Text Box: LADIES OF GLEN ECHO You are invited to a Ladies Night at Diana Hudson-Taylor’s, including a viewing of Diana’a short film “Snapdragon.” 16 Wellesley Circle Wednesday, February 18, 8:00 p.m. Please RSVP 301-229-2163 Text Box: NEW HISTORY OF BROOKMONT DONATED TO TOWN LIBRARY John Barrett donated to the town at the Jan. 12 town council meeting a copy of the recently-published “Brookmont: A Neighborhood on the Potomac” by Barbara Boyle Torrey and Clara Myrick Green. John is not only a longtime resident of Glen Echo, but also lived in Brookmont for many years. With the publication of this book the three adjoining communities along MacArthur Blvd—Glen Echo, Cabin John, and Brookmont—have all published their histories in the past two years. The Brookmont book, which was printed in a very limited edition, is a wonderfully detailed trip through the evolution of an area with much in common with Glen Echo, from the earliest subdivisions in 1925 through the efforts to turn small parcels of farmland visited only by bicyclists on Conduit Rd. into a thriving and up-to-date community. Benefitting from the extensive research of the two authors and their outstanding writing skills, the 230-page book takes the reader through the land’s first 10 million years until the riverbed reached bedrock to form the Potomac Gorge. It then covers the period of the big game hunters--theAlgonquians, the Sioux, and the Iroquois--followed by the explorations of John Smith, Henry Fleete, and George Washington. The area was sparsely populated during the building of the C&O Canal and during the Civil War, all of which are detailed extensively. After lots began selling, the early residents dealt with the same problems as in Glen Echo: water supply, unpaved roads, trash and sewage, mail delivery, gambling houses and bars, unsightly buildings, and schools. Since they were not part of a municipality, like Glen Echo, they soon formed a Civic League which carried out many of the same functions. During Prohibition, bootlegging was common and one notorious gambler/bootlegger was murdered by his girlfriend, intensifying the somewhat Wild West quality that also characterized Glen Echo in the 30’s. .The book is profusely illustrated with early maps, photographs and letters and includes a whole chapter on Brookmont’s world class canoeing and kayaking. Only a handful of copies are still available, although there may be a reprint. It costs $25, and a few may be found the Montgomery County Historical Society bookshop, 301-340-2974. You can also send a check payable to the Brookmont Civic League to Marcia Wagner, Brookmont Civic League, 6410 Ridge Dr., Bethesda, MD 20816. The donated copy will be in the Glen Echo town library. Text Box: BLOOD DRIVE SUNDAY, FEB. 6 The next Cabin John Citizens Association Red Cross Blood Drive will be held Sunday, February 8 from 10:00am to 4:00pm at the Clara Barton Center on MacArthur Boulevard in Cabin John. If you can donate blood please pick a time to donate (10:00am, 10:15am, 10:30am, etc) so we can spread donors out throughout the day to prevent long wait times. If you are able to come during the late morning or early afternoon, that would be a big help in keeping the lines moving. Contact Karen Melchar, 301-229-9049. Guidelines for those whose blood can be accepted are found at www.my-redcross.org under Blood Donor Eligibility