All students at SSFS (PK-12) took a break from classes
for the day and participated in earth stewardship activities both
on campus and in the surrounding communities. Activities included
planting
gardens and trees, cleaning up trash in the Hawlings and Patuxent
Rivers, and picking up trash along roads. Led by resident Bruce Evans,
upper
school students Auguste Dutcher, Katherine Hofman, Nathan Renner-Johnson,
Julia Wilson, Sarah Harshburger, Soyna Keenan, Emma Morehouse, Jill
Hayes, and A. Lee Russell picked up trash along Brighton Dam Road
just outside
Brookeville. Working for a good two hours, the group picked up at
least twenty bags of trash and various large car parts. After picking
up
what they could, the group returned to Bruce's house for lunch, relaxing
fun
and reflection on the day's activity and caring for the natural beauty
of our surroundings. All had a great time and Brighton Dam Road is
now a little brighter to travel. Heritage Days
This year the Town will participate in the County wide Heritage Days,
jointly sponsored by the Montgomery County Historical Society and the
Heritage Tourism Alliance of Montgomery County. While the event will
include many historic buildings over a two-day weekend on June 26 and
27, Brookeville will participate with its Schoolhouse on Saturday,
the 26th from 12:00 to 4:00. While the building may not be completed
by that date, there will photographs of early students and the restoration
process, McGuffy Readers, slates for lessons, and other activities.
We would like volunteers, including children, to help guide visitors
to the school and help at the school. Please call Diane Allan at 301-774-6206
to volunteer
Maryland Hall of Fame for Elected Officials
Town Commissioner and President Rick Allan reaches twenty-one years
in elective office this year and his name has been submitted to the
Maryland
Municipal League for inclusion in the Maryland Hall of Fame for Elected
Officials (for service of twenty years or more). He will be formally
entered into the Hall at the MML Annual Convention in Ocean City in
June. A previous longtime resident and Town Commissioner, Clyde Unglesbee,
joined the Hall in 1998
New Planning Commissioner
Fred Teal was appointed to the Planning Commission vacancy created
by Debbie Wagner who will be leaving town and relocating. Fred
will assume
his new duties as "citizen-planner" at the June meeting.
Thank You to Debbie Wagner
Debbie Wagner raised four children with her late husband Bill in Brookeville
while residing in the historic former Mrs. Porter's School for Young
Ladies on Market Street. That in itself a formidable task, Debbie also
served as a Town Commissioner, a member of the Local Advisory Committee
that reviewed historic area work permit applications, a participant in
the development of the Town's Master Plan, and currently serves as a
Planning Commissioner on a very active Planning Commission. Along with
Debbie's role in town governance affairs, some of her other talents have
been manifested in doing the illustrations of Brookeville historic buildings
in the Walking Tour of Historic Brookeville, published in 1994, caring
for her horse and a neighbor's sheep herd in addition to her other animals,
and the profession of nursing. We thank Debbie for her contributions
to Brookeville and wish her the best of luck in the future.
Town Improvements
The Town has a new contractor providing regular maintenance for grassy
areas, gutters, and streetscapes for 2004-2005. The State Highway Administration
District 3 office at the Town's request recently replaced the old asphalt
rolled curbing in front of the Yinger's residence across from Brookeville
Road with new concrete curbs. SHA also repaired and reopened a damaged
and clogged culvert at the Reddy Branch bridge with a new concrete-faced
culvert. The Town contracted with ArborCare to remove two large but
deteriorating maple trees on Market Street that had been dropping
large branches onto
the street and wires for several years. Pepco took
down the parts of the tree above its wires. The Brookeville Academy
has had the wood floors refinished and the first floor has been painted.
The second floor and part of the exterior will be painted later this
spring.
Advertisements
Need Your windows cleaned? Call Saul Derr at 410-501-0218, He has done
many homes in town including the Brookeville Academy (later this
month). Excellent work at very reasonable prices.
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