MEMORIES - PAGE 7

I just discovered this website and after reading what so many other contributors have written, I decided to share some of my memories of our nation's capital. I was born in Garfield Hospital which I understand is no longer there. While my father was a corporation lawyer for the Department of the Defense at the Pentagon, we lived in Chevy Chase on 32nd Street and were members of the Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church. I attended Lafayette Elementary and both my sister and brother went on to Alice Deal and Woodrow Wilson. When I was about ten we moved to Wesley Heights where I went to Horace Mann Elementary. In fact just for the sake of names dropping, Tricia Nixon was in my 6th grade class. Following 6th grade my family then moved to Bloomington, Indiana.

I have fond memories of the Avalon theatre I believe on Connecticut Avenue. The Hot Shoppe, was there one on Connecticut Avenue? The Good Humor man, Giffords, Georgetown homes on P Street, and of course, Glen Echo.

Washington, D.C. will always be a special place for me. Times were indeed different then, families did more together, manners were important, discipline was stressed, and schools taught the basics - reading, writing, arithmetic. Yes, those were the days!

Hi! Retired AF Military stationed at Bolling AFB from Jan 71 to June 72. Loved my time there. Having been raised in Florida, D.C. was an eye opener! Young, 20 yr old, Black, this was a totally different culture and atmosphere. Had never lived on my own and ready for new experiences. The first time I had met girls (this was the time of free love and sex with no strings and no AIDS) who approached the guys for phone numbers and more! Boy, was I in heaven! Rands nightclub had become one of my favorite hangouts. Pimps, hockers, and hustlers, but plenty of free thinking and loving ladies. It and other clubs Casino Royal, etc., were happening. Even free concerts in the parks. I saw Kool and the Gang free in the park by Howard University housing area. What a time for young men. Experiences and memories that I carry with me to this day! Crusing on the Potomac at night with a date and music. Eating at Atlantic Carryout on MLK at 1o'clock in the morning. Saturdays were spent shopping downtown for new "vines" clothes). Having young ladies stop you on the street and ask to take you out!! We were in Heaven! The Smithsonian - visiting all the exhibits and taking it all in. Every weekend there was something to do or go see. What a time! But, Viet Nam was still in swing, and I was sent to Utapao Airfield, Thailand in June of 1972. Another source of learning and memories! But, I hope you can use some of what I have dropped on you. Love and thanks for the chance to share!
C.T. ROTHSCHILD

Love your "Memories" that have brought back many places that I have known in the past.

I grew up in DC at 17th and Gales Street, near Benning Road and attended Eliot Jr. High School before moving to Avondale, MD. Many hot summer evenings spent on Gales St. eating barbecue and milk shakes from the new Hot Shoppes. If we didn't cool off that way, we would drive to Haines Point, sit and enjoy any breezes available.

Frozen custard at either Reindeer or Polar Bear were the best, as was Cavalier pizza at 14th and Park Road. Does anyone recall "Dixie Pig" at Peace Cross? Great barbecue! Shopping in D.C. was wonderful on Saturdays and followed by a wonderful lunch in Chinatown, then a streetcar ride back to Benning Road and 17th Street. Across the road was the playground - what was the name? My mother shopped at the little DGS store on the corner owned by people whom I would like to find again. Their daughter, Marjorie, went to McKinley Tech and being an alumni, I try to keep in touch but it is sometimes a trying task.

Tech in 1950 was a wonderful place to be and make life-time friendships. Are there any former Techites out there who are not aware of the "Golden Techites" annual luncheons? Those are the grads who have passed the 50th graduation anniversary. We are a large, friendly group and would love to hear from you.

Does anyone remember Columbia Hospital for Women? It closed recently and brought back memories of the births of my two children, and a wild ride from Dennis Avenue in Silver Spring on the two-lane Connecticut Avenue at 90 MPH behind a police car.

There are so many memories that were brought back by reading comments by others and I could go on and on but on this note, keep those memories and be grateful that we can share them during these stressful times in our wonderful country.

Elaine Pearl

I was born at Sibley hospital in DO.C. - lived on 4th Street N.E. and remember taking the bus downtown to see the stage shows. I can remember skipping school to see Debbie Reynolds sing at the Capitol Theater in l95l. Had to transfer buses at the stop by the Gaiety Theater on 9th street (the girlie show) and it was perfectly safe. Seeing the fireworks at the monument ground and taking the trolly car home. We were rambling wrecks from McKinley Tech and loved every minute of it. D.C. was a wonderful place to grow up in during the 40's and 50's and I can't imagine being raised in any other part of the country. I still remember the national song of D.C. that we learned in elementary school (Crosby Noyes) it went:

Washington the fairest city in the grandest land of all, Washington our countrys father who first answered freedoms call God Bless the white house and capitol too And keep every flying the red, white and blue.

Don & Carol Dineen
What wonderful memories
56 Linwood Rd
Fort Walton Beach FL 32547 850-862-8986 (H)

God bless her white house and capitol too And keep every flying the red , white and blue.

GC Elis on the waterfront (beer, oysters and sawdust on the floor); hot crab-cake sandwiches in winter. Canoeing by Key Bridge and swimming in the river. Bill Jamerson's floating soda stand up the river. Old side-wheeler steamboat, all mahogany, polished brass and white paint, (new steel boat after the war) to Mt. Vernon and Marshall Hall. C&O Canal hikes to Great Falls. Streetcar ride along the Patomac to Glen Echo. Beverly Beach on the Chesapeake. Brentano's book store and the Zoo. Ice skating on the Reflecting Pool. Buzzards Point boat yard. High School Cadets and parades down Pennsylvania Ave. Translux and Capital (National?) Theater with live acts and movies.

Peter Schroeder

Now 60, I was born and raised in DC. Went to Stanton Elementary School, Kramer, Jr. High until Hart, Jr. High opened in 1956...then on to Anacostia High where I graduated in 1960.

I worked for Pepco, the electric power CO in DC for 30 years. I remember Glen Echo, the great movie theaters, Bob's Frozen Custard in Congress Heights, My dad worked at Bolling AF Base.

I have fund memories of Carter Barron Amphitheater and the joy of seeing The Kingston Trio there in the late 50's

Larry

Boy, reading the pages makes me go back to those days. Born in D.C. but raised in Falls Church but have so many memories of D.C. and VA. Someone mentioend the Frozen Dairy bar right down the street from us. YUM!! Does anyone remember Drug Fair? Like our modern day Wal-Mart I guess. I remember buying school clothes there. Also, Woodies and Garfinckels. My parents lived in D.C. when my sisters were young. Mom went to Eastern High School. They lived on 15th street for many years. My dad worked for D.C. Transit for alot of years and mom was a legal secretary in the district. They used to go to North Beach alot and play the slots at night. I also remember Hot Shoppes down at Baileys Crossroads and they had good food!! Well, thanks for the memories. I think D.C is still a beautiful city!!

Debbie

What a great surprise to find this webpage when I was surfing this AM to find out more about the "Golden Techites". I have been doing genealogy for at least 10 years now and I have contributed alot of material to the various Rootsweb sites but have never been to the Washington, DC, Rootsweb site because neither my hubby nor I have ancestors in that area. I am so glad for Google!

Having graduated in 1956 from McKinley Tech High School, my memory can be a bit short at times! Reading these memories written by other people was wonderful! I remember most of the things that people wrote about. I was living in DC at the time of the blackouts and remember being very frightened. My parents did not explain it well to me. Also remember the parades during that time. My mother had some food token (red) as well but I do not remember what they were for but apparently some things were being rationed. We lived on Rock Creek Ford Rd NWduring this time which connected with Georgia Ave and was near the Bunker Hill sites. My dad opened a grocery store "Joe's Market" in SW Washington on 7th St., and I used to come home from school, play a little bit, and then catch the streetcar "7th St. Wharves". It was a long ride for a 7 year old and I would fall asleep many times - good thing it just turned around when it got to the wharves.

Then about 1948 we moved to South Dakota Ave and Cheryl's memories are similar to mine. Behind us was the Priory and we used to sneak up there and watch the Brothers garden as well as look at all the goldfish in the pond. I also sledded down Suicide Hill. Their property was directly behind our house. The Franciscan Monastery catacombs were also very interesting and we used to just love going up there and wandering through them. That hill going up to them (12th Street, I believe) was a whopper and I was just learning to drive with a stick shift. I had to stop at the top (stopsign?). I tried six times to coordinate the clutch and the gas pedal and it stalled every time. The man behind us came up and asked if he could help us! I was very determined that I could do it but my mother finally had to take it up to the top of the hill! I had a friend who lived on RI Ave and we would walk and meet halfway to meet each other. We did alot of walking in those days and it was soooo safe! Never had to worry about a thing. We enjoyed roller skating every weekend at the Bladensburg roller rink. My friend and I also enjoyed walking up the Washington Monument and wandering around the Smithsonian. We never realized then how lucky we were to have lived in that area and just took most of it for granted.

My father later opened up a Real Estate business during the 50's and I have often wondered what would DC be like if the "white flight" had not occurred! It was such a beautiful city and wonderful place to grow up.

Tech was a really great school with lots of spirit during the 50's. There really was no school in the area that offered the range of classes that was there. It even had a bank where students learned about banking; an autoshop where they learned how to repair autos, a printshop for printing the school newspaper, etc., etc. There was a hugh pipe organ in the auditorium. I wonder if it is still there and if it is still working.

There used to be a group called "Capitol Girls Society" which I joined after I graduated from high school. The "society" provided young single women for the military dances in the area. It was all tightly chaperoned from the time we got on the bus until we got home. We went to all the bases in the DC area and really had a great time. I dated a sailor at the time who was in the Naval School of Music and played the drums. He was not a big person and when he had to march in a parade, he had to carry the base drum right in front of him! He looked so funny!

Awhile after high school, I left the DC area. Last year I joined Classmates and find that Tech was closed, the old hospitals are gone, and visits to some of the things that we just went to are now restricted. DC certainly changed!

I met my hubby in DC and he took me to Haines Point to watch the submarine races, too. I didn't know it was so popular until I read these memories. Does anyone remember Goat Island? It was in the Potomac River. Hubby had a boat and we used to go there weekends and camp, play cards by the fire etc. And - there were really wild goats on the island, too, but we didn't know it! But it was a surprise in the middle of the nite to hear the snorting of those goats! There is a bridge across the island today so the goats are probably gone.

I have written enough for now but my memories of youth in DC are fantastic! It is sad to see how DC has changed through the years! There is an old saying "You can never go back" and that is so true. It is a much different city today than what is stored in my memories.

Molly Zagami Shumate

My memories of growing up in DC are from a different perspective -- and somewhat bittersweet. A native Washingtonian, as a child and teenager, I traveled all over the city and surrounding areas, and as many of you do, I remember Glen Echo. But my memories of Glen Echo are somewhat different -- they are as a black child who couldn't understand why I couldn't go in. I remember the tennis courts down on the Mall, where -- on the occasions my father took us there -- my brothers and I were stared at, as though we didn't belong. I remember the fishing rodeo (pronounded "ro-DAY-oh) that took place every year at Haines Point, where one year I even won a prize -- for catching the smallest fish -- but the notoriety was more because I was a little black girl. I remember moving into Riggs Park, and anxiously introducing myself to the next door neighbors who had a toddler because I was just ripe for babysitting. Smiling and polite, they told me they'd call me. The next week, they had moved out -- as did all of our caucasion neighbors -- in an amazingly short span of time. I remember shopping not downtown, but on H Street, N.E. -- or Minnesota Avenue, where we were much more welcome. Shopping trips downtown were rare -- and cautious -- until my teenage years when integration had had a chance to settle in. I graduated from Coolidge High School, where I transferred after briefly attending Sandy Spring Friends School -- as one of the first recipients of a scholarship for high school students from the National Negro Scholarship Fund. Unfortunately, while the school itself may have been ready for integration, the students -- many of whom were from Montgomery County -- were not. Our beach trips were to Sparrow's or Carr's Beach instead of Sandy Point, and those of us who were fortunate enough to own beach homes didn't exactly have them on the Severn.

My family enjoyed concerts on the Mall on hot, steamy nights, though, as well as the many museums and art galleries of this beautiful city. I, too, hung out at the Hot Shoppe on Georgia Avenue, enjoyed ice cream from Giffords, or burgers from the Little Travern across the street. I remember wearing dresses to go "downtown" to the movies as a teenager, and I, too, danced on the Milt Grant Show. I went on Pick Temple, and my brother was even a "saddle sitter," so there are many fond memories I have of DC that transcend any issues of color.

Over all, I'm enjoying everyone's memories. I just thought you might appreciate some memories from a different view.

E. Logan